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Why would you want to listen to mp3s on your phone? Sansa Clip takes almost no room and its battery lasts longer. Multiple personal items have already converge
by blfr 12y ago
Why would you want to listen to mp3s on your phone? Sansa Clip takes almost no room and its battery lasts longer.
Multiple personal items have already converged in your phone: notbook, calendar, Rolodex, flashlight, Game Boy, camera... This is just another one.
Each may not be much of an improvement on its own, but taken together it really is. People value this convenience so much that they will routinely accept lower quality of the parts (see the camera).
As for more direct benefits, it will probably be easier to manage. I use my bank's app a lot as it is.
- nmrm 12y agoI think the OP's point is that the phone is never going to replace cash/cards because going without an mp3 player or notebook during a night out or work day is NBD, but surviving without any access to money can make things very unpleasant. Also, I'll always need a wallet for ID, insurance info, etc. What's one more piece of plastic? So it makes sense I wouldn't want to carry around a phone + an mp3 player. But if I'm carrying around cash/cards everywhere anyways, the phone needs to have an actual substantive benefit over paying with plastic. That advantage has to overcome the perception of privacy violations and the cost of changing personal habits. * The days of the average consumer not caring about privacy are, I think and hope, coming quickly to an end. I doubt anyone will give up gmail out of privacy concerns, but any time there's discussion of adopting a new consumer product, average Joe off the street will probably cite privacy as one concern. I don't think the "novelty factor" is enough to win over the average consumer's data these days.
- blfr 12y agoIf you're very concerned then cash or physical card for redundancy may make sense. But that's also true of a map for example, yet doesn't hurt adoption of Google Maps. And is paying for things really that crucial on a daily basis? I can only think of minor inconveniences like having to go home before getting groceries after work. Although that's probably a matter of lifestyle and location.
- IanCal 12y agoWell, my card doesn't need a battery but works just like mobile payments (take out, press against reader, done) whereas google maps has many advantages over a paper map (i can find exactly where I am, search for things & get traffic updates).
- blfr 12y agoPhone payment app can also feature improvements over a card, like knowing and showing your balance, helping you track spending, prompting you to use discount coupons... whatever the provider can come up with.
- a3n 12y ago> I doubt anyone will give up gmail out of privacy concerns I did, years ago, for that very reason. I still have the account, but I never use it, and mail never goes there. Sometimes I use it for testing something, but I don't use it.
- marssaxman 12y agoI can't say I gave up gmail out of privacy concerns, but privacy concerns motivated me not to sign up for it in the first place.
- skizm 12y agoI think the point is your phone is unreliable (battery life, dropping risk, cracked screens, etc) and paying for things is mission critical while listening to music is not. I take better care of my wallet than my phone. Lost phone? Buy new one. Lost wallet? Potential misuse of debt card/credit card and my cash is gone which is about half the cost of my phone right there. Much worse than the 200-300$ it costs for a new phone.
- Jtsummers 12y agoFor me it's not a replacement, it's an alternative. I don't consider CCs or cash as replacements for the other (outside certain domains where only one or the other is viable), but instead options for payment. I prefer cash because it keeps me on my budget better for daily spending. Now we have CCs, debit cards, cash, checks and phones (which are tied to CCs or debit cards typically). I already use my phone to pay for some things, anyways (Starbucks, I often get gift cards from family at Christmas/birthdays). This just makes the phone more useful as a payment device.
- gress 12y agoSo you've answered your own question. If you paid with your phone, you wouldn't have to worry about taking care of your wallet.