Smart phones?

...the smartphone is much more about the "smart" than the "phone." Megan Garber

No one who owns a smartphone will be surprised by this graph from the July 2, 2012 The Atlantic article "Maybe We Should Stop Calling Smartpbones 'Phones'":

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive...

My personal iPhone use would look somewhat similar, although I don't text, rarely listen to music, and do a lot of book reading on the phone. Using maps and the GPS don't appear on this chart surprisingly - an important use for me. If "Browsing Internet" means looking up movie times, checking restaurant reviews, and doing other quick reference type queries, I do that as well.

But one thing I'd don't do with my phone, ironically, is talk on it much. While I've never a big telephone talker, having a ubiquitous phone has not increased the amount I talk to others. I am exceptionally selective with whom I share my number - I don't mind harassing others with my phone; I just don't want to be harassed myself. I also find that while I am a very courteous phone user, turning off my ringer before meetings, movies, etc., I find that 90% of the time I forget to turn the ringer back on. 

It seems that my low use of the smartphone as a telephone is not that unusual. According to the same article from which the graph above was taken:

...voice minutes per user have been falling here in the States since 2008, according to CTIA, the wireless industry association; customers, as such, have been cutting back on their voice plans. That's due in part, perhaps, to the fact that the iPhone, the ur-smartphone, relies on notoriously inconsistent networks for its voice services ... but it's due as well to the cultural shifts away from the phone conversation itself. A text message is more efficient than a voice call; an email -- which lets the recipient respond in his or her own time -- can be the most considerate way, these days, to reach out and touch someone. 

"Gee, Grandpa, you mean you can talk on the iPhone too?" Eleven-year-old grandson Paul seems content with his iPod Touch and its messaging, e-mailing, and Facetime capabilities. This Grandpa needs to quit being so damn stubborn about not texting if he wants to keep in touch.

What this tells me is that perception for constructive use of smartphones in the classroom may be growing among adults in our buildings as adult users increasingly use smartphones in useful, productive ways themselves. 

 Wishful thinking?