Disposable mobiles, a reflection of the consumer society
2002/09/15 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia
According to the data obtained, about 70% of the Basque population has one or several mobile phones. And since the models change so quickly, the first purchases are immediately obsolete, and more than one feels the need to acquire the last. On the other hand, one of the hallmarks of today's society is the success of fast consumer products, and mobile manufacturing companies try to satisfy the concerns and desires of society.
Therefore, it is not surprising that disposable mobile phones appear on the market. Although they are not yet for sale, in the US the company Hop On has recently received marketing authorization, so they will shortly remain in stores. These mobiles to use and pull are plastic and have a pocket size. They have a headset microphone, battery charger and a direct call key to emergency services for handless use. From there they no longer offer other services, so that they are cheap they have no screens, no electronic agenda, nothing more. The headset microphone to speak without hand is also essential, since the phone itself has neither one nor another.
Mobile phones will be sold together with a card that allows to speak for an hour, hour and a half or two hours and once the time of the card is exhausted is discarded. Or you can return to where it has been purchased, in which case they will return 5$
It should be noted that they are fully recyclable. In addition, according to the company, they are very useful for situations such as taking on vacation, for those who do not want to have a contract with telephone companies, to deliver it to children so that they are controlled... In addition, as they will be sold anywhere, from the department stores to the small shop located under the house, they will be very accessible.
Other disposable mobiles
Hop On has prepared a model for Europe based on international GSM technology. But in Europe there are also inventors who have had the same idea. One of them is Fernando Catalá, and the mobile he proposes is basically the same as that of the company Hop On, a lightweight, cheap and useful mobile that only offers basic service. However, according to Catalá there are differences, on the one hand, once the prepaid card has been exhausted, it would allow to use it again and on the other hand, it would have to cost less than 30 euros to compete with the rest of mobiles.
It also has other competitors in the US. The disposable phones developed by the companies DTC and Telespree Communications, separately, are inserted in the palm of the hand and that of Telespree Communications, AirClips, has neither keyboard, only has a key to start and finish the conversation. You can no longer (or less, can you?) offer.
Although the ads mention that these types of phones have many benefits, more than one questions their appeal. If not, why are you delaying marketing? It should be noted that the company Hop On wanted to sell its product last year, but has had quite a few drawbacks.
Perhaps the most striking obstacle is the position of US security officials. In fact, they thought they could help terrorists because they serve to communicate with each other without leaving a trace. Finally they decide not to violate the safety rules and leave them the free way of marketing.
After use, mobiles become garbage
The concern of environmentalists is different. These products blindly comply with the slogan ‘use and throw’, so harmful to the environment, and being recyclable does not completely overcome the problem.
It is clear that mobile phones stay very fast, because new models come out continuously. And being a fashion product, many buy another before it spoils what they already had. The dumping of the old one into the domestic garbage poses a high risk of environmental damage. In fact, some mobile components are highly polluting.
To avoid the risk of contamination, it is best to take it to the point of sale. Although not all, most businesses, or at least the largest ones, are those that receive used mobiles and direct them to the specific recycling system that was established to comply with community legislation. In this way, the user guarantees a suitable treatment.
In developing countries, mobile makes communication easier
According to a report by the International Telecommunication Union, mobile phones allow people in developing countries to speak on the phone. By the end of 2001, 941 million people worldwide had a mobile phone, while those with landlines reached almost 1 billion. However, in view of the growth rate of mobile phones, since May it is considered that mobile phones have surpassed the fixed ones. Although mobile phones have reached almost saturation levels in developed countries, in many developing countries there are still very few mobile phones and spectacular growth is occurring, especially in Asia. For example, last year China became the most mobile country, ahead of the US. In Africa it is also multiplying and in half of the countries there are already more mobile phones than fixed.
Given the growing coverage of mobile phones, experts recommend stopping establishing landline lines to expand mobile antennas. In this way it is expected to improve communication.
Placing barriers to phone waves As mobiles increase, absolute silence becomes increasingly difficult. Anywhere (at the meeting, in the hospital, in the cinema) it is very possible that someone will forget to turn off the phone and receive a call. However, Japanese researchers have devised a solution: to surround the room in which you do not want to hear the sound of mobiles or the materials that absorbs the waves of mobile venues. |
Posted in Zabalik.
Gai honi buruzko eduki gehiago
Elhuyarrek garatutako teknologia
