Page 152 - Using MIS

120 Chapter 4 Hardware, Software, and Mobile Systems

Figure 4-5
Smartphone Development
Source: Grgroup/Fotolia

Take your mobile phone, for example; it’s probably a smartphone. But it wasn’t always “smart.”
It started out as a simple device that just handled voice calls. Over time it became a smart device by
adding more processing power, more memory, Internet access, Wi-Fi connectivity, and the ability
to interconnect with other devices and applications (Figure 4-5). People began to use their mobile
phones much differently than before. It also changed the way businesses operate. In 2013, Amazon
.com reported that more than 50 percent of its customers shopped using a mobile device. 5
What happens when other devices become smart? How would your life change if you had
access to a smart car, smart home appliances, or an entire smart building? Within a few short
decades it’s possible that you could interact with nearly every object around you from your
smartphone. In fact, your devices will be able to talk to other devices, anticipate your actions,
make changes, and configure themselves.
This shift away from “dumb” devices to interconnected smart devices is not lost on busi-
nesses. Consumers like smart devices and are willing to pay more for them. Businesses want to
improve the existing devices they manufacture into a smart devices and then sell them for twice
as much. If they don’t, someone else will.
The iPhone, for example, was introduced by Apple Inc., a computing hardware and soft-
ware company at the time. The mobile phone market was already mature. Industry leaders
could have created a smartphone, but they didn’t. Apple’s success with portable audio players
(iPod) and mobile phones (iPhone) was a shot across the bow of other hardware manufacturers
too. A wave of smart devices is coming.
Impact of the Internet of Things

The impact of IoT will be felt by many different high-tech industries. Smart devices need
microprocessors, memory, wireless network connections, a power source, and new software.

5 Brad Stone, “Amazon Reveals Holiday Sales: Cyber Monday Orders Rose 39%,” BusinessWeek.com, December
26, 2013, accessed May 27, 2014, www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-26/amazon-reveals-holiday-sales-facts-
cyber-monday-orders-rose-39-percent-and-other-fun-facts.