The last decade has seen advancements in software both in technology and hardware, plus we can now enjoy a reliable and widely spread Wi-Fi connection.
All this has led to an explosion of new devices especially mobile devices. It’s only ten years since the first generation of iPhones were released, this year is the tenth anniversary of Apple’s baby and expectations are riding high as to what the company is going to launch.
I like millions of other people rely on my smartphone for many reasons. Not only do I keep in touch with family and friends and post the odd meal out onto Facebook and the other social media sites I frequent, but I also use it to play my favourite game which is online roulette. Roulette has always fascinated me both at bricks and mortar casinos as well as the online casinos. I love the wait and the structure of the game as bets are placed and the wheel spins. My luck isn’t bad either, so I am delighted by the quality of the games on offer to my smartphone and tablet.
Another of my passions is film, and again it was not such a long time ago that I would never have considered using my mobile to watch a full-length film (for many obvious reasons).
The habit of watching movies on our smartphones is being credited as one of the main reasons the film industry is not doing as well as it could. Many comments have been made by those in the industry. It was Spike Lee who commented “I know it’s not a popular view but as s filmmaker… we kill ourselves with editing, with lighting… with sound… it’s heartbreaking”.
The classic clip of director David Lynch in which he states with no false passion “It’s such a sadness that you think you’ve seen a film on your fu… ng telephone. Get real.”
These type of comments can sound as if they are the end of the world for the film industry as if we are all going to abandon cinemas in favour for watching on our smartphones. This simply is not true, but what the film industry has to come to terms with is that mobile viewing is here to stay, it is irreversible.
What is also true is the going to the cinema is still incredibly popular. Film lovers still like to go to watch a new release at the cinema, viewing a film on your mobile is used when you can’t get to the movies and fancy watching one of your favorite films.
Let’s face it when you are thousands of feet up in a plane with many of them not offering the same type of in-house entertainment that they once did, having a film on your smartphone can be handy.
Smartphone users usually are lovers of technology and this includes the appreciation into what goes into making a great film.
We all lead busy lives and having the option to watch what we want when we want is not a bad thing, and although there is no denying that more and more people are watching video on their smartphones than ever before reports say that an average estimate is 33 minutes of mobile video per day. These figures would point to people watching YouTube and new clips, and not full-length movies.
