The wireless Internet is only as good as the device it’s on.
Granted, there are plenty of other issues surrounding the look and feel of the experience-including network speeds and coverage areas-but the device is a central part of the setup.
For this reason, lots of companies are hoping to cash in on the rush to provide consumers with what they need and want for viewing mobile material. At the recent Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association’s show in Las Vegas, dozens of companies showed off their newest and greatest devices. The range of offerings varied from the basic Web-enabled phone to extremely high-end gadgets acting as a mobile office, with voice-call capability thrown in for fun.
The industry for these devices has taken a hit in recent months-most of the top device manufacturers have either lowered their sales or earnings expectations for the year. But many are still confident there will be a huge market for little appliances that can let a user look at the Internet from wherever they are.
Analyst firm IDC forecasts more than 63.4 million “smart” handheld devices will be sold in 2004, up from 12.9 million last year, which represents a $26 billion opportunity. In addition, a survey from Yankelovich Partners Inc., commissioned by LetsTalk.com, shows Americans’ appetite for cool gadgets is pretty strong: Fifty percent of those surveyed said they would carry more than one wireless device, and 25 percent said they would carry three or four devices.
The demand is there, it seems, but how exactly will it manifest itself?
“There’s no one device that’s going to win out, I think,” said Warren Wilson, director for the wireless practice of Summit Strategies Inc.
“The device really depends on the individual,” said John P. Stautner, vice president of technology and new markets for Compaq Computer Corp.’s consumer products group.
Wilson and Stautner, who echo many others in the device industry, said personal preference will be the driving force in the wireless gadget market-which means there will have to be an overabundance of devices to satisfy all the different uses consumers will have.
“For the first time, individuals are choosing the device,” said Bob Egan, research director with the Gartner Group.
And those devices are definitely getting more advanced. Several companies recently released their GPRS phones, which can handle the higher data speeds the network technology supports. And smart phones, a hybrid of the computing power of personal digital assistants and the sleek design and functionality of standard mobile phones, have recently hit the U.S. market-and more are coming.
“You have handsets and other devices that have made quantum leaps in the last couple of years,” said Mark Desautels, vice president of wireless Internet development at the CTIA.
But the key to a device, whether it be a basic, Web-enabled mobile phone or the most expensive mobile office, is what it provides to the user, Compaq’s Stautner said. The device is simply a means to an end.
The important thing is, “can I get the content I care about?” Stautner said.
