The Internet in the Next Five Years

The Pew Internet Project "explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life."

They recently conducted a survey of experts to predict what the future of the internet would be by the year 2020. The results of the survey have several predictions but I will most like to talk about the first one:

The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.

Now I realize that this is far beyond the five years we are to be predict, but it does have a valid point.

As a cell phone salesman, I see more and more people adopting an "on the go" internet browser source. I, myself, am planning on going with an iPhone for my next cell phone purchase. I have noticed in many people above and below my own age are constantly seeking the answers to information: whether it be for entertainment purposes, intellectual discussions, or just utility purposes. While I don't see it becoming the primary way we access the internet, I do see value in adopting it as not only an "on the go" way to access the internet, but something even deeper than that.

MIT has recently developed a device that's goal is to harness the internet into a "6th sense." Check out the article here. While I disagree with the way it is being accomplished, I do think that the mobile device is becoming just that... something that will be further customized to aid us in real life. T-Mobile's new phone, the G1, has already tried to do this with it's built in applications like Shop Savvy. You use the camera of the phone to scan any bar code on an item and it automatically compares prices with online and local retailers and even tells you the directions to those retailers. It also integrates the Street View function of Google Maps. If you've seen this on Google Maps you know it lets you see the location you're going before having to travel there. These applications are not unique to the G1. Apple is already well known for releasing utility and entertainment applications for the iPhone.

I predict that the mobile device will become more and more important within the next five years. The mobile device will be an extension of ourselves and allow us to accomplish more things faster. It will become an assumption that not only do we have our cellphones with us, but that they can access the internet and perform the function desired.