squared99

Just a quick note on content. related story below.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/54421.html

Microsoft recently released its Zune, the iPod killer! ummm no. Microsoft has made the same mistake a lot of companies have made, they assume they can sell a product and limit the content accessible on that product. As long as the product is cool enough, and they can hopefully hide the fact that there isnt a lot available for it, the the customer will be happy.

Wrong.

How blind do you have to be not not notice that what drives consumer demand is access to content? That is what drove the iPod, TiVo, et al straight to the top. And forget the red herring of ‘internet piracy’, consumers have already proven they are willing to pay for a reasonably priced and convenient service that gives them access to content. (iTunes music store, Netflix, etc).

Mobile carriers make the same mistake, they assume they can provide access to the devices, the services and the content. No matter how much content a provider has they will never be able to provide as much access as would be available on the net. Consumers will migrate to the least restrictive, most convienent service provider that allows access to the most content and that is the model mobile operators should be shooting for.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6155678.stm

Hutchison Whampoa’s 3 UK service, who used to be a very restrictive operator, is coming out with full blown “all you can eat” internet access packages via its new “X-Series” of mobile phones.

This is the trend that will continue and open the door for third parties
to really bust loose with innovative, creative and rich mobile web experiences.

There has been some comments about the speed not being as fast as modern broadband. Yeah really? What did you expect? At least it is flat rate and not restricted to their portal, this means no additional download charges for visiting and downloading content from sites “off-portal”.

This is the biggest news about these kinds of services, not the speed so much as the pulling down of the “walled gardens”.

The speed will come as it always does as the technology moves along,
what’s important here is that the mindset is already changing about
the role of the operator. They are becoming the enabler of the mobile web rather than just presenting their own small isolated version of the mobile “web”.

Similar services will soon follow by other operators if they wish to compete, and this only means good things for both the consumers and creators of mobile content and services.

Services and content that have failed to cash in on the 3G broohaha now have an actual chance. For instance, we will soon find out how popular music downloads can actually be over mobiles when the music selections are not limited to what the mobile operator thinks is “so hot right now”. Mobile users will actually get to visit and use services they “want” to, rather than choosing from those services operators decide to present.

Is this is the start, finally, of the real mobile internet? It’s a good step in the right direction.