"App"sorbed

In response to our recent class discussions regarding smartphones and our immense reliance on them, I decided to dig deeper into the topic. For about the past ten years laptops have been all the rage. In today’s society, one is considered abnormal without a laptop and the wifi to come with it. The trend is shifting and smartphones are becoming the new laptop.

One definition of smartphone is a phone that has computer like qualities such as internet access. Although the “first” smartphone was released in 1992, what many consider the smartphone revolution started with the iPhone. The first iPhone was released in June 2007. Since the iPhone release, many other companies have developed smartphones similar to it such as the Blackberry Storm, the Android, the HTC Thunderbolt and the Samsung Galaxy. Most of these share common characteristics: internet abilities with access to wifi, e-mail, music players, and a touch screen.

Currently, it is application abilities that distinguish these phones and in general the iPhone contains the largest quantity and most current “apps” of all the smartphones. Some of the most common apps today include GPS, Facebook, Words with Friends, and Urban Spoon. Apps are providing so many resources that are just at the touch of the screen, however soon we may not even need to make the effort. In a recent New York Times article, Jenna Worthman reported on the Mobile World Conference taking place in Barcelona. During the conference, the chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt talked about the future of smartphones. He explained that smartphones will become more intuitive. Schmidt used the example of a civilian walking through the streets of Barcelona. Using previous knowledge and Google activity, one’s smartphone might alert the individual of something they have expressed great interest in like a Spanish architecture museum.

To many people smartphones may seem excessive but the benefits and possibilities seem to be endless. Any user has the opportunity to create an app, opening doors for a million more ideas in the future. I believe those who do not join in the smartphone revolution will be left behind. In answer to our class conversation; yes we can do homework online but I don’t think that’s even the starting point to where smartphones will take us.

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An Ever-Changing Technology

We are all aware of Apple's ever-changing technology and products. From their excessive new releases of the iPhone to the invention of the iPad, Apple is always in the news. Consumers have long awaited the release of the new MacBook Pro, whose availability was just announced this morning. While this constant improvement in technology is exciting, is it really necessary? To have multiple versions of a phone released in one year, and for the newest versions of a laptop or iPad to be announced within days of each other? To me it seems only obvious that eventually, if not already, Apple will be in complete control of the technological market.

Apple's technology is seen everywhere due to its efficiency and convenient features. With the iPhone spreading to Verizon, even more consumers are gaining access to Apple's products. Earlier today, Apple announced its release of the latest MacBook Pro which is already available to customers. The new technology provided by Intel, called Thunderbolt, supplies faster capability for the device to support "high resolution displays" through one port. It provides ethernet and advanced HDMI capabilities as well. Already, Apple's stock has gone up, presumably because of this breakthrough technology.

Additionally, it is expected that Apple will announce the release of the iPad 2 on March 2nd, just days away. Apple users are anticipating the software updates available on the new iPad to be similar to those on the new MacBook Pro. Other features include an SD port as well as a camera on the rear side of the screen, that would allow for "Face-Time video chat". Interestingly enough, Motorola is also expected to release their competing product next week, the Xoom tablet. Despite competitors in the market of technology, Apple seems to have the strong upper hand.

Constant Apple updates flooding the news is overwhelming. There are so many new software capabilities and applications that customers barely understand the majority of them. However, I do think that Apple has been very successful in marketing the efficiency of their products. Finding out about the latest and greatest Apple technology is exciting, and makes me personally anticipate what will come next. The usage and accessibility to Apple products will only continue to expand.