Posted on Wednesday, 2nd September 2009 by Administrator
Business is war they say which is why mobile phone companies are always engaged in ruthless take-no-prisoners wars.
It hasn’t been a single continuous war. By my count, we are witnessing the Third Mobile Phone World War. Motorola and Nokia shared the spoils of the First Mobile Phone World War which was fought in the eighties and early nineties. Motorola pretty much dominated the market in the first part of the period where phones were good for just making calls and text messaging. Nokia made a strong showing in the second half and by the time multimedia phones began arriving, it was just ahead.
The Second Mobile Phone World War began with camera phones. Skirmishes and outright battles continue to this very day as phones with more megapixels, video capacities and sound quality emerge. There’s no dispute as to who won this war. Nokia strengthened its position to such an extent that at one time it held a staggering 35% share of the world phone market.
There were casualties of course and other winners. Siemens and BenQ died and Motorola ended up badly wounded. On the other hand, Samsung and LG began their rise. Sony Ericsson did well at some stages but overall, it never quite posed a threat to Nokia. HTC was another major success story while almost under the radar; BlackBerry sets appeared in the hands of corporate bigwigs.
The current world war is about coming up with mobile devices that connect to the mobile web and make sharing easy. Consumers are now buying devices that make tweeting or Facebooking easy while on the go. Lately this war has got even hotter as apps become the new sensation.
So who’s winning? The war is far from settled but already some brands have seized the initiative. Apple essentially sent out just one warrior model but it was so spot-on that it has become an overnight sensation. BlackBerry is in the process of transforming itself into a hip consumer brand and so far, the strategy is working. Samsung, LG and HTC have reworked their device’s feature sets and are rushing out models that get consumers online easily.
As for Nokia, these are difficult times for the brand that used to pretty much own the space. The Finnish giant is in the midst of its toughest battle to date but don’t write it off so easily. The last one year or so has seen a new Nokia emerging, albeit with some hiccups and wrong turns. Mobile devices remain important but it has also moved into web services as well as mobile apps and content sectors. Nokia is also entering the netbook sector with its Nokia Booklet 3G. There are also strong rumours that it will unveil smartphones that run on an operating system other than Symbian – most bets are on the Maemo OS.
I hope to get a better understanding of where Nokia is heading when I attend, as a media guest of Nokia, the Nokia World 09 gathering that takes place 2-3 September 2009 in Stuttgart. It’s going to be pretty special – not because of the location – but rather because of its timing within the context of the challenges it is facing. It will be an interesting trip and I will share details next month of the weapons that Nokia will be using in the 3rd Mobile Phone World War.
The Third Mobile Phone World War of course, is far from over and woe betide any manufacturer that assumes it has won.
If you feel bloodthirsty and want to watch the action, one nice spot to observe this war is our GoMobile Expo in October. All major brands will be there and you will have the chance to assess who will do well this year.
The expo, I must point out, is just one-third of the GoMobile Show. There’s also the Mobile World Star Awards & Gala Dinner. We will be announcing in the next issue which phones have been shortlisted for the Mobile World Awards. At the same time stay tuned for details of the inOvation Malaysia recognitions which are open to mobile content, services and application companies. inOvation Malaysia accolades were conceptualised last year by Maxis and Malaysia’s leading telco will continue its involvement this year too. If you have a mobile app, content or service that you think stands out from the rest, nominate it for the inOvation Malaysia recognition. Details of how companies can nominate themselves will be available soon at www.gomobile.my.
There’s also a link on the website to the registration page of the GoMobile Conference – our contribution to the mobile industry. We won’t be charging anyone to attend this one day conference but seats will be prioritised for entrepreneurs and senior reps from the mobile, ICT, advertising and marketing industries. It will be a power packed session centred on the theme ‘Fast Forward For Mobile’.
If you’re into mobile, plan to be at the conference and dinner.
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