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 THE STAT 26Percentage of wireless customers who use their cell phones to take picturesMore Vitals
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NOVEMBER 11, 2003
What's Putting Wind in Wireless' Sails [Page 2 of 2] LIMOS ON CALL. Another popular new application is radio frequency identification (RFID). Programs from mobile software company iAnywhere and privately held SAT allows workers at Lyondell-CITG Refining, one of the country's largest crude-oil refiners, to get read-outs of temperature and other data relating to critical systems by simply walking past them. RFID beams the information onto their handhelds automatically, an approach that's much more efficient than one used only a few years ago, when operators had to enter data by hand. Location-based services are becoming more popular as well. For a year now, No. 5 U.S. wireless service provider Nextel (NXTL ) has used satellites to pinpoint locations of cell phones within 165 feet by using imbedded global positioning system (GPS) chips. The service, which costs $5 to $70 a month, depending on the features, is taking off with businesses such as limousine companies, whose dispatchers can now more easily figure out which driver to send on a call, says Greg Santoro, vice-president for Internet and wireless services at Nextel. Providing such services is often difficult and costly. Instead of just servicing PCs, tech support staff now also has to fix a plethora of mobile devices. Yet, that's another opportunity for software companies. In December, Oracle will release an application server that lets corporate tech managers control remote devices by sending text messages to them, says Christfort. When the target gizmo accepts the message, the device's software is automatically updated. GAME BOOM. Similarly, Programs from specialized software company Insignia (INSG ) allow cell carriers and handset makers to send software fixes -- such as programs that fight viruses -- to handsets. Today, call quality is subpar for up to 20% of U.S. cell-phone customers because the software that controls their phones can't be easily updated, says Peter Bernard, chief product officer at Insignia. Bernard says Insignia can fix that -- and also send a program to a stolen phone to kill it and secure the customer's private data. The company expects to sign up its first U.S. cell carrier this quarter, Bernard says. Consumer software is hot as well: The U.S. wireless gaming market is growing at five times the pace that it did in mobile pioneer Japan during the same stage of development, says Dan Kranzler, chairman and CEO of Seattle-based Mforma, a leading distributor of wireless entertainment content. Sales of his profitable, privately held company are rising 20% to 30% per month, Kranzler says. In fact, U.S. wireless-gaming revenues should nearly triple, to $366 million, next year, estimates Dana Thorat, a senior analyst with IDC. Revenues of simple software such as ring-tones will more than triple over the same period, to $57 million, she says. CROSS-TALKING DEVICES. Other popular applications include so-called productivity trackers. Some allow runners to keep track of miles, time, and performance while training for marathons, says CEO Laura Bordewieck Rippy of Handango, whose sales have been growing at 27% a quarter for the past 15 months. Among coming location-based services are ones that might let parents track their kids' locations via GPS-enabled phones. What's more, Microsoft is starting an all-out effort to enable cross-communication between different types of devices, such as wireless PCs and phones. On Oct. 29, it announced an agreement with British phone company Vodafone (VOD ) to create a standard way for developers to enable certain functionalities -- such as using a desktop e-mail program to send a text message to a customer of any cell-phone carrier (see BW Online, 10/13/03, "Time for New Thinking in Telecom"). Early next year, the Redmond (Wash.) giant hopes to strike similar deals with U.S. carriers, says John Maffei, director of the platform strategy group at Microsoft. Test versions of such applications should come out in the second half of 2004 -- both in the U.S. and abroad -- and could revolutionize wireless shopping. They will, essentially, offer consumers and business buyers an alternative to paying with credit cards, since it'll be possible to charge purchases to wireless accounts -- eventually providing merchants with entré to more than 100 million U.S. PC owners, says Maffei. "MOST SIGNIFICANT TREND." Cell carriers are still working on wireless payment systems, since they're used to billing by the minute, not the item. Many are looking at offerings from wireless software companies Qualcomm (QCOM ) and Portal Software (PRSF ) for a solution. Much remains to be done for wireless software to stimulate a boom, of course. One need is more cooperation between carriers, so that customers of one can engage those of another. Cell carriers are starting to take the first steps in this direction by enabling cross-carrier text messaging. And on Nov. 6, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Sprint PCS (PCS ), T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless launched America's first multi-carrier game, a Drag Racing contest. Next, cell phones and the software they run have to become simpler to use, says Andrew Cole, an analyst with wireless consultancy Adventis. Still, with industry players threatened by increased competition and declining per-handset and per-customer revenues, those problems could be solved quickly. "The ability to work wirelessly will be the most significant trend in computing over the next couple of years," says Jeff Krisa, a director of market development at Intel. And no one with a stake in the business wants to be left behind.
 By Olga Kharif in Portland, Ore.
BW MALL
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