Heuristics and Internet Use. (August 27th, 2003)

So there I was, minding my own business and reading an email discussion on the main computing list in Trinidad and Tobago. The discussion? How to browse the web with a cell phone, what equipment was required...

Nobody asked why, but that's another topic altogether.

Anyway, I'm sitting right here - in this green chair that I desperately need to find a replacement for - and thinking back. Back to the 90s, when people in the U.S. used to pay for hours of internet time (remember THEN?). I was remembering how short emails were then, and like I often do, I considered the problems with browsing the web here in Trinidad and Tobago. I chuckled.

You see - I've been through this in the United States - when cell phones first allowed email access and internet browsing, I had one. I still have the Motorola around here somewhere (best cell phone I have ever owned and I can't use it down here, system incompatibility or some other excuse). But man - when you get a long email on a cell phone, it can be painful. In Trinidad, it's going to be funny to see people adjust to this.

You see, TSTT went ahead and dropped prices on all sorts of phones that have features that TSTT doesn't have implemented yet. I'm sure they will; I won't slam them since the ADSL has been everything that they promised - though late. But people are already playing with them by connecting them to their PCs. Been there, done that. So all sorts of people have bought these phones, sort of like buying a new sports car. Cell phones appear to be a status symbol here, much like they were in the U.S. Cell phones everywhere. How many people actually *need* them? Not many.

But soon, they'lll be clogging the airwaves with these long emails - via yahoo, via TSTT, via whoever - and they'll be impressing their friends for at least a few weeks. Meanwhile, they have a contract with TSTT for a year. Heh. For services they cannot access yet. LOL.

It's like deja vu, only with a Trinbagonian accent.

I get to watch the evolution happen again. How many people get to do that?

Posted by Taran at August 27, 2003 11:41 PM

Funny.The same thing is happening here in Jamaica as well.Phones with internet access have just been launched and evrybody is grabbing them.But it will just be another nine day wonder.But Im curious why would anyone want to browse the web on such a tiny screen anyways.

More Power to you Taran.Keep the good posts flowing.

Posted by: Tarik at September 2, 2003 11:46 PM