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This may sound like a presumptuous thing to say, but it is the future. It will happen. In a matter of time, there will be no need for most people to own a car. Car ownership will become non-essential. All you have to do is make the connection between the dots, and it is easy to see how this will happen.
All those costs of acquiring a car, fuelling it daily and maintaining it, will become unnecessary. And you will be able to save tons of cash while at it too. And you will be able to move around freely just as if you owned a car. Plus, there will be a driver thrown in for good measure. Let’s call it private car as a service.
But there’s a more popular name it is already called – a ride hailing service. Or on-demand ride services. Uber. Taxify. AfroCab. Yes; those services. Before you yell at me, “Are you for real?!”, give me a few minutes of your time.
The fees that ride hailing services charge now are amazingly low. Already, in many places around the world, you can take inner-city rides for peanuts. The rates will drop even lower over time as economies of scale kick in.
- On-demand Ride Services Versus Car Ownership
- Electric Cars
- Self-Driving (Autonomous Vehicles)
- Connect the Dots
On-demand Ride Services Versus Car Ownership
Notice how the fare is gradually inching downwards towards what the average Abuja residence pays for cab rides. On-demand cab ride services are dirt cheap already and will get even cheaper. Plus, there is an abundance of available rides these days when you request for one.
Electric Cars
Electric cars are driving down the cost of maintenance of cars. With less complicated engines, fewer moving parts, and no combustion happening, the cost of mainaining an electric vehicle is much lower than that of maintaining a carbon fuel combustion vehicle of the same class.
Acquisition costs are dropping too and eventually, we will have a situation in which electric cars are more affordable than in-class fuel combustion cars in the market.
Range used to be a problem with early electric car models, but that is fast becoming history. Electric vehicles are having better range and speeds now and eventually that con will disappear completely as more efficient batteries are developed.
Self-Driving (Autonomous Vehicles)
Anoter factor to consider is the fact that there is a revolution on the way – that of self-driving cars. At some point in time, we will have vehicles that can navigate any road or terrain autonomously – without the presence or need for a human driver.
Connect the Dots
Now connect the dots. A combination of electric, autonomous driving, and ride-hailing technologies will give you a private car on demand at rock bottom prices, making car ownership largely unnecessary. Acquisition and maintainance costs are borne by the collective users of the platforms, and everyone gets a car for use when they need one. Once these services hit a sweet spot in terms of fares, it will only be a matter of time before most people – perhaps yourself inclusive – will find that there is no need to purchase and own a car anymore.
That day will come. The extremely rich will continue to own cars, more for the prestige than for the utility. Fans of car brands will splurge on those brands for the thrill factor. So Tesla, Chevrolet, Ford and other car brands will still record sales to individuals. But the vast majority of low and middle class people will find that car ownership is no longer essential.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
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Xenon is the kind of flash used in professional cameras. The benefits include: better illumination and faster illumination (hence cleaner frozen shots). You can read up some more here: Nothing beats Xenon flash yet . That article was written in 2014, and till now in 2017, nothing still beats it. All the gimmicky stuff being done with LED flash still do not compare.
Samsung Galaxy K-Zoom was one of the last phones with xenon flash.
- 4 Phones with Xenon Flash
- Using phones with xenon flash in 2018
4 Phones with Xenon Flash
If you are anything like me, you are definitely pining for a smartphone with Xenon flash. The problem is that modern smartphones have opted to go with LED flash for various reasons, including: they fit in smaller space (hence thinner phones), they can be used as torchlight (Xenon works as short bursts), and they are much cheaper.
But if you really do want a Xenon smartphone, they all belong in the 2010-2014 era, and these phones were the elite squad of cameraphones. Please, forget what you have heard about your iPhone having the best camera. That’s marketing bullshit (cough!). The best cameraphones have Xenon. Here are 4 relatively modern smartphones with Xenon flash:
- Nokia Lumia 1020: 4.5-inch display. No memory card slot. 32 GB internal storage. 2 GB RAM. 41 megapixel camera. 2000 mAh battery. 2013 device.
- Samsung Galaxy K-Zoom: 4.8-inch display. MicroSD card slot. 8 GB internal storage. 2 GB RAM. 20 megapixel camera. 2430 mAh battery. 2014 device.
- Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom: 4.3-inch display. MicroSD card slot. 8 GB internal storage. 1.5 GB RAM. 16 megapixel camera. 2330 mAh battery. 2014 device.
- Nokia 808 PureView: 4-inch display. MicroSD card slot. 16 GB internal storage. 512 MB RAM. 41 megapixel camera. 1400 mAh battery. 2012 device.
Using phones with xenon flash in 2018
As you have noticed, using any one of the above phones with xenon flash comes with trade-offs. For one, they all have smaller displays by today’s standards. Don’t expect great performance o battery life from the two Android smartphones on the list.
Both the Lumia and the Nokia 808 offer better battery life and performance because of the OS they run. But then, again, you can forget about up-to-date apps on them. While Android OS has more apps, don’t forget too that the Galaxy smartphones here run Android 4 Kitkat.
In other words, there is no way to use a smartphone with Xenon flash in 2017 without some pain. A way out is to not use any of them as your primary smartphone and just carry it along for photography only. Again, for someone like me, that is an inconvenience: I prefer to travel light and carry only one device on me at any time. Bummer.
Anyway, you have been informed. Are you a smartphone photographer? Did you ever own any phones with xenon flash? Does Xenon flash interest you or do you believe it should be forgotten about and consigned to the dustbin of mobile history?
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Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
