Years of inventing never prepared man for the technology of the telephone. A hundred and forty years later, this invention by Alexander Graham Bell has taken up a new look with far greater purposes. Yes, that telephone gave birth to a ‘mobile’ phone, and as the word implies, a phone that can be moved and carried about with ease.
In the 21st century, the mobile phone holds its own place in everyday life. People can hardly imagine a life without their ‘mobiles’. They make calls with it, send messages with it, you name it. The mobile phone has grown into the minds and hearts of people and has even become closer to them than any body part. From the young to the old, the mobile phone seems to have something for everyone.
Although the primary function of this gadget is for verbal communication between two or more people separated by distance or space, the mobile phone is undoubtedly an improvement from the traditional telephone which is considered bulky and cannot be moved over great distances without its wired connection. But that’s not where the magic of the mobile phone lies. With great effort, investment and innovation over the years by its manufacturers, the mobile phone has adopted a number of features similar to the regular PC. Some of these features include operating system, e-mail access, internet access, in-built camera, contact management, scheduling software, accelerometers, some navigation software along with the occasional ability to read business documents in various formats like Microsoft Office and PDF format, (Laptop XL 2009). In addition to these features, it now has internet facilities such that it’s being referred to in some quarters as the ‘new computer’, with the advent of Smart phones and PDA phones.
With all of these features, why would one bother to carry laptops about, when these phones offer the same services computers do? Really, in quite a number of ways mobile phones have an edge over the PC. To start with, consider the mobile phone’s compact properties; it’s small, fits into the hand and can be carried in a bag or pocket. Basically it’s easy to access while commuting i.e. one can check e-mails, send emails, send files, you name it and on the go without being worried about the ‘extra luggage’ a laptop would cause.
On the area of privacy, a growing number of individuals have seen the benefits of a mobile phone in personalizing their daily activities. Users can do basic things like check dates, time, and organize their schedules efficiently as well as remember appointments when they set reminders on their phones. Also, they can access private e-mails without fear of spam and trackers, or even people accessing their mail if they fail to log out on a public, or even their private computers. Mobile phone thus serves as an empowerment for these individuals because they take ownership of their personal data.
The edge mobile phones have over the basic laptop or desktop is Flexibility. The mobile phone can represent or stand for style, portability, privacy, security, easy internet connectivity and most importantly pass direct information from people in any given location. Though the conventional computer or desktop might be able to carry out the same functions, it will not do it with the same ease and comfort that the mobile phone possesses. The mobile phone is definitely the ‘new computer’ for the new age.
References
Laptop XL, Smartphones [online] available from[18 February 2010]
In the 21st century, the mobile phone holds its own place in everyday life. People can hardly imagine a life without their ‘mobiles’. They make calls with it, send messages with it, you name it. The mobile phone has grown into the minds and hearts of people and has even become closer to them than any body part. From the young to the old, the mobile phone seems to have something for everyone.
Although the primary function of this gadget is for verbal communication between two or more people separated by distance or space, the mobile phone is undoubtedly an improvement from the traditional telephone which is considered bulky and cannot be moved over great distances without its wired connection. But that’s not where the magic of the mobile phone lies. With great effort, investment and innovation over the years by its manufacturers, the mobile phone has adopted a number of features similar to the regular PC. Some of these features include operating system, e-mail access, internet access, in-built camera, contact management, scheduling software, accelerometers, some navigation software along with the occasional ability to read business documents in various formats like Microsoft Office and PDF format, (Laptop XL 2009). In addition to these features, it now has internet facilities such that it’s being referred to in some quarters as the ‘new computer’, with the advent of Smart phones and PDA phones.
With all of these features, why would one bother to carry laptops about, when these phones offer the same services computers do? Really, in quite a number of ways mobile phones have an edge over the PC. To start with, consider the mobile phone’s compact properties; it’s small, fits into the hand and can be carried in a bag or pocket. Basically it’s easy to access while commuting i.e. one can check e-mails, send emails, send files, you name it and on the go without being worried about the ‘extra luggage’ a laptop would cause.
On the area of privacy, a growing number of individuals have seen the benefits of a mobile phone in personalizing their daily activities. Users can do basic things like check dates, time, and organize their schedules efficiently as well as remember appointments when they set reminders on their phones. Also, they can access private e-mails without fear of spam and trackers, or even people accessing their mail if they fail to log out on a public, or even their private computers. Mobile phone thus serves as an empowerment for these individuals because they take ownership of their personal data.
The edge mobile phones have over the basic laptop or desktop is Flexibility. The mobile phone can represent or stand for style, portability, privacy, security, easy internet connectivity and most importantly pass direct information from people in any given location. Though the conventional computer or desktop might be able to carry out the same functions, it will not do it with the same ease and comfort that the mobile phone possesses. The mobile phone is definitely the ‘new computer’ for the new age.
References
Laptop XL, Smartphones [online] available from
From you research, I’m assuming that you believe mobile phones will replace computers.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I feel that services offered, must revolutionize than mere “check e-mails, send emails, send files”. The substance has to progress further. E-customer is maturing all the time. His need of famous and rich soap style images and years of science fiction has left him longing for more. The only way to profit from e-customer cash cow is to build service that creates value. Marketers must get close to him, understand him, and even more so, ask colleagues to visualize, sympathize and innovate on behalf of the e-customer.
“The edge mobile phones have over the basic laptop or desktop is Flexibility. The mobile phone can represent or stand for style, portability, privacy, security, easy internet connectivity and most importantly pass direct information from people in any given location.”
Agreed, that mobile phones are the way forward for positioning e-customers, as the revenue will generate millions if not billions. However, you need to provide more than a mere service, content and entertainment. Any friend can tell you the result of the premiership football match, the weather or even where to find the closest fast food restaurant. However, the point here is that, e-consumer desires to become a superman, by being able to dive deep into the darkest depths oceans and beam back waterproof aquaritic pictures with built in phone modem and web cam. Now that is the type of service which all e-consumers have been longing for, and would be more than happy to pay premium prices.
This all seems incredibly attractive but does all these additional services add up, the logic behind to create the mobile-commerce boom is not completely applicable. It is more likely that the motive to reach sales target objectives has put an unbiased curtain around new high-tech supplier technologies. More upsettingly, contractors have conducted little or no research in terms of how wireless phones can make money. All they are concerned about is that, you will be first in line to adopt the product and have that first mover advantage (Munnukka, 2007; Piasecki & Wolnicki, 2004).
Thank you
References
Munnukka, J. (2007). Characteristics of early adopters in mobile communications markets. Marketing Intelligence & Planning , 25 (7), 719-731.
Piasecki, R., & Wolnicki, M. (2004). The evolution of development economics and globalization. International Journal of Social Economics , 31 (3), 300-314.
Nice comment and i really find it quite informative and helpful for the further reseasrch on this matter. thanks Gulpreet
ReplyDeleteFrom what Yemisi and Gulpreet have said,i totally agree with you guys. One thing i want us to know here is the fact that mobile phones and computers kind of work hand-in-hand. For instance,we have special computers used by scientists,by the military and even Secret Service Agencies. So also we have some specially made mobile phones made for the people stated above. When the military try to develop bombs(nuclear,chemical etc) they use these special computers that are designed basically for that purpose. in the process of making these bombs,they still need to talk to people all over the world, and this is where the mobile phone comes into play. With this,we can see how they work hand-in-hand. In my point of view,i don't think the mobile phone wpuld totally replace computers or that computers would replace mobile phones. What i believe is the size of the computer might be reduced but in the next 40-50years, i dont see any of the two replacing each other,rather,i see them working hand-in-hand. I hope this is in any way helpful.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Apanpa Adebayo
American University of Nigeria,Yola,Adamawa State.
i strongly beleive and agree with you guys that in years to come not that the pc's would be discarded but the mobile phones would be more popular.Very educative post.Well done
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy for getting the message of the post.
ReplyDelete