Wireless Informatics Forum

Typically, an event such as MWC will display common themes across exhibitors and conference sessions; in the past, such ‘themes’ have included mobile TV and LBS/navigation. This year, despite some very obvious and consistent themes, the messages were almost unanimously underwritten by the potential for global recession, eroding margins, hardware commoditization and market saturation.

Geography

Where LBS reports on a person (or object’s) current position, geography is about mapping content within a geographical context that’s relevant to a user’s location. This is less about networks and more about applications and the integration of third party online data into the user experience.

Nokia’s acquisition of Navteq last year signaled a commitment from the handset manufacturer to build-out its geographical expertise through its software / apps services (and of course Ovi). Nokia Maps 2.0 (beta) was launched at the show and promises to take mapping and navigation experiences to the next level by enhancing pedestrian navigation, multimedia city guides (many of which will be commercialized) as well as user-generated content such as wikis, blogs and RSS feeds.

Also on show was Yahoo’s OneConnect application. The application, which is due for general release as part of Yahoo Go in Q3 2008, pulls together feeds from several social networking and communications channels. These include Facebook, Flickr, Bebo and LinkedIn. The app will also combine SMS and IM conversations within a single thread and deliver ‘pulse’ updates when contacts update their profiles. Details are thin on the ground, but from a geographical perspective, there seems to be the ability to receive updates from contacts within your immediate vicinity.

GPS radios are also starting to trickle down into mid-range devices (see note below on handset launches / Nokia 6620), marking a shift away from traditional ‘in-car’ navigation to mass-market, youth-driven integration of sociability, contacts and location.

OS / Platforms

Google Android is so 2007. The LiMo Foundation was present in force and Mobile Linux looks set to play an ever increasing role in the future of standardized operating systems and applications development environments. Certainly this is good news for operators and developers, but any standardized platform marginalizes the handset manufacturer’s ability to differentiate. Despite this, many are playing ball and there were plenty of ‘rogue’ demos of Linux apps running on WM6 devices and vice-versa.

LiMo refuses to be baited by the idea that through its acquisition of Trolltech, Nokia is entering the Linux market through the back-door. While some argue that the move lessons Nokia’s reliance on Symbian, the company has quite clearly expressed its desire to focus on the user experience layer and deliver services across platforms.

Monetizing content

Mobile broadband speeds, unified platforms, standardized development environments. All make a solid case for operators to start exploiting the plethora of available data services and better integrate our fixed-internet digital lives into our mobile lives. In addition, Nokia’s Ovi is not alone in illustrating the OEM shift from hardware to services and apps. However, outside of some very niche instances (and ad-revenue models) there’s still little evidence of a solid business case for paid-for content. As with the fixed internet, consumers will gravitate towards free content and as the market opens up and delivers greater application standardization there will be no shortage of smaller developers looking to exploit an almost infinite customer-base.

The Bit-Pipe

Not a year goes by without someone putting the frighteners on the industry by suggesting that they are heading in the same direction as the ISPs. This year, Vodafone’s Arun Sarin warned delegates that the battle for the consumer would be won or lost on the mobile internet battleground. The iPhone had changed peoples perceptions and operators must ‘raise their game’, he declared.

Sarin made a valid point when he reminded the audience that the operators are in a highly privileged position;

“We have a lot of info on our customers — more than internet companies do,” he said.

“We know if they are male or female, where they live and when they talk. This means that advertising can become an important source of revenue for us.”

Of course, how that actually benefits the end-user (who will drive the mobile internet market based on compelling content) was left unanswered.

Handsets

There were few major announcements amongst a handset industry seemingly obsessed with style over substance.

One of the best-received launches came from Sony Ericsson who, since a luke-warm reaction last year, served up the X1 and the Experia brand. The X1 runs on WM 6.1 and kick-starts a new sub-brand (Experia), which will sit alongside the ‘walkman’ devices.

With Sony Ericsson on board, four out of five of the biggest phone makers have phones based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system. The last holdout is Nokia and it still has no plans.

Praise was offered to Samsung with the launch of the Samsung Soul, a quad-band device with 7.2Mbps HSDPA high-speed internet access, a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, high resolution QVGA video shooting, a 2.2-inch 320 x 240 pixel full-colour display and an expandable SD slot. Most importantly the device features an intelligent touchpad that sits between the screen and keyboard. The touchpad icons adapt depending on what you are doing on the device. For example, listen to music and it will display music player controls.

Nokia added to its mid-range ‘classic’ portfolio with the 6220. This was no show-stopper, but it’ll be the mass-market device for 2008 with a 5mp camera, GPS and HSDPA. Expect the 6220 classic to be a core component in operator low-cost contracts.

Nokia also announced the N96, which records video at 30 fps and has a TV-out connection for viewing on the big screen.

For Motorola, last year’s advertising budget may have gone (Motorola once dominated major advertising hoardings outside of the exhibition) but the company still put in a show. The troubled manufacturer made limited product announcements (W161 and W181) with a marketing push around the CrystalTalk™ technology (delivering a greater voice experience).