So What After the Mobile Era? (Mobile in Focus #3)

Looking backwards it seems relatively easy to spot the trend that pushed us towards mobile, with 3 strong drivers: a dramatic fall in communication costs, as well as in electronic storage costs and a large increase in computing power.
The combination of these three facts have transformed what were once common cell phones into computing powerhouses, with the firepower to run large applications and do things better than most computers did 5 years ago.  Here's a quick chart showing the stage by stage evolution of the  main computing eras of the last 50 years:

The appearance of tablets and e-readers, added to the already popular smartphones, has pushed this trend into main street faster than expected.  The unexpected runaway success of the iPad has spurred innovation in the tablet terrain (which is part of the mobile world) and the fight between iOS and Android operating systems has reached an interesting stage, where neither claim victory yet each focus on different succcess factors to stretch their platform (iOS its ease of use, Android its free nature).
The amount of devices connected at this point is though to be in excess of 10 billion, 7 of which are feature and smartphones, then tablets and e-readers, and other connected devices (iPod Touch, wireless game consoles, etc.).  The amazing thing at this point is not he current number but the rate of growth and expansion of this marketspace, paired with the strong competition among manufacturers and software platforms alike.
The fact that there are also relevant service providers fighting for the mobile space (Facebook, Amazon, square, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) seems a relevant factor in determining the health and potential of the market.  In a way, it is they that ignite the interest and generate more usage from clients, thus adding value overall to the mobile platform.  In the value network, both developers and software houses play a critical role in feeding he network, without them the users would basically have nothing to do on the mobile internet.
All in all, it seems the tech wars include a major mobile component which cannot be disregarded.  Although the mobile era seems in its infancy ... it might be getting to its teenage years faster than anyone would have thought, and Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Google and Microsoft certainly still have a word or two to say about it...