Consumers and app developers are demanding increasingly sophisticated personal computing from the smartphones that we carry with us daily.
This demand has led to an evolution of smartphone hardware and consumer usage that positions these devices more as mini-tablet computers than phones. In fact, we established in part one of this series that current smartphones are indeed mini-tablet PCs that are an "evolutionary" step between phones and the next phase of personal computing. Ultra-mobile personal computers (as I am calling them) will be pocketable all-in-one devices that take advantage of a universal platform, context sensitive hardware and software, universal apps and the cloud to facilitate the mobility of a user's digital experiences.
I contend that our current "smartphones," which have replaced small tablets, which replaced desktop PCs for an increasing number of personal computing tasks, will continue their trek toward the all-in-one ultra-mobile device capable of managing an increasingly complex array of personal computing tasks previously reserved to the traditional desktop environment.
This smartphone evolution in its current "mini-tablet" state is, of course, a device-agnostic transition. iPhones, Android devices, and Windows phones have all reached dimensions, functionality and usage that qualify them as mini-tablets. Indeed, each of these platforms is represented in the market by devices that occupy this transitory phase preceding the advent of the true ultra-mobile PC.
However, this current smartphone landscape, which is dominated by the iPhone and a host of Android devices, has virtually plateaued. As a result of a "phone-focused" paradigm, these two dominant platforms impose inherent barriers to evolving into personal computing's next phase. I believe, however, that Microsoft may possess the missing link.
Full story from the WindowsCentral blog...
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