Opinion: The future of smartphone growth: By the numbers

In a few short years, Earth will likely be home to more smartphones and tablets than human beings The mobile computers in our pockets are getting more powerful by the day. And by 2016, there could be more suped-up smartphones and tablets than there are humans. That's according to new projections from tech titan Cisco. Here, a look at Cisco's vision of future smartphone growth, by the numbers:

7.3 billion
Estimated world population by 2016, according to the United Nations

SEE MORE: The Samsung Galaxy Note: Tiny tablet or giant smartphone?

10 billion
Estimated number of smartphones and tablets used worldwide by 2016, according to Cisco

1.4
Mobile gadgets for every person on Earth in 2016

SEE MORE: The Nokia Lumia 900: Better than the iPhone?

490 million
Smartphones sold in 2011

50
Factor by which traffic from smartphones will increase by 2016

SEE MORE: How 'The Phone Stack' is civilizing dinners out with friends

62
Factor by which traffic from tablets will increase by 2016

71
Percent of mobile traffic dedicated to watching videos on portable devices by 2016, a 25-fold increase from today

SEE MORE: Will RIM’s 'ridiculous' cartoon superheroes hurt the company?

130
Exabytes of worldwide data traffic in 2016. That's the rough equivalent of 33 billion DVDs, 4.3 quadrillion mp3 files, or 813 quadrillion text messages.

1,829
Average smartphone connection speed, in bits per second, in 2012

SEE MORE: The 'crazy' invisible coating that waterproofs your iPhone

5,244
Average smartphone connection speed, in bits per second, in 2016

200
Average high-speed internet connection speed, in bits per second, in 2000

Sources: CNN, eWeek, InformationWeek, Mashable, ZDNet

SEE MORE: 5 ways new CEO Thorsten Heins can save RIM

View this article on TheWeek.com Get 4 Free Issues of The Week

Thứ Hai, 20 tháng 2, 2012

The future of smartphone growth: By the numbers