Is SMS really going to die?

Returning from the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona, I couldn’t help wondering if all the hype was really missing something important – why we love SMS. So let’s review that hype. Basically the “Mobile World” thinks it’s going to move towards a totally Internet-based future, where every phone is IP-enabled and we all roam around, using voice and data on the move. A vast new world of video and music downloads

Mature markets the toughest for mobile

The Inquirer is reporting on some Strand Consulting research which says: While many players are focusing on the growth markets like India, Brazil, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh – countries where cheap handsets and SIM cards will attract millions of new customers – that’s not the interesting bit, Strand says. The real challenges are markets like Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, where mobile prices are plummeting at the same

Mobile gets analysed

It was a warm day in Helsinki. Minus five. And I found myself walking beside the city’s frozen lake, talking about Web analytics. Jouko Ahvenainen heads an analytics firm which has hit upon an idea. Over lunch beside a wintery, but beautifully sunlit setting, we talked about the dramatic changes which are about to take place in the mobile industry. Jouko runs Xtract which has traditionally been a high-end anlytics

Mobile Communities core to Mobile 2.0

It’s been a long day of interviews sand I’ve got an appointment with some ZZZs. However, suffice it to say that after meeting with a bunch of mobile firms here in Helsinki today, I’m going to say one word: Communities. Ok, so it doesn’t sound that ground breaking, but I guess the first web page looked pretty dull too. (In fact when the first site I was ever involved in

Public Enemy distributes music via mobile

Public Enemy’s New Wireless Order: Public Enemy (which pioneered using MP3s) is getting into wireless. On Nov. 28 the group will make the music from its new album, New Whirl Odor, available through wireless phone networks using distribution technology from privately held m-Qube. “It’s like the Internet in ’98, but with a business plan,” says Walter Leaphart, who manages Public Enemy leader Chuck D.

Wireless for the rest of the world

It’s always nice to write about a company that has the potential to genuinely do some good. The Starsight Project is just such a company. It has come up with an ingenious system for providing solar power, Internet access and street-lighting (and potentially a lot more) all from a network of lamp posts in developing cities. The first trial will be in Cameroon. My article for the Financial Times about

A question about Apple

So, to wrap up from the Apple announcements. A new iMac G5, with nice DVD controls. iTunes with music videos (2,000 of them) to buy, and the ability to subscribe to video podcasts – plus user recommendations and collaborative filtering which will increase the “Long Tail” of the store. The new iPod plays video. A deal with Disney to time-shift 6 leading US TV shows (not a big deal, but