From Mobile 1.0 to Mobile 2.0
December 5, 2008 by tom.corbett
“The first internet-centric mobile phone was Nokia 8110, the “banana phone”. It was NOT usable! The new generation internet phones, smartphones are user friendly,” says Paul Golding, an expert on mobile.
This former Chief Applications Architect at Motorola and an author of ”Next Generation Wireless Applications – creating mobile applications in a Web 2.0 and Mobile 2.0 world” spoke at the Web Goes Mobile seminar in Grimbergen in Belgium on Dec. 4, 2008.
He started his presentation with a bit of history: as usage of phones has moved from “pure talking” to actually “using” – texting, emailing, browsing, etc. The former period he called as Mobile 1.0. The latter as “Mobile 2.0″.
“Is mobile important?,” he asked rhetorically and answered: “Think about these figures: 1.2 billion active email users. 2.5 billion active text users!”
He gave a list of key drivers for Mobile 2.0:
- Increased device usability: since the introduction of the iPhone and Blackberry, the usability has been greatly enhanced. “That is essential: if it’s too hard to use, it won’t be used!”
- Greater Web 2.0 dependancy: user interaction, social networking is BIG on mobile phones! “Be sure to integrate this into your mobile strategy.”
- More data-friendly tariffs: flat rate for data transfer charged by mobile phones carriers is a key factor for growth in mobile internet usage. “If people know in advance how much it will cost them, they will use it; otherwise they will not. In many countries such as Belgium data rates are still relatively high compared to other countries such as the UK or USA.”
- Social networks are mobilising: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and others are becoming increasingly mobile. “Special applications for iPhone or mobile websites for handhelds are becoming wide-spread. You could integrate these social networking sites into your mobile website or native phone application.”
- App Stores: More and more handheld manufactures have so called “app stores” where people can download applicatons for their phone. The “App Store” on the iPhone or “Android Marketplace” for Android phones are good examples.
- Transactional capability: there are more and more ways to pay with your mobile phone. This increases the chance for revenue sharing by different parties (carriers, content providers etc).
“But mobilizing can be a mess!,” warned Paul Golding, as there are lots of different handhelds, different platforms, browsers, tools, etc… “You will need a strategy and you will need to work with third party developers who specialize in developing for all those devices. Don’t try to do it all in-house.”
If one wants to succeed on mobile internet market, it should focus on:
- User experience
- User interactivity
- Networkability
“User experience is much more important than on desktop internet, because the mobile is so personal,” he explained. “You can also be much more interactive with users than on PCs. And when your information is relevant to users, they will gladly pay for it.”
[...] (Read a summary of his presentation written by Tom Corbett.) [...]