A technical website estimates our smartphones and tablets are saving us around $10,000. That’s for gear and gadgets we are no longer buying, but stuffing inside our hand-held devices. The list includes:
Books, which saddens me, since I write traditional travel guidebooks along with new-fashioned mobile travel apps and ebooks.
Notebooks and pens, which also saddens me, since I prefer to take notes on a traditional reporter’s pad with a ballpoint pen. However, I do find the smartphone handy for recording an interview.
Digital cameras, which saddens me as well, since they take better photos than smartphones. Period. Plus, there’s something more satisfying about adjusting a lens and aperture setting than squeezing or pinching something on a smartphone or tablet screen.
Photo albums, which now live inside your mobile device instead of on the coffee table. One day, I’ll get around to scanning the thousands of family photos and trip photos taken with old-fashioned film cameras before the days of digital and stuff them inside my smartphone. Or maybe not.
Flashlights, which is odd, because if the power goes out and your smartphone dies, you’ll be left in the dark without power to recharge your in-phone flashlight to find an old-fashioned candle.
Gameboy and XBox devices, which isn’t a surprise if you saw how many people are playing Candy Crush or whatever on the phones on the NYC subway.
The article on Inside Mobile Apps says the trend is also similar for MP3 players, atlases, digital cameras, and more.
Estimates place these combined items around $11,000 per consumer while an average phone costs $200-$300. With a two-year contract, users are still spending less at $1,740. That’s a “savings” of $9,419.
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