Since you've started using a smartphone, have you ever noticed that there are certain things that used to be in your life that are no longer relevant anymore? Perhaps it's that calculator you used to reach for when figuring out expenses, or that trusty planner you always had in your purse or briefcase. Maybe it's the calendar from 2010 still stitting on your wall, forever stuck in the month of July. There are a ton of things that smartphones have replaced, at least in my life. 

All of those things I just mentioned are true for me; I do still have a calendar from 2010 that is forever stuck in July, I don't use a calculator anymore, and currently my planner serves as a prop-up for one of my computer monitors. I don't miss any of those things, but that's not exactly surprising considering they're little things that are just as easily replaced by smartphone applications - things you would expect a smartphone to be good at. But there is one other thing missing from my life that I never thought I would replace my smartphone with entirely: my digital camera.

My phone, the HTC One, doesn't have the best camera by any means - especially since I had discovered that unpleasant purple haze that surrounds a picture when I don't use the flash. But when I do use the flash the pictures are just as good as ever. I've never really been picky on whether a photo looks magnificent or not, I am certainly no photo connoiseur; however, I still stand by the fact that my eyes can tell when a photo looks good or not, and the HTC One's photos, although only using a 4-megapixel camera with an UltraPixel lens, looks pretty darn good most of the time. 

My digital camera, on the other hand, is a lot better than my HTC One on paper. The Sony CyberShot 16-megapixel camera with 10x optical zoom certainly packs a bigger punch when it comes to getting that perfect photo with a higher quality, there's no question about it. But when it comes to convenience, the CyberShot is lacking. I hardly, if ever, carry my digital camera around with me anymore unless there is a very special event where I feel like my smartphone camera can't do the job at hand any justice.

But even then, it's not just about quality or convenience of physically being around. There's another aspect of convenience where my phone has the advantage over my digital camera, and that's ease of access of sharing the photos to social media networks. To the social butterfly, the ability to post photos to multiple networks with one push of a button is a major plus over plugging in the memory card to a computer, uploading each set of photos to individual websites, and dealing with the hot mess that is traditional photo sharing through social media websites. 

I guess the reason I bring this is up is because over the holidays, I had planned to bring my digital camera with me. However, I can't seem to find it. Whether it's my uncanny ability to lose things once I decide to finally organize or the work of my curious toddler who picks things up and puts things down as if it's his job, my digital camera seems to be lost in a void of nothingness somewhere in this vast world. I wasn't as devastated as I normally get once I lose something of value - I guess I'm certain it will turn up somewhere, someday. But everything turned out okay in the end, as I mostly reacted by shrugging my shoulders and deciding that I would just use my phone as a placebo. Most of my pictures turned out pretty good in the end, and I guess because of that I haven't really had any burning desire to look in every nook and cranny for my camera.

I have a feeling that as time goes on and smartphones get better and better with cameras - especially given that we now have cameras that have insane 41-megapixel cameras, and many more on the 13-megapixel and 20-megapixel level now - the need for a designated digital camera will decrease for the average consumer. 

Readers, have you gone through similar experiences? Do you still carry around a designated digital camera, or does your smartphone serve as your all-in-one at this point? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Images via WP Central, CNet