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Today, there are roughly 4 mobile phone users worldwide for every 1 computer user. When looking at the numbers, it is clear that SMS is still the widest reaching communications tool available today: -4 billion mobile SMS users, globally -10 million iPhones shipped, globally, in '08 -3 billion Nokia phones shipped, globally, in '08 - 150 million Facebook users - 45 million LinkedIn users In addition to the social media applications, the smart phone evolution has certainly gained the collective attention of enterprise IT and financial services providers. With ~90,000 apps, iPhone is getting much attention. But, as businesses start to plan their mobile strategies, they need to reach all of their customers. Banks must consider their entire customer base when rolling out critical mobile services; and more specifically what happens to those who cannot be reached on a smart phone? Four billion of us, however, can access SMS in seconds, from any phone. Over the years, Mobile Communication has transformed from a mere convenience to an absolute must-have, both in the US and globally. In the US, mobility is most commonly used for social connections, and is gaining momentum for high value transactions and mobile services such as banking, healthcare, government, and more, albeit on a slower scale, especially when compared to other, developing regions around the world. In other regions of the world, SMS is being used for critical banking functions and other mobile services such as airtime top ups, bill payments, real-time payments, lottery, remittances, point of sale payments, and more. The US is concentrating heavily on the smart phone market, which has yet to reach critical mass adoption, which equates to future revenue. Most enterprises and financial institutions are clearly looking to increase the all-important bottom line today. Regardless, we believe US-centric companies will continue to focus on iPhone and other smart devices. Given the attention to smart phones, however, we predict that SMS, USSD and other ubiquitous, "built in" technologies will continue to thrive and make their way into important use cases as the "tip of the spear" for enterprise, government, healthcare, financial services offerings, and other critical mobile services. From their global vantage point, Clickatell, which is a global leader in mobile communications specializing in SMS messaging as a service, says that it sees many of the world's top carriers realizing strong revenue streams from messaging fees paid by businesses because the implementation process provides for quick and easy access. They believe A2P SMS revenue would thrive if the US carriers would consider the following: 1. Reduce the fees for short codes and/or allow long numbers to be used for A2P messaging. 2. Streamline the service review and approval process from months to weeks or days. 3. Continue to enforce the opt-in/opt-out and objectionable content rules to ensure responsible use. For the latest Samsung India check http://www.thinkdigit.com John Wells is an expert in personal electronic gadgets including laptops, Samsung Corby, LCD Tvs and Digital Cameras, and many more.
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