CLOUD COMPUTING
EVER SINCE THE inception of the smartphone , it has slowly , yet systematically , chipped away at the need for a desktop computer . Rather than being perused intermittently , emails were suddenly pushed to your pocket . Consumption of news , social media and video streaming soon followed .
However , there remained a beacon of hope for the humble PC : the workplace . No one would ever wish to type a lengthy report , pore over a spreadsheet or code while pawing at a tiny handheld device , would they ? Fast-forward to present day , and the coalescence of burgeoning tech advances , cloud computing – even seemingly insignificant tweaks like responsive design – would suggest that , yes , perhaps they would .
Your phone as a PC
In the short term , expect to see a transitionary phase whereby the convenience of your smartphone is maximised by the familiar , bigscreen experience of a desktop . Indeed , you will be using your phone as a PC . “ Our data is already on the device , but it ’ s also synced to the cloud ,” wrote UX expert , Avi Barel , on Medium last year . “ So , it ’ s only natural to use our smartphones as desktop computers whenever we need to be productive and get the job done .”
Just like the IoT ( Internet of Things ) platform war that came before ( or , for readers of an older vintage , VHS vs . Betamax ), a handful of tech firms are seeking to establish their product as the de facto market leader . So far , Samsung has edged ahead with DeX – a Dock or Pad that transforms the newest Samsung devices into desktop PCs . Both boast Bluetooth
48 April 2018