Nowadays, there is a lot of buzz around the word Mobile 2.0. Some prefer to use the term Mobile Web 2.0. But the question is what is Mobile 2.0? To me, Mobile 2.0 is the next generation of mobile internet services that will completely transform the web and mobility space that we're currently witnessing. I always believed that mobile devices can change our life dramatically. The reason being, nowadays, a standard mobile come with the features like camera, FM, Maps etc. So there is always a possibility that we can take a photo or video and share it instantly with others. We can download a song from my favourite radio station and share it with others. With rapid penetration of 3G and other Wi-Fi technologies we are fast moving towards using internet technology on our mobile. Mobile 2.0 is designed for two way communication. Instead of distributing ringtones, wallpapers, music, information and videos to the consumer by telecom operators, Mobile 2.0 will enable users to have instant access to wide range of data services that includes blogging, wikis, Flickr, Youtube or social networking. Thus Mobile 2.0 is the convergence of mobile device with next generation of data service. Going forward Mobile 2.0 is going to be dominant access method with mobile devices, having more features and networks more powerful and robust.
Key drivers to Mobile 2.0 are:-
· Low cost of mobile devices compared to PC or laptop
· Mobile devices are portable and always with us.
· Rapid penetration of Wireless Technologies like 3G
· New Business opportunities
The big question with mobile 2.0 is whether the web 2.0 applications will go mobile or there will be mobile specific applications. Before finding the answer, we need to understand that a mobile device is not a PC. It has a small screen and users have a different way of interaction with a Mobile device. Most of the standard mobile devices available in the market have a web browser with Java and Flash support. So accessing a Web 2.0 content in mobile is easy, but the scope of Mobile 2.0 goes much further. Mobile 2.0 is about delivering mobile content, which is personalized as well as localized. An example would be like a Mobile 2.0 enabled social networking site will be able deliver the content as well as able to locate me where I am and will ensure that I can be reached instantly via text message.
A very interesting development in the mobile device space is that many Internet players are entering the market. Apart from the handset manufacturers like Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson or HTC, companies like Google, Apple (iPhone), Microsoft (Zune) and HP are also entering the market. They are also coming up with their own set of APIs which can be utilized for creating Mashups like iPhone SDK, Mobile Ajax, Nokia Web Run-Time, Google Gears, Android, Yahoo! Blueprint. Today there are many Mobile 2.0 applications in the market mostly built on J2ME, Flash or Ajax based frameworks. J2ME based Mobile Services Architecture (MSA, JSR 248) is now supported by most of the standard mobile devices. Rich Internet/Interactive Applications (RIA) is being used extensively in mobile web browsers. Many frameworks are available for creating RIAs like Adobe’s Flash / Flex, Microsoft’s Silverlight, Sun’s Java FX, AJAX or Laszlo’s OpenLaszlo.
Few key challenges ahead of Mobile 2.0
· There is a plethora of phones, multimedia formats and network configurations that needs to be standardized.
· Finding the right advertising model for facilitating ad-sponsored content.
· Quality of service by telecom operators for multimedia content which are usually bandwidth intensive.
· High cost of advanced multimedia handsets
A simple, futuristic example of Mobile 2.0 could be:
I traveled to another city. On my way I took pictures and video using my mobile phone. I instantly uploaded them to Flickr/Youtube to share them with my family. So they can now track my trip in pictures and videos. On my way, I can access a mashup application on my mobile to tell me the places worth visiting which being integrated with a map application will guide me to those places. The same application will also give me some background information about the places. Using the same application, I can find the nearest coffee shop, ATM or mall based on my current location. A chat and email client will also enable me to be connected with my friends and colleagues. I can also have an application to pay my bills and trade online. These new class of data services leveraging mobility is surely going to change our life.
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