The passing of the torch from laptops to cellphones

For over a decade, people have been predicting the coming big thing would be a mobile computer you have with you all the time. It is obvious, the smartphone is this device. The Apple iPhone was the breakthrough device.

What became obvious to me a year ago (shame on me for not blogging about it then), was that this shift has already happened. Yep it will be a completely done deal in another year.

The existing competition for a mobile computer is well a mobile "computer", aka the laptop. And while laptops still outsell smart phones, the epiphany was realizing that a high-end smart phones cost more than the median laptop. And people are lining up in droves to buy them.

The indicators are various.

1. Price is the ultimate indicator of worth. Including the cost of a data plan, a smart phone is much more expensive than a laptop over 3 years.
2. The developer mindset has changed. The coolest apps to write are for mobile devices. Traditional desktop devices are passe.
3. My own behaviour. I check my email as much on my high-end Android phone as much as on my computer. It is so easy.