This is the first part of a talk I gave last year. It’s still relevant. I’ve written this from my notes.
The Mobile Lifestyle
What is the Mobile Lifestyle?
The phone is now part of the things that every adult carries (along with keys and wallet). Everyone who can afford one has one. People can’t live without their phones, reporting them lost much faster than losing a credit card.
The phone is the most personal device. It collects our messages, contacts, behaviour, and location. We use it to take photos and videos of more personal and spontaneous moments than with dedicated cameras.
It is part of our Flow.
It is part of our Mobile Lifestyle.
But, do we really know how people use mobile devices?
At Nokia, we spend a lot of time studying how people use mobile devices. For the most part, the bulk of the use is around 5 functions – messaging, call-logs (it’s about communication!), alarm, camera, and media gallery.
Also, folks tend to communicate (SMS and voice) on average with 5 people. And most calls are placed from work or home. People even use their phone from their work desks, so it’s not always about mobility, even with advanced mobile devices!
In one study in the UK, they found that about 9 in 10 can’t get through the day without their mobile phone. And folks 18-29 tend to message more then talk.
I also feel that we have some preconceptions based on geography that tend to make us miss opportunities in other areas. Think of Brasil. The first thought is about low income and low internet penetration. But Brasilians dominate the use of Orkut and some photo sharing social sites. How is that? What is our opportunity there?
And what we offer folks is changing dramatically. There’s a vast integration of business services, ‘e-tertainment’, games, music videos on the mobile and desktop computer. So much of telecommunications is going IP. Convergence convergence convergence!
How do we bring all this to a level that fits into the way folks use mobile devices? Design and usability will always be key.
Mobile computing
What is mobile computing?
When is a mobile device a computer or not? Rapidly the distinction is getting blurred – the processing, memory, network channels that a mobile handheld device can handle is increasing.
Yet, there is a distinction between Mobile Computing vs a Mobile Lifestyle.
Mobile Computing is two-hands, two-eyes, lean forward, flat surface, stationary, broad-band, big screen, big keyboard, mouse, multi-window, multi-button.
The Mobile Lifestyle is one-hand, interruptive, back-pocket, walking, in and out of attention, focused (not necessarily simple).
Now, are phones becoming computers or computers phones?
My feeling is that phones are just becoming more capable. To me, the N95 is what ‘phones’ have become.
The dark underbelly
You know what this is. Cost cost cost.
To the average consumer costs are never clear. Service providers cut of cost-free options, such as locking Bluetooth or only being able to remove items from the phone via a costlly network mechanism. Also, service providers talk in a language that is not human, focusing on bytes, rates, over-segmentation (why so many plan options?!), and hidden metering.
WiFi will change all this, so long as that isn’t killed too. Along with the meteoric rise of sideloading, I hope there will be pressure for all rate data plans and more Skype-like services to circumvent SMS and voice charges.
Part 2, next.
