[Question_Assumptions]

Well, point out to your kids that a classic Star Trek communicator didn't have to be recharged daily, could talk to starships in orbit, and can produce a strong enough signal to cause rocks to slide off of a cliff. Let's see a flip phone do that. But I bet it Motorola, Nokia, or some other company produced a working cell phone in a good and reasonably accurate looking class Star Trek communicator shell (they could make it work like a speaker phone and handle the little display with some fancy LCD work), I bet they'd sell like hotcakes, even if they were a bit clumsy to use. Of course if your kids want small, point out that a flip-phone sized hand-phase is shown as being powerful enough to disintegrate opponents and is still way ahead of the curve.

[ArGee]

Well, point out to your kids that a classic Star Trek communicator didn't have to be recharged daily,

On what assumption do you base that statement?

If it's the fact that you never saw them being recharged, remember that we never saw the crew use the loo either.

And if they manage to get rid of that need I wouldn't like it. When would I read?

Shalom.

[Charles Martel]

Well, point out to your kids that a classic Star Trek communicator didn't have to be recharged daily, could talk to starships in orbit, and can produce a strong enough signal to cause rocks to slide off of a cliff. Let's see a flip phone do that.

That's transtator technology for you. Now you know why Kirk was so riled when McCoy left his communicator behind on Sigma Iota II.