As the second half of 2011 begins, the top researchers in the mobile industry have started to release their predictions regarding the trends within the industry that will occur in 2012.
So far, the predictions have included the belief that commerce will be driven by mobile devices that year, Google and Apple will continue to vie for dominance of the industry, and daily life will become further influenced by mobile location services.
Senior analyst Nitesh Patel from Wireless Strategies has explained that m-commerce will skyrocket in its importance as a result of the power of the mobile phone as a commerce tool. He stated that the devices provide consumers with the ability to instantly compare prices, review products, and discover a store’s inventory levels before they actually make a purchase either over the device itself, or using the device at the point of sale.
Research partner Michael Vakulenko of Vision Mobile focused on the battle between Google and Apple over the mobile industry and their attempts to lead the way with mobile content, devices, and services. While Apple has designed its mobile environment as a premium experience for its users, obtained by way of highly recognizable and highly priced devices, Google has created its mobile environment as a place that is designed to be accessible to the largest number of people and different devices.
Grizzly Analytics partner, Dr. Bruce Krulwich, highlighted the use of location-based technologies and services for next year, and pointed out that the trend is already being seen in today’s handsets. Though this is currently based on GPS technology working with apps which can be turned off and on, location-based marketing, reminders, and other services will soon have a central place within the average person’s daily routines.
