Smartphones in the Modern World - Essay Example

? Smartphone Technology Smartphones A smartphone is described as a mobile telephonic communications device with anadvanced computing ability (Agger, 2011). Smartphones are very similar to standard computing devices in that they allow the user to multitask and run applications, many of which may be very similar or identical to those found on a standard computer operating system, as well as browse the internet and run Java amongst other features. Smartphones also typically have features found in other mobile devices, such as a camera and personal digital assistant capacities. There are currently a range of smartphone operating systems (OS) available (which mirrors the availability of PC, Mac and Linux computer operating systems), including the iOS, Google Android, Windows Phone 7, Symbian and others, each of which tending to have an alliance with a particular manufacturer (Fung, 2010). Smartphones are increasingly important in the modern consumer world, and reports have shown that up to 31% of young people in the UK have a smartphone (Agger, 2011), as well as nearly a quarter of all subscribers in the US. The market is projected to grow over 19% between 2009 and the end of 2011 (Fung, 2010). As well as a growing demand for smartphones in general, the technology that the smartphone boasts has become increasingly important, with many people desiring the best and latest technology (Agger, 2011). Many phones continually upgrade both their hardware and operating system, with larger screen size and better processors being two of the most important aspects of the modern smartphone (Fung, 2010). Smartphones typically have touchscreens, as seen in the very first smartphone (the IBM Simon) as well as the most popular Android and iOS (iPhone) models (Agger, 2011), although Blackberry and other manufacturers do continue to use the standard QWERTY keyboard (Wong, 2010). One of the most important emerging technologies in the smartphone market is the availability of GPS and related applications. The main difference between a smartphone and a computer is portability, and the benefits of this are reaped through GPS technology. GPS, or Global Positioning System, allows a user to very precisely pinpoint their location, allowing many smartphone users to double-up their phone as a satellite navigation system for their car. Another important aspect of this GPS technology is the increasing use of check-in applications such as FourSquare, which can be used to record ones location and broadcast it to friends and local users (Agger, 2011). This technology is widely open to abuse, but is increasingly popular, with around a fifth of smartphone users noting that they have checked in using this software in the past (Wong, 2011). Another important part of smartphone ownership is the use of Twitter, which broadcasts short ‘blogs’, sometimes with a location using GPS technology, using the same amount of characters as a standard SMS message. This is true integration of phone and internet technology. Each of the available operating systems have their own benefits and each of them varies in popularity internationally (Agger, 2011). Probably the most famous is Apple’s iOS, which runs on the various iPhones available on the market. Apple is considered to be a particularly groundbreaking and innovative company, and this is reflected in the technology displayed in their mobile phones. Google, one of the largest multinational companies in the world, is one of the more recent evolutions in software and is far more open-source than the competition (Wong, 2011). Open-source operating systems have been growing in demand in recent years (Kennedy, 2010), and Android offers software developers ample chance to develop and market applications for their phones. This is considered one of the main reasons why the Android OS is now the most popular in the smartphone market in many countries (Wong, 2011). Symbian is the OS found on Nokia handsets, and was the market leader for some time, although it is currently being significantly challenged by Android (Kennedy, 2010). Blackberry runs the Research in Motion OS, and is commonly associated with businesses and organization. Windows also has a variety of OS available, although this is fairly new on the market it is gaining in popularity which reflects Microsoft’s success as a computing giant (Kennedy, 2010). Benefits of Smartphone Technology There are an amazing amount of benefits to be gained from smartphone technology. The obvious benefit is that it allows the customer to access their business at any time, any place. The article by Kennedy (2010) is aimed primarily at lawyers, but the principles apply to almost any professional or even students. The technology allows quick response to customers via the internet to allow the business to stay afloat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a great improvement for customers particularly. If we take the case of lawyers, then often a case will be particularly close to the customer’s heart and may involve something very personal. As such, the customer will want updates as often as possible, something that is not possible using a simple landline telephone which is only manned during working hours. Any breakthroughs in the case (or any other business venture) can be communicated to the customer instantly. Another benefit of smartphone technology discussed in the work by Agger (2011) is that there is an application for almost anything. As a student, it is incredibly useful to be able to access academic journals and textbooks at any time, and once entering the professional world the situation does not change. The article states that the APA journal is now in application format, and this means that lawyers can access relevant, sourced information at any time. The obvious benefit here again is that everything is available 24 hours a day. Smartphone Target Market The smartphone target market has rapidly changed over the past years. Originally, smartphones were more similar to laptops in that they possessed a QWERTY keyboard and were primarily intended for business use. The Blackberry was the market leader and is still today commonly associated with business practice (Agger, 2011). However, this business-centric smartphone company is now aiming to target the tween and teen groups with their technology (Agger, 2011) reflecting a global market change in this direction. It is widely noted that this group of people has a large amount of disposable income which is regularly spent on technology items. Younger people also have a fairly obvious desire to stay up-to-date with trends and smartphones are a trend like any other, which requires constant updating of the technology to stay afloat (Agger, 2011). The iPhone has similarly targeted a younger age group. However, the iOS now offers over 85,000 applications (Fung, 2010) which ensures that the technology could be appealing to almost any possible target market simply because the functionality can be applied in any circumstance. The work of Agger (2011) suggests that the forefront of this technology is now the younger generation with the baby boomers following swiftly behind. Global Implications of Smartphone Technology There are many ways in which smartphone technology can affect the global marketplace and the way that technology is used globally. Users in developing countries are beginning to see the benefits of smartphone technology. They are also starting to be seen by others as possible ways of distributing various tools to the developing world more cheaply than with using computers. The global implications of this technology spreading and evolving are discussed in the work of Wong (2011). This article suggests that the global growth of smartphone technology will result in an increased load on mobile data networks. This may seem intuitive, but it poses a problem for carriers hoping to support a large number of smartphone users, as mobile data networks are expensive to uphold. This increased pressure for mobile data at high speed has led to the development of 4G technology, which will provide this speed but at a cost of inputting expensive transmitters, perhaps in areas where this could cause issues. Another implication, suggested by Agger (2011), is that the world will start to run on iTime. This refers to the fact that there will be no boundaries between work and play, and that all physical labour will be reduced to button-pressing on smartphones or computers. The global implications of this in the business market are huge. This non-stop time means that business can easily continue in the international marketplace, with time zones becoming less and less relevant as more options are available 24 hours a day. It is important to note that most modern smartphone batteries use coltan (columbite-tantalite) because this has the ability to store more energy for longer. The global implications of this in the economic market is that there is a growing demand for this substance, and it can be found mostly in developing countries such as the Congo (Fung, 2010). Competitive Analysis Laptop computers One of the main comparisons used to describe smartphone technology throughout the course of this paper has been with laptop computers. Laptop computers are very similar to smartphones in some ways, in that they are portable and offer computing technology. The benefit of laptop computers is that they have a much greater functionality and larger screen size than smartphones. The obvious benefit of smartphone technology is the GPS and mobile data integration (which can be added on to laptops at a cost) and that they are far smaller and thus more portable. The target market of laptops can be said to be fairly similar to smartphones, in that there are many laptops aimed at the middle-class business market, and there are some aimed at the younger generation. However, smartphones tend to be seen as more ‘fun’ than laptops, with laptops being necessary for scholars and business people to complete proposals and the like. There is also a large overlap in the companies competing in both markets, with Apple and Microsoft dominating the laptop operating system market. However, there are several companies that focus on one field only, meaning that the competition is not necessarily direct. It is important to note again that the technologies themselves may have some similarities but smartphone technology is currently unable to fully replace the laptop and as such there is no direct competition, although this may change in the future. However, there is direct competition between the companies involved where they do have a stake in both marketplaces, and may companies are attempting to crossover. Many smartphone companies are also bringing out tablet computers, which offer portability and functionality somewhere between smartphones and computers. Many of the companies holding a large market share in the tablet computer industry have a large stake in either (or both) the laptop or smartphone industry, with market leaders being Apple, HTC and Samsung (Agger, 2011). Desktop computers If the laptop is not a direct competitor with the smartphone, then the desktop is even less so. Desktop computers are widely known for having even more functionality than the laptop, possessing faster processors and almost infinitely large screens if required. This means that they can outperform a smartphone easily (Agger, 2011). However, in possessing such infinite strength, the desktop computer is in no way portable. It has to be completely disassembled to be moved, and as such there is no direct competition to produce a competitive analysis. However, the main competitors in this industry are the same as in the smartphone industry, with Apple and Microsoft again dominating the market. It is also interesting to note that there is some approximation to customer loyalty across these brands, with the owner of an Apple Mac computer being more likely to own an iPhone than any other brand of smartphone (Fung, 2010). Landline telephones Landline telephones also share few similarities with smartphones. Landline telephones are generally not chosen for their brand and thus there is no brand loyalty (Kennedy, 2010). In fact, landlines often come ‘free’ with the residence and as such there is not really a market for the actual physical telephone. Landline telephones offer no computer technology and as such do not run an operating system, so the major competitors in that market have no share either. The similarities between the two are that they both connect with other phones, with a landline being able to connect with a smartphone and vice versa, because they both interact with telephone networks. Another similarity is that they can both receive an internet signal, although a landline telephone has to channel this to a computing device such as those discussed above. This ability to channel the internet mean that the companies with common interests in smartphones and landline telephones are carriers, with networks such as Orange providing both mobile internet and home broadband services (Wong, 2010 ). Ethical Issues of Smartphone Technology One of the main ethical issues of this technology is that the devices are commonly assembled in sweatshops in developing countries. For example, Apple works very closely with Foxconn. Foxconn is a Taiwanese company owning sweatshop factories in China, and this is where many iPhones and iPads (the tablet computer offering from Apple) are assembled. The ethical issue of this is obviously that the wages are very low in places like these. Foxconn was recently publicly acknowledged due to a high number of suicides amongst its workers, and this has led to a pay rise of around 30% for the workers (Fung, 2010). However, this is just one sweatshop where smartphones are assembled, and there are huge ethical issues concerning using cheap labour. Another ethical issue concerns the environment. Smartphones have a huge carbon footprint, not only because they are assembled in developing countries far from where they are actually sold. It is estimated that throughout the life of the iPhone, it will produce 55kg of carbon, which amounts to around 50,000 tons of carbon dioxide being produced on a yearly basis at current sale rates (Fung, 2010). However, many companies are acknowledging this fact and are working on reducing the carbon footprint. Apple have also managed to eliminate the use of toxic chemicals in their technology, with no lead, cadmium, arsenic or mercury to be found in their factories (Fung, 2010). Summary It is obvious from this review of smartphone technology that these are incredibly powerful instruments which have the potential to create great world change. They have the possibility to improve lives, both within business and the ordinary consumer, but offering 24/7 technology at a high standard at an affordable cost. There have also been some talks of smartphones improving the lives and memories of Alzheimer patients (Agger, 2011). They are also offering some exciting business opportunities, with the smartphone market constantly evolving and the market leader changing on a yearly basis. The competition is by no means solid and thus there are opportunities for new businesses to take over this market. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and there are still ethical and political problems concerning the use of smartphones, as discussed above. Companies need to ensure that they are creating the technology and distributing it in a fair manner, whilst using their power to improve the lives of others who are less fortunate. Again, in a business sense, it is a great opportunity to improve the economic situation of developing countries who have large stocks of the necessary material and large amounts of people willing to work for a wage. It will be particularly exciting to see how this market unfolds and evolves in the future, with it being almost impossible to predict in economic or technological terms. Works Cited Agger, B. (2011). iTime: Labor and life in a smartphone era. Time and Society, 20(1), 119-136. Fung, B. (2010). The Geopolitics of the iPhone. Foreign Policy, 28(1), 15-19. Kennedy, D. (2010). Going Mobile. ABA Journal, 96(2), 9. Wong, A. K. Y. (2011). Implications of Large-Storage Mobile Phones. Potentials, IEEE, 30(3), 44-46. Read More