Phones for the more mature: Part two

Old versus new

After a long battle with technology, my grandparents have almost discovered how it all works. Besides a few glitches here and there, they have definitely come a long way. Not only do they own a computer, a DVD player, a mobile phone, they also purchased their very own GPRS.

Recently, my Grandmother announced that she wanted a brand new mobile phone. Her reasons were simple. She no longer wanted a brick for a phone that is capable of only SMS, phone calls and has limited memory that can only store ten contacts. Rather she wants, as my grandmother says, a 'young and hip phone’.

I am fully confident that my grandparents will be able to use a phone that offers multiple functions and applications to its full potential. Although my grandmother would like the latest mobile phone, she made it clear that she does not want a phone that has a complicated set–up. I have learnt that most seniors would prefer to have the latest technology that is not too complicated to use. If you are a senior and looking for a new mobile phone then you are in luck. There is a wide range of latest mobile phones that are simple to use.

BlackBerry ban in India

Email being accessed on a BlackBerry phone

I recently read a headline ‘India threatens to ban Blackberry email, messaging’. As I read the article I realized that the reason for the ban was that the government could not access BlackBerry users’ encrypted e-mails and instant messages. My first thought was, why would the government want to have access to people’s personal and private conversations.

My second thought was, is it right for the government to spy on legitimate and confidential communication? Citizens also have a right to privacy. Business users, for example, need some encryption, hence, the popularity of the BlackBerry within businesses.

The BlackBerry phones were to be banned in the hope to guard against abuse by criminals and terrorists. It was argued that terrorists could use Blackberry phone security features to communicate. This is understandable in that India has experienced terrorism in the past but my concern was whether the banning of the BlackBerry phone will really make a difference in stopping terrorism.

Banking on mobile phones

Like many students in their last year of studying, I am stuck wondering what I want to do with my life. It is only August and the panic has already set in for next year. Although I am terrified, there are plans already being made. One of them concerns my mobile phone. Next year, I am finally able to make my own money and of course spend it. With this in mind, my plan is to do all my banking via my mobile phone. Nowadays, mobile phones provide the perfect opportunity for this.

This would be very convenient for me as I am hardly left alone without my mobile phone and when I am to busy, next year, attempting to be a real journalist, I can use my mobile phone to do my banking on the go. I can bank wherever I am and whenever I want. As of now, I am still trekking to the bank to draw the cash out from the ATM. Although I have been following this method for years, it can get a bit tedious. Using my mobile phone seems like a much better option.

What is wonderful about your mobile phone is that it can be your very own ATM. However, not only can you do banking, you can also pay for virtual items via your mobile phone and buy online items such as music downloads. These purchases can then be charged to your mobile phone bill.

BlackBerry brilliance

There is a sudden influx of South Africans purchasing Blackberry phones. According to Vodacom, 350 000 BlackBerry phones have been sold in South Africa and this is said to increase. If you don’t have a Blackberry, you wishing you had one. I don’t own a Blackberry and I have to admit, I feel rather left out. My humble Nokia 6300 (a replacement phone after my BeatBox M3200 was missing one too many beats in its box) is holding itself together with prestik and I am lucky if the battery will last the day. The Blackberry phones are clearly out of its league.

I first started to notice the popularity of the BlackBerry phone when I came across a number of Facebook status’s that said “bbm” me (BlackBerry messenger) with their BlackBerry pin to follow. Another person in particular, said on Facebook, “bbm me if you dare” with his BlackBerry pin to follow.

My sister recently had her birthday. She was lucky enough to get her very own blackberry as a present. She claims it’s the best present she has ever received. I think she might be overreacting (can you sense some jealously?) but nonetheless, her phone has become her new prize possession. So, what is the reason for the popularity of this phone?

Mobile phones encourage bullying

I remember those days when I couldn’t even reach the kitchen counter but still felt invisible. This feeling gradually fades away especially when you encounter the biggest and most intimidating children at school, you just know to avoid. It is tough growing up but I can’t imagine how it must be for children these days. Now, a quick easy destructive sms could lead to an extremely distressed child. Not only are children faced with bullying in the form of physical abuse or verbal abuse but they are subjected to cyberbullying.

When I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago, regarding mobile phones in an educational setting, I came across the shocking reality of cyberbullying. Technology allows for children to connect, socialise and communicate with one another. But some children are abusing technologies such as mobile phones, which has become the new high-tech version of the school bully. Bullies are now turning to social networks, sms, mms and e-mails to bully children. An online safety survey carried out by NetAlert and nineMSN in February 2007 found that 14% were bullied through their mobile phone.

Cyberbullying is so easy to do with the accessibility of the internet and mobile phones. It can literally happen overnight. Mobile phones have become the new weapon for bullies. A mobile phone gives bullies the perfect ammunition as most children have their own phones.

Phones for the more mature: Part one

My grandparents are still trying to find their way around their computer. Suddenly their computer has swallowed an icon and it is no longer being displayed on their desktop. For any technology savvy individual it would be painless to replace the missing icon and carry on as normal but for grandparents it is not that easy. Same goes for their mobile phone.

I have been lucky enough to grow up with computers and mobile phones but for my grandparents it is an extremely new experience for them. They are still young at heart and are excited to get involved with this new available technology.

The problem is that these technologies do not seem accessible to seniors. When I recently saw my grandparents they came to me with yet another problem to solve, this time it was their mobile phone. After the problem was quickly solved, I wondered if there were mobile phones that can easily be used by the elderly? My grandparents use only the basic functions on their phone and so they don’t really need the applications or newest mobile phone that most people are pushing for.

Vision for the visually impaired

If my dad has left his eye glasses at home, when the family go out for supper, it is as if a tragedy has struck. Without his eye glasses, he can no longer interrogate the waiter about the bill as he cannot see the minute letters and digits sprawled across the receipt. In most occasions, he will lift the bill up in the air, at arms length, while his eyes squint in an attempt to read it. However, this usually doesn’t work. It is also a bad idea to ask him if he needs help as he might just make you pay for it.

However, he also struggles to read his SMSs, emails and find his applications on his mobile phone, without his eye glasses. I can see that this is very frustrating for him and this made me think about mobile phones and how accessible they are to the visually impaired. 

Nowadays, mobile phones are all about what functions you have and how many applications you can squeeze onto your mobile phone. With mobile phones you can now browse the internet, take photographs, SMS, MMS and much more. However, this can become confusing. My biggest concern was whether mobile phones, that hold multiple functions and applications, can be easily utilised by the visually impaired.

Mobile phones educate

A wide range of apps on the iphone that could enhance children's learning experience. For example, the downloadable dictionary app. 

I can remember many instances where I have had to furiously scribble words down from lecture slides and leave the lecture theatre with a damaged right hand. However, on one occasion, while I looked up to take a breath, I noticed a fellow student with his phone up in the air. My eyes squinted to see what he was doing. He was taking photographs with his mobile phone of the lecturer slides.

After this incident I started to think about whether mobile phones have a place in an educational setting. The debate around this issue largely circled around Secondary and Primary education rather than Tertiary education. There is large contestation around whether children should be able to have mobile phones at school.

Many believe that mobile phones can enhance children’s learning experience. Firstly, with the use of a mobile phone it is now easy to use mobile phones to access the internet in order to receive endless information. The internet at school can be used for research purposes or reading current affairs and also provides access to online dictionaries.

Phone pornography problem

A phone showing Mxit contacts. An application that has attracted paedopiles.

Recently I watched a ten year old navigate her way around a mobile phone. With a click of a button she had accessed the internet and with a few more thumb movements, she was checking her inbox for recent messages. Nowadays, it is easy to spot children with their own mobile phone. It concerns me, however, that children with mobile phones can access the internet or applications at ease.

This is problematic in that there is a large debate around the easy access of pornography on mobile phones. Now, children can access pornography literally at a push of a button. The question is what is being done to avoid children accessing pornography on their mobile phones?

 Instant messaging software applications allow for children not only to chat to their friends but it also enables them to join general chat rooms. People of all ages can access these applications and it is extremely difficult to control. Mxit for example, is just one application that has fallen victim to dissemination of pornography and paedophiles on their application.

No need for the big black box

Mobile-TV

I am feeling it because it is nearly here. South Africa has come alive as the 2010 FIFA World Cup is soon to hit. I can already hear the buzzing sound of vuvuzela’s being blown at all times of the day. Proud South Africans can be seen wearing their Bafana Bafana shirts. With all this excitement surrounding me, I began to wonder how I was going to watch the games as June/July was turning into a very busy two months, regardless of the soccer. With this in mind, I thought about how amazing it would be if I could capture the experience on my mobile phone and watch on the go. I decided to go in search to find the easiest and cheapest way to access the soccer games via my mobile phone. However, I was soon disappointed.

FIFA TV Director Niclas Ericson confirmed in April last year that World Cup matches, results and updates will be available on mobile phones.

But the broadcasting and telecoms regulator have plans to issue licenses for the broadcasting of content via cell phones just before June. Isn’t that extremely close to when the soccer is to start? So, this means that the broadcasting and telecoms regulator have not even issued a mobile-TV license?

Mobile phone photography

Room showing different white balance settings 

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is just 23 days away. If you plan to attend some games and would like to capture all the action on your mobile phone camera, here are ten helpful tips to capture those spectacular moments on your mobile phone.

1. Make sure that your lens is clean as a dirty lens could blur images.
2. Set your phone to its highest picture quality and resolution. When printing it out it will be of better quality.
3. Set the white balance, if your phone supports it. White balance allows you to change colour balance in your image based on your shooting conditions. A camera will see that a given subject is redder than normal under normal incandescent lighting of your home. Experiment with this feature to get a feel for it.

Communicating via social network sites

Many people have turned to their mobile phones to access social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and many more. Even I have started to use my mobile phone, more regularly, to access these sites. A computer is not always accessible but with your mobile phone you can use social networks anywhere, anytime. By 2012, about 800 million people will access social networks via their mobile phone. This is changing how people communicate with one another on their mobile phones.

Previously, when using your mobile phone, SMSs and mobile phone calls were the only way to communicate but now with access to relatively high speed internet on your mobile phone it makes communicating on social networks much easier. People are using social networks rather than SMSs and mobile phone calls as social networks can offer you so much more. For example, when visiting Facebook, not only can you see the recent updates from your friends but you can also view events for the week ahead. 

Visiting social network sites on your mobile phone can even be cheaper than a phone call, encouraging many to switch to social networks to communicate via their mobile phone. Opera mini, for example, provides a cheap and easy way to access the internet via your mobile phone. Last year, Patricia de Lille complained that South Africa had the highest mobile phone call costs in the world.

SA ads to mobile

Advertisers have targeted mxit to reach South Africans 

The mobile phone has now become the answer to advertising. Mobile advertising is reaching far greater audiences, as the number of mobile phone subscriptions has predicted to reach 5 billion this year. Advertising companies are turning to the mobile phones for a better chance of consumers clicking on their advertisement. In Japan, already 44% of mobile phone owners click on advertisements they receive via their mobile phone.

It is no surprise then, that there is competition between Apple and Google to buy into advertising companies. Contributing Editor at the Search Engine Land, Greg Sterling said, “Apple tries to buy AdMob but Google ‘snatched’ it away”. Apple, however, manages to buy AdMob competitor Quattro Wireless while Google still battles with the US Federal Trade Commission to allow them to merge with AdMob. This competition is just 
an example of how successful mobile advertising has become.

South Africa’s involvement
But while I was thinking about the great influx of advertisement targeted at the mobile phone and the ongoing battle between Google and Apple, I started to think about South African's and their involvement in mobile advertising.

Captured on camera phones

                                                    

Camera phone

I don’t own a digital camera, neither do I have a camcorder to record spontaneous candid camera moments. Instead, I often use my mobile phone to take photographs and to even record video. The powerful portable nature of the mobile phone makes it easier to capture events faster and even often in real-time with the use of services such as Facebook, Twitter, weblogs, Qik and many more. This is changing how we share and show photographs.

Photographs and videos from the recent weekend or from yesterday’s family braai or even that fashion show that happened just an hour ago can now be uploaded on these services, to share those moments with family, friends and even people worldwide. These photographs can further be re-distributed with the use of MMS (multimedia messaging service) and Bluetooth, for example.

Photographs can be re-tweeted on Twitter or emailed to your contacts, used in blogs and links can be provided to enable others to click the link sending them directly to the desired photograph. The same photograph or video can be accessed on various sites on the web.

The never ending search

The Samsung Jet and the Samsung Corby

After I decided to put my mobile phone to rest, I started the search for a brand new one to enter into a fresh partnership, a relationship that will be different to the last. As a journalist studying new media, I want a mobile phone that would be a useful tool for journalism, a phone with a decent camera, recording functions, a reasonably fast web browser and a keypad easy to use.

I thought ending my relationship with my last mobile phone was the hard part but I was soon mistaken. A search that I believed would take five minutes took what felt like a life time, slowly eating away at my bandwidth. I was more confused than ever with the variety of mobile phones to choose from, ranging from Motorolas to Nokias and Samsungs to Iphones. It was like trying to choose between a Jenni Button suit and a Gucci bag, you want them both. It was overwhelming but my search did not end there.

I then stumbled across journalist, Galen Schultz's blog, Witness This, which provided more than just a list of the mobile phones functions but also his personal opinion on each mobile phone he describes. It drew my attention to two mobile phones in particular, the Samsung Jet and the Samsung Corby.

‘Til death do us part

                               

                                   

The mobile phone has come a long way since the humble telephone. For many, the mobile phone is an extension of their lives and few, including me, would not leave home without it.

It is the mobile phone’s portability and additional capabilities that make it much more than just a telephone. With satellite communication and ‘international roaming’, it is now possible for mobile phone users to communicate with people virtually anywhere in the world either by phoning them, text messaging them. People can even access the internet and send a message via e-mail or a social network service such as Facebook or Twitter.

There are many more applications which make the mobile phone a must-have item in today’s world. Your mobile phone can provide you with a handy camera or a music player, a radio or GPS, not to mention a calculator, diary, alarm clock and a source of endless information via Google. It is also a valuable source of entertainment as mobile users can download games and play for as long as their battery lasts.