Tag: mobile technology

A new study has revealed that higher age brackets of Americans are now buying smartphones.

Although smartphones are typically considered to be the devices of the younger generations, recent mobile technology news is showing that people in the older age groups across the United States are starting to become owners of these devices, as well.

Some of the latest tech research has indicated that Millennials are far from the only ones with smartphones.

This mobile technology news is the result of a Nielsen survey, which were recently published. What it showed was that among Americans who are aged 55 years and older, 51 percent now own smartphones. This is a considerable increase for that age group over the figure from early 2013. In fact, there has been an increase of 10 percent over that span of only one year. This data is quite notable as it reveals that smartphone penetration is growing among everyone.

This mobile technology news shows that most of the people in every age group now own smartphones.

This increase in smartphone ownership represents the very first time in history that the majority of every age group now owns one of these mobile devices. Out of every ten Americans, Nielsen’s data suggests that seven are now smartphone owners. Moreover, 85 percent of new cell phone shoppers are choosing smartphones over feature phones and other forms of the devices.

Among all of the smartphone manufacturers, Apple continues to hold its position at the top. Among all owners of these mobile devices, 42 percent in the United States are choosing products from that company, said the recent survey. That said, the operating system that is most popular among all of the cell phones that are owned in the United States is still Android. In terms of numbers, that Google OS has an advantage because it works devices across several different manufacturers.

Among the Android smartphones, 19 percent are manufactured by Samsung. The mobile technology news isn’t as good for BlackBerry, which continues to slip out of popularity. Windows Phone based smartphones represent only 3 percent of those in the United States.

Wearable devices may be nothing more than novelty

Wearable technology has become the new craze of the tech field, with a range of big-name companies developing smart watches, augmented reality glasses, and other such high-tech gadgetry. These devices may have a great deal of potential, as they have already managed to attract the attention of consumers around the world, but whether or not the interest surrounding these devices is nothing more than hype is somewhat questionable.

While few wearable devices are currently available to the public, future devices promise to change the way people interact with one another and their surroundings in significant ways. AR glasses, for instance, could literally change the way people see the world as their technology becomes more advanced. This same technology is already being used as a way to improve sight in the vision-impaired. Smart watches may have a role to play in mobile commerce as the economy continues to become more reliant on technology and these devices are already being used to traffic digital media.

For many, wearable devices are seen as an exciting new step forward in the technology world, but these devices may be little more than another passing fancy.

Years ago, 3D technology began seeing a swell in attention that is quite similar to what wearable technology is seeing today. The same can be said for virtual reality, which has evolved to become augmented reality technology to some degree. Both 3D and virtual reality became quite popular, but failed to find ultimate success among consumers it did little in the way of innovating daily life.

Both 3D and virtual reality are high concept, low impact and their use beyond the field of entertainment is limited, if not verging on non-existent. Even in the entertainment field, these technologies continue to struggle to find support. 3D found some resurgence in its popularity in recent years in the film industry, but the movies that have made use of this technology have failed to impress. Many people claim that 3D in films is nothing more than an annoying gimmick that is used to provide some cheap thrill.

Wearable devices may not make use of 3D technology, but their potential novelty may end up leading them down the same path toward obscurity.

These devices, in their current state, offer little in the way of practical value, but some are high on entertainment potential. This is particularly true of augmented reality glasses, whose primary role will likely exist within the entertainment field, whether that involves gaming or other forms of digital media.

Seemingly innovative technology is often relegated as novelty because it does not actually innovate anything. Wearable devices could be in danger of fallen prey to this problem, because despite their allure, they are unable to accomplish anything that has already been accomplished by “old fashioned” smartphones and tablets.