Monthly Archives: May 2009

Not so long ago mobile data was not even a consideration for someone purchasing a new mobile phone, but the arrival of the smartphone started to change the views of some when they realised that they could send and receive email and browse simple web pages in the palm of their hand. The experience was not exactly mind blowing and email and simple websites were about as far as many people got with using mobile data. It was also expensive and this put some people off who had dared to test the experience.

Data tariffs became cheaper and now unlimited data is available on cheap tariff add-ons, and is included within many standard tariffs at little extra cost. The speeds at which the latest phones connect also make a world of difference and we have finally reached the point where mobile data use is the most normal thing in the world.

An 18 year old may use their mobile phone to check twitter, facebook and for instant messaging and use up lots of data and have little clue that they are doing something many could only dream of years ago. Take a look at any smartphone today and more than half of the applications on most people’s devices require an internet connection to work properly. We have entered a time when mobile connectivity is not only important, it is essential to power the tools we need each day.

I was at a conference recently and one of the speakers announced that mobile data use in the UK “doubles every three months” which is an astonishing fact. At the rate things are moving, mobile data will soon use more of a networks capacity than any other form. Text messages cause barely a blip on a modern mobile network and even voice can be carried fairly easily, but in this time of HSDPA and above the demands of consumers are growing exponentially.

I can think of no other area of telecommunications that is growing at the speed that mobile data use is and even Broadband cannot compete because it has reached a point of saturation within only a few years. The crucial difference is that Broadband has always been used heavily by millions of people and so the networks were built to cope, but mobile data is being used heavily by a relatively low proportion of the mobile market, and still it is growing at an exponential rate.

The next year will be interesting to see just how connected each new smartphone is, and how well the networks cope.

There was a time when personal information management (PIM) was the killer feature in any PDA or smartphone. Palm was applauded for its no nonsense and simplistic approach to PIM and BlackBerry can also wear the same badge of honour. Windows Mobile received much criticism for the often slow and clunky way in which the default calendar and other PIM features work, and the same was often said about Symbian.

PIM is no longer recognised as the killer feature in the smartphone world and yet it is, and always will be, the most important part for many people. Being able to use a phone to manage your life is one of the main benefits of smartphone ownership yet all of the marketing literature points towards media centric functions, the camera specification and almost any other part except PIM.

Despite all of the attention that the media functions receive, the BlackBerry range still performs ahead of the pack in terms of sales and is without doubt the best PIM device on the market today. Palm may well do some damage to BlackBerry with webOS, the PIM side looks excellent so far, but it seems that a large proportion of consumers have little need for mobile calendaring and task management.

I guess this is symptomatic of an industry that has now broken out into the mass market, but that is little excuse to not make PIM a feature worth having. Apple and Nokia need to improve in this area if they want to capture BlackBerry users who still pride PIM and communication above all else.