In The Know

We have seen a great deal of devices and operating systems in the last couple of years and no doubt the iPhone has made it’s mark on this industry as one of the most innovative devices on the market today.  But with new devices came new mobile applications and most recent new operating systems.  The technology is rapid and extremely complex.  Some of the mobile applications people have developed are so inventive and useful, it is a large contributor to the mobile market.  So what’s next?

The provider wars on device exclusivity has been a topic the last few months and that will slowly change due to user complaints of AT&T quality of network and customer service.  In dealing with small business AT&T account reps was unbelievably insane at times, but I have to admit, they do have a large options of devices to offer every age group and personal and business.

But what will drive mobility in the next immediate years will be mobile applications, smart wallet features and security.  The next generation mobile technology is already upon us, 4G.  As 4G entered the market and now available in the U.S. through Sprint, it is supposed to be the fastest network for multimedia processing, and with now the stiff competition of WiMAX services like Clear coupled with Netbook already outfitted with WiMAX ready chips, the competition is now in full force in mobility, but where does that leave the wireless market?

The next generation mobile technology is location-based services (LBS) application which we’ve already seen a glimpse of with mobile mapping, social networking applications like Brightkite and Loopt, the technology partnered with GPS has engaged mobile applications into real world solutions, no matter how quirky it may be to some.  Sprint was one of the first providers to offer a locator service for family and their children. I myself have used this service even before all the hoopla about LBS. But more advanced features have now integrated traditional GIS into Neogeography that allows a more robust capability with mobile applications. What I see in the next couple of years is LBS mobile applications in more commercial and business use for tracking assets, marketing tools, operations support for local, state, federal and combined law enforcement agencies, and much more.

Now that LBS is more prevalent in the market and its capabilities are increasingly desired in more practical mobile applications, it is sure to even be more beneficial for the Mobile Wallet concepts for payment applications and services.  In a business graduate course, we talked about a company in Finland researching mobile payment technology in particularly with a soda machine.  The concept was to purchase a soda from a soda machine right from your phone.  How many times have you needed change or had to get change to buy a soda from a soda machine.  The soda machine was also fitted with the system, but now with LBS, products can take your location and process it through their system and match it with the soda machine at that location, process your payment and release selected product.  Pretty soon, we won’t need to carry a credit card. Convenience for the customers, increase sales for companies with products or services, providers will get on the ban wagon too with charging some fee for this service as well as more mobile payment applications must be developed, the concept is there, but who will be the first to implement?  We are slowly seeing more and more payment applications with movie tickets, airline tickets, and more.  But with payment applications, security must be included as a given.

With hackers getting customer financial and other personal information, IT security is now at the forefront of every existing and new system concerning proprietary and confidential data. Mobile security is no different.  Now with LBS, and social networking, tracking patterns at restaurants, friends, hangouts and others can be posted to web networking application; a hacker’s haven.  And with mobile banking and payment applications depend mostly on the mobile browser to provide security. But if we are to move into unchartered territories like mobile payment applications, applications should provide security against any threats that may be present in transactions or communication links. Whether it is an open source encryption platform for developers of mobile devices or an implementation of a more standard data encryption for businesses, since the number of new innovative devices, it is particularly hard to keep up with these changes and new features.  Security has always been a challenge, especially in these ever changing times, but nevertheless, mobile security has made it’s way in the market, but I believe as more businesses integrate their networks with mobility, it will be more necessary in the business community as teams are more mobile today than ever before.

These last two years have been the fastest changes I’ve seen.  Devices were driving the wireless market with the touch screen features with LG and Samsung, AT&T’s exclusivitiy with iPhone applications and popular OS as well as the T-Mobile Google Android G1 and most recently with Sprint’s webOS that supports 4G connectivity and communication. Most experts in the industry, the handheld devices and features have maxed out, that there is nothing left at least for the immediate future.  I beg to differ. With the creativity of mobile applications popping up on mobile app stores, the entrance of LBS and the innovation that will come along with LBS applications and the more mobile security to handle mobile wallet for financial transactions.  Along with dissolving the exclusivity of the iPhone, these features are sure to shake up the market within the next 12 to 18 months.

I haven’t even talked about the Netbook, but I’ll save that for my next blog post along with the technology and global carriers.

References:

Mobile application stores

• Vision Mobile
• Strategy and Deployment
• Palm PocketGear
• iPhone store
• OnlyAndroid
• Samsung
• Crackberry Apps

Mobile LBS applications

• Brightkite
• Loopt

Mobile Security

• McAfee
• Trend Micro
• Mobile Agent Systems
• F-Secure

Other

• Neogeography Blog Post
• Neogeography Form
• GIS Lounge