Where are my electronic devices?

Jorge Gomez
VP, Global Strategic Alliances at Andago

Wake up call at 6:00 AM. Bill Murray. The alarm clock rings one day after the other, in a continuous process, although it is always the same day. Groundhog Day. Today, however, would be impossible. Why? Because no one buys alarm clocks…
If you spent enough time in the Dark Ages, before smartphones were ubiquitous, you probably have thought of the enormous amount of physical objects that our mobile devices have replaced. Have you ever made a list? You’d be surprised by how long it can be.

There was a time where we carried tons of books. And comic books, too. Today the whole library fits in our Tablet. I was recently organizing old records, music cassettes, VHS tapes, CDs and even DVDs. None of these work now, because my electronic devices only store data on hard drives. We left aside the Walkman. And the Discman. And the iPod. And the iPod mini. And the iPod nano. Thank God someone decided to include music on mobile phones, because Apple was running out of names. And space. Does anyone still buy radios?

The daily newspaper has become just another page of multiple browser tabs. They now come with videos, interactive graphics and news unfolding in full color on full screen. Have you seen paper dictionaries lately? I haven’t. But I have a Latin one, brand new, in case anyone wants it. I offer it at a bargain price on eBay.

What has not changed over time is that I keep getting lost. But I no longer have to use an external GPS, it´s built into my smartphone! In fact, smartphones today are smaller than the first GPS I had ever used. Before GPS, I used Google Maps prints, and MapQuest´s before that. Long before those, I used store-bought book maps. They had so many pages that when you finally found your destination, you had usually already arrived at the destination. Or you were hopelessly lost. I also remember carrying a notebook to take notes on trips. And a voice recorder. And a compass. And guides, Lonely Planet style, which bulged a lot and recommended the most exotic sites, but they were normally closed on arrival or at the other end of town. And local guidewords, and recommended restaurants… I understand why my mother packed large suitcases when traveling; it was definitely for all those books.

Another interesting thing in travel was photography. Nokia just announced a camera phone with over 40 megapixels. I don’t remember very well which was the last digital camera I bought, but it sure did not have that resolution! And what about the reels of film when digital photography was not yet widespread. Not that long ago. Or was it? We also had portable consoles (long before that, we played with cardboard and magnets; the kind of games where you would loose the dice on the second shot given …), then a Nintendo DS. Now I think that’s in 3D. Modern times.

I can think of many other devices being gradually replaced such as scanners, our TVs, credit cards, loyalty reward programs, and even identification. What devices have you replaced? Which ones do you miss?

Jorge Gomez serves as VP of Global Strategic Alliances at Andago, where he analyzes business opportunities and develops new market initiatives, increasing Andago’s Health and Wellness ecosystem of partner companies. Jorge combines his Computer Science engineering vision with an Executive International MBA background, along with a thriving passion for state-of-the-art technologies and World cultures.