The future of Mobile Internet is already present
The Mobile Internet is probably one of the most talked about areas in the digital world. The reason being that we, as consumers, have discovered this ubiquitous need to quench our Internet thirst. This obviously delights content providers, mobile operators and phone manufacturers who release new devices and platforms at unequalled pace. So, what is tomorrow going to be like: a 3rd generation iPhone, Google OS Android version 2 or the Nokia Morph device…
If we only consider the gadget aspect of the “Web on the go”, we may not be looking in the right direction to find out what the future will resemble. With the coming of the Internet on mobiles, it’s a whole new channel that settles down in our pockets. So far, we only deem it as a luxury complement to making calls and sending texts. But this is exactly what sending texts was in relation to making calls when it was first integrated on mobiles in the early nineties. And it has now become equally important. Potentially, the Mobile Internet will meet a similar fate. Recreational activities such as writing emails and checking the latest news will become more secondary tasks and the ultimate force of the Mobile Internet will be unleashed via a more grown up use of the facility. The iPhone’s GPS is the pioneer of this new range of services that will make phones even more pervasive. It uses the Internet through Googlemap, (but soon through a proper application) as a communication channel rather than to access websites. And there is more to come.
To get a clearer view on what is likely to happen over the next few years, we should start by looking at a mobile market that is more mature, more evolved and more advanced than ours: the Japanese market. Japanese mobile surfers are the savviest and most experienced community of mobile phone users in the world. One of the reasons for this is that a lot of them spend hours commuting each day and are therefore more prone to using their devices. Phone operators sensed the opportunity very early on, and as a result, have come up with a state-of-the-art environment combining technologies and services with perfection.
The ability for Japanese mobile users to check a bus’ arrival time by scanning a barcode with their phone at the bus stop is one example among many others. Likewise, Japanese users can instantly request the address of the closest sushi bar to be sent to their device. And, if this wasn’t enough, they are now using their phones to pay wirelessly for consumption items. This is getting so big that the Jibun Bank Corporation now provides cashless accounts for customers opting for mobile-based payments. Europe saw similar projects come to life recently, but is still far behind the country of the rising sun where these practices are already fully integrated in the society.
Obviously, the Japanese culture is sensibly different from that of the Western world and everything happening there may not materialise on the European or American soils, but it is nevertheless a good trend predictor. So, if you fancy glancing at the future of the Mobile Internet, book your flight to the Far East!