The Androids are coming!

If you search for Android in Google there no surprise that the first hit will take you to Google’s Open Handset Alliance page with tons of information and help on Android, and in fact 90% of the first page results are all about Google’s Android. There is one hit that points to the wikipedia page describing a more familiar definition of an Android.

Now if you look at that page, the results from Google are predictive to say the least, but one surprising fact about the page is that there is no sponsored links! Well there is one, sometimes, but there is no one making money from that page.

Now if your business model is based on advertising revenue and you are the number one search engine in the world with millions of hits per second, there’s no wonder you are a leading success and a global brand. Your revenue is based on selling advertising space, your clients pay for the benefit of reaching your vast audience and rely on you placing there ads on the first page in the right place. Of course you have competition, but being number one and staying at number means that you are smart, competitive and understand what the consumers want better than your rivals.

Staying two steps (or more) ahead of the rest means that they are all competing with each other whilst you are defining the next steps and not just waiting for it to arrive.

So who or what will threaten Google? This recent article in Business Week raises an interesting point.

You see according to the article, over two thirds of Americans have experienced Mobile Internet Services and of course this figure is growing. In Europe and in Asia we’ve been doing it for years and faster, but with wireless cities appearing, WiMax on the way, China and India exploding onto the scene and more recently, Cuba, there will be a shift from the traditional PC to the Mobile device. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t likely to be an overnight shift nor will it be a migration from PC to Mobile. What is happening is that more and more of us are experiencing better quality browsers and applications on the mobile platforms and we are embracing it.

According to Gartner, in 2006 there were just under 1 billion mobile phone units shipped worldwide and in 2007 this was around 1.13 billion. With Apple and RIM entering the market the devices are more attractive and functionally stable compared to the browsing experience on early Nokia and Motorola devices. These new devices really are becoming usable and I can at last see the day where I carry a single device.

With the increase in mobility the target audience for the ad execs is now mouth wateringly vast, BUT, the traditional banner ad and sponsored search ad will not do. The billions of mobile and wireless consumers will not accept the same content squeezed into a mobile device display. So, what’s the plan?

Enter Android. Develop a new mobile operating system that will allow your winning business model to thrive. So far, the advertising on Android is anyone’s guess, but personalisation and profiling seems to be the way forward. The recent launch of Blyk from Orange is a good example of how Google’s business model will continue to thrive on the mobile platform and some are predicting a coverflow type of interface that will contain target advertising as well as the content you request.

On the road again…

It’s that time of year again, when the kids break up from school and the airlines hike up the prices and the threat of airport and airline strikes add to the joy stress of seeking out that anticipated annual search for fun, rest and of course a little education.

We are not unique.  A few million will be heading off to far and wide destinations in search of much the same.

One thing we will all have in common of course is that fact that we will all be connected in some way or another.  The ability to have mobile access to voice and data is great and extremely seamless.  The only downside is of course the cost of roaming outside your home territory. My wife has suggested that we buy local SIM cards whilst abroad.  Can anyone suggest the best and most economical way of doing this in the US?

We have IP devices that offer the attraction of cost effective VoIP, but there will still be a need to call each other across a cell network.

I bought a new putter at last!  Be afriad Alex…. be very afriad! 

Why so early?

It is 04:45 in the morning and I’ve got a plane to catch. Why on earth have I decided to start a blog? Certainly something I’ve been meaning to do for sometime, but to actually do this at such a strange hour on the Sunday morning is something I will spend the rest of the day congratulating myself on!

Anyway, welcome, I’m off to Florida for a few days and will be updating this along the way.