TECHNOLOGY
From Issue #9
Super Cell
Phones
What to expect from
your wireless phones
By
Sapna Jain
Colour
screens, MP3 players, Internet access, text-messaging, voice
activation, games, photo caller ID, personal organizers, e-mail…you
name it, cell phones seem to have it these days. We’ve
come a long way from the early days of cellular communication,
when cell phones could barely pick up a signal.
We have become a wireless world where cell phones have progressed
from long-range walkie-talkies to complete communication systems
used by young and old. Now you can find cell phones in an array
of funky colours and in sizes smaller than your fake ID.
So what’s next? By the end of this year or early 2003,
expect to see handsets with Java capabilities. These phones
will be able to download colours, graphics, and motion, enabling
us to watch streaming video, play high quality video games,
and store pictures on our cell phones.
Not far off is a built-in Geographic Positioning System, which
allows you to pinpoint location. For example, you could use
your GPS to find the nearest all-night coffee shop relative
to where you are. Also, a tracking capability (similar to ICQ)
will soon be available, enabling you to know who else is on
their phone at the same time as you.
However, the latest thing is often old news by the time it hits
your ear. Engineers around the world are continually working
to develop creative new applications for your cell phone.
As you read this, designers are working on phones that will
fit into your car dashboard and automatically set preferred
radio stations, adjust the temperature, position your seat,
and display the best way to get you where you want to go. You
should also be able to access your bank account, send and take
digital photos, remotely lock and unlock the door of your home
and even monitor your heart! Your stored information will hopefully
be secure with fingerprint or voiceprint identification capabilities.
Of course, pre-existing technologies are continually being updated
and expanded.
It is expected that by 2005 more than 50% of all calls in the
world will be wireless, and by 2006 wireless phones will outnumber
traditional landlines across the globe.
With more and more tech-savvy teens using cell phones, it is
apparent we are an important part of the cellular picture. Mark
Langton of Telus Communications says, “It is estimated
that 50% of new cell phone subscribers this year will be from
the youth market.”
According to a recent Bell Mobility survey, of Ontario and Quebec
cell phone users between the ages of 16-24, we are heavy, but
responsible, cell phone users (more often using our phones to
call mom and dad, rather than to call friends). On average,
we use our phones two to three hours per week and make purchasing
decisions based primarily on price, functionality and reception.
