Mobile Phones

[Bazile]

The mobile phone has certainly advanced a great deal in terms of it's technology since it's invention ; and is now as common as the automobile .

Dare i say it's a device that's taken over our existence .

I was stationary in a queue of traffic , when a bus pulled up alongside me - i glanced over into the bus and couldn't help noticing that almost all of the passengers were looking downwards in front of them - i.e looking at their mobile phones .

Are you one of those people that would literally be lost without their mobile phone ?

[gingejbee]

No...I have a basic Nokia on PAYG...not interested in smartphones at all.
I only want to make the occasional call and send the occasional text.

[SlackAlice]

Nope, use a payg myself. Be quite surprised if I use more than £10 every 3 mths.

They are very handy and convenient and I do carry one when I'm out and about. Rarely look at it and get a surprise when it does ring (usually because I've forgotten the ring tone!).

[Bazile]

http://qz.com/179897/more-people-around-the-world-have-cell-phones-than-ever-had-land-lines/


//There are almost as many cell-phone subscriptions (6.8 billion) as there are people on this earth (seven billion)—and it took a little more than 20 years for that to happen. In 2013, there were some 96 cell-phone service subscriptions for every 100 people in the world. Shouting is the likely the next-most widespread communications technique://

[VHG]

I notice the two people who have answered only mentioned calls and text.

But of course with a smartphone you can listen to music, watch TV, watch a film and so on.

You can also look at the internet, read a book, do social media, and so much more.

With a smartphone you have access to the whole of the internet wherever you are. to find a map of an area, find a local restaurant or pub, find a local museum or art gallery and so on.

I am not a heavy smartphone user, but the other day I was in my town centre on a Saturday afternoon and wanted to catch up with the football scores.

I used my smartphone to watch the BBC TV coverage live for 15 minutes while I got the train home.

THAT is why smartphones are useful, not for the occasional call or text.

[hc4361]

Of course more people have a mobile phone than have ever had landlines. Most homes have one landline regardless of the number of people in the house. Many employers provide their employees with mobile phones, so some people have two.

[Bathsheba]

Like ginge and Alice, I have a pretty basic Nokia, and am so happy with it, when it "died" on me last week, I bought the exact same model via Ebay, (or Amazon, can't just remember now)
I believe I can access the internet from it, but I've never felt the need to when I'm away from home..(which is 4-5hrs, max)

Baths
x x x

[Cloverjo]

No. I've recently got an iPhone after years with a basic Samsung, but I'm not that crazy about it. I could definitely live without the iPhone if I just got a bog standard phone again.

[Hopkirk]

The whole world is getting round shoulders and achy necks.

[Bathsheba]

@Hopkirk,...you're not wrong there ;)

x x x

[gingejbee]

VHG....yes, I know you can do all manner of things with a smartphone - precisely the reason I don't have one! I don't need to watch TV, listen to music, do my shoppiing etc etc and I don't do social media at all. I want a portable phone for calls and texts - everything else I'll do at home.

[hc4361]

When I'm out and about I use my phone to:
record voice notes
use the shopping list app
get directions from google maps
find the cheapest fuel station nearby
find my car when I've parked in an unfamiliar place
read an ebook
listen to radio 2
get the latest currency exchange rates before I buy
find the best price of an item I've seen in a shop by scanning the barcode
keep track of diary/appointments
check public transport timetables
set recordings on my Tivo when I'm away from home
keep a record of my blood sugar readings (diabetic)
watch tv
Answerbank
play Scrabble with distant friends
keep up with the news
Skype


But I still gaze out of the window when I'm having a coffee or on the train. Nothing better than daydreaming to rest the mind.

[Bazile]

Whether you can or can't do without a smart phone ; there is no doubt that the mobile phone /smart phone has been the most revolutionary consumer product for the last 5 decades .


//Motorola was the first company to produce a handheld mobile phone. On 3 April 1973 when Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and executive, made the first mobile telephone call from handheld subscriber equipment, placing a call to Dr. Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.//

[hc4361]

Better than going square eyed from watching too much tv, Hopkirk, or blind from reading under the bedcovers by torchlight. :D

[hc4361]

By the way, I never, ever look at my phone while I'm walking. I hate that

[LyndaB]

I could easily do without my mobile phone. I don't even know where it is half the time. However - I'd be compłetely lost without my iPad :)

[ummmm]

No...I can lose my phone for days and barely notice.

I only take it out with me when I know I'll need a taxi home.

It's almost a daily occurrence that I get a message on FB saying 'answer your phone'

[Bazile]

Some people forget to look up now and then

[hc4361]

It doesn't happen very often by a smartphone is an excellent way to communicate with people who speak a different language and the deaf, deaf/mute

[ummmm]

Lol, Baz.

My son thinks it's a crime I have an iphone that I don't use. I was at a funeral last week and I don't even know how to turn it off.

[AlwaysConfused]

I'm on my phone all the time - google, checking the time, google maps, scrabble, facebook, getting up-to-date news, checking the weather forecast. Most of my calls/messages are work related, so I turn it off on my days off when I use my laptop instead.