Mobile eating the world
If you're in any way interested in mobile and it's impact on society, I highly recommend this slide deck from Benedict Evans. And then go subscribe to his weekly email with the latest news (and why not mine while you're at it - link at bottom of post ;).
Most people when discussing mobile will get bogged down in the minutiae of their handset preference (Apple! Android!) but it's the overall impact that is incredible. In 2007, phones went through a profound change with the introduction of the new type of computing experience (there were devices before, but none matched the experience) and everything that was known in mobile was upended. Actually, everything was upended - we still are yet to see what industries will not be affected by mobile smartphones, their capabilities and their potential. Real-time traffic - done. Real-time taxi hire? done. Instant access to the the Internet as a whole? done. tracking of fitness/health? done. Messaging services free (so long as you have a data connection....) and connecting everyone worldwide at the same price? done. I could keep going.
Arguments abound at present about whether new watches will introduce the another new experience to all. I'm not so sure on that (can people bear the brunt of paying €200-to-several-thousand-euros for another device as well as a smartphone and pc/tablet (although perhaps in time, the latter won't matter any more and thus free up income to pay for a wearable watch) especially as it looks like it will depend on having a smartphone as well. Smartphones changed the game because they were completely autonomous from a computer and not requiring it for anything, whereas for now at least a wearable watch-style-computer will require a smartphone to provide the internet connectivity and much of the computing power for now.
It'll be interesting just to watch mobile as it becomes the most common tool that everyone, rich or poor, as access to. Exciting times!