Saturday, March 30, 2013

Smartphones Are Eating the World | MIT Technology Review

Came across this article on the MIT Technology Review website that speaks in detail about how mobile computing has become such as huge pare of the global economy.  The numbers are staggering!

While I was taken back by the combined revenue of Microsoft, Intel, Apple and Google, ($341 billion,) I was just floored to see that all mobile operators combined for a whopping $1.2 trillion!!!


Other graphics in this article really drive home the fact that our future will be dominated by mobile computing.  When nearly half of the world's population is served by mobile operators, one can see that the future will be literally in the palm of our hands...or the bridge of your nose, if Google Glass is used. 

The final infographic in this article really details just how much market share Apple has over the mobile computing industry, with $85 billion in revenue in '12, (iPhone only,) compared to $120 billion for all Android manufacturers combined, (Samsung, HTC, Sony, et al.)  There may not be nearly as many iPhones sold in '12 (136 million) as there were Android, (480 million,) but Apple's making money hand over fist here!

My personal take on all this is that mobile computing will continue to expand around the world and we, as consumers, will reap the benefits of this expansion: improved technology, additional innovation, greater competition and lower device/service pricing.  I don't particularly like that one company holds such a grip on the mobile computing market, but their products are high quality and user friendly, so I can't fault Apple for creating a product people like and want to use.

You can read the article here:  Smartphones Are Eating the World | MIT Technology Review

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