# Smartphone focus



## perpend

Is WordReference focusing on Smartphones?

I'm a dinosaur, and don't have one.

I got a PM from some insinuating that I'm a nobody, if I don't have one.


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## bearded

I don't have one either, if this may console you.  And I don't like people who - e.g. in the subway - continuously digit on the smartphone, without even knowing when their station comes...


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## perpend

I feel somewhat consoled .

I just wonder whether WordReference is placing its money on Smartphones.

Danke, bearded. Thanks for reading between the lines.


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## Radioh

Hey, I'm browsing(and always) the forum on my awesome Nokia 110!


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## mkellogg

Hi Perpend,

Are we focusing on smartphones? Yes, and I have to focus _even more_ on them, whether I like it or not.  The industry is changing around us.  Internet usage from regular computers is down around 12% while people spend more time on their phones.  The trend will probably continue in the future, meaning that I have to focus on the smartphone.  I personally am not happy with having to create apps for the iPhone and Android. They are difficult to deal with, to say the least, but I have no choice.

Having said all that, WordReference is still best used on a regular computer.  We can actually type here!


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## perpend

Thanks for the candor. After reading what you wrote, it is a no-brainer from a business standpoint. Kudos.

_(Sometimes I can't see the forest for the trees.)_

The point about typing is interesting, though. I hope I may entertain it. If it's off-topic, I understand it needs to be deleted.

My paws are large, thus my preference for a regular computer. Now that digital gadgets are getting larger (it used to be they were getting smaller), maybe someday there will be the "right" smartphone for me.  This does sort of exist in the "tablet genre" in the meantime, but they don't have quite the same telecommunication capabilities (well, they do, in part).

This is all to ask (and again, please delete, if it's off-topic): Does the average smartphone user, due to restricted typing capabilities, add more or less value to WordReference than a "regular computer" user, who can type in a less restricted way, thus taking time to offer more detail, which in turn is helpful?

Hope that made sense. These are just things I think about in a digital world, that is looking toward the future. 

Thanks again for responding!


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## merquiades

I have an android phone but I gave up trying to use WR on it.  Nothing really fits on the screen and navigating is rather difficult.  Typing works like an writing an sms and there is a problem keeping the cursor in the right place.  Correcting a typo is painful at times.  I've given up answering many a thread.
Using WR on a regular computer is much much more comfortable.

Perp, whatever the policy of WR is, people should not be chiding you by PM because you don't use a smartphone.  That's a whole other issue.  You can block them.


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## Thomas Tompion

perpend said:


> [...]
> I got a PM from some insinuating that I'm a nobody, if I don't have one.


I don't see that this follows at all, Perp.

In fact, I'd say there was a great deal of evidence to the contrary, and my doubts were confirmed by the striking assertion in a recent Economist article that *Nearly 80% of smartphone-owners check messages, news or other services within 15 minutes of getting up. About 10% admit to having used the gadget during sex. *(source).

I strongly advise you not to get one, Perp.

Unfortunately everyone who has a website has to address the question of making it attractive to smartphone users; it's a pain, but it's necessary.


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## mkellogg

For visitors to the forums who use it for reference, I think it is great.  Now, they are able to see our advice from anywhere, not just when they are at their computers.

For those of us participating in the forums, I find it convenient to see responses to my posts on my phone, and have written out some short messages, but the vast majority of our comments are more easily typed on a computer.  (Some people are getting very good at dictating into their phones. They avoid errors by enunciating very well.)



perpend said:


> Does the average smartphone user, due to restricted typing capabilities, add more or less value to WordReference than a "regular computer" user, who can type in a less restricted way, thus taking time to offer more detail, which in turn is helpful?


I don't want to insult any users... but we all know we are more expressive when able to type well, though sometimes a short response or answer from a phone is better than no response.

Most people are probably going to do what I did for this thread and others over the weekend: Look at the responses on the phone, "star" the conversation as a reminder to go back to it and respond when at a computer.


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