2015 Mobile Trends: Big Screens, Big IP Ratings, Big Interest In Android
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
CEO Jerker Hellström, CEO of rugged computer maker Handheld, anticipates three important trends in mobile computing for 2015, according to Wireless Forum.Among his predictions are larger displays on mobile devices (even rugged mobile computers), higher IP ratings, and growing interest in Android devices.
The new iPhone6 and iPhone6 Plus demonstrates the trend towards larger screen size, as Business Solutions Magazine points out. The larger screen of the new designs, one 4.7 inches and the other 5.5 inches — makes text, photos, and videos easier to see and gives developers more space within their apps for additional buttons and features, similar to the jump from the iPhone to the iPad. More importantly though, this puts Apple on equal footing with competitors that have been releasing increasingly larger phones for years, a move that will help Apple be more competitive in the mobile market. Analysts said the new iPhones were likely to help Apple to gain market share against devices running Google’s Android platform by offering larger screens.
Hellström says, “Screen size is the “$64,000 question” in the rugged computer segment — it is a major consideration for all users but it is also linked to the application and how data and information are presented, both in terms of how it is captured and how it is communicated to the end user. I foresee a stronger demand for maximum screen real-estate in the smallest, lightest possible form factor.”
In terms of IP ratings, mobile computers are increasingly more durable, more rugged, and equipped with higher IP ratings (which measure the ingress protection against water and dust). Hellström argues that, while customers demand devices that can take a beating, the IP ratings are often useless. He states, “Some devices are now advertised as having the previously unattainable IP68 rating. But do the customers actually understand it? It actually means nothing unless the manufacturer informs us of the submerged time and depth. I expect a continued upwards “IP rating creep” but also an invigorating discussion about the definition and value of IP ratings and the tests carried out on mobile computers.”
And finally, Hellström predicts that Android will challenge Apple’s reign in the mobile world, and that “2015 will be the year when the industry truly embraces Android.” As a recent article in Business Solutions Magazine reported, Android gained a 62 percent of the overall market share of the mobile market in 2013, and has continued to show strong growth. Android OS’s chief advantage lies in the sheer number of devices that can use the OS, compared to those of its competitors. Android devices also are less expensive to manufacture than those its major competitor’s devices.