The Communications of Tomorrow

Mobile phones - in the past, they have been about the size of a forearm, though as technology developed, they have become smaller and more complicated. The present day mobile is smaller than the size of someone’s palm. Previously, they have only had one use. Time went by and now phones can act as mp3s, video players and portable computers. As we will depend on our phones a lot more in the future, this article will reflect on the history of mobiles and how they would have changed since the beginning. Imagine what mobile phones will look like in the future?

Many years ago, around the 80s, the first generation (1G) of mobiles came out which were using analogue technology, and had sizes and shapes that were not very creative. Years before then, mobile rigs (external machines attached to the back of vehicles) were used to communicate. A period before that are an even earlier generation used for messaging in WWII, when mobiles were introduced. This is known as the zero generation or 0G.

In the nineties, the second generation (2G) was released utilizing digital machinery, as such improving performance and quality. The brick shapes of the mobile started to become unusual and more rounded. A problem with earlier mobiles is that they dropped calls as their owners moved into a place that has issues with signals. 2G mobiles were less prone to this. Due to advancements in technology over time, mobiles began to become smaller than their predecessors, a trend that continues to this day.

After 2G, the current generation, or 3G was released. It is this generation that has mobiles combining with other machines and more like computers. Cameras were built-in so people can take pictures of themselves or their surroundings to their friends. Further improvements are that mobiles can record sounds and objects. Bluetooth has now been introduced to the consumers that can improve performance and connect with other devices for example, computers. Television is also integrated to mobiles. Text messaging can be used with mobiles now, which has led to new problems regarding this.

Problems with mobiles are that they can make people impolite as they can ring in the middle of a conversation and a new one forms between the caller and the person. Mobiles can also distract people so they do make mistakes that can cause serious dangers such as driving a car and text messaging can cause a collision which could cause death. Mobiles emit a radiation that has been suspected to over a long period of time, harm people’s brains.

As of now, people are preparing for the future generation of mobiles which is known as 4G or the fourth generation. This is the future of mobiles which have seen awkward and very unusual forms such as wrist-worn devices and a retractable computer screen. Better antenna systems will improve the signals and people could call about anywhere.

In my opinion, as technology continues to advance, the mobiles will continue to shrink as they become microscopic and along with future machinery and computing, voice-activated and possibly integrating machines such as artificial intelligence Unfortunately, we rely on mobiles a lot, but in the future, they will someday, take over our social lives.

Ben, 13