These days, you can barely pick up a magazine, watch TV or browse the Internet without seeing content related to smartphones, tablet computers and mobile computing in general. For almost any activity, one could say, “There’s an app for that.” According to Gartner,[1] by 2015 there will be more than a billion smartphones (776 million) and tablets (318 million) globally.

Another source reports that by the middle of this year, more than 300,000 mobile apps had been developed and apps had been downloaded 10.9 billion times.

For many in the printing industry, this new wave of new media presents a competitive nightmare. But is it really? Sure, what we are seeing is certainly a result of disruptive technologies and a change in consumer behavior. You can download your favorite magazines and newspapers to your Kindle or iPad, dispensing with the printed version. You can use your smartphone or tablet to view enhanced Google Maps, giving you alternative routes, insight into traffic and estimated travel time, scrapping the need for printed maps. You can even download your airplane boarding pass to your smartphone, using it to get through security and when you board the plane.