The many uses of mobile phones
The innovation andgrowth on the mobile phones front is astonishing. The top-end phones available
now have the processing power and storage available in desktop computers just
4-5 years ago. Little wonder, then, that 2004 saw 674 million phones being
bought, and estimates for 2005 stand at 730 million.
The mobile phoneis rapidly becoming the uber device -- the one device that seems to have it alland becomes even more indispensable than it is now. Mobile phones have already
started functioning as more than just communications devices. Mobiles serve as
watches and alarm clocks. Even with the limited free games that come with basic
phones, they are already good for "time-pass". They can also function
as calculators.
In unfamiliarneighbourhoods, they tell us where we are. The address book and contacts list
on phones is our social interface. Without the phone, many of us would be quite
lost in connecting with other people. The calendar function on the mobile
phones can help us track our lives. Phones can also function as radios. For
some, the mobile phone also becomes a notepad -- send an SMS to oneself and
make it a reminder service. Owners also have tended to customise phones, with
their own ringtones, themes and wallpapers.
This is just for
starters. Consider what some of the more advanced mobile phones are also doing:
Digital camera: Point-and-click!Phones capture pictures and let us save them for posterity or transfer them toothers and to computers.
Audio recorder: Mobile
phones can be used to record conversations or even brief notes to oneself.
Video recorder: Phones are
becoming video cameras also -- some of the newest cellphones can record an hour
or more of video.
Email client: The phone can be used to connect to
any POP or IMAP server and allow receiving and sending email. While most phones
may not have the ease of use that a Blackberry has with email, contacts and
calendar, the fact that it is on the phone itself and that there is no need for
a separate device can be a big help (along with the lower total cost of
ownership).
Web client: Phones can also browse websites, viaa WAP and/or HTML browser. Most web sites may not look great on the small
screen, but it is still possible to connect to any web site.
Gaming platform: Mobile games
have become big business in the past couple years as people seek entertainment
in the free time that they have on the device that they always carry with them.
Documents viewer: It is
increasingly possible to view documents on the cellphone, in the popular
MS-Office file formats.
Computer adjunct: For many,the cellphone has replaced the PDA as the complement to the computer. With a
remote desktop application, it also becomes possible to make the mobile phone a
window to one's computer.
Music player: The next big thing in 2005 is
reckoned to be the combining of music capabilities on the mobile phone. While
phones can play MP3s, it will soon also be possible to have music streamed from
the Internet. Motorola is expected to introduce a phone this year that marries
the mobile with Apple's iPod.
TV: In India, some operators have beenpromoting many TV channels on the cellphone over next-generation networks likeEDGE.
Wallet: The phone can also be used to pay
for purchases like a credit or debit card. There is already a billing
relationship that exists between the subscriber and the operator, and that can
be used to make payments to merchants.
Bar-code readers: Phones will
also be able to read bar codes and that can have very interesting applications
in commerce.
Ramesh Jain,
professor at University of California, Irivine, wrote on his weblog:
"Mobile phones are becoming very powerful and are likely to become a
dominant device for CCC (communication, computing and content)."
So the phones of
tomorrow will be the remote controls of our life. They will come with bigger,
better keyboards and displays -- even though there are practical limitations on
how big a device we will carry.
Networks arebecoming faster too. And the device that was once a replacement for the
fixed-line phone will occupy an even greater role in our lives. Countries like
Japan and South Korea already lead the way in having multi-purpose mobile
phones.
China is following
and India is not far behind.
Consider some of
the recent announcements at Cebit in Germany.
A Slashdot wrote:
"Samsung [is] showing off a new cell phone which runs on Microsoft's
Windows Mobile operating system which features a built-in hard drive. The
SGH-I300 will offer 3GB of storage, which allows you to store up to 1,000 songs
on it for playback through the music player. The 3GB hard drive is similar to
the type of hard drive that is found in Apple's Mini iPod. These 1-inch drives
with very low power requirements are ideal for cell phones and other mobile
devices."
News.com wroteabout two of the announcements at Cebit: "Motorola is demonstrating its 3GMotorola V1150 phone in Hannover. The sleek phone will come with an integrated
2-megapixel camera, two-way video calling and a new Motorola ticker technology
called Screen3 that streams news and entertainment from Motorola... Sony
Ericsson is showing off the W800 phone, the first Walkman- branded cell phone.
The handset comes with a digital-audio player, FM radio tuner and 2-megapixel
camera. The W800 will have 38MB of free memory for music and images."
Mobile phones are
morphing -- to the point where voice is just incidental. They are becoming,
what George Gilder has called, teleputers.
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