Jan 8, 2010
2010: the year of the smartphone
Now is the time for predictions. From fashion trends to technology insights, the new decade has spawned a sea of blogs, articles and opinions on the subject. But what trends are Telstra’s product managers tipping in 2010? Richard Fink, Telstra’s Director Tool Management, takes a look at what’s set to be hot in the fast moving world of mobile tech.
First off it’s clear 2010 will be the year smartphones become a consumer must-have. Aussie businesses were fast to adopt email-capable mobiles like the BlackBerry. But 2010 will be the year mobile applications and exciting new devices push smartphones well and truly in to the consumer space.
Expect some impressive devices from all the top manufacturers in the first half of `10– as well as more features at lower price points as competition hots up.
Perhaps the most compelling thing about smartphones — other than getting your email on the go — is their ability to run apps downloaded to your phone.
Also expect 2010 to be the year the Android operating method becomes over a niche player with offerings from most of the major tool manufacturers. A mature operating method as well as a rapidly growing ecosystem of applications means Android is now a compelling consumer offering.
We’ll look at our mobiles as much as they speak on them
Apps are mini programs that run on mobiles. In 2010 more Aussies will download them than ever and head online on their mobiles.
Today there's over 100,000 iPhone apps on Apple’s iTunes store, up from 10,000 a year ago. That means you can set your iPhone up to do anything – be it order a pizza, watch Mobile FOXTEL from Telstra, or access your online banking account.
In 2009 leading handset and program makers set up their own app stores. These were giant name developers. BlackBerry App World, Nokia Ovi Store and Windows Marketplace all launched. Android Market (Google’s apps store that was launched over a year ago) already boasts around 20,000 apps.
So in 2010, expect to see a mass of useful, entertaining and simple fun apps – both free and charged-for – obtainable on a diversity of smartphones from all the major manufactures.
Socials media apps will be massively popular
Using your mobile to get online in general will boom . Mobile net is so popular with Telstra’s customers that traffic on our Next G mobile network is doubling every 8 months.
Social media apps in particular will take off with improved mobile experience, and convergence with your on-device contacts. We’re already seeing a huge appetite for social media sites on our Next G network. The number of users visiting Facebook alone over doubled between January and October. The availability of these apps across more tool types will spur further growth in the use of services like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
Getting online on your mobile
In all it’s an exciting year ahead. Over to you, what are do you think is set to be hot in 2010?
Top 5 developments for mobiles in 2010
This year, mobiles that pack better web browsers, bigger screens, more intuitive touch controls and fast mobile net speeds will deliver the best mobile net experience on phones yet. Reading the news, catching up on sport and/or streaming YouTube clips on the go will be less hard than ever.
- Rise of the smartphone – three in three phones bought by Australians in 2010 will be smartphones
- Apps become popular across a range of tool types – social media apps
- Processing power of smartphones will double – with some matching the grunt of laptops obtainable a few years ago
- Mobile net use will boom as new devices pack better web browsers and use these faster processing speeds
- The range of phones powered by the Android operating method will expand dramatically
Jan 7, 2010
Just type "Windows Mobile OS vs Symbian OS" in Google Search and you will end up with a long list of articles which blame Windows Mobile OS for various reasons. The operating system from Microsoft has been accused of lack of stability. There are complaints that smart phones running Windows Mobile OS, hang in between operations. Random reboots of the device have also been reported. Managing contacts and sending group messages have been mentioned to be annoying and time consuming. These Windows mobile phones have been charged with not being user-friendly as well. Switching from one application to another seems to be a nuisance too. Even speed and browser experience appear to be causes of concern. Battery life is another important area of common qualms. Many consumers thus seem to prefer a smart phone with Nokia's Symbian OS to one with Windows Mobile OS.
Microsoft must have given serious thoughts to all these issues as they recently came out with a new Windows Mobile OS version - 6.5. This version offers a number of new features and utilities that might resolve many of the existing problems. This new operating system was given a grand welcome, when it was announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress held in February 2009, in Barcelona , the second largest city of Spain . HTC, Orange and LG partnered with Microsoft for the release of this new OS. Mobile Phones like LG GM7300, HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 will be featuring the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system.
So what's new with Windows Mobile 6.5? Microsoft boasts of an enhanced user interface, enriched internet browsing facility and new networking features like My Phone and Windows Marketplace. Emails, text messages, appointments and calls are maintained well, to allow easy and quick access. The touch screen capability has also been upgraded to provide more convenience while operating touch sensitive display phones. The Mobile Internet Explorer Browser has been improved too, to present a better web-surfing experience.
The My Phone service that this OS offers provides web-based personal information storage. Contacts, calendar schedules, messages, photographs, video-clips and more can be stored in this My Phone service. Automatic syncing of the smart phone and this online storage is possible too. Access to this service is password protected. Hence personal data is secure on the internet. Upgrading the mobile phone or restoring information on losing the cell phone, are all made easy as well.
The Windows Marketplace is another attractive feature that is offered by the new OS. This makes the phone resonate with the needs of the user. Searching for applications, purchasing and installing them require just a few button clicks. The Marketplace has over 20,000 applications and software that make life easy with Windows mobile phones.
The Microsoft Recite is also one of the attention capturing features that the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS will possess. This utility was part of the Windows Mobile OS since the 6.0 version. It allows recording of the user spoken words and organizing them according to similar speech, also enabling easy retrieval when required.
Thus, Windows Mobile 6.5 OS seems to have addressed many of the issues seen with the predecessor versions. Microsoft aims at "breaking down barriers between people, applications and information, providing a rich mobile phone experience spanning all phases of life, at home and at work". Nokia's Symbian might have some tough competition in the days ahead.