Mobile Revolution

1994 was the year my father bought the families first PC and plunked it into the den. I had never wanted a computer before, but their it was in our living room. At first I only used it to write papers. Then came Doom, telnet, winamp, Napster, AIM/ICQ. The families PC had just turned from a powerful word processor to a gaming/communication/entertainment center. The PC was changing my life. Fast forward to 2008.

Mobile phones were useful, but felt like a necessary evil. Smart phones were expensive and struggling to take off. Data plans and hardware were expensive. No one outside the work place could justify the cost. Then Apple introduced the iPhone. I didn't adopt myself until shortly after the App Store arrived. For the first time in my life I actually was interested in what other software was available for my phone. In my opinion, one of the smartest things Apple did was open up an API and the App Store for 3rd party developers.

Today I feel privileged to be writing software for mobile applications. Much like the early adopters for writing Windows software probably felt. Developers are increasingly pushing the boundaries of the hardware at their disposal. Hardware you don't typically have access to on a PC such as GPS, gyroscopes, compass, camera, and video that offer unique ways to create interesting and engaging software. I never would have imagined seeing augmented reality on a mobile phone the way they were floundering in mediocrity just 3 years ago. It's almost laughable to think how cool the Motorola Razr was. The work being done in the mobile space is starting to change science fiction into reality. For the first time in my life I feel like I have a mobile computer in my pocket and not a phone.

The best thing that could happen for my field is for other smart phones with similar platforms to take off. Writing one application that can run on millions of phones has been the dream of many developers. Until Android or some other platform takes off, I'm content with writing for one hardware device as long as I know I can reach millions. I'm still crossing my fingers that Android can be to the mobile world, what Windows was to the PC.