Mobile News

The predicted dominance of mobile terminals as the prime channel for internet access is complicated by the plethora of mobile device types. Although this report focuses on low-end smartphones (cellular handsets), it is worth noting the full range of mobile devices which differ according to functionality (ie voice, text, graphics), physical form (ie handset size, screen size and type) and method/speed of access (ie wireless modem and syncing). Primary mobile devices include:

* PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants)–connect to the internet through wireless modems or are synced offline using an internet-enabled PC. Examples include Palm Pilot; Handspring Visor; and Pocket PC

* Smartphones–a hybrid of the mobile phone and PDA which supports voice and data services such as email, internet access, SMS and personal organisation tools. Examples include Nokia’s Communicator and Ericsson’s MC218

* Pagers–the latest generation feature two-way messaging as well as personal organisation tools. One example is RIM’s Blackberry.

Whereas the fixed internet environment is largely homogeneous in its use of a refined set of mature and interoperable operating systems, internet applications on mobile devices embrace a variety of operating systems and microbrowsers. Mobile handsets employ different microbrowsers, while the less widespread device types draw upon a range of proprietary systems. Both PDAs and smartphones use Palm, Windows CE and EPOC/Symbian while pagers depend on various closed systems such as RIM OS and Motorola OS. Recent announcements featuring device-specific mobile banking solutions have included:

* November 2000: iAnywhere solutions and Ericsson have teamed with Swedbank to offer mobile banking from Ericsson EPOC-based smartphones and communicators. This `always on’ solution allows some transaction execution to take place offline, thereby increasing application and battery performance. This innovative collaboration forms the first in a series of initiatives through the global alliance between iAnywhere solutions and Ericsson

* December 2000: UK bank Nationwide announced a Pocket PC banking for internet-registered customers. Using, for example, a Compaq iPaq or Hewlett Packard Jornada in conjunction with a mobile internet connection, the system works on Microsoft’s Pocket Internet Explorer application. A first for European mobile banking, the solution enables customers to:

– View account balance and last 12 transactions

– Secure access to 10 Nationwide accounts

– View details of Nationwide current accounts, personal loans and mortgages.

It is important to acknowledge that the boundaries between device types are always shifting. PDAs and mobile handsets already show signs of convergence–Symbian differentiates `smartphones’ and `communicators’ depending on the balance between voice and data management. It is similarly worth comparing the value of OS-led solutions to protocol-led (ie WAP) solutions: web clipping as used by Palm is better than WAP in so far as content providers do not have to maintain two separate versions of the same page. However, as proprietary systems each OS betrays negative cost and architecture factors.