In the world today there are many cellular technologies to choose from along with companies that provide that provide services to these technologies. What makes matters worse are the many choices that we are faced with, in just choosing what mobile phone too pick. The questions are, what are these technologies, which cellular provider do I pick and how do I decide on a phone? More importantly, is there some magic combination that will give me the best service wherever I am? Nowadays we use our phones for much more than making a mere phone call. We must choose what options we want from which manufacturer. We are able to send text messages, emails and video chat/conference with our neighbors or business associates on the other side of the world. We have the ability to surf the web, shop and play video games with graphics that are absolutely incredible. There are business applications that allow us to take our office wherever we go without wires or even a lap top computer. Our cell phones are now our cameras that make it possible to edit those images, beyond just simple crop and rotate, and share them with any and everyone without having to down them to a computer. Let’s start at the beginning. Next month, April 3rd, will mark the 41st anniversary of the handheld phone. Motorola’s Martin Cooper placed the world’s first mobile phone call, to his rival, Joel Engel from Bell Systems, to tell him “that the race to perfect cellular tech was over.”[1] You see mobile technology has been around since the mid 1940s. The problem was these “mobile” phones were really limited to cars because of the large briefcase sized units that they required to operate. That was until 1984/85 when someone paid four thousand dollars for the Motorola DynaTAC,... ... middle of paper ... ...s LTE (Long Term Evolution) and is all IP and now using VoIP (Voice over internet Protocol) with very high throughput. Moving into 4G LTEA (Advanced) running at speeds upwards of 150Mega bits per second where latency goes way down by about 2-3 times and reducing the cost per Megabit by half. Will the consumer see that reflected in their bill? Probably not, it’s like the gas prices, we have become so used to the high rates I don’t believe that the service providers will reduce our cost. They may postpone some rate hikes though. The entire history of cellular and wireless has been oriented around delivering better service at a higher throughput. Although speeds vary depending on what you are loading, your distance from your cell tower, the phase of the moon and what time and what side of the bed you get out of, Generally 4G speeds are around 1-3 Mega bits per second.
Cellular South Inc. d.b.a C Spire Wireless with its headquarters at Ridgeland, Mississippi is the eight largest wireless provider in the United States [3]. It is owned by the holding company Telapex, Inc., and has approximately 900,000 customers in Mississippi, the Memphis Metropolitan Area, the Florida Panhandle, parts of Alabama including Mobile, and Rome, Georgia [3]. It began its wireless service on February 4th, 1988 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast using AMPS technology [3]. It is the first wireless provider in the U.S. “to personalize customers’ experience by offering apps that fit who they are, services that anticipate their needs, and rewards for using their phone in new ways – all with seamless ease and at amazingly fast speeds (as stated in [1] [10]).” C Spire Wireless is one of the small service providers that decided to launch 4G LTE service in its target market using its 1.9GHz spectrum holdings and forged a LTE roaming agreement with Sprint Nextel thanks to them rolling out the LTE using their G – Band, 1.9GHz spectrum [7].
When cell phones were first introduced, all you could do was call others and talk for half an hour. It was like a brick and took ten hours to charge. It also cost $3995. That’s a lot more than most of today’s cell phones. Even, though it was a very basic phone, it began impacting the world. Now, you could call your relatives and actually talk with them without being next to them. Parents gave their kids cell phones to stay in touch. Now you can contact anyone through your mobile phone in multiple ways. You can text, call, facetime or message someone through social media. Cell phones abilities
Technology has evolved over the years. It was first the pager that was a crucial device, then the PDA and lastly the Smartphone. The core product is the main idea of why a phone or Blackberry will be bought and its technology, connectivity and mere ownership of the device gives the owner the feeling of superiority. People cannot fathom existing without their cell phones these days. The ability to connect in case of an emergency, tardiness, chatting with friends and other similar situations is an important point. Everyone wants to “keep up with the Joneses” by having the latest devices.
Cellular phones carry a diverse group of users. In June 1985, there were about 203,000 cellular phone service subscribers. By June 1989, the number had exploded to 2.7 million subscribers, and by June 1995 there were mire than 26 million subscribers. When cell phones were first introduce, only people with a lot of money had them and the service was very expensive. It was a lot cheaper to stop and use the pay phone than it was to use a cell phone. Now, it is almost as cheap to use a cell phone to make a long distance call as it is to make a long distance call using AT&T.
In 1983, Motorola released its first cell phone, known as the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, which offered 30 minutes of talk-time, six hour standby, and could store 30 phone numbers. By that time, cell phones were extremely expensive -- the DynaTAC 8000X costs 3995 dollars, and the cellular network was limited. To analyze the development and interpretative flexibility of the cell phone at its early stage, we must first introduce social groups that were related to the artefact. The users of the artefact were the most important social group. At the time, users were mainly constructed by businessmen, managers, politicians, doctors,big companies, military etc. who had high income and had to remain in contact with others occasionally. For them, the cell phones were the extension of corded phones that helps keeping the communication on without the limit of ranges. Thus, the problems that this social group had with cell phones are rather clear. The cell phones were too big and heavy, the talking time was too short for frequent users, and the nu...
Telecommunications gained mainstream attention in the early 90’s; however the initial key market was business men and women, who used their phones whilst being on the move and so allowing them to communicate with their companies with ease. Though in the modern era, telecommunication went through segmentation in the market trends, and now in this day and age it would be difficult to find someone who does not own some form of mobile technology. Many phone providers battle to provide the best service for their customers (Figure 1).
Cell phone manufacturers and service providers are at the core of the cell phone industry. These corporations are integral from their research and development endeavors to interactions with the consumer and the marketing of new products. The companies that control such factors of cellular phones are very numerous, so it is difficult to address all the cell phone manufacturers and service providers. However, we have focused largely on only the most significant cellular companies namely in the U.S. marketplace, although many have global ties. Collectively, companies around the world have the same goals in mind – to create desirable cutting-edge technology and to increase consumer satisfaction with hopes of generating sales, and thus profits.
The telephone is one of the greatest inventions of all time. Without a telephone, life as we know it today, would be much more difficult and time consuming. Some of life’s activities might even be impossible. Talking to loved ones that live far away, changing work schedules, making appointments to have the utilities turned on in our homes, paying the bills, and calling 911 are all actions that can be completed in the blink of an eye, by using a telephone. Ironically, improved communication, the biggest asset to having a phone has been significantly destroyed by the use of the newest technologically advanced cell phones. Furthermore, despite all of the wonderful benefits there are to having a telephone, the transformation and advanced technology of the new and improved “smart” mobile phone has created a world geared toward speed and quantity; while on the other hand promoting haste, less than acceptable customer service, dreadful family relationships, impatience, poor spelling, and memory problems.
Many of the early cell phones were considered “car phones” because they were extremely bulky and too big to fit into one's pocket. The first mobile phone due to its smaller size would still be considered overly large in today’s world. It was called the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x and arrived on the market in 1983. “You always have the trendsetters who are not afraid of trying new things and then everyone else follows. They were primarily used in the sales and business world, but not often for personal use like you see today” ("Ai InSite"). As technology advanced, companies invented new ways to pack all their customer’s desired features into smaller, portable, and more affordable models. Companies started with a cell phone size as big as a computer and have now created small enough devices to keep in a pocket. They have created bigger screens, built-in cameras, phones with less buttons, and many have touch screens now days. The shape of cell phones have drastically changed over the years.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, cell phones have monopolized the technology industry. Cell phone companies are constantly battling with each other, in order to stay at the peak of the market. Apple, one of the biggest phone companies in the world, has continuously prospered by successfully putting out an extravagant phone year after year. The iPhone is one of the most prominent cell phones available in stores. According to a recent poll by MacDailyNews.com, “48 % of people prefer the Apple iPhone over other company devices.” The Apple iPhone is one of the best cellular devices on the market because of its unprecedented camera quality, unparalleled architecture, prodigious software integration, and ability to be compatible with other devices.
The notion that the cell phone may one day become obsolete may never become reality. The concept of personal computing and communication (which is essentially what the smartphone is today) can never be defunct. Humans are built to connect with one another and we see instances of this throughout our lifetime. We are born into families, biological or not. We go to church to gather with our congregation. We’re sent to school to learn with other children our age. To eventually work with like-minded people, meet our spouses and have a family of our own. Our phones revolutionized even more with the bang of social media. The proliferation of social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram just to name a few, forever changed the dynamic of our social interactions. Through Instagram I can lie on the beaches of Cap Ferrat in the French Riviera with my cousin who visits there every year or I can open my Vine app and swim with tropical fishes in the Bahamas with my best friend Chelsi who loves the beach. In addition, cell phones enable us to interact with people we wouldn’t normally encounter. This not only permits us to learn from one other and the world around us, but we can help in times of need. In fact, during Hurricane Sandy our cell phones played an important role. In 2012 someone had the idea to create a Facebook page that bridged the gap between victims and good Samaritans
In today’s world the vast majority of the population owns a cell phone. Cell phones are a huge part of people’s everyday lives. Since the 1940’s when mobile phones became available for automobiles, phone companies have made huge strides in making mobile phones more efficient, much smaller, and more available for anyone to use. There was a time where only people of wealth had these types of mobile phones. Now people from all social classes own a cell phone. They are extremely convenient and have the ability to do just about anything you can think of. There is an “app” for everything. You can make phone calls, text message, surf the web, pay your bills, read books, catch up on social media, and even listen to you music all from one small handheld device. Cell phones play a huge role in today’s economy. Businesses such as AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint have become huge public corporations with large stakes in the stock market. Between these companies among several other phone companies they have created millions of jobs and opportunities. Cell phone companies have now created what are known as “smart phones”. These phones are typically slim and sleek and have countless versatile abilities. However, cell phones have not always been so “smart” or small for that matter.
Cell phones have changed from an item of luxury to an everyday necessity for some people. Twenty five years ago, a phone was just a way to contact someone. Mobile phones have become one of the most common tools of communications for both young and old. Cellular devices have redefined relationships and social conduct, and transformed the daily lives of many individuals. Cell phones no longer function just as a communication device. Today it has many other uses. Cell phones are used for games, calculators, texting, calendars, social sites, and pictures. In addition, there are many apps that one can download on a phone. Mobile phones help us keep track of our lives.
The year is 2014, the markets are changing constantly, and they always have to meet the needs of new consumers as well as old consumers. Mobile telephones have been in the retail and wholesale business for quite some time, and are only evolving from here on out. There are things that these cell phones can bring us that are major benefits in our everyday lives. Cell phones bring us maps, radios, address books, and even flashlights now. Cell phones have taken shape from a huge portable device to a more convenient thin device that can fit in your pocket. With time in any consumer market, the consumer adapts to the technology that makes their life easier. The constant innovation of cell phones has led us to smart phones, and these smart phones are capable of putting certain businesses out of the market. Businesses that engineered PDAs in the past were met with challenges because smart phones are able to match their productivity. Land lines have become useless since everyone can afford a mobile device now. Listening to music has also switched from a traditional CD Player/MP3 Player to an everyday smart phone.
Since the invention of the cell phones, there has been a turning point in history because of its massive addition of technology. Without cell phones, there would be no such thing as using the internet on the go. The iPhone, Samsung, and Android phones are the most popular cellular devices today. A cell phone is a device with a handheld computer, simply offering Internet access, data storage and usage, e-mail, etc. They are useful for quick sources such as Google for looking up important information on the internet or using Google maps in the car to find your destination.