I just bought myself a used smartphone. My past three cell phones have all been standard, bottom-of-the-line pieces of work and I was just tired of being at the lowest end of the phone chain. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars on an iPhone that I don't even want, I was lucky enough to have a connection. He had the first Android phone marketed and was willing to sell it for fifty bucks. I've been wanting an Android AND it was a steal. It is a T-Mobile G1 (aka HTC Dream), meaning I can't use it with my AT&T sim card until I unlock the phone. I paid for an unlock code and as of right now, I'm still waiting for it... meaning I've no other cool things to say about my stupid smartphone.
Cell phones, specifically this new breed, are becoming increasingly important in the world of media. Where one has to sit and watch tv from their home or sit in front of their computer to surf the internet from some other room in their home, using a phone can happen anywhere. And with 3- and 4G increasing the speeds of internet to such devices, it has become more and more of a priority for advertisers and content creators to make content appropriate for such a tiny screen. Small screens mean many details are lost in the background, so media has to be simple enough to view but memorable enough to be effective.
And people love their technology. If one could do EVERYTHING from their phone and could just plug in various accessories like screens or speakers to it for television, movies, or internet, that would definitely be the path most would want to take. No need in having multiple possessions. Downsize to a one-size-fits-most model. I definitely see this as the future of the smartphone.
But the problem is that it makes for much more media-saturated lives. It's become bad enough that kids these days don't go out as much but rather stay indoors and play video games all the time. It's bad enough that many people aren't developing the proper social skills due to spending most of their lives on the internet. Having a super smartphone could make you go out into the world more, but how much of it would you really be experiencing without tweeting it or seeing what everyone is doing on Facebook? How often would you watch a sunset instead of a brand new YouTube video?
Then again, everything should be in moderation - but not everyone knows how to exercise that. I think with new technology should come a LOT more education for the masses.
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