• Chinese browser maker UC wants 100m mobile users in India by 2015, will invest an initial $5m http://t.co/fZSaQczd #
• Siri Turns Against Her Creator, Calls Nokia Lumia 900 "Best Smartphone Ever" http://t.co/dDHYvwNy #
• Apple Will Ditch Google Maps In iOS 6 In Favor Of Its Own 3D Maps Service [Rumor] http://t.co/xuW5t7CN #
• Nokia Reading Comes to Europe This Week – http://t.co/TXm2rviZ #
• Connected Moms: Nielsen Says 54% Own Smartphones; 75% Use Facebook; 5M Visit Pinterest Monthly http://t.co/4A2RkjAx #
• Facebook could be worth more than $100n as IPO oversubscribed http://t.co/EBAp20dP #
• Facebook to sell apps through new online hub http://t.co/fYkLQpwd #
• Facebook admits that it doesn’t know how mobile works http://t.co/KAB5kQLl #
• Google Maps For Android Gets Google Offers, Business Photos & Indoor Walking Directions http://t.co/ZlvnBOCb #
• Rovio marks one billion downloads, untold pig casualties across Angry Birds games http://t.co/z0FbuCRD #
• Twitter is looking at emerging markets with new mobile web version http://t.co/IJZUZNgZ #
• Kindle Fire Is The iPad's Latest Casualty http://t.co/eGmvnryt #

• AT&T CEO voices regret over iPhone unlimited data model http://t.co/R22RZZp3 #
• How do Android Ice Cream Sandwich's features compare to Apple's iOS. Let's compare – http://t.co/NUctZIg6 #
• Apple and Samsung scoop up 99 percent of handset industry profits http://t.co/hknYICMj #
• LinkedIn To Acquire Slideshare for $118.8 Million Deal http://t.co/wTTv0RSJ #
• Samsung Galaxy S III software impressions (video) http://t.co/k7uAIbZx #
• Evernote Raises $70M At A $1B Valuation To Prep For An IPO, And The Next 100 Years http://t.co/C8PsWBEg #
• Mobile Developers: Have a Business and Marketing Plan to Make Money http://t.co/fnpM7vO9 #
• MasterCard approves HTC, Intel, LG, Nokia, RIM, Samsung and Sony devices for PayPass NFC payments http://t.co/f5ruSdgq #
• The Windows Phone Web Marketplace is now available in 22 new countries http://t.co/oyyNlrUf #
• RIM CEO confirms there's no upgrade path from BlackBerry 7 to 10 http://t.co/aIclVlWq #
• RIM CEO: enterprise is 'where BlackBerry lives best' http://t.co/0vOdeUGt #
• South Korea opens up cellphone sales, networks wary of the 'free market' http://t.co/QjkYyOWA #
• Is TD-LTE replacing WiMAX as Intel’s pet technology? http://t.co/oBWyNuxq #
• How Apple will become a mobile carrier http://t.co/MpKNWTy0 #
• Impressive but is it enough? BlackBerry 10: a closer look http://t.co/mRqwhTGj #
• comScore: Android tips the 51% mark in US share, iPhone nips its heels with 31% http://t.co/409HqSvY #
• Understanding the IP Wars http://t.co/1KGC5plz #
• Why iOS apps look better than Android apps: http://t.co/t286gLyw #
• Microsoft Invests $300M Into Nook To Give Windows 8 Its Own iBooks http://t.co/BsbP416l #
• Apple, Samsung Account For All Mobile Phone Maker Q1 Profits http://t.co/5KwBwpcN #
• Three Areas Samsung Will Focus On To Avoid Smartphone Complacency http://t.co/oknbl2oh #
• Interesting Read: Should Samsung take Android and run? http://t.co/E9j1QCZH #

• Is A Facebook Phone In The Making? http://t.co/bLPm4WjN #
• Wozniak loves Windows Phone: Apple co-founder calls it ‘beautiful’ http://t.co/WPcokkH3 #
• Android Is Suddenly In A Lot Of Trouble http://t.co/CYM4SY3d #

• RIM announces 'budget' BlackBerry 9220 for Indian socialites http://t.co/jVMxvM9C #
• RIM focuses on developing markets with the new $215 BlackBerry Curve 9220 http://t.co/XrRbNgMr #
• HTC replaces CFO after just one year on the job http://t.co/DuIvsd6c #
• New Nokia 610 NFC will be first to bring near-field communication technology to Windows Phone http://t.co/UxvdEr5K #
• What a bubble: Pinterest Is a $7.7 Billion Company http://t.co/0JURVGpy #
• Nokia Lumia 900 Review: This One's A No-Brainer http://t.co/9U0KL8dg #

• Nokia Lumia 900 data connectivity fix available now, three days early http://t.co/fDTplYnn #
• Nokia Lumia 610 NFC becomes official with Orange, will launch with Visa and Mastercard NFC support in Q3 http://t.co/bdS0bomW #
• Is RIM’s Hardware Division in the Red? http://t.co/8KaZEqQc #
• Microsoft brings Word, PowerPoint, Excel to Symbian Belle handsets http://t.co/f5cxS5Zu #
• RIM closing the Android market “cesspool” on the PlayBook http://t.co/DOGCkKuh #
• Nokia and Microsoft Take on the iPhone — By Going Local http://t.co/Xgl76mlM #
• Lumia 900 tops Amazon's cellphone bestsellers list http://t.co/UPh3ZZFL #
• Facebook To Acquire Instagram For $1 Billion http://t.co/L36HssqP #

• Bye Bye BlackBerry. How Long Will Apple Last? – Forbes – http://t.co/15qjl1iB #
• What Will Happen to RIM: http://t.co/NepQDQfr 4 real possibilities from a quick sale to a miracle comeback #
• Android‘s share of the U.S. smartphone market topped 50% for the first time in February – http://t.co/G0SKLX7Q #
• iPhone 4S regional carrier launch day is April 20th http://t.co/vmDKGQWx #
• Nokia Lumia 900 Review: Head-To-Head With The Lumia 800 And iPhone 4S http://t.co/kcjiVotz #
• This is a vicous cycle: Yahoo lays off 2,000 employees, says it's 'an important next step' http://t.co/4BU0MZOB #
• How AT&T, Nokia pulled Windows Phone into the 4G LTE world http://t.co/mjmMz4LY #
• LG Viper 4G will become Sprint's first LTE phone this month for $99.99 http://t.co/y3TBDWjb #
• Facebook fires back with claims that Yahoo infringes ten patents http://t.co/zt7InybO #
• ComScore: Android's US market share passes 50 percent, BlackBerry OS and WP7 slide http://t.co/jRINKeDA #
• iPhone 5 Coming In June, Says Foxconn Employee [REPORT] – http://t.co/RXUzu8ly #

In an unprecedented move by the Taiwanese government, they moved to pass legislation that will allow them to fine internet service providers for not delivering advertised claims. These claims are in regards to the use of throttling by the internet service providers (ISP).

According to the National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairwoman Su Herng, any ISP falling short of advertised claims involving broadband speeds will be open to a fine. This is only a start but it could certainly open up a huge can of worms across the world. Asia is quickly becoming the dominant force in tech which makes this move more serious than some might think.

Considering that throttling is a huge problem in today’s society, this movement could mean a lot to consumers. Many of these people are unaware of the term throttling or how pervasive it actually is. To those unaware of what throttling is, Wikipedia defines it as the “reactive measure employed in communication networks to regulate network traffic and minimize bandwidth congestion. Bandwidth throttling can occur at different locations on the network.” Throttling can be a real problem, especially for those who need the continued speed for their careers or businesses.

Through the use of misleading advertising, it makes consumers even more unaware of exactly what internet service providers are doing. Most ads throughout the world are well regulated, however not in this case. ISP’s are not required to blatantly state that they throttle, much less to what extent they do it. A move to require a more obvious display of how much each ISP throttles is much needed.

Taiwan is definitely at the head of this movement. They will begin checking broadband speeds of local telecom operators. These checks come amid a public outcry of allegations that internet service providers are overcharging for slow internet services. This could cause a slow ripple across Asia and possibly lead to changes in Europe and the US. This would be a very welcome move seeing as how many ISPs such as AT&T and Verizon are well known for throttling their services shortly after the customer begins to receive service.

On one hand, this is only a start. The checks by the NCC in Taiwan will only be looking at the operations plans that are submitted to the committee. Where as they do not have any current plans to fully keep the providers to the word in terms of all advertising. There needs to be a two stage approach. One front needs to be in checking the reports that are turned into the appropriate governmental agency. The other front needs to be on the advertising side. The committee charged with checking the accuracy of advertising in a given country needs to work closely with a governmental agency that has the ability to issue fines and penalties.

Throttling is not only associated with home internet, it is also prevalent in the mobile market as well. AT&T recently announced that it will begin throttling its 4G with unlimited data plans users as soon as they hit 5GB of usage. This may seem like a lot of data, however for someone who truly needs a vast amount of data and high speed for something such as work, 5GB might not seem like that much.

In the end, much of the discussion comes down to transparency. Throttling is definitely an issue that needs to be talked about more, and Taiwan is starting that conversation. No longer can we allow mobile broadband carriers to promise one thing, and yet limit it at the same time.

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcuthrell/4306049240/sizes/m/in/photostream/

I have been closely following the progress of the Indian eCommerce industry for the last two years. I have attended multiple seminars and forums where the entrepreneurs and investors have been seen networking with potential partners. According to VCCedge, in 2011, there had been 87 private equity/venture capital deals in the Internet/mobile Internet space worth $750 million, double the amount in 2010. One would expect the party to continue but recently when I went to a seminar on eCommerce, the venture capitalists were almost absent (or represented by junior employees) and the mood was much more somber and realistic. The issues that were being discussed were not about the size of opportunity but were about profitable growth which in my opinion is much more grounded.

I myself have been evaluating options to take a plunge in the eCommerce space and hence have analyzed the sector very closely. I believe that the opportunity is large (larger than what analysts currently project!!!) but there are issues that require urgent attention. The top five concerns of the eCommerce market in India are as follows:

 1. High Customer Acquisition Cost

One area that most of the entrepreneurs consistently underestimate in their business plans is the cost of acquiring a customer. Most business plan assume heavy reliance on social media and internet advertising. The general myth is that the cost of acquisition on internet is very low. However, in my opinion, it is even higher than that of television advertising. Today cost per click is around Rs 15 and if the conversion rate (buyers to visitors) on the site is 1-2%, the cost of customer acquisition comes out to be Rs 750-1500. This is very high and requires repetitive purchases from the customer to recover the cost. Another way of validating the customer acquisition cost is the sops being doled out by existing sites on the member get member schemes. Overtime, when the customers start coming directly to the site, the cost of customer acquisition falls significantly but till that time, the business owners need to cover the cost.

2. High Churn/ Low Loyalty

I have heard multiple times that the Indian market is very large and we have just hit the tip of the iceberg in terms of customer adoption. I have no doubts on the size of Indian market but the problem is low loyalty. The big brands are yet to be created on the internet and hence the brand loyalty is very low. Consumers are currently bargain hunters on the internet.

In the high acquisition cost scenario, it is important to retain the customers for a long time. If the average ticket size on the internet is Rs 1000 with 10% margin, then the customer needs to buy at least 15 times to recover the cost of acquisition (assumed to be Rs 1500). Currently this is not happening. Most of the sites are getting high number of new customers every month camouflaging the high churn. The eCommerce companies are measuring the gross profitability and not the customer lifetime value. The moment the new customer addition drops, the profitability goes for a toss. This is what has struck the group buying sites like Snapdeal which saw fast adoption in the past. This is not limited to group buying sites and other eCommerce formats are also witnessing the high churn and low loyalty problems.

3. Cash on Delivery

Cash on Delivery (COD) has been touted as the innovation to counter the low credit card penetration and payment security issues on the internet.  COD is a substantial proportion of the sales today contributing to anywhere between 11% (for Perperfry) to 60% in most of the cases.

The COD is unsustainable as it pushes up the cost of transaction by Rs 30-60 per transaction. Given the low profitability and small ticket size on eCommerce sites, the entire gross margin gets erased by COD. On top of this the problem is that of high returns as the consumers often change their mind by the time the goods arrive. The returns are as high as 40-45% of all the COD shipments. COD also poses scalability issues for the eCommerce sites in the long term as the logistics companies would find it hard to scale to the required levels. The other problems associated with COD are long lead times before the revenue can be booked, fraud risks and higher working capital requirements.

What amazes me is the fact that there is no incentive for the customers to use electronic payment on sites like Flipkart. Why would I take any risk with electronic payment if I can get cash on delivery at the same price.

4. High Cash Burn Rate

The capital requirement for any eCommerce venture is very high contrary to the popular belief that it is easy to set up an electronic shop. At a recent conference, a venture capitalist mentioned that a niche vertical eCommerce venture needs $50 million of funding over time while a horizontal player would need $300-400 million funds. Leaders in the e-commerce space (ones that have raised money, have large teams and are aggressively pursuing growth) are spending $1-2 million (Rs 5-10 crore) a month, including on marketing, overheads and salaries. At this rate of burn, smaller firms with scant capital are unable to cope. In my back of the envelop calculations, a company would need to spend at least Rs 1 million per month in the first six months of existence even if it is bootstrapping. Therefore it is important to raise money early in the game.

5. High Inventory/ Poor Supply Chains

Most of the eCommerce venture are complaining of the excess inventory and absence of liquidation market in India. The poor supply chain compounds inventory problems due to unpredictability of the supply. The cost of carrying the inventory is very high and successful ventures would need to tackle the supply chain issues if they really want to run a scale business. The other problem is in unpredictability of delivery to the customers leading to higher returns.

Summary

I do not think any of the above mentioned issues are insurmountable. The opportunity is huge to let it go. Entrepreneurs need to be disciplined sticking to the basics of business without getting carried away by the rush of capturing the opportunity. Venture Capitalists would always push the companies to grow fast and faster but it is upto the entrepreneurs to focus on the long term growth.

I know this is a very debatable subject would like to hear the views of the readers on the potential and challenges of Indian eCommerce industry. Please do comment on this story.

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Retailers are a worried lot today. While more people are using their mobile phones to order products, handsets are enabling price comparison and directing users to online sites to complete a purchase. There are mobile applications that allow users to scan barcodes, take a photo or search a product while in a store, and then spouts out the prices of online competitors. Popular price comparison applications like  eBay’s RedLaser and TheFind had16 million and 1.4 million downloads in 2011, respectively, up from 6 million downloads for RedLaser and 1 million downloads for TheFind a year earlier. On 8th December last year, Amazon launched a promotion in US on its Price Check shopping app that gave customers 5%, or up to $5, if they checked the prices of those goods while browsing at a physical store. Such mobile applications are resulting in loss in sales for physical retailers. The chart below from Booz & Company shows that 15-20% consumers in US are already using smartphones for price discovery and comparison.

Convenience, Access and Discounts are three reasons for growing popularity of electronic commerce. Mobile devices go a step further in providing convenience and have better enabling technologies than a computer. A mobile device is ubiquitous and is well integrated to context of location, time and people. This makes me believe that the next wave of digital commerce will be on mobile phone. As per Forrester report in June’11, the mobile commerce is expected to reach $31 billion by 2016 in the US. Globally, the mobile commerce could reach $119 billion by 2015 as per ABI Research. The projections made for mobile commerce do not include the mobile influenced sale which my opinion is much larger than the actual sale. A large number of people might visit a retail store due to a coupon they received on their mobile which technically is not commerce but to my mind should be included in the potential. According to Forrester, by 2014, 53% of sales in the US would be influenced by the internetand mobile would have a large role to play. Given the fact, 44% of mobile users in the America have smartphones and over a quarter users globally have smartphones (source Nielsen), the mobile commerce is here to stay!!!

What is driving the Mobile Commerce?

Apart from the increasing smartphone penetration, the entrepreneurial activity in this area is fueling  the growth of mobile commerce. In the last few years, the emergence of mobile applications has pushed the capabilities of a mobile phone to the maximum. Mobile applications are not only utilizing the features of the mobile but have also increasing the consumption of software on the mobiles. Simple mobile application user interface is making it simple for consumers to search and adopt digital commerce on mobiles. Mobile phones may have a small screen but are very handy when you are on the go. Many consumers do impulse buying which means that when they are leaving home, they have no idea what they are going to buy and where they are going to buy. Mobile Marketing can therefore influence them significantly if there is a good deal available and that deal can be communicated at the right time. Context based advertising is becoming a big driver for mobile commerce. Another factor that is working in favor of mobile commerce is the fact that the consumers today are more comfortable in using a mobile phone and using their credit cards for electronic transactions.

Top Ten Trends in Mobile Commerce

The promise of mobile marketing is its ability to reach the right consumer, at the right time, and in the right place—including at the very moment and point of purchase. The potential power of mobile is further magnified when you consider that smartphone users spent most of the time on social networking applications, like Facebook, when interacting with their devices. The term “So-Lo-Mo” (for social, local, mobile) has been coined to refer to this opportunity. The trends below reflect the mobile commerce opportunity not only from the actual transaction perspective but also include the sales that gets influenced by a mobile phone.

1. Proliferation of Shopping Applications In the last few years, a lot of shopping applications have come up from eBay to Amazon to Bestbuy to Macy’s on iOS and Android platforms. These applications are taking advantage of the mobile features like context (location, time and people) which have made it easier for the consumers to use them. As a result, Forrester estimated that in 2011, over 24% iPhone users and 21% Android users used a shopping application

2. New and Diverse Mobile Advertising Formats One of the key development in the last few years has been the maturity of mobile advertising. The mobile advertising has moved from banner advertising to coupons, real time call to action, last minute deals, etc. Real time access to potential customer makes the advertising meaningful and interested audience can react spontaneously to the deal. Mobile coupons have a redemption rate of 15% to 40%. Compare this to traditional print coupons, which are redeemed at less than 2%. Imagine a cinema hall giving last minute discounts by broadcasting the deal to the people in the vicinity if it finds the hall half full. Recently, MacDonald’s promoted the geotargeted mobile ads within Pandora’s iPhone application. The mobile ads recognize the user’s location and show them how far away the nearest McDonald’s location is. As per Gartner report, the global market for mobile advertising will double in size in 2012 from $6.6 billion in 2011. By 2015, the market will be worth $20.6 billion, but will still have much further to grow beyond that.

3. Growing use of social media/ social commerce There is overwhelming evidence that people trust their friends more than the claims made by the retailers selling them and hence integration of social media is a definite boon to mobile commerce. People look for reviews and recommendations from their friends and other consumers and in exchange are willing to share their network with the retailer.  IBM recently released a study that showed that consumers are more than willing to share with retailers through social networks. In exchange for a better, more personalized shopping experience, consumers will tell all about their media consumption (75%); age, race, gender, and income (73%); name and address (61%); and lifestyle details such as hobbies and other interests (59%). Social commerce and mobile has been the biggest trend of mobile commerce

4. Growing popularity of Local Commerce Social-Location-Mobile are the buzz words these days. Services like Foursquare and Facebook Places are offering deals based on loyalty by using the check-in functionality. If a person is going to a particular bar more often, then the bar tender can figure out the loyalty based on the number of check-ins that the person has done in that bar and can therefore offer a suitable offer. Shopkick goes a step further that gives incentives on footfalls and hence driving footfalls into a store. This way the mobile phones are driving online traffic to offline stores. Group Buying sites like Groupon and deal coupons are contributing to the popularity of local commerce. Almost all the popular deal sites have mobile applications and they have seen steady increase in traffic from the mobile phones. 50% of Groupon’s business is expected from mobile in next two years.

5. Increasing use of Mobile Phones to get Product Reviews/Information Mobile phones are helping the consumers to make informed decisions while they are in a store. Last year nearly half the consumers in the US used their mobiles to look for product reviews. The consumers used the bar code readers to get the product information.

6. Proliferation of Price Comparison Applications Price comparison applications from eBay, Amazon and TheFind are becoming a real threat to the physical retailers. Many customers when they walk into a store are using these applications to find the price on an online store or even the other physical stores in the vicinity. The retailer loses the sale in case the customer is able to find a better deal somewhere else. Earlier in the absence of information, the conversion of a walk-in customer was much higher. The chart below from Comscroe shows that pricing is important for the consumers and the stores are having lost sale due to price comparison applications.

Real time inventory availability for many physical stores is being used by applications like Pricegrabber to get the best deal available across the city.

7. Enhanced In-store Experience using Mobiles Stores can improve the in-store experience through product recommendations tailored to individuals based on their previous purchases, as well as items they have scanned and loyalty card data. As mobile commerce continues to rise, so does the importance of the in-store shopping experience. Along with convenience, personalization and savings, retailers need to start planning for what is next: the push for sustaining customer loyalty and mobile payment solutions. Retailers are already flocking to mobile marketing, with 91 percent either having a mobile strategy in place or in the process of developing one, according to a new report from Shop.org. Overall investment in mobile is also growing. Retailers invested $34.8 million in mobile last year and $14.6 million in tablets. These numbers increase significantly for 2011, with retailers planning to spend $220.9 million on mobile and $14.6 million on tablets.

8. Evolving Mobile Payment Technologies New mobile payment services are proliferating across the world which are helping the cause of mobile commerce. Square is one such service and has been the fastest service to reach $1 billion billing. Square enables mobile phones to accept credit cards thereby removing the need for a POS. Even Paypal, eBay and Amazon have reported higher mobile sales over the last couple of years. Another technology that is finally shaping up is Near Field Communications (NFC) that allows the users to make proximity payments at merchant stores. Visa and Google are also trying hard to get a pie of the lucrative mobile payments value chain.

9. Growing popularity of Lead Generation applications It is very often that we plan to go out for dinner but want to find out the table availability before we reach there. Opentable is an application that is now being used by millions of people to book a table in the restaurants. Just as Opentable makes it possible to book a table in advance, Styleseat is helping consumers make appointments at parlors and spas. Similarly, Zocdoc is helping people find a local doctor and make an appointment with him. I see this as a strong trend going forward as it is targeting a real need of consumers and not replacing any other traditional channel.

10. Synchronized Experience A nascent trend that is emerging is marrying the offline and online world by retailers. This means one can order grocery online and then pick it up from the store thereby saving time and yet getting the delivery when it is required. There can be very many examples where internet is being used to enhance physical experience. This has the power to remove the inconveniences of offline commerce and yet include the joys of the physical commerce.

Finally, I would leave you with an interesting video from Forrester on multi-channel shopping

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avyuN5nt_w4

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There is a big debate about the viability of tablets market for vendors apart from iPad. I have heard the phrase many times that

There is no tablets market. It is just the iPad market.

In this article I have attempted to evaluate the above hypothesis and arrive at a conclusion one way or the other.

Current State Analysis:

If we look at the current trends, it would appear that Apple is in a dominant position with no vendor being able to provide a credible alternative. Apple had 67% market share at the end of Q3’2011 and no other vendor was close to it (refer the market share data in the chart below). There are close to 40 vendors on Android platform and their combined share is around 27% (dipped from 30% in Q2’11). The largest Android vendor is Samsung and apart from Samsung  (who produces the new 7″ Google Tablet T-Mobile and other popular models) no other vendor has even 1% market share. Motorola Xoom is now not even in the picture. Apple has sold 50 million devices in all till date against the Android sales of 10 million.

RIM and HP had huge plans for the tablets market but within a quarter of launch, HP has decided to quit the market and RIM is struggling. There are indications that RIM might also quit the tablets market if it does not do well after the latest changes in its strategy. Amazon has launched its tablet, kindle Fire but it is yet to hit the market.

All in all, currently there is no player who can even be termed as challenger to Apple.

Future of Tablets

Today, the tablets market is largely undifferentiated with all vendors trying to emulate Apple’s success but this is likely to change very soon as the market matures. I see the following 3 trends emerging that would change the way tablets are market today:

1. Price Discovery: All the vendors attempted to compete with iPad and sold at a similar price. This was a big mistake with the consumers preferring to buy iPad instead of other tablets as the value proposition of other vendors was weak at the same price point. When HP liquidated the stock at $99, their tablets suddenly vanished from the shelves. So much so that HP decided to produce some more tablets. Range of tablets are coming in across various price points mirroring the smartphone market which has products from $100 to $700. RIM has also decided to drop the pricing of the tablets to $249 while Amazon has launched its tablet at $199. I see $100-200 as a very lucrative and viable price segment for tablets. There is certainly a window of opportunity for someone to come up with a low-cost, user-friendly tablet likely built on Android that would have mass market appeal (chances are that it would come from a Chinese vendor).

2. Differentiated Value Proposition: So far the tablets have attempted to target the same consumer segment with similar value proposition. Their attempt has been to be the “Laptop Lite” and replace the netbooks. However, the market is much larger if tablets are not seen as replacement for either smartphones or netbooks. Instead vendors should look at it as a device that has multiple value propositions and we might need different kind of devices to meet those demands. Amazon’s Kindle would appeal to people interest in content and cloud based streaming services while the Chinese players can capture the enterprise segment that need cheap functional tablets. Indian Government’s $35 tablet is a perfect example of targeting a segment (education in this case) with a stripped down tablet.

3. Services Ecosystem: We have all witnessed the success of iPhone and one of the primary reasons for the success of iPhone was the ecosystem that Apple created around the device. Even in tablets, the services ecosystem is likely to play a big role in its success. However, in this ecosystem, the tablets will not be central. Somebody would develop an enterprise application and would sell the device as part of the managed service contract. I see a possibility of a company developing a courier management application on tablets or an order management system thereby creating a huge tablet demand as low end with minimal processing and multimedia capabilities.

Will the iPad party continue forever?

No, I do not think so. Apple is enjoying the high market share till the time people are not able to discover the use of a tablet. Today people are using a tablet as a gaming and browsing device. This is surely going to change once the differentiated value propositions emerge with different use cases. Once the tablets start getting used by sales guys or restaurant order management, the market would surely move beyond iPad.

Kindle Fire is most likely to spoil Apple’s party as it has a very good value proposition in terms of content and has priced the product aggressively. Amazon is subsidizing the Kindle and plans to monetize through content which would be difficult to match by any other competitor except for Apple. In a nutshell, we’re entering a near disposable e-reader/tablet era that will split the market between Amazon (consumption based profits) and Apple (high end brand profits). Every technology company caught in the middle is going to have some serious problems.

I see the Chinese players coming out with cheap tablets and capturing a sizable small and medium enterprise (SME) market. The Chinese players would be very aggressive and would not care so much about the brand and direct distribution as long as they can sell. They would be willing to customize the tablet based on the end user requirements that the bigger players would be reluctant. Their impact on tablets market would be similar to their impact on the mobile phone market.

In the longer term, Android would emerge as the operating system of choice as the cheaper tablets will have no other choice but to go for Android. In the process, the other tablet OS like BBX (RIM Playbook) and WebOS would die the natural death as they lack the applications ecosystem.

In the end, I would say that there is a tablets market besides the iPad market provided the other players create value propositions knowing fully well their strengths and more importantly their brand limitations.

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Mobile internet is very different from the fixed line internet. The browsers can be a good proxy to fragmentation in the operating systems market. The fixed line internet is dominated by 3 browsers with Internet Explorer having a little over 50% market share as it is dominated by Windows operating system. However, in the mobile internet, the most used browser is a little over 20% and the browser share tracks the fortunes of the vendors.

The chart below from Statcounter shows the global market share for mobile browsers. Opera is the most popular mobile browser.

The share for Blackberry browser follows the declining trends in RIM’s appeal. Similarly, Android browser has consistently gained market share since June, 2009 and is now the most popular browser after Opera. Interestingly, iPhone browser has shown a pretty flat share despite increasing popularity of iPhones.

Click on Mobile Browser Market Share to download the excel file of the chart data from Statcounter.com
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A recently released report from Nielsen in the US shows that the demographics of tablet and eReader owners is fast changing. These connected devices are no longer with young males only. The new owners are more likely to be older people as well as females.

In Q3-2010, 62% of tablet owners were below 34 years but by Q2-2011, only 46% of tablet owners are below 34 years of age. Another interesting fact is that eReaders are now more preferred by females . Sixty-one percent of all eReader owners are now female, compared to a mere 46 percent in Q3 2010.

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VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is a very popular and growing facet of the communication market. Using an Internet connection, you can stream phone calls to anywhere on the planet without using a mobile provider. With VoIP, phone calls are made through the IP network on your computer. Many users access wireless internet whether they are at home or on the go. The marriage of these two technologies seems only natural, but can VoIP be used with wireless Internet?

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Since the launch of iPad, the tablets have caught our attention. Tablets have not been launched by many companies including Amazon which recently launched the tablet. Companies like HP decided to move out of the tablet business because they realized that the tablet market is not up to their expectation. All this makes us to think if there is indeed a tablet market or is it just the hype around iPad that is resulting in high sales of tablets. Till last year I would have agreed with the statement that there is no tablet market but only the iPad market but the suddenly Android seems to have captured a lot of tablet share and the vendors have realized that they need to discover the true pricing for their products. The table below from Strategy Analytics provides the tablets operating system share. Clearly, Android is silently gaining on back of Samsung and smaller vendors.

Nokia Siemens Network (NSN) recently released their forecast on the mobile data consumption. It is interesting to note that the data consumption would increase multiple times by 2020 and an average user would consume 1GB data a day. This would have significant impact on the operators who need to ensure that they stay ahead of the demand by continuously upgrading the networks. The increasing mobile data usage will be the driving force behind the early implementation of LTE and Advanced LTE.

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