What can we get on the web on our mobiles Is it worth having - Essay Example

WHAT CAN WE GET ON THE WEB AND ON OUR MOBILES' IS IT WORTH HAVING' Introduction The growth in technology has revolutionized not only the way we live but in also the way we communicate. Mobile phones and internet have been one of the leading devices that have revolutionized communication technology. Communication technology has been the backbone of the current revolution in the way we live. Information and communication technology have contributed in a great way to the wave of globalization that has changed the way we interact in the world. The concept of globalization has reduced the world to a global village. In its simple definition, globalization can be simply said as reduction of distance between different parts of the world. This means that one can easily get in touch with someone in another continent same as once can get in touch with someone in the neighborhood. This has been a great achievement in life since it has affected the way people interact. As we have seen, information and communication technology have been in the forefront in enabling globalization to take root in the world. Both have enabled people to interact and communicate with one another in a much simpler way than ever before. There have been some aspects of information and communication technology that have been the most influential. Mobile phones and internet are two aspects of modern technology that have affected in a great way the way we communicate with one another and the way we interact with other people other parts of the world. This paper will look closely at mobile phones and internet as two aspects of modern technology. It will look into how these two technologies have changed the way we interact with one another in life. It will also look at what we get from the mobile phones and internet and evaluate whether they are appropriate to us or not. Mobile phones and internet Mobile phones and internet are perhaps the most valued inventions of the recent times. They have been useful in the way they have enabled people to communicate with one another and the way they have enabled people to access more information for more knowledge. Mobiles phones have been primarily used for portable communication while the internet has been used for communication and to provide information to all people. Both are recent technology in life and they are very influential in the way we talk and communicate with one another. Apart from their initial intention of providing communication and information to people, development in technology have enabled them to be used for many other purposes in normal life and in business world. Mobile phone and internet industry in one of the rapidly growing technologies in modern life. The industry has been driven by increased use of the two technologies in life. The industry has grown in all part of the world unlike other industries which records growth only in some geographical regions where they are relevant. This means that there has been increased use of the technology in all parts of the world. Let us look at what we can get from each of the technology and evaluate how relevant is what we get from each. This will help us to dig deep in each technology and understand how it functions and how important it is to the concept of information and communication technology. Mobile phones Mobile phone can be defined as a small and portable communication device the is used by people to make phone calls in any place they are. Mobile phones receive and gives out signals with are provided through a service provider's transmitting satellites. Mobile phones have enabled people to communicate in any location they are in without limitation of time and regions. The basic concept of mobile phones is transmitting of signals. It uses radio wave theories similarly as they are used by ordinary radios. However, mobile phones uses stronger frequencies and are higher compared to those of the common radios. Mobile phone technology started in the mid twenties and the first mobile phone service was used in Sweden used by the Swedish police and the police cruises. However the real development in mobile phones came in 1970s when Bell Lab and Motorola from the United States pioneered in provision of mobile phone services. The development of the Global System for mobile communication (GSM) in the 1990s was a revolutionary phase in the communication technology as it enabled people to subscribe for the mobile phones and gave birth to service providers. By 2003, there were 1.52 billion mobile phone users around the world. (Kotaamraju, 2007) Services of a mobile phone Mobile phone provides an array for services which are important in communication and information services. With time mobile phones have developed to provide more advanced services which comes with advance in technology. Let us look at some of the basic services that are provided by mobile phones. The most important services that it provided by mobile phones is communication through making of phone calls. This is the primary role behind the development of mobile phones and it is still the primarily role that accounts for about 70 percent of mobile phone services to people. Communication with one another is very crucial in all spheres of life as it helps people to exchange information. In providing communication services, mobile phone users can make calls to any one in any part of the world and at any time that they want. Unlike the traditional trunk calls which required people to book calls in advance since it was fixed, mobile phones are flexible since they are portable and one can communicate with anyone at any place and at any time. Mobile phones have revolutionized the way people communicate with one another and it has increased interaction. Another Important service that is provided by mobile services is the short message services. Under this service, mobile phone users are given the chance of writing short messages using the mobile phones and send to their friends. This can be considered as an improvement on the earlier letter writing. This service helps the users to communicate what may be difficult for them to say by words of the mouth. The other service that is provided by mobile phone services is the phone and address books which have replaced the earlier pocket books. This has revolutionned the way people keep address and phone number since they are available in one device. This has helped people especially those in the business world to get organized. (Goggin, 2006) In the recent past, mobile phones have developed email service. This means that mobile phones have taken to the role that has been played by the computers in providing internet service. This is one of the greatest achievements of development in mobile phone technology since it has helped people to access information they want in any part of the world with their mobile phone devices. This has increased the awareness of people on the current issues that are taking place in the world. This is an important service since it saves the time people takes to go to cyber caf' or to their computer for internet services. Mobile phones have also compared to the traditional methods of money transfer. It has made it easy for people to get money wherever they are and at any time they need the money. Money transfer through the mobile phones is important services that enable people get money quickly for emergencies. Although the service may be limited in the amount of money that it can send, it is quite important especially in linking rural and urban dwellers in aspects of money transfer. These are just but few services that re provided by mobiles phones. Here we have just highlighted the only important services that can be provided by mobile phones and which are very common. However, mobile phones also provide other services like configurable database, alarm clocks, stop watches, live video feed using the Piconet, mobile games for leisure, calculator, calendar, schedule and memo pads, downloaded music playback, recording of voices, music, images, and pictures, portable music players, viewing and listening to TV and Radio, phone TV, and other services that makes out life more organized. Mobile phone services are of great use to the life of the people. Though mobile phones have seen increased bad incidents, the services that are provided by the phones are of great services to all people. However, mobile phones have shown increased rates of road accidents as regard their use during driving, interruption during meetings or classes when they ring, and other incidents. There are many positive notes on the use of mobile phones than negative note that we can attach to it. Apart from enhancing communication and access to information, mobile phones are also used by detectives to search for criminals since they can be used to give the exact location of a person. In this way they have helped to reduce the rate of crimes. The internet The internet is one of the modern technologies that have revolutionized the way people live and interact with one another. It has been instrumental in determining the way people interact with one another and also the way people access various information important in their life. The internet offers various service same as the mobile phones. But unlike the mobile phones the internet offers a variety of services and can be used on the mobile phones. The integration of internet services on the mobile phones has been one of the most important development in the use of the internet services since people can use them at any place they are in and at any time they want. (Rehmeyer, 2007) The internet can be defined as information that is presented through the World Wide Web services. The internet was development in late last century and its development path closely followed the development of computers. The internet is one of the most used information and communication services. Let us look at some of the services that we get from the internet. The internet was developed with the primary aim of enabling communication between different people. In its early years of development, the developers systematically gathered an array of information which was systematically stored and availed to anyone who wanted to access the information. With time the services o the internet have developed matching development in the internet technology. But the basic purpose of the internet remains to provide information to people anytime they need to access that information. The internet has been described as the only place where you can access any kind of information that you need at the click of a button. (Castells, 1996) One of the most important ways that the internet has been able to provide this information has been provision of reading materials are various articles on various issues. The internet has emerged as one of the most important educative tool of the recent past since it has increased peoples' knowledge on various subjects that they want to know about. In playing the role of providing information it has been on great use in the academic world since as it has enabled people to access academic journals and other materials. In the academic world, the internet has replaced the traditional classroom and lecturers are able to deliver lectures through the internet to their studies. In this use, it has enabled people to learn for various academic awards through the web after going through internet classes. (Rehmeyer, 2007) The internet has also been very crucial in enabling communication between people. In this regard, it has played a crucial role in enabling exchange of information and ideas from one person to the other. Providing of email services has been the most important way in which people have interacted with one another. Like the use of mobile phones, use of email services has been crucial in helping people to communicate through writing. In the same way there has been development of the voice over the internet service which enables people to communicate verbally over a long distance. Hence we can therefore say that the provision of communication services through the internet has been very crucial in helping people to interact in all parts of the world. This is a service that is necessary for the human kind. (Castells, 1996) The other service that is provided over the internet is business services. The internet has been used for advertisement and also for carrying out various services relating to business transaction. In this regard the internet has helped the business world to make more sales through advertisement and at the same time it has helped consumers to make purchases over the internet. Like the mobile phones, the internet has been used to make instant money transfer. The paypal service has been very instrument in helping people especially in the business world to transfer money over a long distance and instantly. In this way it has enabled the process of business and made the process of making business transaction easier. (Rehmeyer, 2007) Therefore we can say that the internet has been able to provide various services that have been of use to all people. One of the most important services that we need from the internet is the provision of information as it transforms our knowledge and helps us to get various information that we need in our life. The provision of communication through the internet provides a cheap way to communicate with one another without limits. This is another service that we need. Its role in business world can not be ignored since it has revolutionized the market with the development of e-market. People are able to buy various goods and make payment over the internet. (Rehmeyer, 2007) Conclusion The various services that we get from the mobile phones and internet are necessary in our life. We cannot just keep living in our yesterday world and we need a more revolutionized way of doing things and of communicating with one another. Therefore we can say that we need the services of the internet and of the mobile phones if we have to communicate with one another. There are more positives on the services provided by the mobile phones and the internet than the negatives that we can attach to them. Reference Castells, M. (1996). Rise of the Network Society. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers. Goggin, G. (2006). Mobile Technology in Everyday Life. London: Routledge. Kotaamraju, P. (2007). Mobile Devices. Journal of Mobile Digital Network, Vol. 2(1): 9-23 Rehmeyer, J. (2007). The Internet spreads its tentacles. Science News, Vol. 7 Read More