4 ms·

I don’t think smartphones should be considered the same thing as cell phones in the 80s. They are completely different devices with completely different functio

I don’t think smartphones should be considered the same thing as cell phones in the 80s. They are completely different devices with completely different function that just also have a cellular modem. I also suspect we’re going to see very significant changes as a result of AI.

jaclaz 4y ago
I don't think anyone made that comparison. Smartphones are computers, they use the cellular network to connect to the internet, besides strictly phoning, they remain conceptually inside: - computer/internet - cellular phone as an evolution of those broader technologies, what I find remarkable is their ubiquity/affordability. As an anecdotal data point, I got my first (personal) cellular phone well in the '90's, probably 1994 or 1995, in the (late) '80's cellular phones were mainly for business use, I remember buying for the company I worked with (and BTW for a particular case where the need to reach this particular person was essential) one of these: https://www.mobilephonemuseum.com/phone-detail/4500x https://www.mobilephonemuseum.com/phone-detail/4500x in 1988 or 1989 and paying it more than 4,500,000 Italian lire, the equivalent of roughly 2,000-2,500 Euro/Dollars of the time, considering inflation probably equivalent to 4,000-5,000 today and the subscription/calls were prohibitively expensive.
ghaff 4y ago
Even outside of the smartphone per se, I expect a lot of people don't really appreciate just how high friction it was to get information about anything including government services, information you might want to do your job, purchases, books, etc. etc.--especially outside of major cities with large libraries and research universities. (And even as an undergrad at one of those research universities it was hard to find current information on specialized topics.)

4 ms·

I don’t think smartphones should be considered the same thing as cell phones in the 80s. They are completely different devices with completely different functio

by cameronh90 4y ago

jaclaz 4y ago
I don't think anyone made that comparison. Smartphones are computers, they use the cellular network to connect to the internet, besides strictly phoning, they remain conceptually inside: - computer/internet - cellular phone as an evolution of those broader technologies, what I find remarkable is their ubiquity/affordability. As an anecdotal data point, I got my first (personal) cellular phone well in the '90's, probably 1994 or 1995, in the (late) '80's cellular phones were mainly for business use, I remember buying for the company I worked with (and BTW for a particular case where the need to reach this particular person was essential) one of these: https://www.mobilephonemuseum.com/phone-detail/4500x https://www.mobilephonemuseum.com/phone-detail/4500x in 1988 or 1989 and paying it more than 4,500,000 Italian lire, the equivalent of roughly 2,000-2,500 Euro/Dollars of the time, considering inflation probably equivalent to 4,000-5,000 today and the subscription/calls were prohibitively expensive.
ghaff 4y ago
Even outside of the smartphone per se, I expect a lot of people don't really appreciate just how high friction it was to get information about anything including government services, information you might want to do your job, purchases, books, etc. etc.--especially outside of major cities with large libraries and research universities. (And even as an undergrad at one of those research universities it was hard to find current information on specialized topics.)