EOTO 1: iPhones

 

In class we had an assignment called Each One Teach One (EOTO), where the students of the class would get in groups and figure out which topic, they each would be researching, and then they would put together a visual/ presentation, get in front of the class, and teach us about their topic. For EOTO #1, Professor Smith wanted us to investigate a technology and its backstory, and some potential pros and cons it may have caused due to its creation. With all that being said, I chose one that most people either have or know of, The iPhone.

When people thought of the future before smartphones were around, the idea and imagination to what the future may hold was endless. People thought flying cars, teleportation, a way to communicate to someone from across the globe. Well, that last one was not too far-fetched. The idea became closer to reality after the invention of the smartphone. The very first smartphone to be created was by IBM in 1992, available for purchase in 1994 thereafter. It was called the Simon Personal Communicator (SPC), though, people would have expected a more futuristic first smartphone, none the less, it paved the way for more technologies to be invented and made, including more smartphones who would build off that idea. With the help of History of Smartphones - What Was the First Smartphone? | SimpleTexting , I learned that it was not until 2001 that smartphones would be able to be connected to a 3G network, which would allow people to connect to the internet wirelessly. On January 9th, 2007, the first iPhone was announced and demonstrated on January 29th. 

None the less, as life changing the iPhone has made humankind, there are negative aspects. People feel like they cannot disconnect from the internet or their iPhone, they will mis something, which has become very scary. Now people are dependent on their phones every day. Look at schools, they need technology everyday to connect with their fellow peers and professors. iPhone have created the foundation to what the new phones, from apple or other companies, are now. Many of today’s phones are touch screen and are based off the iPhone (to what I think). Everything is revolved around the iPhone, and many people around the word have an iPhone, and one of the bad things is if another phone user from a different phone company sends things over to iPhone, it’s hard to convert their technology to the iPhone “resolution” since the transfer of the material is “compressed”, it has a hard time looking “higher quality” and people “shun”  non-iPhone users. Also, apple has released updates from the newer phones and its sort of mandatory to update your phone so that it is up to date. So, Apple almost makes you HAVE to update to make your phone work, and you may even have to get a new phone to keep the phone working.