A recent study, conducted in 2005, showed that mobile phones take over PC’s as Internet platform in some markets. But the PC remains the dominant platform. The use of wireless internet access through mobile phones is more common used than the use of Internet from a notebook in many areas. This statistic is driven by the massive install base of mobile phones all over the world, as well as more developed networks. In many global markets the Internet browsing via a wireless device is showing enormous growth with France, the United Kingdom and Japan showing the largest grow. Today fourty percent of all adults in Japan browse the Internet on their wireless handset. This is double the rate from 2003. However, the growth in Internet browsing on mobile phones is flattening in other leading markets like for example Canada. Wireless Internet access via a notebook PC appears to be the stronger out of home Internet platform in these markets. (Wright, 2006)In 2004, twenty-five percent of mobile phone owners worldwide browsed the Internet on a wireless handset. This number grew to twenty-eight percent one year later. The growth came particularly from older users, thirty-five years and older. This indicates that surfing the Internet on a mobile phone is becoming mainstream. This also indicates a higher Average Revenue per Unit (ARPU) in the future for the industry. Consumers are becoming dependent on mobile phones as well as the new applications available on them. This ensures us that mobile phones will become the dominant Internet platform outside the home. In the long term a lot of online activities will be done by mobile phones. The reasons for this are convenience and the connection speed, although the latter one can be argued about. (Wright, 2006)
Today thirty-seven percent of all households that have at least one mobile phone sent and/or received an email on their phone. Wireless device activities, such as conducting financial transactions, sending and receiving digital pictures and downloading entertainment content, are growing. Another element to support that the mobile phone will be used as an Internet platform for a lot of online activities is the strong association between Internet usage and mobile phone ownership. A survey, conducted by The Face of the Web, showed that among the households online during the research, ninety percent had at least one mobile phone. (Wright, 2006)
What about the use of Internet through digital TV?
Currently, internet through digital TV is very little used and the possibilities are still limited. I even dare saying internet via IPTV will never become a big hit because of the restricted usage possibilities as only a remote control can give few commands.
On the other hand, the other way around is an enormous success. TV through the internet became a standard feature of the World Wide Web. Our television viewing habits changed drastically compared to 20 years ago. Viewers are now demanding broadcasting services anywhere, anytime, anyhow. That is why internet, became such a popular medium to watch video footage, whether it is a clip on You Tube of a whole season of a certain soap. And even mobile TV will be reality in 5 years. (Bociurkiw Marusya, 2008)
Having access to broadband internet and the world of television entertainment is in your reach. An incredible amount of TV is available on the Internet and we aren’t even talking about shows existing online only. Nowadays we use special internet channels like Hulu to watch our favourite television shows. A good video player and a large choice of shows, from current to a hand full of classic TV shows and movies, will satisfy the viewer. And Hulu isn’t the only channel player on the internet. (Grossman Lev, 2008)
These days, we are allowed to wave the television goodbye and strongly embrace the internet for being flexible and adoptable to each individual viewing behaviour. And that is exactly what a cell phone also is: flexible. By the speed mobile telehone technology is improving soon everybody will have the world wide web literally in his pocket. On the other hand it's just too bold to predict the end of regular computers. If you look to the new generation of netbooks we feel pretty comfortable the classic computer is not dead yet. The thruth is somewhere in between ... what do you think of Bill Gates opinion?
References:
Kenichi Ishii (2 December 2003)
Internet use via mobile phone in Japan [online] available from [6 March 2009]
Adam Wright (18 April 2006)
Mobile phones could soon rival the PC as world’s dominant Internet platform [online] available from [6 March 2009]
Bociurkiw Marusya (2008),
'Commentary Put on Your Bunny Ears, Take Your TV around the Block: Old and New Discourses of Gender and Nation in Mobile, Digital and HDTV.' Canadian Journal of Communication 33, 537-544
Grossman Lev (2008),
'My Life Without TV.' Time Atlanctic 171, 98-99
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment