The arrival of mobile phones has just made us even more gaga over technology.  If I were to compare them to something equally ambitious and far-reaching, that would be, perhaps, the PC, or the internet –or religion if you may (Apple fan boys/girls ftw). The day the world became hardwired to technology was the point of no return. We just can’t go back to how things were.

But who wants to backtrack? Mobile phones are among the digital era’s most ingenious inventions, allowing people to communicate and multitask while on the go. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t have a mobile phone, the majority of which are even smartphone users. If the world were to be stripped off of its mobile rights by some inscrutable pretext, the situation would render people helpless. Communication, an indispensable working tool, GPS, games, virtual life, one-stop entertainment — these are all the things we’d lose should the smartphone trend come to an untimely end.

To get an idea of just how massive the mobile phone trend is, even if it’s just a fraction of the bigger picture, check out the infographic below, courtesy of So Mobile. China, being the largest country by area and population, tops the chart when it comes to mobile ownership. It is tailed closely by India in second place, bu the USA, which takes the third spot is a far cry. Some 23 percent of users use smartphones during class or in a meeting, while 22 percent of adults and 47 percent of teens admitted answering their handsets in the bathroom.

Ever heard of the joke, “God created the world, and the rest was made in China?” The jest has some truth in it, at least in the mobile context. 70 percent of the world’s mobile phones are made there. And its normal for someone to have two mobile phones in China and Russia!

China’s mobile connection

As the largest country by land area, population, and a bunch of other things, China’s also high and mighty when it comes to mobile connectivity, thanks to 3G. They are nearing 1 billion mobile connections, 25 percent of which are 3G subscribers. Moreover, a study about mobile worker trends by ABI research shows that 2012 will mark the first year the 3G and 4G mobile devices will account for most of the world’s smartphone sales. The worldwide mobile worker population will boom, swaying 1-in-3 mobile users by 2015.

International competition

The mobile business has also become one of the biggest industries today, although it has also sprung some of the world’s major court disputes between companies. Among these skirmish stand outs are Apple and Samsung, Google and Oracle.  Until now, Apple still seeks the German court to ban Samsung sales in Germany, filing another case against the Korean company and 10 of its smartphone models.  South Korea also recently banned the Android Market from selling apps, but has raised the veto after Google agreed to comply with their new rules regarding gambling and sexually-themed products.