That is what the marketplace is saying. Sales of smart phones are expected to increase 20% (yes, 20%, that is not a typographical error) in 2013, accounting for over 50% of IT industry growth. Without it, anticipated growth is a mere 2.9%.

And within the smart phone market, who is the winner? Android phones ! With over 64% of market sales this last summer, the Android phones, specifically from Samsung leaped forward. So is anyone reading their email and accessing the internet on their PC anymore? Apparently, this is also a shrinking market as more and more people use their smart phones for these functions. People accessing the Internet through PCs will shrink by 15 million over the next four years, while the number of smart phone users will increase by 91 million. Trends are predicting that we’ll all walking around with smart phone and tablets, and PCs will become a thing of the past.

Imagine this brave new world as Aldous Huxley coined the phrase.  (Who’s he, you ask? He wrote a classic book – you remember those? Paper, binding, page numbers at the bottom, roughly 5 X 7 inches). Business conducted in coffee shops, parks, restaurants, subways, street corners. Corporate headquarters serving to bring groups together rather than house offices. Streets with standing desks position every several yards.

What about developing countries? Will they be left behind? No! They are one of the fastest growing markets for inexpensive smart phones. With the advent of several manufacturers producing $100 smartphones coupled with moves to 3G networks, these countries are joining this new world in spite of average earnings of a few dollars a day.

Lots to think about as we move into 2013!

Sources: Techcrunch.com, Gartner: Global Mobile Sales Down 2%, Smartphones Surge 43%, Apple Stalls as Fans Hold Out for New iPhone

Network World, IDC’s 2013 Tech Predictions: Mobile Devices, Emerging Markets Drive Growth

Beta.Fool.com, Smartphone Usage Expands in Emerging Markets

Ok, time for another Geek Trivia.  This time we’ll make it easier on you!

Which enterprise hardware and software company was founded in 1977 under a different name than we know it today?

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We found this Google Knol about setting up a private cloud computing environment using Eucalyptus and Xen.  Has anyone done anything like this?  What was your experience with it?

Also, check out GogoTraining cloud computing technology training!

Attention fellow star gazers! The Hubble Telescope program is celebrating their 20th anniversary and is putting together an intriguing project.

Share the way that Hubble has touched your life or tell us what the telescope means to you, and we’ll store your message in the Hubble archive alongside the full collection of the telescope’s science data. Generations from now, researchers looking for Hubble’s impact on society may read your message and better understand how one telescope changed the face of astronomy.

Go now to share your message and be included in the Hubble archive.