I knew somebody would make that exact comment. Congrats, that's you!
The thing is, I don't think it's reasonable to write a long and detailed reply to somebody who is trying to start a discussion without providing any arguments. He tried to start it, not me. I was inviting him to do so and justifying my lack of arguments ("you didn't provide arguments so I can't/won't comment on them") in my reply. Yeah, the one that you just copied and you modified in a manner that you thought was sarcastic or witty.
You're making the outrageous claim, the benefits of smartphones are widely known and well documented. There is a reason multiple billion (billion with a b) people are buying them and keep replacing them every 1-3 years, at quite hefty prices. You should be the one having to make a non-terse statement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagan_standard
On most forums your comment would be classified as a trolling attempt.
In case you're not trolling, off the top of my head, what's made possible by mobile internet access, as offered by smartphones:
* easily accessible shared calendars, everywhere you go, including getting reminders/notifications (instead of having an actual physical agenda + having to set actual reminders on a dumb phone)
* GPS navigation everywhere in the world, for free (instead of having to get a separate GPS device)
* instant translation services anywhere in the world, for free (this is a life saver in many situations); this can't be realistically be made available on any other kind of comparable smart device, except for ones you'd probably object, too (smartwatches, smart glasses, smart rings, whatever; laptops and tablets are too bulky and impractical, they don't count)
* apps for various specialized uses (for example to track time schedules for public transport, check availability for public bike services, etc.)
* easy note taking on the go, with instant backup and sharing with a group of people (you'd need the agenda previously mentioned but that wouldn't have backups or sharing)
* things which replace a bunch of physical stuff you'd have to carry around: credit cars, car keys, discount cards, paper airline tickets, agenda/notebook, GPS device, games device, etc.
Anyway, I've worked far more than your terse snarky comment ever deserved.
I'd add to that: timers/alarm clocks, flashlight, video recording/uploading - essential during protests or altercations.
The smartphone is the quintessential "PC" (personal computer). For billions, it's the fist real computing device they have ever owned (and likely will ever own).
The thing is, I don't think it's reasonable to write a long and detailed reply to somebody who is trying to start a discussion without providing any arguments. He tried to start it, not me. I was inviting him to do so and justifying my lack of arguments ("you didn't provide arguments so I can't/won't comment on them") in my reply. Yeah, the one that you just copied and you modified in a manner that you thought was sarcastic or witty.