Graham Bell wouldn’t have expected that his invention which had brought a major breakthrough in the history of communication, which opened the communication lines all over the world, would be replaced with cell phones in the future. With the advent of cell phones, the culture of having a desk phone or a land line is almost missing. Public phone/booth is nowhere to be seen. I remember, as a child we had a phone with a receiver and a dialer, which looked almost like a box. We had to use the circular dialer to dial a phone number. Slowly it was replaced with a numbered dialer, which has to be pushed. Later we got very many variations in the phone category. We saw the introduction of cordless phones. Now these kinds of phones have become a good antique piece and are sold as antiques. 

With the advent of cell phone, India became the second largest mobile phone consumer in the world. Cell phones have replaced any and every phone in almost all the households in the present day. I even saw a beggar bringing a cell phone out of his rug sack to make a call. I know you won’t believe me but I am not making it up. Almost all the maids who we hire for cleaning and swabbing are proud owners of a cell phone! Even people who are considered below poverty line own and use a cell phone. Cell phone has permeated and seeped into our lives so deeply that without it we all feel crippled.

Thanks for some famous advertisements that cell phone has now also become sell phone. We use cell phones as a memory book. We hardly remember any phone numbers these days. If we need to make a call, we just look it up from our contacts list stored in the cell phone. With the growing use of cell phones, the smart phones were introduced. These smart phones enabled with features such as Wi-Fi, internet connection with 2G and 3G, cameras with as high as 51MP camera have a huge numbers of consumers. There are so many features a cell phone has these days that it is now become a must have in our life. Have we imagined what it would be like to live without a cell phone? Probably we cannot imagine our lives without it.

Coming back to where I started, desk phones are now limited to offices and workplaces. Also, the kind of desk phones we use these days are also equipped with features such as you can accept two calls at time, divert a call, park a call, make a conference call and numerous other features.

Another reason for many to forgo a desk phone must be the wiring that becomes quite cumbersome both inside a house and outside. Also, many of us keep moving, shifting in and out of a city or move within a city to too many places, here having a desk phone and having to get a transfer would add to our exertion. So people think that it is better to abstain from using a desk phone. Whereas a cell phone is handy, compact, and easy to carry- yet another reason for cell phones to become such a great hit. It is mobile! Plus, you remain in touch with your near and dear ones irrespective of the geographical location. This is one of the major reasons why cell phones came into being and have replaced desk phones. Sooner than we realize, a time will come that desk phones will be seen only in museums. So here I bid adieu to desk phones.

• Written by Mousumi Ghosh.
• In category Miscellaneous.
• 10 years ago.

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