The mobile web has not been fully embraced by most businesses and for good reason because up until now the return and usage has not warranted the investment. Over the last few months, that has drastically changed and the outlook for the near future, next 12-18 months, is that your mobile web strategy should be your top priority as the way people are using mobile devices is changing rapidly.
Yesterday, Apple announced their quarterly earnings and worldwide sales of the Iphone have doubled to 8.7 million units in the quarter. This is significant because iphone users spend much more time with other functionality besides just phone calls. As you can see in the image below, iphone users spend much more time on their phone on average per day and also use their phones for search and visiting websites. A quick glance through your web analytics will probably show that some of the visitors to your website visited from a mobile device. This is a trend that will just continue to accelerate.
There are a number of events from the last month that indicate mobile phone usage is about to explode.
1. Iphone Sales – As I mentioned, Iphone sales set a record in the last quarter and Apple predicts strong growth going forward. Iphones in the United States are still limited to AT&T, but it is widely expected that the exclusivity will end with an announcement this week that the Iphone will soon be available on the Verizon network. Verizon is the largest carrier in the U.S. and by most opinions have a network that is far superior to AT&T in coverage and reliability. This will lead to a larger explosion of Iphones sales and possibly an exodus from AT&T for many Iphone users.
2. Nexus One – Google introduced their own phone, Nexus One, in the last few weeks and this will increase mobile usage. I don’t expect many people to move to the Nexus One right away because there is not much that differentiates the hone today, when Google completes the integration of several acquisitions over the next several months, I expect the functionality of the Nexus One to increase dramatically. This will include a number of applications that attempt to bypass the phone carrier networks and utilize the web more. This will include Google Voice and other VOIP applications that reduce the reliance on the phone carrier networks.
3. Android – The Android software from Google is a few years old now, but adoption of it is still picking up. Verizon introduced the Droid phone from Motorola over the last two months that has seen steady sales and there are a number of other handsets from other providers that will lead to further adoption. Much like the Nexus One, the handsets using the Android software will move more and more towards applications that don’t require phone carrier networks.
All of these phones have built-in search functionality that is very easy to use and are very heavily location focused. My guess is that the next 12-18 months will see an increase in mobile web usage that advances faster than estimates and in some cases will push the phone carrier networks to their limits. If you have not given some serious consideration to your mobile web strategy and how you can engage your visitors, now would be a good time. It is probably a good bet that your competitors are already doing so.
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