How Smartphones Have Affected People’s Way of Living

The emergence of smartphones has affected the way people do their everyday work at home, in, school, and in the office. Before the smartphone made its appearance in the market, people used what is called feature phones. Aside from allowing you to communicate with the use of your voice, feature phones allow you to send text messages. In addition, feature phones also have multimedia capabilities, which mean that you can record videos and take pictures with a camera usually mounted at the back of the phone. With the introduction of 3G technology, newer models of feature phones have cameras mounted in front of the phone. Feature phones also allow you to record voice messages, play music usually in WMA and MP3 format, and listen to your favorite FM radio stations.

Feature phones also have PDA or Personal Digital Assistant functions which allow you to organize the schedule of your activities, remember important events like birthdays, and meetings, and take note of pieces of information you want to remember. That’s why feature phones have calendars, stopwatches, and even memo pads.

But with smartphones, the user is able to do more. That’s because smartphones have a desktop on which you see icons just like on your desktop computer. Feature phones are menu driven which means functions are grouped into menus. It is because of these icons that smartphones employ touchscreen technology. Users simply activate a function by tapping on an icon which may allow the user to play games, send text messages, take pictures, or even play games. No longer does the user have to use the navigation button on the phone’s keypad. As a matter of fact, newer models of feature phones have their keypads displayed on the screen.

With regard to multimedia capabilities, smartphones allow you take better pictures since they have a better lens system than most feature phones. You can also use smartphones to take pictures of subjects that move fast. Gradually, smartphones are running makers of digital cameras out of their business. With regard to video recording capabilities, you can use smartphones to make mini movies in DVD or HD (High definition) format.  So now, who needs a video camera?

In addition to touchscreen technology, smartphones allow the user to read pdf files, Word files, and Excel worksheets. This allows the user to look over business documents or read e-books even if he or she is away from his or her personal computer.

Also, because of 3G and 4G technology, smartphone users can surf the Internet or write and read email even without the use of computers. Availing of third-party services, like the RingCentral Internet fax, would even allow users to send fax messages right from their smartphones.

The cellphone indeed has come a long way from its beginnings as a mobile phone that you use to make and receive calls. As newer and better technologies are developed, the smartphone continues to undergo enhancements and keep up with the fast pace of the users’ lifestyle.