Mobile World Congress – Day 2 & 3
Mobile World Congress – Day 2 & 3
Continuation from Highlights from Day 1
1. Steve Jobs named “Mobile Personality of the year”
Steve Jobs deserves to win this award for what he has done to the mobile industry. He has made “Touch screen” the mainstream and is again trying to change the rules with the iPad launch. To my mind the other top contender for this award could have been Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. It is time that GSMA recognizes the contribution of players apart from operators and handset vendors
2. RIM launches BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express
BES Express will be offered as a free software download, and there will be no need to purchase CALs (client access licenses). BlackBerry users too may now connect to Exchange free of charge.
This move is to attract the SMEs as cost is a major inhibitor for this segment. RIM has enjoyed strong growth in the consumer market in recent years, and so there is a significant base of BlackBerry devices among consumers that are not leveraged in the workplace. In my opinion, enabling individuals to connect their BlackBerry devices to corporate email will create greater brand loyalty for RIM as well as lure users of other mobile platforms, paying dividends in future device shipments – RIM’s key source of revenue. This would help RIM increase the activation rate of its services which is currently less than 50%.
3. BBC pushes mobile application strategy
UK broadcaster BBC is set to launch two applications for news and sport that will make it easier for smartphone users in the UK to access the broadcaster’s content on their handsets. A user who has downloaded the news app will click on an icon on their smartphone to reach the BBC’s content. The news site will be repurposed to provide short and snappy coverage via carousels for different types of story (“politics”, “technology” and “health”, for instance). Content can also be personalised. The sports service will initially be focused on the BBC’s popular football coverage and offer real-time coverage of results and news.
The content would be available for free which in my opinion would put pressure on other media companies that rely on paid content revenues.
4. Google Geared Toward Mobiles over Desktops: CEO
The chief of Google said Tuesday that the Web search engine giant saw its resources deployed more toward the mobile sector, which has become the “high-volume endpoint” to reach consumers. “There are 26 devices with 59 operators, in 48 countries, in 19 languages so far and it is just the beginning,” he said, adding that 60,000 Android devices are shipped every day.
Mobile phones outnumber the PCs by a factor of 3 so it is not surprising that Google is focusing on mobile phones. It wants to replicate its web strategy on mobile phones as well as is looking at Android to provide the entry onto mobile phones.
Continuation from Highlights from Day 1
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