"Touch" Every Student

I predict that in the next year the iPhone and/or iTouch will become the dominant mobile device for all college students. And I probably lean that toward the iTouch because of the AT&T factor for the iPhone. What I am really saying is that the “Touch” PDA/IPOD device will be a standard requirement for a college student. This is similar to a like status held in the past by calculators, typewriters and even laptops. But this is not just a new gadget; this is a technology platform transition. Many aspects of academic content delivery are now conducive for using a Touch. This will now change to a trend toward all new academic content delivery will be designed to be conducive for the Touch.

It may not just be Apple’s products but this Apple technology will dominate the arena and other entrants will strive to emulate it. For us IT leaders we now need to adapt our support infrastructure to cater to these devices. The common denominator is WiFi, sure the iPhones will have 3G and beyond, but we will be pushed to expand our WiFi to ensure that all our students with these devices will be connected. So we start thinking WiMAX type coverage and start adapting our network management to cater to many more WiFi devices.