Zhukov said:
modern phones have short battery life (really?)
Yeah. If I leave the Wifi on my Iphone dies in about 3-4 hours. I have it off so it lasts indefinitely without use, but with default settings for everything... they don't last long, especially if you want to use them to connect with people. My sister charges hers about 3 times a day because it loses battery that fast, and she just uses it for texting and Facebook.
OT: Eh, its not necessarily that you're getting old [I'm young and this shit pisses me off], nor is it that technology is getting dumber, but that its appealing to a different demographic. A lot of young people these days, and their parents and grandparents and teachers and bosses [Speaking from experience here, this is the case with almost everyone I know] want to be online and able to communicate with people as often as possible. You're at some awesome event? Why wait till Monday to tell people, tell them now. You're out shopping? Why wait for other people's opinions of what you buy after you've bought it, get them now. You're bored? Why wait around until tomorrow to organise something to do or talk to your friends? Call them up, Facebook them, text them and catch up.
Instead of waiting for communication with the people you want to communicate with, you can communicate now. Additionally, with "Share" buttons and such you can tell people what you're doing, and show off to them whenever you want with minimal effort. No taking a screenshot, going to a web browser, uploading it, posting it to Facebook, and then bragging - it all happens in the press of a button.
These features don't appeal to everyone, and I'd rather see them focus on other things TBH, but there are a lot of people who like the interconnectivity and entertainment they provide. I wouldn't buy a $20 phone that lasted 3 weeks with its battery because I already have a phone. Sure it lasts 4 hours most of the time, but its also got games on it I can play, and the Internet that I can explore, and my emails I can check, and a bunch of things I can do to keep myself entertained when I'm somewhere I don't want to be - which is most of the time actually. Now that I've got a smart phone I've got no interest in getting the next model that looks slightly prettier and is slightly larger, but there was a point to me acquiring the phone originally. I see no appeal in social networking, but others do. Not technology getting dumber, not people getting older, just that its appealing to a different demographic now.