Do you know anyone in your circle of friends who does not yet own a cell phone? Probably not, as all and sundry have already picked up a handset regardless of age and economic background. After all, cell phone manufacturers have long catered their handsets to people from all walks of life, ranging from super cheap phones to high ends ones that seem to be able to do everything. The keyword for the latter group is ’seem’, as Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser thinks otherwise. The man says that everyone will eventually carry at least a couple of cell phones since there is no perfect handset that is capable of doing everything you want and provide everything you need.
According to Glaser, “his belief was fueled by differences in input methods, size, and functionality between devices.” He even goes on to say that “no single phone can do everything easily, which is why the public will be driven to carry multiple devices. Mobile penetration won’t stop at 100%. It will go to 200 percent because the notion of a single device that does it all isn’t the way (the market is) going to go.”
Do you agree with Glaser? After all, there are serious repercussions to think about should everyone start to carry double the handsets. We will have even more headache trying to dispose of these phones whenever we make an upgrade, our pockets will be way heavier, we will consume a larger amount of electricity trying to juice up dead batteries – the negative aspects are nearly endless. Not to forget, you have double the chance of somebody calling you in the cinema and disrupting everybody else’s enjoyment of the movie. Are you already carrying two handsets to begin with? Remember, those mobile carrier fees can surely add up if you’re not careful.
Source: ArsTechnica. Image courtesy of www.w3.org.
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