What does your choice of smartphone say about you?

What does your choice of smartphone say about you?


Your smartphone can be an extension of your personality

by May Chua
04:46 AM Mar 25, 2011

Can't decide between an iPhone, Blackberry, Android or others? I never thought my choice of operating system (OS) would have much of an impact on my life.

I couldn't be more wrong.

Things were different when operating systems were only for desktops and laptops. The de-facto PC operating system was Windows and, if you had wanted something else - whether for self-expression or user experience, or both - you'd splash out on a Macintosh. Whether you're a Windows or Mac user didn't mean much to anyone except geeks, who would give personalities to the different OS (did you notice only the good guys on 24 used Macs?). Also Mac users tend to come from the creative industry.

Today, your choice of a smartphone, and, by extension, its mobile OS is
a lot more telling than in the Windows versus Mac days of old. It can even highlight certain characteristics and behaviour of yours - affecting your way of life in small but significant ways. I see this in my friends, colleagues and family: Most of them own Android phones, iPhones or Blackberrys.

And they each have different motivations for choosing their mobile OS.

Why get an iPhone? The answer is a simple and unanimous "It's nice!" or "It's cool". iPhone users want to be seen as part of the "in" crowd, since all the cool kids own one - as does everyone else.

Android smartphone owners don't, and aren't afraid to show it. My Blackberry friends joined the ranks because they liked staying in touch with friends or long-distance boyfriends through Blackberry Messenger (BBM).

Me, I got an Android phone because I wanted to buck the trend of the iPhone. "No thanks," I said, "I want something different!" Ironically, Android has since taken over the biggest market share in America, according to comScore's January figures. And many have commented that my handset looks much like an iPhone. Oh well. Good thing I still have the adorable robot mascot and its open source platform to get me by.

Which smartphone we choose also influences how things unfold whenever the my-phone-is-better-than-yours conversation pops up.

iPhone owners sniff at their Android-loving peers' "less-than-aesthetically-pleasing" or iPhone-lookalike phones, but the tables turn when the battery runs low or calls drop. Blackberry users smirk when they see others struggling with their onscreen keyboards.

With a smartphone in hand, I often have difficulty focusing on what's happening around me and sometimes, even the person or persons I am with at the moment. Your choice of mobile OS will impact how you're distracted too.

People with iPhones sometimes seem to be surgically attached to their devices, and you can't blame them; quality aside, the sheer amount of apps available in the AppStore alone trumps the Blackberry App World and Android market. But even though the Android market offers a fraction of the apps in the AppStore, Android users are sometimes not much better than their iPhone-wielding rivals, glued to their free copy of Angry Birds.

Blackberry owners can only blame BBM for making them anti-social (to the person they're with, not the one they are messaging).

The faults and triumphs of the mobile OS have crept into our way of life, so much so that I can guess, quite accurately, which smartphone someone is using, just with some simple observations.

If the messages you get are often fraught with puzzling words, you are likely dealing with an iPhone user struggling with its autocorrect function. Short replies and numerous typos? The signs point to an Android device and its oft-lamented virtual keyboard. Full sentences and longer messages are indicative of a Blackberry phone armed with a QWERTY keyboard.

Additionally, Blackberry users are less often seen lugging their chargers around, unlike their iPhone and Android counterparts who are in need of some emergency juice ever so often.

Indeed, the smartphone OS can affect your way of life - and since many of us are deeply entrenched in our own camp, we would live with the consequences of our choice.

If not, we can always join the masses and get an iPhone. May Chua

Source: www.todayonline.com