Phones change and handsets get altered every now and then. The market for mobile phones and allied services seems to be changing the very landscape of mobile telephony. Take for instance messaging phones that have become all the rage, as people like to use the QWERTY keyboards to quickly message across office, friends, lovers, family and who have you? After all, we live in the jet age, and people do not have either the time or the patience to bother fumbling for keys on the keyboard and having to type and re-type words before messages are sent across. People would much rather prefer messaging phones with miniature keyboards that are smaller replicas of the larger computer keyboards.
Another thing about messaging phones is that they straddle the gap between the low cost basic phones and the high end costly smartphones. After all, people may not want the higher end wi-fi phones which cost a bomb, but their text needs cannot also be met by the basic phones without the QWERTY keyboard. But there is a trend where some of the phones do have GPS as well as other features that are present in smartphones. It now seems as if some carriers want to cash in on the popularity of messaging phones and start charging for some of the services on offer where there may be an overlap between the messaging phones and smartphones.
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Phones change and handsets get altered every now and then. The market for mobile phones and allied services seems to be changing the very landscape of mobile telephony. Take for instance messaging phones that have become all the rage, as people like to use the QWERTY keyboards to quickly message across office, friends, lovers, family and who have you? After all, we live in the jet age, and people do not have either the time or the patience to bother fumbling for keys on the keyboard and having to type and re-type words before messages are sent across. People would much rather prefer messaging phones with miniature keyboards that are smaller replicas of the larger computer keyboards.
Another thing about messaging phones is that they straddle the gap between the low cost basic phones and the high end costly smartphones. After all, people may not want the higher end wi-fi phones which cost a bomb, but their text needs cannot also be met by the basic phones without the QWERTY keyboard. But there is a trend where some of the phones do have GPS as well as other features that are present in smartphones. It now seems as if some carriers want to cash in on the popularity of messaging phones and start charging for some of the services on offer where there may be an overlap between the messaging phones and smartphones.
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Smartphones have long caught our fancy which explains why reviews of rival products are keenly awaited and watched by gizmo freaks. The latest in smartphone review shows the standoff between HTC’s Nexus One and the iPhone 3GS from Apple. The Nexus One had created a lot of splash in the smartphone market having debuted as the first cell phone launch of 2010. This was one phone that was being long awaited as the ‘Google phone’ which brought with itself all the hype and the hoopla that is associated with any Google launch. Google made it possible to buy the handset directly and this goes for versions that come with the T-mobile service. What’s more, the two handset versions come perfectly unlocked.
But if you go by smartphone review basics, the iPhone 3GS has still a mighty reputation to protect, given its amazing apps as well as the killer multimedia that it so readily offers. While the Google phone Nexus One runs on Android, it boasts a wide and impressive expansive display as well as a processor that is just lightning fast. Voice command features are greatly expanded as well as much more impressive and the phones come unlocked and with several options and exciting features to boot. Smartphone review buffs will have a field day following the Battle Royale between Nexus One and iPhone 3GS.
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Going by expectations of the N7 Review series, it seemed as if the N97 would be a block buster. This was not to be as many people’s expectations were dashed to the ground. After all this was this flagship model of the Nokia N series. But this was not to be as the reviews and the consumer experience was quite pedestrian. The user interface was poor and performance quite lackluster. Not only this there were so many better competitors that appeared on the scene including the iPhone, the Android phones and the like that were so much better and even well received.
But Nokia did try to hit back with the N97 Mini. This phone is sure to delight Nokia fans as it has many power packed features. It certainly is an improvement over the N97 as is its performance that is quite exciting to start with. What is lacking is the user interface that continues to be rather confusing and not all user friendly. The problem is that with the N97 Mini also, the product just seems to get lost in the crowd and could be just a ‘me-too’ without too much to speak for in terms of exclusivity. So its reach could be limited to hardcore Nokia fans. The N97 Review of the Nokia Mini comes back with a rather disappointing report, after all.
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As the use of cellular phones continues to grow and technology continues to develop, the purposes for which we use mobile devices become more varied in number and ethics. Like with any developing technology, the issue of regulation inevitably arises. But when it comes to the technology harnessed by cell phones, the elements open to regulation are various and complicated.
One major aspect of cell phones over which there is much debate about regulation concerns privacy. The issue of privacy is tied to cell phones in several ways. For one, there is the usage of cell phone signals to track a user’s location. Another involves the information stored within phones themselves. There have been several court rulings in recent months regarding the level of privacy cell phone owners can expect when it comes to legal searches. In many cases, it has been determined that a court order is required for legal authorities to search the contents of a person’s cell phone.
Another aspect of cell phones that is being considered for regulation involved the possible health risks posed by their use. While it has not yet been determined how much of a health risk, if any, cellular phones present, some politicians are pushing for legislation that would require paperwork and packaging with cellular phones to bear a warning about the fact that they may increase one’s chances of cancer and other health problems.
Yet another reason cell phones are involved in regulation debate involves their safety in terms of the phones making children vulnerable to predators. Some prosecutors have even gone so far in the name of protecting children as actually charging teens with breaking child pornography laws by taking sexually explicity photos of themselves. While this tactic is no longer typically used, it’s definitely an example of a creative attempt to regulate an ambiguous entity.
When it comes to smartphones, you have a world of choice in this day and age a so many manufacturers seem to be falling over each other to ship to you smartphones that will appeal to you. Nokia may not have hit bulls eye with the N series which seemed to have fallen off the mark and also off the radar of prospective customers. After all, with gadgets and gizmos sometimes you win in a heartbeat and sometimes the best of efforts do not pay off and the product just does not take off. This is what happened to the N series that just crashed without a trace. The company did lose quite a bit as it does take time, money, effort and costly marketing to launch a product.
With the E series however, Nokia seems to be on the right path as the company has launched a much better product in the smartphones category which has better memory, camera, faster processor as well as great messaging capabilities. The main problem could be the price tag that is quite high and could put off many consumers. With the E72 the company is likely to lure customers because the company seems to have got it all right this time around.
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As cell phones grow in popularity and technological capabilities, we seem to grow more and more dependent upon them, putting more and more of our lives’ details and secrets onto the tiny hard drives of our mobile devices.
The closer these devices come to being computers, the more we treat them as such, putting our personal information into them for various uses and reasons. Just like computers, our PDA’s have memories, and they store the information we enter into the screens, from credit card numbers to schedules and calendars to private conversations via text message. At the time we have these conversations and enter this information, we think we’re doing it in complete privacy, but what we might not be thinking about is the fact that this information doesn’t disappear when it leaves the screen. It is stored on the phone for months, even years after the fact.
With so much personal information available in such a compact device, cell phones open the door for invasions of privacy like no other device before them ever has. Computers might leave us vulnerable to invasion of privacy in a lot of ways, but because that fact is so prevalent, people tend to use computers more conscientiously than cell phones. We don’t always think about the fact that cell phones leave our information just as vulnerable, if not more vulnerable, than computers do.
When taking advantage of all the great technologies our cell phones have to offer, it’s important to keep in mind the fact that all the information we put into them is readily available to anyone else who comes along and picks up the device. Whether it’s a nosy spouse or a stranger who finds it dropped on the side of the road.
The things today’s cell phones are capable of are mind-boggling to say the least. No longer only used as telephones, they’re called “mobile devices” now and can do nearly everything a computer can do.
They can browse the web, send e-mails and other messages, create presentations, take photos, record videos, help you create presentations… The list goes on and on and on. There are cell phones out there with projectors on them, cell phones with GPS, cell phones on which you can watch movies and read books and view x-rays.
With all the impressive technologies available on cell phones today, one question begs to be asked: Why can’t they come up with a battery that lasts longer?
While so many fancy accessories may be incredibly alluring, we rarely stop to think about the fact that actually putting them to use will drain the device’s battery so quickly that we’re barely able to enjoy them before the screen goes blank.
While we wait for the day when cell phone companies finally create a battery that is truly long-lasting, there are a few things you can do to prolong the working hours of the battery you have.
Don’t use your phone for amusement.
Playing games, scrolling through pictures, and aimlessly browsing the Internet are all great ways to suck the life out of your battery. To ensure your phone works when you need it, use it as a tool, not a game.
Put the phone on ring or vibrate, not both, and keep brightness as low.
Keep your phone’s sound and picture settings as simple or low as possible to avoid wasting energy.
Charge your phone properly.
Some batteries should be completely run down once in a while for optimum performance. Others should never be drained below 40 per cent. Research your battery type to find out which charging method is best for your phone.
Cell phone etiquette, as it pertains to verbal conversation, while not always followed by everyone, has become a pretty well known concept. People know where it is and is not polite to talk on their phones, whether they adhere to such “rules” or not.
Most people understand, for example, that it is definitely not acceptable to talk on a cell phone during a job interview or intimate dinner. What remains somewhat unclear is how cell phone etiquette pertains to texting. Talking on a cell phone in a doctor’s office waiting room, for example, may be seen as rude because it forces others to listen to your conversation. But texting there, on the other hand, is not out of line. There is a large grey area as far as etiquette goes when it comes to texting, but there are a few places where we should refrain from doing it.
The Movie Theater
A lot of people seem to think that texting during movies is perfectly acceptable. However, the glow emitted from a cell phone screen can be just as distracting in a dark theater as whispers in the row behind you.
While Dining with Others
Much like talking on a cell phone at the dinner table, pulling out a mobile to send a few texts gives those at the table with you the impression that your priority lies on the receiving end of your texts rather than with the people with whom you’re sharing a meal. It’s much more polite to leave your phone on silent and text when the meal is over.
While Driving
OK, so this one crosses the line from being rude to blatantly dangerous. Although, some may consider it rude or inconsiderate to engage in an act that not only puts your life at risk by taking your attention away from the road, but the lives of others as well.
These days, it’s more difficult to find someone who doesn’t own a cell phone than someone who does. So obviously, there are lots of reasons why cell phones are good things. They help us keep in touch, they point us in the right direction when we’re lost, they keep track of our apointments, they let us surf the web, and they provide countless other services that help us feel connected to the rest of the world.
So there’s really no need to expound upon why cell phones are wonderful, but despite all the positive things they do for us, there are several reasons that cell phones are downright annoying. Here are three of them.
They tend to make people yell. For some reason, it seems like at least once a day, you come across someone on a cell phone in public (usually in a small or quiet space) who feels the need to yell into their telephone in order to make the person on the other end hear them.
They allow people to get ahold of you any time. Sure, you can ignore a call on your mobile, but then you have to feel the pang of guilt associated with deliberately ignoring whoever is calling. Unlike when you’re just not home and legitimately miss the call. And this point goes both ways, for example, when you call somone on their cell, and they answer, but immeidately ask if they can call you back because they don’t have time for you right now.
They inevitably ring at the exact moment you do not want them to. Whether the phone is yours or someone else’s, like at a movie or a lecture or during an important one-on-one conversation, it seems as though a cell phone interrupts moments where they have no place. And to top it off, that ring is guranteed to be obnoxious.
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