5 things that you can do on your smartphone, that you could only do on your computer 5 years ago

I sat down the other day and thought about the 5 things that I can do on my smartphone that I could only with my computer 5 years ago.  I imagine that some people might have been able to do some of these things 5 or more years ago, but my bet is probably not.

1) Watch Streaming Media.   Netflix, Check. Hulu Plus, Check. Amazon Streaming, Check.  Between 2009 and 2011 all of these services became available on your smartphone.   No more lugging your laptop out when you want to watch something in your downtime.

2) Access CRM SaaS Packages.   No more cut down applications, no more limited integration, no issues with synchronization.   You can gain full access to you CRM package with very, very limited, to no constraints. For me this has made a major difference in my ability to interact effectively with my customer base.

3) Navigation and Mapping.  These applications have really come into their own in the last 5 years.   Google Maps for Mobile came out in November 2008 and was the first really functional smartphone map application.   Since then the competitive environment has lead to innovation and better and better fidelity on the maps. 

4) Translation.   Starting in 2008 these tools started to appear in browsers based on smartphones.  Soon after applications and software started to grow and become more complex eventually allowing text, picture, and voice based translation between dozens of languages.

5) Mobile VoIP.  Since the first integrated VoIP applications with Nokia in 2008, VoIP has exploded.   From Skype to Ring Central, and now the dozens of low cost providers VoIP is now a integrated part of most smart phones providing a easy to use, cheap and reliable voice communication.