Smartphone
Emily K Yates
The Smartphone is here to stay and this is reflected in sales that have already begun to outpace the sales of personal computers (Goldman, 2010). Evidence of the influence of Smartphones is in the numbers; our usage has gone up nearly 90% in the last year (It’s All Tech, 2011).
A Smartphone is more easily acquired; they are simply cheaper and easier to carry and include most, if not all, of the features consumers want. Technology contained on them ranges from web browsing, cameras, email, messaging and more. Consumers can have an all in one gadget that fits into the average pocket or handbag. Every day it seems there are additional improvements made to a Smartphone’s operating system and their available operations.
A Smartphone is more easily acquired; they are simply cheaper and easier to carry and include most, if not all, of the features consumers want. Technology contained on them ranges from web browsing, cameras, email, messaging and more. Consumers can have an all in one gadget that fits into the average pocket or handbag. Every day it seems there are additional improvements made to a Smartphone’s operating system and their available operations.
Owning and living around those who own a Smartphone find that these little devices to be addictive, annoying, life-saving and connecting. Owning one means you can find a restaurant, check your personal and professional email, never leave work behind, and avoid traffic jams. Applications available on Smartphones can turn on or off the lights in your home while you are out of town, help you diagnosis a common cold from a more serious infection or keep you on top of your bills. Best of all; all this is contained in a compact palm sized device overloaded with easy to navigate technology.
Available applications and websites and widgets fill us with useful and useless information and our time is much more easily both wasted and optimized. Search engines advise us of competitors pricing by scanning a bar code. There are online menus with ready reviews and option that offer us the opportunity to post our own. Online mapping will guide us there and show us other routes just in case you have a needed detour or it traffic is unfavorable.
Other positive results abound with the invention and ongoing improvement of the Smartphone in personal and professional use. This includes banking, traveling, planning and medical venues.
Available applications and websites and widgets fill us with useful and useless information and our time is much more easily both wasted and optimized. Search engines advise us of competitors pricing by scanning a bar code. There are online menus with ready reviews and option that offer us the opportunity to post our own. Online mapping will guide us there and show us other routes just in case you have a needed detour or it traffic is unfavorable.
Other positive results abound with the invention and ongoing improvement of the Smartphone in personal and professional use. This includes banking, traveling, planning and medical venues.
Consumers choosing ‘credit over cash is becoming an expected method of payment’ (Banking.com 2011). According to a recent report by comSource, ‘Smartphone banking is one of the fastest growing categories in mobile applications.’ (WorkLight 2010). However with this kind of explosive growth, there are definitely many growing pains too. Consumer concerns regarding security, missing features and privacy remain a big negative to using Smartphones for banking. Missing features accounted for close to a ‘fifth of respondents’ not using the applications on a regular basis (WorkLight 2010).
Another survey from YouGov and Antenna report 40 percent of ‘US Consumers…embracing Mobile Banking” yet this survey also reflected ‘consumer security anxieties’ as another ‘66 percent of mobily internet users would not bank regularly via a mobile app’(YahooFinance 2011)
Banking with your Smartphone is proving to be convenient and in demand by users, the drawback remains that the technology is lagging behind still in the suddenly robust consumer demand. It will take time for the banking world to catch up but as it does, the benefits will be worth the work for the industry and the wait for users.
Another survey from YouGov and Antenna report 40 percent of ‘US Consumers…embracing Mobile Banking” yet this survey also reflected ‘consumer security anxieties’ as another ‘66 percent of mobily internet users would not bank regularly via a mobile app’(YahooFinance 2011)
Banking with your Smartphone is proving to be convenient and in demand by users, the drawback remains that the technology is lagging behind still in the suddenly robust consumer demand. It will take time for the banking world to catch up but as it does, the benefits will be worth the work for the industry and the wait for users.
Another area highly in demand is in travel. Business travelers and personal travelers are finding that they are able to streamline plans by checking flight arrivals and departures before heading to the airport. Congested security lines are eased as passengers check in online before they arrive at the airport and can have their confirmation emailed to their Smartphone and then use the emailed bar code to check in through security.
“In a survey of frequent business travelers conducted by PhoCusWright in 2008, 71% said they have used a Smartphone for business during their trips, while 62% used it for leisure purposes” (Yu, 2010).
There aren’t too many drawbacks to using a Smartphone for travel but there is one major one and that is outdated or completely not included information. Local stores in visited or home areas may not be listed with all search engines and their contact information may not be up to date. It’s suggested to use more than one application (i.e. Dex versus Google or Bing) when searching for a store, location or address.
“In a survey of frequent business travelers conducted by PhoCusWright in 2008, 71% said they have used a Smartphone for business during their trips, while 62% used it for leisure purposes” (Yu, 2010).
There aren’t too many drawbacks to using a Smartphone for travel but there is one major one and that is outdated or completely not included information. Local stores in visited or home areas may not be listed with all search engines and their contact information may not be up to date. It’s suggested to use more than one application (i.e. Dex versus Google or Bing) when searching for a store, location or address.
The Healthcare profession is also seeing technological advances in care on a personal and professional level using the Smartphone. Health care professionals have long used pagers to communicate quickly. As more patient information is kept electronically, a Smartphone can serve to share information readily.
There has also been “… an explosion of health-related apps. Take the new app that turns an iPhone into a stethoscope. …Now diabetics can test their blood with a Bluetooth-enabled device that sends the information straight to diabetic’s smart phone, which can then be transferred to the doctor.” (Matthews 2011).
On a personal and individual level, one can use their Smartphone and the applications on them, to test and monitor their glucose and blood pressures. Medical websites available on a Smartphone can guide an individual through symptoms and possible remedies’, including the remedy of seeing one’s doctor.
Of course these information sources may be taken out of context, or out of one’s skill level. It is always prudent to seek professional medical advice when concerned about a health issue. That application, widget or website is not infallible and sometimes our point of view could be eschewed.
There has also been “… an explosion of health-related apps. Take the new app that turns an iPhone into a stethoscope. …Now diabetics can test their blood with a Bluetooth-enabled device that sends the information straight to diabetic’s smart phone, which can then be transferred to the doctor.” (Matthews 2011).
On a personal and individual level, one can use their Smartphone and the applications on them, to test and monitor their glucose and blood pressures. Medical websites available on a Smartphone can guide an individual through symptoms and possible remedies’, including the remedy of seeing one’s doctor.
Of course these information sources may be taken out of context, or out of one’s skill level. It is always prudent to seek professional medical advice when concerned about a health issue. That application, widget or website is not infallible and sometimes our point of view could be eschewed.
As our Smartphones continue to integrate into every day of most of our lives, unfortunately, common courtesy is not yet a common factor of owning one. Most of us can recall the moment while in a movie theater with someone using a Smartphone blinds all who happen to share a neighboring seat with them. There are also the distraction risks that Smartphones poise for drivers of a moving vehicle on the road who are tempted to return a text message or read that restaurant review in rush hour traffic. Directions to an area should be reviewed prior to starting an unknown route, not half way there on an unfamiliar road.
These drawbacks can and must be addressed. Simple education from parents, comments kind friends, our own conscience prickling and enforcing persons, such as those in uniform who can dispense vehicle tickets, will pay off as each solution is employed regularly as we go about our days with a Smartphone. Remember to hang up, log off, and close down whatever you are using on your Smartphone while checking out at the store or pumping the fuel for your vehicle. It isn’t just being considerate; it is also recalling that there can be real dangers and annoyances associated with the Smartphone.
With a little common sense and personal practical rules, we can make the incredible invention and the complete takeover of the Smartphone, a positive one.
These drawbacks can and must be addressed. Simple education from parents, comments kind friends, our own conscience prickling and enforcing persons, such as those in uniform who can dispense vehicle tickets, will pay off as each solution is employed regularly as we go about our days with a Smartphone. Remember to hang up, log off, and close down whatever you are using on your Smartphone while checking out at the store or pumping the fuel for your vehicle. It isn’t just being considerate; it is also recalling that there can be real dangers and annoyances associated with the Smartphone.
With a little common sense and personal practical rules, we can make the incredible invention and the complete takeover of the Smartphone, a positive one.
Works Cited
Banking.com Staff “Goodbye Wallet, Hello Smartphone” Banking.com, 2011. Web. 11 July 2011 http://www.banking2020.com/2011/02/22/goodbye-wallet-hello-smartphone/
Staffing post, Ben ‘US Smartphone data usage up 89%, cost goes down’, It’s all Tech, 2011. Web. 20 June 2011. http://itsalltech.com/2011/06/18/u-s-smartphone-data-usage-up-89-cost-goes-down/
Goldman, D. ‘Your smartphone will run your life’, CNNMoney 2010. Web. 21 June 2011: http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/19/technology/smartphones/index.htm
Kolesnikov-Jessop, S. ‘Do-It-Yourself Health Care with Smartphones’, New York Times, 2011. Web. 20 June 2011: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/technology/01iht-srhealth01.html
Matthews, M., ‘Names You Need to Know in 2011: Mobile Phone Apps’, Forbes, 2010. Web. 20 June 2011 from: http://blogs.forbes.com/merrillmatthews/2010/10/28/dr-cell-phone-will-see-you-now/
Mobiledia ‘Doctors Can Now Check EKGs on Smartphones’, Forbes, 2011. Web. 21 June 2011 from: http://blogs.forbes.com/mobiledia/2011/06/16/doctors-can-now-check-ekgs-on-smartphones/
Overly, S., ‘USA Mobility jumping from pagers to smartphones, tablets with acquisition of Amcom’, Washington Post, 2011. Web. 20 June 2011: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/13/AR2011031302936.html
Reed, Dan ‘Smartphone use grows among travelers’, USA Today, 2010. Web. 20 June 2011: http://travel.usatoday.com/news/2010-08-30-smartphone-travel_N.htm
Staffing post, Ben ‘US Smartphone data usage up 89%, cost goes down’, It’s all Tech, 2011. Web. 20 June 2011. http://itsalltech.com/2011/06/18/u-s-smartphone-data-usage-up-89-cost-goes-down/
Staff post, ‘Research Shows 40 Percent of US Consumers with Mobile Phone, Smartphones and Tablets Embrace Mobile Banking’ Yahoo Finance, 2011. Web 10 July 2011
WorkLight Staff ‘Consumers unimpressed by banking applications’ Finextra.com 2010. Web. 09 July 2011 http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=34183
Yu, R. ‘Smart phones have changed the way we travel’, USA Today, 2010. Web. 20 June 2011: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-03-05-airphones05_CV_N.htm
Staffing post, Ben ‘US Smartphone data usage up 89%, cost goes down’, It’s all Tech, 2011. Web. 20 June 2011. http://itsalltech.com/2011/06/18/u-s-smartphone-data-usage-up-89-cost-goes-down/
Goldman, D. ‘Your smartphone will run your life’, CNNMoney 2010. Web. 21 June 2011: http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/19/technology/smartphones/index.htm
Kolesnikov-Jessop, S. ‘Do-It-Yourself Health Care with Smartphones’, New York Times, 2011. Web. 20 June 2011: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/technology/01iht-srhealth01.html
Matthews, M., ‘Names You Need to Know in 2011: Mobile Phone Apps’, Forbes, 2010. Web. 20 June 2011 from: http://blogs.forbes.com/merrillmatthews/2010/10/28/dr-cell-phone-will-see-you-now/
Mobiledia ‘Doctors Can Now Check EKGs on Smartphones’, Forbes, 2011. Web. 21 June 2011 from: http://blogs.forbes.com/mobiledia/2011/06/16/doctors-can-now-check-ekgs-on-smartphones/
Overly, S., ‘USA Mobility jumping from pagers to smartphones, tablets with acquisition of Amcom’, Washington Post, 2011. Web. 20 June 2011: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/13/AR2011031302936.html
Reed, Dan ‘Smartphone use grows among travelers’, USA Today, 2010. Web. 20 June 2011: http://travel.usatoday.com/news/2010-08-30-smartphone-travel_N.htm
Staffing post, Ben ‘US Smartphone data usage up 89%, cost goes down’, It’s all Tech, 2011. Web. 20 June 2011. http://itsalltech.com/2011/06/18/u-s-smartphone-data-usage-up-89-cost-goes-down/
Staff post, ‘Research Shows 40 Percent of US Consumers with Mobile Phone, Smartphones and Tablets Embrace Mobile Banking’ Yahoo Finance, 2011. Web 10 July 2011
WorkLight Staff ‘Consumers unimpressed by banking applications’ Finextra.com 2010. Web. 09 July 2011 http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=34183
Yu, R. ‘Smart phones have changed the way we travel’, USA Today, 2010. Web. 20 June 2011: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-03-05-airphones05_CV_N.htm