Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 6, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Yahoo and Google have expanded their mobile Internet service offerings once again. While Yahoo announced its mobile content management application OnePlace at CeBIT yesterday, Tuesday, Google announced away from the trade fair that its Google Gears browser extension is to enable web applications to run offline under Windows Mobile. “Offline functionality is immensely valuable for mobile web applications and services,” IDC analyst Jonathan Arber tells news service pressetext.de in an interview, identifying considerable potential in Google’s offering in particular.
“I believe that a coherent, seamless experience is essential for consumer acceptance of the mobile web. Offline functionality plays a key role in improving that experience,” says Arber. Over the next year to year and a half, the importance of such functionality will grow with the increasing number of services. Benefits for companies in terms of productivity are also to be expected.
The analyst also sees clear opportunities for Yahoo’s offering in the mobile web. “Applications such as onePlace aim to enable users to organise web-based information and content in a very personal, dynamic way,” Arber explains. Many users will recognise the potential of such mobile web services only gradually, so adoption is slow but steady. “In future, however, there will be a large market for such applications,” the analyst is convinced.
“What is interesting is that providers such as T-Mobile and Vodafone are starting to offer new mobile Internet applications that go beyond simple browsing,” says Arber. The mobile Internet offers new opportunities for applications that use Internet connectivity but are highly personalised and context-oriented, the analyst says. As an example, he cites the possibility of linking mobile searches and results to one’s own GPS data. People using the mobile Internet often have different reasons from someone simply browsing at a desktop, Arber observes, seeing new user groups emerge.
Virus experts repeatedly stress that the malware threat on the mobile web is increasing only slowly because of the wide variety of smartphone operating systems. “There is little doubt that the fragmented nature of the mobile web hampers the development of mobile web applications and services that aim to be platform-independent,” says Arber, who also sees this tendency as a challenge. Initiatives such as Android that seek to establish open platforms are unlikely to change much in the short term.