Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was brandishing a Samsung smartphone when he gave his keynote speech at the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment expo in San Francisco on Oct. 23. Ballmer predicted mobile phones will soon be the primary device to access the Internet for most people.
The global IT industry is all a-flutter about smartphones, the BlackJack 2 Ballmer was wielding included. They were the biggest attraction at the CTIA, which brought together 350 global IT companies. Smartphones today are almost on a par with PCs, with their e-mail, camera, music player, and even Internet phone functions. Visitors Googled and checked their e-mail on the new smartphones -- as Ballmer said, the question now before the firm is, "How do we evolve the phone so it participates fully in this world, fully in the lifestyle side of this world, and the work style side of this world?"
◆ iPhone Impact
The exhibition showed that Apple's iPhone had a massive impact on the industry. The iPhone, which offers access to such services Google Map and YouTube, sold 1.1 million units in the third quarter this year. With it, Apple essentially commercialized the smartphone, which had so far been regarded as a perpetual toy for gadget fiends.
Now, global IT companies are trying to catch up. Microsoft recently pledged to produce a smartphone that costs less than US$100 with its partners. Already, Samsung Electronics joined hands with Microsoft to launch the BlackJack 2 -- hence Ballmer's enthusiasm for the device -- which runs on the Windows OS for mobile phones. Verizon is to release the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 as the flagship phone for the fourth quarter. Other companies including i-mate also released smart phones that feature GPS, online chat and documentation services.
◆ Competition
The competition has gone beyond launching high-tech devices. As mobile phones become more like PCs, the phone industry is paying more attention to services. Just like the PC industry, it is focusing more on what services it can provide than what hardware it can develop. The real moneymakers in the PC industry, after all, are software and service providers such as Microsoft and Google.
The CTIA provided the venue for companies like Microsoft, Nokia and AT&T to show off their new services for mobile phones. Ballmer introduced Microsoft's new Mobile Device Manager 2008 and promised XBox game software for mobile phones. Nokia introduced SEEK, the third dimension of its mobile sharing site, MOSH (mobilize and share), which allows users to upload and download mobile phone content. According to Nokia, test service users number some 6 million. Nokia also supplied mobile phones to Reuters' reporters and started services gathering their news reports in real time. AT&T, meanwhile, announced it is launching Napster for mobiles in partnership with the online music provider.
◆ Korea Lags Behind
The smartphone boom has yet to reach Korea. Having developed the code division multiple access (CDMA) technology for mobile phones, there is as yet insufficient demand for smartphones here due to the high PC penetration rate, and the off-putting service price. That is why there are growing concerns that Korea could lose its edge in a rapidly evolving mobile phone market. One Korean mobile phone contents provider at CTIA said, "It's not easy for Korean software companies to boost their competitiveness since large mobile operators have such a firm grip on the market. Various contents must be developed in order for Korea to maintain its leading status as IT powerhouse."
