When Apple head honcho Steve Jobs stood in front of the crowd during his annual Macworld keynote address in 2007 and delivered the iPhone to an eager public, something changed in the world of mobile phones.
2010 will be the year where something is going to change again. With Google Android, Apple iPhone, Microsoft Windows 7, Symbian, Blackberry and more, the number of smart mobiles on the market will be higher than ever. But how will you choose the right platform? Will it be a particular app that you want, or range of apps? Will it be the handset? The operating system? How about the brand?
The hardest thing about setting up your mobile phone is configuring the settings and transferring your personal information. This is where the connectivity comes into play. For example, putting your information from your current iPhone onto your new iPhone is simple. Doing the same from your iPhone to a Nokia? Much harder.
We all want our smart phones to be personal information solutions, that is why we buy them. But as they grow into the broader audience, they will be used by customers who don’t care about configuring the device and just want it to work.
Here is why 2010 will be so important to the manufacturers. When you choose the right platform for you, you will also buy some apps, load in some content and spend a lot of time and energy doing it. Doing it all over again next year when you get a new phone – no way. And that’s why you will see even more noise created in the phone world this year when it comes to compatibility and why vendors will try even harder to get you as a customer. Because once you’re hooked, it’ll be harder to let go – not because you are so overwhelmed by the technology on offer, but due to the amount of hassle involved in changing to a new vendor.