Google and Microsoft to fuel mobile innovation

The arrival of the giants will open up the sector to Web 2.0 style services

Neon Kelly, Computing 23 Apr 2008

Google and Microsoft will be the main drivers behind the next generation of mobile web applications, according to research firm Gartner.

The so-called mobile 2.0 sector has been stifled by a closed environment, said Nick Jones, vice president of Gartner. Operators favour this approach as it maximises their ability to generate revenue by serving up third-party content.

But the rise of Google's Android platform and other open platforms will create the right environment for phone-based innovation.

"It's taken 10 years of experimentation on the static web to come up with sites like Facebook, Myspace and YouTube," said Jones.

"Those were 10 years during which the barriers for entry were very low – enabling anyone with a server to provide services. It has been much harder in the mobile world, because the operators want to remain in the value chain, controlling what goes out through their ports."

Companies like Google can buck this trend because they are more interested in building a platform on which other users can create tools and applications, said Jones.

"While they are coming up form behind in terms of the sector, Google are absolutely at the top of their game when it comes to advertising and building new ecosystems."

And the growing interest in mobile displayed by the Mountain View search firm will be matched by its main rivals.

"A combination of Microsoft and Yahoo could be powerhouse in the industry, if the acquisition goes through," said Jones.

"Microsoft will certainly become increasingly interested in mobile, with or without Yahoo. I would expect to see a number of products from the Live stable over the next year."

The arrival of these giants in the mobile sector will help to fuel the innovation the industry has lacked so far. But the operators themselves may be less than happy about the forthcoming change, said Jones.

"In the long term, mobile operators may well end up like Internet Service Providers. It's not the future they want, but they simply lack content that cannot be taken away from them."

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