New research indicates that so called ultra-mobile devices (UMDs) like the Apple iPhone that include “always-on” Internet-connected PDAs, tablet PCs and similar products are likely to be the new wireless cash cows. ABI Research claims that 95 million of them will in the hands of user by 2012.
UMDs comprise of two distinct types of devices featuring multiple Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and cellular Internet connectivity; there is the windows-based Ultra Mobile PC (UMPCs) that will likely be the favourite of the enterprise for running business applications and the less expensive, more popular, consumer oriented Linux Mobile Internet Device (MID) forecast to be the bigger seller of the two, according to the ABI report.
In addition to new carrier revenue streams, the UMD “ecosystem” will sustain hundreds of vendors including ASPs, chipmakers, device and display makers and service providers.
Developers are currently beavering away at a whole new set of applications and services to address the UMD web browsing, music, navigation, voice, and data communications, i.e. email VoIP, which the devices consolidate.
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