I keep harping on this issue, because I see it as the biggest current barrier to INSP getting the breakout exposure with the masses, and the street. No one wants to use a device that is a pain. I have still not purchased a web enabled phone, because it does not do what I want. Watching my buddy make 6 or 7 entries to get a stock quote has convinced me that the current offerings are not going to attract many outside of the dedicated...and obsessed -g- Still good numbers next week will be hard to ignore, and looking at the various subscriber data that we do have, it at least looks positive.
I did get my name on the list at Kyocera to be considered for product evaluation. I think the new Kyocera 6035 is the best wireless solution we are going to have, at least for the first half of this year. Note: MOT DELAYED the introduction of the new Accompli 009 I linked here last week. This was going to be one of the products that I thought might really stimulate some interest in the states. All I can find out is that it will be a late 2001 introduction, instead of the next month or two. The MOT V. Series V100 will be available at mid year...or so they say this week.
Commentary: Wireless Web gap between U.S., Japan
Gartner Viewpoint
Special to CNET News.com
January 18, 2001, 1:25 p.m. PT
By Tole Hart, Gartner Analyst
The rapid growth of the wireless Web in Japan largely reflects how far behind Japan has been in Internet access.
See news story:
Mobile markets fall flat for many consumers
NTT DoCoMo's I-mode service and related wireless Web devices represent the first exposure to the Internet for many Japanese users. While the Internet was taking off in the United States in the 1990s, potential Japanese Net users sat on the sidelines because high telecommunication rates made Web surfing prohibitively expensive. Thus, services such as I-mode tapped tremendous pent-up demand.
On the other side of the coin, Web-enabled phones and other devices make a relatively poor showing for Americans used to surfing the Net on a PC. PCs support faster connection speeds, which enrich users' experience, and the wired Internet has a larger amount of content and greater variety.
U.S. wireless Web services have also grown more slowly than Japan's simply because fewer Web-enabled devices have been sold in the United States. The lack of a nationwide wireless provider was partly responsible, but this situation has begun to change as several providers' wireless Web services (such as Sprint PCS, Cingular, Reflex and BlackBerry) have established national footprints.
Finally, it is not the small screens of handhelds that have slowed wireless Web adoption in the United States so much as it is the high number of click-throughs needed to get to what the user wants. For now, navigating on Web-enabled devices is a bit cumbersome, but this will improve.
U.S. users will eventually come to covet the services that the wireless Web can support, especially messaging. The wireless Web may have unfolded differently in Japan than in the United States, but users in both countries want what it can offer.
(For related commentary on 3G wireless Web phones, see TechRepublic.com--free registration required.)
Entire contents, Copyright © 2001 Gartner Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein represents Gartner's initial commentary and analysis and has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Positions taken are subject to change as more information becomes available and further analysis is undertaken. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof.
HAGO
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