Digital Snapshot: New Year in Mobile
BiB Contributor | Krista Homiak
Ringing in the new year with the sound of mobile phones going off across the globe. At midnight I’d like to say we were all watching the ball drop or kissing our sweetheart, but in reality we were texting, uploading pictures and tweeting in the new year. Well who can blame us with everyone packing 4G service these days.
My favorite part of starting off the new year, being an android fan, was Monday morning when iphone users everywhere, dreaming of iphone fairies, over slept because their clock alarm couldn’t handle a new year. Glitch!
I wanted to share with you some mobile predictions for 2011 courtesy of mobilizedtv.com.
Tablets: This is a pretty obvious one, as nearly 50 new tablets are expected to be introduced at CES this week. Everyone is aiming to come in second to the Apple iPad…or perhaps third to the iPad and Samsung GalaxyTab. It’ll be interesting to see the shake-out. More importantly, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not tablets truly catch hold as a mass market item or are the fad that some critics say it is.
Mobile Advertising/Marketing: OK, this is nothing new, but I believe this is the year we’re going to see mobile advertising and marketing truly reach the mainstream in a way that catches everyone’s attention. Skeptics have read the predictions, year after year, about what a massive market this will be. I think the growing penetration of smartphones, coupled with industry efforts (kudos Mobile Marketing Association) with guidelines and best practices and the growing ability to provide real-time metrics all point to a seminal year here.
Mobile Web or Apps: The rising debate over which will show the way to the future continues. I’m personally a big fan of the mobile web, but have to admit that it’s still the day of the app. Will the dominance of the app hold sway in 2011? No real prediction here, but I for one will keep my eye on it.
Mobile DTV: Hats off to the U.S. broadcasters for coming up with a mobile broadcast standard in no time flat (especially compared with the painful process of coming up with an HDTV standard). It’s all worth nothing, however, unless broadcasters have a business model. In my discussions with highly placed executives in the broadcast/Mobile DTV market, I’ve heard mumblings about this business model but we’re all waiting. The clock is ticking, broadcasters. I won’t get into all the spectrum tug-of-war, but there’s something more basic at stake: you’ve got your mobile broadcast standard and 2011 is the do-or-die year of coming up with a way to make it work.
reference: http://mobilizedtv.com/mobilizedtvs-2011-mobile-glossary-and-predictions
