Mobile 2008 = PC 1982

Why the mobile phone industry today looks a lot like the PC industry 25 years ago:

Several players selling standalone “boxes” (or bricks). Atari, Commodore, Tandy, Apple back then. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Apple now
Incompatible software platforms
Incompatible hardware and peripherals
Nascent application development industry
Device seen as replacing several existing devices

Big differences:

Sheer number of mobile phones, sheer variety in features and, consequently, price points
Growth markets are in the East
Carriers could make or break innovation

Game-changers - then and now:

The IBM PC and its open platform. No current-day equivalent
Standard operating system and, consequently, standard development environment. Current-day equivalent: Google’s Android, possibly

One Comments

Raman on January 5th, 2008 3:09 pm

I would also include the fact the customers of today are way different from the ones 25 years before - I think back then, people knew their technology, sought & bought PC (or boxes) only if they really needed one and sweat the asset like there was no tomorrow. Today, most customers buy hi-fi mobiles for status, have no idea about what the instrument can do, change it every 3-6 months and sparingly use it.

It is blatant consumerism and cuetomers, without their knowledge are being exploited.