Running head: WHICH TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE HAS HAD THE LARGEST Which technological change has had the largest effect on life in this country? Why? Terry University of Phoenix I perceive that the largest change has come from cell phones. There was a time when cell phones first broke into the market in 1982 that people never believed they would be where society is today. According to cells online.com (n.d.), “Consumer demand quickly outstripped the cellular phone system's 1982 standards, by 1987, cellular phone subscribers exceeded one million, and the airways were crowded.” In 1982 cell phones were mostly owned by wealthy individuals or upper echelon business owners.
Therefore Shanzhai created phones that imitated the most current models of mainstream companies such as Lenovo or Apple. These devices, however, would be much cheaper than the real phones however, the quality would be poor. Shanzhai had many factors that contributed to their success such as their fast response to customer demand in a short period of time. It only took approximately 45 days for Shanzhai to develop a new design and mass produce the product, which was much faster than an average mainstream company. Not only did Shanzhai meet the demand of the customers by producing all of the products in a short period of time, but also knew what designs would be popular and be
iPhone vs. Android Smartphones have become a huge part of society in recent years. In 2011 the smartphone market became a two party affair with the iPhone and Android operating systems taking center stage. Most people have strong opinions about both of these types of phones, and more times than not this leads to arguments between peers. Although the two are both capable smartphones, the choice between the two comes down to price, personalization choices, and applications. To begin with, when choosing either Android or iPhone, an important aspect to look at is price.
People who prefer cell phones often have very different lifestyles than people who prefer landlines. As you decide whether to switch to a cell, ask yourself: Do you want to be in the phone book? If so, you’ll need a landline. Do you want to be easy to reach? Many people prefer to use cell phones because it allows them to be available to family and clients even when they’re traveling.
(HP tried a similar strategy when it offered customers 50GB free storage on Box.net.) And Epps even imagines some could offer more innovative broadband models, like purchasing surfing time on an hourly or daily basis, rather than by contract or a monthly plan. The idea, simply, is to introduce more diversity into an ecosystem filled with poor iPad knockoffs. Now, it's clear that no tablet can match Apple's iPad at competitve or even slightly discounted prices--all have tried, and all have failed. (Samsung Galaxy Tab, Toshiba Thrive, HP TouchPad, BlackBerry Playbook--the list goes on.)
How do they do it? Costco beats Walmart, not by competing on price. Instead, they offer a highly targeted and subsequently refined shopping experience. Costco is structured around its key strengths: 1) Know your customer: Costco goes after a certain type of customer: small business owners who are status conscious and who have money to spend on bargain-priced premium items like Dom Perignon champagne, luxury watches and tech gadgets. The reason why Costco decided to focus on small business owners is that they realized that these people are often some of the wealthiest people in their communities: they have successful businesses, they want to buy good stuff, but they don’t want to spend a lot of money.
He has a lot of help and many years to come up with this technology. Pushing his ideas to the extreme, he made employees work long hours and on a “need to know basis”. If Jobs never pushed though, the world could be a very different place than what it is now. Fred Vogelstein goes into how risky it was for Apple to “show off” the Iphone for the first time. “Not only was he introducing a new kind of phone-something Apple has never made before- he was doing so with a prototype that barely worked.” (2).
However, the second argument is a valid one: for the most part, cell phones are a convenience, and not really necessary, even as some people argue the point. Statistics show that "61 percent of all subscribers use their phones purely for personal reasons" (Cronkleton and Bormann A-1). In other words, their calls could wait until they were either safely parked on the side of the road, or out of their cars. However, research has proven that it is difficult to concentrate on driving and talking at the same time. A recent British Study showed that on a mobile phone while driving is more hazardous than operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
In August 2006, Vertu, announced that it was unable to meet the demand for its luxury phones and would increase its production capacity in the near future. The mobile phones, or personal communication instruments, as they were referred to in the company’s communications, were priced between US$ 4,900 and US$ 50,000 (as of 2006). The phones were handcrafted with high quality components including precious stones. The more expensive models were made of platinum. Vertu had invested considerable money as well as time in conceptualizing and creating its range of luxury phones.
Today we live in a new world full of different technology, which includes computers, cell phones, video game systems and much more. One of the most common technologies today is the cell phone. The most common thing the cell phone is used for is texting. In “Love in the Age of Texting”, by Natalie Moore, it shows how texting made it difficult for Natalie to have a relationship with her boyfriend and how it made them break up because of it. With the new inventions of texting and other ways of communicating through technology, it seems that more and more people would rather just be a face behind a screen.