March 26, 2009

In the past few weeks, we've been talking to various players in the "mobile ecosystem" quite a bit: telco carriers, mobile OS makers, mobile device manufacturers, middleware vendors... and everyone seems to be in agreement that this is the year for apps, apps, apps. Consumers are finally truly aware that smartphones are more than just phone and email. And that there are so many more things you can do with a device. Even my financial advisor - who, like many people in this type of role, is not very tech-savvy - said that he wants a new device that can handle more apps, apps, apps.

As mobile app vendors, we've all been touting this for awhile, but now, I believe we've reached a tipping point and 2009 will see a big growth in this. Where other IT sectors may be dropping in spend, mobile will continue to grow.

That said, here are some highlights of what's we've seen and heard in mobility in the past couple of weeks:

• iPhone has been credited with driving up general consumer awareness of apps. But RIM and Microsoft are bullish on applications that drive sales of their devices and showcase the power of their operating systems as well. So we all have iPhone to thank, but everyone is riding their "apps" coattails.
• Telcos (sorry, can't say which ones right now) are more open now to working with application vendors like us to co-sell mobile applications. If it drives more usage out of their networks and devices, they're incented to do it. Even customers are "getting it" and now starting to ask us which carrier we work with, and asking us to come in jointly.
• Sony Ericsson's Experia X1 is coming soon to Canada, and we just got a preview of this today. Looks like they've finally leveraged technologies from their parent company, and the spirit of Sony from the 80's when it was all about style and coolness. They are one of the only manufacturers we've seen that have taken the Windows Mobile 6.1 OS platform and added their unique touch to it with the concept of panels. They have used a touch screen interface that allows you to swipe through and have multiple panels (apps) open on the screen. Very cool. See it here.
• Some mobile workers still aren't ready to completely leave their laptops behind. When people need to work on heavier documents or spreadsheets, they still need a laptop along with their mobile phone. HP has a strong end-to-end message for this, with a full line of laptops including tablets and the cheaper netbooks (that start from $399!!), that work with their iPAQ devices. So to them, mobile device isn't just the iPAQ, but instead - a range of mobile devices/machines for the needs of varying mobile workers.
• Never ones to rest, our friends at RIM will be releasing Niagara in May, which was quoted as "the closest thing to BlackBerry perfection" - bigger than a Curve, smaller than a Bold. We look forward to the release of this one in May!

We're in an exciting period with mobile technologies. It can make your head spin trying to keep up with it, but we're ready!