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.
In recent years, cellular phones have exploded in popularity, especially in the United States. It’s difficult to find someone who doesn’t own one; those who don’t carry one are seen as rebels. The fact that these mobile devices are in such high demand has created a market flooded with various phones linked to any number of calling plans from several different companies.
With so many phones, plans and companies out there today, choosing a cell phone can be extremely confusing. It is possible to make the process a bit easier, though. Just begin to narrow your options by asking yourself a couple of simple questions.
What do you want most out of your cell phone?
Is affordability your determining factor? Or would you pay a little more for better coverage and service? Do you want the latest and greatest technology, or are you just looking for simplicity — a cell phone that doesn’t require hours of study to figure out how to use it? Knowing your top priority can narrow the field significantly.
How are you planning to use your cell phone?
Is it going to be your main or only telephone, or just something you have for long-distance calls or emergencies? Do you want to use your cell phone to send e-mail, play video games and browse the Internet? Would you use a camera with a high megapixel count? Are you a big texter, or would you only use your mobile as a telephone, not a mini computer? Look for a phone that has all the features you’ll need but no more than you’ll use.
And whatever you do, ask your friends, coworkers and family for suggestions before walking into a store. Not only because they’ll give you honest and unbiased information, but also because you may want to consider getting a phone from the same company to take advantage of the free mobile-to-mobile certain companies offer.
By now, many of us are aware of the concept of “cyberbullying.” It’s a lot like the typical kind of bullying that goes on in American schools, but the key difference is the fact that it’s done online.
With the steadily increasing commonality of children with cell phones in recent years, a new technologically-aided phenomenon just as dangerous as cyberbullying seems to be emerging: “sexting.” Sexting is a growing trend in which people send sexually explicit text messages and photos over their cell phones. This practice has become disturbingly common among teens, sometimes with tragic results. The following scenario, which has cropped up on news reports more than once, describes how.
A young girl makes the questionable decision to take a nude photo of herself or part of her body. She sends this photo to a boy she trusts, maybe someone she’s in a relationship with or has special feelings for. For whatever reason, the relationship between the girl and the boy turns sour, and he then sends the photo to someone else. That person forwards the picture to their friends, and those people send it on yet again. Soon, the photo has been passed around school, and the girl is taunted and teased at every turn throughout the day—she may even be suspended or punished at school for having taken the photo in the first place. The girl ends up being unable to bear the harassment at school and ultimately takes her own life.
While it’s incredibly difficult to find an appropriate place for blame in cases like this, one thing is for sure: such tragedies are possible to prevent. Monitor your child’s mobile device the same way you watch over their Internet use. Closely scrutinize you itemized phone bills, and do everything you can to educate your child in the dangers of this behavior. Show them the news items, talk to them about making the right decisions. Telling them the tragic stories of others could end up saving their lives.
When Alexander Graham Bell patented the world’s first telephone back in the 19th century, a major change was made in the way people communicate across the world. Almost one hundred years later, a development was made to the telephone; a change that led to a major change in the way we use it and look at it.
Dr. Martin Cooper made the first call from a portable cell phone in 1973. The phone itself looked nothing like the ones so many of us carry in our purses and pockets today. It was about the size of a large brick, much larger than the typical cordless home telephone, and akin to the one used by Zach Morris on Saved by the Bell circa 1990. Oh, how far we’ve come since then.
Since the late 90’s, cell phones have been getting sleeker and slimmer and smaller, a point made hilariously clear by Will Ferrell on a Saturday Night Live sketch in which his trendy clothing store manager character used a cell phone the size of his fingertip. In fact, it’s even become possible to guess the production date of a movie or television episode by the size of the cell phone its characters use.
In two short decades, we’ve gone from watching characters with huge cell phones on our television screens to being able to watch movies and television shows downloaded to our own cell phones. On today’s mobile devices, we can listen to the radio, browse the Internet, read books, check and send e-mail, take pictures, record video, and make presentations. Could Mr. Bell possibly have envisioned that all this would come from his telephone? It’s not likely. And now the question is, what will we be able to do with our cell phones next?
Ok so you might find the next few links interesting. These are from around the web, just random snippets that I’ve picked up in my reading, but I found some very cool information in them. You might too. Here goes…
If you’ve been keeping up with my blog posts lately you’ll know I’ve come to adding a few news posts from around the web on this subject. I’ve got a couple more today that are new and updated, so let me know what you think of em…
I hope you’ve been enjoying my posts lately. I thought I might do something different today and rustle up a few bits of info from around the WWW. These are some of the news items and blog posts that have been popular over the last few weeks. Leave me your thoughts.
I hope you’ve been enjoying my posts lately. I thought I might do something different today and rustle up a few bits of info from around the WWW. These are some of the news items and blog posts that have been popular over the last few weeks. Leave me your thoughts.
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.
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. 