by Most can’t live without one, while very few see them as a curse of modern life. But whatever your view of smartphones, without one in your pocket you would have to lug around the equivalent of 26 separate items. Smartphone technology replaces the need to carry a map, a camera, and a host of other essentials. While a smartphone easily fits in the palm of a hand and weighs lightly, we estimate it would take at least a rucksack to haul all the extra items around, and apparently it also works out cheaper.
It cost far less to buy, use and maintain a smartphone than to buy all the extra items separately. The prices of the items on the list vary from being affordable (buying a newspaper) to being pricey (buying a high-quality camera). Other expensive gadgets include a portable games console and an MP3 player for listening to music. So let’s take a peek at the various items we would need to have if smartphones were to suddenly go extinct:
Newspapers:
This is a common medium for disseminating (reliable or unreliable) information within a country. Without a smartphone, you would be restricted to the newspapers sold in your locality and worse still, you would have to go out to buy it.
High quality cameras:
We are in ‘ the selfie’ generation and it most definitely wouldn’t be so with the smartphone. So without owning a smartphone, you would have to invest in a high quality camera which could set you back thousands in cash.
Video camera:
These are used primarily for recording memorable events and should be high on your to-buy list if you don’t have a smartphone
English dictionary:
For native and foreign English speakers, a dictionary is a must-have item without a smartphone
Portable game console:
Don’t have a smartphone as a gamer? Then you are going to have to invest in a game console.
Address book:
I know. We all use our smartphones as our default address book. So imagine having to actually buy and use a physical address book? Daunting, right?
Calculator:
Ah! Who needs a calculator? Everyone with an interest in money and math needs a calculator. This is one item most people would carry about in the event of a smartphone apocalypse.
Cheque book:
Sure, most people own one, but imagine not being able to paying bills or transfer funds by swiping your phone screen from the comfort of your home and at your leisure? Welcome, bank queues.
Pen:
No smartphone, No texting. So carrying a pen to scribble down messages everywhere you go would be essential and perhaps a bit boring.
Alarm clock:
For heavy sleepers, this is a must-buy and would be a very smart investment indeed.
Watch:
Yes, we all have all sorts of time-piece on our left hands, but if u don’t have one and don’t own a smartphone, then you could be stranded or worse, living without a sense of tomorrow.
Telephone:
Without smartphones, telephones would be the only means of communicating far and near. And so imagine being unreachable until you are home or worse, walking around with a telephone.
CDs’ and DVDs’:
No smartphones, No digital downloads. We are just left with packs upon packs of compact discs to buy and play and throw away when we have heard or seen enough
Photo-album:
This becomes really essential for everyone – singles, couples, and married folks – immediately after purchasing a quality camera. What a bummer!
MP3 player:
Buying a quality MP3 player would set you back thousands and would be essential because in the end, we all need some form of music to spice up our boring lives.
Stop-watch:
This is an item we wouldn’t need with a smartphone on our fingertips but without one, a stop-watch might just come in handy.
Clock:
Not having a smartphone means having to buy a clock (which we all have in our homes anyway) so as not to be seen as living in the past
Torchlight:
This would come in handy in the dark without a smartphone in hand.
Magazines:
Without a smartphone through which we check the latest trends in all aspects of our lifestyle, we would have to literally buy magazines to feed our eyes and never-ending thirst for relevant and irrelevant information
Portable speakers:
Purchasing DVDs’, CDs’ and MP3 players would most definitely lead to purchasing portable speakers because for (me and) most people, what is music if it’s not loud music?
Road map:
Investing in road maps would be a certainty while driving if there were no smartphones, or Google maps or GPS or satellites or…
Cookery book:
We love food. Not just any food but good food, so going all out to get a sound cookery book would be on our agenda
Debit cards:
Just as important as the air we breathe.
World Atlas:
This would be really cumbersome to lug around but on the plus side, it’s always fun knowing all countries and their locations.
Foreign phrasebook:
Learning a foreign language can be daunting but with Google Translate on our smartphones, life just becomes easier. So purchasing a foreign phrasebook becomes a must in the event of the non-existence of smartphones (or Google translate).
Encyclopedia:
hmmm…
