Back to basics?

While manufacturers are coming up with increasing numbers of convergence products (camera phones, phone-PDA/wireless email devices), and "camera cellphones appear to be on pace to replace DVDs as the fastest-growing consumer technology device ever", according to USA Today, are we actually using these multifunction devices as multifunction devices?

One Sony Ericsson P800 user told me last week that while his device is really handy for notes, email etc, he didn't actually use it as a mobile phone (he carries a separate mobile), and this was no technophobe. Camera phones on the other hand have very poor picture quality and owners rarely seem to use the camera functionality except to demonstrate it (if you want to take pictures, you carry a small digital camera with you).

We seem to be facing the same situation that the software industry has inflicted on us for some time: rapidly increasing functionality and consequently complexity, with most people rarely using much more than a few basic functions that continue to be poorly addressed.

The rapid take-up of camera phones can be attributed to availability (a large proportion of phones available are now camera phones), to novelty, to status (you buy the phones that your friends have - or better), and to the fact that we all find out new products much more quickly these days. We are not necessarily buying the new products because they are better at performing the functions that we really want to use.

In the rush to launch convergence products, manufacturers are still getting the basics wrong for many device owners: the Sony Ericsson T-610 is a visually appealing product, and yes it has a - poor - camera, but its texting interaction still leaves a lot to be desired. I wonder what the comparable figures for SMS use and the camera function on phones might be...