A Sophisticated Device for Sophisticated Communication

As wireless communication has become more sophisticated, consumers have more and more choices of ways to communicate and organize their lives at the same time. So, what kind of device do most people want to carry in the future? A Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) that talks or a cell phone that can handle data?

There's evidence that smart cell phones are winning the hearts of consumers. There are certainly lots more cell phones in people's hands. Sales of cell phones still outnumber those of PDAs. The simple reason for this is that users find wireless phones convenient and easy. There's no special knowledge required to use them; everybody already knows how to make phone calls. To maintain their advantage, however, cell-phone manufacturers should continue to design their phones primarily for voice communications. Other applications need to complement voice features, not compromise them.

There are a number of design criteria that cell phone manufacturers must take into consideration as they are essential to successful market appeal. Cell phone designers need to keep in mind that people buy these devices first to communicate, not to compute, so they need to remain easy to use. Therefore, most importantly, new combination devices need to look like phones. The familiar look of cell phones also makes it easier for technophobes, who fear new gadgets, to accept devices with more complex capabilities. The average phone user prefers a simple keypad, not a stylus for writing on a screen. Small size is also valued. After all, convenience is what has made cell phones so popular in the first place.

Given these criteria, however, the appeal of technology is to offer the customer innovation - something new to capture their imagination. So, what are manufacturers adding to cell phones? Anything that requires a lot of typing or a large screen won't work. Word processing, spreadsheets, or even most web surfing isn't practical. Successful smart-phone applications need only to add to the convenience of phones. Making it even easier for the consumer to stay in touch and be productive is the priority. As such, some useful applications could be personal information management programs, such as an address book, calendar, or a "to-do" list, which automatically communicate with the user's home- or office- based PC. Also, phones can be programmed for access to specific Internet data and functions that the user chooses. They can offer phone directory searches and driving directions. More features might include short messaging services, e-mail, and fax.

Once smart cell phones offer these types of features, consumers always have their personal contact information at hand. They don't need to go back to the office to stay in touch or do business. Most importantly, users can do all these things without having to learn a new skill. They handle familiar, easy-to-use tools on a small and convenient device: the wireless phone.

Answer a few questions about what you read.

In order to become more popular, cell phones should

remain easy to use
become cheaper
offer computational tools

Which of the following statements best fits the information given in the text

the appeal of cell phone technology for the ordinary user.
what the industry plans to do to appeal to new customers.
what needs to be done to satisfy both new and old customers.

According to this article future cell phones will feature which of the following:

Technology that will allow the consumer to write on screen
Tools that will allow the consumer to use the phone for time management tasks
Technology that allows the consumer to write or access lengthy documents

Cell phones owners will be able to access specific Internet data in order to:

get driving directions
set up an address book
set up a "to-do" list
In this article, the writer:

reports on what cell phone manufacturers plan to do to improve the design of their product.
suggests what cell phone manufacturers could do to improve the design of their products.
offers a critique of the performance of the latest cell phone technology.