In today’s modern world, not every cell phone does the same thing. This is because they are starting to get larger and have many more abilities than a basic cell phone. Technology is changing every day and letting us go from only being able to call someone on a cell phone to being able to listen to music, go on the internet, play apps, write email, and do basically everything they can on a computer on your cell phone. While some people believe this is the way of the future, others don’t exactly agree.
Some people, such as John D. Sutter, believe that cell phones are getting to be bigger than they should. In his article, “When phones are too big for pockets,” there is much debate about whether one would be able to fit the new Dell Streak, a cell phone made by Dell, into most pockets. This is because the Dell Streak has a 5” screen and has dimensions that are about 6” by 3.1”. This is bigger than any other phone that I have seen with its capabilities. This new cell phone can stream YouTube videos, multi-task playing games and music, connect to 3G mobile broadband, WiFi, and Bluetooth devices, play and store up to 42 full-length movies, and much more. Even though this phone sounds amazing to tech-savvy people like me, it can be too much for other people to deal with. In Lisa Katayama’s article, “In Japan, Cellphones Have Become Too Complex to Use,” she states that “most of the features [of the newest cell phones] are hard to use or not used at all.” This is not saying that they are impossible to use, but they are used by so few people that they are almost pointless in adding them to the phone.
In today’s technological world, people are always moving and things are always happening. While twenty years ago you could go on a vacation and literally not hear anything about what was going on at home for the entirety of your vacation, today you are always in contact with everyone. This can be through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, text messaging, phone calls, or even YouTube. Because the ways of communicating with each other have changed, so must our devices that we use to communicate. Most people who were born into technology and have used it since their birth are attached to their cell phones. They bring their cell phones everywhere they go and are constantly using them to update their statuses, write emails, or text their friends. This is our main way of communicating with our peers. When I was growing up with my sister, she didn’t get a cell phone until she was 15 because that’s when my parents decided she was old enough to have one. As our world started to change into the digital world, however, that age decreased rapidly. Only two years later, at the age of 13, I got my first cell phone. The average age of getting a cell phone is going down as we progress with new technologies because now younger children can understand how to use and manage cell phones. Only a few years later, kids today are getting cell phones at ages of 10 and 11 years old.
Even though it seems that the more advanced cell phones are for the younger generations, this is not true. Businesses often hand out BlackBerry phones to their executives and higher-ups so they can be in contact all of the time. Because of these phones, one can work and send important business e-mail and documents if they are stuck in traffic or on vacation somewhere. Because one can also receive e-mail on a cell phone of this kind, it is a great convenience. This is because it reduces the stress of not being able to be contacted during some kind of emergency or change of plans.
Cell phones have advanced far beyond their original design. With advancements in modern software, one can do almost anything they could do on a laptop on their cell phone. For example, one could write Word documents, check and write e-mail, check almost every social networking site, access the internet and go to other random websites, have GPS and Google Maps depending on the service provider, as well as the basic cell phone features and many other applications. The average cost of a cell phone with these capabilities and its service plan would be around $280 for the phone without rebates and $80 a month (tmobile.com). The monthly price includes unlimited use of all of the phones features anywhere you get service. If you tried to buy a laptop that could do all of the things that a cell phone of this nature, or a smart phone, could do, you would be looking at a price tag upwards of $500. After that, one would need to subscribe to an internet provider, which usually costs $20 a month but is limited to the space that you set the wireless up. Even though this seems to be cheaper in the long run, one would still presumably buy a cell phone and calling plan that would end up costing around the same amount if not more. Because of this, cell phones today are becoming more and more popular, with a 24% increase in the average of year-to-year subscribers (researchandmarkets.com).
As new technologies develop, older technology becomes obsolete. For laptops and computers, this means that you would have to at least buy a new Operating System, which costs hundreds of dollars, if you want to keep up with the advances in technology. However, you can keep up with new cell phones by having a plan with your service provider that allows you to get significant discounts on new phones after you own your phone for a set amount of time, usually two years. This system works great because there usually are no major technological advances will be made within the first year and a half if you are getting one of the newest cell phones available. Conversely, when the two year period ends there will be a new phone with capabilities either much easier to use or completely new that you can get at significant discounts.
Being a technological native, I see the advantages to having a smart phone. I believe that the advances being made in cell phone technology are inevitable and worthwhile in our digital world. I also see how some people who don’t use the internet much, i.e. my grandparents, wouldn’t want to get phones that have all of these new capabilities because they wouldn’t use them. That is why there are still basic cell phones that can only call and text message people made today. There are new people getting their first smart phone every day as they become more available and affordable to the general public. Even though I do not personally have an advanced cell phone, I believe that they are an important piece of technology for the present and future.
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