musings of a social architect

New estimates for Worldwide Mobile Users

From infoSync World : Mobile users top 1.5 billion

As of the first week of June 2004, the mobile service industry broke the 1.5 billion subscriber mark worldwide. Research firm EMC also predicts that the industry will pass the 2 billion mark as early as 2006, far earlier than some other predictions, and reach 2.45 billion by the end of 2009.

The main growth is predicted to come from still-emerging markets, including Brazil, China, and India. As of the end of 2003, China was the largest mobile market followed by the US, Japan, Germany, and Italy. By 2009, EMC predicts China and the US will stay at the top, but be followed by India, Brazil, and Japan.

Site-Flavored Google Search

Testing out Site-Flavored Google Search. Try it!

Jazz Camp WEST 2004

We're off to Jazz Camp WEST for 8 days of music, dancing and camping in the Redwoods near La Honda, nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains. Have a great week -- more blogging (& camp pix) when I return.

Can European Carriers Locate A Business Model For Location Based Services?

Interesting article in TheFeature about the challenges facing European carriers who are trying to introduce location-based services to consumers.

In Europe, however, despite a number of recent attempts, location-based services haven't really been able to catch on. A new study about LBS in Europe suggests that, like so many attempts at wireless data services, carriers rushed into the marketplace without really understanding either what the users wanted or business model issues associated with such services...

....Instead, the report suggests something quite similar to what OnStar discovered in the US. People don't necessarily see the value in paying for those location-based services that are considered "nice-to-haves" instead of "need-to-haves." Instead, they're interested in safety and security applications.

1.87 billion mobile users by 2007

A recent study by the Yankee Group predicts 1.87 Billion mobile users by 2007, which appears to be on track for the 2 billion mobile users by the decade's end that the industry is aiming towards.

1.87 billion users may sound like a lot, but it represents only 27.4% of the world's population; still a fair number. The study predicts a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% between 2002 and 2007 worldwide, with Asia-Pacific having the biggest growth at 13.6%.

One Less Thing to Carry Around

NTT DoCoMo is set to a launch a "wallet mobile phone" in July.

RU Ready 2 TXT?

My 'mobile momentum' article is now up on the MSN site. It's chopped down from the original, but the basic ideas are intact. Thanks to everyone who offered feedback, MUCH appreciated!

People Search on Mobile Phones?

MOBILE USERS IN SINGAPORE MAKE NEW FRIENDS WITH BEDD

BEDD, a new communities application that is phone-to-phone not using any server and utilizing wireless Bluetooth technology, is literally bringing people together. “It’s very thrilling to see user’s reactions just after they receive the software and start filling out their own profiles, and having so many potential matches start pouring into their phones. Even more exciting is the rush of contacting the other person for the first time,” says Carlton.

“The BEDD software is fun for the end user because it’s carrying the most demanded content in the world - people content. Content about who you are and about what you want… content about you!” The fact that this is a revolutionary concept was further endorsed this week when Nokia’s Series 60 Platform named BEDD “Application of the Week.”

BEDD, as result of creating a new mobile social medium, also gives service providers and handset manufacturers something to look forward to: user’s fee revenue, network traffic revenue, increased handset sales revenue and ultimately the carrying, distribution and propagation of third party content - both mobile-to-mobile and fixed-point to mobile.

“The possibilities of finding, communicating and interacting with other people, and finding products, have now moved from the traditional medium of newspapers and the Internet to the mobile phone,” says CTO Olle Bliding.

Who among us hasn't wanted this?

Finally - a device that lets you capture all those 'darn-I-wish-I'd-gotton-that-on-video' moments.

Mashups and Movie Openings

Had a fun, stimulating chat with Clay today about decentralization, mashups, Reality TV, and word-of-mouth movie hits. It got me wondering when we'll see the first mashup-influenced TV show. Seems like something MTV would be all over...

Clay mentioned that several recent movies (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Supersize Me, and Saved) had opened 'small' but had then gone on to become big hits many weeks later -- something almost unheard-of in the movie industry. He attributed this to the speed and ease with which people can communicate their opinions to the world via SMS, email, blogs, etc. Really interesting trend - and a testament to the power of loosely-coupled, distributed communication systems.