How telephones developed to become portable computers that we can easily fit in our pockets....

Today´s generation is more than familiar with cell phones and the use of computers. The vision held by a growing number of people in the industry of computers is, that "one day your primary, computer, the device you use for the majority of your work, will be mobile, easily fit in your pocket, and be completely integrated with your mobile phone." Article, Roy Watt - When cell phones become computers (2010, October 18). Retrieved 12:58, October 30, 2010, from http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/MPRV.2009.40


The question we have to ask ourselves is the following - What are the driving forces behind this new trend?? There are 2 major constraints for any mobile device, that is
- battery life time and the ability to use the phone for the longest amount of time possible (between  recharging)
- size and weight (must fit pocket/purse) […]

Cf. Fig.1 Article, Roy Watt - When cell phones become computers (2010, October 18). 12:58, October 30, 2010, from http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/MPRV.2009.40


For more then a decade the industry was able to fit those conditions perfectly fine. But the industry grew, the demand became bigger and so did the demand the clients had torwards a communication device. In the past year, the the estimated number of industries shipping mobile phones to companys was 1,2 billion. An enormous number, considering that cell phone customers represent a subscriber market of 3.3 billion - which is about half the earth´s population  […]


Basically a cellphone can be architecturally divided into 2 basic components: Firstly the communication processor and secondonly the application processor. The engineering trend nowadays is, to build both of these components into one piece of silicon, which is often referred to as system-on-chip (SoC). This can help save cost to a very high level. To distinguish between smartphones and a regular cell phone it is firstly tired to make the application processor become a computationally powerful computer in its own right - in a regular phone there is only one fundamental function, which is the communication center.  […]

Now what might be interesting for us to find out is, how big the smartphone market is relative to the cell phone market.  […]

"In 2007, it was estimated to be a little less than 10% at 116 million units, growing to 181 million units in 2008, or 14 % (see Fig.1). Therefore. smart phone have a way to go before they embody the majority of cellular sales, currently about 1,2 billion." Article, Roy Watt - When cell phones become computers (2010, October 18).Retrieved 12:58, October 30, 2010, from http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/MPRV.2009.40


The numbers keep growing and growing, and one day I am sure of it - It is going to be more than normal that a cell phone can book flights, make reservations maybe even send a print-demand to a computer. Innovation in cellphones/smartphones is growing tremedously and so is every computer based system around it. I believe that the smartphone is just the beginning. In maybe a 100 years there is going to be a computer based device which is almost unimagable for us today, but then the youth of that age is going to feel the same way about it, as we feel about smartphones today.