UN communications chief predicts four billion mobile phone subs by year's end

No need to adjust your set -- the United Nations communications chief has boldly predicted that half of planet Earth's population will be hooked on some sort of mobile phone before 2009 dawns. Granted, the numbers he's talking about do look strictly at subscriptions, so a small percentage will be skewed by those with multiple accounts (and thus, multiple numbers), but really, the forecast isn't all that outlandish. After all, we already hit 3.3 billion mobile phone subscriptions back in November of last year (and 4 billion lines overall). As predicted, it's growth in developing regions such as Africa and the Middle East which will boost the overall figure the most, with yearly increases in those areas expected to hit 27% and 25%, respectively. So, what are the chances a post eerily similar to this pops up in 2012 or so saying the entire world has a cellphone? Our trusty Magic 8-ball says "Signs Point to Yes."

[Via Core77, image courtesy of Road and Travel]

[Sora @ Sep 27th 2008 4:09PM]

Technically speaking, for the whole world to have a cell phone, you'd need each baby to have one at birth.

[erhan @ Sep 27th 2008 7:19PM]

I'd tap that.
then unload on that tatoo. o_0

[Rudiger @ Sep 27th 2008 4:10PM]

Following the headphone cord down... does she keep her iPod in her pants?

No wonder her face looks like that!

[someguy71 @ Sep 27th 2008 4:42PM]

she probably has one of those first gen iPod Shuffles

[Joseph @ Sep 27th 2008 5:19PM]

Actually, she's having phone sex.

[Jason @ Sep 27th 2008 7:01PM]

Ipad?

[konshuss @ Sep 28th 2008 1:42AM]

she's talking to the un communications chief and yawning.

[Phonixfire @ Sep 27th 2008 4:10PM]

Okay... What is with the picture.

Seriously, it's a teeny tiny bit creepy.

Sort of like "RAWR", but with a phone... And why has she got a sun tattoo... There?

[CtK @ Sep 27th 2008 7:27PM]

more importantly!! who is she??

[Konstantin @ Sep 27th 2008 4:35PM]

Hey, speak for yourself. I'm liking the picture.

[G. Tom @ Sep 27th 2008 4:57PM]

Rawr? Looks more like *yawn!* to me! :)

[Sridhar3 @ Sep 27th 2008 5:24PM]

Yeah, that picture is money. Not sure about the gaping face-hole, but the rest looks good to me.

[Reader @ Sep 27th 2008 6:46PM]

I have an idea or two on how to close up that "gaping face-hole".

[Gamer90 @ Sep 27th 2008 4:10PM]

I'd put it in her bocket. lol

[napsterking @ Sep 27th 2008 4:14PM]

Talk about a Tattoo

Me WANTY!!!!!

[Rudiger @ Sep 27th 2008 4:16PM]

The United Nations communications chief looks like a total freak in the sheets.

[EmoChicksAreHot.....Seriously @ Sep 27th 2008 11:13PM]

Agreed.

[roman.kim @ Sep 27th 2008 4:33PM]

Those numbers are pretty good. Considering that world population is estimated to be 6.725 billion, and "around 27% of the world's population is below 15 years of age", so that's pretty good.

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

[grue @ Sep 27th 2008 4:33PM]

How else is she gonna get the sun to shine down there?

My favorite tattoo joke:

A married man keeps telling his wife "Honey, you have such a beautiful butt."

Every person in the town agrees that she does have a very beautiful butt. The man's birthday is coming up so she decides to take a trip to the tattoo parlor and get the words "Beautiful butt" tattooed on her ass.

She walks in and tells the tattoo artist he husband thinks she has a beautiful butt. He looks and says, "You do have a beautiful butt."

She then tells the man she wants "Beautiful butt" tattooed across her ass. The man tells her, "I can't fit that on your ass, it takes up too much space. But I tell you what: I will tattoo the letter 'B' on each cheek and that can stand for 'Beautiful Butt.' She agrees and gets it done.

On the man's birthday she hears him come home and is only wearing a robe. She then stands at the top of the stairs. He opens the door and she says "look honey." She then takes off the robe she is wearing, bends over, and the man yells "WHO THE FUCK IS BOB?"

[jupiterthunder @ Sep 27th 2008 4:41PM]

I don't know many tattoo jokes either.

[steve @ Sep 27th 2008 4:57PM]

Why would "beautiful butt" be too big to tattoo on your ass? In the original version of the joke the person was a fan of BB King and that's why he got BB tattooed on his ass.

[ILoveApple @ Sep 27th 2008 4:53PM]

Since when have there been 8 billion people in the world?...

[Chuckles McGee @ Sep 27th 2008 7:01PM]

Since 2009

[djfake @ Sep 27th 2008 5:04PM]

yeah, wassup with the picture? somebody owe her a favor??? Is this Maxim or Engadget?

[dan1101 @ Sep 27th 2008 5:26PM]

Stock photo too distracting. I think she's having an argument or having phone sex. Not sure which.

We are males that think with our smaller head.

Now can we see the rest of the tattoo?

[OddManOut @ Sep 29th 2008 3:11PM]

"I think she's having an argument or having phone sex. Not sure which."

I'm pretty sure it's an argument ABOUT phone sex. What I can't tell is if she's winning or losing.

Possibly both ?

[A Fine Young Fellow @ Sep 27th 2008 5:31PM]

2.4 Billion people also keep their iPods in their vaginas. iPod cases are too expensive.

[iEye @ Sep 27th 2008 6:34PM]

SKANKY

[andre @ Sep 27th 2008 6:47PM]

OMG!!!!!...I KNOW 2 GIRLS THAT LOOK LIKE HER..BUT SHE HAS MORE ATTITUDE..SHE IS HOT~!!!!

[Bristol Palin @ Sep 27th 2008 6:47PM]

"No way will I do a 50-man bukkake for $900! Last week I got $1000 to jerk it in front of arab oil swine for $2500! Next week I'm doing girl-girl bathtub scat for $5000! I'm going to cut my agent's sack off for quoting you $900 to get showed in man-mayonnaise by a room full of pencil d|cks standing around staring at me in their underwear waiting for their turn!"

[Bristol Palin @ Sep 27th 2008 7:01PM]

On a more serious note, it's disturbing to hear that a lot of the subscriber growth will be in Africa - that's the LAST place we want people getting more celphones. It's bad enough that for years no one's stopped all the phishing emails that originate in africa , ala "Hello my name is General Muzamba Gontani. I am president of Kufi National Bank in my country - we have determined there is $500,000 in your name in a bank here, and we will just need $500 to cover cost of wiring money to you. Prefer western union". Let's not even get started on all the ebay scamming by 14 year old kids in Africa holed up in internet cafe's, that ebay had to spend MILLIONS to countermeasure by building an A.I. based security system.

Now to think that more and more celphones are going to get into the hands of these dopes - I picture myself sitting at dinner and getting the call from "Private Number" -- "good day sir I am president of Kufi National Bank........."

*roll eyes*

[Jon Nelson @ Sep 27th 2008 8:05PM]

Fucking WEIRD.

As I was reading the last couple lines about getting a call from "Private Number", my phone buzzed with a call from...you guessed it...a private number.

I don't care if my dog was dying, I was NOT picking up that phone call.

[Scott @ Sep 27th 2008 9:51PM]

Bristol, I think it's pretty evident that your mother having not explained to you about birth control must have also forgotten to teach you how to spell 'cellphone'.

[B @ Sep 28th 2008 2:32AM]

She's saying "Itz notta' TUMAH!" Either that or she's picking a wedgie.