Quartet jostle as Web wars go mobile

By Mickey Alam Khan

December 24, 2007

Mickey Alam Khan is editor in chief of Mobile Marketer

A week into closing this year, one thing stands out in the mobile world: it’s increasingly following the Internet in its turf wars, direction of technology, hype and dodgy startups.

A scan of the news in the past few months will show that anything that Yahoo will do Microsoft will, and vice versa. And anything that Google does, be sure that Yahoo has its own version.

Plus, let’s not forget Apple, whose iPhone’s Safari browser and its revolutionary effect on mobile usage simply reinforced a belief long held here: that mobile will become online-on-the-go.

The customized mobile Internet or the regular Internet on the mobile – that debate will soon be settled next year. Our guess is that the Internet on the mobile will win. Why? Because more phones will offer full-fledged HTML Web browsers.

Soon, consumers – at least those brave enough to go for pricier data plans – will browse the Web on the phone the way they do on their desktop or laptop computers. That certainly jeopardizes wireless carriers’ plans to make hay out of their own on-deck content – portals within walled gardens.

So perhaps it’s time for Internet marketers and retailers to revisit the look-and-feel of their Web sites. Don’t assume that everyone will see the sites only on a computer. Which means that the top third of the site homepage needs to get the brand values or marketing sell out as quickly as possible. Same thing with the inner pages.

That top two to three inches of the Web site is very valuable real estate. How about a “Start Shopping Here” link right on top of the page? And how about “Checkout” and “Complete Transaction” links there as well? And don’t forget the “Subscribe to Newsletter” button if you’re a publisher or a retailer.

You know who could really benefit from mobile retail? Amazon. Its 1-Click technology is ideal for mobile and will give it a tremendous edge whenever it decides to make its site really mobile-friendly.

Mindgoogling ambition
Over on the advertising side, Microsoft is working overtime to ensure it doesn’t slip to third place in mobile search – or is it already there? We need to see some reliable research on this. But the company’s Live Search Mobile service is not shabby. Same thing can be said for Yahoo’s oneSearch, which is fairly comprehensive in its listings.

As for Google, its simplicity on a big screen is a boon on the small. It delivers. Either ways, search ads are the way to go to support what essentially is local search on the mobile. Expect this category to explode next year.

For all their creativity, Yahoo, Microsoft and Apple – with Google, they form the mobile Internet quartet – better watch Google’s moves with a hawk’s eye. If it succeeds, Google-led Android may become the de facto mobile platform. The good news is that it’s open source and has 30 technology and mobile partners. The bad news is, well, Google gets closer and closer to becoming a dominant parallel universe to a multichannel Web.

Google understands that the mobile world has gatekeepers – wireless carriers such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel and Alltel – and they hold the key to all developments in the channel. So Google is bidding for a 700 megahertz wireless spectrum powerful enough to penetrate thick walls – exactly what television broadcasters will give up in February 2009 when they switch to digital transmission.

Recipe for ambitious Internet company: Become a wireless service provider and offer phones and service for free in return for tracking behavior and delivering search and display ads. Then continue organizing the world’s information in another channel.

Happy Christmas.