Mobile computing is not a complete replacement to laptops or desktops
In fact, most people would never consider creating content on a mobile device, besides taking basic pictures, and posting them on Instagram (nice job Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)). Smartphones are generally geared towards social interaction rather than content creation. In fact, mobile devices are used to share content that has already been created. No one, would ever work on an excel spreadsheet using the latest iPhone, (I’d probably smash my head into the wall if I attempted it).
No, I would never write a post for the Motley Fool with a Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) either (just because it has a QWERTY keyboard doesn’t mean I’m sold on the idea of working on a 4” device that would land me a whopping 50 words-per-minute at most). But, maybe if I got really good at typing on a BlackBerry device, I could hit up to 70 words per minute. Yeah, that still isn’t a desktop replacement though.
But, I will attempt to write a Motley Fool post on my Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android device, just to see if I can pull it off, and probably pin it to my wall of accomplishments. But, in the end, mobile devices are not a replacement to a desktop or a laptop computer.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s market position is well-established. When smartphones came out, we were made to believe that they can do anything! What we soon realized is that smartphones are really good at some things and really bad at other things. We find the immersive computer experience extremely useful when finding directions, listening to music, and chatting with friends.
Almost every type of chatting program that can be created has been created. We have alternate video talking software (Skype), picture talking (Snapchat), picture making (Instagram), short message bursting (twitter), social networking (Facebook), group making (Google +) etc. The whole point is that we’re running out of innovation, and the mobile phone isn’t moving into the workforce with as much success as we had though it would.
Smartphone devices aren’t going to replace the computing needs of a hospital, I doubt a KPMG associate will be busting out spreadsheets from an iPhone, and I highly doubt a Goldman Sachs associate will be writing the next research report on an iPhone.
Both the desktop computer and smartphone are stagnating. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in its most recent quarter, was able to report 7% volume growth in iPhones. While that growth will be further supported with product refresh cycles. It doesn’t change the fact that the smartphone, in general, is just another device that connects to the cloud.
Here’s the end game, cloud-computing is already a mature industry (whatever moniker we want to attach next to it is irrelevant), and it’s not revolutionary. It’s just a different way to store data and access files. Online programs have existed for ages, and application stores improve the speed by which we can access them.
New ideas drive smartphone and desktop sales. For now, standardizing the differences between all the different operating systems and form factors is the “new revolution in technology,” after standardizing technology through the cloud; we have to look for the “next big thing.”
The next big thing may just be the desktop. Sort of like fashion, what goes in and out of style, comes back in style.
The article The Next, Next, Next Revolution! originally appeared on Fool.com.
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