Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Mobile phone culture or customs

In fewer than twenty years, mobile phones have gone from being rare and expensive pieces of equipment used by businesses to a pervasive low-cost personal item. In many countries, mobile phones now outnumber land-line telephones, with most adults and many children now owning mobile phones. In the United States, 50% of children own mobile phones. It is not uncommon for young adults to simply own a mobile phone instead of a land-line for their residence. In some developing countries, where there is little existing fixed-line infrastructure, the mobile phone has become widespread. According to the CIA World Factbook the UK now has more mobile phones than people .

With high levels of mobile telephone penetration, a mobile culture has evolved, where the phone becomes a key social tool, and people rely on their mobile phone address book to keep in touch with their friends. Many people keep in touch using SMS, and a whole culture of "texting" has developed from this. The commercial market in SMS's is growing. Many phones even offer Instant Messenger services to increase the simplicity and ease of texting on phones. Cellular phones in Japan, offering Internet capabilities such as NTT DoCoMo's i-mode, offer text messaging via standard e-mail.

The mobile phone itself has also become a totemic and fashion object, with users decorating, customizing, and accessorizing their mobile phones to reflect their personality. This has emerged as its own industry. The sale of commercial ringtones exceeded $2.5 billion in 2004 .


The use of a mobile phone is prohibited in some rail carriagesMobile phone etiquette has become an important issue with mobiles ringing at funerals, weddings, movies, and plays. Users often speak at increased volume which has led to places like bookshops, libraries, movie theatres, doctor's offices, and houses of worship posting signs prohibiting the use of mobile phones, and in some places installing signal jamming equipment to prevent usage (although in many countries, e.g. the United States, such equipment is illegal). Transportation providers, particularly those doing long-distance services, often offer a "quiet car" where phone use is prohibited, much like the designated non-smoking cars in the past. Mobile phone use on aircraft is also prohibited, because of concerns of possible interference with aircraft radio communications, although the airline Emirates have announced plans to allow limited celluar phone usage on some flights. Most schools in the U.S prohibit cell phones due to the high amount of class disruptions due to their use, and due to the possibility of photographing someone (without consent).

Camera phones and videophones that can capture video and take photographs are increasingly being used by companies like Scoopt to cover breaking news. Stories like the London Bombings, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina have been reported on by camera phone users on photo sharing sites like Flickr.

In Japan, cellular phone companies provide immediate notification of earthquakes and other natural disasters to their customers free of charge. In the event of an emergency, disaster response crews can locate trapped or injured people using the signals from their mobile phones; an interactive menu accessible through the phone's Internet browser notifies the company if the user is safe or in distress.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Features

Invented in 1997, the camera phone is now 85% of the market. In a recent Weekend America interview on public radio, Philippe Kahn, the inventor of the camera phone, discusses its social impact and how it connects people around the world. Mobile phones also often have features beyond sending text messages and making voice calls—including Internet browsing, music (MP3) playback, memo recording, personal organizers, e-mail, built-in cameras and camcorders, ringtones, games, radio, Push-to-Talk (PTT), infrared and Bluetooth connectivity, call registers, ability to watch streaming video or download video for later viewing, video call and serve as a wireless modem for a PC.

In most countries, including European nations, Japan, Pakistan, Australia, Chile, Colombia, India, Maldives and Israel the person receiving a mobile phone call pays nothing. However, in Hong Kong, Canada, and the United States, one can be charged per minute. In the United States, a few carriers are beginning to offer unlimited received phone calls. For example as of December 2006, Sprint now has 4 plans under "Sprint Free Incoming Plans" section of their website, although the restriction is the receiving phone must be on the Sprint PCS network. For the Chinese mainland, it was reported that both of its two operators will adopt the caller-pays approach as early as January 2007

International Champion phone cards. Phone Champion calling cards online shop. All Champion phone cards, PIN instantly. Best long distance rates! Best Champion phone card for you... Champion phone cards worldwide, Champion phone cards and Champion calling cards and prepaid Champion phone cards for sell... Prepaid Champion phone cards, cheap Champion calling cards, cheap Champion phone card, Champion calling cards, cheap cards... budget card... card online, international Champion phone cards, prepaid Champion phone cards... bell... PIN...