Smartphones are now standalone

When was the last time you connected your smartphone to another computer? It seems to be that we are relying on our computers to move media to phones and to backup our mobile data less and less, and that we are close to using our smartphones autonomously 24 hours a day.

In Android, for example, there is never a need to connect a smartphone to a computer unless you are moving very large files and the entire operating system is designed to work independently from day one. Emails, calendars, movies, eBooks and music can all be purchased and downloaded on a mobile wirelessly, and there are solutions that also let you ignore the PC completely and even move large files to a smartphone over Wi-Fi or 3G.

There is little doubt that PCs are changing and that we are moving nearer to a mobile future, but the day has come when the smartphone will hold so much of our personal information and media and never be backed up by a PC. This of course presents risks to data integrity, but the convenience it offers far outweighs the downsides for most people.

The fact is that smartphones are now self-sufficient and the PC is likely the computing device we use much less often than our phones. So, be careful with your phone because it is carrying around your life all of the time.