Can You Hear Me Now?
EmailLet me tell you about the day I decided civilization was finished. I was in a men’s room at an airport. A man came in, yakking loudly on a cell phone. He did his business, flushed, and left — and not for a second did he stop talking. It didn’t escape our notice here that it’s now 25 years since the first commercial cell phone service began. We did a World News piece; the webcast version is HERE. Volumes have been written about how the mobile phone has changed us. We’re all reachable, whether we like it or not. We can talk to people with remarkable ease, but we’re also surrounded by the din of other people having private conversations in public places. A friend of mine would laugh at the conversations that broke out around us on planes when the flight ended: "Now would you please make three copies and send two to Steve, with a cover note…." How many calls do we now make because we can, not because we need or want to? A U.N. report says we’re close four billion wireless phones worldwide — more than half the planet’s population. In the U.S. alone, as of June, there were 262.7 million wireless subscribers — 84 percent of all Americans. In a year, we use 2.23 trillion minutes of air time. And, of course, it’s become a touch quaint to refer to cell phones as "phones" — since it’s hard to find one that doesn’t include a camera, browser, texting, GPS, ability to download music or video, etc. Motorola, whose DynaTAC series was perhaps the first successful "handset" — though at two-and-a-half pounds it doesn’t seem very handy anymore — has posted its own version of the cell phone’s history HERE. Watch the video from 1984. It will remind you that time flies. The CTIA, the industry association (CTIA used to stand for Cellular Telephone Industries Association), lists some changes that have come along since the first commercial cell-phone service in 1983: "Plenty of Time to Chat: In the first six months of 2008 (Jan. 1 – June 30) U.S. consumers talked on average a total of 187 billion minutes each month. That is more than 6 billion minutes each day, and amounts to nearly 13 hours (766 minutes) per customer each month. "Text is the New Talk: More than 384 billion text messages were reported by carriers this year between Jan. 1 – June 30, versus 295 billion voice calls. That is 22 billion more text messages than for all of 2007. Text messaging is doubling every year. "Subscriptions Soaring: The wireless industry saw almost 20 million new subscribers in just the last 12 month period (July 2007 – June 2008). There are 2,869 times more subscribers today than in January 1985." And by the way, to transmit all that stuff, the CTIA says that in June there were 220,472 cell towers in America. (Image of 1983 phone courtesy Motorola.)
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1983,the year I came to this world, and that time man had got the cell phones.
And until now,I have used a cell phone for 6 years,it changed me a lot.
Posted by: Acshy Young | October 17, 2008, 7:41 pm 7:41 pm
huh. i thought this was about cell phones.
Posted by: dkemp | October 17, 2008, 7:43 pm 7:43 pm
I dont used cell phones and have not for
10 years. They are to costly you usually
have to pay for incoming calls, a rip-off. People can wait for me to get home if they want to talk to me.My home phone
costs me 48 bucks a month. My sons cell
phone averages 130 bucks.
Phooey on cell phones.
Posted by: Laura | October 17, 2008, 8:35 pm 8:35 pm
You think you know?
Obama’s Cell vs. McCain’s Cell. So, Who has the best service yet costs less? Tonight on Nightline.
Umm maybe not.
Posted by: CoboltBomb | October 17, 2008, 8:55 pm 8:55 pm
I don’t own one. My wife doesn’t own one. Who cares?
Call me on my land line. If I’m not home, leave a message…..
Posted by: Catullus1 | October 17, 2008, 9:46 pm 9:46 pm
911 calls from cell phones has saved lifes on the highway. There is value to them
Posted by: Vegas | October 17, 2008, 11:43 pm 11:43 pm
Cell phones are, in general, very good… Even before cell phones, people had private conversations in public. Even before cell phones, people were loud on trains…
Posted by: zuzi | October 18, 2008, 1:23 am 1:23 am
I’ve never liked cell phones, never used one dont know how to use one. They’re way too small and hard to see. When my boss wanted to get me one so that she could reach me whenever she wanted to i flat out refused to own one. Call me old fashioned but if people want to call and talk to me they can call me when i’m at home.
Posted by: SideSwipe08 | October 18, 2008, 8:32 am 8:32 am
Is everyone commenting here 80 years old?
Posted by: Jim | October 18, 2008, 9:27 am 9:27 am
I would say there are both positive and negative aspects of owning a cell phone. Cell phones can be very handy during emergencies, but can also cause emergencies when poeple use them irresponsibly, for example, talking while driving and not paying attention to the road. It is a new era of life, we just have to adjust. Most of us are adults, let’s act like one!!!
Posted by: Imran U | October 18, 2008, 9:59 am 9:59 am
Ned
Not all of us use cell phones. I bought one when I left California and moved back east and dropped the service after I finally found and bought a new home with a land line. It offers nothing for me except as a temporary expediant between homes and DSL lines. In other words it is a choice, one that you do not have to make.
Posted by: Quietman | October 18, 2008, 12:50 pm 12:50 pm
I hate the damn thing. I rarely take it when I go out. I don’t want to be reachable 24/7. Leave me alone!
Posted by: PGelsman | October 18, 2008, 10:07 pm 10:07 pm
I feel comfortable knowing that my wife has a cell phone when she is away from home or work. The only time we use it is when we are traveling. She lost her old phone, purchased a new one and later found out that the company would give her a new one to replace the old one. I now carry the old one. I have carried it now for several months when I am away from home but I seldom turn in on. I don’t need it…I try to plan ahead and not be put in a situation where I have not properly or adequately planned.
Posted by: dan | October 19, 2008, 11:50 am 11:50 am
I’ve had a cell phone since 1992, when the service first became available to me. The first phone was a bag phone. My latest phone is a touch screen device that has gps navigation, web browser, and music player, among other things. Since I got the phone, I have used it to call the police to report a wooden shipping crate splattered in the middle of a busy freeway, possibly speeding clean-up and preventing an accident. I have called the police and relatives twice after becoming an accident victim myself. I used the cell phone after picking my dad up from a hospital and beginning the 2 hour drive home and he forgot to ask a question about the medicine. He became upset and wasn’t sure whether to turn around and return to the hospital or have to wait until the next day to call from home since it was almost 5 pm. I was able to get his doctor on my cell phone and he cleared up the confusion and was able to rest on the way home. Cell phones are wonderful to have, when used for the proper things.
Posted by: Kevin | October 19, 2008, 3:28 pm 3:28 pm
‘Arrr! don’t want any of that technology that puts more of my life in under my personal control! I would rather hide behind the appearance of be ‘unreachable at the moment’ than to face life directly and with honesty. Arr!’
The real arguments against this would be about privacy from unauthorized abuse, not about you boss being able to reach you or not… that is ‘authorized’ ….and even those arguments really aren’t about being against the technology, but how it is employed. Arr!
Posted by: Jon | October 19, 2008, 8:47 pm 8:47 pm
To any of you that don’t use cell phones or are “against” them or phooey on cell phones — what happens if you drive off the road or come upon an emergency situation where you have to call for help? Or do you have a manifesto you want us to read?
Posted by: bob | October 19, 2008, 9:59 pm 9:59 pm
I actually just got my first cell phone about 2 years ago. I don’t even use it. The only use it has for me is a clock in my pocket, and an occasional call from my wife. We have about 700 minutes a month. I use about 15 of them, the rest are either used up by my wife, or not used. I’m starting to wonder who she’s talking to all the time….
I don’t have a problem with them until you’re driving next to me, yakking on your phone, not paying attention, and coming into my lane. And I’m not one to move out of your way for you being stupid. I’ll let you hit me. Then I’ll get out and tell you how stupid you were, while calling the police, to tell them you hit me while yakking on your phone. Then inspect the damage done to your car, while laughing that my truck only recieved a new color of paint. Simple justice is that you’ll have to pay for the damages to your car, while I just drive off with some new paint colors. Sad part is this has happened multiple times to me. And since I’m a truck man, I’ve never had any damage done to my truck. Last friday I was hit the hardest I’ve ever been hit. Got rear-ended. She hit my tow hitch. No damage to me, just some paint. But her front end was destroyed. She’ll have to replace her bumber, hood, grill, and light assemblies. She was an 18 year old college girl, talking on her phone, not paying attention. I’m sure she won’t learn her lesson though. That is the sad part.
Posted by: Lawrence | October 20, 2008, 10:01 am 10:01 am
Lawrence
Sad but true. Some states have already passed “distracted driving” laws so if a copy sees you on a cell phone with the car in motion it’s an expensive ticket. This really needs to be nation wide.
Posted by: Quietman | October 20, 2008, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm
copy s/b cop (don’t know how I managed that one)
Posted by: Quietman | October 20, 2008, 2:37 pm 2:37 pm
I’ve got my first gsm-mobile phone in 2000 and it was weight about 1lb 400 grams, it was pulling my pents down if i had it on belt- impossible to be in jeans pocket..
Posted by: Iliya | October 20, 2008, 8:08 pm 8:08 pm
“Let me tell you about the day I decided civilization was finished.”
Amazing what will survive on a hard drive.
Posted by: ariel | October 22, 2008, 11:14 am 11:14 am
laura, ur home phone costs u 48 bucks a mont… my cell phone costs me a little over 50 bucks a month and its unlimited calling (including long distance) and texts. maybe u should get a cell phone and dump your home phone like many many people including me have done.
Posted by: yo yo yo | October 24, 2008, 12:11 pm 12:11 pm
i always use my cellphone. It doesn’t hurt me. I can hear fine its just that people don’t speak loud enough.
Posted by: nat | October 27, 2008, 7:58 pm 7:58 pm
The invention that was created and developed as fast as light in recently is cellphones. Until now, it is the most attractive thing and interesting thing, it is not just a phone, it became a jewelry and a fashionable thing that anyone want to have it. that is why people forgot the “phone” that used to exist…
Posted by: Huy Ha | November 1, 2008, 12:44 am 12:44 am
Hi everyone,
I have used a cell phone since the brick phones came out and i could afford one. Its a great invention and it would be very hard to perform my job duties during the week if i had to stop and use a pay phone all the time. The days of using a pager and stopping to make payphone calls are long gone and I’m so glad.
As for the talking or texting while driving i agree it should be controlled or mandatory to use a headset.
Posted by: Bill | February 22, 2009, 9:31 pm 9:31 pm
The beautiful thing about a cell phone is you can turn it off. All these Luddites claiming they don’t want a cell phone because they can’t be bothered by anyone seem to forget about the off switch.
As an attorney, I couldn’t run my business without a cell phone. It makes any downtime out of the office into work productive time, which lets me do more in a workday, and ultimately spend more time with my family as a result. I’ve had a cell phone since Motorola’s first flip phone, which had a huge battery, and now have an iPhone which I’ve used to look up the address of a treating doctor for a client during an SSI assessement meeting, get updated research from an assistant while arguing in the courtroom, and find many many places on its map feature. As long as I am in a service area, it is now impossible for me to get lost. The phone always knows exactly where it is, and how to get to my destination.
Sure, I could live without it, but I could live without a TV, car, or a computer too. Why would I want to?
Posted by: Brian | February 24, 2009, 11:25 am 11:25 am
all i have to say is thank god for cell phones… without them i wouldnt be able to keep in contact with my family back in the states while being deployed with the army, dont dog on inventions that keep me in touch with the people that keep me alive everyday.
Posted by: PFC | March 9, 2009, 6:31 am 6:31 am
Notice how industry always try to shift the conversation away from the truth? Cell phones and cars don’t mix. The “safe” headset is the equivalent of the “safe” cigarette. No such animal. The CDC studied this and determined that you are about equally impaired driving with a headset as driving drunk–and the mortality is about the same headset or no headset. But the industry is now so powerful that it can sway legislatures from banning cell phone use while driving and promotes “hands-free” as a safe call. I love cell phones where appropriate, but not in cars. How about this for a futuristic news flash? Driving a car is serious business and requires a driver’s FULL attention.
Posted by: AE | March 17, 2009, 11:51 pm 11:51 pm
My home phone
costs me 48 bucks a month. Laura | Oct 17, 2008 8:35:08 PM
—————
My cell phone costs me 46/month, and has every feature of a home phone (unlimited local/long distance/text/picture/callerID/voicemail/callwaiting/ on and on)
Posted by: Kurosekiryu | September 18, 2009, 3:31 pm 3:31 pm