swiss knife!
November 19, 2006 in Ideas and Discussions |
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“A mobile phone is a Swiss Army knife that can do anything for you.†– Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile (CHL) Chairman and CEO
 Our thoughts exactly! A mobile phone is not just a mobile phone – well for a lot of us it is our lifeline.
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Ever lost one or had to leave it outside a high-security auditorium? Recall all those harried faces when the plane has just landed – anxious, obsessed folks waiting to switch on their phones? You sure know what we are talking about.
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What all does your mobile do for you?
- Yes you make and receive calls
- Send and receive SMS
- Take photographs
- Store phone numbers/contacts
- Play music
- Surf the net
- Play video
- Send and receive multimedia files
- Organizer
- Calculator
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Apart from these brochure uses, each one of us has some uses which are pretty unique to that user. For example – Stock brokers operating virtual offices from their phones and PDA’s; working women balancing work and running a house, teenagers on a dating spree thanks to cell phones, parents keeping tab on school kids, veggie sellers resorting to home delivery etc.
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If you got an interesting use of the cell phone – functional or based on user experience, do share. Â
Also, let us hear how life would be without one? Â
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Know of folks who make vacation plans depending on cell connectivity. This is what a friend had to say when asked to live without his mobile phone for a while.
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“I dunno what bliss people encounter while staying away from internet and mobile phone for weeks. I prefer to have my mobile with internet enabled over roaming while I am traveling or trekking. Not because I am addicted to it, but I gives me freedom to be wherever I want to regardless of my work schedule and yet it wouldn’t come in the way of my enjoying my travel. I would prefer to sit on the top of a mountain and send my work related communications than wait in the office until work is done and then take out time for my travel or treks.â€
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Sounds like the guy who inspired a dozen ads 
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 Retirement plans depending on internet connectivity is another story!
To think back to the day’s of life without a mobile phone – they did have their charm… sort of like the day’s when there was no electricity. People went to bed early & used candles (how romantic). With no phones, people called out to their neighbours from roof tops (voice male or voice female) or sent a runner boy (short message service). A ring tone – was the amount of glitter on a ring (18 karat or 24 karat). People actually wrote proper language and not abbreviated words to fit into 160 characters.
Life was a lot slower. If one wanted to call home, one had to queue up in front of the local public call office (PCO)… if one could be located and had long distance facilities. Those were the days of trunk calls (3 categories – normal – took all day waiting by the phone, urgent – took half a day’s wait by the phone and lightning – about an hour’s wait by the phone).
Now, the mobile phone has become an appendage or an essential part of one’s wardrobe. One doesn’t leave home without it. It’s made life a lot faster, but every once in a while one does need a break from it.