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Generation Wireless
If you're travelling through the cities
of our world, it's always interesting to observe people and
their communication routines. This is where you can see how
mobiles and the internet are changing our behaviours, day
by day.
Take Hong Kong as an example. In 1998,
everyone would run around with their mobile phone. No fancy
stuff, just simple phones to make calls. Add two years and
the scene has changed. In the early 2000s, you seldom saw
someone in the streets with a phone at their ear. However,
they now all looked like secret agents with their headphones
in the ear. You couldn't "see" people on the phone
anymore, but everyone seemed to talk to themselves. Quite
funny, especially if you were standing next to someone who's
suddenly starting a conversation with a loud "Wai"
(Hello,…).
Now, fast forward to today. All the
headphones have been replaced by Bluetooth devices, easily
to be identified by all the blue blinking. And. The actual
phones are visible again! People are now using them as mobile
tv devices, e-mail tools or gaming appliances. The transition
from phone to entertaining/working-device has been completed.
And Hong Kong is not unique; today's
urban people are in constant search of mobile coverage or
internet access. Loosing connection - if only for a minute
- seems like an impossible solution. New devices such as the
iPhone - adding real internet to the phone - have certainly
contributed to this.
And phones are not the only thing. I'm
also fascinated by notebooks, and their impact to our working
behaviour. Just take your office to a coffee shop near you,
buy "access" in form of a beverage and connect to
the free wireless internet. These wireless gateways are becoming
really popular, all the seats are occupied by people in front
of their laptops - especially places next to power outlets
are in popular demand these days.
With the new generation of very small
notebooks, pioneered by Asus, this trend is certainly set
to continue. Until a new trend is changing our behaviour again.
What this could be? You will find out
- it's coming soon to a city near you.
Michael Meier [contact]
…written on my old-school office
computer.
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