Way back in 1983, the first mobile phones were offered to the public for sale. They weighed more than two pounds, cost $4,000, and was more than nine inches long. It had about twenty minutes of battery life, and when the phone went dead, it took more than 10 hours to recharge. Obviously, things have changed significantly since then, and more than 9 trillion text messages were sent just last year.
What is fun about having a cell phone — android or smart phone are two of the leading types of mobile phones around the world — is that, well, you can take it just about anywhere. This may seem like, totally obvious to Millennial consumers who grew up with cell phone technology at their fingertips, but older Americans have watched cell phone technology save thousands of lives since its introduction more than 30 years ago.
Hikers who take their cell phones with them on extended trips may not realize that, even if their phones are switched off — in case of an emergency, to conserve battery life — they still make contact with local cell phone towers, leaving rescuers a digital map to follow in the event of an extended disappearance. In the 1980s and 1990s, newspapers often printed stories about lost hikers and other unfortunate events that are quickly becoming just another obsolete idea that cellular technology helped solve and eliminate.
Typical cell phone cables should last for more than 2,000 plug ins before wearing out, and mobile phone owners are always advised to check their USB cables, surge protector cables, HDMI highspeed cables, and other electronic charging and cabling equipment. Cell phone cables are not designed to last forever, and as they begin to wear out, the potential for electrocution events or household fires does begin to climb. Using worn out cables may seem like a money saver, but there are thousands of house fires each year that do begin with damaged cell phone cables and other connective cables.
It is best to replace cell phone cables and computer networking cables every two years, or whenever they begin to show signs of wear. Having a power strip surge protector is vital, and although CAT5 cables have given way to CAT6 cables for commercial installations, experts say that CAT5 cables should still perform well in residential environments and that there is no pressing need to completely re-wire your home computer network.
Americans over the age of 40 may have nostalgia for — and fond memories of — life before computers and the internet became popular, but they also understand that in cases of roadside emergency, lost hikers, and other life threatening circumstances, having a cell phone can ensure a speedy rescue. Has our world changed for the better since cell phone technology became both widespread and affordable? Law enforcement officials would say yes, and cite thousands of cases of lives that have been saved due to quick-thinking individuals dialing 911 on their mobile phones.