The Smartphone Revolution

Australia has recently been crowned in a recent study by Google as having the highest rate of smartphone penetration in the world behind Singapore, at 37 percent (see: http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/australias-white-hot-smartphone-revolution-20110908-1jz3k.html). It's quite clear that we can't get enough of our iPhones, our Android phones, and our Blackberries. Smartphone 'apps' such as Angry Birds and Cut The Rope have now basically become household names, whilst turning into multi-million dollar businesses. These devices have now become a part of our everyday lives. This kind of growth is enormous, especially due to the fact that Australia was lagging behind the majority of the developed world for smartphone penetration this time last year.

(http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2010/03/03/1225836/404467-smartphones.jpg)

However, the real issue is how we actually use these devices. After reading the above article, I felt the more important issue was the increasing use of financial services such as PayPal, and the use of media sharing and mobile internet surfing. This is highlighting a significant transition, from activities which previously might have been undertaken on a desktop PC at home, to an entirely new platform. This has meant that the methods of undertaking these tasks have had to be redesigned. For example, completing a financial transaction on a desktop PC is very information heavy, with the user being provided with quite a lot of information, whilst the user is usually paying close attention. With regards to the mobile platform, tasks are designed to be quick, to be paid little attention to, and to be highly convenient.

The interesting part here is the question of what will happen to the user experience with regards to mobile devices in the future? The mobile world continues to expand at a rapid rate, largely thanks to web apps and 'cloud' services, and businesses have clearly recognised this, with mobile devices now being recognised as a crucial tool in communicating with the consumer. Is the desktop PC eventually doomed?