The Impact of Mobile Phones - Coursework Example

The Impact of New Technology- Mobile Telephone Introduction Technology has advanced over time, and this has had an enormous impact on people’s daily lives (Wachanga 2011). It has affected communication, transport, businesses and every aspect of people’s lives. Changes in lifestyle and demand have led to the advancement in technology. A good example is the mobile telephone technology which is changing every day. Mobile phones have been refurbished to better standards to cater for the increasing demand and changes in lifestyle (Roger, Stanford and Kidd 1998). Phones which were used 20 years ago are not in the market today. They have been replaced with better models with numerous features. The first mobile phone call was made 40 years ago by engineer Martin cooper using a prototype version of Motorola DynaTAC. The first decade was mainly a demonstration phase. The next ten years up to around 1980s, the analogue networks were deployed which saw the car phones in use in the US and UK but they remained tethered to the car. In the 1990s, that is when mobile telephony literally took off which saw the introduction of 3G phones. Between 2003 -2013, the smart phones were introduced which had access to the internet and other useful features (Louis 2009). The first mobile phone was nine inches long, and it took ten hours to recharge. It was quite heavy and weighed over one kilo, and one could only talk for twenty minutes before the battery ran out. Today’s mobile phones are much lighter and easily slide into the pockets. Battery life has significantly improved in that some models like Nokia can last a whole week without being recharged. The early mobile phone was used for the purpose of talking only. Today, this has changed. These mobile phones can take pictures, play music and games, send emails, watch television broadcast and videos as well as talking and texting. Mobile phones continue to evolve, and they have become just like computers in terms of capabilities and flexibility (Matt 2013). Today, mobile phones have become a necessary item for people all over the world. They are much cheaper and easily available. Factors affecting mass adoption of mobile phones Consumer adoption of cell phones is predominantly determined by supply in that there has to be mobile coverage and service availability. Competition of mobile service providers has to be there in order to regulate consumer prices making the services affordable, and this leads to mass adoption of mobile phones (Damien and David 2010). Another key factor leading to mass adoption of the mobile phone is income. Studies have shown that there is a correlation between a country’s level of income and its adoption of mobile phone technology. A close relationship between a country’s GDP per capita and the mobile lines in use has been reported. In low income countries, mobile phone adoption seems to be higher than in most high income countries. Lower adoption in developed nations can be said to be caused by other factors like limited prepaid products. Decline in the prices of mobile phones and also reduction in the prepaid services prices have an impact in adoption of mobile telephones in that it is leading to higher adoption (Manuel et al. 2007). The mass adoption of mobile phones has also seen to be determined by the presence or absence of the wire line phone service. In countries with little or no wire line services, mobile phone adoption is reported to be higher than in countries with wire line services (Guy, 2010). Mobile phones penetration is more of a replacement for the weak legacy wire line services which are poorly developed and are not effective. This is commonly seen in the developing countries where wire lines are sometimes faulty and unreliable. For instance, most Hispanic immigrants have resorted to using mobile phones more because in their countries wire line services are a luxury. The flexibility of mobile phone has also led to its mass adoption. A mobile phone is portable, selective of time and place of use and also has a variety of social media option hence, its mass adoption by populations around the globe (Merrier et al 2010). Most developing and underdeveloped countries were caught by the introduction of mobile telephony at a time when the populations in these countries were not serviced with landline telephones. In this regard, the cell phone came to save the day foe most of the population in these countries. Study has shown that cultural norms may also lead to mass adoption of the mobile phone technology. The expressive Cantonese Chinese in Hong Kong and the expressive Mediterranean societies like Italy and Israel are believed to have a massive adoption of mobile phones due to their talkative nature, unlike the discreet Japanese. Cultural tendencies in some countries have been seen to contribute to increased mobile phones penetration (Yeol et al 2009). In countries like Thailand or Italy where there is little concern about communications location or nature of public conversations, mobile phones technology seems to be highly adopted unlike in the USA, where respect for privacy and personal space is emphasized. According to Genevieve Bell, Text messaging has been reported to be most popular among the Japanese youth due to limited space which limits their privacy. Immigrants in various countries have a tendency to communicate with their relatives at home and this has led to them embracing mobile phone technology more. Government legislation and regulation is a crucial determinant in mobile phone adoption. For example in Europe, telecommunication licenses have been sold at a particularly high fee thus inhibiting the adoption of cell phones. However, in Japan, telecommunication licenses are available to service providers and their competitions at an affordable fee and the impact is seen in the huge adoption of mobile phones (Kas 2008). Advancement in technology has been a significant factor in mobile phone adoption and usage (Jarkko 2005). As the mobile phone evolves, it is becoming better and easier to operate. A good example is the touch screen phones, whereby one does not need to keep on pressing keys to operate. The fast internet connection exhibited by the I-mode has led to its increased adoption. Since mobile phones are wireless, it has become much easier to adopt their usage in areas where infrastructure is not well developed. Mobile texting is found to be cheaper and more effective than a voice call messages in a fixed wire line telephone. Convergence of various applications on one device has also contributed to the mass penetration of mobile phone technology. Applications like video, internet, camera, e-mail and instant texting on a single hand held device makes it easier for more people to adopt mobile devices (Merrier et al, 2010) Technological advancement of the mobile phone Advancement in the wireless technology has led to mass adoption of mobile phones, and with it other services have come up like the e-commerce which uses these devices (Lim and Siau, 2003). Mobile phones have undergone many phases to get to where they are today. Manufacturers of these phones are advancing them daily in terms of features to fit competitively in today’s technological world. The adoption of 3G and 4G broad band whose internet is exceptionally fast has led to easier market access by businesses and organizations around the globe with reduced cost of operation (Pagani 2005). Before the introduction of mobile phones, it was extremely difficult for small businesses to compete effectively with leading companies who could afford television and newspapers advertisement. Today small businesses have adopted the use of mobile phones to reach their target market and compete fairly with large organizations. Mobile commerce has been enhanced with the introduction of mobile phones (Karlheinz and Jan 1996). Its essence is to reach people anytime anywhere. It is also aimed at getting the right information about a product and also being able to access the internet at any location (Lim and Siau 2003). For mobile commerce to thrive, various technologies like networking, databases and security have to be in place. Where wireless network is in place and mobile device’s hardware and software are good, data is transmitted much faster, communication is swift, and thus the business is run effectively (Patricia, Joyce and Karen 2010). Companies continued use of the mobile telephone technology has led to lower utilization of the other advertisement media like the news papers and this may negatively affect the job market in that field. Communication technology has also advanced with time. The global system for mobile communication (GSM) is a (2G) second generation digital network (George and Ralph 2010). To use this service, users must dial in to maintain data connectivity because it uses a frequency band. GSM is mostly used in Europe, and Asia pacific region. The general packet radio service, (GPRS) and enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE) are termed the 2.5G technologies. GPRS uses the existing network and only uses the network when there is data to be sent (Shashi 2007). With GPRS, data can be sent or received at a high speed of 115kbits/second. EDGE is an advanced version of GSM. Data is sent or received much faster at a speed of 384Kbits/second. The universal mobile telecommunications system, which is the third generation (3G) technology, offers a wider range of services. A 3G phone can be used as a computer, newspaper, camera, diary, video conferencing centre and even as a credit card (Gerard, 2006). The introduction of faster internet connections for mobile networks has affected the way in which the mobile phones have been used. With increased cell phone connectivity, many people, ranging from business people to student and the average user have found the mobile phone to be immensely useful, and this has affected the way mobile phones have been adopted and used. As the connectivity moved from GPRS to the current 4G connectivity, people have used mobile phones for accessing the internet more that they use computers to do the same (Tapio 2003). As a result, there has been an increase in the number of sales for mobile phones while the number of computer sales continues to dwindle. Increased in connectivity of mobile phones has meant that mobile phones have found much more uses in the hands of people which means that there is an increase in the way mobile phones are adopted. Advancement in mobile technology usage has also been exhibited in searching for a user’s exact physical location. Location identification technologies have been developed for this purpose (Parveen and Yuki 2010). Global positioning system (GPS) is an identification technology which uses a system of satellites orbiting the earth. Its receivers are able to calculate the exact geographical position. Initially, it was developed for the US military but and later widely used by civilians and also in car navigation system. GPS has been of considerable advantage because it has been used to track down criminals also it helps to track and recover the stolen mobile phones. Banking, which was initially restricted to the banking halls, has now been incorporated in the mobile phone technology. It has now become easier to send and receive money through mobile phone. Lloyds TSB in UK was the first bank to offer such a service. People can now access their bank accounts via their mobile phones. It has also become possible to check one’s bank account balance and the transaction details. This has led to shorter bank queues thus saving valuable time. Apart from mobile banking, there is also mobile money transfer. Currently, the world’s most developed mobile money transfer system is Kenya’s M-pesa service. It was launched by Safaricom and Vodacom. The users deposit money in an account in their cell phones and can withdraw it later and send to people, pay for goods and services or even buy airtime. A small transaction fee is paid to the service provider. In Africa there are more mobile phones owners than a bank account holders and that explains why mobile money payment services have become so widespread (Greenwood, 2009). For Mpesa, all one needs is an identity card or a passport and a mobile phone. No bank account is needed, or a physical address thus making it easier for people to register and embrace this technology (Jeremy et al, 2009) Mobile phones have become more of an entertainment centre mainly for the younger generation. People download their favorite music and videos from the internet into their phones and play back whenever they want. Most phones nowadays come with a camera. Some have exceptionally sharp picture qualities just like a digital camera. People are able to take short videos and send them to others who they want to share with. It is now possible to watch television on the mobile phones. Some 3G phones are able to receive television broadcasts, but it is at a cost because some of these services require the use of data. The use of the mobile phone for entertainment has had some adverse effects in that young people have free access to pornographic sites and other adult content thus morality is at stake. Conclusion The new technology with a focus on the mobile phone technology has gone through many phases, and it is still evolving. A mobile phone has ceased to be a device for receiving calls only, but it is now being used for many other functions. It has had both the negative and the positive effect on peoples lives of all over the world. Mobile phones have been used to save people’s lives in times of emergencies because it is much easier to use a mobile phone to call for help. Moreover, GPS has been of enormous help in tracking people in distress. Use of mobile phones while driving has caused many road traffic accidents. Mobile phones have been reported to promote criminal activities since they have become cheaper and most people have access to them. Bibliography: Damien, M. and David, A., 2010. Strategic market management: global perspectives. Hoboken, N. J: Wiley. George, R. and Ralph, S., 2010. Principles of information systems. Boston; Cengage learning Gerard, G., 2006. Cell phone culture, mobile technology in everyday life. New York; Routledge publishers. Guy, K., 2010. The history and technology of the gadget that changed the world. McFarland: Jefferson publishers. Jarkko, V., 2005. Mobile service in the networked economy. Hershey PA: IRM Press. Jeremy, C. et al., 2009. Finance and development. volume 46, no. 3, where do we go from here? Washington D.C: International monetary fund. Karlheinz, K. and Jan, P., 1996. Diffusion and adoption of information technology. London: New York: Chapman and Hall. Kas, K., 2008. The global adoption and diffusion of mobile phones, 1 (8). 21-47 Lim, M. and Siau, J., 2003. Advances in mobile commerce technologies. Singapore; Ideal group publishing INC. Louise, G., 2009. BBC Africa business report. Accessed on 12th August 2009 from: www.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8194241.stm Manuel, C., et al., 2007. Mobile communication and society. Cambridge: Mitt press. Matt, W., 2013. Mobile phone at 40 high-tech. Accessed on 3rd April 2013 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/9968173/Mobile-phone-at-40-high-tech-talk.html Pagani, M., 2005. Mobile and wireless systems beyond 3G: managing new business opportunities. Hershey: IRM press. Parveen, P. and Yuki, T. 2010. ICT4D information communication technology for development. New Delhi: IK: International pub. House. Patricia, M., Joyce, P. and Karen, W., 2010. Business communication. South western college: Cengage learning. Roger, J., Stanford, B. and Kidd, P., 1998. Advances in information technologies: the business challenge. Amsterdam: IOS press. Shashi, B., 2007. Data and computer network communication. New Delhi: Firewall media. Tapio, R., 2003. Information technology- enabled global customer service. Hershey: Idea group publishers. Wachanga, D., 2011. Cultural identity and new communication technologies: Political, ethnic and ideological implications. Hershey; PA: Information science references. Yeol, S, et al., 2009. Advances in conceptual modeling- challenges and opportunities. Berlin: New York: Springer. Read More