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30 Things Your Smartphone Replaced

As BuzzFeed listicles go, this one’s actually thought-provoking — in video form, it’s a list of “30 Things You No Longer Need Because of Smartphones.” And, well, most are true, at least in part. You don’t need a Rolodex, or a point-and-shoot camera, or a voice recorder or calculator or watch or alarm clock. But smartphones aren’t always perfect replacements for some things on the list — compasses, for example (at least, my phone tends to occasionally forget where due north is, which is inconvenient when using the GPS and seeing it think I’m facing a different direction), or a high-intensity flashlight, or for magazines (a tablet, sure, but a phone can’t adequately replicate in a comfortable form the reading of a long article). And Lord help us if the last one on the list is true (in some ways, it is….).

Are there things on this list your phone hasn’t really replaced? Are there things they missed? Comment below, please….

 

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Comments

  1. Lisa says:

    Marie, just turn your phone sideways on the calculator app to access all those fancy functions

  2. Marie says:

    I think the phone is not as good at a lot of these things as the real deal would be. My phone doesn’t take pictures anywhere near as well as my digital camera does. I admit though, I do take a lot of pictures on my cell phone, but most of those are of the “Look at how my dog is sleeping! Silly puppy!” variety and not “I would like nice photos of my friends in Halloween costumes.”

    And for more advanced calculations, you would need a calculator. Also, calculator watch was cheating.

    Cash register is another one though. I know several places that use Square and an iPad/phone exclusively.

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  4. Zreyburn says:

    It only replace record stores for the people who don’t know anything about music.

  5. Anna says:

    I think phones have just augmented conversation rather than replacing it. It has replaced awkward silences and small talk, though, which is awesome for socially awkward types like myself.

  6. Jacob says:

    Candy Crush and other phone games may not, in many gamer’s eyes, replace the quality of Gameboy games, but it can certainly Emulate them! I don’t play any games on the phone but emulators!

  7. Kati says:

    haha…The iPhone has replaced conversation…oh dear

  8. Jody Rask says:

    It’s absurd to think the smartphone can replace a Gameboy.
    Hogwash…pure hogwash.

  9. Cate Amos says:

    Television.

  10. PipaPenny says:

    Calendars, lighter at concerts, post-its and index cards.

  11. Chris Leher says:

    Forgot bubble level and pedometer. That’s all I got right now.