The Mobile App Internet Arrives

Today's Forrester Research release pegs the mobile app market for smartphones at about $1.9 billion for 2010.

Does that sound like a lot?  Well.  By 2015, Forrester forecasts a total mobile app market for both smartphones and tablets 20 TIMES as large, with smartphones alone driving nearly $30 billion. 

Corporations will spend up to $17 billion creating apps for their products and working with services and solutions providers. Combined revenues from mobile applications, services and business management?  $54.6 billion a year by 2015. 

Today, fully 1-in-3 smartphone users say they downloaded an app in the past month.  As the base grows, and as penetration grows, so will our economy - we have found the driver for the next age of computing.

Are Cellphones Safe?

Well, it would probably be a good idea to keep studying. 

After last week's JAMA article, no one will be doubting that cellphones have the potential to alter brain chemistry.  Does the artificial increase in blood glucose usage near the cellphone antenna constitute a health problem?  It might, if you do it frequently enough, say, for hours every single day.

Thanks NIH folks (and NY Times).

Look Past Online for Mobile Banking Potential

Perhaps what is most interesting about Forrester Research's US Mobile Banking Forecast, 2010 To 2015 is the idea that there is vast potential in getting those who do not bank online with a PC to do so with their smartphone.  While most mobile banking programs seek out active online adults, far more adults currently own a cell phone and use it daily than access the Internet on a PC, and it is here where there is more potential to both add value for customers and reduce delivery costs for the bank.

Forrester reports, however, that Gen X and Y will be the drivers behind mobile adoption.  “Gen X adults (ages 31 to 44) today make up 39 percent of U.S. mobile bankers —the most of any generation... when combined with Gen Y users, the two account for more than three-quarters of all current mobile banking users. By 2015, Gen Y will surpass Gen X and will make up 44 percent of U.S. mobile bankers. These two groups represent the present and the future of mobile banking.”

To get to that one in five US adults, banks will need to do a lot more.
   1. Introduce innovative new features, like mobile remote deposit capture, not commonly available through other channels.
   2. Optimize existing functionality to offer superior user experiences through the mobile channel.
   3. Leverage the unique capabilities of mobile devices and the mobile channel, particularly location based services.

The real ROI from mobile banking will come from engaging the 40% of US consumers who today do not bank online. As Forrester notes, today's online banking functionality won't get it done.

Wait for iPhone 5 On Verizon

You waited 4 years for Verizon to offer their version.

Apple plans to launch iPhone 5 in June, maybe July.

Why not wait another couple of months before locking in for two years? 

And they'll have the bugs out of the Verizon version by then, too.

Fox Plugs iPad Daily As Egypt Explodes

"14 cents a day" is all Rupert says it takes to enjoy his glossy daily on the iPad, in the first major test of content on that platform. 

As Fox covered this, every other major news org was showing IEDs exploding in Cairo.

Would you pay $40 a year for this?  For now, America for one has already voted - name one magazine currently succeeding with such an online model.  Will the glossy multimedia content of the Daily turn the tide?  Verizon is offering it free for two weeks, than it's 99 cents a week, $40 a year.

Do you wanna buy an "I (Heart) Hosni" t-shirt real cheap?

Google Android Smartphones Overtake Nokia

British research firm Canalys released its Q4 2010 global country-level smart phone market data, and Google Android has become the leading platform.

Shipments of Android-based smart phones reached 32.9 million, while devices running Nokia’s Symbian platform trailed slightly at 31.0 million worldwide.

The fourth quarter also saw the worldwide smart phone market continue to soar, nearly doubling year-to-year with shipments of 101.2 million units representing growth of 89%.  Driving the Android wave are devices from HTC and Samsung, among others.

Canalys VP and Principal Analyst Chris Jones notes that ‘2011 is set to be a highly competitive year, with vendors looking to use new technology, such as dual-core processors, NFC and 3D displays, to differentiate their products and maintain value.’

The US continues its reign as the largest country market in terms of shipments, at more than double the size of the Chinese smart phone market. RIM recaptured first place from Apple, as the latter experienced its usual US seasonal dip, and RIM benefited from the first full quarter of shipments for the BlackBerry Torch. HTC successfully maintained its third-place ranking in the US for the third consecutive quarter, driven by its speed to market with the latest Android updates and new Windows Phone 7 devices.

Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd added, "The US landscape will shift dramatically this coming year, as a result of the Verizon-Apple agreement. Verizon will move its focus away from the Droid range, but the overall market impact will mean less carrier-exclusive deals, while increasing the AT&T opportunity for Android vendors, such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung.’

Android was by far the largest smart phone platform in the US market in Q4 2010, with shipments of 12.1 million units – nearly three times those of RIM’s BlackBerry devices. Windows Phone 7 devices appeared too late in the quarter to take full advantage of holiday season purchasing. As a result, Microsoft lost share in the United States, from 8% in Q4 2009 to 5% in Q4 2010.

Mobile Banking Trends from Synergstics Research

Synergistics - a top tier supplier of syndicated research to financial institutions that I have been turning to for over 25 years - pegged mobile banking subscriptions at about 16% or one in 7 households in mid-summer 2010. 

This is based on 42% aware of such services, and 40% of those signing up.  Those who say mobile is their primary means of banking is only about 4%, which fits very well with other consumer research on this. 

How many actually used the service last month is unknown, but probably remains in single digits.

What is amazing here is that 40% of respondents did not know whether their bank offered mobile banking services, an astoundingly large number that speaks to

A) Continuing consumer unfamiliarity and

B) Ineffective or absent bank communications.

The prior year, Synergistics pointed out that small business was moving faster on mobile devices in general, and that this was an obvious place for a bank to focus its early efforts. 

At that time, 24% were already using smartphones, and among these, 2/3 were doing mobile banking (16% of all businesses).


More interestingly, they were engaged in a wide variety of activities.  While balance inquiry led the way (52%) - as it did with ATM and ARU adoption earlier - 42% made a balance transfer or a card payment.  Also a hopeful sign is that nearly half received an e-mail from their bank on a mobile device, and about 1/3 sent one.

Genie Driscoll of Synergistics spells it all out.  “One of the foremost trends in banking right now is mobile banking and payments, and, with a few notable exceptions, the consumer seems to be the focus of most marketing activity, as well as trade press coverage.  However, our survey shows some very impressive activity taking place in the small business market.  There has been significant adoption of mobile banking and payment activities by small businesses.  Providers, in focusing on consumer marketing of mobile services, would do well not to neglect these significant small business adopters.”