We all have one, in fact these days most of us have two! Our kids have
one and generally know how to use it far better than we do... it’s a
generational thing... although having said that they now make some whose bits
are big enough for even Grandpa to use! You see them everywhere.... at work, at
home, on the bus, in the car.....although hopefully not in the hands of the
driver! They are banned at school... and concerts....if you can find them,
because some of them are so small you often can’t find them at all?! Or may
even forget they are in your pocket....
Big, small, fancy, loud, vibrating, pimped out or disposable, mobile
phones are the modern day gadget in everyone’s lives. The question is, where
did they come from... and where do they go when their short but colourful existence is over? What is the Life Cycle of this humble transportable device?
Let’s explore....
Concept
to detailed design:
The initial design of the phone affects each stage of its life cycle and
will have an influence on materials and components used and the longevity of
styles incorporated. The average consumer life of a mobile phone is between 18
and 24 months, mostly because they are often considered a visible extension of
our personalities and are consistently upgraded and changed according to the
latest fashion trend. Therefore in
today’s competitive market of portable communication technology, having a phone
with the most beeps, whistles and do-dads is possibly more important to the
consumer than durability, performance and aptitude of the product. Phone design
is a symptom of peer pressure and like sheep, the largest consumerist market of
15 to 30 yr olds flock to secure the latest market release in fear of being the
only person who would dare to whip out their I-phone 1 as opposed to the 4... Oh
the shame!
Errors that can occur at the design stage include failure to ensure user-friendly
features such as keypads that are not too sensitive, applications that are
uncomplicated or battery covers that are easy to remove; let’s not forget
about various phone chargers... who doesn’t have a drawer full of chargers that
no longer match your current phone?! Other issues relate to phones that are too
big, too small, too convoluted, lack technical features, insufficient memory or
inadequate battery life. As there are currently several thousand designs
available, new variations are generally just a ‘tweaking’ of previous models.
Durability is a common design concern as phones are regularly dropped, kicked,
sat on and washed. Ensuring that mobile phone components are recyclable and/or
disposable is another concern as it is currently estimated that over 150, 000
phones are disposed of each year!
Construction:
Mobile phones are constructed from a variety of materials, some are hazardous including Mercury, lead, lithium metallic oxide and
nickel-cadmium, many of which are extracted during mining processes. The
circuit boards also include copper, gold, silver, lead and zinc. Issues here
include the fact that some of these materials are known as ‘persistent toxins’ (Wirefly
2009) and can remain in the environment for many years after disposal.
The manufacturing method includes delicate, intricate processes with
the potential for mechanical error as they are churned out on the assembly
line of up to 50,000 a day. From the following u-tube video you can see that although most of this is
done robotically, there is still a need for human assistance which can increase
likelihood of error.
Commissioning:
The initial design and advertising of a mobile
phone will later affect its commissioning. The mobile phone market is hugely
competitive and failures to understand the market, adequately advertise, ensure
availability and offer competitive service, warranties and upgrades can
compromise this phase of the life cycle.
Operating/Maintaining:
The part I tend to over-look about purchasing high-tech devices is the
mismatch between the ‘high-tech’ gadgetry and my ‘low-tech’ brain! For example,
I only discovered how to activate the wi-fi hotspot while away at Residential
school last week on a phone I have owned for 18 mths! (which by current
standards makes it obsolete and ready for renewal). After a particular function
disappeared from my home screen I thought I was rather clever in re-finding it
in the ‘ap market’ and dragging it back to whence it came, only when I clicked
on it, it failed to perform appropriately. My teenage son later informed me
that it was because I had failed to make it into a ‘widget’.... a whatthe??!
I gave up trying to find the ‘aeroplane mode’ in a hurry to board a
flight once and not having my password on hand in order to shut the phone down,
I stuffed it into the bottom of my backpack and prayed I did not receive a call
which would cause the plane to fall out of the sky to the accusing stares of my
fellow passengers! Our Lecturer Geoff has now fortunately eased this
particular concern...
Decommissioning:
Mobile phones have a rather short life span and often end up as
technological landfill (Wirefly 2009), producing an estimated 65,000 tonnes of waste!! Although there are several avenues of
recycling available to consumers this is often not advertised sufficiently and
the generated waste is rapidly becoming a universal environmental concern.
Mobile phone designers, manufactures and retailers have a global
obligation to find and encourage solutions to this emergent issue, so that the
end-user can continue to enjoy the vast array of new and exciting products
still to come.
The following u-tube video explains further....
And finally, another
clever and fascinating video on the life cycle of the mobile phone...
References
Wirefly, 2009. The
Life Cycle of a Cell Phone. [Online]
Available at: http://www.wirefly.com/learn/wireless_news/the-life-cycle-of-a-cell-phone/
[Accessed 23 August 2012].
Available at: http://www.wirefly.com/learn/wireless_news/the-life-cycle-of-a-cell-phone/
[Accessed 23 August 2012].
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