Four Billion Cell Users : Computing Power Anytime, Anyplace

Sunday,February 08, 2010

What does a world where the power of computers is placed into the hands of 4 billion cell phone users look like?

Sightseeing in Paris? Whip out your smart phone or mobile computing device and snap a picture of the Eiffel tower. Instantly, learn everything there is to know about the tower. See a map of the area. Find the best restaurants around. Read their reviews. Make a reservation. And pull up a discount ticket for going up the Eiffel tower.

Heard a good song? Record a snippet on your mobile computing device or smartphone and find out the name of the song, the artist, the song writer, other songs done by the same artist, and download it to hear over and over.

Impulse buying got the best of you on your shopping trip? Take a picture of that perfect product and see the reviews and competitor prices. If it is a food item, see the ingredients, nutrition values, and possible recipes.

We are on the verge of the next computing technology wave - a merging of cell phones, laptop computers, internet, gaming controllers, and navigation devices. The new products do everything a laptop can do and are small enough to fit in a pocket, are always at our fingertips, connect to the internet everywhere, all the time and lend themselves to merging the physical and cyber worlds. There will be ten times the number of mobile internet users versus desktop internet users. The potential for this market is much larger than any of the previous computing technology waves.

Since semiconductors are the major building block of these electronic devices, this growth wave will be the key driver of semiconductor chip growth. After all, integrated circuits (IC) make up half of the manufacturing cost for the Google Nexus , Apple iPhone, Motorola Droid, Palm Pre, and Toshiba TG01. Best estimates indicate an annual growth rate of 30% for semiconductor companies over the next year.