Pick My Next Phone! Quick Survey and Mobile Use Stats

I’m enlisting your help! (Times like these it’s awesome to have a megaphone as loud as this blog.) I need new phone recommendations. What are your must-have requirements of a phone? What do you love about your phone? Does your phone have any shortcomings? What do you use your phone for? Please answer these questions in the survey below!

My Phone Story

Last night I was at the mall. My arms were full of bags. I was in high heels navigating down a flight of stairs. My eyes were on my iPhone as I texted dinner prep instructions back home. Can you guess what happened next?

I missed a step and let out an eep, just the warning alarm to alert all the mall patrons around of the upcoming aerial show. Together we watched my phone, having shot up from my loosened grip, pinwheel the two-story drop and dive into the fountain below.

If the drop hadn’t killed it, the water was sure to. The neat tricks my zombie phone performed on the drive home included intermittent vibrations and flashing lights. Unfortunately these aren’t the functions I need from my phone.

My list of requirements reads a bit like qualities of a teenager’s dream man: smart (no feature phones here), strong (up to rough housing) and well connected (good app selection).

These three qualities seem like no-brainers; I’d consider them the bare minimum standard of a modern mobile device. So with that out of the way, tell me about the finer details that make a mobile experience really shine.

America’s Phone Story

Last week the Google Mobile Ads Blog pointed out some interesting statistics that illustrate the multi-screen reality we operate under today.

Click to enlarge

Highlights:

• 90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal.
• There are 2 primary ways we use multi-screen: sequential (one after the other) and simultaneous (at the same time).
• Search is the most common bridge when an activity transitions to a new screen.
• Smartphones are at the center of our daily media interactions. They have the highest number of user interactions per day and are the most common starting point for activities across screens.

With such a critical role in our daily lives and media habits, a lot of thought goes into the purchase of a new phone. Luckily for me I’ve got a temporary mobile device band-aid in the form of an unused iPhone 3G. It’s a little glitchy in that the SIM card sometimes slides out of place and I lose service, but it’s enough that I can take my time finding the perfect new phone.

And there are lots of options to choose from as we’re learning here in the middle of mobile device announcement season.

Amazon phone announcement: Rumor is that Amazon will be announcing a smartphone during its press event tomorrow. It’s expected to run on a version of the Android 4.0 operating system.

Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone 8: The new Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 were unveiled today, featuring wireless charging and top-tier cameras. The phone’s body cover is exchangeable. No pricing or release dates are available yet. Next week HTC will be announcing its Windows Phone 8 devices which are expected to stand-out for their large screen sizes.

Motorola Droid Razr: The first major product release since Google acquired Motorola is unexpectedly un-Google-like, say analysts. The 3 new Motorola devices run on the dated Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and have a custom interface rather than the standard Google experience. Marketing is touting the phones’ hardware perks, like battery life, screen-to-surface ratios and build quality.

Next week Apple will unveil the next iPhone

Your Story: Phone Survey

The problem with options of course is that you have to choose! So what are your considerations for a phone?

Virginia Nussey is the director of content marketing at MobileMonkey. Prior to joining this startup in 2018, Virginia was the operations and content manager at Bruce Clay Inc., having joined the company in 2008 as a writer and blogger.

See Virginia's author page for links to connect on social media.