These Stats Bode well for Mobile Learning
January 31, 2012 
3 Comments
All signs continue to point to a near future where mobile devices will surpass desktop PCs for how we connect to the Internet, shop, and most other things, including learning. I believe we are getting very close to a ‘mobile-first’ approach to developing content and I can’t wait to see we can come up as a community when it comes to mobile learning design.
Having said that, here are three very compelling stats that all bode well for mobile learning:
- Apple recently announced that they had sold 15.4 million iPads. Amazing numbers. In my experience in talking to eLearning developers, they all have one thing when it comes to talking about mobile devices and eLearning, they all tell me their learners want to access their eLearning on the iPad. You can read more about these numbers here.
Apple surpassed Hewlett-Packard in PC sales and revenue. Apple sold 15.4 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs in its first quarter. That’s more than 20 million personal computing devices. HP’s PC sales for the fourth quarter were 14.7 million, according to Gartner.
via Apple Sold More iPads Than HP Sold PCs – John Paczkowski – News – AllThingsD.
- The total shipment of Tablets is expected to be 96.6 million by 2016. Another amazing number. I often use the term Tablet Learning, as a way to differentiate it a bit from mLearning as I believe the holy grail of learning on mobile devices is the Tablet. If you own you and sat with your kids as they learn something, you know what I mean. What I would like to see is other Tablet makers (beyond Apple) step up and wow us with their devices. It’s puzzling how I never see a mention of any other tablet when reading about mobile learning. You can read more about these numbers here.
According to the company’s Worldwide Enterprise Tablet Market Forecast Report, over the next 5 years, total shipments of tablet computers to enterprises around the world are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48%. That growth reflects a rise in shipments from 13.6 million units in 2011 to 96.3 million units in 2016.
via Enterprise tablet shipments could top 96 million by 2016 | TabTimes.
- More than 2.1 billion mobile devices will have HMTL5 capable Browsers by 2016. I strongly believe the Browser, via HTML5 is the most viable solution for delivering and consuming mobile learning. This as opposed to building apps. Building apps is still too complicated and requires a certain amount of technical knowledge and this may not be a good use of eLearning developers’ time. And then there’s the how fragmentation of mobile OSes. I happen to believe we could achieve these number well before 2016, especially with the recent news coming from Adobe that they will no longer support Flash for mobile going forward. This recently development could expedite the maturation and support for HTML5. You can read more about these numbers here.
More than 2.1 billion mobile devices will have HTML5 browsers by 2016, up from just 109 million in 2010, according to a new report by ABI Research.
via The HTML5 boom is coming. Fast. — Tech News and Analysis.
What do you think about all these stats and where are you in terms of mobile learning. I really want to know. Please leave a comment.
