Advantages of Cell Phones

When were cell phones invented? What are the benefits and advantages of cell phones? What are the disadvantages of cell phones or mobile phones?

A cell phone also referred to as a mobile phone or a hand phone, depending on which part of the world you are in, is a hand held electronic device used for mobile telecommunication over a cellular network infrastructure. Other than the convenience of making and receiving calls when on the move, the benefits of cell phones have continued to grow over the years with functions now including text messaging, Internet access, camera and video recording and data storage.

Though cell phones are widely used, with an estimated worldwide subscriber base of 4.6 billion users according to the International Telecommunication Union, the history of cell phones only dates back to 1973. The invention of the cell phone as we know it today is credited to Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher. He made the first mobile call in April of 1973 and later in October of the same year, patented this invention with the US Patent Office.

Since its invention, mobile phones have become a necessity instead of a luxury for many people. Business people, sales people and people who travel a lot will attest to it. One of the greatest advantages of cell phones is their use in case of emergency or a disaster or anytime a person is in a difficult or alarming situation.

Just like the internet, people use cell phones to receive and send the latest information, news and incidents from any part of the world and spread the news fast. Text messaging is often used because it is cheaper than making a telephone call. And with the camera, video uploading, Bluetooth connectivity and other advanced features on most mobile phones today, communication has revolutionized at all levels.

The cell phone has gone through numerous improvement and mobile phone manufacturers have continually released diverse phone options in a bid to add to the benefits of cell phones for the end user. Today, there are various types of cell phones you can choose from and the advantages of cell phones seemingly growing every day.

Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs are cell phones that are optimized for personal data and multimedia. They have many advanced features including e-mail and internet capabilities, GPS navigation and many other features. Touch Screen phones, a feature that many PDAs actually come fitted with, allow you to interact and manipulate content on your p hone directly through a touch sensitive screen. The response is to the human finger or a special pen.

Another type of phone is the slide phone which enables you to conveniently slide in the keypad when not in use. Flip phones attempt to achieve a similar effect as the slide phone only that the phone has a central hinge that allows it to be flipped open and closed to expose and hide respectively the keypad and screen.

Finally there is the budget cell phones which are fitted with just the basic features of a cell phone as a means to reduce their retail price. Budget cell phones are targeted toward those people that are more sensitive to cost rather than to extra functionality.

Even though there are many clear advantages of cell phones that make it difficult to contemplate life without them today, cell phones also have a number of disadvantages. For starters, many people have fallen prey to cell phone addiction.

Whether the addiction is to internet chatting, gaming, short text messaging or just making phone calls, you can find yourself addicted or continually distracted and this may reduce your overall productivity. In line with this addiction is a likely increase in the expenses incurred for using the cell phone for long hours.

Many car accidents have also been caused by distractions from cell phones. Many countries today have banned the use of cell phones while driving as a result. Improper disposal of cell phones also harms the environment as cell phones are not biodegradable.

Nevertheless, the advantages of cell phones still outweigh the disadvantages and there are ways through which you can manage these drawbacks. Given the many benefits of cell phones provide, it is likely that they will be with us for a long time to come.

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