Where Is the Smartphone Revolution Taking Us?
Some four years ago, I spoke at a conference in New York about the future of music. Part of my presentation dealt with the arrival of the smartphone and what it could mean in terms of consumer behavior and music consumption.
My theory was that once smartphones reached critical mass–a tipping point in terms of market penetration–we were going to see some interesting changes in the way people access information and entertainment.
In hindsight, of course, this is a “Well, duh” sort of prediction. But back in the fall of 2008, the vast majority of people were using run-of-the-million feature phones.
And now this revolution is moving at light speed with an estimated 1.1 BILLION 3G subscribers on the planet, a number that’s increasing by 37% per year.
Now, though, new unexpected realities are begining to resolve. Check out this article from The Guardian:
If, however, you’re concerned about things such as freedom, control and innovation, then the prospect of a world in which most people access the internet via smartphones and other cloud devices is a troubling one. Why? Because smartphones (and tablets) are tightly controlled, “tethered” appliances. You may think that you own your shiny new iPhone or iPad, for example. But in fact an invisible chain stretches from it all the way back to Apple’s corporate HQ in California. Nothing, but nothing, goes on your iDevice that hasn’t been approved by Apple.
And even if you’re not an Apple fanboy and sport an Android-powered mobile device, there is still the problem that your access to the internet is regulated by a company – your mobile network provider – which is free not just to charge prohibitively for access but also to decide what you can access and what you can’t.
Good find Alan. I've been trying to say something like this for a long time and actually just recently wrote a post on my own blog talking about a different facet of this problem. Sorry, I don't mean to come across as just advertising myself (the blog is just a hobby, I don't profit from it) but I thought it was related to your post here. The smartphone/tablet revolution can mean incredible things going forward but the devices have been built from the ground up to be about forcing choices onto users that are made in corporate interests, not the user's. Closed systems are not good for anyone.
"your access to the internet is regulated by a company – your mobile network provider – which is free not just to charge prohibitively for access but also to decide what you can access and what you can't."
I'm sorry, but I fail to see that big of a difference between this statement as it can be applied to tablets and phones, and how it applies to the big ISPs in Canada, especially with how Rogers and Bell have been toying with their selective bandwith throttling.
Granted, neither controls what programs you can install on your device, but they certainly control how you access content online.