Smartphones: Still An Object Of Necessity Or Luxury?

Or both?

Now I do not think there is any individual on this planet who does not have a phone. Either it is the good old and hard as a rock Nokia with buttons that most probably have faded letters or no letters whatsoever out of sheer constant use. Or you’ll see the typical touch screen nice and slim smartphones.

Android phones

Windows phones

iPhones

Then come your tablets and iPads and other permutations and combinations of phones that could possibly come out in the market. Open any newspaper and chances are ten out of ten times you’ll find a column on the biggest offers on the latest phones, or god forbid one full page for that newly launched phone with a body slimmer and longer than you could hold and a price higher than you could afford.

Which then brings me to my next question, when does a mobile phone or cell phone cease to be a necessity and rather becomes a showpiece of luxury and status symbol? The mobile phone became popular right after it got its leash removed from its master, the landline or wired telephones. Then the wireless telephones could finally breathe without a leash to keep it tied and then it put on and closed the buttons to finally kick the master out of its house, becoming the movable or mobile phone.

So you could now move around the house and sit in a corner and speak to your special someone in a hushed voice without letting your parents know. Great.

But then like anything and everything else, evolution hit hard and our wireless mobile phones got high on steroids of Bluetooth and much later Wi-Fi, with timely booster doses of a screen, then a qwerty keypad, followed by a touch screen and all those options you can read on the product description of amazon. Which no doubt makes it all the more better and easier and comfortable to use.

Which then brings the question, how willing are you to stretch the comfort? Because as you stretch your comfort, so you stretch your pockets and the cash rains to the company account. Wonder how? You move out with a plan to buy a phone with so and so features, not just because that is all you need but because that is how much close your dad is willing you let you get to that phone your friend just bought.

Then the shopkeeper of course shows you a model and tests the waters to how much he could possibly extract from you and twelve companies and nineteen models and four shops later, you finally buy the one which goes eight thousand rupees beyond what you stepped out planning to spend (or rather your father did).

And iPhones are a totally different universe that I believe do not think even fall under consideration of whether they are a necessity or just another two-year luxury for a Richie rich. I mean, if are looking at you iPhone while reading this after having spent over 50 grand on said iPhone, my dear reader, I appreciate your time and effort but your definitions of necessity might be Slightly blurred at the edges.