Smart Cell Phones: The Future Gateway to the Emerging “Smart” World

From omnipotent tool and “portable office” the smart mobile phone (smartphone) is turning into a portal of the future in the “smart world” that is taking shape, not only because of its unlimited technological possibilities, to which new ones are added on an almost daily basis, but mainly because of the rapid penetration it has among the population. In every corner of the world, in all social and income groups, from the most affluent to the poorest, the smart phone has now penetrated at rates that reach 100%.

The official numbers from the GSMA, which represents the global mobile communications ecosystem, are impressive and confirm the power of mobile communications and specifically the smart phone. According to the most recent data, in 2021 there were 5.3 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide, while in 2025 estimates put the number of subscribers at 5.7 billion. The majority of these subscribers, in a percentage that exceeds 75% with continuously strong upward trends, has a smart mobile phone (smartphone) and access to the internet through the mobile phone. If mobile phone subscribers are added to those who have access to a smart phone via a SIM card, the penetration of the mobile phone in the world’s population reaches almost 100%.

Smartphone functionality goes beyond communication – The role in creating the “smart” world

However, the dominance of the mobile phone does not only concern the field of communication. The technological developments of the last decade, such as its appearance 5G and the Internet of Things (Internet of Things), gave new enormous possibilities and mainly that of the interconnection of a large number of devices with each other and all together with the mobile smartphone. According to GSMA data today more than 15.1 billion devices are connected to the internet and all of them are mobile phones, while in 2025 this number will have exceeded 25 billion devices.

In simple words, from the smart mobile phone each user, in addition to direct telephone communication, can access and control thousands of objects and devices. Fully indicative are devices from the home, such as air conditioners, washing machines, ovens, lamps, doors, windows, awnings, televisions, radios that are connected via applications to the user’s mobile phone and can be controlled and operated remotely. The reason for the creation of the “smart” home that is already becoming a reality, connecting everything to the internet and everything together with the smartphone.

However, just as the “smart” home is created, so everything becomes “smart” and interconnected with the help of thousands of sensors that provide the necessary information and information: “Smart” industry, “smart” agriculture, which for example facilitates the work of farmers to water their fields with commands from their mobile phones. “Smart” cities that are created from the ground up, with a typical example at an international level being the case of our own Hellinikon, a new smart city that is being created from the ground up in the context of the urban regeneration that is underway.

Also “smart” payments, “smart” cars and more that create the famous “smart” world that is not something of the future but is already happening. In the field of transactions and payments, it is worth noting that internationally there are 1.35 billion bank accounts on mobile phones through which a trillion are transacted. dollars.

Greece – Rapid growth in mobile phone usage

The development of mobile phone usage in our country is also rapid, with a typical example being the continuous increase in their use for transactions and purchases. According to convergent estimates from the banks in the field of mobile banking, from only about 1,500 active users in 2005, we reached 360,000 at the end of 2015 and in over 4 million active users today. However, during the same period of time, both the number and the value of monetary transactions through mobile banking experienced a great increase, with the number of transactions from the mobile phone now exceeding 80 million with a value of more than 25 billion. euros on an annual basis.

At the same time e-commerce is in full bloom, with 50% of online shoppers making at least one (1) online purchase in the last fortnight. In fact, it is confirmed that smartphones are the 1st place of preference as a means of completing their purchases, since according to data from the Greek multinational company Generation Y – International eBusiness Hub, which is active in the field of integrated digital transformation and e-business solutions, it appears that 6 out of 10 internet users are now classified as online shoppers, with 98% of them using mobile as the main device for their commercial digital transactions. To the above great challenge and invitation, as mentioned by Generation Y, market business consultants with expertise in e-commerce are invited to respond, with the aim of meeting every operational and commercial need of businesses regarding the sales tool, its technical specifications, in the design as well as the loading time of each online store (e-shop).

We manage everything from the mobile in real time

From our mobile phone we can now communicate from anywhere on the planet with anyone. We can in real time control and manage everything: our movable and immovable property, make our purchases and devote a large part to our entertainment. And all this due to the technological developments of recent years and the development of hundreds of mobile applications.

Something famous inventors had predicted and to some extent achieved almost a century ago. They simply could not imagine that all this would one day be in the “pocket” of every person on the planet.

Said the Italian inventor of wireless William Marconi to the journalist Aleko Lidorikis, in 1932 during his visit to Athens, accompanied by his wife: “We are not far from the time of absolute radiotelegraphic dominance. Very soon we will not need to accept the mediation of the radio station. Everyone from his home will be able to communicate with persons who are far away, on the other side of the world, and this will certainly be a paradise of convenience and economy.” He also referred to the amazing experiment of March 1932, where from his yacht “Electra” moored in Genoa, Marconi turned on the lights of Sydney, the capital of New Wales, Australia. A fact that reminds us of the control of objects and energy from the mobile phones we have today.

Alekos Lidorikis had asked him then. “You will not repeat the experiment of March 1930 meter? What would you say to the idea of ​​turning on the lights of Athens from Rome?” “I don’t deny that it would be something magnificent… Rome-Athens, the ideal of history to become the ideal of science… But does the Parthenon need to get light from elsewhere? Does he not shine alone, does he not have so much light of his own, of beauty and majesty?’ Marconi had replied to Lidorikis, perhaps wanting to point out that the applications of technological developments should also stop where they cease to be useful.

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