BW Communities

Let The Genie Out

BW Online Bureau Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[Mobile phones have come a long way from a simple instrument which was just an easy method of connecting people to a device which answers every beck and call of its master a.k.a user, like the mythical genie. Far more than just making and receiving calls while checking out text messages, the mobile genie of today, especially the smartphones have become a necessity. From checking out live stock updates to weather patterns; from high definition movie playback to remote controlling other appliances, smartphones of today can intuitively do everything that a human mind can think of. Replacing all other gadgets which were designed to make life simpler and help with artificial intelligence engineering, the mobile phone of today brings the world right at your fingertips. Bringing all the information to help make quick and potentially life-altering decisions, these smartphones of today have become the mythical genie which could be used to fulfil any wish a human can potentially make. While in India, the mobile revolution joined in quite later after the domino effect in the world, the surge of mobile revolution has been phenomenal to say the least. Gone are the mid nineteen nineties when mobile phones were considered the sign of prosperity and marriages were decided on whether the groom owned a mobile phone or not. However scratchy was the inception of the mobile technology in the country, in the past decade or so, India has embraced the mobile culture. A country which has covered roughly 80 per cent of the complete geography in the past decade or so, shows great potential and reach of the medium. With a mobile phone connection range estimated to touch 700 million by the end of 2012, the prospect in the market is humongous. Gartner Inc. which undertook a research to understand the reach of mobile phones in the market says that with an estimated increase of 8.5 per cent, the number of mobile phone devices in India is expected to reach 231 million units by 2012 which against the 213 million units sold in 2011 is a big add-on. With the number expected to surpass 322 million units by 2015, the future is already shining for the mobile phone industry. With a considerable chunk of the increasing mobile market being dominated by smartphones, the future definitely belongs to the smarter phones. The Internet and Mobile Association of India which projects the mobile VAS market to reach Rs 67,100 crore by 2015 will contribute 31 per cent of overall wireless revenue, driven by the surge of smart features. Smartphones in the market will signal the next mobile revolution in the country. Making life simpler for the Indian population, this smartphone genie will bring news, views, sports, entertainment and social networking closer to people who with a surge in 3G, 3G+ and impending 4G mobile network will bring technology to every Indian and shall help in the economic, social and political development of the country. Riding on the evolving mobile system eco-spheres like Android, Windows Mobile and iPhone, the smartphone market is surging ahead for the country. Today stockists relay stock prices on mobiles, youngsters connect to each other through social networking, deliveries happen via route locator through GPS mapping and restaurant and movie bookings happen through live check in counters. With the growing acceptability of mobile technology through the length and breadth of the country, even middle aged farmers in far flung areas of the country watch the trailers of upcoming movies through a popular video sharing website, Youtube. Google has become the lifeline of the country and more and more users are connecting over live chat applications and are connected 24/7 with each other. With the future looking bright for the smartphones segment of the country, the time is not far when we shall see the neighbourhood taxi driver saving your precious travel time by consulting GPS maps for free ways, your bank operator updating your account balance while you query over-the-air and your hairdresser sending your new hairstyle pictures direct from the global fashion runways. While the Indian mobile world has made tremendous progress, the time is not far when your personal mobile genie will take care of all your wishes and will say, "Wish… and it shall be done, Master." (The author is Chairman, Karbonn Mobiles)