Technology
Features
One foot in the future - Bells and whistles
High-tech mobiles are all very well, but some people prefer the simple life. Jonathan Margolis gets down to basics
Is it worth having a mobile phone with built-in gadgets such as a camera?
It depends what you want your mobile for. If making and receiving phone calls is your sole concern - and you can't stand complicated gadgets - then a simple (and very cheap) little phone like the handsome and ultra-simple Vodafone featured left, will suit you perfectly.
But don't dismiss all the seemingly gimmicky extras on modern phones. It is absolutely true that you will never, under any circumstances, use the MP3 music player. Neither will you ever want to watch fuzzy, miniature TV programmes on your phone, or download music or sport video clips. You probably won't play any of the stupid built-in games, either.
But simpler functions - texting, for example - are worth the faff and fiddle involved in learning. Texting is a marvellous way of keeping in touch; it's less intrusive than a phone call, but more immediate than an email.
Phone cameras, too, have long since grown up. The first camera on a phone, only a few years ago, was a clumsy plug-in with picture quality not much better than a pinhole camera. Furthermore, the idea of sending pictures by mobile phone - MMS messaging, as it's known - was extremely crude and expensive.
Today, many phones have built-in cameras almost as good as standalone cameras that were on sale not long ago for hundreds of pounds. The idea that once seemed so wacky - of combining camera and phone - now makes perfect sense: nobody goes anywhere today without their phone. Most of us often wish we had a camera with us, but rarely do. So putting the two into one pocket-sized box was, actually, pure genius.
What do people use the cameras for, then?
Holiday snaps; family photos; photographing a jacket or dress in a shop to mull over at home or discuss with others; photographing a house you're thinking of buying. The phone has become, for millions of people, a miniature photo album to show off pictures of children, grandchildren and pets.
The MMS messaging thing has grown up, too. It's still a bit complicated - I've yet to some across a simplified, idiot-proof system - but I've started sending pictures to my daughters, especially when I'm abroad. I'll send my younger daughter a photo of a funny looking cat in Paris or LA, she'll send me back a photo a few seconds later of her friends at break-time at school in London.
What about internet access from your phone?
This is a more dubious benefit, unless you have an urgent business reason for needing to get onto websites wherever you find yourself. With the new (more expensive and currently less reliable) '3G' phones, you can get reasonably fast internet access at a price. But for most phones, it's still a crude and slow way of getting on to the internet. If you need urgent access to your emails while on the move, there is a wonderful British-based service called Mobile PA - www.mobilepa.com - which lets you do it quickly, efficiently and cheaply without having to buy a 3G phone.
And what about video phone calls?
Video calling, although it now works quite well after a shaky start, simply hasn't set the world alight. Although it's expensive, the phone companies are so desperate to kick start it, it is now affordable. If you insist on buying a video phone, then, don't let me stop you - but you might find yourself short of people to talk to, at least with the camera on. One video phone, after all, is about as useful as one shoe.
