Europe UK : Changing consumer attitudes are driving the trend towards intelligent mobile devices with high-quality multimedia capabilities. Accordingly, the innovation process behind the evolution of mobile devices is changing from an industry-based model to an open innovation model, where the exchange process has become a web of interactions among different participants: mobile manufacturers, mobile operators, and other related participants, new entrants from other segments, consumers, open source community, industrial designers and policy bodies.
“The European mobile communications market is becoming smarter,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Saverio Romeo. “The penetration of mobile smart devices in Europe passed the 10 per cent mark at the end of 2006, demonstrating that European users are looking for an intelligent and multimedia-rich mobile experience.”
At the end of 2006, the number of mobile smart devices shipped in Europe stood at 26 million. This number is projected to increase over the period 2007 to 2012, reaching almost 100 million units at the end of 2012. Changing consumption patterns that embrace the more active usage of mobile phones will propel this growth. Consumers want devices that can be personalised and offer several functionalities: voice, messaging, social networking and multimedia services.
To satisfy such new consumer requirements, mobile smart devices have to improve their user interface. This includes sophisticated technologies to enhance screen quality, keyboard usability, fast connectivity, computational capacity and long battery life. All this requires significant investments in R&D. However, several industry participants are also facing this challenge because it is the only way to be competitive in a market targeted by new entrants such as Apple and Google.
“The mobile smart devices market is becoming increasingly complex: it comprises not only mobile device manufacturers, mobile operators and mobile content providers, but several new participants as well,” elaborates Romeo. “During 2007, Apple clearly stated its interest in the market by launching the iPhone. Google spotlighted the open source community for mobile devices, with the launch of Android.”
The current high levels of competition require at least two strategic responses. The first centres on the need for creativity and innovation. This can be achieved through strategic partnerships with diverse participants ranging from mobile device manufacturers to industrial designers going through open source community. The second response should focus on building a new relationship with consumers; they should be regarded not merely as customers, but inventors of new usages, and, consequently, a crucial part of the innovation chain.