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Comment by hn_throwaway_99 | Hacker News Reader

> In 2005 few people thought mobile phones would change much at all.

Uh, where were you in 2005? While the final form factor was unknown then, I think there was a ton of realization that carrying around all these different devices (cellphone, mp3 player, PDA, GPS, ...) was a total pain in the ass and that device convergence was coming.

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anecdote but I still have and use an MP3 player. a smartphone is a poor replacement.

...because it's heavier? I can't think of any other conceivable way a smartphone is inferior to an MP3 player.

The battery life is worse, it's more awkward to transfer files, no tactile interface - can't change tracks without taking it out.

Yes the elimination of tactile hardware buttons is a perfect example of the end of innovation in smartphone hardware. The manufacturers have taken buttons away from us due to silly "design" principles, or to improve waterproofing. But I'd much prefer to have a few programmable buttons that I could use to change music tracks or answer a call or whatever purely by feel.

Speaking of hardware buttons, I still can't understand for the life of me why some phone manufacturers put the power button directly above the volume button (on the same edge of the phone). About a third of the time I want to turn the volume up I end up turning the phone off.

Funny thing it that buttons can be as water proof, if not more so, than a touch screen.

Nah, taking buttons away is mostly about keeping the SKUs down. As now they do not have to develop as many regional variants. Just slap another OSK together along with a barebones translation and call it a day.

Thanks for the reply. I don't know about more awkward to transfer files (maybe depends on the phone), but battery life and lack of hardware buttons definitely make sense.

there are smartphones with 10kmha, not sure what you mean for awkward file transfer, changing tracks depend on your pair of earphones and the app you use, a lot of apps allow controls through eg bluetooth earphones or simply the mic button on wired ones.

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