Mobile phones have come a long way since the 1990’s, where few technological advances have been applied to the mobile phone as we know it today. But thanks to technology in recent years, we can now expect the bridge between mobile phones and other electronics to merge- and create new types of powerhouse electronics.
For those who are a photographer at heart, the mobile phone is a great way to take pictures on the go. Mobile phones are commonly about the same size as a digital camera, and recent technologies have enabled them to be on par in terms of resolution and picture quality. It isn’t uncommon to see a 6 mega-pixel camera on today’s market- something that was unheard of just 10 years ago!
Networking and social contact among mobile phone users is becoming strong every day. With technologies such as infrared, Bluetooth, and fully functioning wireless cards, it’s now possible to share and send media in seconds flat. In years to come, battery life will continue to become less of a problem with such technologies and we could even start seeing social networking platforms emerge.
Gaming on a mobile phone is a great way to kill some time- especially at the doctor’s office or while on a road trip. Mobile phones certainly can’t compare to next generation consoles out to date, but they can indeed create vast 2D worlds, and some have even broken the 3D milestone. Some platforms such as the Nokia N-Gage have also dedicated the mobile phone to being a gaming platform- something quite unheard of previously.
A big topic in mobile phone industries today is the usage of the 3G network. The 3G network stands for “third generation,” in which the previous two were slower, less functional, and less appeasing to customers. The next generation, 4G, is likewise slated to be faster, better, and stronger than that of previous mobile networks. It’s an exciting race coming up to see who can build the best network- either way, consumers win.
Lastly, mobile phone companies are now starting to input innovative features such as the global positioning system as an everyday feature for consumers. Already, mobile phones are able to send emergency hotlines location data for those who are on their mobile phone at the time of the call. This functionality is being extended to the consumer range for applications such as finding a certain location, getting driving instructions, and even estimated times of arrival. There is still room for expansion, but already the GPS is proving to be a vital consumer application in mobile phones.
In Conclusion
Mobile phones today are revolutionary considering that only a couple of decades ago, mobile phones were almost useless compared to today’s feature sets. Better range, gaming features, social networking options, and vast amounts of other countless features are being poured into modern mobile phones in order to make the ultimate end product in telephony. In another two decades, we’ll likely see mobile phones as multi-use forms of consumer electronics- but this prospect is much sooner than most would think.