Module number
1207 words
Abstract
This paper looks into how smartphones have changed our lives in various ways. The paper discusses why I selected to research on smartphones. It also gives a brief history into smartphones’ evolution. The paper also discusses how smartphones have changed the lives of corporate people and diabetic patients. The force we grasp is amazing. Minor gadgets numerous being more intense than normal desktop PC's. Cell phones keep on showing improvement as time advances. Cell phones have assumed control and are gradually prompting elimination of different gadgets, for example, portable workstations and even tablet PCs. They offer such a great amount in such a little bundle them simpler to handle as well as a joy to work with as a rule.
Introduction
Anyone will concur with me that communication is one of the crucial aspects of humanity. The ability to exchange information and understand each other is what distinguished us from the wild in the first place. My greatest engineering achievement is the dawn of smartphones. Many will agree that the presence of smartphones in our lives have greatly influenced a myriad aspects of our day to day occurrences. Ages ago nobody would have fathomed the idea of a handheld computing device with countless times more power that the early vacuum tube computing devices.
Findings and Discussion
Definition
A smartphone is simply a communication device with computing capabilities. It has the communication features of a handheld telephony device but through a processor, memory, storage and an operating system, it carries with it computing functionalities of GPS devices, media player, document viewing and editing among many others (Barkhuus and Polichar, 2011.). However, this is just about where the simplicity ends. Earlier smartphones came with larger screens than normal phones and were better at colour reproduction too. However, modern day smartphones come with touch screen technologies such as LCD and OLED that are far much better to use and look at. However, the most important part of a smartphone is the operating system and the user Interface. This is what makes it smart.
Why I chose it
The reason I selected the smartphone as a scientific achievement is because it has so much capabilities that are helpful to everyone in real life on any part of the world. In addition, it is something that we interact with daily, hence an integral part of our lives. The smartphone is an engineering marvel, it is not only useful to a corporate manager for his emails and calls among others, but also to a diabetic kid somewhere in school far from their parents or care takers.
Development of smartphones
The first smartphone is believed to have come to life in the mid 1970’s (Martin, 2014). However, the reality is the first smartphone by IBM was seen 20 years later and had a monochrome touch screen. It had the ability to send emails and faxes and that was about it. Nokia revolutionised the smartphone with eh 9000 communicator with a full QWERTY keyboard and navigation buttons with a larger display, but was still monochrome (Martin, 2014). However, it added web browsing to the list of its smart capabilities thus superior to the IBM. However due to fast technological advancement, Nokia soon jumped to coloured screens and developed the Symbian OS. Their domination was quickly challenged by blackberry which soon became a common choice for corporate uses due to better keyboard, security and email functionality. This was later followed by the iPhone wave that was challenged by google which led to the huge amounts of android devices we have today.
Example 1: smartphone and diabetic patients
Smartphones are at an insane rate finding their way into the health care industry. One of the major areas that smartphones have proven useful is in the monitoring of diabetes patients. Diabetes is a lifetime commitment and the development on mobile health have had a significant focus on it. The amount of information that a diabetic patient has to keep up with on a daily basis is certainly overwhelming. However, through apps created, it has now become easier for the patients to log their SMBG and are even able to share it with their doctors in real time. The major aim of using smartphones with diabetes patients has been to prevent further complications through glycemic control.
Currently, approximately 350,000 diabetic people use insulin pumps that are wirelessly controlled through a smartphone (Young, 2016). This device works through introducing regulated doses of insulin to the circulatory system through a needle that may be located anywhere comfortable on the body. The app works in conjunction with a pump and a wireless monitor that together create a treatment system for all kinds of patients. This system constantly monitors information every five minutes and adjusts the insulin dosage accordingly (Young, 2016).
Think of a child with diabetes and has to go to school or the elderly that do not poses the know how to constantly monitor themselves and administer insulin in the right dosage to their system. There are endless possibilities to this technology. Doctors may in future be granted real time access to their patients and monitor them remotely. There is no doubt that through smartphones the development in mobile health for diabetic patients have been improved.
Example 2: smartphones and the corporate world
Managers are some of the busiest people in the modern day. This is because they have so much to deal with from monitoring employees to handling major negotiations and even financial transactions. Before the dawn of smartphones most of their daily lives were a living hell. However, this has changed drastically in the past years. Email is one of the most important form of communication in the business world. Before smartphones one had to carry a laptop if they had to go outside the office (Cavazotte, Heloisa and Villadsen, 2014). However, nowadays the smartphone is all one needs. They can read and reply their emails just like a text message. While to some of us replying to emails fast may not mean anything, in the business world it may cost some one millions of dollars in missed tenders or delayed production among other worst case scenarios.
Document processing is also a very crucial aspect of the corporate world. Looking at invoices, letters, memos and others can now be easily done through smartphones. It is now possible for a managing director to draft a letter and even put an authentic signature of his using a stylus. The amount of time saved in doing the same using the traditional methods is unbelievable. What is amazing is that all this can be done on the go, let’s say on a flight to another business meeting (Cavazotte, Heloisa and Villadsen, 2014). Financial transactions are now a breeze to handle. Mobile and internet banking have made it a breeze to authorize transaction that would have otherwise required physical presence in a banking hall.
Conclusion
There are many scientific inventions that have significantly affected human lives. However, the smartphone falls among the top ones that have had a significant share of change. In the time we live in, nobody can be able to live without a smartphone. They have impacted almost every aspect of our life from health, education, communication, entertainment, work and many more. The power we hold in our hand is breath-taking. Tiny devices many being more powerful than average desktop PC’s. Smartphones continue to show development as time progresses. Smartphones have taken over and are slowly leading to extinction of other devices such as laptops and even tablet computers. They offer so much in such a small package them not only easier to handle but a pleasure to work with in general.
Bibliography
Barkhuus, L. and Polichar, V.E., 2011. Empowerment through seamfulness: smart phones in everyday life. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 15(6), pp.629-639.
Cavazotte, F., Heloisa Lemos, A. and Villadsen, K., 2014. Corporate smart phones: professionals' conscious engagement in escalating work connectivity. New Technology, Work and Employment, 29(1), pp.72-87.
Martin, T. (2014). Pocket computing: evolution of the smartphone | Pocketnow. [online] Pocketnow. Available at: http://pocketnow.com/2014/07/28/the-evolution-of-the-smartphone [Accessed 22 Apr. 2016].
Young, S. (2016). Smartphones evolving to help manage blood sugar levels for Type 1 diabetes sufferers. [online] ConsumerAffairs. Available at: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/smartphones-evolving-to-help-manage-blood-sugar-levels-for-type-1-diabetes-sufferers-011316.html [Accessed 22 Apr. 2016].
