Smartphones are a technology that has changed the way we communicate and interact in our daily lives. Like many technologies smartphones face many challenges. As an industry the technology has changed and evolved over a short period of time. Customer demand for function and functionality changes with each new release. Many companies have been slow to adapt to these demands. From a developer perspective Blackberry invented this concept only to be lose its market share to Apple and Google. A late arrival to this technology has been Microsoft, who is now attempting to play catch up.
Smart phone technology allows people to communicate with one another is a variety of ways. One can call, text, email, instant message, video message, not to mention the number of apps that combine these media forms. Smart phones also provide access to different communication platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The smartphone and associated apps allow people to organize and assess a larger and larger number of areas. Banking, telehealth, location services, photo taking and sharing, education, the list goes on and on. The smartphone has truly changed the way society functions.
One pitfall is that there too much sharing and not enough policing of the information being shared. It has become easy to quickly spread false and inaccurate information. The only way I see to improve this is through social pressure. As a society we need to decide how we are going to utilize the smartphone as a tool and social construct. We then need to set a social contract and expect others to follow. Using these social norms and pressure to ensure integrity through the medium.
http://www.bitrebels.com/technology/the-evolution-of-smartphones-infographic/
Keywords : Mobile phone, smart phone, cell phone, camera phone, gps phone, wireless phone, Apple, Iphone, Android, Blackberry, Microsoft, Samsung
Emerging & Future Technologies 
I agree that smartphones have changed the way society functions. They are truly amazing. I enjoyed the history you gave. I remember, when President Obama was first elected, the media commented on the fact that the President was using a Blackberry. And guess what!?? He still uses a Blackberry (Whittaker, 2016). He hasn’t updated to iPhone or Google.
Reference
Whittaker, Z (2016). Obama’s gadgets: What tech does the president use? Retrieved from http://www.zdnet.com/pictures/presidential-gadgets-what-technology-does-obama-use/6/
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I was out of the country doing ‘stuff’ when the cell phone really came into being. When I left in 1981 it was a rarity but when I returned almost 15 years later it had really taken off. Computers was what I did and phones had nothing to do with it. I didn’t get my first cell phone until 2007 and it was a ‘dumb’ clamshell model. Just my speed and level of expertise. If I wanted to communicate, email worked fine.
Now, I still have one of the dumbest smartphones on the market, but have taught myself how to text etc. It kind of distresses me to watch people sitting at dinner texting instead of talking to the people they are sharing a meal with and sometimes, the person they are texting is the one sitting at the same table.
As for the idea of “policing of the information being shared” I could not agree with that at all. Here you get into First Amendment, Freedom of Speech territory. Having lived in places where free speech was not an item on the social menu, an curbs on this would not be acceptable in my mind. Besides, who would decide what was false, people who would bend the truth to suit their own agenda?
Cheers,
Anita B.
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Hi Anita thank you for sharing. Please allow me to further explain what I mean by policing. I am not referring to creating laws or having people “in charge of” looking for violations. I fully believe everyone , even if I disagree, has a voice in our society. I am referring to social contacts. Cultures have different values that they place on their citizens, this is usually unwritten but mutually agreed upon by everyone in that society. The term netiquette might be a better description.
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