I remember distinctly how, since the late 90s, we kept saying: “Next year is the year of mobile. Next year.” — and it never really came. Until Apple introduced the iPhone.
The iPhone (and in its tail Android and the many other advanced mobile OS’s) came with such a force and so fast that a lot of people are still trying to wrap their head around the stunning shift in technology.
But — and this is important — if you think mobile is “it”, I challenge your assumption. The whole notion of “we are in the post-PC era and mobile is the future” thinking is somewhat right (quite obviously when you look at the data) but shortsighted.
The real revolution which is happening around us is ubiquitous computing: Everything is a computer now. Controlled by software and connected through the Internet. And if it isn’t it will soon be. Never before have we seen such a dramatic shift in technology — and I would argue such an important shift in the way people will use and interact with their devices and live their lives.
You can see it happening everywhere: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Electric Imp, Nest, Nike FuelBand, Pebble, Kickstarter project after Kickstarter project churning out new devices which are smart and connected. The list goes on and on. It’s happening — and it’s a massive opportunity.
This is, literally, the biggest revolution, we will see in computing since the PC. And mobile is just another form factor.