Five trends in mobile computing

The next stage in mobile computing is to put some interesting plays on the stage. Okay, that is a strained comparison, but I recently attended Xconomy's Mobile Innovation in New England forum and came away impressed. 

If you are in the mood to read the tweatstreams of the event, do a Twitter search on #xconmobile. The event was sold out and speakers included Rich Miner, the managing partner of the new Google Ventures arm and Ted Morgan, CEO of Skyhook Wireless. Xconomy writer Wade Roush has a decent wrap-up of the wireless event.  

Here are the five main trends I took away from the one day event -- which was one of the better events I've attended recently.

1. Appstore madness. As usual Apple has blazed the trail and now it is up to Microsoft, RIM and Google to catch up. Mobile devices and networks are simply a platform, it is up to the developers to come up with the cool apps that make a platform great. Maybe it has always been this way, but in the mobile space everyone got fixated on the device rather than the application. That is changing.

2. Business matters. Apple has never seemed to interested in the business to business marketplace. But, unlike consumers, a business will put its money where its strategy is. Business applications for mobile devices have been sorely lacking. That is changing.

3. The carriers may be finally getting it. The big carriers have been some of the biggest obstacles in getting the mobile application business moving. They were way too much in the "my way or the highway" mode of business partners. Now the carriers are suddenly interested in partnering. Carriers should do what carriers do best, build infrastructure and bill in small increments.

4. The mobile device is a platform, not an adjunct. Applications need to written for the smaller user interface and unique characteristics of the devices. Stop trying to squeeze down applications that were written for the big screen PC environment.

5. Your mobile phone knows where you and your friends are. The location determining capabilities of the mobile network continue to improve as the processing horsepower residing in the phone and on the network grows. The combination of the two will result in location aware applications that enhance social networks, banking and GPS-based services. Knowing the location of you and your friends also carries privacy concerns that need to be addressed upfront.

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