
I remember my first encounter with a cell phone well, my best friend at the time had just received her first cell phone. We grew up together, and we were probably entering eighth grade. This was at a time when bicycles were our primary mode of transportation, and any form of electronic communication we had consisted mostly of emoticons on an instant message.
Low and behold, while my shiniest accessory at the time was maybe a calculator watch or Game Boy, she was toting around some silver Samsung mobile. Needless to say I was jealous. I spent the better part of the next three years convincing my parents of awarding me the same technology.
Most of us probably remember, too, scenes from Saved By the Bell where cool-guy Zach Morris would be interrupted in class by the ring of his behemoth cellular device. We were awarded only a brief envious moment before Mr. Belding stormed the scene and took it away. Realistically, for others like myself, a cell phone existed in the far-off dimensions of television or in the hands of executives and definitely not in the lockers of my middle school.
Well, a lot has changed since then. I eventually grew up and caught up with the rest of my friends who had cell phones, and maybe even surpassed a few of them.
I entered the cellular age modestly, with a neon green-backlit LCD clunker that was sufficient in storing my friends’ phone numbers, and nothing else. Not that a cell phone was even necessary then – I still had most of my friends’ number memorized anyway.
Slowly, as technology progressed, so did my phone. I remember when color screens were introduced. Four hundred dollars was outrageous for a phone then, but it was hard not to be envious when cell phone Tetris looked so good on the screen.
Today, I have what is called a “smart phone,” and I’m basically on it constantly. From e-mail and Web browsing, to text and instant messaging, there are a lot of distracting possibilities.
If I’m lost on the streets of St. Paul, MapQuest is a quick click away. Forgot the number of Jeff and Jim’s for that 2 a.m. pizza? No worries, I got it.
It would be a disservice not to mention mobile phones today without referencing what might be the most coveted of all: the iPhone, of course. With 15,000 applications available, you can read the Times, send Twitter updates with style, and basically conquer the Earth. Everything else is basically a moot imitation.
Cell phones today are more than just mobile phones, they’re essentially personal computer systems – complete with planners, alarm clocks, and extensive address books. I’ve even had friends consider trading a laptop for a cell phone.
No doubt cell phone technology will progress far beyond the capabilities of today. They will be smaller, faster and more interactive. In all likelihood, in five years this column will be just as outdated as my first Ericsson cell phone is today.
Taintor is a junior print journalism major and online editor for The Spectator