Spartan Daily

Hand-held devices draw eyes, ears of young generation

Carla Jimenez, Spartan Daily

Mobile Phones are for everyday use

Hand-held devices are popular because they are cool, convenient, and changing how we communicate, with efficiency and ease the most important criteria when purchasing.

When it comes to the very coolest hand-held devices, Apple dominates the market. According to Apple, first-day pre-orders for the new iPhone 4S broke last year’s model by topping 1 million sales.

Biological Science major Schehrbano Khan described her iPad “the love of
(her) life,” but the new iPhone 4s is on her wish list. “Its processor is faster than my laptop, and it’s ridiculously cool because it has Siri in it.” Siri is the voice recognition software that allows users to ask the phone questions and writes down what the user says out loud.

“Siri’s introduction to the iPhone 4S and other handheld devices having similar things scares me a little bit,” said computer science major Ryan Morgado. “It is going to change the way we interact with electronic devices. People will start to put more ‘human’ value into electronic devices.”

Hand-held devices are transforming communication in the professional world. Individuals are much more accessible, and the technology cuts short on professional response time.

“These devices are now our map, dictionary, it is our connection to our friends it is where we store our pictures we carry our worlds with them,” said Communication Studies Professor Dr. Andrew F. Wood who researches how hand-held technologies change social patterns. “I think all of us are still observing the changes,” he said. “The more obvious thing is that we are connected to more people in more ways and more time in human history.”

Podcast Interview with Dr. Andrew Wood

Without smart phones, staying connected would be difficult. In this current society, being in constant contact is imperative to stay competitive. Morgado said this is what fuels the hand-held device trend. “The demand increases to be more connected, so devices and applications are created to compliment that. They push each other to develop.”

Some classes even require you to use cell phone technology to participate in class. In a MCOM 70 class, students use the interactive learning software Top Hat Monocle to participate in roll call, answer questions, and take quizzes through text. The instructor knows who is participating or is absent.

“It makes the [instructor’s] job easier because electronic is always easier than paper. No need to collect and grade. It’s already done,” said advertising major Ryan Vicente who thinks the program is interesting but definitely not worth paying for. “I have to pay extra money so my instructor can have it easier," said an anonymous student. “‘F’ that. Everyone places too much importance on using new technology to make life easier. It’s going to change anyways.”

The promise of ease is selling hand held devices. Spartan Bookstore Apple sales representative Vincent said the iPad is “doing ridiculously well because it’s more handy to carry around than your entire life in your laptop.” SJSU students are looking for small and portable devices and are buying the iPod touch, iPod nano, 13-inch Macbook Pro, and Ipad. Considering battery life, the iPad is “where it’s at for sure,” Vincent added. “There’s a lot of companies that are convenient too, but the best experience is Apple. The Android is tedious at best.”

Vincent added that hand held devices can “only go up in terms of portability and convenience.” He is convinced that people will gravitate towards the downsizing of products.

Khan also said she wants the 8 MP camera on the iPhone 4S. “I am a photography enthusiast and can’t carry a bulky camera all the time so it’s useful for me,” she said. When asked about cameras on phones, creative arts major Frank Cariglio said, “When did it become bad for phones to just be phones? It’s silly that people text and Facebook on their fancy phones all the time. I’ve tried to strike up conversations with people sitting around campus. Some people thought it was weird, but they’re the ones with the issues.”

Khan said she likes to communicate through her iPad. The face-to-face chatting is one of the features that make it easier for stay in communication.

“I can access many apps to stay connected with family and friends back home in Pakistan and on the east coast,” said Khan. “I would otherwise not be able to stay in touch consistently and frequently enough.”

This desire for personal efficiency fuels demand is driving innovation. Newer and updated versions of products are constantly showing up on the market. Amazon.com’s Kindle Fire competes with Apple’s iPad: it has a colored touch screen, different from the old black-and-white model; has access to a selection of Android apps; and is $199 compared to Apple’s cheapest $499 iPad.

“I want the new Kindle Fire because it can be used to read magazines, textbooks, and watch movies,” said nursing student Wendy Lin.

The Kindle Fire is reaching out to a new demographic that its older versions did not. Plus, the Kindle Fire weighs less than half of a pound and sits comfortably in the palm of a hand; just as Vincent from the Bookstore said, smaller is the right direction.

The age of hand-held devices is fairly young, but their impact has been great. With the kind of progress that has been made, watching the next products unfold will be interesting.

SIDEBAR: A video history of handheld devices from the 1970s