A Decade in Review… Part 2: Present…

So, what is in the present. What are we using now that we would not have had even one thought of using… Here is a short list of things that many of us use without thinking now.

iPAD / Tablet

The first iPAD was released in 2010 (April to be exact) and it was the first time we had seen someone create a mass device that was small light and usable and in a form factor that wasn’t a phone or laptop. Looking back now it was actually pretty chunky, and didn’t do very much… but then again, that is true for most of the new technology as it is released. Today everyone has some form of table. Kindle Fire Kids is aimed at anyone under 7 years old, the iPAD is now targeted at Schools as well as Professionals. I type pretty much all my blogs on my on a Tablet. My children know how to use a table, my parents, my grandparents (who are septuagenarians) all know how to use one. It has been a revolution – there is now doubt and I don’t see it going a way. If anything I see the form factor increasing in use as time passes.

Smart Speakers

Siri landed on the iPhone some time back, but it wasn’t until we saw Alexa land as a formal singular piece of kit (followed by the Google and the Apple equivalents) that things really took off in the smart assistant space. Alexa, Google and Siri are now everywhere from Cars, to phones, to kitchens, hi-fi’s, and so on. I am yet to see a toaster or washing machine with it in, but it is surely only time… You can dim lights, turn on televisions, set alarms, hear the weather, phone people, ask for jokes, hear how to cook perfect scrambled egg… it has been a huge revulsion and it is not stopping any time soon (well, not at least until there is a data breach of some sort!)

Smart TVs / Streaming

With the advent of improved broadband speeds, we are now using Smart Televisions and streaming a hell of a lot – not just films, but music and radio. Take, for example, the number of music streams that recently hit over 114bn (yes billion!) streams. That is mad. One song by Lewis Capaldi was streamed 0.23bn times alone. Netflix, Amazon Prime, NowTV, AppleTV+ are now also main parts of a subscription services for people to stream TVs shows and film – not to mention as well as the free versions for ITV, BBC and other channels. Disney is releasing its own paid for service in the coming months. This is a far cry from the YouTube generic cat video we used to see forwarded to us via email…

Phablets

Not that long ago a 4″ screen on your phone was considered big. I recall having the XDAII and getting laughed at for its size. I also recall the ridicule I got when used the Nokia E90. Compared to some of the phones today they really are small. It’s now a common sited to have a phone with a 5″ plus screen. The phablet is now a common site and hardly anyone has a “phone” any more – everyone has a “back mirror” in to which they stare at relentless infinity scroll apps, stream videos, listen to music, watch football, read news… the phablet now does pretty much everything you could ever want and has replaced everything except your door keys.

Battle Royale / “Free” Games

Common amounts kids as well as adults is the use of “free” games. Fortnite is just one example… These free games are omniplatform, with anyone from a phone to a PC able to download the game for free, use their servers for free, and battle to the end to see if they can be the winner, all for free. Given all this ‘free’ stuff it is truly amazing that Fortnite made 1.3bn USD last year. This format, although not yet at full saturation, is in my view coming into its Indian summer. Unless we get a reboot I doubt we will be talking about this in three or so years to come…

Personal eVehicles

I was in too minds if to put this in the future or the present. Without a doubt there are a lot of people already using the persona eVehicles on the road and pavement. However, due to a odd setup in the law they can not be used as bikes and instead have to be declared as vehicles requiring tax and insurance. The issue is you cant tax or insure them… they are stuck in Limbo.

I suspect that it will have to be resolved in the coming years, as by default more people will use them as road etc get more clogged and we look for more efficient means to get to placed without causing a big carbon foot print.