- New Kid on the Blog
- Going Green
- Wake Up and Smell the Roses
- Travel Trends
- Top Travel Websites
- Having a Laugh
- Golden Summer Forecast
- In One Year, Out the Other
- Heritage Goes 365
- Would You Like Snakes With That?
- Winter Bliss
- Put a Spring in your step
- School holiday dos and don`ts
- Perfect Summer Day
- The Mobile Is Mightier Than The Sword
- Happy Mothers Day
- Your Favourite Winter Activities
- Survey Says
- Christmas 2.0
- Hotels of the Future
- A Healthier You in 2011
- Must-haves for your ideal serviced apartment in Queenstown
The Mobile Is Mightier Than The Sword
Love them or loathe them, mobile phones are everywhere now. It’s been remarked that they’re become more than a communications device – they’re a remote control for your life. You can book hotels, organise your travel schedule and keep connected with virtually everyone everywhere.
Across the world, 61% of the population possess at least one mobile. In New Zealand there are more mobile phones than there are people (4.2 million versus a population of 4.1 million), and we’re hardly alone in that either. The country with the largest number of mobiles is China with 747 million.
They’ve certainly come a long way since the patent for the first wireless phone was issued in June 1969. In time-honoured ‘Ha ha, I beat you’ fashion, the first call made on a hand-held mobile was by a Motorola researcher to his rival at Bell Labs in 1973.
Today the most commonly used application is SMS text messaging, used by 74% of all mobile phone users. The worldwide average of messaging use is 2.6 texts sent per day per person.
Recently unique content for mobile has been emerging, such as "mobisodes," video content based on TV programmes or such that have been produced exclusively for mobile phones. Websites are also going mobile, with special versions of sites now being developed to offer better usability when browsed on phones.
But where will the once-humble mobile go from here? Some designers predict a future with liquid batteries, speech recognition, flexible touchscreen and touch-sensitive covers. Others suggest a flexible phone concept that could be hung from a belt or wrapped around an arm. One manufacturer is looking into developing a cellphone watch with a triple flip technique that allows the user to transform the watch into a normal mobile.
What would you like to see in the next generation of mobile phones? Maybe something that registers and interprets thought patterns allowing the mobile to automatically carry out tasks, such as book your next hotel stay, for you without your ever having to lift a finger? Let us know what your crystal ball predicts for the future of the phone.
Michael Hartland
Marketing Manager
9 April 2010