There was once a time when all a cell phone had to do was make a phone call. Texting was not even an option. Now we have phones that will wash your car while grilling you a burger. Well, maybe they are not that advanced. Here are six of the greatest innovations that have brought us to where we are today.
1. Color display
The color display was a huge game changer on cell phones. Gone were the days of alarm clock style numbers with bland orange or green text. Now consumers could see pictures and customize their backgrounds. This paved the way for many innovations like active wallpapers and camera phones.
2. Digital camera
There was once a craze to be the first person on the block to have a cell phone that could take pictures. Now the camera is a standard feature that everyone expects to be there.
The addition of the camera is what really started to bring the cell phone into an all in one device. Many people were able to leave their bulky cameras at home, as they always had their cell phones with them.
Of course, the addition of the camera on the cell phone is not without its share of turmoil. Cell phone cameras at the beginning used to be silent. That was until people started using them for capturing moments that were not so great moments to be shared publicly.
3. Multimedia messaging
Multimedia messaging took the ho-hum text messaging to a completely new level. Now new parents could send pictures of their newborn to the grandparents. People could snap pictures of a car accident and send them to their insurance agent. This only led the way to sending movies and sound samples.
4. Touch screen
The touch screen has changed how consumers want to navigate their cell phones. Buttons that were once standard now seem so out dated. This brought on the advent of multi-touch. The touch screens of cell phones have led to computer manufacturers looking at ways to include multi touch screens for tablets and laptops.
5. GPS Navigation
GPS devices took the atlas and gave it a sweet robotic voice. The GPS became the go to device for road tripping. Then came the desire to have a cell phone do everything it could. Queue the integration of GPS technology into cell phones. Now phone carriers have their own GPS applications.
6. Bar-Code readers
The newest addition to smart phones is the ability to read barcodes. This might seem like a small feature, but it has become one of the greatest money savers for consumers. Consumers can now walk into a store, grab a picture of the barcode of a potential purchase and get reviews and competing prices for that product. This could change the way consumers shop from here on out
Cell phones today are smarter than most computers from back in the day. Consumers continue to push cell phone manufacturers for a phone that perfectly fits that all in one device they need and crave. Who knows what phones in 10 years will be doing?
