Living in the 4th Screen

Nokia's CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, gave his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas on Friday. During his speech he said:

"Mobile apps have been big in bringing hope and higher living standards to millions of people,” said Mr. Kallasvuo. “This trend promises to accelerate in the coming decade as the capabilities of the smart phones spread across the globe."

He then challenged developers during his speech to create mobile applications that would enhance the lives and productivity of people in developing countries. The reward for the company that wins is a $1 million investment from Nokia. The competition will start in February and a winner will be announced in June.

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo went on to say:

"In the real world, far away from here, these little devices have already done more to improve lives at the base of society's pyramid than perhaps any other technology in history."

He also said that for many people across the globe they will access the internet via their phone and not from a computer. Some statistics he mentioned were that there are 4.6 billion mobile phone subscriptions world-wide, but only 1.6 million bank accounts. Based on this fact Nokia is releasing a money app to allow people to manage their accounts and make payments from their cellphone.

Living in America I never think about having problems accessing the internet. We have had a wireless network in our home for about 8 years. My children's first exposure to a computer was a wireless laptop. They have only know wireless computing. We have a laptop and a tablet PC at home along with 2 iPhones and an iPod Touch. The ubiquity we enjoy with devices and access in America is not afforded to all people the world over. In thinking about remote areas of the world I can see where mobile phones make much more sense. They are cheaper than computers, require less battery power, and are completely mobile. I would imagine that cellular access would be easier to provide than WIFI. Good for Nokia for pushing the envelope in including the underdeveloped world in the mad technology race that we find ourselves in.

via WSJ: Digits

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Nokia today released their N900 in the United States. Nokia is positioning the device as a computer in your pocket. Below is a quote from the press release:

 "Consumers from every segment of the population are looking for more out of their mobile device - more power, more ability, more connectivity. The Nokia N900 ushers in a new era with a very powerful mobile computer," said Alessandro Lamanna, Vice President, Retail Sales, Nokia.

As I have stated in many different posts on this blog, mobile devices will only be gaining in popularity and in computing power. The Nokia N900 is another step in that direction. As features and computing power increase in mobile devices and costs are driven down by competition, more of these devices will be showing up at schools. Now is the time to prepare for their arrival.

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