Asia is way ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to
wireless - the only two people in Hong Kong who don't have mobile
phones are British. Jim Morgan is based in Hong Kong
There's been a lot written about mobile computing recently. Most
of the research - generated in the US and to a lesser extent Europe
- alludes to a bright WAP-happy future, but I believe that Asia
will, for once, be way ahead of the rest of the world in this
respect. Consider the evidence:
Exhibit A: The only two people I know in Hong Kong who don't
have mobile phones are British. My Chinese ex-boss carried three,
shamelessly. Mobile phones now outnumber fixed-line phones in Hong
Kong by 4.6 million to 3.9 million, according to official figures.
Not bad for a population of six million. While Hong Kong and
Singapore have fine telephone systems, there are many countries in
Asia where the phone system is appalling, and whole regions where
it is non-existent. Everyone who can afford to, gets a mobile phone
and sidesteps the public telephone network altogether. This creates
a huge mobile phone user base. China has between 51 and 60 million
mobile phone users depending on whether you believe the People's
Daily or Gartner Group, and an estimated 50,000 WAP users. If that
estimate is correct, WAP is growing five times faster than the
Internet did in China when it first became available. A scary
thought. Then there's Japan, where more than 60 million people use
mobile phones to access the Internet, beating access by PC.
Exhibit B: My mum won't phone me on my mobile as she believes
it's more expensive than phoning landlines. My friends in Hong Kong
all try my mobile first. Mobile phones in Asia are cheap to run -
as cheap as if not cheaper than conventional phone lines. For
example, my Hong Kong mobile bill is around £20 a month for 400
minutes of talk time, and there is no extra charge for phoning a
mobile number. I moved house about four months ago, and still
haven't bothered to get my landline hooked up.
Exhibit C: In the UK people still look vaguely embarrassed when
using their mobile phones - probably a reaction to the chorus of
tutting that accompanies over-zealous public use. In Hong Kong
people take calls without embarrassment in the middle of meetings,
in the cinema and in the toilet. My ex-boss saw nothing wrong in
changing his ring tone in the middle of a presentation I was
making, or sending SMS messages to people sitting elsewhere in the
room. While this is irritating and doesn't reflect well on my
presentation skills, it underlines the difference in perception of
mobile phones between Asia and the rest of the world. People love
to use their phones here.
So that's why WAP is already happening in Asia. The devices are
in people's hands, they're cheap, and people have the right mindset
to use them. Now we just have to solve the small problem of getting
some decent content...