How Much Have Smartphones Changed Our Lives? - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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How Much Have Smartphones Changed Our Lives?



Source: Pixabay

Just thirty years ago, students were told to memorize complex methods of division because they wouldn’t have a calculator on them when they needed one. Flash forwards to 2021, and not only do we have calculators in our pockets, but we also have compasses, cameras, banks, and more processing power than the computer that put Neil Armstrong on the moon. How far have our smartphones come – and why is this significant?

The First Smartphone


In 1992, the first smartphone was launched. IBM’s Simon Personal Communicator was released to consumers in 1994 and sold 50,000 units in the first six months. With a battery life of one hour, the phone could be attached to a phone socket in the wall to be used for calls. The touchscreen featured an address book and even a facility for faxing. The phone cost around $1,000. The lack of features meant that we didn’t see another smartphone until the iPhone in 2007 – with many variations of the mobile cell phone in between.

Mobiles have come so much further in line with the developments in modern technology since that first release. But how have smartphones changed industry to industry and function to function of our day-to-day lives?

How Do Smartphones Improve Our Lives?

Work
The changing world of work gave way to a new kind of employee, first popularized in the mid-2000s. The digital nomad is someone who could live and work from anywhere, using their smartphone and laptop to conduct their job from wherever they chose. Significantly, smartphones powered this. Weak Wi-Fi could be boosted by using a smartphone as a hotspot since there is a range of apps that facilitate work.

Not only are spreadsheets and word documents available as mobile apps, but communications and task planning tools are as well. The genius of the cloud means that information at the office can be shared with those working in far-flung places. Provided the work gets done – which the smartphone enables – the digital nomads can work anywhere. This ability is perhaps the most underrated yet life-changing of our mobiles.

Hobbies
Physical activity is one of the primary hobbies most people have outside media consumption. So, it makes sense for app developers to take advantage of this and create engaging digital methods of tracking progress, sharing progress, and being more involved with the hobby. Runners, for example, use smartphones prolifically. Showing others how you run can make you feel more involved in the hobby.

But connecting to a FitBit or other wearable technology can also help monitor health and fitness and is facilitated by a smartphone. Functions on modern phones now even monitor sleep and make suggestions on how people can lead healthier lives by simply suggesting when they should go to bed.

Entertainment
Across entertainment is where our phones really shine. The variety of entertainment on offer across the entire industry proves just how important our phones have become. For instance, the range of streaming platforms spans Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Hayu, Hulu, BritBox, and most channels’ own streaming service. Media consumption has never been more accessible at our fingertips. This media barrage made it possible for the Marvel universe to expand into the TV field.

Elsewhere in entertainment, as this selection of some of the best betting apps for iOS and Android shows, there is heavy competition between which app a potential customer downloads. The vast range of choices shows that there is an increasing appetite for people to engage with sports betting in this way. It means that each app must showcase its best features, which may include in-play betting while the event is taking place, increased customer support, or a welcome bonus as an incentive for signing up. It’s now even possible to explore the internet and play games like backgammon online, on the go. A lot of people only use their mobile for exploring the web and never use a computer. This is how far mobiles and technology have come. 




Source: Pixabay

Business
Smartphones and the apps within them are responsible for the changing business landscape. Had it not been for the ease of download of social media apps coupled with the improved camera facilities, then social media wouldn’t be such a behemoth itself. Marketing devotes a large chunk of its budget and time to focus on social media, which has become a valuable sales tool. Social media budgets have been growing and more people than ever have job titles to reflect working in the field of social media.

Influencers, for instance, wouldn’t exist without smartphones. The premise is they are a regular person with a large following who happen to be influential in the products they buy and suggest to others. Smartphones mean they can upload content, edit it, monitor it, and respond to the community they are building easily. It also means that people who see them tout a product can click through to the product’s website or mobile app and make the purchase. None of this would exist without smartphones.

Older generations love to remind us that they went everywhere without a phone. Meeting friends was conducted on the landline and if anyone were to be running late, the other person would just have to wait patiently and hope they showed up. We don’t quite realize how interwoven phones have become with our lives. There is an almost infinite number of possibilities for what we can do with them and how they can significantly impact our lives.

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