The launch of the 3G iPhone and Google’s Android
platform will
reshape the
wireless industryby creating a
groundswell of support that will ultimately help mobile operators
and handset vendors, says a new report by In-Stat.
The tech market research firm believes that the current
telco-oriented approach to developing Internet mobile applications
has created an ecosystem for application developers that is
complex, fragmented, difficult to enter, and offers a high risk of
failure, the high-tech market research firm says.
"The mobile operator-centric WAP-based ecosystem for applications
has been challenged, unsuccessfully before," remarked Bill Hughes,
In-Stat analyst. "It has taken the innovative design of Apple and
the financial power of Google to push the juggernaut off its course
and more into harmony with the wishes of mobile customers."
In-Stat predicts that in addition to Apple selling a large
number of very exciting phones, its ambition to change the
wireless industry will be tempered some what. It also expects
Google's Android Project to kick-start location-aware advertising
by enabling the benefits of mobile Linux-if it can create a good
revenue sharing model for its wireless operator partners. The
research firm thinks that Google will hedge its Android bet by
working with others for location-aware searches, including the
iPhone.