Little Innovation in Global Mobile Handset Business?

Some might argue there has been a slowdown in mobile device and application innovation over the last year or so. Whether, in most years, it is possible to point to huge breakthroughs, is an arguable point. 


But an inability to point to a single big innovation does not mean change is lacking. A sharp change in the installed base of Android and Symbian devices might indicate only a change in potential innovation, not innovation itself.  


But the explosive growth of the tablet market might be a clearer indication of innovation. True, we have been talking for some time about the smart phone as representing the next big wave of personal computing. 


We are talking about the "post-PC" era of computing, sometimes in reference to mobiles, sometimes in reference to tablets. Those changes likewise might be viewed more as "enablers" of innovation, rather than direct instances of innovation. Others would disagree, arguing that device adoption is itself a significant innovation. 


At least some of us would dispute the notion that there has been "little" innovation in mobile devices and apps over the last year. Some would argue that truly-important innovations take time to gain mass market adoption. In fact, really-important changes should be measured in decades, rather than years. 





Still, much of the innovation some expect will come in the area of user interfaces, moving beyond "touch" to include voice recognition and gesture recognition, for example.