Technology vs Culture

Smart phones really are the big topic in technology right now. Conversations are endless - from the device, to the apps, to the carrier, and from Google, to Apple and Microsoft. But there is also another hot topic that you will never read about on your favorite news feed. I admit, I don't fully understand the scope of this topic, but it comes up quite often, and it is a valid concern.

I have been in the technology world for over 9 years now, so it is natural to me to be in the middle of it. I helped people stay connected with laptops and using a dial-up modem (very expensive!). Then they came out with wireless cards for these laptops, this was the coolest thing ever invented, but it took a little while for wireless networks to be available. Some of the nice hotels would have a wireless network, but many would not. As the technology grew, laptops were now being manufactured with built in wireless, and soon wireless was in everyone's homes, as well as laptops! Blackberries took the world by storm with cell phones that kept people in touch by email 24/7. This was amazing! There was literally an illness called "blackberry thumb syndrome" because people would use their blackberries so much that their thumbs would have chronic sorness or maybe even bleeding. RIM (Blackberry) for many years led the industry in cell phones. Then Microsoft introduced the world to the touchscreen smart phones with their windows mobile devices - I LOVED my windows mobile phone! (Yes, there was the Palm Treo that did well for a short time, but I just never liked it) And now...you all know the rest of the story. iPhones, iPads, Droids...devices that do anything you want it to, or in today's world they will do anything you tell it to. There is probably an app to cook your breakfast for you if you had time to search through thousands of them.

As I have said before, the world we live in today is more connected than ever. You can reach anyone at anytime in anyway you want - email, text, call, facebook, and so on. When something goes wrong at work, my phone will either call me or email me immediately - days, nights, weekends, it doesn't care about my sleeping schedule.

"The world is more connected than ever".....or is it? This is the question that constantly arises in these discussions. While two guys are talking about their great phones or showing off the new features, there is always one guy who is shaking his head. Why? Because something has changed. His buddies no longer call him to chat, they simply text him. He is now forced to get a texting plan on his phone so he doesn't get charged extra on his monthly bill. He sits in a room with his friends and they are all looking at their phones or talking about them instead of the meaningful conversations that once took place. The kids are now playing different games made available through the app store rather than riding their bikes outside. Two people sitting next to each other are texting each other rather than having a conversation. If you want to get to know someone, you have to read their blog or join facebook! In short, technology has ruined culture.

I have just painted this picture from the eyes of the person shaking his head at all of this new "stuff", and there are a lot of these people out there. It is a valid point. This person says there is no personal relationships anymore. Instead of calling someone or spending time with someone, you are texting or facebooking.

The other guy says he has over 400 facebook friends that he would never have been in touch with and now he knows all about them thanks to facebook. And when he has a quick question, a text is very efficient and you don't spend 20 minutes on the phone when you needed a quick answer. He says he can text an entire group of people in minutes about an event rather than taking over an hour to call each one of them. He now stays in touch with his kids and close friends all day long with texts back and forth when he otherwise would not have been in touch with them. He never needs a phone book, never needs a map, never needs to pack a camera, and on and on.

Wow, this can be quite the conversation piece. I used to hear a similar battle, "why don't you just pick up the phone and call someone rather than email?" I tend to be the guy that does facebook, email, and texting; in my line of work, I despise spending my days on the phone. So how do we respond to this issue? Both sides have valid points!

It is an interesting time we live in, and yes, technology has changed culture, but is it good or bad? I truly believe it is the same problems, different time. Not too long ago it was about too much television, or Mom and Dad yelling "get off the phone!" Then we started talking about how we were hooked on the internet and spent the entire day in front of our computer screen. So maybe the problem began a long time ago? Maybe the problem is much deeper than just technology or cell phones? When did we stop going to people's houses for visits? When did we stop helping people on a regular basis? When did we give up our normal habits to sit in front of a TV, or talk on a phone, or surf the net? And now we facebook, text, blog, email...on and on it goes. What did we do before we had all of these things? Have these things damaged culture?

To be continued....maybe, this could get deeper than I am able to tackle! :)

Smart Phone Overload

I thought I would share a few thoughts on my latest experiences in the smart phone world. It is an ever changing environment and takes constant research to stay on top of it. I am not one to stay on the cutting edge, but being in the IT world about 10 hours of my day makes it a little easier to stay somewhat updated.

This year has especially seen dramatic changes as Apple pretty much owned the industry with their iPhones prior to this year, but we are now seeing much of the iPhone market threatened with the amount of Droids flooding the market. On top of that, you have all of the carriers fighting for market. This post will probably end up being a little of Verizon vs AT&T, droid vs iPhone, and device vs device.

Some of the big changes this year:

• Verizon jumped into the iPhone world with the iPhone 4 at which point many customers were finally happy, they had their favorite phone and their favorite carrier. AT&T lost a lot of customers when this happened. I personally migrated about 40 corporate users to Verizon, and nearly all of them iPhone users.



• AT&T now offers Droids, and very nice ones. While they have a huge customer base on the iPhone, they probably did not see many people migrate from Verizon to get their android phones.



• 4G is another industry changer this year. Sprint did pretty good coming out with the first 4G compatible phone, but Verizon will soon dominate in this market if they do not already. Of course it wasn't until recently that we have seen any 4G phones come out with Verizon or AT&T. More on 4G later...



• Google bought Motorola, this will allow them to own the device and the software. What will they come out with now? My guess is that they will push their cloud (storing all of your information online) syncing all of your data to your Google/Motorola pc, tablet, and phone. A move that Apple has recently done with the release of IOS5.




• Speaking of IOS5, the software on these smart phones has also seen dramatic changes. You can download an app for just about anything you can think of, and now the phones are talking back to you and following voice commands!



• The final game changer in my mind is the devices themselves. In one year we have seen the hardware double their capabilities in processing speed, memory, cameras, storage, and quality.

There are two or three decisions in my mind when deciding on your phone. How will you choose?

1. Which carrier?
   I think this will have to be your first question. It doesn't matter how good the phone is if the carrier cannot provide good service where you are located. If the service is not a question, then maybe you would consider the network. In North Idaho, and more so the rural areas, Verizon seems to have better coverage and better building penetration. Their 3G network is much faster than AT&T's Edge network. However, AT&T has moved in with their HSP+ network which is faster than 3G, but slower than 4G. That makes the AT&T users very happy, the 4G phones do quite well on this network. Verizon is right behind them with their LTE network, a true 4G! For network speeds, Verizon will win the battle within the next year.



2. Which phone?
   This is actually a two part question.
   
   The first question has to be "Android or iPhone?" Truthfully, there are no other phones worth looking at right now. This is still a very loaded question that draws a lot of attention. There are new Droid phones coming by the week, while Apple only releases two phones a year at best. Apple has a very strong user base though, so no matter how many Droids they come out with, they just can't seem to take over the market. To answer the question I can highlight a few things for you. If you are eligible for an upgrade or new device at the lowest cost, Droids generally are a little cheaper. Hardware is pretty comparible now, so this is not such a major factor. The iPhone had the retna display that was better than all of them out there, but if you get the right Droid, you can now get even better displays that are also a little bigger. The most important question with "Adroid or iPhone" is really a software question. I could get into great detail discussing the differences as I have now had both phones, as well as managed them both in a corporate environment. Long story short, when it comes to software, iPhone wins. There are certainly positives and negatives to both, but the IOS is much easier to use where the Android OS is "messy". The new IOS5 that Apple has just pushed out has given them a little bit of an edge with some of their new features. They now have the iCloud to sync all of your Apple devices together. The new assistant takes voice technology to a whole new level; don't be surprised when you see people talking to their phones. They have also developed iMessage, similar to RIM's (blackberry) messenger that gives you a better texting experience. All that said, Google is releasing their new OS (ice-cream sandwich) before the end of the year which features some big changes (awesome!), and a lot of people were very disappointed that Apple didn't do much to the new iPhone 4s on the hardware side.
   
   The second question is if you choose a Droid, then which Droid?
   There are SO many Droids! It is all the same Android OS, so you really just need to find the hardware you like. I can help. On the Verizon side, the best phone out right now is the Motorola Bionic. It is a good size screen (4.3) and very fast. If you wait for a short time, the Nexus (Verizon's version of the Galaxy S II) will be here before the holidays. This will be Verizon's best phone for the remainder of the year on the Droid side most likely, but it has a much larger screen that may be too big for some people (4.6). On the AT&T side, the Atrix was a huge success in the Droid world, but with the recent release of the Galaxy S II, they have really done well. This is the best Droid on the market right now. AT&T will be pushing out 5 more Droids by the end of the year, but I don't think any of them will be any better than the Galaxy S II.

In conclusion, I have had iPhones from the 3G to the iPhone 4, and recently moved to a Droid Galaxy S II. The phone is much better than the iPhone 4, but I really miss the IOS (iPhone OS) software. The iPhone is simply easier to use. I am happy with my move as I like the phone itself so much more, and definitely looking forward to the new Android OS in the next month. And I do love AT&T, they are not nearly so strict as Verizon with their plans and contracts in my experience. While I think the Galaxy S II is the best phone out right now, I have not yet seen the iPhone 4s, which would be right at the top of the smart phone list. Here are your best choices if you are smart phone shopping:

Verizon: iPhone 4s or Motorola Bionic (or wait for a month and get the Nexus!)
AT&T: iPhone 4s or Galaxay S II