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The Future Is Movable

There’s a reason I didn’t use the word mobile in the title of this entry, and that’s mainly because when people think of mobile anything they think it sucks. They think it’s a scaled down, kiddy version of the real thing. This line of thinking was essentially correct up until recently, when products like the Samsung Q2 UMPC, Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, and Apple iPhone appeared and showed where mobile technology was really headed. Now you’ve got an entire computer the size of a Sega Game Gear, so is this the future?

Computing’s future is going to be split down the middle, with desktop-class machines getting faster and cheaper, and movable machines (laptops, UMPCs, iPhones) getting smaller and more connected.

As far as software is concerned, this is both a great and terrible concept at the same time. It’s terrible because now you have iPhone users accessing your web application from their phones and you feel compelled to slim it down and make it more iPhone-compatible. It’s a great concept because movable computing has spawned new industries, new niches, new ways to add value to someone’s computing life. People have a finite amount of time during the day, and they’re displacing old interests with things like Twitter and Qik. When people are doing something new instead of what they were doing before, there is now an opportunity in making that new activity as entertaining or productive as possible, for profit. Look at all the companies making money in the cell phone wallpaper industry, the ringtone industry, the “text 34554 to 3443 to get X sent back to you” industry. Yes, those are all million-dollar industries that didn’t exist a few years ago. These all sprouted up in response to the changing tastes and needs of users who now have computing devices in their pockets all day long. People can IM, text, and email their friends no matter where they are, not to mention take pictures, stream videos, visit websites, play games, oh and make phone calls. Each function that a movable device has is another opportunity to do something better, faster, or cheaper than the next guy and turn a profit.

Simple cell phone functions like ringtones, texting, and picture-taking have been created brand new companies around them, but what features that have yet to become ubiquitous?

• Mobile video.
• Mobile gaming with touchscreen controls.
• GPS in your cell phone.

iPhone SDK Coming In Weeks

I predict many new companies and software niches to pop up once the iPhone SDK launches in February. It’s going to be just a matter of time before people are shooting video with their iPhone and then performing iMovie-like editing operations on it from within the iPhone before directly uploading it to YouTube. It won’t be long before some really awesome games are released for the iPhone that have interactive controls far beyond what mobile games are currently employing. Mobile ordering products for stores like Starbucks.

Each new function that is launched will create a brand new company out of thin air. Then there will be 5 other companies created to compete with that market leader, and then you’ve got an industry that didn’t exist a year ago.