BizJournals Portfolio
Home >   Business Views, Opinions and Blogs >   Business Blogs >   Tech Observer >  

The Cell Phone Whips Internet Tv Regular Phones

Tech Observer

by Kevin Maney
Main
Daily Brew: Screenshots Show Why Google Is Better Than Yahoo And AOL   Daily Brew: Dead Celebrities Get The Last Laugh

Recent Blog Posts

Links

Mar 05 2008 12:00am EDT

The Cell Phone Whips Internet, TV, Regular Phones

The cell phone has taken an amazing, historic place in the lives of Americans. A new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that for the first time, the cell phone rates as the hardest technology for people to give up, followed by the Net, TV, land-line phones and e-mail, in that order.

There have been few inventions quite like the cell phone, in part because it is so personal. It's the only gadget ever invented that people take with them all the time, like a wallet. It is an extension of you. As former Motorola CEO Ed Zander liked to say, if you're in a room and a land-line phone rings, someone will answer it. If you're in a room and someone else's cell phone rings, you leave it alone.

The Pew study finds that for the first time the majority says they'd rather give up their land-line phones than their wireless phones. This is a choice people are already making -- a trend that will be accelerated by the new $99 unlimited cell phone packages.

. □

Comments

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.


Connect With Portfolio.com
Like Portfolio on Facebook

Come on, like us—you know you want to.

Follow Portfolio on Twitter

Follow us and if you're an innovative entrepreneur, we'll return the favor.

The Mix

Today's top stories, conversation starters, and the back nine business bites.

spotlight on

Slideshows

500 Startups Hits New York

Dave McClure's brainchild makes its way to New York and introduces East Coast money folks to some intriguing new companies. View Slideshow