Smartphone – A Status Symbol?

There was a time when living in a large mansion or driving a limousine was counted as a status symbol. As times changed, there were more such objects added to the list of what acted as a distinguishing line between a high-end and low status. Soon it came down to seemingly smaller objects like watches. By wearing a Rolex, you showed yourself to be of a higher status than those wearing other watch brands such as Citizen. By the time computers became common, the ownership of a Mac or a PC became defining status symbols, with Mac being the higher end product. In today’s world the biggest status symbol rests on the basis of whether you own an ordinary cell phone or a smartphone.

With the emergence of smartphones, the idea of what is a cell phone got redefined. What was originally thought to be a product aimed at the corporate sector, became so mainstream that now even children can be seen holding a BlackBerry. So what led to these phones taking the world by such a storm? Are they really something so revolutionary or have consumers been caught up in the hype created by the marketing of these phones. To answer this, we must first analyze the differences between a normal cell phone and a smartphone.

What is obvious is that a smartphone is essentially a cell phone, since it offers users all the basic functions that an ordinary cell phone can perform. You can use it for calling and sending text or multimedia messages. Although it is here that the similarities between a cell phone and a smartphone come to an end, as a smartphone is capable of doing much more. A smartphone gives users the combined facilities of a cell phone and a computer, giving them the opportunity to upload or download data, check their emails, create and edit documents, browse the internet or even make presentations, all from their phone.

Additionally most handsets come with an in-built mp3 player and camera, thus combining a number of electronic gadgets in one. What defines which smartphone is a status symbol, is often down to the branding of the phone. That is to say that you might be considered to be of a higher status if you own an iPhone instead of a BlackBerry, although both might give you the same features. At the end of the day, whether a status symbol or not, owning one of these phones is more about your own comfort than anything else. So, should you choose to buy a smartphone, just make sure that you choose a handset that is user-friendly enough to have a long term relationship with them.