I will be focusing my project on the development of the new Samsumg Cellular Phones that allow you to listen to your iTunes music as well as StreamWave television shows onto your cellular phone. Taking a step back, however, I will be researching the history of cellular telephones. Everyone has one, right? But why did we start using cellular phones? Has that reason changed? Who has cellular phones now? These are all questions I will address.
From a societal perspective, how many times have you been talking to a friend, his/her phone rings, and they just pick it up and start having a conversation with that person? If the point of the cell phone was to communicate with people when we are unable to be physically in front of them, why are we using the cell phone to ignore those right in front of us? Is the cell phone a communication device as it was meant to be, or a devise that sorts people in a social-pecking order?
My project will consist of multiple parts. Below is a brief outline.
Project Outline:
History of the Cellular Phone
- Why was cellular technology developed? What was the original client base for cellular phones?
- How has the customer changed since the inception?
- How has the purpose of the cellular phone changed?
Aestetics
- Are cellular phones simply a means of communication or a symbol of status? It turns out that it depends on where you are from. In China for example, there was a revolution of cellular phones that were average in performance but came with a single diamond in the phone front, a symbol of wealth.
- What features/ looks are necessary? Specifically, looking at Samsung's development of StreamWaving music videos and television shows onto the cellular phone. Is the cellular phone the new mobile multimedia entertainment system or simply another way that society has allowed individuals to escape social norms of eye contact or small talk in public?
Social Implications
- While the original cell phone might have been created for the businessman or doctor to communicate important information, today it serves as a barrier to communication. With people talking all day every day on their cellular phone, we have escaped our responsibility to talk to those physically around us.
- What is "acceptable" behavior for cellular phone usage?
- How young is too young to have a cell phone?
Posted at Feb 20/2006 06:45PM:
Sebastian De Vivo: Speaking of phones as status symbols, I still can't believe someone would spend 5k on one:
[link]
Posted at Feb 22/2006 01:07PM:
[klfsong]: You might want to consider cross cultural samples. I know that in Japan, cell phones are trendy accessories. Each time a new model comes out, everyone has to have it, where as in the states, I feel as though it is more function over form.
Posted at Mar 14/2006 12:31AM:
Chun Kai Wang: I definitely agree. Cell phones are a trendy accessory especially in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Girls may change their cell phones every week or two just because cuter ones come out. In the article:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200506/kt2005061316424912350.htm it talks about a bunch of different types of cell phones and outlines that 400 new cell phone models come out every year in Korea. This is shocking.
