Necessity of the smart-phone

            I think one of the biggest technological advancements that have had the most impact on our society is the development and improvement of the smart-phone.  These relatively small devices are everywhere today.  Almost everyone either has a smart-phone or wants one.  With all the smart-phones capabilities and applications it is so hard fathom how anyone can get through their day without one.  I bought my first smart-phone, the droid with an android operating system, last summer and I have not put the phone down since.  I realistically use it daily, but I probably pull my phone out every few minutes to do something on it.  I still believe I use my phone most for texting, but when I am not immediately texting someone I am generally on my phone surfing the internet, checking Facebook, or playing downloaded video games.  I may be a more frequent phone user than most, but in my experience everyone with a smart-phone mostly use it for the same purposes I do.

            The smart-phone is definitely appealing for entertainment purposes, which I believe is a huge reason for people to purchase the phone, but from a practical sense the smart-phone has so much to offer.  This device allows us to communicate with each and stay in touch with people in so many new and unique ways.  Using the smart-phone we can of course make calls and text, but we can send pictures, videos, and voice calls with just the factory settings of the phone.  But there are certain applications that broaden the spectrum in which we can communicate.  Some applications allow us to communicate with each other without even using our minutes or texts. Through the use of the wireless network the application, HeyTell, allows its users to communicate as if with a walkie-talkie.  Since this application is free and only uses the wireless network, it costs nothing to the customer as long as they have a large enough data plan.  Also, with social networks anyone can keep in touch and most smart phones have some type of alert system to let people know they have a message on Facebook or Twitter. 

With the increased use and sophistication of the smart-phones, there is no longer a reason for people to not be able to keep in touch with each other.  So now this only does not help out the average consumer, but it is also beneficial for big businesses.  Now businesses are able to respond faster and be in contact wherever they are.  So as a whole this technology has helped our economy become more efficient and has allowed it to be even more globally spread.