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.