Mobile Internet Devices – Convergence of Mini Laptops & Smartphones
Posted in Mobile Devices | 1 Comment »Today we are in the era of convergence where electronic devices in different niches can all perform similar functions. For e.g. a laptop which used to cater the traditional computing segment can now also be used to connect to telecom broadband. This connection can be obtained through an external interface like USB sticks provided by telecom operators or through an in-built interface. Nokia booklet 3G is an excellent example of a mini laptop providing an in-built telecom broadband interface.
Similarly, mobile phones were initially only used for making voice calls and sending text messages. However, Smartphones like Nokia E71 and Apple iPhone brought a tectonic shift in the way people use their mobile phones. Now people can easily connect to internet so that they can download and listen to music, chat with others or simply surf the net. Voice calls are now only a part of a lot of activities that can be performed on mobile phones. Moreover, most of the Smartphones now provide connection to WiFi spots, which was initially only possible through laptops.
Both these segments used to operate in their own verticals with little overlap. Over a period of time this has changed and these devices have merged to something called Mobile Internet Devices (MID). A mobile internet device has no clearly defined boundaries of what can be called a laptop or Mobile Phone. The laptops are getting smaller and smaller and Smartphones are increasingly becoming capable of performing complex tasks.
One important question that comes to mind is that how did this convergence come through? The answer lies in the fact that over a period of time, computing power increased substantially and the size of the processors reduced considerably. Moreover, companies were better able to mange the power consumption of various electronic parts like processors, screens etc, making it easier to fit more efficient processors in less space.
Another important development was the convergence of internet connection technologies. The internet world went from fixed connections like LANs to wireless connections like WLANs. The telecom world which was initially designed for voice calls with increased mobility also transformed to high speed wireless broadband connections. Most of the latest Internet Mobile Devices can connect to the internet through WLANs or Telecom broadband depending on the coverage of the respective technology. The future might bring more seamless wireless connectivity with less human interaction and more efficiency.
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January 9th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Well said