Muddling Technology And Services
from the this-one-goes-to-eleven dept
A few different stories out there today aren't too much on their own, but come together to highlight a significant problem facing the mobile industry: how it continually lets the latest technology race to market well ahead of suitable services or business models. First is the news that the number of Americans using mobile browsers has been pretty stagnant since the beginning of the year. In spite of that, a survey done by a telecom billing software company says mobile content will be a $9 billion business this year, with the percentage of global mobile users downloading content tripling to 60 percent. Both stories highlight a number of the pitfalls of current mobile data and content offerings: the first commentator gives a pretty damning verdict, saying the industry "has utterly failed to provide Internet handsets and services worth our time and money", while the content survey points out that operators must build better relationships with customers "to deliver high-quality services that meet the markets' needs." Neither one carries a very positive message for the industry, instead highlighting the fact that vendors and operators are often out of step with consumers, particularly when it comes to new service offerings. Their standby, tried-and-failed solution? Bring out the next generation of technology sooner, hype the hell out of it, and assume it will solve all the problems. But the real issue is that consumers are interested in not what technology can do, but what they can do with technology. Until the mobile industry -- particularly operators -- figure out they can't market technology and that they need to market compelling services and solutions, expect little change.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
