The power of a Smartphone?

Barely an hour goes by without me looking at my iPhone. I don’t know why as more often than not, there are no new alerts yet I still do it…as if by habit or by some sub-conscious brainwashing telling me that I must check for any messages or alerts.

But I’m not the only one. My wife does the same. Always pressing that little round button on her iPhone to check for any messages, usually from WhatsApp. Then there is my 4 year-old daughter, who at the age of 2 before she could talk properly knew how to unlock my iPhone, find the folder of apps marked “Education” and then hover her finger for a split second as she decided which “game” to play first.

The smartphone is now an essential part of everyday life on a par with food and water, maybe not in Third World Countries but Africa leads in mobile-broadband growth according to a report from ICT*. But for sure, in England it is a necessity because now, we no longer need shelves stacked full of CDs; or walls of books; or even a collection of DVDs. All of these types of media can now be easily stored in our own personal space in the air, the “cloud” and called upon by our smartphone, anytime and most importantly ANYWHERE.

And in my view, that is the power of a smartphone. It’s size. It’s portable, double’s up as a camera, a mini-computer and oh, fashionable.

With the public demand for smartphones, mobile suppliers are feeding the market with rock-bottom deals. A quick search and I found a new iPhone 4S (a great phone – I had one!) for £18 month with no up-front cost. If I was feeling brave, I could get the 4S with unlimited minutes and unlimited texts and 1GB data for only £25 a month. These prices are only going to fall as saturation point nears.

And so with smartphones topping the list of essentials (do you check if you have your phone before you check you have your keys when leaving the house too?) it’s no wonder that consumers are using this powerful piece of technology for almost everything. From social media and keeping in touch with friends to researching products and services and buying online. Consumers today need smartphones and don’t even get me started on the consumers of tomorrow…those like my 4 year old who are growing up where this technology is the norm and already slow!

With “wearables” now hitting the market along with Google Glass, attention will be drawn away from smartphones but the cost of these items put them in the hands of the rich. For now, smartphones dominate and will continue to do so for a number of years to come.

Sucheet Amin, the author, is an award-winning entrepreneur renowned for his passion in customer service and technology.