Mr Remi Efunsanya, an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) expert, on Sunday said that most users of smart phones were under-utilising their devices.
Efunsanya, who is the Chief Executive Officer, MDOT Solutions, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that smart phones had the power of influencing people’s daily routines.
He urged users to find out the capabilities of their smartphones and leverage on them, so as to get the best out of the gadgets.
“In the next few years, smartphones will take over all other digital devices and will be the most common digital devices one may own.
“Users should not see it as only a communication gadget because some of the applications in a smart phone can help us to achieve things in a simpler and faster way,’’ the ICT expert said.
Listing some of the capabilities of a smartphone, he said for an Information Technology professional, “it served as a laptop because virtually everything could be done with it’’.
Efunsanya said its regular internet access and applications could also be used to monitor the heart rate and measure heights, amongst others.
He added that as much as smart phones were useful, users should not be carried away with it as they had their own disadvantages.
According to the ICT expert, its disadvantages include hindering real human interaction, sometimes leading to serious accidents and leading to breaches of privacy and security, if not properly managed.
Also speaking on the issue, Mr Abiodun Animashaun, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Braintech Technology, told NAN that the emergence of the smart phone had effectively made most tasks done by man to be very easy.
Animashaun said modern-day humans were vastly connected to technology and social networks through their smart phones.
“Look around in the bus, the cafe, the malls, you will see the majority of folks with some form of Wifi-connected smartphones in their hands.
“A lot of people multi-task as they go about their daily lives.
“Technologists and software builders use smart phones most times to test and monitor their applications.
“It has never been easier to fire off a quick e-mail to a work colleague, to send a text with an embedded photo to a friend, or to video chat with a loved one,’’ he said.
Animashaun noted that the convenience of being connected to the internet, while on-the-go, made an active lifestyle much easier.
The ICT expert, however, warned users not to be too addicted to smartphones, as they were said to be dangerous to health.
“It has not been proven scientifically by researchers that smart phones are dangerous to human health, but it is better to be cautious.
“As you know, too much of anything good is bad,’’ he noted.
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Animashaun said Wi-Fi (wireless internet connection) uses microwave radio waves that were a non-ionizing form of radiation.
He said non-ionising radiation were not strong enough to completely remove an electron from an atom or cause devastating damage to biological tissue.
Mr Jide Awe, Chairman, Conferences Committee, the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), said that apart from making calls, smart phones had enhanced features that can aid their users.
He added that the smartphone could download apps that one could use for various purposes, such as banking, accounting, generating news for business, etc.
Awe sad that smartphones had features that can aid daily activities such as the calculator, calendars and also for planning product management.
He added that in as much as smartphones are good, users should be cautious of information left on them.
“A lot of time people leave personal information on the smart phones and this is not good because if it falls into a wrong hand, information gotten could be used against the owner.
“For security purposes users should also password their phones and have backups, in case it gets missing.
Mr Emmanuel Jonathan, Chief Executive Officer, Key Communication Ltd said that most Nigerians using Smart phone were ignorant of its potential.
He told NAN that old school phones can text message but smartphones allow multiple ways of communicating such as video calling, video conferencing, email and connecting people using the social media platform.
Jonathan said that they can also be used to carry internet facilities from one area to another, adding that smartphones can display nearly as much of the Internet as PCs, including games and streaming high-definition videos.
“Smartphones can also be used to serve as a device merger such as an MP3 player, an e-book reader, a camera and a GPS device through miniaturised hardware that packs a processor or speakers.
“Smart phones can also store an endless application, the sensors built into the smart phone, as well as its portability and programmability have made it a device with almost limitless
applications,” he said.
Jonathan added that beyond the tons of games and productivity apps available, health and fitness apps can track the miles one had run.
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