In this post, we will be talking about the advantage of mobile phones, which have completely changed the world around us in one way or another. This century has been truly a revolution in terms of technology, which has paved the way for a more modern and sophisticated life for the human race. Every aspect of our lives has been affected by these technical innovations, which have made life easier and faster.
However, with the coming of new technology, their after-effects have also been there, whether we like them or not. Without a doubt, one of the most important innovations in these years is mobile phones, and we will discuss the advantage of mobile phones after having talked about their evolution in the world in general and in India in particular.
Role of mobile phones in our lives
Talking about advantage of mobile phones, there can be no doubt that mobile phones are one of the most significant inventions that mankind has ever made. Not only in terms of bringing forth a completely new technology for mankind but also the way it completely revolutionized the lives of humans on earth. Whether the impact has been good or bad, can be a subject of discussion, but there is no doubt that mobile phones have impacted almost every living human in the world in one way or another. And when we talk about the overall impact of mobile phones on humankind, definitely the advantage of mobile phones seem far greater than their disadvantages.
Now, of course, the topic of the advantage of mobile phones is inevitable and will be discussed everywhere. Be it schools, homes, institutions, offices, etc., as well as by families, groups, friends, and colleagues, people will come to conclusions as per their own interpretations and as per the different situations arising out of it. Every new technology takes time to get absorbed into the system and into the personal lives of human beings.
In the early stages, mobile phones were not so popular due to being costly, scarcely available in the market and deemed to be a device meant only for the rich people by the common man. But, with the passage of time, the open availability of mobile phones grew, the usage became more user-friendly and the costs went down (both the calling costs and of the device). Nowadays, there is hardly anyone who can do without a mobile phone, as these have become an intrinsic part of everyone’s life.
Here, before any introduction to mobile phones or cell phones (as some people also call them), we will throw a little light on the evolution of telephones as such, in general, before discussing the advantage of mobile phones at length.
The invention of the landline and mobile phone
Before we talk about the advantage of mobile phones, we will discuss their predecessor, i.e., landline phones. Much before the concept of mobile phones, landline phones were being used for communication purposes. The contribution towards the invention of the landline phone by Graham Bell in 1876 is paramount, as he laid the foundation of a stepping stone for the further evolution of mankind.
The first words spoken by Graham Bell over the telephone were with his assistant Watson when Bell called him after spilling some acid on himself. The first words ever spoken on the telephone were “Mr. Watson, come here; I want to see you”.
For almost a century, this traditional landline phone became the backbone of the communication system for the masses all over the world. The earlier days saw only limited usage and were confined to some rich people. With even the middle class not being able to have this luxury initially, the general masses started to own landline phones with the passage of time whenever they could afford it.
Of course, new models kept coming into the market with the improvement of technology, but the overall set used to be the same as that of the talking device and the attached wire.
Introduction of Mobile Phones in the International Market:
After almost a century, the Motorola Company invented the first handheld mobile phone in 1973 and introduced it to the world. The engineer from the Motorola company, Martin Cooper, made the first call on the model DynaTAC 8000X, which was the first of its kind in the world. This device was quite heavy, with a weight of more than 1 Kg. This device could only offer a talk time of 30 minutes and had to be charged for 10 hours to get going.
Then, after more than a decade, the first portable mobile phone was invented in 1985 by a Siemens company named Siemens Mobiltelefon C1. This device, though small compared to the first one introduced by Motorola, was still as big as a common suitcase. The models kept on improving all over the world by different companies and the emphasis was on the improvisation of the design and the weight. The development and improvisations took place and the advantage of mobile phones was definitely visible over the traditional landlines.
Soon after two years, Nokia introduced its first mobile phone in the market and the model was known as the Mobira Cityman 900. Then, Samsung also introduced itself with its version of the mobile phone known as the SH-100. Likewise, many companies joined and the market kept growing at a steady pace.
Entry of mobile into India:
The introduction of mobile phones in India started only as early as the last decade of the 1990s. Before that, landline phones were used only by those who could afford them. Naturally, the ones who possessed this luxury in those days were supposed to be the affluent class and it was deemed equally as a prized possession as was its actual use in those days. This was the first step toward a complete shift of mode of communication and the stepping stone of a new era, where the advantage of mobile phones surely outweighed the landlines.
The year was 1995 and the day was July 31st, when the then chief minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, made the first mobile phone call to then telecom minister Sukh Ram from Kolkata to Delhi paving the way for the entry of mobile phones in India. It was not like today when the advantage of mobile phones is tremendous and the calls are almost free and come with a bundle of other advantages in a package that is so cheap and affordable. Those days, the caller had to budge Rs.16/- per minute and the other person receiving the call, equally had to pay half the amount, that the caller actually was charged.
India has come a long way since then and mobile phones have become a part and parcel of the common man irrespective of the social status he or she is having. More than the status symbol that it used to be, the advantage of mobile phones is that now mobile phones have synchronized more with the lives of people, at a far greater level than that of landline phones. The cell phone market has grown at a considerable rate in India over these years and as of today, there are more than 600 million mobile phone subscribers in India.
The advantage of mobile phones:
Now after a brief introduction to telephones and mobile phones in India, we are coming back to our topic of the advantage of mobile phones. No doubt, that mobile phones have become a part of our lives, without which carrying our daily routines seems impossible in today’s life. Like other inventions of the world, the invention of mobile phone technology also comes with its own advantages and disadvantages.
However, here we will try to discuss the advantage of mobile phones and the benefits they have provided to mankind. Mobile phones are an inseparable part of our lives today and we can’t think of our lives without them at all.
Some points on the advantage of mobile phones
We will be discussing the main advantage of mobile phones that we can easily observe around us. The best uses and advantage of mobile phones is as below:
Business Promotions
With the development of mobile phones and advancement in their features, mobile phones have become an excellent tool for marketing companies and businessmen who now promote their businesses through campaigns on mobiles themselves. The advantage of mobile phones has been that these have opened up new opportunities for business organizations all over.
The email campaigns, the advertisement campaigns, the bulk SMS forwarding, developing company apps, promoting the business pages on social media, bulk marketing promotions in various groups in social media like
- Youtube
- Telegram
- location-based marketing tools like geofencing,
- promotions of websites through optimized website mobiles pages,
- videos, GIFs (Graphic User Interface) and much more.
The list and the opportunities are endless and this has truly revolutionized the world.
Communications
One of the advantage of mobile phones has been that they have made basic communication between people very easy. The best thing about this mode of communication is that there is no need for any wires or any connecting mechanism that limits its reach as in the landlines. The landlines have lost their significance to a large extent today, even if not having totally gone extinct. The fact that a person no longer needs to be immobile and attached to the device during the call has totally revolutionized the communication mechanism.
In a way, mobile phones have literally given more control to the common man over his or her life. The requirement for a person to be social is one of the most basic necessities of human beings, especially in this fast-paced world. What mobile phones have done is that the horizon has been enhanced by these wonder devices and anyone can talk to any person with whom he or she wants to communicate, irrespective of where they are located. Mobility and ease of communication are some of the basic advantage of mobile phones when we talk about the important gains from this invention.
Social Media
One of the best advantage of mobile phones is that they have become an important tool for infotainment, information plus entertainment. These communicating devices no longer offer the basic functionality of talking but go beyond their scope. In today’s world of information and knowledge, a person cannot remain unaffected by the influence of worldly matters. Being connected with one another, even with the outside circle has literally widened the horizon of people all over the world today.
The usage of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc., has made the common man more informative than ever before. The news, updates, games, sales, and information sharing have been made possible by these mobile phones only. In fact, the necessity of social media in today’s world and the pace required to manoeuvre it, has been possible only due to mobile phones which is the best advantage of mobile phones.
Emergency calls
In case of any accident or any untoward incident, there is a lot of chaos and confusion in the mind as to how to handle the situation. The person who doesn’t have any near or dear one with him or her starts to panic. Or, it could happen that one needs immediate help for his or her kith or kin who may be in danger. The need could be for doctors, police, fire extinguishers, dog bite experts, nurses, etc., in any sudden eventuality which mostly, cannot be a normal one. In these situations, these handy numbers can serve a great purpose for the needy person where time is the biggest factor.
Now, talking about the advantage of mobile phones, nowadays, mobile phones come with a built-in emergency call numbers option. This has eased the lives of people in emergency situations and many lives actually get saved.
The advantage of mobile phones is easily understood by this feature through which a person can ask for help from remote areas, which may be inaccessible to other normal beings. The person has to call on a pre-installed SOS number which one can dial three times and the emergency call will get forwarded to the concerned department like police, fire, flood, etc.
One can even share the location on these apps for speedy tracking and help. Of course, one has to have the mobile net facility on the sim card that the person is using on the mobile.
Entertainment
Today’s world is moving fast and this has made the life of human beings stressful, as everyone has to keep pace with their surroundings. This holds good for every age group, especially the people in the bracket of 18-50 years. The respite comes from the advanced features of mobile phones which have the potential to keep the person entertained right where he or she is.
These days the advantage of mobile phones is that they come with features like apps from
- Social networking sites namely WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.,
- Movie apps like Amazon Prime, Netflix, YouTube, Hot Star, Eros Now, Airtel Xtreme, etc.
- Shopping apps like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Meesho, Snapdeal, etc..
- Music apps like Gaana, Youtube Music, Wynk Music, Apple Music, Jio Saavn, etc.
- Gaming apps like Candy Crush Saga, PubG, Temple Run, Gardenscapes, Ludo King, etc.
With so many options that cell phones now offer, a stressed-out person, a travelling person or a person who is having some leisure time at his or her disposal, can use any of these apps and keep himself or herself entertained. This advantage of mobile phones has really made a difference in the life of a stressed-out and entertainment-starved person nowadays.
Location tracking
The parents of today are more concerned about the future and the careers of their children and want only the best education for them. For that purpose, the child may have to travel a far distance to study in a good school of repute or for tuition when the child is a little grown up. But, this also means that they are not with their parents all the time and therefore vulnerable to some extent. But, the advantage of mobile phones is that they have come up with a solution for this.
The parents can now track the location of their kids wherever they are and keep themselves updated about their welfare. The parents can simply install any location tracker app on their mobile phones and register themselves. Also, they need a device for the kid which has to be always with the kid (it can be a device like a wristwatch or a tag tied on his wrist or a phone in his bag) from which they can scan their own mobile phone and pair themselves and the mechanism is ready.
Wherever the kid goes, the parents can check the real-time location of their children and can even set limits to the distance up to which their child is expected to go. The alarm system gets activated and alerts the parents whenever the boundary is breached by the child. Hence, this advantage of mobile phones is really a boon for parents.
Online transactions
One of the best advantage of mobile phones has been that transactions over mobile phones have been really made possible in a few clicks only. People used to visit various public utility or government offices personally and stand in queues to pay the bills of electricity, water, grocery, taxes, etc., and take time out from their busy schedules. During festivals, the stress of shopping and bill payment used to be quite a task in itself.
But, taking advantage of mobile phones, any person can now pay the bills online through mobile apps. One only has to install the apps on his or her mobile phone and save the hassle and the time that one spends unnecessarily travelling there. The payments of tickets, bills, online deliveries, bank money transfers, credit card payments, etc., have been made easy through this method. The mode of payments also has a wide range like payments on links sent through SMS by recipients, through QR codes, direct payments through in-app purchases or web-based purchases.
Camera and Video Recording
Nowadays, the camera and video recording feature is another advantage of mobile phones. In the earlier days, people had to visit professional photographers to get a photograph clicked. This used to consume a lot of time as the photographer needed some days to get the film ready from the roll. The cost was also a factor that restricted the usage of the number of photographs that one could afford to get clicked. There was no concept of taking photographs on our own and as per our liking or place.
But, now this drawback has been overcome by mobile phones which have an in-built camera phone. For any emergency need of the latest pictures, one can very easily get the picture clicked and send it anywhere. Even the usage of home cameras has been decreased by this feature which even normal mobile phones have got nowadays. The more advanced the mobile is, the sharper the pixel size and hence, the sharper picture one can take from the mobile camera. This has revolutionized the world as one can even make video calls to distant places too. Surely, this advantage of mobile phones over the previous models has made a big difference.
Calendar feature
Calendars are the main sources whenever we have to check for dates, festivals and holidays and keep records of household groceries like milk and other daily essential items. The calendars keep us up to date with the world and help us in making programs, planning any holidays or booking dates for meetings, etc. The traditional calendar is one of the basic tools that one can find in any household, irrespective of the social status of the individual.
But today, what the advantage of mobile phones offer is that these tasks are done smartly by our mobile phones only. We can plan our family holidays and leaves, besides booking our time on the digital calendars that come with the mobile itself. The gmails itself have an in-built calendar system which is very handy as almost at all times, we have the mobiles with us.
Within the flash of a second, the entire list of our scheduled tasks and future reference dates are available to us with the help of this device which is also one of the advantage of mobile phones. One can even set reminders for other people in the group using the gmails from our own mobiles which will alert them on the day for which the alarm has been set.
Notes and Memo
In case we need to write something or note down any important number, we need to have paper and a pen or pencil handy. But, sometimes an immediate need to note down a number or a reminder can arise at absolutely any time and anywhere. Of course, a notebook and a pen are not always possible to be with us, so what better option than having something similar on our mobile phones?
This option is also being provided by the manufacturers of mobile phones these days. The notes and memos feature in our mobile phones are a great handy tool that is very useful at times. Thus, this feature adds great functionality and enhances the advantage of mobile phones for us.
Navigation
We travel a lot these days due to our fast-paced life in order to expand our business, for vacation or for study purposes. Often we end up being at places that are not well-known to us. It may also happen that the local people living there, may or may not be within our reach. Also, it can happen that it may be hard to locate them or to approach them for asking directions.
Also, while driving to far-off places, we may get lost due to confusing roads, sudden diversions due to road constructions or the already known-to roads getting a new look after repairs. In these circumstances, we tend to get hassled and mentally disturbed as the dangers of getting trapped in an unknown area can be obvious too.
Mobile phones have been designed very smartly for this very problem. The map function from Google solves this problem very conveniently. One more advantage of mobile phones is that the navigation system which comes integrated with mobile phones is a lifesaver. The person is required to have an internet connection that is synchronized with the GPS satellite system present in that area. The person only needs to fill in the details of the area where he wants to go and the navigation system guides him with the correct and the shortest path or path suggestions.
The Internet facility
Another advantage of mobile phones is that mobile phones come with a very powerful tool called mobile internet which is the foremost requirement for using any other services or apps present in the cell phone. Mobile phones work within the system of networks that are provided by various internet service providers in any particular area.
Each service provider has its own system of cells (as the cell phones are called, as such) in the form of network towers that interact with the mobile phones to whom they are providing services. The query sent by the mobile phones interacts in the form of digital signals with the network towers in the area and the network in turn sends the signals back carrying the necessary information which the cell phone decodes.
The internet on mobile can be accessed in two ways:
- One is the mobile network through which the cell phones are connected with the network towers which are in turn connected to the satellites.
- Another way is through a Wi-Fi system where the mobile is connected to a more powerful device close by. Thus the signal is faster and clearer and is quite useful where the mobile connection is weak or the user has to use many devices.
With the advent of smartphones nowadays and the introduction of the 5G network, the usage of mobile internet has been taken to another level. The advantage of mobile phones lies in the usage of internet facilities, which is a prerequisite for the smooth usage of other services through mobile apps.
Alarms systems
During our childhood, we need not worry about not being able to wake up early in the morning to reach school. Our parents used to take care of that. Even after getting a little older, we could manage to wake up early as a routine in our lives.
But with the passage of time, life gets more demanding and faster, thus making us more stressed out and tired. Waking up early on our own regularly gets a little tougher with each passing day. That is where the mobile alarms come in handy, more so since everyone has a personal cell phone these days. The alarm feature present in mobile phones was added quite in the early days of the mobile itself.
This advantage of mobile phones lies in the fact that the alarm system present in mobile phones can be utilized for many other purposes in addition to normal alarms. Some of the functions which can be triggered by this alarm system are:
Normal alarm
One of the basic functions that are there since cell phones came into being. It is for normal morning alarms for students, working professionals, for any important tasks of the morning, etc.
Home Security
Many security apps after connecting with the security cameras of the home, can give us control of the security of our home. From the alarm systems of the mobile phone, the app is connected to the security mechanism, which alerts us in case of any breach in security by anyone.
GPS tracking
One of the best advantage of mobile phones has been the function of connecting our own mobile or any other GPS device of the child to track his movements. The moment the kid is out of the pre-set boundary range allotted to him, the alarm system is triggered and alerts the parents.
Reminders
The alarm systems of the cell phone nowadays come with additional features where we can set many reminders which makes our tasks easier. This can serve as a convenient way to keep our everyday timetable intact as the alarms are saved for the times they are set.
Personal security
Also, nowadays external security alarms can be connected to our cell phones for emergency situations or in the presence of any dangers. In case of any untoward incident, the button connected to the alarm system when pressed triggers a siren with a loud noise, thus attracting the attention of the crowd which is present nearby.
News and Updates
As already discussed above, the internet feature of mobile phones allows us to stay in touch with the world and the latest news and updates. One can install news apps, open a news site or get updates on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., which continuously flash the latest news on the screen when opened.
Ticket Booking
Another advantage of mobile phones which has made life easier for us is that we can book tickets for cinema, air, rail or bus travel besides booking slots for hotels and resorts when we have to travel to far-off places. This has given the tourism sector in India a boost since people can book their tickets on their own and are not dependent on the agents only. The freedom that this feature offers is tremendous and paves the way for a smooth itinerary for people who intend to visit different places. Also, the transportation sector gets healthy competition and the touts are kept away
Online Shopping
Shopping is loved by everyone and what better method to buy stuff from home only? The variety and the choice of goods get manifold when done from a single source. The advantage of mobile phones here is that a lot of time is saved from this method and one can go through so many brands irrespective of the distance factor. Online shopping done with the ease of the mobile phone gives too much respite to people who don’t have much time to go out being busy or due to some other reason.
Flash Lights
The feature of flashlights present in the mobile phone is also an advantage of mobile phones, as one may face this situation abruptly when they are in immediate need of light anywhere. Whether working in a dark room, at night, when the electricity goes off or to reach certain unreachable corners of the house where the touch is not available. This feature although rarely used, is very handy and easily accessible as mobile phones are always with the person at any place.
Music & Gaming apps
Whatever one may say, one can’t deny the fact that in this fast-paced world, people want entertainment in their lives. Of course, people visit theatres to watch movies, listen to music on music systems, or watch their favourite serials on their TVs. However, one of the best advantage of mobile phones is that all these functions are provided by the mobile phone which means one can get almost any sort of entertainment in a flash of a second.
In fact, the apps present in mobile phones provide much more than just music or movies. Nowadays, there is the OTT (full form Over The Top) platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime which offer a greater level of experience than theatres. Also, people can play games from the gaming apps on their mobiles to keep themselves busy and entertained. This all-in-one experience has been one of the greatest advantage of mobile phones.
Voice Recording
Another advantage of mobile phones is that one can record one’s voice and utilize it for various purposes. This advantage of mobile phones is very handy as this feature adds to the convenience factor for the record artists and for voice modulation purposes.
