18 Feb 2008 03:54:22 | Amit Laufer
The popularity of the mobile phones is constantly on the rise
like a snow ball.There are numerous reasons for that and they
are well beyond mere communicating with each other. The
development of the cell phones and technology in the past decade
along with social and cultural processes as well as sharp
decrease in prices contributed to their phenomenon success.
Cell phones have long become a symbol of status as well as a
fashion statement. Some manufacturers have started to produce
special designed phones for women. Other models are designed
with interchangeable facades to cater for the youngsters. A lot
of young people are transferring their instant-messaging habits
to their cell phones.
The integration of so many different functionalities and
technologies into the cell phones is more impressive and
beneficial than the all-in-one office devices that integrated a
scanner, a copier, a fax and a printer into a single compact
space saving multifunctional machine.
The current generation of G-2.5 technology as well as the very
near future G-3 units that are starting to emerge right now will
carry in it so many functions which are mind blowing. These new
Cell phones are going to be a multimedia center, a mobile
office, a navigation device GPS (Global Positioning system), a
computer with fast Internet access, a text messenger, a high
resolution camera and video, a watch, a calculator, a PDA, an
MP3 music player, TV and a Wallet! Yes, we will be able to pay
with it for things we today pay with coins like vending soda or
coffee machines as well as for parking space, trains and buses
tickets etc'. It has become our "Swiss Army Knife"...
In Israel they used the cell phone to send SMS message and
approval for one dollar donation payment for needy children. I
guess that in the future it will be a legitimate tool for voting
in contests and may be even in Elections.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, an executive for a wireless
company noted that "in Slovakia, people are using mobile phones
to remotely switch on the heat before they return home," and in
Norway, "1.5 million people can confirm their tax returns" using
cell phone short text messaging services. Paramedics use camera
phones to send ahead to hospitals pictures of the incoming
injuries; "in Britain, it is now commonplace for wireless
technology to allow companies to remotely access meters or
gather diagnostic information." Construction workers on-site can
use cell phones to send pictures to contractors off-site.
Combined with the individual use of cell phones--to make
appointments, locate a friend, check voicemail messages, or
simply to check in at work--cell phones offer people an unknown
level of convenience. (Source: The New Atlantis - Article by
Christine Rosen).
Other interesting applications are providing a locating service
of your friends, or in other words if one of your friends is
very close to where you are right now an SMS massage can alert
you of this fact.
Cell phones and Dating Services
Several companies now offer a way to flirt and meet people
anonymously. These services offer cell-to-cell texting and
PC-to-cell texting. (Text-messaging phones also can receive
messages sent over the Internet from a PC.) Companies including
UPOC (Universal Point of Contact) and SMS.ac allow users to fill
out a profile as they would at any dating service (some dating
sites are dabbling with texting) and then search for an ideal
match. Profiles can include photos and can be accessed either
with a picture-enabled cell phone or through a PC. Say you want
to meet a 20- to 30-year-old man in Kentucky who is interested
in hiking. Do a search and three names pop up. You can send one
a text message without ever exposing your phone number
Cell phones as safety device
One of the main reasons the cell phones have become so wide
spread nowadays is that besides convenience it is perceived as a
security and safety aid, Parents provide their children with
mobile phones in order to track their whereabouts, to make sure
they arrived safely to their destinations, to give them a mobile
phone to report in real time when in any sort of trouble.Many
women feel much safer in the street knowing they can call for
help when in need.
About Author :
MBA - International Trade & Finance - Heriot-Watt University.
Bsc. Computers and Information Systems - Long Island University
- C.W Post Campus. Hobby: Photography. Married with two Children.
