What's with the phone obsession?

The phone and tablet craze seems to have gotten out of control, every time I wish to visit a hardware site to get the latest industry tech news (read: computers), I'm bombarded about news of how Company X's new phone A, will soundly beat Company Y's new Phone, B, even though B was announced just days ago to be the killer of some other phone, C. I mean, who the fuck cares? Last time I checked phones were for calling people, I don't need some sort of portable all-in-one god machine since a dedicated device will always do the job better. The current offerings on the market nowhere approach omnipotent functionality anyway; the hardware is too slow and all the OSs are good for is laughs. This is market oversaturation to the extreme. 

People have different interests.

Humans love their machines I guess.

Where have you been? The phone craze has been here in the UK for over 10 years now.

People need to tell other people when and where they are taking a shit.  It's serious business.

It's starting to piss me off too. Especially the amount people use them. If you're just going to come to my place and text someone, stay the fuck at home. You can live without it for 5 god damn minutes.

The phone thing has been happening a long while, but it's just not my thing either.  I can't say I understand it, either.

It's something you can very easily show off to people when you have the hottest new phone. I guess it became some sort of a status symbol now especially for young people. 

I never bought into it, mainly because I'm asocial and wouldn't care to call anyone for anything, let along drop the cash for one that's super multifunctional.

the only reason i want a good phone is for games that are on them. when i'm out sometimes it gets boring when there is nobody to talk to. i would be on the phone playing something.  i don't use my phone for to much. a lot of times i'll be on my computer and i'll get a message from a friend. i don't have to much to say about something.
 
it's more like a hip type of thing. when a new phone comes out you have to get a new phone because you can do something different with it. i don't understand why a person would buy a new phone when a new comes out. i know there are people that buy a new phone every time a new one comes out. all that the new phone does is has one new feature. it is kind of like apple products ZING.

my phone automatically applies a mosaic when i take a picture of my junk how cool is that

I got this awesome phone!
 
It's a portable phone that fits neatly into my pocket!
 
And it miraculously rarely drops calls!

How awesome is that?

" I got this awesome phone!  It's a portable phone that fits neatly into my pocket!   And it miraculously rarely drops calls! How awesome is that? "

" People need to tell other people when and where they are taking a shit.  It's serious business. "

Some people like to stay in touch, or entertain themselves. I don't see a problem. 
 
Things are a lot easier when you worry about yourself.

I think it is because currently, smartphones and tablets are where the majority of the progress is being made in the technology industry.  Smartphone manufacturers are innovating at a breakneck pace to try to outdo each other, and now after the success of the iPad everyone is racing to the tablet market.  The home computer market, by comparison, has not been innovating at nearly the same rate.  I am with you, and I am also surprised at the lack of actual computer coverage on "computer" sites these days, but smartphones and tablets are where all the action is at right now.

I mean I just picked up a smartphone recently and I actually enjoy the experience. I certainly don't think that anyone NEEDS a smartphone, but being able to browse the web and check and respond to emails is nice. So is GB on the go and I also enjoy being able to use google maps on the go.

I run pretty much all my business from my phone when im not in my office so it has to be an obsession for me.  I got an iPad as well because there is no faster way to check something on the internet if im in a rush.  I also have a thing for tech so it works out alright really.

Cell phones continue to scam millions and millions. It's really sad how dependent people have become on them.

The reason these devices are obsessed over is because they represent the intersection of so many revolutionary technologies. Right now, anywhere in the world within cell coverage, whether I'm at home or in the middle of the street, I have instant access to the entire recorded knowledge of human existence. I can stream live video around the world, again out in the middle of the road, get GPS-aided directions, take geo-tagged photographs and hi-def video, play games, overlay augmented reality information describing the business I'm staring at in real life. . . seriously, it's mind blowing stuff that wasn't possible even a mere four years ago.
 
@Geno I don't know what phones you've been using, but these all-in-one god machines ARE better than dedicated devices, because dedicated devices can't interoperate with each other, not to mention that carrying individual devices to mimic my iPhone's capabilities would take up more pockets than I got. Sure, they aren't PC's, but they shouldn't be. iOS and webOS are actually excellent operating systems, and Windows Phone 7 (7 Phone? whatever) looks like a winner too. Fast, responsive, and stable. If you need to do something hardcore that would take a PC to complete, do it on a PC, that's not what these devices are for, nor will they ever be.

I know some people who desperately need to get new phones. Every time I call them it's like they're using a Walkie-Talkie from WWI. 
 
Of course the people who need to get new phones are the people who have none. I can't tell you how many times I've had people come up to me saying that they can't find the other half of their group. They had split up a couple of hours ago, and they aren't where they said they'd be. I'd ask if either of them had cell phones and the answer was always no. 
 
I guess they just kept in contact via telepathy. >_>
 
"Ma'am you're in your forties, there's no excuse for not having a cell phone."

Smart phones have a major technological impact but very little market saturation. Smart phones represent  a single digit percentage of the total market even in Europe and the US and even less beyond that. But since these are tech sites and not market sites...they focus on those phones.

It's true, most people still don't have smart phones which is one of the reasons there is such a huge push to be the greatest, in order to tap in to the rest of that potential market. However it seems that you think it's all "stupid" simply because it isn't for you. for someone like me a powerful and flexible phone is very important because it makes a lot of things easier. the majority of the time I spend on my phone is not doing personal or just chatting up on txt or IM, however for work I keep in touch with the support team, devs and even officers over aim/msn/jabber. I also monitor systems using it and use the terminal to connect to machines at work and also my personal servers at home. I also end up doing a ton o my media consumption on my phone, between working tons and when I get home being with my daughter a lot, I don't have much time to sit in front of any of my desktops or laptops for phone. In fact I usually only get to game early in the morning or late at night when my daughters asleep. a good smartphone is important to me because it really helps me to maintain my job and my personal life. Some of you sound like my parents did when they thought i was using a computer too much way back in the old days, they just didn't understand that it can really be useful because they personally didn't need it.

I don't remember the last time I saw someone using a cell phone for calling. Whenever I head into town I see people with their faces glued to the screen texting. Pretty dumb if you ask me.

I've always been a gadget geek, since I got my first Walkman, or Game & Watch back in the stone age. I didn't need a smart phone, but I'm enjoying it. Being able to call, read comics and ebooks, keep appointments, play games and listen to music on one single device is pretty nice. An added bonus is the ability to post twitter updates while pooping. 
 
But I agree that it's a silly luxury item, unless you use it for work. Which I don't. So I try not to rub it in anyone's face. I understand that other people doesn't give a flying fuck about what silly app I just found on the marketplace.

Because smartphones can pretty much do a bunch of stuff, all integrated into one little device. You don't need to buy a dedicated GPS if you've got a app on the iPhone, as an example. It can play games, ones that are arguably more well funded and developed than the stock default games you get with regular cellphones. And well, people like to text. A LOT.

Smartphones are the future of computing. Seriously, look at the innovation in that scene versus what is happening in desktops (i.e. nothing).
 

Its more socially acceptable than carrying a gun around, yet it still lets other people know who is better than who.

I am inclined to agree on the silliness of the whole thing. I think it stems from of a lust for those days in the future when we have a "seamless world of technology" so to speak. As it stands people are probably wasting as much time fiddling with these objects as they are saving. This really an investment in the future. (BTW, I don't actually want that aforementioned world. It scares me. And I'm 19)

In particular, as a hardcore gamer and music listener I really don't see the all in one device working out. If all you ever want is basic casual games and enough space to store a few albums than I suppose that these all-in-ones will do it, but I prefer to carry an iPod classic, Gameboy Micro (or PSP for longer journeys) and a Nokia 8800; a sturdy and good-looking non-smart phone. An all-in-one won't cut it.
 
Upon reflection, I suspect that nobody gives a toss about anything I just said, but hell I already wrote it all out.

It's fun to take a superphone i.e. Android, iOS, etc and seeing what more can come of it. I'm a Captivate user much like Tested's Will, and I've had a blast merely trying to get it to run the way it should have, without Samsung crap on it. 
 
Gives me something to do.

" People need to tell other people when and where they are taking a shit.  It's serious business. "

When was the last time anything happened in the non-mobile computing space? Oh, Intel is releasing a new processor. Whup-dee-doo. Dell is making another iteration in their laptop lines. Hooray. The mobile space is the only area where any innovation of note is going on.

" It's starting to piss me off too. Especially the amount people use them. If you're just going to come to my place and text someone, stay the fuck at home. You can live without it for 5 god damn minutes. "

I hate phone wars, and I hate people who love their phones and can't let them go for 5 minutes. I love almost every other type of tech besides phones. Text addiction makes me sick.

I have an ex-friend (he still owes me money too!) who did that. When we were watching a movie. Or eating. Or practicing (we were a band of two for ages). It was infuriating.