ASK people what they would save from their burning house (assuming the kids and the cat are safe) and many would opt for their cellphone. I can remember doing this as a survey in Wellington and being told by people that "my entire life" is on my phone.
While that is mildly tragic, it is worth noting I did the survey before smartphone technology was commonplace. It was a time when Finland's Nokia and its famous ring tone ruled the world. Now, Apple and Samsung hold the reins.
But what has amused me is a French newspaper report that shows, at least in Europe, that people still have a desire for the "bricks" that we used to have - and are prepared to pay large sums of money for that old-fashioned retro comfort of a "dumbphone". I'll have to let my parents know; I think they still use the oldest phones in the country.
I can relate to this retro ideal a bit because when I finally upscaled from a "brick" to a flip-top phone of exquisite slimness, I wanted the look but not the functions. I just wanted to make calls and do the odd text. Life didn't really require any more complications than that. Besides, life was for looking at. You're supposed to talk to people and be aware of your surroundings. Now we look at the internet in our hands, while walking in front of buses.
And my initial desires to avoid yet another complicated device have fallen to nought, because we've reached a generation of technology where computers and phones are intelligent enough to be "friendly", to work things out and set themselves up. At what point did you start noticing things don't come with instruction manuals anymore?
