When we look back at the history of communications three major events are generally highlighted as the most significant to its evolution: The invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, the development of the first cellular phones in 1983 and, of course, the rise of the Internet in the '90s. However, there has been a fourth major development worth noting that occurred relatively recently: the smartphone.

It's easy to forget, probably because of their ubiquity, the significance of the smartphone bringing the telephone, mobility and the Internet together in one device. However, a recent Acme Packet infographic from the TransNexus blog highlights just how significantly smartphones have changed the way we communicate.

For example, the smartphone is capable of sending a text message in about seven seconds on average. By comparison, the time it took to connect a call from San Francisco to New York in 1915 was 23 minutes, while the delivery time for 75 percent of e-mails in 2011 was five minutes.

Of course, with speed comes volume. The average number of texts sent per day globally in 2010 was 188 billion, compared with 14 billion in 2000. Meanwhile, the average number of voice minutes used per month is dwindling, dropping from 720 minutes in 2010 to 638 minutes in 2011. Indeed, why spend even a minute on the phone when you can write and send a text message in half the time?

It's no surprise, then, that home phone use is becoming less prevalent – especially when free over-the-top apps like Skype (News - Alert) and WhatsApp exist. Likewise, smartphones have had a significant impact on businesses as well, with many deploying BYOD (bring your own device) policies and reducing the importance of the business phone, while many CIOs expect the desk phone to disappear from everyday use within the next five years.

So what does this mean for the future? Well, as with anything, there will be positives and negatives.

On the positive side, more plans, services and business models will likely be offered by service providers, while technological advancements like HD voice and RCS (rich communications services) will further enhance the way we communicate. On the negative side, we can also probably expect to see more mobile spam, which is already on the rise, while increasing use of OTT apps will further strain already crowded data networks. Furthermore, as emphasis is placed on social apps, privacy may be further compromised with the trade off being more personalized services.

It's impossible to predict with any accuracy, though, as another big innovation may come along and change the way we communicate yet again.