Ephemeralization, a really neat concept by a guy name Richard Buckminister Fuller, not the C-60 molecule above, but the idea that there will arise the ability to do "more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing." That nothing could be thought of now as software.
The iPhone and the iPad have effectively drilled a hole that will allow ephemeralization to flow into a lot of new areas. No one who has studied the history of technology would want to underestimate the power of that force.
From Tablets by Paul Graham
In the above article, the case is made that what makes the iPhone, iPad, Android successful is that new things can now be replaced by software that is pocketable. That is, physical things (like GPS units) can be replaced by software on a phone that is GPS-enabled.
But I think it will surprise people how many things are going to get replaced.
Now would not be a good time to be making a living in an industry with products or services that can be replaced as such. And, conversely, opportunities abound to replace old ways and old gizmos with a new, pocketable, ways.
After owning an iPhone for the better part of a year, it is amazing how much one thing can do. Read books, get directions, email, text, surf the internet, play games, work, read pdf’s, display 3d renderings of orthopedic implants, oh, and make phone calls. I think this is just the beginning, and articles like this confirm that there is brilliantly designed things waiting to happen.