It’s amazing to know how the mobile telecommunication evolves. I was one of the lucky ones who saw this evolution since the early days of mobile phones introduced into consumers market. If I remember correctly, back in early 80′s, I knew someone who was very closed to my father and owns a portable phone (I’d rather use the word portable phone and not handphone as it was very bulky, as if you’re carrying a mini-ITX desktop). The reason it’s so bulky is because of its battery that requires an enclosure which is separated from the phone.
Few years later, the handphone was introduced to the market. Launched somewhere in 1987, the Mobira Cityman by Nokia was considered as a luxury item. With a price tags over $5700, it was limited to those rich and famous only. Having a phone at that time is like driving a Ferarri today (because Vertu has yet to be born).
Today, the handphone is widely used around the world. It is very common that even school kids are using phones. Statisticly, the numbers of mobile subscribers has just reached 5 billion, thanks to the 2 largest population country, India and China. 10 years ago, there were only about 720 million mobile phone users around the globe, but today this number is less than the amount of users in China alone today. The total of connected devices is expected to be somewhere around 50 billion by 2020.
It is estimated around 2 million new subscribers each day and this number will increase everyday. Currently there are over 500 million 3G subscribers around the world and it indicates the penetration of mobile Internet will be much higher in the next decade. Just about 8 years ago, I was wondering if the GPRS would be the maximum speed for a wireless Internet as it was killing me just to load a single page.
Imagine how easy today’s world, with Blackberry that doesn’t requires you to hook up to modem, or a smartphone that capable of receiving emails almost immediately. You no longer need to connect your notebook to your phone as a modem (which drains out your phone’s battery much faster) because the 3G or HSDPA USB modem is widely available. Some notebooks even offered a built-in wireless modem, you just need to slot in the SIM card.
These facilities has become a catalyst to the mobile Internet growth. Still remember how eagerly you wanted to be home just because you want to log on to your Instant Messenger (IM) or your social networking sites?. Ever wonder how convenient if you could get connected to those even when you’re on the move?. With the mobile broadband infrastructure being expanded every single day, you can now log on to your Facebook and Yahoo Messenger on the go. Not only that, you can also impress your friends with the mobile upload feature which allow you to directly post a photo to your social networking accounts and get them to comment.
Electronic banking can also be carried out without the need of a computer. You can check your balance, perform fund transfer or pay your bills while in a tube or while travelling in a car (as a passenger, not as a driver!). With these cosy ways of doing business, I have a feeling that someday, the computers role will be completely taken over by these Internet connected phones. Who will need a computer when everything can be done by something that can fit your pocket?.