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Have you noticed that mobile wireless
accessibility isdropping?
As I wrote in a post called “Mobility, Portability and Accessibility in a Wireless Age,” mobile and wireless devices are becoming larger, causing transport problems as new mobile gadgets flood the market.
Despite phones shrinking in weight and size since Motorola introduced the first cell phone–the Dyna-tech in 1983, only 2.5 pounds; 9″ X 5″ X1.5″–the latest smartphones and other MID’s (mobile Internet devices are getting BIGGER but LIGHTER.
Smartphones, which account for nearly 20% of new phones sold in the U.S., are the main culprits. Due to higher resolution screens, 5-8 megapixel cameras, GPS, MP3 players and other built-in features, phones are becoming wider and longer as their weight drops.
Next consider tablet or slate computers, eReaders and wireless devices. These mobility products are
approaching the size of netbooks with larger displays. But try stuffing them into your pocket or purse. Out goes portability unless you love carrying cases and bags.
So what’s the answer to this surge in mobility technology products? How do we maintain mobility with smartphones, e-readers, hand-held GPS units, slates and other wireless gadgets?
Mobile Wireless Accessibility
Devices like Nokia’s ClipIt that fold when transported and open when in use are possibilities. Here’s another fold-able multi-function device:
Winston’s (Polymer Vision) folding e-paper device, folded, is the size of a business card. While the company hasn’t announced wireless connectivity yet, this 5-6 inch device, due for release in 2010, is a definite contender in the eReader market.
Thousands of manufacturers are developing mobile and wireless hardware and software for mobile learning, commerce, entertainment and business uses.
By the end of 2012, around 6.5BILLION people will own six BILLION mobile phones and another six BILLION wireless devices.
Get ready for a slew of bigger, lighter, mobile and portable devices in the months ahead.
About Brian Prows
What about mobile device *carrier* portability? These things represent kilotons of devices that are more often than not technically locked onto a certain provider’s network. If I change carriers I change device (or at least that is a real possibility that I have to investigate, for myself, with no publicly-interested party guiding me). This leads to many devices getting thrown away or recycled before the actual end of their functional life. This also costs me money and decreases my choice of device, which is tragic, because the dynamism of the device market is being stifled. And of course this decreases competition between carriers and allows them to keep rates higher than God and Adam Smith meant for them to. When will consumers stand up and force providers into a more subservient position? If two carriers have similar technology, devices should be interchangeable between them, and “global” devices which support all the networks’ technologies *SHOULD* be portable between carriers, by God.
In general, unlocked GSM phones are compatible with other GSM carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile and some smaller operators. (In many European countries, the carriers are mostly GSM-based (the ones with the SIM cards.)
You can activate virtually any unlocked GSM phone on AT&T and T-Mobile without a contract by purchasing your own on eBay, CraigsList or elsewhere on the Internet. In fact, once most mobile phones–including smartphones–have been on the market for three months, you’ll find it’s cheaper to buy your own phones than committing to a two-year contract with a carrier.
Meanwhile, competition is heating up among U.S. carriers and I wouldn’t be surprised to find lower retail prices emerging in the next year. Customers can then use an unlocking service on the Web–mostly software based–if they want to change carriers.
CDMA phones (Verizon and Sprint) are more difficult to unlock but it’s still possible.