Forthcoming article on Mobiles 30.05.11

Going 4G by Derek Wyatt 24.05.11
  
The first 4G mobile phones have been on sale this past year in America though coverage is still patchy. India is set to roll out it out later this year which would be a result given that until last November, her 700m mobiles were stuck in 2G mode. BT will be piloting 4G in Newquay this autumn and then Ofcom will be auctioning the spectrum early next year for a full launch in 2013.
 
Meanwhile, Kenya and Rwanda continue to surprise us all with their sim-based M-Pesa mobiles which enable micro payments and money transfers to be made – itself a first - though Orange UK has announced a similar proposal to be launched soon.
 
When does the Oyster card morph into a sim-card and vice-versa? No doubt Apple iPhone 5 will have the answers. Of course, Google has jumped in with the announcement of a wallet-styled sim. And if I haven’t OD’d on information, Chinese manufacturers are testing the market by putting out 4 million free thin-mobiles in the state of Maharashtra in India. Maybe Chris Anderson’s “Free” philosophy has come full circle.
 
Clearly, the world is going mobile faster than the world can go mobile. There is an insatiable appetite demand for 3D films, for gaming, for live television, for greater bandwidth and for a world roaming policy which doesn’t favour the mobile operator. Cue Governments which as per usual are behind the infrastructure and policy curves. Nothing changes.
 
What is clear is that once the Kindle v iPad v Tablet debate is resolved when a manufacturer produces a handbag or suit pocket-sized version which incorporates a cell phone with a pull out screen then truly the world will have gone properly mobile. The rush now must be to give us all our own work and home hub systems on the move via a whole range of bespoke “Apps”. Already you can work your central heating, Sky box and house alarms – soon, you’ll be able to take your heart beat and temperature and for doctors to see you’ve taken your daily dose of insulin if your are diabetic. It seems the only limiting factor will only be our own creativity.
 
It’s a moot point as to whether the onset of an Apps world means that search becomes less important. Clearly, the tableau of Apps that we have as our home page represents a version of our own biographical needs. Do we then have to move outside this new paradigm? I’m sure if we do, Google will have an App for it.
 
Some might conclude that mobiles are revolutionary. They certainly contributed to the Arab Spring though Tunisians (2G) could only use text and calling whereas Egyptians (3G) could and did use mapping and photography. I have seen the evidence which shows how Mubarak and his secret service lackeys demanded that the three main mobile operators took down their signals in the roads leading into Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, two days before the huge crowds started their demonstrations……….
 
And my hunch for 2012 – Facebook will announce a new mobile Apps service called “Checkbook” and overnight become the largest bank in the world.