“The only thing that does not change, is the change itself.” This famous quote is not to be seen only in the context of a communism-driven social scenario. The ever-happening tech scenario has much to do with the concept of change that never changes.
Every cutting-edge technology means change, change and more change.
The latest trend in consumer market of the world tech industry is the fast adoption of smartphones, with companies like Nokia, HTC, Research in Motion, Apple and lately Acer besides many others jostling for market share with high end phones.
If some study results can be trusted, all the feature phones in the world will be replaced by smartphones in the future. As per IDC, 70 per cent of mobile devices would be smartphones by 2010. Currently the market for smartphones is around 40 per cent.
This demand for smartphones is obviously driven by the craving of people for some portable device to stay in touch with their office, friends and family even while they are on the move. Actually it was due to this need that netbooks became a huge success in the consumer market. And now smartphone takes a step further in ensuring a convenient active and connected life for the people because it is basically your phone and it becomes a PC when you need one, just like a chameleon changing colors in accordance with the environs.
Interestingly, Acer, which is a netbook king, is now going all out to the smartphone market and targets to capture 10 per cent of the Indian market in one year. The company's Smart Handheld business group's country head Richard Tan says that the price of the smartphones are coming down, and it would therefore replace almost all the feature phones in the market.
But Tan seems to be quite sure about the imminent shift of users from netbooks to smartphones, and this foray of the company to smartphones market can be seen as a strategy to ensure that consumers' money returns to Acer's kitty even when they ditch its netbooks and go for smartphones.
However, a common man may not be a big gainer, he may think, “To buy a smartphone with Internet connection will engender a trouble of paying a comparatively big monthly bill (as you use more and more possibilities including MMS, Internet and much more). But to buy one without Internet is a foolishness too.”
And finally, there arises a question as to what is smart? Less than a decade back a mobile phone was a luxury and every model was smarter. What is is smart today can also become obsolete tomorrow when a smarter one emerges.
So what is the parameter to be smarter tomorrow? Any answers?
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