Miniature portable televisions have been around for a long time. I remember when the Sony Watchman, with its tiny screen and black and white picture, was released in the 1980s. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, and I wanted one very badly. I thought it would be so much fun to be able to watch Tom & Jerry while waiting for the school bus or while sitting at the dentist office. But they were also very expensive at that time, so I never got one.
As would be expected, technology has changed with time. These days, instead of longing for a miniature portable TV, I can just watch my cell phone. Actually, it's my husband's cell phone. And I can only watch it if I happen to be in Japan. You see, my husband does a lot of business in Japan and spends a lot of time over there. So much time, in fact, that he needs to have a separate cell phone so that his clients can reach him when he is on one of his extended business trips. He replaces his cell phone frequently, and I just love examining the features on each new model. His latest phone, which he got a couple of months ago, has a built-in TV tuner that allows him to watch local television channels for no extra charge. He can either use headphones to listen to the broadcast, or he can just listen through the phone's speakers. The picture, of course, is in color. The phone itself was very cheap because this television reception capability in cell phones is not new in Japan. My husband paid less than $20 for it, and says the picture quality is terrific!
I like the idea, and I hope it catches on here in the United States. I know that some phones have a separate subscription service that allows customers to pay an extra monthly fee in order to receive special television programming, but I haven't heard of any phones that allow customers to watch VHF and UHF channels for free. Having a built-in TV in my cell phone, which is a device that I carry around with me all the time anyway, would be very convenient. The TV phone would be very useful on camping or backpacking trips where it's better to travel light. It would also be great to use at sporting events so that I can see instant replays or listen to the game commentary.
When I was a kid, I never would have believed that I would someday be able to watch TV on a cell phone. I would have thought that was something that could only be found in science fiction comic books. This is yet another reason why I love technology!
