First came the mobile phone, which reduced the need for many other devices. With the release of the iPhone in 2007 began a new era. Now at the peak of its popularity of smartphones, which allow you to refuse the numerous devices that previously seemed irreplaceable. Thanks to Apple smartphones rule the world. In Ferra proposed to recall the previously popular technique fell victim to the iPhone.
1. MP3 players
The peak of popularity of audio players and flash memory (in the people — MP3 players) occurred in 2004-2008, when the mobile phones reigned the confusion with a separate proprietary connectors for every brand, and the music playing was energy – and resource-consuming task (Motorola E398 managed to even hang when changing tracks). Some phones (not going to point the finger at S65), simply did not support the MP3 format, but others like Nokia 3230, was deprived of the support of stereo sound. And don’t forget that the ability to work as a “stick” was not available on all phones — heartfelt greetings to all former users of Nokia PC Suite.
In such circumstances, quick, tough, lightweight MP3 player with a simple USB connection to a computer seemed the only right a “field” device to play music. This kind of gadgets are by and large essence used today, but only athletes who need a lightweight and miniature sound source for headphones. And even then, additional smart watch with Bluetooth better able to cope with this task.
2. Radios
They live their lives in the village with my grandmother, and in urban and suburban conditions almost not used. The older generation prefers to turn on the radio “nature” right out of the car, young people walking around with Bluetooth speakers, it does not like the broadcasting station, and either connects smartphones to online radio stations or confined to their own music collections in social networks/on the internal storage.
The habit of writing down a “super-song” on tape from the air or to fence the computer TV tuners are also moved in the past Shazam and streaming buried an entire class of equipment and the traditions of the children of the 90s.
3. GPS navigation
Hunters, anglers, and adventurers continue to buy navigation in the form of separate devices, and all other users armed with smartphones and tablets. “Ordinary working people” are satisfied with the accuracy of the smartphone navigation because we rarely use it. Drivers prefer navigation in mobiles because it is much easier to monitor traffic and update maps to current status.
Moreover, modern smartphones and the quality of display and speed far away from highly specialized satellite guides. And, unlike a purebred old navigators, receive signals and GPS and GLONASS.
4. Paper maps
Even before smartphones “killed” navigators, they finally replaced the paper map for non-professionals. Severe travelers, which has managed to find himself in a bad reception conditions, only occasionally lay out the route on paper maps and would prefer a secure electronic navigators, and in daily use backpackers and car owners have long been accustomed to go on a long journey, relying only on navigation apps in smartphones. Paper maps continue to play an important role except military personnel and students in geography lessons.
5. Cameras-“soap”
Not to say that smartphones destroyed the camera: the professionals is still sound SLR cameras, and “bassically” don’t slow down in popularity. When the picture quality is “hit the cap” and/or the prepare in the future, “photoshop” on a large scale, without a good camera with proper optics can’t do.
But in all other categories, the smartphones have already won. Won the infamous “instant” camera (remember Polaroid?), eclipsed the compact camera to “spy” photography became the main weapon in the shooting events or emergencies.
Smartphones were and still are a compromise in terms of performance cameras, but the quality of mobile cameras is increasing every year, and the vast majority of non-photographers of planet Earth satisfied even by the potential that is already there in the flagship (and older) smartphones.
6. Portable “next-gen”console
But at the beginning of the two thousandth dreamed of something else: when in 2003 the desktops tried on Need for Speed: Underground and the debut of Call of Duty, and Sony released the PlayStation Portable (PSP), all believe that today or tomorrow in pocket console “come” game with modern graphics, exciting plot and a so-called “replay value”. What could be network battles, during the time when the change came barely GPRS EDGE, even dream afraid.
But the joy was short-lived, and the peculiar — PSP “rocked” a few years before it released a truly “adult” games, like God of War, GTA, or Resistance, and to pay $50-100 for the game there was no hurry, so the idea of rough games on the mobile platforms barely warm. Nintendo with their DS was and still is a niche console with a Japanese-praepositi games not for everyone, but Sony has decided to try a second time and failed.
Because at the time of the debut of PS Vita in 2012 came the boom of smartphones in the form in which we know them today. On smartphones there are super games like NOVA, Max Payne, GTA Vice City, Modern Combat 4 and Need for Speed Most Wanted (restart), so the hardcore audience already believed that the phones will arrive even more cool games. But casual players just not care at all — they how to shoot birds in pigs, and continue to do so in the new scenery. Very cool from a technical standpoint, Killzone: Mercenary and Uncharted: Golden Abyss wide audience “not logged in” and the world-famous titles have been hack (Silent Hill: Book of Memories and Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified for example). After that, Sony “buried” alive PS Vita, and “next-gen”console, that is, the specialized high end gaming consoles, officially died. Today, for your kind words handheld consoles, the latest Nintendo fighting hybrid Switch, but so far without much success.
7. Recorders
Not to say that tape was super popular class of devices before they managed to implement in mobile phones, but students often wrote lectures, creative people have fixed the outcome of the negotiations, but someone was just important to capture the idea that “hit in the head,” but too long to write it by hand.
If hardware recorders well lived even in the cassette era, that mobile phones first had a ridiculous amount of 5 to 15 MB on internal storage and offered the choice between a horrible quality of sound files AMR standard, and very short audio recordings of a huge volume in Waveform format (WAV). And built into cell phones microphone special quality and “range” differ.
In modern smartphones, the situation is different: they are more reliable recorders (save the file even in “emergency” situations, if you drop the phone or accept an incoming call), automatically adjust the sensitivity and record stereo sound on a couple of sensitive microphones, not constrained by formats files and free memory, are able to ignore background noise in automatic mode (if the conversation in the “air” broke the silence for a few minutes).
For the tape remains to record (you will hear it the lecturer who is far away, and not sitting in front of a parasite, a student and his funny stories), autonomy (over 10 hours of recording for tiny voice recorder — no question) and the ability to connect high-quality external microphones in some models. But the Amateurs in the majority of cases voice recording on smartphones. And they are right.
8. Video players
10 years ago memory cards were very expensive, and the DVD rips of 700 MB was considered high-quality videos. Be was and video players — the “people’s choice” was hardware DVD turntables weight in pounds and unreliable optical drive, and especially the rich guys bought myself tiny by today’s standards (up to 4-5 inches, resolution 480×272 pixels or slightly more/less) media players with hard drive and video support in MPEG-4 is such a pleasure to cost the buyer at $600-800.
Smartphones weren’t very suitable for video playback equipment. For a long time they simply lacked the strength to play the videos without conversion (Oh, the Smartmovie converter and the like perversions!), and a little later, when Android has already bloomed and smelled, the problem was in the display size and autonomy.
Today, the number of video formats, de facto, been reduced to two options (H. 264, H. 265 and their variations), the new processors are able to play videos in these formats with minimal power consumption, average display size in smartphones has grown to already quite comfortable for viewing 5.5 inches, and most importantly — free mobile TV, or YouTube for “open field” became a reality in areas with LTE coverage!
A niche “bedside video” still holding the tablets, but they are rapidly losing popularity, so today video content for the most part turned out to be “smeared” between smartphones, computers and televisions.
9. Wrist watch
Smartphones are unique in that they do not know how perfectly (even phone in poor reception conditions), but cope with each of the individual tasks well enough to get people moved from the pathos of individual devices, and ideology “on the smartphone, not the same feeling” to more practical considerations.
Need to take a time — out smartphone. New mobiles don’t even need to turn on the display of the modern models will show the date, time and number of unread messages automatically.
For this reason, classic wrist watches die out, and the smart watch “blown away” before he managed to gain popularity. It seems that the habit of glancing at the screen of a mobile phone instead of a dial on the hand took over.
10. Telephone answering services and long distance
“Hello, is this reference? Tell me how to call the city!”. Such phrases today can be heard only from the lips of grandparents, and young people know that such issues need to contact an Internet search engine.
That in urban areas “extinct” phone booth, is to blame for not smartphones, and cell phones in General. As human achievement, in which we no longer need to resort to the communication node and stand in line to make an international call.
However, the smartphone has consolidated its success with the help of instant messengers: even on a cheap smartphone abroad can call via 3G, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber or other instant messenger and chat with relatives for free, as part of the traffic is within the rate! About voice communication in smartphones made do not apply, but even at the height of fashion text-based correspondence smart phones continue to set the fashion for the relationship of the new type (“Internet-radio”, like the departure of voice messages in Telegram, online broadcasts, etc.).
11. Alarms
If bulky electronic/quartz watches remained at home since the good old days, they probably still remain the main reference point in the apartment on request “what time is it?”. But even in this case, you long ago ceased to set the alarm in the archaic devices, but instead a tap set Wake-up time in the smartphone and upset information, that “the alarm rings in 6 hours and 50 minutes”, for example.
Separate “song” on smartphones — so-called “smart alarms” that will not only Wake you up in the morning, but watch how you toss and turn at night, calculate the optimal Wake-up time, keep statistics of lack of sleep and even snoring recording (if there is one). Someone believes the application of this kind of “placebo”, someone believes in their favour, but both debaters agree that in 2017, the alarm should be installed in the smartphone and not out in those clocks, which usually cost you in the kitchen.
12. Calculators
Few remember, but in Soviet times it was considered cool calculators that worked from 220V, and consumes 8 watts — today, even large tablets use energy more economically. Then became fashionable calculators that worked on batteries, and later by solar panels. The students of 1990-ies wanted to get hold of a watch-calculator, and today mathematical calculations of any severity can be carried out in the simple cell phone.
Today there are even separate apps under vague language in the style of “how many percent is the number 16546 from 9876323687?”, mortgage, engineering, construction, scientific and other calculators for every taste. Classic push-button models were only from sellers who are afraid to stain your smartphone and use the keyboard calculator once wrapped you a huge smoked fish in newspaper.
13. Telephone books and dictionaries
Fans to remember phone numbers by heart criticized supporters of the stored numbers in the book, and the latter eventually won the owners of smartphones that make the number once and never remember. Yes there remember — not even doing backups manually, because all contacts are stored on Google servers, just in case.
Explanatory dictionaries and dictionaries of foreign languages today have also become marginally useful — not only that, apps have learned to translate “living language” and not individual words, so they are now even able to translate dictation into the microphone of a phrase or inscription in the photos from the camera smartphone! For this reason, the classical paper dictionaries are only needed in case of “collapse of the Internet and electronics”, nothing more.
14. Pocket flashlights
But for a long time to use your smartphone’s flash as a flashlight you had to download a special application, to find them in the list, run, and start key in the app! Enthusiasts argued how such lighting will reduce the resource of flash, but “research” does not happen. Because the single core processor in early androidphone “rotten” and became obsolete before the fans to use a smartphone instead of a flashlight exhausted the resource of the outbreak.
To compete with a bunch of LEDs in the lights of modern smartphones can’t, but nobody goes “readiness” with a flashlight in the backpack, so the light source in a dark room today for sure running Android or iOS.
15. Mobile routers
Didn’t you notice how insignificant the share of laptops with 3G/4G modem inside? This is because the smartphones today have become a hassle-free and effective access point to the Internet on the road.
It has always been, changing only the connection methods — traditionally considered a reliable connection via cable, for a while “shone” ways of access to the Internet using the infrared port or Bluetooth, and now handing out smartphones Wi-Fi in high-speed IEEE 802.11 ac standard, so wire and other “crutches” phones are no longer needed.
Mobile routers (Mi-Fi) were common in the era when 4G modems in large-sized devices are already placed, and smartphones — not so much. Plastic box with long battery life, a slot for a SIM card and the ability to connect an external antenna giving Internet to multiple devices within a few hours. And although some models were able to work in standard CDMA communication (rest in peace, “Skylink”), distribution of Internet through smartphones still prevailed.
