The Future of Cell and Smart Phones
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-07-26/future-cell-and-smart-phones
What's next for cell and smart phones. Once they were simply for making and receiving calls. Today they can be used to text, browse, shop, take photos and play videos. The future of mobile communications.
Guests
Walter Mossberg
author and creator of the weekly Personal Technology column in The Wall Street Journal, which has appeared every Thursday since 1991. He is also the co-creator and co-producer of the technology industry annual conference, D: All Things Digital, and is the co-executive editor of the technology web site, allthingsd.com.
Richard Ling
professor at the IT University of Copenhagen and is a sociologist at the Telenor research institute. He is the author of 'New Tech, New Ties: How mobile communication is reshaping social cohesion.' He is also the author of 'The Mobile Connection: The cell phone's impact on society.'
Martin Cooper
made the first handheld cellular phone call and is the co-founder of Arraycomm.
Comments
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Would you have your guests address the issue of battery life? I have an HTC Incredible and my only complaint is the battery, which does not last a day.
What are the associated costs/prices/expenses for Internet connections, data charges (what ever that is), uploading photos, downloading whatever, basic charges versus extras, apps? Thanks.
I just purchased my first smart phone 3 months ago and I will never go back to the regular phone. I can Blackberry my friends as opposed to texting, I monitor all 5 of my e-mail accounts in one place and I also have entertainment right at my fingertips. I think that the more applications I find to add to the phone, the more of an investment in my own organization and enjoyment I make. I'm very happy with my Blackberry.
Phones like the iPhone and other phones that your guests call "super-smart phones" are called "pocketpcs."
Pirating of apps, it's going to be the next file sharing problem, guaranteed.
I'm a consultant and have frequently taken flack for using my old Nokia flip phone rather than one of the new smart phones. Recently I was meeting with several other consultants and our client at a location that did not have landline service. When it was necessary to add others to our conversation by a conference call, none of the slick new phones could handle our conferencing needs. We ended up using my old reliable flip phone, which had better voice quality than any of the other phones.
Have the new phones ignored their primary functions to add all the new features? I've considering buying a new iPhone, but I hate to give up my old phone if it provides better basic services.
I just purchased a new Droid X last Tuesday. It is easily one of the coolest devices I have ever owned, the Android OS is great, and in reference to a recent caller, free anti-virus software is available--I installed it and it works.
Using a device like this is what you make of it--you can geek it out like I did or just have a few apps that you use form time to time (text msg., browsers, news apps, etc). It's pretty easy to figure out. I've never owned a "super smart phone" before this, but I love tech and felt it was time to upgrade my phone.
Cost, cost, cost. Phones are more expensive in the US than anywhere in the world. What are our options to reduce our phone bills?
Please help to set a standard for cellphone use and encourage customers NOT to use the cellphone while driving, NOT in the restroom, and NOT at the dinner table (public or private).
Thanks,
Steve
The problem w/the Jitterbug being that all the nos. have to be pre-programmed [by someone who knows how to do that task] and that it doesn't have a standard keypad, so new nos. can't be dialed on the fly. This is what kept us from buying one for my mother.
My husband has been deeply "plugged in" for the duration of our relationship, so I am very familiar with the concept of "continual partial attention", to the point where he can rarely interact for more than 10 minutes without looking at his smartphone. No matter how normalized, it's simply disrespectful and detrimental to our relationship. And now that we have a daughter, I am concerned about the quality of his relationship with her as she grows up, and also about what we are modeling for her in terms of developing a healthy adult relationship. And of course I am horrified by the reports about teens and distracted driving, etc. Is there any hope of raising our next generation to value being present in human relationships (or with themselves) even while steeped in increasingly enticing technology?
Y'all were very rude to that woman from Tennessee. I lived there for many years (including recently). The fact is, because of all the mountains, and because many people there are extremely poor, there is virtually no cell phone reception throughout much of East Tennessee.
Telling her to buy the kind of cell phone you are associated with is not only unseemly, it makes it seem as though you don't accept that she was speaking the truth -- there's little cell phone reception throughout the mountains there. I myself could not even use my cell phone from my own home! (There were areas where I could use the phone, but access was by no means common). All this was just 3 years ago -- I doubt that the situation has changed much since then.
I was very disappointed to hear Martin Cooper label the caller without a cell phone "rude." Sadly, I found more than a few of his comments a little condescending and unhelpful.
Yes, he is right that individuals - not their phones - are the cause of the growing societal "attention deficit disorder" that she mentioned. However, I think she was making the larger point about our mindless acceptance of the invasiveness of technology.
In my opinion, your panel missed it and the conversation could have taken a more thoughtful turn. Perhaps Mr. Cooper would have understood her point if he spent less time on the phone.
I agree. Personally I felt that Martin Cooper's overall vibe was filled with arrogance. I think this sometimes pops out of people who get overly excited about a topic that they get to discuss and have a great amount of knowledge about it.
I caught only the last of today's program, but I was shocked. Diane would never have allowed the rudeness I heard. I am particularly concerned about the treatment of the woman who called in and said she was glad to be off the cell grid. The host (who was he?) and guests laughed at her. She raised good issues. They were practically ignored by the very superficial respondent and she was treated condescendingly.
I am particularly surprised that he considered it "rude" NOT to be socially available 24-7. When one is at the obligatory beck and call of another in that way, one is either the parent of an infant or a slave.
While I use a cell phone, I also relish time to enjoy my own thoughts, my privacy, my immediate surroundings.
The great appeal of the Diane Rehm Show is that is a haven of civil discourse. I have never heard Diane put down a caller or a guest, even when it was clear she disagreed with some of what that person might say. We trust her to have conversations such as we would allow in our own homes. I hope Diane will apologize on air to her listeners for this program and never have that person be the substitute host again.
Thanks,
ktm
Please answer the questions as to way the IPhone is only on AT&T?
I would love to have expanded services beyond text and voice but I refuse to pay the extra $30 a month. When will that cost come down? Even though I've been a loyay customer with T-Mobile for 8 years, they won't budge off that price.
I apologize to those who thought my comments about the lady in Tennessee were rude. I certainly did not intend that; I was joking and actually said that Richard had called her rude, not me. I hope she will forgive me for using her to make a point. I will be more careful in the future. Marty Cooper
Actually, a Jitterbug user can just call the operator (by dialing zero) and the operator will program any numbers for the user.
The same technology that increases bandwidth will also reduce the cost of cell phone service. This reduction is really important as new services are introduced.
Hi, I just wanted to comment about the response to the woman from Tennessee. I don't think her rude, indeed I did not say that. Rather her comment brings up an important point. In contrast to her comments, we increasingly expect one another to be accessible via the phone. When my daughters are out in the evening, I expect them to be available to me via the phone. It is a part of our mutual expectations. Not to answer the phone is a violation of that trust. In addition, as I noted, not having a mobile phone makes coordination with others more difficult. It facilitates interaction between close friends and family. Obviously, as the woman noted, the phone can disturb copresent interaction. There is no question about this. At the same time, it also facilitates interaction within the closest sphere of family and friends.
The woman's comments underscore how undecided we are about the phone. Her comments and the reaction to the discussion indicate that the integration of the phone into society is not complete.
Either Marty Cooper or Rich Ling DID refer to the woman or to people who do not have or use cell phones as rude. And there was laughter. Obviously, I don't know whose.
I am pleased to see the apologies here, but I did not hear anything on air today. There is a larger audience that was offended than those who participate in this series of comments.
We all know that today's parents are very engaged in their children's lives and, while I have no idea of the ages of Mr Ling's, I assume they are young or he would not need to know where they are at all times. Unfortunately, I teach more and more students, at the college level, who have failed to detach adequately from their parents' monitoring. I, for one, am grateful to have grown up before cellphones!
ktm