We all know the iphone drastically changed everyones lifestyle. To look back at the beginning of “mobile”, you can definitely say we have come a long way from the Analog Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, literally a shoebox with an antenna in the ’80s for $3,995. Go back 5 more decades in the ’30s and a telephone customer in the United States could place a call to a passenger on a liner in the Atlantic Ocean for $7/minute (about $92.50/minute in 2011 dollars) —Far from current unlimited cell phone plans.
WIth the advancement of cellular networks, mobile phones have gone pass making a simple call. In 1999, Japan started offering full internet service on mobile phones. Today 77 percent of the world population, thats 5.3 billion people are mobile subscribers with the growth being led by China and India.
I still remember the day that I told my parents to only call me on my cell, I had disconnect my landline because I didn’t use it anymore. As shocking as this might have been in 1998, it was actually part of a larger trend to revolutionize the globe. The need for a landline kept many rural and 3rd world countries from “staying connected”. Waiting on government or corporations to do the physical task of creating landlines costed too much and took too long. But getting a cell phone, is relatively instant.
The result of cell phone usage can be seen today like in Kampala, Uganda where radio station listeners can get involve in holding their leaders accountable by monitoring service delivered in their community through radio polls. In Ghana, you can text message to buy life insurance. In Kenya and Afghanistan, majority of adults use mobile phones to pay electricity bills to school fees and in South Africa, bank accounts use cell phones to help expand micro-loans for small businesses.
This widespread use of mobile phones across the world is revolutionizing what we can actually do and from where we do it from. Making a revolution in social growth and change but also pointing towards the trend that even computers won’t be needed because we will be able to do everything on our mobile.