UK camera phones growth: from 9% to 32% in 12 months.
eMarketer summarizes reports on the growth of camera phones. While US camera phone penetration lags at 14%, both markets report "picture sharing with family and friends" as the most cited activity.
Airlines: Mobile check-in and in-flight SMS.
A new check-in system from Sita, currently in testing, will enable travelers to pick seats from their mobile phone. An on-screen barcode will be issued as a boarding pass. Computing (2 Dec 2004, p. 12) quote Forrester research, who "... questions the technology's viability in the US, unless the Transport Security Administration agrees to accept barcodes displayed in cell phones for passage through security checkpoints."
Meanwhile, Travel Daily News reports that KLM are introducing SMS and e-mail services to some flights in February 2005. The system will be accessed via the seat-back and will cost US$2.50 per message sent or received.
Why can't passengers use their regular mobile phone? The BBC report that the current situation is due to the worry over interference with navigation, and also the fact that high-altitude jets simply cannot connect with ground-based mobile masts. This may all change: "American Airlines has experimented with a device called a 'picocell', a miniature receiver installed on an aircraft. Passengers use their existing phones, with the signal picked up on this picocell and then relayed to a satellite and then to the ground."
Smartphones: essential business tools in 2005.
Computing (2 Dec 2004, p.40) report on Gartner analysis: "...wireless email will become so important that employees with eventually be evaluated on how well they use the technology".
In 2006 the expectation is for PDA shipments to be around 13m units, and smartphone shipments to be 20m units. PDAs will continue to be used for mobile applications, but smartphones will become the device that are used on a day-to-day basis.
"Workers with wireless access to email can have more time to delete spam and prioritise, and they can cut their response time in half"
Handset sales grow, as does demand for functionality.
The 2004Q3 results show handset sales up 26% to 167 million in the quarter, reports the BBC.
The Feature has made two related comments: increase desire for more features, and also the demand for cheaper handsets. The call for cheaper handsets may be a drive for simplicity, and there's certainly room for improvement in handset usability. The claim for an interest in more features comes from the USA-based NPD study which found that customers were specifically looking for cameras, games, internet access and PDA functions, in double digit percentages.
In related news, the ARC Group are predicting annual sales of smartphones, alone, will reach 125M by 2009, up from 27m today (reported by emarketer).
Increase demand for mobile businesses applications means roll out cannot be delayed.
IDC Mobility Conference, reported in Computing: "Firms need to work more closely with mobile operators and application developers to successfully integrate mobile systems into their infrastructure, though the business case for mobilising the workforce remains strong [...]"
Interestingly, according to Mobile Enterprise Weblog, "Funding is the number one reason that enterprises hold back on mobile solutions. Security is the objection they give vendors to get salespeople to stop calling."
The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily reviewed in advance by anyone but the author, and neither Spiral Arm Ltd nor any other party necessarily agrees with them.