What is meant by the term: Power User?

[corkyg]

You may have missed the memo, phones are the new "PC's" :biggrin:

Not in my world.

 

[Commodus]

If you migrated from ios to android, you're definitely a power user =D

Not necessarily! If you migrated from iOS to Android because you wanted features that iOS didn't have, then you're probably a power user. However, there are a lot of casual users who switch to an Android phone for other reasons ("because it had a bigger screen, because there was a sale when I came in to upgrade"). Likewise, there are plenty of iOS users who are definitely power users, whether they jailbreak or just know how to wring every last ounce out of the software.

 

[lyka]

I think I'm a power user. I do all kind of stuff on my phone, play,work,study and things. Also, I always have power bank cause I can't live without my phones on..

 

[Eug]

Power users aren't generally swayed by marketing hype- they judge devices based on real world use, performance and design.

This is utter bull, at least if you go by the "power users" here at AT.

A lot of little technical details that the average Joe may never notice or care about, a Power User will focus on.

This statement basically contradicts your statement above.

 

[Zaap]

^ you seem to be confusing Power User with 'hipster'.

Details that actually matter and make a difference like performance numbers and such, not iCrap that no one really cares about except hipsters who are about *nothing* but swallowing marketing hype hook, line and sinker. The polar opposite of Power Users.

And if people actually bothered to read, they'd notice the OP's question was specific to phones, ie: this subforum. My comments are about this subforum and phone Power Users which indeed many here are, not AT in general.

 

[Eug]

^ you seem to be confusing Power User with 'hipster'.

Details that actually matter and make a difference like performance numbers and such, not iCrap that no one really cares about except hipsters who are about *nothing* but swallowing marketing hype hook, line and sinker. The polar opposite of Power Users.

And if people actually bothered to read, they'd notice the OP's question was specific to phones, ie: this subforum. My comments are about this subforum and phone Power Users which indeed many here are, not AT in general.

I'd say many hipsters actually care more about real world use than many power users.

Just look at the forums here where so-called power users argue endlessly about 4 or 8-core designs or an extra 2 fps in game xyz. And yes, I'm talking about phones.

Hipsters just want that better camera with burst mode, or twitter integration, which arguably is much more relevant to real world usage.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Hipsters just want that better camera with burst mode, or twitter integration, which arguably is much more relevant to them because hardware deficiencies like the 1GB of ram in current iPhones are solved for them when they line up at the Apple Store the very next year to buy the very next model without question, but this time in Rose Gold so all their hipster friends know they have the new model.

Fixed

 

[annomander]

I'd say many hipsters actually care more about real world use than many power users.

Just look at the forums here where so-called power users argue endlessly about 4 or 8-core designs or an extra 2 fps in game xyz. And yes, I'm talking about phones.

Hipsters just want that better camera with burst mode, or twitter integration, which arguably is much more relevant to real world usage.

What is a power user?

I think its a term used by certain forum posters that are lacking in certain personality aspects and require a ego boost to make themselves appear better then others, who don't really give a stuff what they are going onabout.

I have a iphone so according to certain informed on this thread I'm not a power user, but I use that phone to do real work when I'm away from the office, eg: answer support tickets, getting server alerts, restart a server etc.

 

[mrochester]

Fixed

The hipsters are all using giant Android phones these days, not iPhones.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The hipsters are all using giant Android phones these days, not iPhones.

Maybe where you are at. The hipsters around me either pretend to not care about technology and have a flip phone or they deeply care about the social status conveyed by technology so they will do whatever they can to avoid being "a green bubble."

 

[mrochester]

Maybe where you are at. The hipsters around me either pretend to not care about technology and have a flip phone or they deeply care about the social status conveyed by technology so they will do whatever they can to avoid being "a green bubble."

Of the tech sites and podcasts I consume, many people see buying an Android device as a rebellious move against the current culture of consumerism (despite the fact that their purchase is in fact the complete opposite). They often site such things as 'personalisation' and 'no walled garden' as a justification of their purchase. They are the true hipsters.

 

[sweenish]

I didn't realize hipsters followed mainstream trends.

They have their own trends, just like Hot Topic emo goths in the early 2000's, but they're generally not mainstream trends, from my understanding of what a hipster is.

EDIT: oh, so they've got their hand on the hipster pulse, because a tech site told them so. Is being anti-hipster the new hipster?

 

[poofyhairguy]

Of the tech sites and podcasts I consume, many people see buying an Android device as a rebellious move against the current culture of consumerism (despite the fact that their purchase is in fact the complete opposite). They often site such things as 'personalisation' and 'no walled garden' as a justification of their purchase. They are true nerds, which is who you would expect would be willing to do a tech podcast. Hipsters do podcasts about things like photography techniques that have been dead for decades or what Goodwill scarf matches their too tight clothing.

Fixed because apparently you have never met a real hipster before.

I live in Austin and they are a part of my daily existence, so I don't have to extrapolate via tech podcasts.One big clue going forward is if someone uses the term "walled garden" and isn't talking about their overpriced townhouse then they are a nerd not a hipster.

 

[Oyeve]

Fixed

Isn't it sad that the only way hipsters can tell that other hipsters have the latest iphone is by the color or camera placement? Because the iphones always look similar the only way for them to differentiate themselves is by adding a new color. sad.

 

[mrochester]

I didn't realize hipsters followed mainstream trends.

They have their own trends, just like Hot Topic emo goths in the early 2000's, but they're generally not mainstream trends, from my understanding of what a hipster is.

EDIT: oh, so they've got their hand on the hipster pulse, because a tech site told them so. Is being anti-hipster the new hipster?

Well apparently to some people the iPhone is the ultimate embodiment of the hipster lifestyle, despite it being the single most successful smartphone on the planet.

Personally I don't think the term hipster is defined by the actual product you buy, it's more about the reasons for buying said product (such as to be counter culture, or individualistic etc).

 

[Eug]

oh, so they've got their hand on the hipster pulse, because a tech site told them so. Is being anti-hipster the new hipster?

That's a pretty good point.

 

[magomago]

on old macs it used to mean that you knew to double click on items to unlock a more advanced set of settings

 

[Zaap]

I have a iphone so according to certain informed on this thread I'm not a power user, but I use that phone to do real work when I'm away from the office, eg: answer support tickets, getting server alerts, restart a server etc.

Doing that sort of thing I'd say you're clearly a power user. It has nothing to do with iOS vs. Android per se.

Now, someone citing how the holes on their iPhone line up as an actual benchmark of smartphone excellence that must be taken seriously... err. Probably NOT a Power user.

 

[slackerinabox]

Power users: people who have tiny penises who make themselves feel better by being an "expert" at something as trivial as cellphones. Not even programming or anything interesting, but they'er experts at BUYING cellphones. Because they can follow directions and root their phones (Something any 11 year old can do) they believe that they're better than those silly apple users, who they mislabel "hipsters" even though they don't really know the definition of hipster culture, mostly because they're clueless dorks. Not nerds, nerds are intelligent - these guys are basement dwelling porn addicts for the most part.

 

[slackerinabox]

Why does everyone use the term hipster improperly, as code for apple users, instead of the correct usage that has to do with music, culture, and socio-economics?

 

[Zaap]

More relevant question: why do Apple users get bent out of shape about the use of the term 'hipster' and immediately take it to mean themselves? Seems a bit of chip-shoulder syndrome going on about the power user term too.

 

[slackerinabox]

More relevant question: why do Apple users get bent out of shape about the use of the term 'hipster' and immediately take it to mean themselves? Seems a bit of chip-shoulder syndrome going on about the power user term too.

Not at all, I'm kinda a hipster - but hipster means that you like indie rock, prefer independent films, eat artisinal bbq, and hate everything mainstream to an arrogant, snobby degree - what the hell does that have to do with owning an iPhone? i own an s6 edge, mostly because I'm an anti-popular hipster (apple is very popular and not niche or 'hipster chic' in the least). In fact, the common hipster thing that's annoying is "my phone's a phone" [whips out flip phone from 1985].

I think dorks confuse "hipster" with "normal, non-basement dwelling people." I love tech, it's just annoying that people label those who disagree with their purchase decision as "hipsters" or "sheep," it's just a phone - stop kidding yourself that a platform choice makes you an independent anti-sheep or a 'power user.' The best tech nerds I know (work at google, tech startups, etc.) use mac for the most part and rock iPhones, it doesn't make them sheep because they're too busy crunching code for work to bother rooting a phone. Sure, some mac/iphone users are tools or idiots, but so are some android fans. I remember arrogrance once being based on accomplishments, not how you chose to spend your $199 on contract. Who cares?

 

[Zaap]

Context.

'Hipster' has a specific meaning related to technology when used in a tech sense, which obviously it's being used here. Clearly we're not talking music and art scenes.

In a strictly tech sense, the person glomming on to an old flip phone rather than use anything modern is more of a luddite or a technophobe than a hipster, though in the broader sense like you're using, it's possibly a 'hipster' trait.

I personally don't know anyone who anyone else recognizes as a 'hipster' who's all about shunning all current tech as opposed to embracing the "hip-approved" tech. (And yes, that's often synonymous with Apple, although not exclusive.)

hate everything mainstream to an arrogant, snobby degree - what the hell does that have to do with owning an iPhone?

Let's be honest. Substitute 'mainstream' with "non-Apple", and any one of us has met at least a few people for whom this has *everything* to do with owning an iPhone.

 

[jhu]

The hipsters are all using giant Android phones these days, not iPhones.

They're actually using typewriters.

 

[soccerballtux]

These days it basically means you know how to plug your phone into a computer and do things to it like move files around.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin: