Cell Phones Should Be Able To Make Phone Calls, Too

Over the past few years the functionality of cell phones has grown to the point that there are so many functions built in that they rival many home computers in regards to the types and numbers of software applications they can run. They can act as organizers, send and receive e-mail, surf the web, text message, take pictures, record video and audio, play music, play games, give turn by turn directions, and perform a host of other tasks. But one thing they don't always do so well is make phone calls, something customers want them to be able to do.

Over 1,300 survey respondents were asked the open ended question, "What features are desired on your next phone?" The top three responses were better connectivity, better audio and simplicity.

In many cases vendors have been so focused on making complex camera phones, music phones or mobile Internet devices, they have lost sight of the fact that phone functionality is mediocre at best. How often have we seen someone with a finger in one ear and a cellphone pressed to the other ear, desperately trying to hear a conversation? Our survey responses suggest that there is an opportunity for vendors to develop phones with great audio quality, robust connectivity and antenna features that are simply easy to use.

I know there are times when I am not pleased with the quality of the connection and audio on my cell phone. It isn't a problem with drop outs that I find the most vexing, but the poor quality of the transmit and receive audio. It would be nice to have what is called toll-quality audio when I'm using my cell phone rather than the variable and consistently poor quality I deal with now.