With the rise of smartphones, tablets and other connected devices in recent years, you could probably see this turning point coming. Research firm IDC reports today that by 2015 more Americans will access the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs.
The research firm predicts a compound annual growth rate of mobile users of 16.6 percent between 2012 and 2015. Meanwhile, during that period, the number of people accessing the Internet will grow from 2 billion to 2.7 billion, representing 40 percent of the world’s population.
“Forget what we have taken for granted on how consumers use the Internet,” said Karsten Weide, research vice president of media and entertainment at IDC. “Soon, more users will access the Web using mobile devices than using PCs, and it’s going to make the Internet a very different place.”
The study just happens to come as I am attending the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle where executives from Swype, HTC, Qualcomm, LightSquared, Walmart and other firms have been discussing the future of the wireless world.
Topics include the mobile commerce; mobile gaming; cloud computing and more.
