The mobile world… and mobility in general.

I’m been doing a lot of thinking lately about how the mobile world and mobility in general has been shaping up over the last 12 months and also what we know is in store for us over the next 12.

We’ve seen a plethora of mobile devices hit the markets from all manufacturers from smart phones and music players up to tablets and the next generation of laptops and mobile computing and often I’ve had co-workers ask me about this device and that one and which one is best and which one they should buy.

Unfortunately often I’ve had to say to them take your pick, because no one single device does everything yet and one device may suit one person over another. I’ve seen and heard testimonials of users both praising and poo pooing the latest and greatest and one thing is certain, everyone has different expectations, usage patterns and wow factor resistance.

It’s no secret I’m an avid Apple fan and use a broad range of their products and that’s because the usage experience for me with these devices is second to none for my expectation level and well I think they have a HUGE wow factor but others don’t. Why is that?

I know people who swear by everything Microsoft and hate Apple and their fan base with a passion, why is that also?

I think that often people that get used to one platform or another feel a sense of security in all things that is their domain and anything outside it is often perceived as foreign. I used to be a Windows fan and also swore and cursed when someone mentioned Apple but after giving one of the main alternative platforms a go I opened up my eyes to the possibility of picking and choosing the best of what’s out there and making use of the best tool available no matter who the manufacturer or platform.

So what makes a good mobile platform?

I think it’s a combination of a few things including of course user experience, ease of use, form factor and connection and charging options, compatibility with other systems used along side your mobile platform such as your corporate network or home LAN. Of course it has to do the main things you always need access to such as email, web browsing, file and LAN access and in many mobile workers cases access to the main social network tools such as Facebook and Twitter etc.

A mobile device should give you access to all these things and yet not cost too much, be durable and light and easy to use and finally manufacturers are getting this idea and releasing newer smart phones and tablets that do most of these features well. Now that the tablet market has kicked off after the release of the original Apple iPad, other manufacturers are releasing tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab based on the Android OS, we’re seeing other vendors announcing their own versions as well.

The next 12 months promise to be even better with the maturity of Apple’s iOS and iPhone and iPad line and other manufactuers announcing pending releases we should see many more tools for these devices that promise to do more and more.

Will the maturity of the mobility market see a drive towards these kind of content consumption devices and a move away from traditional mobile computing such as laptops?

Only time will tell!