Verizon Says Smartphones Can Replace PCs
With the introduction of 1GHz CPUs in smartphones, the devices could replace PCs in the future claims Verizon.
During the Mobilebeat 2010 conference held in San Francisco, California, Humphrey Chen, director of new technology development at Verizon Wireless, indicated that smartphones could replace PCs in the future. more specifically, they could be hooked up to a docking station with a keyboard, camera and monitor, transforming the smartphone into a full-fledged PC replacement.
"With gigahertz processors, the divide between the smartphone and PC has narrowed," said Chen. "That's Microsoft's worst nightmare because there is no Windows or Office revenue, but there's a big Google Apps and Verizon cloud computing opportunity there."
Chen is referring to the proposed smartphone/PC setups that could access Verizon's Long Term Evolution networks currently operating in Seattle and Boston. Although only established as a trial, users are experiencing 10 Mbits/s downloads and 5 Mbits/s uploads. Naturally hooking up smartphones to a desktop-like configuration would be ideal for at-home use.
Another proposition Chen offered at the conference was to create separate consumer and business clients on a single handset. This would suggest that carriers could bill two parties for services on the device. "We are exploring virtualization technology to make that happen," he said.
Chen also revealed how much Verizon spent upgrading its network to 4G. "We spent $9 billion on 700 MHz spectrum to take coverage to the next level for 4G, and now we are spending billions of top of that to build the networks out."
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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cjl This is conveniently ignoring the actual speed of the devices. 1GHz smartphones are slower than a 1GHz Atom, much less any decent computer processor.Reply -
Pyroflea Yes, but can your iPhone play Crysis?Reply
Seriously, how stupid can you get. Smartphones will never replace PC's, period. PC's will continue to shrink in size, but there will always be an enthusiast market. -
_Cubase_ The minute my phone can play Crysis, THEN I will start to agree. Until then, I don't think so.Reply -
pojih bah, they have their uses, but really?Reply
my netbook can't replace my desktop, how will a cell? -
fancarolina This may be true one day but a 1ghz ARM processor is the fastest thing you can get in a cell phone these days. I don't see how he thinks this compares to a Quad-Core or Hexa-Core Desktop chip.Reply -
maigo lol, yeah, carry ALL your data with you. Drop your phone in the toilet, loose everything. Leave your phone on the train, loose your identity.Reply