My Cell Phone has a First Name

Bu Jason Rivera, Director, Consumer Insights

I read the interwebs. Not just like a few interwebs. I mean, like, a LOT of interwebs. I’m also a huge tech nerd. You would think these unassuming traits would keep me abreast of the lingo-of-the-moment used to describe things like cell phones. Well, no such luck.

The term “smartphone” has been around for the better part of six years, but there was never a suitable opposing descriptor for wireless devices of lesser ilk. “Dumbphone” and “not a smartphone” have always been the conversational defaults, and “featurephone” has always been the nerdy, industry term. But with marketers and socialites alike, the doggedly unsexy “featurephone” just never really caught on. Well, now you get no choice.

The industry. The interwebs. They’re all conspiring against us. “Featurephone” is winning out. With all the hot smartphone gossip out there, comparisons have been made, and they point the finger squarely at featurephones. The verbiage is catching on, and it’s time we all started to embrace it. Now - one word or two? That is still up to your fanciful discretion. Have at it.