ZuluZulu - Latest Comments in Android and iPhone ring the changes - is the mobile web dead?

Re: Android and iPhone ring the changes - is the mobile web dead?

Wessel van Rensburg — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:54:52 -0000

Nope, not yet. I thought at first that supplying RSS feeds is enough. But your right I need to add email as many still prefer that. Hope to do so over the next few coming days.

Re: Android and iPhone ring the changes - is the mobile web dead?

Michael Graaf — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 10:11:35 -0000

Of course I meant to say GSM, not GPRS.

On the issue of cost, firstly it will drop steeply once economies of scale kick in, and secondly service providers will subsidise handsets to capture market share. Of course the consumer still pays but over time, and most people don't think long-term.

Is there a facility for subscribing to ZuluZulu by email? If so I haven't spotted it.

Re: Android and iPhone ring the changes - is the mobile web dead?

Wessel van Rensburg — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:51:32 -0000

'I expect that the growth in web access in the “developing” world will be straight from GPRS to smartphones, leapfrogging the WAP system.'

Don't you think the cost would be prohibitive at first Michael? Then again you might have a point. The content available on the open Web is imcomparable to the mobile WAP web, and potentially of imense value in the developing world.

Perhaps we'll see a $100 smartphone all over Africa before we see Negropontes $100 laptop?

Re: Android and iPhone ring the changes - is the mobile web dead?

Michael Graaf — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:28:06 -0000

If "mobile web" means WA, then of course the answer to your question is yes. But another way of seeing convergence is that the whole web will now be mobile. I expect that the growth in web access in the "developing" world will be straight from GPRS to smartphones, leapfrogging the WAP system.

Being open-source, Android will evolve rapidly and could easily dominate the mobile device market in a few years.