User context through consumers? need for convenience and new technologies will drive future mobile strategies, per a study by Forrester Research.

The study shows how mobile will become the main channel for consumers in the future. The report was led by Julie Ask, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, San Francisco.

Hand-held convenience
According to Forrester, the key to creating functional mobile products in the future will be driven by user convenience.

There are  three parts of user experience to increase convenience ? immediacy, simplicity and context.

The three parts make up  a customer?s mobile context, or the overall feedback of what a customer has told you and is experiencing during engagement.

In particular, the study points to several technology innovations that will lead to more convenient user experiences, such as high-end phone features, HD media, sensors and microprocessors.

For example, features only found in high-end phones today ? including GPS, NFC, accelerometers and high-resolution displays ? will eventually be integrated into all phones to collect user data.

The study also predicts that motion, voice and touch will be key parts of user engagement.

Additionally, HD will become an integral aspect of mobile for consumers, including less-reflective displays and higher megapixel cameras.

Mobile demand
Forrester  predicts that almost 100 million smartphones will be used by the end of 2011.

The research also finds that Google activates 400,000 Android devices daily.

However, despite the increase in consumer demand, the study finds small numbers of professionals using mobile to engage with consumers.

The study surveyed 24 professionals, who worked in digital marketing and strategy roles in various industries.

Only nine professionals surveyed said they used location-based services beyond basic GPS into their mobile efforts, citing lack of priority and expertise as the main reasons for not further engaging with users.

Specifically, the report points to the travel industry as an area that is making content relevant to users by using time, location and past behavior to tailor the technology to specific users.

The report also uses retail as an example.
Although companies are driving consumers to stores via mobile, helping customers manage their in-store experience is still a challenge.