Verschillende handhelds bij elkaar: Game Boy Advance SP (2x), Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite, Sony PSP en Nokia 6630 Smart Phone. Foto zelf gemaakt. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometimes I feel we are too eager to throw away the new to make way for the newer.  The truth is I too have bought into the whole trend, and probably continuing to do so unless one day I wake up to find the world of technology has suddenly got a facelift.  You will know where I’m going with my ramble if you have already owned a smart phone.  Instead of trying to maximize the lifespan of our smart phones, we often decide to buy newer ones since newer ones usually come out with better and more features.  Sometimes, the smart phone designers, manufacturers, developers, promoters are too eager to roll out newer models of smart phone that encourage users to upgrade, therefore we often see smart phones that are working perfectly fine and only a year old or so find their future in the electronic recycling bins and dumpsters.

Perhaps, there isn’t anything wrong with how we are using our electronics today since at least we’re recycling our electronic wastes.  Nonetheless, I’ve often wondered many possible fictional outcomes if we had gone with the electronic usage trend which would partake on allowing the users to only upgrade and modularize their electronics.  Of course, it would not make sense to do this if upgrading and modularizing electronics are much more expensive than otherwise.  Plus, upgrading and modularizing really tiny electronic devices might be possible but rather almost impossible for regular users who just want to have something that works.  Upgrading and modularizing do sound like extra hard work, therefore people might not want to even think about such things.  Nonetheless, what if we do have commercial services that eager to provide upgrade and modularization of electronics for cheap — or at least to make it more affordable than just buying brand new?  We have seen how people love to upgrade their desktops, laptops, but why do most mobile products such as smart phone cannot be modularized?

Besides the reasons such as affordability, we also have concerns about electronic wastes and how electronic wastes might damage our environment and the health of the people who are actually working to get rid of the electronic wastes.  This begs the question of, will upgrade and modularization encourage a greener environment and less health hazardous working conditions for the workers who are responsible for getting rid of the electronic wastes?  I will not know, and I love to know.  In the end, I picture that one day we may have all in one product which can do everything pretty much — as in things that electronics do and not things that electronics don’t.  For example, we can’t expect electronics to breathe oxygen literally.  Even so, I fear electronics might one day breathe oxygen literally to power themselves, and such a day would be a sight to behold.

Back to the idea of all in one product (electronics) — perhaps such thing will be possible since it’s making more sense to not have to worry about carrying the weights, worrying about losing the things, and so much more if the all in one product turns out to be a robot, right?  I imagine a robot can be a companion, yet it can also be a smart phone, computer, maid, search engine, projector, and so much more.  With a robot following you everywhere you want it to, why would you want to carry a smart phone, a computer, a maid, a projector, and so on?  With a robot, you don’t even have to worry about misplacing it!  So, I think a natural progression of our electronic evolution, robotic industry has got to be the next biggest thing, yet!!!   Plus, it makes more sense to upgrade and modularize a robot than a smart phone.

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