Sir, - May I compliment Kevin Myer on his article on the epidemic of mobile phone usage. I found it most humorous.
Currently I reside in Hong Kong, where it is almost impossible to get away from cell phones. The Hong Kong population are cell phone addicts. It is quite common to see people with a mobile phone and a pager, and using both at the same time.
Everywhere you go phones and pagers are ringing: buses, taxis, trains, ferries (fortunately they're banned on aircraft), on the street, in the office, cinemas (most annoyingly), etc. This list is not exhaustive.
I ask: why do people need them. Obviously they are extremely useful for those who need to be contacted at short notice. But why, for example, do you need to bring a phone on an evening out? Particularly, when all restaurants, bars, etc., have a regular phone and all local calls in Hong Kong are at present free. I recall an instance in a restaurant where four people were sitting at a table next to me. At one stage, all four were on their cell phones at the same time. It will get to a stage where we will have non phone as well as non smoking sections in restaurants and other public places.
In the not so distant future, most terrestrial phones will probably be replaced by mobile phones which can hook up to local cellular networks or satellites covering most of the populated areas of the planet. So like it or lump it, I think they are here to stay.
By the way, I seem to have received a shipment of coke. I guess you missed the boat, Kevin. - Yours, etc.,
Happy Valley,
Hong Kong.