Will Next Killer App Be Mobile?

What is the next killer application? This is one of those perennial questions whose answer often seems obvious in retrospect but was not visible when you peered into the crystal ball.

While a lot of enthusiasm currently surrounds hosted programs on the Web, I think the killer applications for 2007 will appear in the mobile segment.

The combination of smart handheld devices, business applications enhanced by mobility, GPS software, and robust cellular and other wireless networks all adds up to the year of business mobility.

Recently, I attended the CTIA wireless show in Orlando, Fla., where my current thinking about killer business applications was reinforced. Consider the following:

The Federal Communications Commission is auctioning yet another chunk of frequency spectrum. The 700MHz frequency is really taken from the television industry, which freed the frequency as television shifted from UHF to digital.

As FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told CTIA attendees, a successful auction is the FCC's top priority this year.

The additional spectrum is important to mobile business applications because it exists in a frequency range that works well in penetrating walls and is capable of longer-distance transmission than other ranges.

The auction, if successful, can further the cause of bringing wireless broadband speeds closer to wired speeds.

Microsoft has a strong mobile application environment in the Windows Mobile 6 smart-phone operating system.

I think Mobile 6 will be more important to Microsoft in 2007 than Vista. The value of Vista is not immediately apparent to users, while Mobile 6, with a much richer Web experience, is something users immediately want.

At the CTIA show, AT&T officials said AT&T will be providing Mobile 6 as a free upgrade for Samsung BlackJack, Cingular HTC 8525 and Palm Treo 750 users.

An AT&T that is now re-energized is developing a mobile business platform with the same fervor it's applying to its consumer applications.

AT&T Chief Operating Officer Randall Stephenson in his CTIA keynote made sure to mention his company's expanding mobile payments system (a joint effort with BancorpSouth and Firethorn Holdings) and application platform that, in real time, formats data to fit the screen of whichever device is requesting the information.

Both projects will improve business applications and make it easier to use the mobile platforms for business transactions. In particular, the payments system will bring online banking to mobile devices and will include enhanced security options.

On the show floor, I was taken with the range of new mobile business applications that solved real business needs.

One company used a combination of cellular "walkie-talkie" messaging combined with GPS reporting to allow a manager with dispersed field representatives to not only track employees but also know how long their service calls were taking. By using that information, the manager could schedule his workers more efficiently.

The ability to track and manage a far-flung network of employees is one mobility application that I think will find broad industry appeal, ranging from small businesses, such as local pizza delivery companies, to large organizations, such as trucking companies with nationwide operations.

Research In Motion President Michael Lazaridis gave a presentation in which he went through a long list of mobile-enabled business applications that allow companies to view real-time financial performance, current inventory, and purchasing and sales performance as a sale is taking place. And all those applications were viewable on a handheld device that is always connected to a company's core business applications.

Copyright 2007 by Ziff Davis Media, Distributed by United Press International

Related stories:

Slower growth expected in tech industry
Lower prices on consumer electronics may help carry the tech industry through a difficult holiday shopping season. But analysts believe corporate spending on computer servers, PCs and business software is entering a period of slower growth that will last well into next year.
Google offeres up a new vision of computing's future
Tuesday, and it has little to do with desktops or laptops. It's a future that focuses on mobility, with access to the Internet - and the ability to search its vastness, of course - no matter where you are from a device that clips to your belt or sits in your purse. The Google phone has arrived.
MIT tests self-propelled cage for fish farming
(PhysOrg.com) -- A self-propelling underwater cage developed and recently tested by an MIT researcher could not only cut costs for offshore ocean-based fish farms but also aid the movement of such operations into the high seas, avoiding the user conflicts and compromised water quality of coastal zones.
Motorola Releases Next Gen Push-To-Talk on CDMA 1x EVDO Rev A
Motorola, Inc. today announced that it has released its next generation Push-To-Talk over Cellular (PoC) solution, optimized for CDMA 1x networks equipped with EVDO Rev A data capability. This solution leverages the improved performance capabilities provided by the CDMA 1x EVDO Rev A standard including higher speed data rates, low call set-up time latency and quality of service (QoS).
How much risk can you handle? Making better investment decisions
Many Americans make investment decisions with their retirement funds. But they don't always make informed judgments. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research introduces a new tool that investors can use to choose investments based on their financial goals and risk attitudes.
Study Shows Promise for Item-Level Use of RFID in Retail Environment
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study by the RFID Research Center at the University of Arkansas shows further promise for the use of radio-frequency identification tags on individual retail items. Researchers tested three popular retail scenarios, and the technology yielded read-rate percentages at or near 100 percent with one or more combinations of tags and readers. The results are encouraging for managers looking for better methods of tracking and managing inventory through all phases of a retail operation, including point of sale.
IBM Research Develops Technology to Aid Human Memory
(PhysOrg.com) -- To help people remember key facts, today, IBM unveiled a software technology created in its Research Labs that uses the images, sounds, and text recorded on everyday mobile devices to help people recall names, faces, conversations and other important information.
Intel Outlines Plans for New Category of Smarter, Purpose-Built 'System on Chip' Designs
As Internet access continues to be added to all kinds of computers and devices, Intel executives outlined a plan to use its chip design expertise, factory capacity, advanced manufacturing techniques and the economics of Moore's Law to usher in a new category of highly integrated, purpose-built and Web-savvy System on Chip (SoC) designs and products. The company also unveiled its first eight such products under its Intel EP80579 Integrated Processor family for security, storage, communications, and industrial robotics.

News discussion:

Technology news