Apparently Newt Gringrich, the prominent US politician, is trying to keep up with the times. In this priceless video posted on YouTube the other day Newt muses over a conundrum apparently keeping everyone up at night over at Gingrich Productions. Gingrich Productions is, incidentally, “a performance and production company featuring the work of Newt Gingrich and Callista Gingrich”. One naturally presumes as a ‘production company’ some involvement with technology and communications equipment.

Yes, Newt is seriously discussing what to call a smartphone – by which I mean it seems he has never heard the word ‘smartphone’ and instead is asking viewers to come up with suggestions of what to name this new-fangled multi-purpose device. His best idea so far is ‘hand-held computer’.

Curiously, in an interview with The Weekly Standard the interviewer asserts:

“it’s clear that Newt is fascinated by tipping points–moments where new technology or new ideas cause revolutionary change in the way the world works.”

It seems Newt hasn’t been keeping up. Perhaps he’s been too busy reviewing books on Amazon. Fun fact of the day, despite his day jobs, including a stint as Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt is, wait for it, a Top Reviewer on Amazon.