The Matured Cellphone

No one can doubt that the cellphone (or what Asians call "hand-phone") is getting more and more sophisticated.

Thinking back to the olden days, I have to admit that this handheld gadget is the fastest evolving thing ever invented in modern history.

Well, take cars for example. How much differences are there between a 1930-car and a 2000-car? I wouldn't be surprised if some people only come up with, "Uh, the old cars don't have air conditioning?" Well, those people must have had their cars' broken down some time ago.

On the other hand, what about cellphones? While a 2000-car is considered quite new to the market, you would be probably be the most outdated person in the world if you're still using a 2000-cellphone. Heck, the Chinese even burn latest PDA-phone paper-gifts for the deceased nowadays, complete with chargers and Bluetooth 2.0 headsets (Bluetooth 3.0, anyone?).

And a 1930-cellphone? Well, I believe it as much as I believe Doraemon.

Yet there are still lots of space for improvement. Battery lives are getting longer, capacity of phones are doubling every now and then, stereo speakers are popping up (waiting for surround?), megapixels rating of camera are climbing, together with integrated flash. Connection to the internet is also better than ever, now reaching 3.5G. As if that wasn't enough, GPS is now included too. What's more, some phones allow you to pinch pictures to the size of a walnut or to pull images so that it stretches like a chewing gum, offering realistic controls. Not to mention the size and weight of those things - they are getting thinner, lighter, and sexier faster than a dieting 19-year-old girl.

No, I'm not asking for a wristwatchphone, not yet, I am pretty glad with my N-Gage QD at the moment. It's a great thing - I get to blog.

But one blog isn't enough - I need a few more blocks. Not a sunblock though. Something like erm, SpamBlock, or AdBlock.

Yeah... Too bad... the phone is evolving, and so are its services. Advertisements and spam mails are finding their way to my cellphone, disrupting me at the wrong times for the wrong reasons.

Beep beep!

"Join Jay Chou's concert by..." I couldn't stand to finish the message. With a jab of the button I removed the message from my phone and continued slumbering. Yeah, Jay Chou is great, but I can't stand being squeezed like I'm Spongebob in the...

Beep beep!

"Keep in touch wif ur frens n family wif..." I jabbed my phone again.

Beep! "Brighten up ur day wif..." Jab.

Beep! "Lonely? Find frens thru..." Jab.

Beep. Jab. Beep. Jab. Beep. Jab. Beep beep beep beep beep. Jab jab jab jab jab.

Honestly. This is my phone! Not the Colosseum! Why do I get beeped and have to retaliate with a jab so often?

In fact, sometimes, I'm receiving more junk messages than sensible ones. In other words, this means that the phone is more troublesome to me than it is useful.

What made it worse is that most of the messages were sent by the service provider itself. I guess they don't have enough brains to send the message when most of us are free, after dinner, for instance.

Oh wait, I just hear a beep. Please be patient while I return this jab. I may, or may not, survive at the Colosseum.