Without exception, CES generates a lot of exciting news for the mobile app space. Here’s a quick summary of the key announcements in mobile this year.
Thinnest tablet ever
The Toshiba Excite X10 tablet is the thinnest tablet ever made with a 10.1 inch screen, 0.3 inch thin and 1.2 ibs weight.
Our take:
The Toshiba Excite X10 tablet is an alternative for the iPad2 and this could be Apple’s real competition. However it is unlikely that it can compete with Apple’s iPad3 which is expected in the next couple of months
Intel in partnership with Motorola Mobility
Being in partnership with Intel allows Motorola to use Intel’s Atom processors on their mobile computing devices. This includes smartphones and tablets for consumers and businesses during the next couple of years.
Our take:
Currently, Qualcomm and ARM dominate the mobile processor market and more competition is needed. This should lead to more innovation in the mobile processing space including better battery life and increased processing power.
Smartphone news
LTE devices across all price points
Most of the major device manufacturers announced LTE devices together with the carriers in the US including LG, HTC, Nokia and Samsung but also Huawei, ZTE and Pantech.
Our take:
Although LTE is important from a network capacity perspective an transition to GSM technology in the US the technology will not have much impact on consumers right now as 3G speeds are adequate for most smartphone usage. Nevertheless, the speed of the transition is impressive.
Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone
AT&T is launching the Nokia Lumia 900 in the US with LTE and stands firmly behind Windows Phone.
Our take:
This will bring positive media echo for Nokia Luma and Windows Phone devices. Uniqueness and differentiation is good news as it shows there is still room for innovation in the OS space. Thanks to this, Apple has not been able to steal the show like they did last year.
Sony Xperia S
Sony launches the first device without the Ericsson brand as a game focused device with Android.
Our take:
The device looks great with nice specs but we don’t believe it’s unique enough to compete against the top Android devices from Samsung and HTC.
Waterproof phones
Will waterproofing treatment make smartphones ruined by water damage history? The company HzO thinks so and announced a new technology for waterproofing that they want to license to phone manufacturers.
Our take:
This is probably one of the most exciting news for consumers coming out of CES. Many of us have dropped their phone in water or gotten it ruined by rain or water splashes. If the waterproofing works without having to turn the phone into a piece of rubber like previous attempts then this could be a big trend in the future.
Apps, apps and more apps
With over 100 great apps submitted for Mobile App Showdown here are 3 of our favorites:
CIA: Operation Ajax Amazes!
An app delivering a graphic novel with interactive sounds and animations, which seems like a unique way of mobile story telling.
SkyQ
SkyQ is an easy to use astronomy application that locates and identifies virtually any celestial object visible in the night sky with portable convenience right from the palm of your hand.
Swakker
Swakker lets you personalize your mobile messaging. Communicate in creative ways, like drawing in a chat and writing messages in the sky.
Biggest news of all
No show would be worthwhile without an app by Golden Gekko of course and to avoid disappointment Qualcomm showed off Golden Gekko’s augmented reality app for the National Guard. More about this later…
Showing posts with label innovation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label innovation. Show all posts
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Monday, 21 February 2011
Mobile World Congress 2011: Wrap-up and Key Trends
Yet another year of Mobile World Congress has passed. The 8th for me and the most positive in 4 years. People were optimistic about the future, there were lots of new exciting startups, we saw power shifts and power battles, and the overall message was: we are here to do business!
The key talking points:
1. Mobile OS wars
Some consider it game over, with iOS and Android the clear winners, but the other players certainly haven't given up. Two main factors keep adding fuel to the fire:
The key talking points:
1. Mobile OS wars
Some consider it game over, with iOS and Android the clear winners, but the other players certainly haven't given up. Two main factors keep adding fuel to the fire:
a) The operators don't want to become bitpipes
b) The handset manufacturers don't want to be relegated to hardware manufacturers
At the same time the handset manufacturers are launching a massive number of Android devices. Google, and hopefully the consumers, are currently the biggest winners from this. In the long run, it might result in less competition and innovation.
Operators hand have found that Android devices are very easy to sell, creating a nice counter weight to iPhone. Google, once again, is the biggest winner while the operators have little control over or little revenue from the services provided. This is why the operators have put a big emphasis on WAC (Wholesale Application Community) this year at MWC. With WAC, the operators could succeed in building up their own eco-system for developers, basing it on web standards. This could open the door to a role in the app value chain. In the background, operators are revising their device purchasing strategies, aiming for a good balance between iOS, Android, WM7, RIM and other operating systems such as Limo. More about this in another blog.
2. The power is with the developers
Possibly one of the most exciting developments is the reassignment of roles between operators, device manufacturers and developers. Just two years ago it was almost impossible for a developer to get on the carrier decks (i.e. sell content through an operator portal). Operators normally wouldn't respond at
all and when they did it was usually with great arrogance towards the developer or content provider. Today this has completely changed. Operators are screaming for apps for their appstores and do everything they can to attract developer attention including competitions, developer outreach programs and more. Many of the developers on the other hand refuse to even speak to the operators. They are happy with the existing appstore distribution channels, primarily Apple Appstore and Google Android Market.
3. Tablets, tablets and more tablets
One year ago all the visitors had notebooks, this year they had iPads. Even more prominent was the fact that almost every single device manufacturer presented a tablet of some kind this year including Motorola, RIM, HP, ZTE, Huawei, LG, Samsung, etc. According to Gartner, by 2013 media tablets such as Apple's iPad will have infiltrated 80 per cent of enterprises, and the increasing use of the devices, along with other mobile gadgetry such as smartphones, will be THE disruptive technology implementation for CIOs in the coming years. The question remains whether there is really a market for that many products?
4. Apps are KING
The "Content is king" trend goes in cycles. In 2000 AOL acquired Time Warner for 162 billion USD with the argument being that content would be the most important thing in acquiring and retaining customers. The same argument has been used several times since by mobile operators as well as handset manufacturers. Every 2-3 years they make a major investment and a few years later they get impatient and give up on the initiative. With the current app trend this is happening once again. Handset manufacturers are looking for exclusive apps that help differentiating their devices and appstores. Operators are looking for the latest and greatest apps for their appstores. This year content or rather apps were definitely king at MWC.
5. VAS and mobile marketing companies doing everything
- “What do you do?” I asked one of the companies in Hall 7 (the app and content area of MWC)
- “What do you want?” was the answer
Many of the companies at MWC still offer a little bit of everything to operators and companies. A typical offering by a mobile marketing agency (which they usually don't want to be referred as) includes messaging, text to win, CRM, search, mobile websites, video streaming, music, games, app development, mobile advertising, mobile social networking and LBS. Our experience is that it takes about 6 to 12 months for a sales or project manager to get to a base level in terms of knowledge about mobile apps alone. Imagine selling all of them. One expectation for next year is therefore more specialization and consolidation.
We definitely need a 12 month break now but already look forward to MWC 2012!
b) The handset manufacturers don't want to be relegated to hardware manufacturers
At the same time the handset manufacturers are launching a massive number of Android devices. Google, and hopefully the consumers, are currently the biggest winners from this. In the long run, it might result in less competition and innovation.
Operators hand have found that Android devices are very easy to sell, creating a nice counter weight to iPhone. Google, once again, is the biggest winner while the operators have little control over or little revenue from the services provided. This is why the operators have put a big emphasis on WAC (Wholesale Application Community) this year at MWC. With WAC, the operators could succeed in building up their own eco-system for developers, basing it on web standards. This could open the door to a role in the app value chain. In the background, operators are revising their device purchasing strategies, aiming for a good balance between iOS, Android, WM7, RIM and other operating systems such as Limo. More about this in another blog.
2. The power is with the developers
Possibly one of the most exciting developments is the reassignment of roles between operators, device manufacturers and developers. Just two years ago it was almost impossible for a developer to get on the carrier decks (i.e. sell content through an operator portal). Operators normally wouldn't respond at
all and when they did it was usually with great arrogance towards the developer or content provider. Today this has completely changed. Operators are screaming for apps for their appstores and do everything they can to attract developer attention including competitions, developer outreach programs and more. Many of the developers on the other hand refuse to even speak to the operators. They are happy with the existing appstore distribution channels, primarily Apple Appstore and Google Android Market.
3. Tablets, tablets and more tablets
One year ago all the visitors had notebooks, this year they had iPads. Even more prominent was the fact that almost every single device manufacturer presented a tablet of some kind this year including Motorola, RIM, HP, ZTE, Huawei, LG, Samsung, etc. According to Gartner, by 2013 media tablets such as Apple's iPad will have infiltrated 80 per cent of enterprises, and the increasing use of the devices, along with other mobile gadgetry such as smartphones, will be THE disruptive technology implementation for CIOs in the coming years. The question remains whether there is really a market for that many products?
4. Apps are KING
The "Content is king" trend goes in cycles. In 2000 AOL acquired Time Warner for 162 billion USD with the argument being that content would be the most important thing in acquiring and retaining customers. The same argument has been used several times since by mobile operators as well as handset manufacturers. Every 2-3 years they make a major investment and a few years later they get impatient and give up on the initiative. With the current app trend this is happening once again. Handset manufacturers are looking for exclusive apps that help differentiating their devices and appstores. Operators are looking for the latest and greatest apps for their appstores. This year content or rather apps were definitely king at MWC.
5. VAS and mobile marketing companies doing everything
- “What do you do?” I asked one of the companies in Hall 7 (the app and content area of MWC)
- “What do you want?” was the answer
Many of the companies at MWC still offer a little bit of everything to operators and companies. A typical offering by a mobile marketing agency (which they usually don't want to be referred as) includes messaging, text to win, CRM, search, mobile websites, video streaming, music, games, app development, mobile advertising, mobile social networking and LBS. Our experience is that it takes about 6 to 12 months for a sales or project manager to get to a base level in terms of knowledge about mobile apps alone. Imagine selling all of them. One expectation for next year is therefore more specialization and consolidation.
We definitely need a 12 month break now but already look forward to MWC 2012!
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