Cross Platform

I started to think about how the Internet is becoming a meta-level of information that is almost superimposed on reality. The user can call up any information no matter where they are in the world and this is becoming increasingly more apparent as people are carrying these mobile browsing devices with them wherever they are. This graph indicates this and shows just how quickly these devices have grown to become a natural companion in everyday life. The area that interested me most was how quickly ‘mobile contracts with internet access’ have grown. This therefore shows me that companies will seriously need to start considering how creating websites suitable for these small devices. However, this graph does not actually show how many of the people who have taken up these contracts actually use the Internet.

The Internet on a mobile is only one factor as there are a huge number of technologies that can be used on a mobile phone. I started to consider how people are no longer being broadcasted to as people now how a choice as to what they listen/watch and when they listen/watch it. ‘The new consumer experience is one of content that exists within a context that suits them’. Consumers are choosing which platforms to use and these platforms are not at the end of one channel as they are able to communicate with one another. For example a user may be able to receive video clips on their mobile but then this mobile can send the clips to other mobiles, therefore these platforms are cross communicating.

When considering the data I was also surprised at the numbers of PDA's that have been bought. It appears to me that in the years surrounding 2000 there was a belief that these devices would take off however it the sales levels declined and I believe that people may have realised that mobile phones would soon be able to do all that PDA’s can.

I mentioned earlier that the Internet is becoming so widely accessible and this is not only because of mobile browsing it can be accessed through digital TV. I therefore became interested in the other end of the scale, as instead of designers becoming challenged by the limitation of the small devices there was the ‘widescreen’ with complete freedom for the designer and user. The widescreen TV or Monitor will allow the user more space to view content etc and therefore making processes quicker.

The navigation of the internet through a TV became a problem as a remote control was not complex enough for browsing so therefore keyboard remote controls had be to created. Overall these new platforms further enables people to freely browse the Internet and many other platforms no matter where they are in the world or what room in the house they are in.