Rise Of The Smartphones

Own a smartphone? Know anyone who does?

Yeah, that was a stupid question. Fact is, smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices are nearly everywhere. Even in developing nations that don’t have reliable electricity or running water, people have them. Our world is more connected today than at any time in human history. And those connections are growing deeper every day.

If you bought a smartphone in 2011 you were part of a history-making trend.

For the first year ever, total smartphone sales outpaced total PC sales around the world. 415 million PCs were sold in 2011, which is a lot. But almost 488 million smartphones were sold.

Total shipments of the devices have grown by a staggering 63% over 2011. This was partly driven by the success of Apple, which smashed the record for the most smart phones shipped globally by any single vendor in one quarter (38 Million in Q4). And they were not alone. Samsung shipped 33 Million smartphones in the same quarter. Overall, 93.1 Million iPhones were shipped worldwide in 2011, a growth of 96% over 2010.

In 2009, smartphones made up 9 of the top 20 phones. Now, all of the top 20 phones are smartphones.

Of course, mobile ads have evolved to meet this explosion. In 2011:

· 52 % of ad campaign actions lead to visiting a site compared to just 15% in 2009.

· Click-to-call actions have gone from only 1% to 37%.

· App downloads have gone from 3% to 23%.

In a nutshell, Ads are now more likely to reach people on smartphones, particularly touch screen devices, worldwide.

So what does all this mean for you and me? As entrepreneurs, it is nothing less than the opportunity of a lifetime. All of us, not just the big ad agencies, have the power to reach potential customers all over the world, wherever they are, and in a way that consumers have proven more receptive to than at any time in history.

Another powerful aspect of the new Mobile Marketplace is that it has never been less expensive to stake one’s claim. People from all walks of life are starting their own businesses on a shoestring and making real profits. Enough to replace their lost jobs and then some. Enough to support themselves and their families. Answering to a boss is no longer the only road to career success. Corporations no longer control all the purse strings.

We have choices. Too many of us have lost sight of that fact in these troubling times.

So ask yourself the next time you pick up your smartphone and see an ad; which end of the ‘Buy Now’ button do you want to be on?

The internet is the new frontier for commerce worldwide. Best of all, it is open to anyone willing to put in the work. Yes, work. There are no instant riches to be found, but you can profit in a big way with the right opportunity and the right work ethic.