Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

Gadget Countdown 11: Smartphones

by
18th Dec 2013
Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

Thanks to Apple and Samsung and the astonishing speed and ingenuity of app developers the smartphone has evolved from a nerdy affectation to a mainstream, all-purpose communication, information and leisure tool.

The speed, capacity, visual and audio quality of these devices is eye-watering - as are the price tags attached to them. A quick comparison of newspaper ads and online sales sites confirms that you can easily pay more for a latest model iPhone or Samsung Galaxy IV than you would for a mid-range, brand name PC laptop.

Apple remains the king of the smartphone heap - and still outpaces other devices in terms of traffic on AccontingWEB by a factor of 8:1. But the momentum looks to be shifting. Android devices and the Samsung Galaxy III and IV models in particular have been gaining ground in the past couple of years (see below).

Traffic comparison - Apple v Samsung Galaxy 2011-13 (November %)

AccountingWEB mobile traffic 2011-3 (November samples, by percentage)

It’s a bit spooky the way that Apple and the iPhone seemed to deflate almost the instant that Steve Jobs died. A doleful aura has surrounded the iPhone 5 and its irritating new Lightning connector since then. The case for upgrading has been getting harder and harder to make with each successive model, and was not helped by the vapid 2013 updates that arrived in the shape of the iPhone 5C (wow, it stands for “Color”!) or 5S (is that short for “snazzy”?).

The tweaks are reminiscent of the cutsey rebrands desperate car manufacturers used to slap on tired old models to squeeze out a few more sales before retiring them for good. What do you mean you can’t remember classics such as the Ford Granada Olé or Vauxhall Astra Copacabana? Before long, the iPhone 5C and 5S may end up in the equivalent remainder bin for neglected consumer electronics.

However we are seeing more and more of Samsung’s Galaxy range around these days - especially among younger people and visitors from the Far East, who always seem a little more clued up about tech. People I’ve talked to confess that the 5in Galaxy models are a little on the big side for a mobile phone, but they’re more convenient than iPads and mean you only need to carry around a single device. Samsung's long-term threat to Apple becomes more apparent when you look at traffic patterns on AccountingWEB for the past three years. Unless Apple can rediscover its mojo, we could see a changing of the guard among our members within a few years.

Who knows, though. If the technology continues to develop in this direction over the next 12 months, for the 2014 countdown we’ll probably be looking at smartphones and tablets as a single category. The big buzz this year has surrounded the appearance of numerous smart watches prototypes and commercial launches including Apple’s long-anticipated iWatch. Who knows maybe smaller and smaller wrist-worn forms will take over and replace smartphones before we expect?

Tags:

Replies (0)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

There are currently no replies, be the first to post a reply.