What would you do without your cell phone? Most of us don’t know how to respond to that as our lives are completely inundated with cell phones and mobile communications. We have become so reliant on mobile communications.
Mobile communications include any electronic device that is used solely to communicate to another by way of a network and satellite. These are also known as “cell sites” and today, there are many of them. The first mobile phone first rose to the surface in 1973. It was invented by a man named Dr. Martin Cooper who worked for Motorola. His model wasn’t released to the public until 1983.
Cell phones have evolved over the years from the original boxy two-way radio to the tiny hand-held device it is today. Cell phones also have also evolved in their capabilities and support many additional services such as Internet access, text messaging, gaming, Bluetooth and camera functions. Cell phones manufactured and sold in stores come standard with these functions today.
Smartphones come standard today with a number of useful functions and capabilities. Most include Internet access and email, text messaging by use of an instant messaging program, calendar and notifications or alerts, MP3 player and GPS, a camera and even a stop watch and timer. It does it all.
Smartphones also have applications. Applications, or “Apps” are small, fun programs available for download to your Smartphone. Applications include everything from the Weather Channel to sales at your favorite shoe store. They are useful tools to look up information or receive notifications rather than looking up the site on the Web.
The telephony industry and mobile communications go hand in hand. It all started in 1990 when approximately 12.4 million people had subscribed to cellular plans. By the close of 2009, 4.6 billion people had subscribed to cellular plans, or were using Smartphones. This was a huge jump for the telephony and communications industries in just under twenty years.
As much as cell phones and Smartphones have helped us, they have also hurt us. Ask any auto body or auto repair technician. He or she will tell you that business has doubled since the rapid growth in cell phones. Too many people take their lives into their hands by talking or texting while driving. While doing this, our alert and reaction time decreases, which subjects us to more accidents and fatalities. Cell phones are a great tool that are meant to help us rather than be a danger to us.
The telephony industry and mobile communications, or cell phones and Smartphones have really become necessary tools in our lives. So try and answer the question again. What would you do without your cell phone or Smartphone?
Learn more at Charles Philip Granere and his admiration for information technology.
categories: information technology,networking,programming,computers,internet