MID ownership set to rocket

More good news for the mobile internet. ABI Research, which specializes in research and analysis of the tech market, is this week predicting an explosion in mobile internet device (MID) ownership, claiming the iPhone is only the beginning.

Their latest study estimates that 90 million MIDs and 5 million UMPCs (that’s Ultramobile Personal Computers) will have been purchased by 2012. The MIDs will be used to browse the web, to send texts, to shoot photos and video and to listen to music, and will have larger screens than the iPhone.

The prediction is that they will be like the Swiss Army knife of the future, according to a leading commentator at ABI. For instance people going on holiday would take the MID along to watch movies and play internet games while they’re away.

Another prediction is that devices will be developed which cater for specific market segments. Social networkers would have highly stylised MIDs with webcams, which enable them to connect via video, text and voice all the time. Or a remote worker, like a petroleum engineer, might have a very specific Internet connection need to perform certain tasks.

Another area for the MIDs is in medicine, where devices could monitor and communicate health indicators through a wireless signal.

All in all, this is just the kind of research I’ve been expecting to confirm where we’re going with the mobile internet.