Positive effects of smartphone

[stepharnite]

What is a mobile phone?

According to oxford dictionary; A mobile phone is a device that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded apps.

In addition, a mobile phone is a device that combines a cell phone with a handheld computer, typically offering data storage, email capability, etc.

With adequate research, The first smartphone was created by IBM, was invented in 1992 and released for purchase in 1994. It was called the Simon Personal Communicator (SPC).

According to history, the first smartphone is not very compact and sleek, the device still featured several elements that became staples to every smartphone that followed.

For example, the SPC was equipped with a touch screen as well as the ability to send and receive both emails and faxes. It had a calendar, address book, and a native appointment scheduler. It even featured standard and predictive stylus input screen keyboards!

Below you can find some benefits of having a smartphone:

Payments solution

Imagine the world without your mobile banking app for payment, think about the stress you will have to go through if there is no mobile app for you to make transaction to your friends and family😩. Waiting on the line in front of the bank is stressful enough especially at this time of COVID-19 crisis…

Texting

Phone messaging apps conveys messages fast with immediacy. Composing and sending a text is quick and replying to a text is just as fast as ever.

Assuming you were born in olden days, you would have experienced what it feels like to trek from Lagos to Abuja just to say hi to your lovely one’s.

Another of the many advantages of texting is its accessibility. Everyone has access to a text messaging app if they own a mobile phone; it comes pre-built into our devices. And texting is also available without Data/WiFi connection, making it a more available medium no matter where someone may be.

A text is high priority and possibility of reading a text right away is 98% due to notification because even if you did not open it, you would have seen the content.

Navigation

Google map: Time is money as is said and practiced in our fast-paced generation that enjoys multitasking through different innovative mediums. Our generation use these apps for so many things like getting the current status of traffic, to locating the shortest and fastest way to reach office or a venue and also knowing exactly how long it will take them to reach their destination.

The aspect of accuracy in technology makes it the most reliable source of information! It seems rather logical to take directions from an automated service that is guided by satellites instead of an unsure human mind with margin for error. It isn’t just about finding the right location, these applications guide you through the best routes possible and ensure you reach your destination without hurdles.

Entertainment

Smartphones reduce the rate of loneliness, boredom and sadness…

As long as you have internet connection in this generation, you can never get bored because you can play games, watch Netflix , YouTube, explore the internet and learn new things etc.

For research purpose, below are few types of mobile payment

• In-app mobile payments
• Mobile browser-based payments
• Mobile or wireless credit card readers

@mildosky @siwoks

[BforBantu]

Mobile phones started probably with Motorola “Brick” such a huge phone you needed two hands to hold.

Then we had Nokia, Motorola, Sony-Ericson which evolved on the design by reducing the size of the hardware so it could easily fit into users pockets.

Smartphones really started with Blackberry and their BBM, providing internet access and other features like personal calendars, private messaging through BBM (blackberry messenger),

Still the trend was from going from big clunky bricks to small, smooth handsets.

That changed when IPhone came into the picture. While Blackberry dominated the smartphone market of the early - mid 2000; a parallel market was being disrupted. This was the music industry / song and music players. At this time, the cassette player made way for the Walkman CD players. Mostly dominated by Sony at the time, CDs made way for MP3 players as the favorite way to carry your music around. Apple conceived the iPod. Revolutionizing the world of music forever. Their success with the iPod let to their entry into the smart phone market.

Apple’s IPhone was a marketed as a cross between the iPod and a mobile phone with access to the internet: The modern smartphone was born. They introduced the concept of downloadable applications (1 year later after the first IPhone). In my opinion the introduction of the app store is what helped the smartphone industry take off and grow to where we are now. Finding the iPhone Killer. Many companies tried, noticably Windows with their Windows Phone and Palm Pre. These companies emulated Apple’s move of closed app stores… Palm Pre was a beautiful phone, but it struggled to have adoption due to the lack of useful applications, Windows Phones simply never took off.
It was not until Google entered the smartphone game indirectly by offering an open source solution Apple’s app store that other phone manufacturers started to gain market share of the smart phone market.
Today we are seeing the evolution or rather a take over of our world by the digital world with the advent of the so-called Metaverse made possible by the smartphone.

Although it has been a positive evolution in bringing the world closer together, critics argue that it has also contributed in creating isolation and reducing the value of inter-human connections.
There are probably pros and cons to the argument. Personally now I think that the cons are starting to pros. It has provided a sinkhole for human attention: people now spend more time on their smartphone where their attention is mined for profit. Engagement is a metric that is used by media companies to quantify the level of distraction that a piece of content causes to humans. People spend most of their time viewing useless crap on the net.

When we were young, we spent time socializing with friends, building connections around local values and nature. It is a challenge that the next generation will have to take on to ensure that human values are transcoded into the internet.

A good topic. Those interested can read the book “Program or Be programmed” by Douglas Rushkoff which covers it in much more detail.