Words absolutely matter, but I don’t think that’s the issue here. The issue is whether a device can be described in more than one way. I think it can, while a lot of folks here apparently think it can’t. Goofy insists that a smartphone can only be thought of as a communication device. I say that since people use smartphones for lots of computer functions, from navigating to calculating tip to looking up definitions, that it can also be thought of as a computer.
This isn’t just a semantic issue because I go further and say that the computer aspect of the smartphone significantly constrains its design and is far more important than the
communication aspect in determining production cost and therefore selling price. In short, from the perspective of business, economics, and engineering the smartphone is most usefully described as a computer specialized for mobile communication. But a computer first.
The same is happening with cars. The parts that allow a computer to control car functions are rapidly becoming the most significant elements dictating how cars are designed and produced. That trend will only accelerate as cars are being asked to do more and more of the driving. We are demanding cars to process enormous amounts of data in order to fulfill its transportation function. So much so that the computer part of the car will soon become the most important consideration for car design and marketing. It is therefore most useful for engineers, businessmen, and economists to see a car as a specialized computer with a transportation function.
Goofy and you seem to define stuff by personal preference. That’s fine, but not particularly relevant to this board. I am defining cars and smartphones by what I think is most relevant to their business and economics. The economics of the smartphone is dictated by chips and software, not the speaker and microphone. That’s computer stuff, not communication stuff. Therefore if you are doing due diligence about investing in smartphones you should think of it as a specialized computer. I am saying the same will soon be true with electric vehicles.