Foldable phones: Our new gadget obsession

The pharmaceutical industry has always been the first in terms of adopting new technology to help the sales efforts of its personnel. During my time as a Medrep, we were the first to be given with a palm computer for our call reporting system. How did we submit our reports? By physically connecting our device to a modem and the telephone line. Although not encouraged, we were able to hack our way in and used it to surf the internet and play games with it.

Not long after, acetates and overhead projectors was replaced by LCD projectors. The office wanted all reports in powerpoint, saved digitally and presented to them. Thus, the demand for laptops arises. Of course, not all companies are willing to issue each of their Medreps their own buky laptops, so Medreps had to buy it on their own thru loans extended by the company or charge it with their credit cards.

Then, there's the Apple iPad. The iPad was so versatile and the available application technology was so useful that multinational and Filipino pharmaceutical companies adopted it for their call reporting system as well as field evaluation system. With the speed of mobile internet kept on improving, information can be made available in real time by just a tap of a button. So, almost every Medreps you see now has that gadget with them.

As the title says, I believe that the next gadget obsession for the industry is the foldable phone. Why you ask? You'll have two devices on your hand, that's why! The company no longer have to provide you with two gadgets and two mobile plans, but instead, you'll only need one sim card for it. You have your regular Android phone, and when you fold it up, you'll get your tablet!

Now, at the beginning of this year, companies such as Samsung and Huawei have unveiled their version of the foldable phone. Samsung Galaxy Fold has a 7.3-inch screen that folds over itself when you're ready to put it in your pocket. It has a high-end processor, 12GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. There's going to be a triple-lens rear camera (16MP+12MP+12MP), and a 4,380mAh battery split up between the two sections of the phone.

These devices, the first versions of this class, will still be pricey, with the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X reportedly priced between $1,500 to $2,000 US Dollars. But give it a year or so, once the technology gets cheaper and the demand shoots up, pharmaceutical companies will surely consider this to automate the salesforce.