Advancement is a must if mankind is going to survive in the long term. Multifunctional mobile phones with cameras are one example. They are the hottest gadgets these days, making communications faster and easier.
Primary function of most phones with cameras is simple: Point, click and send. Features depend on what handset manufacturer offer and they vary greatly. No matter what functions one wants in a phone, style and appearance is important to just about everyone. Some of the latest phones include highly fashionable and functional features that make the latest technology more usable -- swivel-style mechanics, 360 degrees rotating screens, vertical left turns and much more. Ever-shrinking microchip technology and huge sums being pumped in to research in the field has already made camera phone one of the newest and coolest pocket gizmo. Now the trendy camera pooches have also appeared in the market. What is more, Internet devices, music players and even good old television are poised to merge together with mobile phones already equipped with cameras.
As per reports, billions of mobile phones with camera have been sold worldwide. Mobile phone companies are always planning to launch new handsets, with newer innovations. Given the exponential growth and usability improving every day, industry executive are expecting that camera phones will surpass the need of digital cameras in less than a decade.
The difference in use of mobile phones with camera in America or in Japan and other developed countries and Pakistan is obvious. What is amazing, however, is the popularity of mobile phones with cameras in otherwise low tech Pakistan.
Locally the main users of the mobile phones with camera so far are 'stylish' people and youth. It is not so much of an issue whether or not some one uses a phone with camera compared to whether or not they actually have one. Azmat Hayat, a vendor in Hafiz centre says, "People do not buy camera phones for the camera. They buy phone that should have camera along with it. But camera phones are certainly common among those who can afford them (and now a large number can) and they are high on the wish lists of those who still do not have them. They are considered cool or just plain fun. For them having camera phones is a lifestyle."
"Visit any campus and see how people use the phones with camera. There is great peer pressure to join the picture messaging crowd, notwithstanding interpretability and multiple standards,” says Ali, “It is my hobby. I have been changing my mobile every six-month till I bought my present camera mobile.” About use he thinks that more sophisticated usage of the camera phones have not yet crossed the seven seas though it is growing.
In developed countries, cameras phones are being successfully used as business tools particularly for real estate, public safety, insurance, marketing, construction and advertising. Newspapers are publishing front-page pictures shot by amateur photographers using cameras built in their mobile phones, showing how advances in technology can assist traditional media in collecting and printing news. In Japan, it has already become common to sell pictures to television stations and other media channels. Industrial spies, disgruntled employees, criminals and irresponsible pornographers are abusing camera phones as well. Teachers have caught students sending photos of answers to another student across the same examination hall. The proliferation of mobiles with cameras is bringing more opportunities to use mobile phone devices in different capacities. Technology, however, is not the issue here. Usage of the mobiles with camera is.
The very technologies that make such mobile phones with camera so simple, tempting, and seductive can also be used to deceive wilfully. It is possible for any one to pretend to be in any desire situation from heavy traffic to thunderstorm during a mobile phone call – a software has appeared that would generates fake background noise while the users may actually be elsewhere. The software can even create the sound of another phone ringing to provide a handy excuse for cutting short a call. Developers of such software are also human like all others!
Imagine what the growing presence of cameras phones with the ability to snap any one distribute or store those images can do in a conservative society like ours. It reminds of paparazzi culture -- freelance and curious photographer roaming everywhere every time.
Use of Mobile phones with cameras has been banned in Saudi Arabia. Many sensitive businesses in the West have also banned camera phones on the job due to mounting suspicions that the high tech gadgets may pose threats to closely guarded trade secrets. More are considering doing that.
Banning the use of the technology is never the answer. It does not work. Instead, preventing abuse of technology must be done through education, awareness and at appropriate level. So how can we respond appropriately? We should definitely note that people have a right to choose, and need to maintain degree of privacy and security. Beyond that, we should encourage more openness instead of any mania. No body would like returning to the days of the mailing pictures via snail mails but first more purposeful usages of camera phones have to be found. Till then they are a fad among high-end consumers segment of the market?
How do you use your mobile phone and what all you can do with it?