Mobile Innovation

Nokia's partnership with Vodafone, Apple's partnership with AT&T, O2, and others, and Google's partnership with T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, LG, HTC, and others indeed signals a shift in mobile. There are players with software and user interface expertise delivering the true mobile Internet to customers; and the hardware manufacturer or carriers can not bypass that trend.

Nokia’s deal with Vodafone is definitely one model for carriers, should the Ovi platform succeed, especially in the face of challenges from Apple’s Safari interface, the new Google OS, and even Microsoft CE.

Let's see what the other handset manufacturers focus on:

First of all we have Motorola. Motorola’s hardware dominance eroded after iteration after iteration of RAZR clones that they released, along with their failure to concentrate on software - the new level of dominance.

Besides Motorola there are Sony Ericcson and Samsung, true hardware players, with better opportunities in Asia, as their gaming or feature-laden phones continue to have success. However, they too are not software experts and should struggle as the software giants make their play.

LG and HTC, on the other hand, are aligning with carriers, collaborating on phone production to meet their needs, and the new software players. Both are smartly onboard with Google’s partnership, though it is far too early to determine what will become of Google’s efforts.

Nokia is my favorite for the most adaptable handset manufacturer. In addition to their Symbian OS and Ovi mobile application layer, they purchased Navteq, entering the GPS market in a force. Nokia’s play may not pay huge dividends for the short-term, but I believe it positions them well for the future.

So, Is the Vodafone – Nokia partnership intelligent for the new mobile era, one in which data margins, if not revenue, will trump voice revenue? In my opinion Vodafone is making the right steps toward realizing and executing against the future mobile model, even if the partnership does not succeed.

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Today, consumers typically sign up for cellular service and select a phone made by a cell phone manufacturer. But soon, service providers may start offering their own brand of cell phone. Would consumers select these phones, or want to stay with the brands they know? The latest survey of cell phone users(1) by Harris Interactive shows that a slight majority (54%) of U.S. adult cell phone users say they have no preference for an existing brand or a new one offered by their service provider, while the rest differ in opinion between interest in a new brand (27%) and an existing brand (19%).

These are the results of an online survey of 1,870 U.S. adult cell phone users conducted by Harris Interactive between July 14 and 18, 2006.

About two-thirds (64%) of U.S. adult cell phone users agree that more competition among cell phone manufacturers will lead to product innovation and 40 percent believe it will ensure more choices in the marketplace. Other benefits of having cell phones and service from the same company could be increased compatibility between the handsets and the networks, according to about half (48%) of adult cell phone users, as well as overall lower plan costs (32%).

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The pace of India's mobile phone market growth is accelerating and the country is on track to surpass Russia and the U.S. in total subscribers. That is one of the conclusions of an updated report from Datacomm Research Company.

"The number of mobile phone subscribers added each month in India has more than tripled over the past year," said Chetan Sharma, President of Chetan Sharma Consulting and the report's author. "India passed Japan in total subscribers last month. Within the next few weeks, India will break through the 100 million subscriber barrier," he added.

Additional conclusions found in the updated version of India's Wireless Market: Model for the Next Phase of Global Wireless Expansion:

1. India's wireless boom is largely the result of government decisions favoring competition. Both developing and developed countries can learn from India's regulatory, network infrastructure, handset, and value-added service innovations.

2. India will spend several $billion on wireless infrastructure to accommodate subscriber growth, improve rural coverage, and add advanced services. Significant opportunities exist for leveraging the 450 and 800 MHz bands.

3. India's consumers require low-cost handsets. Handsets are now available for as little as $40. However, many Indian consumers will spend a little more for enhancements such as the ability to download and play music and games.

4. Thanks to low per-minute charges (under $0.03), most Indian consumers pay less than US$10 per month for voice service. Wireless data yields higher margins for operators, providing incentives for affordable text, music and video services.

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Brazilian mobile-phone ownership reached 87.5 million at the end of January, up 31% on the year and 1.3 million from the end of December, according to preliminary figures released by telecommunications regulator Anatel on Tuesday.

Mobile-phone adds inevitably slumped from the 3.96 million registered in December, traditionally the busiest month of the year because of Christmas. The figures reinforce analyst predictions that market growth would slow as operators start concentrating on improving margins.

Currently, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest mobile-phone market in terms of number of handsets, behind China, the U.S., Japan and Russia.

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