phone

While waiting on a late professor I decided to whip out with my N93 (as anyone with the latest gadget is inclined to do). To a chorus of 'oohs' and 'awws' I demoed a few of its slicker features to onlookers. But there were a few detractors. One in particular loudly voiced his opinion, having the audacity to declare it just a phone. I couldn't help but snicker. I assumed he was either suffering from a mild case of bad-phone-itis or had perhaps caught a much more serious strain of ignorance. I didn't dwell on it.

Then today while reading an interview of Tony Pearce, managing director of Player X, I stumbled upon it again. A phone is a phone, Pearce boldly claims in reference to Player X's decision to expand its media base beyond mobile games. I found this much more troubling and as such warranting further reflection. Are we all getting a little too excited about something that's just a phone?

My name is Phillip Jeffrey.  I am one of a number of writers based in MAGIC that will be sharing with you something about our research or research-related interests. I am a Masters student in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of British Columbia. My interests include pervasive games, location-based technologies, ethnography, and culture. 

Today while I was sitting in front of our residence fireplace while snow fell outside, I tried without success to use my mobile phone.  At the time the network was working intermittently perhaps due to the power outage.  It was also by chance I came across an article from the Chicago Tribute about how Africans are being empowered through mobile phones.  I realised how little I hear about Africa and mobile technology and I thought it would be useful to bring to light how their society is being affected by mobile phones today. 

An article I read recently claims that Japanese children consider full-size computer keyboards too cumbersome and confusing, compared to the sleek keypads of their phones. Their attitude will probably change when they grow up and find themselves writing long essays – T9 doesn’t cut it for anything longer than a few sentences. Typing aside, today’s mobile phone interfaces are quite efficient and streamlined. But what about tomorrow? While it’s possible to control everything using the numpad and a handful of soft keys, it’s definitely not intuitive. The race to find a suitable replacement is now in full swing.