Smart Phones…. Are they a matter of need, or want?

In the past decade we have seen an absolute boom in mobile telecommunications. We have seen the mobile phone transform many times since its introduction in the 1940’s where the user was required to stand in one of few existing ‘transition zones’. The mobile phone then evolved into ‘bag phones’, where the phone was housed in a briefcase and required external power. From this, the mobile phone truly became ‘cellular’ in the 1980’s and has evolved even further during the 90’s and into the 21st century.




The result from this rapid evolution in mobile technology is what we know today as the ‘smart phone’ (think Blackberry or I-Phone). These smart phones do much more than just make and receive calls and texts, and have more computing power than some early computers. They are now essentially portable entertainment devices that integrate things such as web browsing, video and audio content, as well as video cameras.

The mobile phone has no doubt changed the way in which we function in society and have ensured people can stay in touch no matter where they are or what they’re doing. As Paul Levinson said “the mobile phone cut the umbilical cord of the landline phone” and has “liberated us from the home or office”. Whether this change is for the better will always be a topic of debate. The majority of people own a mobile phone (sometimes two or three) and rely heavily on them in their day to day lives. Whether people use them just for making calls or people use them for web browsing and entertainment, it is safe to say that they play a big part in people’s lives.

The question now seems to be, is do we really need these smart phones? Mobile phones to make and receive calls, yes of course! But smart phones in particular, do we really need another screen in our lives to browse the web, to watch videos, to play music? And finally, is the mobile phone screen going to become the dominant screen of the 21st century? It is certainly looking this way.

I believe that having a smart phone is a matter of want more than need. The entertainment value; and perceived social status surrounding owning a smart phone, will be primary motivations for people to buy them. As Paul Levinson said the “Blackberry or I-Phone makes all of those formally useless places useful”. This means that whether we are waiting for a bus or in a lecture… what… I mean… waiting for a bus, we can now be entertained very easily with the help of a smart phone. I also believe that smart phone owners may rely too heavily on them. For example, people I know will take a picture of a document or voice record a memo or number rather than writing it down. They may rely on their phone to search for information or even rely on them to get them somewhere (GPS function). The question then becomes, what will you do if this technology fails? If you rely so heavily on your smart phone, what will you do if it breaks?




I do strongly believe that the mobile phone screen will become the dominant screen of the 21st century simply by noticing the trends happening now in the way of compiling multimedia functions into a single device. According to Paul Levinson, this idea of media convergence has been recognised for decades as an important principle of new media evolution. I believe the evolutionary trend will continue to the extent of one day we will have all the functionality of a laptop computer with the mobility and communicative ability of mobile phones. Just look at the new innovation from apple, the I-Pad. This is the next step in the evolutionary phase of mobile communications, and just wait to see a mass of companies trying to compete with; and out-do, this innovative product.