The top mobile and wireless trends that will emerge in 2007 wouldn't be possible without the two biggest stories of 2006: the advent of the cheap smart phone, and Sprint Nextel's bodacious announcement that it is building a nationwide mobile WiMax network. So before looking ahead, let's take a brief look behind.
Toward the end of 2006, a glut of competent smart phones costing US$200 or less hit the market, which is two to three times less expensive than similar phones had been previously. These phones include the BlackBerry Pearl, Samsung's BlackJack, Nokia's E62 and the Treo 680. This trend will lead to far broader adoption not just of smart phones but also of many applications.
"I have a friend who drives a backhoe -- he's a construction worker -- and he got himself a BlackBerry Pearl," said Derek Kerton, principal of telecommunications consulting firm The Kerton Group. "If I get an SMS message from a friend, chances are it's from him." And that level of communication will increase even more, Kerton predicted, when his friend sets up the device for sending and receiving e-mail.
The other top mobile and wireless story for 2006 was Sprint's announcement that it would build a $3 billion nationwide mobile WiMax network, which it expects to start rolling out by the end of 2007. Sprint will use an enormous chunk of wireless spectrum it inherited when it merged with Nextel in 2005. No other U.S. mobile operator comes close to having that amount of spectrum available, making it highly unlikely that any of Sprint's competitors could launch a competing network.
"The Sprint announcement is the coolest and wildest and most risky gambit we've seen in the wireless industry in quite some time," Kerton said. "They said,'We have an asset that nobody else has, and if we're successful, we'll have a sustainable advantage that nobody can match for years to come. And if we're wrong, we just bet the farm.' "
Skeptics claim that Sprint's network will fail because it is expensive and redundant with Sprint's existing cellular 3G EV-DO network. Sprint says it's certain that the gamble will pay off, as its network provides fast, cheap nationwide mobile access for laptop computers and a plethora -- it hopes -- of other mobile consumer devices, leaving its EV-DO network for delivering media and other content to cell phones.
These two top stories of 2006 lead us to my predictions of the seven top mobile and wireless trends for 2007. Some of these trends will fully flower in 2007, while in other cases we'll just see the start of a big trend that will develop more fully in years to come.
1. More mobile access, more competition
If Sprint sticks with its schedule, we'll get a taste of mobile WiMax by the end of 2007. Besides being mobile and nationwide, the network Sprint is promising will be fast and cheap -- at least compared with 3G mobile data service.
But that isn't the only new type of access we'll see in 2007. In the next year, we'll see the launch of a number of major citywide Wi-Fi networks. Philadelphia is, perhaps, building the most discussed of these networks, but about 300 municipalities are reportedly either building or planning to build these sometimes controversial networks.
The bottom line is that these two emerging types of networks will lead to increased mobility, more demand for mobile services and applications and, perhaps best of all, more competition for your mobile access dollar.
If you want mobile data access, you'll no longer be limited to using the services of a cellular operator or hunting for a Wi-Fi hot spot. Providers such as EarthLink and MetroFi will be installing and running the municipal networks, which will make them, at some level, competitors to the cellular operators and even to incumbent telecom operators that provide DSL. That type of increased competition can only be good for both enterprise users and consumers.
2. The era of 'the big bundle'
This increasingly available mobile access also will lead to the beginning of another trend that could be called the "big bundle." Sprint, which has been partnering with several large cable operators, has indicated that it plans to offer all-in-one bill bundles of mobile and landline voice and data services as well as media and other entertainment. The incumbent telecom operators are likely to follow. Companies such as EarthLink Inc., which will be installing metro Wi-Fi in a number of cities, could easily create partnerships to create similar bundles.
In the short term, this will mean more competition and lower prices as regional incumbent carriers such as AT&T Inc. will compete directly with other large providers such as Sprint and its cable partners, a competition that doesn't exist now.
"Right now, there are mostly monopolies for these services," Kerton said. "This will lead to duopolies, which are somewhat better."
However, this trend also will make it difficult for so-called competitive telecommunications companies to stay in business. These are the small telecom operators that are available in many areas but don't have the wherewithal to offer such bundles. So, in the long run, this trend threatens to decrease competition.
Again, we'll see the beginnings of this trend in 2007, but it won't become a major factor until a year or two after that.
3. The democratization of mobile e-mail
Cheaper devices and more mobile access options will mean that more people will use more mobile applications. The most popular of these applications is likely to be mobile e-mail. Previously, only early adopters and higher-level executives had mobile e-mail devices like the BlackBerry. But with e-mail-capable smart phones now available for the masses, the masses will start using mobile e-mail.
"BlackBerries used to cost $500 or $600, which made them available mostly to people in the boardroom or high-level employees, where that expense could be justified," Kerton said. "Now, as IT managers are more familiar with mobile e-mail, that brings down the IT challenge. If you add cheaper devices, you have a significant drop in the total cost of ownership. So we're looking at any employee who spends time away from their desk having e-mail access."
Some of that e-mail access will come via enterprise-class server-based applications such as Microsoft Exchange. But Kerton also predicts the rise of services from vendors such as Visto Corp. and Seven Networks Inc. that are being offered by cellular operators to provide easy, no-configuration access to e-mail for nontechnical users.
4. Search and discovery
Advanced mapping applications tied to the ability to track people carrying cell phones will start to catch on in 2007. These technologies build on the inherent ability for cellular operators to know where subscriber phones are.
As a result, we'll see more "child finder" and "buddy finder" applications. This class of applications enable parents to see where their cell-phone-toting children are, for instance.
"It's the parental thing -- 'Where are my kids?' " Kerton said. "Look them up on a map." This capability was first offered in the U.S. by The Walt Disney Co., which runs its own cellular service, but other providers are starting to copy it. The service could just as easily find friends and colleagues on a "buddy list."
Similarly, GPS that's built into cell phones will become increasingly popular, said Scott Smith, a futurist for Washington consulting firm Social Technologies.
"The U.S. has been behind in terms of familiarity with things like GPS in cars," Smith said. "But we're getting to the point where you can walk into a Target store and buy dashboard GPS devices for less money than before. And we'll see it increasingly in mobile phones."
5. Mobility gets social
The social-community-based approach of Web 2.0 will increasingly become part of the mobile landscape in 2007.
"This is the glue that could tie a lot of [applications] together," Smith said. "It could be as simple as mobile MySpace or sharing media with friends. Or it could be mobile blogging."
While these sites are already popular with desktop users, it's taking longer for them to become as big for mobile users, said Ken Dulaney, a Gartner Inc. vice president for mobile computing. Certainly, more powerful mobile devices with larger screens, such as the new generation of inexpensive smart phones, will speed adoption of these newly mobilized applications because such devices make it easier to access such sites.
Ultimately, mobile communities can be connected with location-based services, the experts agreed. In other words, you'll not only be able to access a person's MySpace entry, but you'll also be able to find out where they are -- if they want to be found.
6. Convergence: One phone, many places
Convergence refers to an old but still largely unrealized dream of using a single phone -- and having a single phone number -- for both mobile and home-based calling. Sure, some people have switched to a mobile-only scenario, but true convergence means you can use the same phone for both landline calls and mobile calls. The phone will automatically detect the most advantageous network in terms of cost or signal strength and route voice calls and data over that network.
"If you have the right device," Smith said, "you won't have to figure out where to use a particular technology." Converged devices would include both cellular and voice over IP using Wi-Fi networks. Built-in software would seamlessly transfer between the two types of networks.
Some European operators have started offering such service, but in the U.S. it has been limited to a test launched recently by T-Mobile. That test is currently being conducted primarily in the Seattle area, but the company has said it expects to offer the service broadly in the next year.
"We'll see an acceleration of convergence in 2007, but it'll still be a bit rough around the edges," Smith said. "Initially, it'll be for the early-adopter audience, but people will clamor for it when they see what it can do."
7. Media, media, media
More and cheaper mobile access and better and cheaper devices will lead to more use of mobile media.
"Development of media applications is accelerating," Smith said. "Look at the success of Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones. Apple already is facing competition for its iPod, and it may release iPhone. Microsoft will be developing the market for Zune. All those things will accelerate mobile media in a more consolidated fashion than has been the case before."
In particular, Smith said he expects an upsurge in so-called place-shifted television, which uses products from vendors like Sling Media to transmit television from home to mobile devices. This has already started but will accelerate in 2007, Smith said.
Ultimately, though, this will lead to somewhat larger mobile devices that are more appropriate for watching video, he added.
"We'll see an evolutionary split where one branch will get smaller -- kind of like phones as jewelry," Smith said. "But for media and other applications, like mapping, you need a larger screen."
One type of media that won't succeed is mobile television, despite the fact that cellular operators have been touting it vigorously.
"There's a lot of noise out there, but things aren't very far along in terms of broadcast to mobile devices," Smith said.
Gartner's Dulaney was even more dubious.
"We'll see a lot more experiments with mobile television," Dulaney predicts. "Personally, I think it's a joke. I've watched TV on a phone. It's OK, but you can't see much, and if you have to pay, well ..."
dinsdag, januari 02, 2007
dinsdag, december 19, 2006
SMS Still Most Popular Mobile Feature
Source: 160characters.org
A survey for the GSMA found that while SMS is still the most popular service on a mobile phone, MMS is up there in third place.
MMS has become a popular service among mobile phone users worldwide and mobile email may have even greater potential, according to a major consumer survey commissioned by the GSM Association, the global trade association for mobile phone operators.
More than 40% of the 3,061 consumers surveyed by Circle Research in Europe, North America and Asia regard MMS, which allows mobile phone users to swap pictures, music and video, as an indispensable service, while 38% see mobile email in the same light. When asked which mobile data services they prefer, the respondents ranked text messaging (SMS) first, followed by email and MMS ranked third.
Driven initially by the 'does-what-it-says-on-the-tin' mobile email service from Blackberry, mobile email has become an increasingly popular service among business people, in particular, thanks to technology that pushes the messages to users’ handsets mimicking the experience offered by text messaging.
First launched in 2002, it has taken till now for interoperability agreements and improved handset capability for MMS to gain any traction. However given that MMS was once widely touted to replace SMS, the number of MMS messages remains small by comparison. Indeed many users are still baffled by it and suffer from phones that are not properly set up to use the service.
There were some unsurprising regional differences in the survey. North American respondents ranked mobile email as the service they most prefer, ahead of text messaging and mobile instant messaging. In Europe and Asia, text-messaging scored highest, followed by mobile email and MMS.
The GSM Association says this research is the first in a series of surveys on consumer appetite for mobile services.
Ranked Preference for Mobile Data Services Service
1. SMS
2. Email
3. MMS
4. Alerts via SMS/MMS
5. Instant messaging
6. Web browsing and searching
7. Location-based services
8. Mobile radio
9. Financial transactions
10. Downloading content
11. Mobile TV
12. Video calling
13. Video sharing
14. Gambling
A survey for the GSMA found that while SMS is still the most popular service on a mobile phone, MMS is up there in third place.
MMS has become a popular service among mobile phone users worldwide and mobile email may have even greater potential, according to a major consumer survey commissioned by the GSM Association, the global trade association for mobile phone operators.
More than 40% of the 3,061 consumers surveyed by Circle Research in Europe, North America and Asia regard MMS, which allows mobile phone users to swap pictures, music and video, as an indispensable service, while 38% see mobile email in the same light. When asked which mobile data services they prefer, the respondents ranked text messaging (SMS) first, followed by email and MMS ranked third.
Driven initially by the 'does-what-it-says-on-the-tin' mobile email service from Blackberry, mobile email has become an increasingly popular service among business people, in particular, thanks to technology that pushes the messages to users’ handsets mimicking the experience offered by text messaging.
First launched in 2002, it has taken till now for interoperability agreements and improved handset capability for MMS to gain any traction. However given that MMS was once widely touted to replace SMS, the number of MMS messages remains small by comparison. Indeed many users are still baffled by it and suffer from phones that are not properly set up to use the service.
There were some unsurprising regional differences in the survey. North American respondents ranked mobile email as the service they most prefer, ahead of text messaging and mobile instant messaging. In Europe and Asia, text-messaging scored highest, followed by mobile email and MMS.
The GSM Association says this research is the first in a series of surveys on consumer appetite for mobile services.
Ranked Preference for Mobile Data Services Service
1. SMS
2. Email
3. MMS
4. Alerts via SMS/MMS
5. Instant messaging
6. Web browsing and searching
7. Location-based services
8. Mobile radio
9. Financial transactions
10. Downloading content
11. Mobile TV
12. Video calling
13. Video sharing
14. Gambling
donderdag, december 07, 2006
Mobiel internet trager dan providers claimen
Bron: Webwereld
In de meeste gevallen is mobiel internet veel trager dan providers ons voorspiegelen. De verschillen in snelheden zijn enorm, maar er wordt geadverteerd met de hoogste snelheid.
Iping Research heeft, in samenwerking met Stray Systems, onderzoek gedaan naar de gemiddelde snelheid van mobiel internet. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat de snelheid van mobiel internet in de meeste gevallen aanzienlijk lager ligt dan de snelheden waarmee de providers adverteren.
In het onderzoek is gekeken naar snelheid, responstijd en stabiliteit van gprs- en umts-verbindingen. Het onderzoek wijst uit dat er grote verschillen in snelheden zijn tussen de verschillende aanbieders. Voor umts bedraagt het verschil tussen de langzaamste en de snelste aanbieder een factor 2. Voor gprs bedraagt dit zelfs een factor 3.
In de praktijk blijkt umts gemiddeld ongeveer twee maal zo snel te zijn dan gprs. De gemiddelde snelheid die gehaald wordt met een goede gprs-verbinding ligt rond de 75-80 Kbps. Bij umts wordt een gemiddelde snelheid gehaald van 150-160 Kbps.
De providers die het beste uit de bus kwamen voor umts en gprs waren respectievelijk T-Mobile en Telfort. Om consumenten meer inzicht te geven in de resultaten is de website mobielinternetkwaliteit.nl in het leven geroepen, waar mensen per postcode de resultaten kunnen bekijken.
In de meeste gevallen is mobiel internet veel trager dan providers ons voorspiegelen. De verschillen in snelheden zijn enorm, maar er wordt geadverteerd met de hoogste snelheid.
Iping Research heeft, in samenwerking met Stray Systems, onderzoek gedaan naar de gemiddelde snelheid van mobiel internet. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat de snelheid van mobiel internet in de meeste gevallen aanzienlijk lager ligt dan de snelheden waarmee de providers adverteren.
In het onderzoek is gekeken naar snelheid, responstijd en stabiliteit van gprs- en umts-verbindingen. Het onderzoek wijst uit dat er grote verschillen in snelheden zijn tussen de verschillende aanbieders. Voor umts bedraagt het verschil tussen de langzaamste en de snelste aanbieder een factor 2. Voor gprs bedraagt dit zelfs een factor 3.
In de praktijk blijkt umts gemiddeld ongeveer twee maal zo snel te zijn dan gprs. De gemiddelde snelheid die gehaald wordt met een goede gprs-verbinding ligt rond de 75-80 Kbps. Bij umts wordt een gemiddelde snelheid gehaald van 150-160 Kbps.
De providers die het beste uit de bus kwamen voor umts en gprs waren respectievelijk T-Mobile en Telfort. Om consumenten meer inzicht te geven in de resultaten is de website mobielinternetkwaliteit.nl in het leven geroepen, waar mensen per postcode de resultaten kunnen bekijken.
woensdag, december 06, 2006
Single Gwen Stefani downloaden via digitaal scherm
Bron: Adformatie
Universal Music en Team Impact van Viacom Outdoor zijn afgelopen vrijdag gestart met een campagne rond de nieuwe cd van zangeres Gwen Stefani.
Universal Music zet een groot digitaal scherm van Viacom Outdoor op Utrecht CS (W8) in om de cd onder de aandacht te brengen. Passanten kunnen via W8 een fragment van de nieuwe single downloaden op hun telefoon.
Op W8 wordt een fragment getoond van de nieuwe videoclip ‘Wind it up’ van Gwen Stefani. In het fragment wordt de passanten gevraagd bluetooth te activeren op hun telefoon. In de ‘bluezone’ rond het scherm biedt Viacom Outdoor W8 dan via de bluetoothverbinding een gratis fragment aan van Gwen's nieuwe hit. De volledige track is vervolgens ook als realtone te bestellen via sms.
Universal Music en Team Impact van Viacom Outdoor zijn afgelopen vrijdag gestart met een campagne rond de nieuwe cd van zangeres Gwen Stefani.
Universal Music zet een groot digitaal scherm van Viacom Outdoor op Utrecht CS (W8) in om de cd onder de aandacht te brengen. Passanten kunnen via W8 een fragment van de nieuwe single downloaden op hun telefoon.
Op W8 wordt een fragment getoond van de nieuwe videoclip ‘Wind it up’ van Gwen Stefani. In het fragment wordt de passanten gevraagd bluetooth te activeren op hun telefoon. In de ‘bluezone’ rond het scherm biedt Viacom Outdoor W8 dan via de bluetoothverbinding een gratis fragment aan van Gwen's nieuwe hit. De volledige track is vervolgens ook als realtone te bestellen via sms.
maandag, december 04, 2006
Marketeers schuiven budget richting mobiel
Bron: Tijdschrift voor Marketing Online
Procter & Gamble, Microsoft en andere adverteerder reserveren volgend jaar een klein stukje van hun marketingbudget voor acties op de mobiele telefoon.
Je zou deze verschuiving kunnen opvatten als een teken dat het mobiele marketingkanaal een beetje volwassen begint te worden.
Grote adverteerders beginnen het mobieltje serieus te nemen als advertentiekanaal, zo bericht Adage. Procter & Gamble bijvoorbeeld. De fabirkant won een tijdje terug de allereerste Overall Excellence award, georganiseerd door de Mobile Marketing Association, en heeft nu Ad Lab ontwikkeld, een educatieprogramma voor brandmanagers waarin geleerd wordt om beter om te gaan met de mogelijkheden van mobiele video en sms.
Grote bedrijven pakken het nieuwe kanaal dus op, maar de meeste marketeers willen de sprong in het mobiele kanaal pas wagen als aan een aantal randvoorwaarden is gedaan, te weten duidelijkheid rond privacy, betere meetsystemen en voldoende kennis en kunde bij de mediabureaus.
Jupiter Research onderzocht recent de vraag naar mobile marketing en vond uit dat 22 procent van de bedrijven die online adverteren, zich ook bezig houden met mobile marketing. De onderzoekers voorspellen dat mobiele advertentiebestedingen de komende vijf jaar zullen verdubbelen, van een verwachte 1,4 miljard dollar dit jaar tot 2,9 miljard dollar in 2011.
Procter & Gamble, Microsoft en andere adverteerder reserveren volgend jaar een klein stukje van hun marketingbudget voor acties op de mobiele telefoon.
Je zou deze verschuiving kunnen opvatten als een teken dat het mobiele marketingkanaal een beetje volwassen begint te worden.
Grote adverteerders beginnen het mobieltje serieus te nemen als advertentiekanaal, zo bericht Adage. Procter & Gamble bijvoorbeeld. De fabirkant won een tijdje terug de allereerste Overall Excellence award, georganiseerd door de Mobile Marketing Association, en heeft nu Ad Lab ontwikkeld, een educatieprogramma voor brandmanagers waarin geleerd wordt om beter om te gaan met de mogelijkheden van mobiele video en sms.
Grote bedrijven pakken het nieuwe kanaal dus op, maar de meeste marketeers willen de sprong in het mobiele kanaal pas wagen als aan een aantal randvoorwaarden is gedaan, te weten duidelijkheid rond privacy, betere meetsystemen en voldoende kennis en kunde bij de mediabureaus.
Jupiter Research onderzocht recent de vraag naar mobile marketing en vond uit dat 22 procent van de bedrijven die online adverteren, zich ook bezig houden met mobile marketing. De onderzoekers voorspellen dat mobiele advertentiebestedingen de komende vijf jaar zullen verdubbelen, van een verwachte 1,4 miljard dollar dit jaar tot 2,9 miljard dollar in 2011.
Muziekvoordeel via de mobiele telefoon
Bron: persbericht
vanLeest en Universal Music ontwikkelen dynamisch mobiel magazine
Nederland is een nieuw medium rijker: een gratis magazine op de mobiele telefoon dat dynamisch via mobiel internet wordt ververst. Het magazine, genaamd Muziekvoordeel, is een samenwerking van platenmaatschappij Universal Music en vanLeest Music en Movies. Muziekvoordeel bevat behalve aanbiedingen ook muzieknieuws, informatie over nieuwe releases, een concertagenda en veel audio- en videoclips.
De belangrijkste pijlers van Muziekvoordeel zijn de aanbiedingen en de audio- en videoclips. De aanbiedingen gelden in alle vanLeest winkels in Nederland. Naast voordeel op diverse cd’s bevat het magazine elke week een SuperKortingsBon. Deze levert op vertoon aan de kassa extra korting op. Vanuit het magazine kunnen gratis audio- en videoclips worden afgespeeld via mobile streaming. De fragmenten beginnen hierdoor direct te spelen. Navigatie door het menu is uiterst simpel.
Het magazine is na het sturen van een gratis SMS eenvoudig te installeren op de mobiele telefoon. De dynamische verversing van de inhoud, het gebruiksgemak en de visuele presentatie maken het magazine uniek. Technische partner is Service2Media. Dit bedrijf biedt mobile marketing en mobile entertainment oplossingen en heeft de ambitie om een doorbraak te realiseren in gebruikersvriendelijkheid en interactiviteit. Muziekvoordeel op de mobiele telefoon is gebaseerd op M2Active, Service2Media’s interactive mobile magazine.
Muziekvoordeel is gratis te ontvangen op de mobiele telefoon door het woord VOORDEEL te sms-en naar 4411. Vervolgens ontvangt de verzender van het sms-bericht een link waarmee het magazine eenvoudig is te downloaden naar de mobiele telefoon. Aanmelden kan overigens ook via internet door het mobiele nummer op te geven op www.vanleest.nl of www.universalmusic.nl
De lancering van Muziekvoordeel vond afgelopen nacht plaats tijdens de albumlancering en signeersessie van Marco Borsato’s Symphonica in Rosso in de Bijenkorf in Amsterdam. Hier werd de horde Borsato-fans geattendeerd op het nieuwe magazine, waarin vanaf vandaag een persoonlijke videoboodschap van de zeer populaire zanger te zien is. Tijdens de eerste week van december is de boodschap in het magazine te bekijken en gratis door te sturen naar vrienden. Wie dit laatste doet, maakt kans op een gesigneerde dvd ‘Symphonica in Rosso’ van Marco Borsato.
vanLeest en Universal Music ontwikkelen dynamisch mobiel magazine
Nederland is een nieuw medium rijker: een gratis magazine op de mobiele telefoon dat dynamisch via mobiel internet wordt ververst. Het magazine, genaamd Muziekvoordeel, is een samenwerking van platenmaatschappij Universal Music en vanLeest Music en Movies. Muziekvoordeel bevat behalve aanbiedingen ook muzieknieuws, informatie over nieuwe releases, een concertagenda en veel audio- en videoclips.
De belangrijkste pijlers van Muziekvoordeel zijn de aanbiedingen en de audio- en videoclips. De aanbiedingen gelden in alle vanLeest winkels in Nederland. Naast voordeel op diverse cd’s bevat het magazine elke week een SuperKortingsBon. Deze levert op vertoon aan de kassa extra korting op. Vanuit het magazine kunnen gratis audio- en videoclips worden afgespeeld via mobile streaming. De fragmenten beginnen hierdoor direct te spelen. Navigatie door het menu is uiterst simpel.
Het magazine is na het sturen van een gratis SMS eenvoudig te installeren op de mobiele telefoon. De dynamische verversing van de inhoud, het gebruiksgemak en de visuele presentatie maken het magazine uniek. Technische partner is Service2Media. Dit bedrijf biedt mobile marketing en mobile entertainment oplossingen en heeft de ambitie om een doorbraak te realiseren in gebruikersvriendelijkheid en interactiviteit. Muziekvoordeel op de mobiele telefoon is gebaseerd op M2Active, Service2Media’s interactive mobile magazine.
Muziekvoordeel is gratis te ontvangen op de mobiele telefoon door het woord VOORDEEL te sms-en naar 4411. Vervolgens ontvangt de verzender van het sms-bericht een link waarmee het magazine eenvoudig is te downloaden naar de mobiele telefoon. Aanmelden kan overigens ook via internet door het mobiele nummer op te geven op www.vanleest.nl of www.universalmusic.nl
De lancering van Muziekvoordeel vond afgelopen nacht plaats tijdens de albumlancering en signeersessie van Marco Borsato’s Symphonica in Rosso in de Bijenkorf in Amsterdam. Hier werd de horde Borsato-fans geattendeerd op het nieuwe magazine, waarin vanaf vandaag een persoonlijke videoboodschap van de zeer populaire zanger te zien is. Tijdens de eerste week van december is de boodschap in het magazine te bekijken en gratis door te sturen naar vrienden. Wie dit laatste doet, maakt kans op een gesigneerde dvd ‘Symphonica in Rosso’ van Marco Borsato.
Your cell phone = your wallet
Source: CNNMoney.com / Third Screen
At long last, mobile phones have the ability to transfer cash wirelessly. So why aren't consumers using their handsets as their personal ATM this holiday season?
By Michal Lev-Ram, Business 2.0 Magazine writer-reporter
(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- For nearly a decade, cell phone carriers have dreamed of the day when consumers can shop using their handhelds, not their wallets. One touch of the dial pad and the holiday scarf for Mom is sold.
Only recently, however, has it become technologically viable for users to transfer money securely to and from their cell phones. In Japan and parts of Europe, consumers are actively buying stuff with their handsets. So U.S. carriers must be falling over themselves to sell phones with ATM-like capabilities here at home, right?
Think again.
As it turns out, mobile phone operators are the ones holding up a new era of wireless money transfers in the United States. The reason: They haven't found a business model they like. Negotiations between carriers and consumer banks have recently stalled over when - and how much - users must pay when they buy double-shot lattes via their cell phones.
The impasse is wilting once-rosy projections o! n the potential size of the mobile payments market. ABI Research recently cut by 10 percent the number of handsets it expects to ship in 2011 that have the 'near field communication' (NFC) technology that can beam payments from bank accounts to retailers.
"This is not going to happen as quickly as we thought," says Jonathan Collins, an ABI senior analyst. "The business model needs to be hashed out before mobile payments can take off."
A cash cow waiting to be drained
The problem, explains Collins, is about rivalry and profit-sharing. With their tight grip on the mobile ecosystem, carriers have been reluctant to open up their customer base to banks, whom they also consider competitors.
Fees are the other main sticking point. The phone carriers want a percentage of each sale made with a cell phone. But banks argue that's not a viable model because it will effectively mean higher prices for consumers. If mo! bile payment services aren't cheap and easy, the financial fir! ms argue , consumers won't use them.
Carriers have plenty of reasons to break the deadlock. The mobile payments market is expected to reach $55 billion by 2008, according to consulting firm Celent. A chunk of those riches will go to handset vendors like Motorola (Charts) and Nokia (Charts). But the carriers stand to reap untold ancillary revenues: If consumers can use their cell phone to buy movie tickets at the box office, the next logical step is mobile banking and other services that require customers to buy pricey data plans.
Thomas Zalewski, a Nokia executive, agrees that the big promise of mobile payments for carriers lies in secondary services - and not in any direct fees from cell phone-based purchases. "Per! haps that's where they get a piece of the action."
Niche carriers look for an advantage
Analysts aren't making any predictions on when the standoff will end. For now, the most shoppers can hope for are rudimentary services from much smaller cell phone carriers. Known as "mobile virtual network operators" (MVNOs), these fledgling carriers lease spectrum from major carriers and chase after niche markets.
Amp'd Mobile - an MVNO that targets music buffs, has rolled out a scaled-down service that lets consumers exchange money with each other via their cell phones. So, for instance, a father could text message $100 to his college son's cell phone. Helio, an MVNO aimed at young adults, will soon unveil the same service, called Obopay.
The problem with the above scenario, however, is that both the father and the son must sign up for Obopay for the service to work. The only way they can purchase goods is with a tradit! ional debit card, just like shoppers do today. So Obopay, whil! e moving in the right direction, still has a ways to go. The service is working with both Helio and Amp'd Mobile to enable consumers next year buy with their phones.
7-Eleven is also pushing into mobile payments through its Speak Out Wireless cell phone service. Last month the convenience store chain began a trial service in its Dallas hometown that uses near field communication technology. 7-Eleven is testing the program with Nokia and MasterCard.
But small players like 7-Eleven and Helio - a joint venture of Korea's SK Telecom and Earthlink - aren't about to snatch the mobile payment opportunity out from under the major carriers. Their collective customer bar is far too small, and likely to stay that way.
"To really scale this you need a large carrier that's willing to take a chance," says Nokia's Zalewski. Like most handset makers, Nokia is eager to bring its NFC phones to the United States. But so far, no American carriers have ordered any - either f! rom Nokia or any other device maker.
They might be in for a long wait.
"Mobile payments won't happen until the [major] carriers are confident they'll make money from this," says Collins, the ABI analyst.
At long last, mobile phones have the ability to transfer cash wirelessly. So why aren't consumers using their handsets as their personal ATM this holiday season?
By Michal Lev-Ram, Business 2.0 Magazine writer-reporter
(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- For nearly a decade, cell phone carriers have dreamed of the day when consumers can shop using their handhelds, not their wallets. One touch of the dial pad and the holiday scarf for Mom is sold.
Only recently, however, has it become technologically viable for users to transfer money securely to and from their cell phones. In Japan and parts of Europe, consumers are actively buying stuff with their handsets. So U.S. carriers must be falling over themselves to sell phones with ATM-like capabilities here at home, right?
Think again.
As it turns out, mobile phone operators are the ones holding up a new era of wireless money transfers in the United States. The reason: They haven't found a business model they like. Negotiations between carriers and consumer banks have recently stalled over when - and how much - users must pay when they buy double-shot lattes via their cell phones.
The impasse is wilting once-rosy projections o! n the potential size of the mobile payments market. ABI Research recently cut by 10 percent the number of handsets it expects to ship in 2011 that have the 'near field communication' (NFC) technology that can beam payments from bank accounts to retailers.
"This is not going to happen as quickly as we thought," says Jonathan Collins, an ABI senior analyst. "The business model needs to be hashed out before mobile payments can take off."
A cash cow waiting to be drained
The problem, explains Collins, is about rivalry and profit-sharing. With their tight grip on the mobile ecosystem, carriers have been reluctant to open up their customer base to banks, whom they also consider competitors.
Fees are the other main sticking point. The phone carriers want a percentage of each sale made with a cell phone. But banks argue that's not a viable model because it will effectively mean higher prices for consumers. If mo! bile payment services aren't cheap and easy, the financial fir! ms argue , consumers won't use them.
Carriers have plenty of reasons to break the deadlock. The mobile payments market is expected to reach $55 billion by 2008, according to consulting firm Celent. A chunk of those riches will go to handset vendors like Motorola (Charts) and Nokia (Charts). But the carriers stand to reap untold ancillary revenues: If consumers can use their cell phone to buy movie tickets at the box office, the next logical step is mobile banking and other services that require customers to buy pricey data plans.
Thomas Zalewski, a Nokia executive, agrees that the big promise of mobile payments for carriers lies in secondary services - and not in any direct fees from cell phone-based purchases. "Per! haps that's where they get a piece of the action."
Niche carriers look for an advantage
Analysts aren't making any predictions on when the standoff will end. For now, the most shoppers can hope for are rudimentary services from much smaller cell phone carriers. Known as "mobile virtual network operators" (MVNOs), these fledgling carriers lease spectrum from major carriers and chase after niche markets.
Amp'd Mobile - an MVNO that targets music buffs, has rolled out a scaled-down service that lets consumers exchange money with each other via their cell phones. So, for instance, a father could text message $100 to his college son's cell phone. Helio, an MVNO aimed at young adults, will soon unveil the same service, called Obopay.
The problem with the above scenario, however, is that both the father and the son must sign up for Obopay for the service to work. The only way they can purchase goods is with a tradit! ional debit card, just like shoppers do today. So Obopay, whil! e moving in the right direction, still has a ways to go. The service is working with both Helio and Amp'd Mobile to enable consumers next year buy with their phones.
7-Eleven is also pushing into mobile payments through its Speak Out Wireless cell phone service. Last month the convenience store chain began a trial service in its Dallas hometown that uses near field communication technology. 7-Eleven is testing the program with Nokia and MasterCard.
But small players like 7-Eleven and Helio - a joint venture of Korea's SK Telecom and Earthlink - aren't about to snatch the mobile payment opportunity out from under the major carriers. Their collective customer bar is far too small, and likely to stay that way.
"To really scale this you need a large carrier that's willing to take a chance," says Nokia's Zalewski. Like most handset makers, Nokia is eager to bring its NFC phones to the United States. But so far, no American carriers have ordered any - either f! rom Nokia or any other device maker.
They might be in for a long wait.
"Mobile payments won't happen until the [major] carriers are confident they'll make money from this," says Collins, the ABI analyst.
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