There is now speculation that Microsoft\u2019s purchase of Skype could be a play to affect the existing market.\u00a0 They fell behind in mobile and even though WM7 has received solid reviews, battling it out with the other prevailing OS\u2019s within the carrier model may be a fruitless effort to reach significant market share.\u00a0 Microsoft is a sizable enough player to make this kind of effort and drive market awareness.\u00a0 Their WM7 devices may be the instrument to create a dynamic change.\u00a0 It remains to be seen if this is the path that they are taking with the acquisition, but I am interested to see it play out.\u00a0 In addition, Google is also still in a position to make moves in this area.\u00a0 The Android market share is making great gains.\u00a0 Google has relationships with hardware manufacturers and they continue to make moves to increase their involvement in the mobile space such as their mobile wallet partnerships.\u00a0 It indicates their interest in becoming an increasingly significant player in mobile.<\/p>\n

Lowering the Cost of Mobile Consumerism<\/h3>\n

The market trend toward smartphones and the emergence of the tablet market is increasing the consumers\u2019 utilization and fondness for specific third party apps to achieve a myriad of objectives.\u00a0 They are no longer limited to partnerships that the carriers engage in.\u00a0 Add in the movement to having NFC (Near Field Communication) functionality in devices for transactional purposes, consumers will be introduced to even more benefits that do not require going through the carriers to obtain.\u00a0 Need an app for shopping, many malls have wifi to enable the download and or price check to determine the best place to purchase. \u00a0\u00a0Need to pay a bill, check a balance or make a purchase, the \u00a0home, office, library, or coffee shop most likely offers a wifi connection to do so. It takes time to reach a tipping point in the market, to get people to transition from one mode of operation to another.\u00a0 Understanding the drivers of demand that motivate consumption will help companies in their efforts to potentially turn the ship\u00a0 Bottom line costs, especially in our current environment could drive customers to a more cost effective mobile alternative.\u00a0 Having a way to reduce costs associated with making mobile calls anywhere and having access to mobile data, could be a significant motivation at this time. Consumers will increasingly become aware that there is no need, based on their usage, for them to pay a gate keeper multiple times for access to a network.\u00a0 The trend of more consumers cutting their landline home phones and transitioning from cable TV to watching programs online, demonstrates that consumers will recognize where they can save money yet still get the essential benefits they seek. The realm of possibilities in the mobile communication environment continues to keep this space very interesting and evolving.\u00a0 The market itself will help determine what paths are viable and the revenues generated by participants.\u00a0 The potential of wifi may yet demonstrate that it will impact the continuing evolution of the mobile communication marketplace.<\/p>\n

Michael P. Russell is a Principal at Open Water Consulting LLC and Founder\/CEO Hoorah Mobile Inc.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael P. Russell With the increased transition to and adoption of smartphones, the mobile ecosystem remains to be a very interesting space, with new and [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,1],"tags":[42,46,144,116,58,23],"class_list":["post-1309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","category-uncategorized","tag-future","tag-marketing","tag-michael-p-russell","tag-mobile","tag-technology","tag-trends"],"yoast_head":"\n