Cloud To Go

Mobile Computing is changing our lives

September 21, 2012 , 0 Frank Gurnee

Mobile solutions have become been a major part of many of our lives over time. From pagers to cell phones, laptops to tablets, the technology continues to revolutionize our day-to-day lives and businesses.  Let’s take a look at some of the ways we have been impacted.

Paperless Everything

The introduction of mobile and smartphone technology is all but removing the need for common paper transactions. Receipts can now be confirmed and emailed; a trip to the Apple store will prove how well this technology works. Airports are adopting paperless tickets, movie theaters, sports events, and concerts are all following suit with mobile-based scanners. Coupons and discounts for leading retailers can now be looked up on your phone and holding your device to show the merchant many times will yield a nice discount on products and services.

Paper maps are all but being eliminated with GPS technology, turn-by-turn navigation, and satellite imagery have created an ease of use and made the need for multiple maps a thing of the past.  Books are now in digital form and can be accessed on just about any device allowing you to take your entire purchased library with you anywhere. Companies like Amazon are even providing library like functionality allowing you to check out books at no cost in digital format. Encyclopedias are a thing of the past as well and access to the information of the world is just a search away from anywhere an Internet connection exists.

Phone books, newspapers, magazines, and just about any form of print media is being affected by mobile solutions. People now get their information on the go and can access news, events, and business information from anywhere, anytime.

Music

The world of music has significantly changed in the mobile environment. Music can be previewed, purchased, streamed, or downloaded in an instant. This immediate gratification allows for changing tastes or moods and artist can interact with fans or listeners in ways that were never imagined in the past. Big, corporate record deals are no longer necessary to get music heard and many artists are releasing music without any need for traditional distribution. All of your purchased music is available anywhere and new cloud based music solutions assure that the media you have purchased is backed up, safe, and accessible.

Video

Streaming video has many people ditching traditional cable and satellite companies and opting for a new approach in on demand entertainment. Movies, TV shows, and even live programming can be accessed through mobile means. This revolution in entertainment allows for a more cost effective approach and on demand technology eliminates mindless channel surfing. DVD and BluRay media are providing digital copies along with traditional media allowing users to take their libraries with them. Movie companies have been much slower to adopt this technology but are quickly moving towards digital distribution, which cuts costs and provides consumer expected convenience.

Video capabilities of mobile devices are also allowing people to capture moments that may never have been seen before. Natural disasters, events, news, and countless moments in time are providing an insight into the world we live in.

Communication

Social media has changed the way we interact with people in our day-to-day lives. Notifications, status, community, location and even ideology are teaching us about each other. The platforms are also journaling a person’s life through pictures, video, quotes, and principles, which will live on far beyond the life of the person.

Modern language is changing; texting and typing has shortened traditional words and created all new phrases that are being used in everyday life. Mobile devices can now translate languages in real-time and provide ways to communicate that were only imagined in the past.

Business

In business mobile has introduced many ways to decrease the sales cycle and make purchasing products and services easier for consumers and B2B’s. From mobile payment processing to e-signatures to paperless invoices the business world is changing. Presentations can be given from mobile devices, face-to-face meetings can be conducted via video, and documents can be passed, updated, and collaborated on without the need for physical interaction.

There are many more ways we are impacted by mobile technology. It would be difficult to list all of these but the highlighted items are a glimpse into the impact that mobile is having on all of us. The mobile revolution is global and people in every walk of life are being affected by technology. It can only be imagined what the coming years will hold as far as breakthroughs in the technology, but what is known is that mobile is here to stay and will only get better and more useful with time.