[CeBIT] Wrapping Up

CeBIT closed its doors a few days ago. Simultaneously, Hannover let out a collective sigh of relief as the throngs of red-eyed, sleep deprived exhibitors and business people who had taken over the city departed in mass. Now that all the fuss is over, it’s time to sit back and reflect on what we saw and didn’t see at this year’s CeBIT and make some predictions about the future.

This year’s CeBIT saw the evolution of handsets to support better existing carrier services. Texting and music based handsets were very popular. Better texting handsets will result in more text messages. Better music phones will result in more music downloads. By making revenue generating services easier to use carriers stand only to benefit. Carriers will undoubtedly clamor after the handsets which best implement these services. Similarly the new generation of TV and navigation based handsets hope to make the introduction of these services both painless and obvious to the consumer to spur their adoption. The growth of the handset markets showcase both the strength and diversity of the industry as wildly exotic designs flourish next door to traditional candy bars and sliders. Overall, CeBIT was very positive news for carriers and manufactures.

The outlook of the mobile software market was less bright. No exhibitor at CeBIT provided a sustainable business model for third party mobile applications capable of attracting new users. It wasn’t that mobile applications weren’t at CeBIT. Compass, WikiEye and Midmay were innovative mobile applications. But they all had offered no sustainable business model. All three were research projects funded by a mix of government sponsorships and university grants.

All third party mobile applications at CeBIT were showcased in the Future Parc pavilion. Even at the world’s largest telecommunications and information technology trade show, mobile applications are still seen as something that isn’t ready for the general consumer. Seeing in person the potential of the three applications we covered this kind of thinking seems misguided.

What does all this mean? Third party mobile application cannot look to the carriers or manufactures for support in making mobile applications mainstream. Both are too busy reaping the benefits of existing services and implementing the future as they see it (mobile TV and navigation services) to make the push needed. Application developers must take distribution into their own hands, spreading their creations from the ground up. Serious legwork has to be done to educate and excite consumers on the individual level about the work being done on mobile. Whether this means showing a friend your favorite mobile app or a full fledged marketing campaign aimed at showcasing non-carrier driven mobile developments, it’s clear something has to be done to evolve the current mindset towards mobile.

-jb