We begin to suffer.

We live in an increasingly mobile world. According to recent studies, one in four households are cellphone only. Of those that have cell phones, 40 percent of those are what we refer to as “SmartPhones.” What is driving the use of Smartphones? First I claim biology. Our bodies are limited by what we can do without technology. Second, I claim sociology. We see others (friends, family, colleagues) using technology, now readily available and we marvel about how much more convenient and practical they are able to move in the world with one of these devices.

Assuming this all sounds reasonable, how are we suffering? Consumers are noticing and demanding this technology, businesses aren’t readily listening fast enough.

Case in point: The iPhone and AT&T.

According to the latest AdMob report, the iPhone accounts for 50% of all Web traffic coming from a “SmartPhone.”

Ad Mob Metrics - SmartPhone Requests

Also, the iPhone has capabilities embedded in the device that AT&T can’t allow because of the breakdowns they are experiencing with their network. Only in September did AT&T make available, a seemingly basic ability, picture messaging. Tethering with the iPhone (the ability to use the iPhone as a modem for a laptop) while existing on the iPhone as evidenced through hacks, won’t be available officially until sometime in 2010.

We are living a lifestyle the world isn’t quite ready for. Consumer demand is a pandora’s box that can’t be reversed. What does this mean for our future? Come back tomorrow and I’ll help you notice what I speculate this will mean for our future.

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As human beings without technology, we are limited in what we can do. Our voice extends only so far. Our hearing is limited to those immediately around us. Our ability to plan around what we can taste, smell or touch is limited to what is around us to observe and notice. Human beings with technology, however, are infinitely more powerful. For instance, with a mobile phone commonly found in our world today, we can see, talk and listen to friends, family, or business associates no matter where they may be in the world. We can organize around where we might want to eat that evening or plan for an event in the future. We can coordinate and cooperate with others so that we can meet them later for a drink, a meal or to simply catch up.

The mobile phone business is growing, particularly related to these new devices. According to a recent study, one in five individuals surveyed had accessed the Internet on their mobile phone at some point within the past day. According to an article in The Economist, one in four households are now Cell-phone only. Email is growing obsolete as a means of communication in real time. More and more people are turning to “texting” as a means of cooperating and coordinating in real-time.

The Mobile device extends the capabilities a human being can perform. They are able to do so and appear almost transparent to either the user or anyone observing them. They are small enough to fit inside a pocket or purse. They are light enough to not cause discomfort while traveling. Many of them also behave in a way that commonly relates to real world physics. We touch and we drag screens of information, aka applications, aka “apps” with the touch of a finger. Screens bounce, as if made of rubber, when they are stretched to a finite point. They play our favorite songs when our friends or family call us. With some apps, the interface responds, when we breathe, talk, yell, scream, throw. It reacts in ways we have become accustomed to expect by living in this real world, dominated by physics.

I claim we are being thrown into a new paradigm. When the automobile was first introduced, people referred to it as a “horseless carraige.” A few companies are trying to think and act with this new data but most companies are thinking and acting with these new devices by referring to them as “Smartphones.” It’s difficult to notice immediately when the world changes. We need people to help us understand when the world is suddenly “different.”

I’m just here to help.

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