“…expect to see smartphones in 2012 that have about the same performance as a current business laptop.  The fastest phones at that time will have four 2.5-gigahertz processor cores and be able to handle things as complex as running virtualization software.“

This is exactly why we started BluMtnWerx, and why I’ve thrown myself back into mobile apps.  Clearly, much of what we currently think of as computing is moving to the very edge of the network, to the device formerly known as a phone, in your hand.  This is exciting stuff!

While I absolutely agree with his primary conclusions…

“The era of the PC’s dominance is officially over.  We have crossed over into the age of mobile computing.”

and

“I’m not saying we won’t still have desktop computers.  But if you’re looking for the real action, the exciting innovations, it’s going to be in mobile from now on.”

… I can’t quite get on board with his assertion that the clear signal of this transition was Microsoft’s recent Windows Phone Series 7 announcement.  Instead, I think that most of us recognized the transition about the time that the iPhone hit 20M units.  By then, nearly everyone that we knew either had one, or was getting one.  Almost every major handset vendor had announced at least one “iPhone killer” and tens of thousands of us suckers were rushing to develop apps.  At that point, we saw iPhone use spanning all demographic groups, and people genuinely loved them (enough to put up with AT&T’s network).

Let’s face it, Apple may not be the dominant player in the long term, but, as they have so often before, they brought fascinating technology to the mainstream.  The truth is that nobody else could pull it all together in a compelling package.

Still, if you have any doubt that the future of computing is mobile, please go read Mr. O’Brien’s column.  If you still don’t believe it, consider that my 77 year old father is the very happy user of a new iPod Touch.