4 ms·

This is apples to oranges. Feature phones weren't a substitute for personal computers. They weren't as necessary of an accessory as it is today. On the other h

This is apples to oranges. Feature phones weren't a substitute for personal computers. They weren't as necessary of an accessory as it is today. On the other hand, standards governing how those phones worked weren't changing as fast, so, given good care, you could use your phone for 10+ years. Updates today are a way to force users into buying a new phone (eg. my banking up decided not to support an older version of Android, phone vendor doesn't produce updates -- I have to buy a new device). There weren't updates because there weren't banking apps which could've forced you to abandon your perfectly functioning device.

pjmlp 3y ago
> Feature phones weren't a substitute for personal computers. They weren't as necessary of an accessory as it is today. On the other hand, standards governing how those phones worked weren't changing as fast, so, given good care, you could use your phone for 10+ years. I am quite sure that many people across the African continent and Asian see it differently. Specially those that were using Symbian devices.
- crabbone 3y ago
  I'm mostly familiar with North Afrika, but I can tell you this: at that time in places like Egypt or Morocco you couldn't access government services from your Nokia, it wasn't a thing. 2FA was unheard of. Contactless payment is still a novelty, but definitely didn't exist at the time prior to smartphones. There weren't banking apps. Best you could do on your phone is to play snake or send an email. And if we are talking about places like Zimbabwe... there might have been like a hundred cell-phones in the entire country. As for Asian countries? -- well, places like Japan or Hong Kong weren't much different from Europe. Places like India or China, by and large, didn't have coverage. Even relatively well-off Russia only had cell towers in and around big cities. In Russia at that time there were very few people able to afford a high-end Nokia phone, but even if they had one, those wouldn't be the people who needed a replacement for a PC, nor would they ever use their phone in such capacity. Due to poor economical situation all electronics were seen as a way to prevent wealth from depreciating. Few people who did buy expensive cell phones had no interest in using their advanced abilities, nor was there anything to use such a phone for.

pjmlp 3y ago

> Feature phones weren't a substitute for personal computers. They weren't as necessary of an accessory as it is today. On the other hand, standards governing how those phones worked weren't changing as fast, so, given good care, you could use your phone for 10+ years. I am quite sure that many people across the African continent and Asian see it differently. Specially those that were using Symbian devices.

crabbone 3y ago
I'm mostly familiar with North Afrika, but I can tell you this: at that time in places like Egypt or Morocco you couldn't access government services from your Nokia, it wasn't a thing. 2FA was unheard of. Contactless payment is still a novelty, but definitely didn't exist at the time prior to smartphones. There weren't banking apps. Best you could do on your phone is to play snake or send an email. And if we are talking about places like Zimbabwe... there might have been like a hundred cell-phones in the entire country. As for Asian countries? -- well, places like Japan or Hong Kong weren't much different from Europe. Places like India or China, by and large, didn't have coverage. Even relatively well-off Russia only had cell towers in and around big cities. In Russia at that time there were very few people able to afford a high-end Nokia phone, but even if they had one, those wouldn't be the people who needed a replacement for a PC, nor would they ever use their phone in such capacity. Due to poor economical situation all electronics were seen as a way to prevent wealth from depreciating. Few people who did buy expensive cell phones had no interest in using their advanced abilities, nor was there anything to use such a phone for.