10 Gadgets You Can Replace with A Smart Phone

You may have noticed that prices on many electronic products have dropped considerably of late. This is in part the natural result of advancing technologies as new products replace older ones, and partly due to a soft economy. For a number of consumer gadgets, the cause of their devaluation can be directly attributed to the proliferation of smart phones. As a platform loaded with apps and numerous capabilities, the smart phone is rapidly displacing some former staples in the consumer electronic market. Here’s a list of ten gadgets that the smart phone is fast replacing:

1. MP3 Players – Prior to the rise of the smart phone, there were really no other devices with sufficient memory, adequate organizing capabilities, and  decent sound quality to take the place of a stand-alone MP3 player. Now with plenty of gigs worth of storage, large touch screens for manipulating files and viewing video, there’s no reason to spend big bucks on a separate player.
2. Digital Cameras – Entry-to-mid-level cameras have lost their appeal with the advent of the smart phone. When you can carry one device that combines an 8 megapixel or better camera along with so many other functions, why worry about packing one more gadget for your vacation?
3. GPS Units – Stand-alone units have really taken a hit in the tech market since smart phones took hold. Not much call for spending hundreds on a gadget that just provides driving directions, now is there?
4. e Book Readers – While most consumers might still prefer the larger viewing area of a Kindle – or for that matter, a tablet or netbook – the portability and diversity of the smart phone is a pretty attractive alternative for a growing number of e book buyers.
5. Wristwatches – Often overlooked as a victim of the high tech frontier, the venerable wristwatch is quickly becoming an arcane vestige of a by-gone era. You may have noticed that many watches that aren’t more jewelry than timepieces are almost as cheap as the batteries that power them. Now you know why.
6. Calculators – Along with everything else a smart phone does, it will help do your taxes too. Just make sure to set it to airplane mode if you’re planning to use that sucker for your physics midterm.
7. PDA’s – Already reeling from market loss to netbooks, tablets and earlier cell phone models, PDA manufacturers are faced with a platform that not only matches the portability of  PDA’s, but far surpasses them in versatility.
8. Handheld Game Consoles – Game Boy, Nintendo DS and PSP, move over. Smart phones are getting more sophisticated games designed specifically for them. Still not a threat to completely usurp  the handhelds with serious gamers, their versatility and convenience score highly once again with many consumers.
9. Laptops – As Androids and iPhones are outfitted with more and more business apps and RAM, there is less and less need to lug around that laptop on  business trips. For all but the most graphics-intensive functions which require a larger display, smart phones are taking a big load off of the weary road warrior.
10. Keyring/Penlights – That’s right. Some marketing genius figured out that a white screen transforms your smart phone’s display into lantern mode. Now if only they could install an ice-maker …

This entry was posted on Friday, July 29th, 2011 at 1:13 pm and is filed under phone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.