Mobile web to be worth $16 billion in 2011

Apparently, some people are confused as to why there is so much fuss about mobile web. Well; the short answer is - $16 billion.

1. Analysts say that mobile web will be worth a whopping $16 billion in just three years from now. Now, a $16 billion market is something that is too big for even giants like Google and Yahoo to be taken lightly.

2. Also, the size of the mobile phone market is three times bigger than the size of the web market. In other words, there are three mobile phone users for one PC user. Now, where do you see more opportunities?

3. Apple iPhone, in more ways than one, changed the landscape of the mobile world. Since its arrival, mobile internet usage has increased as most of the iPhone users regularly surf the net from their phone. Add more high-end phones like Nokia N95, Blackberry, and other such smart phones to the equation and you have the perfect recipe for a mobile web revolution.

4. With 3G and 3.5G networks, high speed mobile browsing is very much possible for mobile users. This will significantly increase the number of mobile web users in the future.

Hence, the excitement.

While Google is busy with Android, Yahoo has been silently working its way to the top. Both these companies have kept people guessing what would be their next move in the mobile world for quite some time now. In my opinion, Yahoo has a slight edge over Google as it’s already set its foot firmly in the mobile market. However, if Android could do to Google what the iPhone did for Apple, we’d be looking at a completely different situation. Either way, the competition is going to be interesting to watch.

Categories: Mobile Web.

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Mobile advertising in India will be a $100 million market soon

With over 270 million mobile users, India is considered probably the hottest mobile phone market in the world. With this being the case, mobile advertisers are trying to cash in on the opportunity, as expected. As we’ve already seen, Indian operators are excited about mobile advertising and they see it as a potential long term revenue generating model. So, it’s only a matter of time before mobile advertising takes off big time in India.

Industry experts have predicted that mobile phone advertising in India would be worth more than $100 million in just a few years from now. Considering the market is currently valued at a measly $1million, it looks like quite a prediction. But experts firmly believe that the Indian market has the potential to become one of the top players in the world as far as mobile advertising is concerned. However, there are a couple of issues which need to be addressed to make this happen.

First, the cost of mobile web should be brought down. Though data plans in India are pretty much affordable, mobile web is one area where they can bring down the cost furthermore to attract more users to use the mobile internet facility regularly.

Second, the issue of revenue sharing between advertisers and mobile operators is an area of concern. Right now, the ratio is 70:30 with 70% of the revenue going to mobile operators and 30% going to advertisers. Understandably, advertisers are not exactly happy with this disproportionate sharing and they want this ratio to be revised.

Experts say that if mobile operators and advertisers could address these issues, the market may reach the $100 million mark sooner than later.

I actually think the issues mentioned here are common for markets all over the world. Even in the U.S., not everyone with a web-enabled phone is enthusiastic about surfing the web regularly, as the data plans are pretty costly. And the issue of disproportionate revenue sharing is not unheard of either, as the spat between Verizon and Google is well known. So, it’s basically an inherent flaw in the system. Unless people address this issue, there will always be hurdles in the path.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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A look at India – the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world

India has been the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world for quite some time now. There are already 250 million mobile phone users in India and the number gets increased by 6 million every month, thanks to new users. There are a few reasons behind this impressive growth.

1. Indian economy is on a roll and has had an impressive growth over the past few years. This has increased the purchasing power of the people significantly, especially that of the middle class people. As a result, the 30 million middle class people in India are the target customer segment for mobile companies now.

2. The price range of mobile phones is quite big. You can get low-end mobile phones in the $20 - $30 price range and at the same time you can get high-end mobile phones in the $600 - $800 price range. So, whether you belong to the super rich category, middle class, or lower middle class category, you can get a mobile phone which fits into your budget.

3. There are several major mobile operators in India and there is intense competition in the market. Almost all of them have slashed their call charges, text message charges, and offer a lot of value added services. What this means to the user is, not only can he get a handset at an affordable rate, but he can also afford to keep his phone charges within his budget every month. This has led to more and more people buying mobile phones.

Recent reports predict that India will have a whopping 500 million mobile users by 2010. This is the reason why mobile advertising is considered the next big thing in the Indian market.

Though mobile advertising by third party advertisers is yet to become popular, several mobile operators are already doing it successfully. Notable players like Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Tata Indicom, Reliance, and Vodafone regularly send text messages to their users regarding latest offers, new plans, and other issues.

That said, a few big players have already tried their hands on mobile advertising through third party advertisers and have had a good response. Recently, Hindustan Lever and Coca Cola launched mobile advertising campaigns promoting their products and have had good response rate so far. Since Indians are very active in using features like text message, MMS, and mobile internet, mobile advertisers have tons of choices to come up with personalized mobile advertising campaigns.

All in all, India will be a market to watch out for in the next few years as far as mobile advertising is concerned.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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A mobile based payment system soon to be launched in India

In just about a couple of months, mobile users in India will be able to use their mobile phone to pay for things, just as they use their credit card or debit card.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stated in its annual policy statement that it will come up with the guidelines to formulate a payment system using mobile phones. RBI is discussing seriously with service providers, banks, and other financial institutions about this move and the guidelines are expected to be released on June 15th.

Already, mobile banking in India is gaining popularity big time with lots of big banks embracing this technology to make it easier for their customers. Prominent banks like ICICI, HDFC, and SBI offer mobile banking facility and ICICI has gone one step ahead and has started a mobile based service called mShop which allows you to shop using your mobile phone.

I think this is a great move by RBI. Mobile phone market in India is huge and a mobile based payment service makes complete sense at this stage. FYI, I had already blogged about a mobile based service in India where you can use your mobile phone as your airplane boarding pass. Things like this can really help people a lot and can make mobile phones more useful than what they are right now. Stay tuned for more updates on this issue.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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