A thought occurred to me this morning while I was sipping on some coffee and reading an article on Google Android in the latest copy of Wired.

“When will cellphones become just another PC.”

At first glance, you might think the idea of the cellphone as a PC is crazy; but hear me out.

Let’s start with the developing cellphone ecosystem:

• The new 3G Apple iPhone and Google Android. These two “PC” companies are bringing the PC mindset to the cellular industry and so far have been successful in shaking up the industry.
• All cellphones are moving closer to smart-phones in form and function. Cellphones are now multimedia devices capable of more than just
• There are multiple different operating systems for cellphones. Although current cellphone ship with one operating system, Google, for one, does not care about hardware, so at what point do cellphone ship with no software or with a choice of operating systems.
• A move towards cellular standards, like GSM, which all cellular providers offer.Not to mention developments such as WiMax.

If you remember personal PC’s have developed from basic word processors to multimedia productivity and entertainment centers just as cellphones have progressed from a way to call on-the-go and to a way to do just about anything on-the-go; from calling to web browsing to word processing, you see that their lifecycles have been very similar.

The one difference?

The cellular carrier.

The cellular carrier, especially in the United States, has always dictated what hardware (cellphone) can be used and what features and functions are enabled.

But this is soon to end.

This is because of companies like Apple and Google. They are changing the cellular industry to make the cellular phone just like a PC and in doing so, some will be thrown on their heads. That’s because when a cellphone is sold just like a PC, consumers will have the ability to purchase a a custom, or off-the-shelf cellphone, that is carrier independent, with carriers fighting to provide cellular access (think AOL CD’s). It is a complete 360 from what is occurring today, but with folks like Google and Apple driving change, I see the cellphone becoming just another PC very soon.