Are Smartphones Responsible for a Storm of Network Trouble?
When Apple released the iPhone many in the industry wondered if it would really be a game changer, or just a flashy consumer favorite. Then Google entered with the Android and now BlackBerry has offered its answer: the BlackBerry Storm. While news has been circulating about the device for a week or so, nothing was bigger for BlackBerry users than news of BlackBerry’s Application Center. Clearly sophisticated smart phones and nifty applications aren’t just an Apple trend, but the way the industry is headed.
How far will it go? Can these do everything devices really do everything? InformationWeek recently tackled this topic and posited, “Is The Smartphone Your Next Computer?” With consumers demanding information at their fingertips, employers and software providers are responding by providing company databases and sales information with easy mobile access through the application stores that we’ve heard so much about.
If people start looking for laptop capabilities and high-bandwidth applications on their smartphones, will cellular networks be up to the task? Whereas laptops draw bandwidth from wi-fi networks, smartphones and mobile apps will tax the cellular network, using much more bandwidth than phone calls or text messages. Add the mobile workforce and its needs to the list of high-bandwidth applications that providers need to be concerned about in the coming years.
