It’s not just a phone!

So, it’s been a ways coming, and it finally arrived!

On October 19th, Google and Samsung confirmed a rumor that had been going on for months. Both companies came clean in an hour-long press release to announce that they had partnered up once again to materialize what Google envisions an Android smartphone to look like. Finally, the Galaxy Nexus was real but real was just a relative term as it would take these companies nearly two months to score a release on the United States’ largest carrier, Verizon. Ask a techie, who is devoted to Android, what’s so special about a Nexus device and he will tell you that it’s the culmination of the pure Google experience, and in this case, the next evolution of Android: 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich.

Because of the open-source nature of Android, the platform can be easily changed by an amateur and manufacturer alike. So your HTC Android phone experience can be WAY different than your Motorola Android experience. A Nexus device gives you an unadulterated Android experience, and this drives techies crazy. However, the Galaxy Nexus would do more than just give you Android 4.0 as prescribed by El Goog, the phone is quite handsome sporting a beautifully giant screen while keeping the package sleek and slender, further opening the doors to a world where all you have to do is touch your phone to something and you can pick up a coupon, directions to a place, or even pay for your purchase. Everything this phone is capable of delivering is really exciting.

I’ll be honest. Those two months were full of ups and downs. Rumors that the phone was coming out, and rumors that the release had been pushed back. Boy, what a roller-coaster! The anticipation, the pining, and all my comments led to a series of canned responses from my friends along the lines of: “just buy a phone, whatever is closest”, “calm down, it’s not gonna save the world”, “your phone is just fine”, “it’s just a phone“.

That’s where I have to disagree. It’s not just a phone. It’s so much more. That small piece of technology may be made up of glass, metal, and plastic but in reality it amounts to so much more. Think about it. It’s how you communicate with people; it’s how you access information that would otherwise be unavailable to you (even if you went to your public library); it’s how you discover new and exciting things; it’s how you learn about the world; it’s how we communicate in times of crisis; it’s how you’re able to travel across space and time without ever having to go anywhere; it’s how you build and share memories; it’s how you are able to see people you otherwise wouldn’t see (does a certain FaceTime commercial come to mind?); sometimes it’s how you define yourself as an individual! To better explain this, however, I will have to take you back -way back- to the first cell phone, and see how much that device has changes -and consequently our lives- through the course of 38 years. Not even one full generation!

Motorola gives birth to a new freedom

In 1973, Dr. Martin Cooper invented the first handheld mobile phone and he was the first person to make a [cell] phone call sporting his $10,000 unit that easily weight around 2 kilos. It’s necessary that I point a couple of things out so that you can understand how much of a big deal this was. $10,000 in 1973 is the equivalent of just a little less than $51,000 today. That’s a lot of money for one single device! Devices that today can be obtained at around $600 contract-free. Today, the price of a phone can drop in a matter of weeks, but this wasn’t the case in the early stages of the mobile phone. Ten years later, Motorola released the first commercially available mobile phone: the DynaTAC 8000x. To the public, this device retailed at nearly $4000 dollars (1983 dollars that is).

Next thing to consider about this phone was the weight. Today, phones weighing more than 150g are considered to be hefty. Basically, this phone weighed the equivalent of 13 iPhones. Let’s not even talk about battery life! This thing could only hold you up for a 20 minute conversation, but then again, you could probably only hold it up to your ear for about 20 minutes before your arm could get tired.

From 1G to “4G”

While networks existed in which devices were able to communicate, it wasn’t until the ability to transfer calls from one cell to another that we started to think of these as mobile devices. With the First Generation (1G) of mobile phones, users were able to move across a geographical areas without their calls basically dropping. Cell sites were able to pass the call from one to the next without interrupting the users conversation. Japan was in fact the first to deploy 1G in 1979 and 5 years later Japan offered the first nation-wide 1G coverage.

Today, 1G doesn’t sound very impressive. This type of network barely offered the ability to have a voice conversation over the air. It took the industry about a decade to introduce 2G. A type of network that used the GSM standard- basically this allowed for calls to be digitally encrypted, increase penetration of signal (why you can have service inside buildings), and eventually the transmission of data. That last part is definitely relevant to our generation. The transmission of data started with the simple SMS and slowly developed to MMS (allowing pictures and videos) and eventually high speeds. Today, we can download full songs within seconds if you’re lucky enough to have access to a 4G phone, and a 4G network (4G is a relative term, as what is marketed as 4G in the US is not truly 4G). Can you imagine what it was like to surf the web on your phone using GPRS or even EDGE? And if you’re old enough to have done so, do you remember what it was like!?

Breaking the Mold

The shape, size and style of your phone has also gone through many stages of evolution. Take a look at this abridged walk through of iconic devices since the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x:

Nokia sets the standard. Notable are the Nokia 2100 (Nokia’s first iconic device), and later on Nokia’s best selling device (in the early 2000′s), the Nokia 3310.
Motorola drives the world crazy with the flip phone (clamshell phones) starting with the StarTAC but best known for the Motorola RAZR- a phone that can easily be considered the quintessential status symbol of its time. If you had a RAZR you were in. Many believe the concept of the clamshell phone to have been inspired by StarTrek.
The color screens and feature phones brought us snake (in color), music, and low quality cameras.
The rise (and fall?) of the Blackberry. Initially a corporate device, it eventually made its way to consumers thanks to the Blackberry Pearl successfully charming the masses with its addicting BBM.
A new standard to rule them all: The iPhone. Never before had a phone been so beautiful, so simple, and so perfect. While many will argue the selling points of the iPhone, we cannot deny that Apple single-handedly sets the bar of what a smartphone should look like, and how it should work.
The army of droids bring back the RAZR and offer dessert for everyone.
And of course, my superphone of choice, my Galaxy Nexus.

You see, phones have gone through many changes, reached many milestones, and had incredible accomplishments. First, despite all of Mr. Bell’s hard work, we had to cut the wires- the cell phone revolution began. Eventually, cell phones were not enough, we needed smartphones. Today, that tiny device housed within your skinny jeans is considered a superphone and with its infinite potential, there’s very little it won’t be able to achieve in due time.

So next time you’re killing time on StumbleUpon or Angry Birds; texting a new friend; video chatting with a loved one; exploring every confine of the Earth and the heavens above; listening to your favorite beats (even making your own); or photographing your life, realize that in your hands lies not just a phone. Within your hands lies a device that has unlocked so many doors for you; a device that takes away the impossible and gives you freedom to go anywhere with the simple tap of your finger. In a few inches of glass lies the possibility of old friendships, new loves, unforgettable memories, your job, your social circles and even your to-do list! This tiny little device has redefined how you communicate, and how you make yourself known. Alone, this device could make you or break you- at least that’s the perspective of those who think that if you don’t have an iPhone… well… you don’t have an iPhone.

So you see, it’s more than just a phone. One could argue it’s an extension of your life.