Half of Humanity Now Has Mobile Phones
Sometime in the next few months, the number of mobile phones in use will exceed 3.3 billion, or half the world's population. No technology has ever spread faster around the globe: the mobile phone took less than two decades to reach this degree of penetration. But the ever-restless wireless industry has already set its sights on getting the other half connected.That is amazing that mobile phones have become so integral to humanity so quickly.
Motorola's cheapest phones now cost less than $30. John White of Portio believes that prices for simple, voice-only handsets could fall to $10 in five years.
The mobile phone is quickly overtaking driving as the key right of passage in Americans' lives.
I am going to make the bold prediction that by the end of the century, mobile phones will overtake clothing in their importance to humanity. More people will be living without clothes than living without mobile phones. The ability to talk to anyone anywhere will be take for granted and seen as an essential part of being human.
via The Economist
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2 comments:
Do you know anyone without a cell phone? I work with a strange guy in his 30's who refuses to get a cell phone. He is something of a hippie and takes a lot of pride in his refusal to conform. He also does not have call waiting and never uses his car air conditioner (in Southern California). He also believes OnStar is a CIA plot to listen in on Americans while they're driving.
Good point. I can't think of a single person I know who doesn't have a cell phone.
The trend now is people who don't have a land line, a group I have been a member of for the last 8 years. I remember once that I had to fill out a form at work with my home and cell phone number and I just left the home one blank. My boss's boss called me into his office because he had never heard of this before and thought that this was just an attempt to get out of being on call. Now it seems pretty common place.
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