The “Cellular Concept” was one of the communication technologies that were discussed in our class lecture. According to the lecture notes "cell" is defined as, “the area served by a single cell phone antenna”. It divides geographical regions into separate cells where each cell has its own operating tower. This would allow clearer calls between individuals but if the call passed between the cells one would experience a “handoff or dropped call”. According to the lecture the handoff occurs “when you travel from one cell to the next” and the dropped call occurs “when your phone cannot switch to a new tower fast enough or when you enter a dead zone”. After the cellular concept eventually lead to the cellular generation which as of today has four. The first cell phone or 1G was the biggest of the four in size. It had very low frequency and consisted of voice only. I believe this was the test phone being that it was the first which allowed developers to therefore improve its disadvantages. Then the 2G was introduced having a higher frequency band which used circuit switching. According to the notes circuit switching “sets up a closed circuit between caller and receiver where voice or data is transmitted from beginning to end without interruption”. As oppose to the first generation the second generation was digital allowing both voice and data. This was an improvement but the downfall was that it was not fast enough for video. Next, the public was introduced to the 3G which is what most of us use as of today. According to the lecture the “U.S. 2G phones didn’t work in Europe and vice versa which lead to The International Telecommunication Union who developed a 3G global standard”. Where the 2G used circuit switching the 3G used packet-switching which transmitted small digital packets. This was faster than the 1G and the 2G and was the first to allow low definition video. In a journal article I found Peterson states, “new media such as cell phones and the Internet are significant features of contemporary communities, and act as both a context for and medium of linguistic and cultural vitality and transformation”. I am curious to see what the future of the cellular phone has in store for is. It might just be our everything when it comes do our daily lives.
Peterson, L. C. (2010). Technology, ideology, and emergent communicative practices among the Navajo. New Media and Society, 71, 231.
Blog #2 Comment
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much we rely on cell phones and how sometimes we forget that they can be unreliable. Whether that's because of a dropped call (and since I have At&t I fully believe that dropped calls happen more often than phone companies like to admit) or because of a phone malfunction I feel lost when I don't have my cell phone. Recently I had gotten rid of my phone and hadn't yet bought a new one, and I couldn't even remember what day it was because I couldn't check the calendar on my phone to remind me! I think the more advancement in phone technology, the more we will rely on these phones.
-Amy Sims
I believe the evolution of cell phones have been completely amazing. From going to just being able to call people with a big phone that you couldnt even carry around to now having phones that can fit in your pocket and go on the internet. You can now play games, watch videos and even see people from your phone while your talking to them. I have an iPhone 4 and I think it is a great piece of technology and look forward to seeing what other advances cell phones make.
ReplyDelete