Regular readers will know that I have a real passion for mobile technology and often blog and tweet about related subjects.
As it is, a fair proportion of my Blog is written on a Blackberry and I use it do much of my work.
But, although I have used variants of mobile 'Personal Digital Assistants', PDAs (as they used to be called), for over 15 years, starting off with Psions, Nokia communicators and then older Blackberries (from 2003), I have a strong belief that 2010 is the year that mobile technology really came into its own. First; smart phones became affordable. Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry and a number of other brands dropped to £60 on pay as you go or £20 on monthly contract with a free handset. Second; high end phones like the IPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S, and Blackberry Bold and Torch came onto the market with state of the art built in touch screens, video and top notch cameras. Third; we began to witness the slow death of mainframe computers as consumers began to gravitate away from big computers and laptops, to Apple IPads or the Samsung Galaxy Tab (next year there will be ever more 'IPad ' competitors in the field).
More and more, internet users are using their Smartphones to access the web, download music and videos. Most significantly, the Smartphone has become the vital tool in which to conduct social networking. Facebooking and Tweeting are now the staple apps of any mobile device.
If 2010 was a good year, the next twelve/eighteen months could be even more remarkable. As technology advances, the price of computer chips continues to fall. This will mean that consumers will be able to purchase high end phones at low end prices. The subsidy offered - in return for an 18/24 month contract - by the mobile phone companies will no longer be needed as Smartphones will be very affordable: customers will therefore tend to opt for sim-only deals, which will mean lower tariffs and lower data costs.
I have always believed that mobile technology is an advancement in personal liberty, in the same way the motor car was to liberty of personal movement. In fact, I have gone so far to argue in a previous Blog that you can judge a country's democratic roots by how strong Blackberry usage is.
Whatever happens, the mobile miracle continues. The next stage is the development of affordable mass satellite mobile technology and satellite broadband.
P.S. Worth reading this fascinating article HERE.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
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