Is home Internet use coming to an end?

Mobile Internet usage is set to overtake desktop computer use in the next five years: that's the key conclusion of a new report by analysts Morgan Stanley, whose Mobile Internet Report claims that 'Mobile [Internet] use will be bigger than most [people] think.'

The exponential development of connected handsets has led to a huge growth in the number of people connected to the Internet.  These phones, which are much less expensive than desktop computers, are accessible to a much wider range of the population.  Developing countries are no longer held back and can contribute fully to an explosion in Internet traffic.

By 2015, the report claims, more people will connect using a movie device rather than a regular computer.  It even suggests that sales of smartphones will outstrip those of PCs, including notebooks.  Of course, for this to happen, 3G mobile networks will also have to develop rapidly.

Apple iPhone a Catalyst

Although it was perfectly possible to access the Internet from a mobile device before the arrival of the Apple iPhone, its massive success led consumers to look at their mobile in a whole new way.  And the public appetite for these new uses doesn't seem to be showing any sign of calming down.

The report goes on to look at which companies--despite their current presence in the market--might not actually profit from the dominance of mobile Internet.  They include Microsoft, Sony, Motorla, Ericsson, Vodafone and HTC.  On the other hand, the analysts reckon other big names are better set to do well, including RIM, Apple and providers of social networking sites like Facebook.

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