Cell phone explosion
Pakistan is gripped by cell phone mania these days. The mobile connections are excessively easy to get. Pre-paid connections are free, and you only have to buy a pre-paid card to activate. The post-paid packages are also pretty cheap; thus almost everyone ends up with a cell-phone.
Now, the need to get a mobile set comes and that leads to the mania! Initially these mobile sets were a necessity; today these are also used as a showoff accessory. This craze for cell-phones has increased so much that people are spending thousands of rupees on new sets.
If you visit Hafeez Centre, you will see an innumerable number of cell-phone shops. These shops display various models of cell phones from all renowned companies such as Nokia, Sony -Ericsson, Samsung, and Motorolla. The price ranges from 3000 rupees to 60,000 rupees, depending on the features and model of the set.
Cell-phone manufacturers were giving out new models each year, with modified features as a marketing gimmick, but not much importance was given to the shape of the phone. In 2003, Sony-Ericsson introduced a very stylishly designed cell-phone model, and the sales were so high that it made other companies put in more effort into the shape and design of their upcoming models. Since then, new features are added into cell phones everyday; they have digital cameras inside them, video-recorder, tape-recorders and now even pocket-PC's are made out of these very cell-phones.
Just to give an example; someone bought an i-mate ( PDA-2k) which cost him around sixty thousand rupees. This model is a pocket-PC and is mostly used by business-men who are in constant need of internet while they're on the move. But he only uses it to make calls or receive calls. Someone else ordered his i-mate from UK, but it took almost two months to reach Pakistan. He was in deep stress for those two months; couldn't eat, sleep or talk about anything else properly. After he finally got it, the cell-phone took over his life. It's his new friend. When he failed to pick up his cell once, we all got worried and we thought maybe he's lost his cell-phone, but his friend replied, "no I don't think so, since he can lose himself but NEVER his cell phone".
Like any other product, these cell-phones have their pros and cons. Cell phones come in very handy for people who are constantly on the move; it makes it easier for others to trace them down. The purpose of cell phones isn't only for emergencies, but to keep a phone wherever they are, instead of just using line phones. Parents provide phones to their children if they're going outside, and this makes them worry less about the kids. These days, it is such a blessing since the milkman, washerman, tailor and other workmen have cell phones now and we can call them at our own convenience. Servants are keeping cell phones these days and it's much easier to trace them this way. Therefore, cell phones have made people more accessible in general and quickened the pace of life by reducing the time to reach a person.
There are several misuses of cell phones as well. These new features sometimes serve as an invasion of privacy. Boys use them to take pictures of unsuspecting girls (and vice versa), or make videos with their cell phones. It is also being used by boys and girls, as there is a special package available where you get two connections and calling the same network is free. This is how the lovers pass their time, talking all night long. For them, this is a safer way than using the land line phones undetected. There is a new Indian song, "Love on SMS", by Remo which is a huge success these days. This craze for cell phones has exceeded the limit to an extent, college going people and school-kids are spending a huge part of their savings or even getting in debt to obtain the latest models. Their main aim is to get a new cell and in the process they are ignoring various other parts of their lives where they can spend that same money for a more balanced life.
As the demand for cell-phones increased, so did the theft of cell phones. Two of my friends were robbed at gunpoint, but the robbers only took their cell-phones and nothing else. Second-hand cell phones are then sold in the market, to unsuspecting customers. The shopkeepers should ask for the proper package and papers of a cell-phone when a person comes to sell it; this is the only way to keep a tab on stolen items. This could in turn help the law enforcing authorities.
Now, the need to get a mobile set comes and that leads to the mania! Initially these mobile sets were a necessity; today these are also used as a showoff accessory. This craze for cell-phones has increased so much that people are spending thousands of rupees on new sets.
If you visit Hafeez Centre, you will see an innumerable number of cell-phone shops. These shops display various models of cell phones from all renowned companies such as Nokia, Sony -Ericsson, Samsung, and Motorolla. The price ranges from 3000 rupees to 60,000 rupees, depending on the features and model of the set.
Cell-phone manufacturers were giving out new models each year, with modified features as a marketing gimmick, but not much importance was given to the shape of the phone. In 2003, Sony-Ericsson introduced a very stylishly designed cell-phone model, and the sales were so high that it made other companies put in more effort into the shape and design of their upcoming models. Since then, new features are added into cell phones everyday; they have digital cameras inside them, video-recorder, tape-recorders and now even pocket-PC's are made out of these very cell-phones.
Just to give an example; someone bought an i-mate ( PDA-2k) which cost him around sixty thousand rupees. This model is a pocket-PC and is mostly used by business-men who are in constant need of internet while they're on the move. But he only uses it to make calls or receive calls. Someone else ordered his i-mate from UK, but it took almost two months to reach Pakistan. He was in deep stress for those two months; couldn't eat, sleep or talk about anything else properly. After he finally got it, the cell-phone took over his life. It's his new friend. When he failed to pick up his cell once, we all got worried and we thought maybe he's lost his cell-phone, but his friend replied, "no I don't think so, since he can lose himself but NEVER his cell phone".
Like any other product, these cell-phones have their pros and cons. Cell phones come in very handy for people who are constantly on the move; it makes it easier for others to trace them down. The purpose of cell phones isn't only for emergencies, but to keep a phone wherever they are, instead of just using line phones. Parents provide phones to their children if they're going outside, and this makes them worry less about the kids. These days, it is such a blessing since the milkman, washerman, tailor and other workmen have cell phones now and we can call them at our own convenience. Servants are keeping cell phones these days and it's much easier to trace them this way. Therefore, cell phones have made people more accessible in general and quickened the pace of life by reducing the time to reach a person.
There are several misuses of cell phones as well. These new features sometimes serve as an invasion of privacy. Boys use them to take pictures of unsuspecting girls (and vice versa), or make videos with their cell phones. It is also being used by boys and girls, as there is a special package available where you get two connections and calling the same network is free. This is how the lovers pass their time, talking all night long. For them, this is a safer way than using the land line phones undetected. There is a new Indian song, "Love on SMS", by Remo which is a huge success these days. This craze for cell phones has exceeded the limit to an extent, college going people and school-kids are spending a huge part of their savings or even getting in debt to obtain the latest models. Their main aim is to get a new cell and in the process they are ignoring various other parts of their lives where they can spend that same money for a more balanced life.
As the demand for cell-phones increased, so did the theft of cell phones. Two of my friends were robbed at gunpoint, but the robbers only took their cell-phones and nothing else. Second-hand cell phones are then sold in the market, to unsuspecting customers. The shopkeepers should ask for the proper package and papers of a cell-phone when a person comes to sell it; this is the only way to keep a tab on stolen items. This could in turn help the law enforcing authorities.
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