Report: Mobile Phones More Important Than Wallets

A poll of 2,367 people indicates that more than one-third would choose to bring their mobile phone with them rather than their wallet, laptop, or other items if they had to choose. Which would you bring?I'd go with my phone. No doubt. Why? It's small, fits in my pocket, offers music, the Internet, e-mail, weather, and all that good stuff. My laptop? Too heavy. Keys? I have a spare hidden outside my house (no, it's not in a fake rock). Wallet? I can probably do without it for 24 hours. According to the survey, which was conducted by market research firm IDC and sponsored by Nortel Networks, 38% people sided with me. What about you?

The intent of the survey was to find the "hyperconnected." Those are the people that just can't be further than six inches from some sort of electronic device that they are using to reach out to the social networks, check e-mail, etc. About 16% of the respondents fall into that group. Reuters reports, "The survey classified the hyperconnected worker as someone who uses at least seven devices for work and personal access, in addition to at least nine applications like instant messaging, text messaging, or Web conferencing. The number of the hyperconnected will likely rise to 40% in five years."

Wow, seven devices? I'd have to count: desktop, laptop, mobile phone (do multiple phones count?), and TV. I think that's about it, and that's only four. I guess that means I am not hyperconnected.

I think mobile phones still have a long way to go before they replace wallets, however. Sure, near-field communications are making strides, but it's not nearly an everyday technology for mass use. Pay-by-SMS services are available, but they, too, have been slow to get off the ground.

But we're not too far off from being able to use our mobile phones for nearly every type of access we might need.