{"id":4743,"date":"2014-12-01T09:35:18","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T01:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/?page_id=4743"},"modified":"2014-12-01T10:11:42","modified_gmt":"2014-12-01T02:11:42","slug":"01-12-2014","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/?page_id=4743","title":{"rendered":"01.12.2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bane of hand phones<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We all remember the old days with a smile when hand phones were as big as\u00a0bricks, and some of us used to call them clogs. Big enough for the owner to have\u00a0a fairly strong arm to lug it around, and as some would have it, to use it as a\u00a0weapon.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to today when hand phones are so small that you can pocket it\u00a0everywhere, have so many functions that you can write novels, balance your\u00a0finance, surf the net, keep appointments, maintain a list of contacts and of\u00a0course make calls, while being on the road. Aside, as some would have seen it, as\u00a0a status symbol.<\/p>\n

Not that hand phones in the old days were not status symbols. They were,\u00a0because very few of us carry those monstrosities, not only because a lot of us do\u00a0not find the need to carry a phone, but cannot afford the price manufacturers\u00a0were charging then. People those days were quite satisfied to wait to reach their\u00a0respective office, or return home and make their calls in the comfort of their arm\u00a0chairs.<\/p>\n

As economics would have it, prices of hand phones have dropped tremendously.\u00a0If one had to rob a bank in the old days to purchase one, today you can actually\u00a0change models to your whims and fancy because the pricing have really gone\u00a0down. It is also the manufacturers\u2019 interest to come out with new model in the\u00a0market every now and then in order to attract users to upgrade their present\u00a0model.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly enough, one can even see a lot of hand phone users carrying more\u00a0than one set these days. Is the practice a necessity because the telephone system\u00a0is inefficient that one has to use different system providers in different areas in\u00a0order to ensure state wide coverage? Or is it a need of one-upmanship to be\u00a0better than the Joneses by showing that one has the means of purchasing and\u00a0using more than one set of hardware?<\/p>\n

The humble hand phone has now elevated from being just a communication\u00a0equipment to a status symbol. It is normal to observe young and upcoming\u00a0ambitious professionals at public places showing off their latest models when\u00a0they sit at tables for the world to see.<\/p>\n

There are however a few who has not caught up with this one-upmanship social\u00a0game, who at times admitted it is rather embarrassing to be seen with his out\u00a0dated model phone compared to the expensive ones used by the young\u00a0generation today. The wise would not hesitate to smile when in public, these\u00a0people would insist on hiding their bulky, but more reliable model, in his pocket,\u00a0and only taking it out to answer calls.<\/p>\n

Hand phones today are not only used for mobile calls. Most can remind\u00a0appointments, to do lists, take pictures, listen to music, do emails, use chat\u00a0applications, and of course browse the net.\u00a0Recent published statistics revealed an interesting feature of the situation of hand\u00a0phone usage in the country. Based on a published study commissioned by\u00a0Google, Asia is leading the world in smartphone use and engagement, as well as\u00a0many other online shopping and viewing behaviours.<\/p>\n

In terms of smartphone usage over computers, the top five are Asian countries.\u00a0These are Malaysia (51 per cent: 39 per cent), China (70:65), Hong Kong (74:61),\u00a0South Korea (80:70) and Singapore (85:74).\u00a0In fact, 35 per cent of the Malaysian users surveyed say they exclusively use their\u00a0smartphones and no other device to access the Internet.<\/p>\n

The research also showed the importance of the Internet to the travel industry.\u00a0Flights are the most popular items for Malaysians to buy online with 86 per cent\u00a0saying they last bought their flight tickets online and 75 per cent had last booked\u00a0their hotel stays online.<\/p>\n

The study also reveals what Malaysians are doing on their phones: Using search\u00a0engines: 72 per cent of Malaysians do this at least once a month, and the figures\u00a0are even higher in the rest of Asia. Shopping: In Asia, shopping online is gaining\u00a0popularity with 28 per cent of Malaysians saying they shopped online on any\u00a0device. Entertainment destination: Over half (55 per cent) of Malaysians use their\u00a0mobiles to listen to music, half (50 per cent) play online games and almost seven\u00a0out of 10 (67 per cent) Malaysians watch online video on their phones.<\/p>\n

After a number of years of using hand phones, most users must have come back\u00a0full cycle and have accepted these gadgets as what they are meant in the first\u00a0place; as a mobile communication tool. Like all mobile devices, however, they can\u00a0get lost, which will not happen with the one at home. One is then back to square\u00a0one \u2013 with data stored, notes keyed in and most important, all the contact\u00a0numbers and addresses of friends and associates.<\/p>\n

This scribe has now stopped wondering about the strange decision of an old\u00a0friend who until now, despite all the money that he has, still stays away from the\u00a0device.<\/p>\n

When asked as to how he stays in touch with his friends, children and\u00a0grandchildren, he simply replied \u201cI\u2019ll phone them\u201d. What he actually meant is the\u00a0old fashion way of using the phone; the one at home. Now, is that a thought\u00a0worth contemplating on, especially in these days of technology?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The writer, who at first prefer the old but reliable sets that can only make calls and\u00a0send\/receive text messages, have now included himself to the current trend of\u00a0using the latest model in the market. Part of this article in fact has been written\u00a0while on the road, reflecting the convenience of modern technology.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bane of hand phones We all remember the old days with a smile when hand phones were as big as\u00a0bricks, and some of us used to call them clogs. Big enough for the owner to have\u00a0a fairly strong arm to lug it around, and as some would have it, to use it as a\u00a0weapon. Fast forward to today when hand phones are so small that you can pocket it\u00a0everywhere, have so many functions that you can write novels, balance your\u00a0finance, surf the net, keep appointments, maintain a list ofRead More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4743"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4743"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4746,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4743\/revisions\/4746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}