Mobil Internet Devices / Bluetooth to Internet Access

According to ABI Research, mobile Internet devices — or MIDs — are set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 167% in the next five years. Wi-Fi, WiMax, and UWB will play a role in that growth, and, says ABI, so will Bluetooth. Why? VoIP calling, among other reasons.

MIDs are small computing platforms that offer a nearly constant connection to the Internet. They also may include features such as media playback, gaming, location-based services, and social networking.

Powering MIDs’ connection to the Net will be a myriad sampling of wireless broadband technologies. MIDs will be able to take advantage of Wi-Fi, WiMax, and possibly EVDO/HSDPA 3G technologies to reach the Internet. “All Mobile Internet Devices will feature Wi-Fi from the start,” said ABI Research senior analyst Douglas McEuen in a prepared statement. “That is the essential form of wireless connectivity that no MID will be without.”

Since Bluetooth isn’t used to connect to the Internet, you might wonder why it would be all that relevant in a device that is focused on accessing the Web. Think about Skype. Any VoIP service that allows the end user to make phone calls through the Internet is going to find a home on a MID, such as the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N800 Internet Tablets.

Holding a MID to your head, however, isn’t so appealing. ABI says, “While many MIDs will include voice capabilities, they are larger than mobile phones, and for convenience some users will carry a low-cost phone as well. However, many consumers still want an all-in-one device, and the handset/headset configuration enabled by Bluetooth will meet their needs. That will be one of the main rationales for its early adoption in MIDs.”

Any gadget geek — or, heck, anyone else, for that matter — is always going to have a separate mobile phone, even with the availability of products such as VoIP-enabled MIDs. I don’t see Bluetooth-equipped MIDs replacing cell phones at all. Perhaps some professionals will use them to make long-distance phone calls when traveling overseas, but who’s going to want to have to use a MID to make calls on a regular basis? Not me.

Even so, including Bluetooth in MIDs — which ABI says will hit 95% penetration this year — will enable all sorts of different and interesting usage scenarios.

Reminder

Of the 95 million mobile Internet subscribers, an estimated 40 million actively use their phones to go online, double the number two years ago, according to Nielson Mobile. Thirteen million use their phones to read the news, and a cell phone version of a Web site extends a site’s reach by 13%. Local outlets are starting to take notice of the growing statistics and are beginning to take advantage of mobile.

Mobile Advertising

 

What is Mobile Advertising?

In the most basic definition, advertising is the paid promotion of goods and services, and Mobile Advertising

is the usage of mobile devices such as cell phones and mobile web browsers to deliver these

promotional messages. However, this high-level concept does not help us understand the opportunities and

challenges that are driving so much activity and attention towards Mobile Advertising.

Mobile Advertising is made possible by the fragmented media consumption of consumers. A simplistic

evolution of consumer media consumption follows the objectives of choice and convenience. The

opportunity of more choice for information and entertainment drove consumers from print to radio to

television with a few choices, to cable and satellite broadcasting with hundreds of choices, to the Internet

with millions of choices. The opportunity for convenience saw usage grow for video on demand, digital

video recorders (TiVo), and digital media reflectors (Slingbox).

 

As the most personal electronics device most consumers own, and rarely leave home without, the mobile

phone offers the potential for both the greatest choice and greatest convenience in media consumption.

Now, with high-speed third generation mobile data networks (3G, EDGE, EV-DO, GPRS), more capable

mobile Internet experiences (mobile Web browsers), video content (mobile TV and streaming players), and

an emerging mobile Internet trust mark (.mobi) that assures consumers of a made-for-mobile experience,

this potential is being realized.

The forms that Mobile Advertising takes are in many cases similar to online advertising. There are display

units such as text links, banners, and video ads (Figure 3). There are search models that enable text ads to

be shown in response to keywords entered on user queries. There is a messaging medium that is much

more instantaneous and personal than email, although not yet as rich. Additionally, there are models that

are unique to the device such as use of the idle screen and click-to-call. This paper will not delve into all

these specific standards and best practice guidelines, but plenty of information exists through other forums

such as the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), GSM Association (GSMA) and Canadian Wireless

Telecommunications Association (CWTA).