The Evolution of Cell Phones

Technology in general plays a huge part in America’s society in everyday life. Over the past century, there have been new inventions, changes, improvements, and advancements from nearly every original product, new and old ideas put together, all to make life that much easier. Since the creation of the mobile phone, there have been advancements and changes. The cell phone has evolved over time in many ways, including its original purpose of making a phone call.
Alexander Graham Bell patented the first device that allowed speech to be transmitted electrically through his invention of the telephone (Bellis, 2009). As vehicles, televisions, computers, and other forms of technology advanced, so does that of the telephone, which evolved into a wireless cellular telephone. The very first model of a mobile phone was created and put on the market in the early 1980s, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. This was the thick, compact phone that was gray in color and was about eight to ten inches in length. There was a black, stationary antenna on the top and had all the basic buttons for dialing. The whole phone looked more like a toy than anything. In its time, it was top of the line, being the first mobile phone, but today it looks very retro. By the end of the 1980s, Motorola had come out with the MicroTAC 9800X, which was more portable and able to fit into a jacket pocket. This model also became known as the original flip phone (Evolution of Cell Phone Design, 2010).
More and more models of cells phones were created over time making the world of communication easier. The original purpose of the mobile phone was to make phone calls on a cordless phone without having to be restricted to a phone connected to the wall. They were also beneficial for “on the road” purposes if one were away from home and needed to place a telephone call (Design and Evolution, 2009). More and more ideas were put into the technology of the cell phone and today’s cell phone is the most advanced than it has ever been. The phone has gone from making a simple phone call to being able to do the following: text messaging, internet access, music capability, schedule keeping, and even calling, just to name a few. Today’s advancement in technology has brought the word “cell phone” to a whole new level. The world of communication is evolving at a great speed.
People are becoming more dependant on cell phones. Many people have canceled their landlines in their homes and rely solely on the use of their cell phone, whether they are home or away. This is a logic alternative to paying two separate phone charges. Marcie Young, an educator in the Maine School District One, explains, “My husband and I cancelled our landline and got cell phones, BlackBerry, instead.” She also clarified how it is a convenient device for times, such as long bus trips (Marcie Young, personal communication, January 21, 2010). With such a complex device that allows one to check emails, text message, and make calls, why not save money by canceling the landline? However, there are still some households who choose to keep the landline intact for a few different reasons. In some areas, known as “dead zones”, there is a lack of cell phone service and calls do not come in clear enough. For other reasons, some homeowners appreciate the tradition and safety of a landline phone system (Kroll, 2009).
There are several companies, brands, makes, and models of cellular phones with a variety of services and plans for the convenience of their customers. The top five cellular telephone company and service providers in America, as of 2010, include Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular (Cell Phone Providers, 2010). Cell phone brand competitors comprise of Motorola, LG, Nokia, and Samsung. Some flip open, others slide, and there are even touch screens. Out of the several models of cell phones, the most “got to have” models purchased by society members today are the phones with keyboards, which make texting easier, for example, the Motorola Blackberry, and touch screen phones, such as the Apple iPhone. With each cell phone service there are different payment plans, most of which work around a texting plan. There are even companies that have pay as you go plans, such as Track Phone and Go-Phones.
Up until about five years ago, when most people would check their pockets, one could typically find a wallet, empty or not, change, perhaps some gum, and notes of some sort. More recently, 82% of American society could be found with a cell phone in their pockets, if not in their hands (Hachman, 2007). Even at this growing rate, there are still some concerns that come with the use of cellular phones. This device can cause a distraction when in use, whether it is walking, driving, or even staying still. Consumers are warned and strongly recommended to take precautions as they use their cell phones, most importantly while driving. Driving while using a cell phone is just as dangerous as drunk driving (Driven to Distraction, 2009). There are other concerns that come with cell phones as well, which is the concern of cell phones causing cancer. Cell phones could possibly be harmful to the human body when they produce radiofrequency energy and other forms of radiation. However, there are several studies that have not proven cellular telephones to be cancerous (Cellular and Cancer Risk, 2009).
Adults are not the only people in society who are jumping on the bandwagon and joining in the trend of having cell phones. In the United States, 80% of teenagers are proud owners of this social tool. Cell phones have become one of the main portals of communication for young people, which could not necessarily be a positive. Teenagers may be doing more communicating with each other, but with the growing technology, teenagers are developing weaker literacy and speech skills. Because of the “texting” lingo, does Standard Written English still apply in our English classes? When it comes to social skills and interactions with other teens, children are having more of a struggle. These children have become so accustomed to communicating via texting and social networks, the development of socializing one on one or in person is becoming more and more uncomfortable (Conti-Ramsden, 2010).
Cellular telephones play a great role in communication throughout society. Would people be able to survive without cell phones? Our society has become so reliant on cell phones, many people lack social skills because they only know how to communicate via texting, instant messaging, and social internet networks. Cell phones have made our lives easier, but may have hurt us in other ways. Either way, cell phones have advanced greatly over the past thirty years of existence, and will continue to improve and develop more and more. What will they come out with next? This is Pelkey Jenson Gray, and that is what's on my mind

References
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people_with_landlines_and_cell.html

To-Go Menu

I see a lot of advancements and improvements in a lot of things all around me in my everyday life, just as I know most people do. However, I think I have become so accustom to a lot of improvements and upgrades with certain things, I have been oblivious to some upgrades around me. I recently took a trip to a town only a few hours south from where I live. On my way home, a friend and I stopped by a coffee shop restaurant to have some breakfast on the road home. This restaurant is a chain franchise and I was amazed in the layout of this particular one. It was very classy. When I stepped up to the counter to place my order, I realized I was reading the menu from a T.V. screen. The standard menu that is typically up behind the counter had been replaced with multiple flat screen, high definition, television monitors. The picture of food and beverages were no longer a stationary picture and seemed more appealing from the continuation of commercial-like displays on the menu. Where I live, it may be a secluded area when it comes to certain things, but when I walked into that coffee shop, I amazed with the upgrade and improvement in technology of something so very simple as a restaurant to-go menu. Seeing is how this chain franchise has a location in my area, I am sure there will be upgrades eventually. I am not sure how I really feel with the T.V. menus and it may not be that big of a deal, but this is Pelkey Jenson Gray, and that is what's on my mind.

Technology Equals More Jobs?

I don't think so. If anything, jobs have been decreased because of technology. Let's take farming for example. Way back when, farming used to be done pretty much by hand. It was a lot of hard, physical labor. Eventually, there became advancements in farm equipment, such as the plows, harvesters, and even tractors did away with workhorse labor. My grandfather was a potato farmer, among other things, and during harvest break, my parents would work in the potato fields, picking potatoes by hand. They hand picked the potatoes, placed them in a basket, emptied the basket into a potato barrel once it was full, and placed the barrel on the back of the truck once that was full. Now, around here, there is only one farm that I know of that actually hires people to pick by hand. Otherwise, everyone has harvesters and modern farm technology. The fields went from having several workers to much less. Depending on the size of the farm, the a potato farm takes one person to run the wind-rower, one person to drive the tracker hauling the harvester, which holds 2-4 workers, and one to drive the truck under the boom. That is about seven people, which a significant less amount of workers than what it used to be. There could be even more advancements in farm equipment which have less of a need for workers.
My point with this explanation about farming is that there are many people in our world, in our country, and in our hometown that are struggling to find a job because either they got laid off, fired, or the company is no longer. The unemployment rate is way to high in my opinion. A lot of these people who have lost their jobs because a human is not needed for the position anymore. Computers and machines are taking over human jobs. Hundreds of years back, people were hired to be scribes and write textbooks, and eventually hired to type once the invention of the type writer was invented. There was even the printing press invention. Eventually there was the more technical computers and there was easier ways to mass produce products. The advancement in technology has been beneficial in many ways, making our lives easier. But it is hurting us when it comes to finding a job.
This is Pelkey Jenson Gray, and that is what's on my mind.

Advancing Technology

Let's not beat around the bush here. Our society is highly reliable on technology. There has been a lot of advancements in technology over the years and it seems technology is advancing more and more quickly each year. A simple device in my time that has evolved over the years is the invention of the mobile phone. The very first mobile phone served a purpose of making phone calls. As the years advanced, cell phones became more and more technical. A cell phone is now used for email, text messaging, music, schedule keeping, among other things, and let's not forget calling people. Wait a minute, does anyone do that anymore? In the run of my day, I see more people communicating to others via texting 20 times more than calling them. Communicating with others can be done easily at our finger tips, and that is no joke. I believe every cell phone company brand has now come out with a touch screen cell phone. Advancing technology is making our lives run more easily and more smooth than it would be without it. This is Pelkey Jenson Gray, and that is what's on my mind.





First Picture Courtesy of:http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2008/10/the_cell_phone_1.html

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