It’s now eight years since I introduced the world to Holway’s Martini Moment – the day when you could access the internet anytime, anywhere and from any device. I celebrated that day several years ago when I listened to The Archers on a sanpan on the Mekong Delta. But that was on my laptop.
In a funny sort of way, perhaps Holway’s Martini Moment really arrived in Q4 2010 when, according to IDC, more smartphones than PCs were shipped. 101m smartphones – an increase of 87% on Q4 2009. Conversely ‘only’ 92m PCs were shipped – a minimal 3% increase.
Then, over 18 months ago, I designated “2010 The Year of the Tablet” I didn’t fully realise how game-changing it too would be. Apple alone sold 15m in 2010. At first almost every PC manufacturer said that the tablet would be a new category and would not affect core PC sales. How wrong they were! Firstly, the cheap netbook category has been pummelled as Acer can attest. More and more road warriors are realising that an iPad (“other tablet computers are available…”) does almost everything needed on a business trip. I say ‘almost’ because there still are some tasks it cannot do but I really do expect most of those shortcoming to be overcome with new releases this year or next. So the laptop market is just bound to suffer even more.
Achieving Holway’s Martini Moment coupled with the fantastic ‘instant on’ and ‘touch interface’ capabilities of tablets and smartphones, in my mind is a kind of ‘crossing of the Rubicon’. The game really has changed. Those who haven’t changed with it are in for a really tough time.