Managing Home Maintenance Costs

Smart phones are being purchased so quickly that in just a few more years , the gadgets will be ubiquitous. In fact smart phones have recently surpassed the purchase of non smart phones and are causing the disconnection of thousands of land lines. Smart Phone Growth is off the charts.

Many people think that by 2015, ownership of smart phones will surpass 80% in North America, matching the ownership of PC’s or desktop computers. This represents a huge market for the companies that got in early and have developed a platform to build on.

There is becoming a clear distinction between smart phone use and the use of personal computers. Although most if not all PC owners will also have a smartphone as well, their uses will be quite different. Staying in touch by email, text messaging, social networking will migrate to the smartphone. Preparing documents of all types, research, etc etc will continue to be the playground of the PC. Some smart phones will cross over partially. With suitable forms type app’s, they can be used as on the job reporting devices to assist them in reporting everything from sales to reading meters.

There is no doubt that there are new opportunities waiting for the folks that took the plunge in developing a smart phone as well as those that are focused on developing applications for the smart phone. Creating new business models and cash flows will definitely put some pressure on the existing incumbents as sales and cash flow come under pressure.

If experts’ predictions come true, the tech world could look quite different in the next five to 10 years.

Smart Phone Growth – Your Personal Always On Device

Desk top PCs  can be shared among multiple family members or coworkers, lap tops became more personal since you typically carried it with you to meetings and on business trips. A smart phone on the other hand is always with you and always connected, making it your personal always on always connected device. That makes it very, very personal and heralds a huge change in the way we communicate.

For some users the smart phone is becoming your personal electronic wallet, your financial manager and your personal assistant that gets you to meetings etc on time and in the right place.  Apps store passwords, health information, financial transactions, daily calendars, to-do lists and detailed e-mail trails, plus games and vast entertainment libraries of books, movies and music.

From Cars to refrigerators, all will have a smart capability and be connected, however the smart phone will be  the remote control for our digital lives. Many people will still use PCs, iPods, iPads, laptops, tablets and many more devices, but it will be the smart phone that will always be on and will be always with you!

Your digital stalker

The smart phone knows where you are, constantly and that means also that thephone company or your phone provider can also find you anytime as well as long as you have your smart phone with you. That’s another watershed for the tech field.

No one knows quite how that technology will play out (or pay off), but everyone wants a foothold. Twitter and Facebook recently added location-aware capabilities, and venture capitalists are throwing cash at location-based services like Foursquare and Gowalla. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Yelp and Groupon are diving deep into the local advertising markets.

Where you are is now one of the most important — and potentially lucrative — aspects of your identity from an advertising perspective, because this information provides vendors with information about what they can advertise to whom based on location.

The Tech Field Will go Through an Re-ordering Process

The roster of gadgets orbiting your smart phone will vary based on application and use. For example most people will still use desktops, with large screens for their work, especially information workers who generate content and applications. Tiny screens are just not suitable for these types of activities. Some people who like specialized equipment will still use other gadgets for specific tasks. A smart phone is ok for a quick picture to be sent off to your friends and family. However if you want high quality pictures, most people will go with a dedicated camera,

Some devices will die off or become specialized. We will gravitate to less paper, but never eliminate paper so printers will still be needed. In fact there are people who own desktops, cameras and smart phones, but no printers already!

Smart Phone Growth- Competition

The tech giants are competing for the smart phone. This is a giant battle that will not be soon over. Already giants like Apple, Dell and others are introducing enhancements to their phones. Even Google with Android is in the competition for space in this market. The carriers are also lining up with smart phones, however they seem to be taking a more careful approach. Rather than bet on one horse, they are introducing as many smart phones as they can. They want to attract as many customers as they can.

These carriers are Verizon and Sprint in the US and Bell and Telus in Canada along with Rogers. They are competing for every minute and bit of data that can be carried on their networks.

The question is, is this the beginning of a major shift in technology? Also the way we use these devices, or are we well along the way. Only time will tell. But you can be sure that all of the major players will be competing for your dollars in the market for some time to come.

We would like to hear your opinions about this post and more specifically what you think the next big disruption is going to be in the technology field. For more information about smart phones and other items of interest, click here.

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