On the Wireless Front

New low-cost tablet devices are promising to re-invent the space popularized by Apple, Inc. with its iPad introduction. Elsewhere, new Microsoft Corp. Windows Phone devices are hitting the street while disruptive options in smartphone connectivity are just beginning to take shape.

Focal Points:

• If the disastrous failure that is/was the Hewlett-Packard Co. Touchpad has taught the tablet market anything, it is that there exists an appetite for compelling tablet products below the Apple iPad's $500 entry price. Amazon.com Inc. and Barnes & Noble Inc. are trying to improve the tablet value ratio by releasing two new 7-inch tablet products at half or less than the iPad's cost. Both products are based on heavily modified versions of Google Inc.'s Android operating system replete with customized application stores, feature dual-core processors, and video streaming with Hulu and Netflix content. Both lack cameras and integrated wireless carrier connectivity options. Amazon's play is to use the new Kindle Fire as a gateway to a Google ecosystem with its own large movie, music, and television offerings (beyond the aforementioned Hulu and Netflix) coupled with unlimited cloud-based storage for all Amazon-acquired content. Barnes & Noble's new Nook Tablet features more generous on-board and expandable storage options, a supposedly better screen technology, and a retail presence to aid with customer support. The Nook Color will continue to be available at $50 less than the new Nook Tablet, and Barnes & Noble claims that the device launched last year claims the number two spot in tablet popularity.
• Samsung Group released two new Windows Phone 7.5-inch devices this week. Both smartphones are designed for the AT&T Mobility LLC network and employ powerful 1.4 gigahertz (GHz) processors, but differ in camera resolution – though both have front and back cameras – onboard memory, and screen size. The less expensive of the two devices, the Samsung Focus Flash, has a 3.7-inch display, a mere eight gigabytes (GBs) of memory, and is priced to gain attention at $50 with a two-year contract. Now that Microsoft has updated Windows Phone to version 7.5 "Mango," glaring omissions from the previous version of the operating system (OS) including copy/paste and multi-tasking have been addressed. The updated OS includes integration with social networks that is arguably tighter than its Apple and Android competition and features voice recognition capabilities that lag behind competition. Though application availability is slim compared with the aforementioned competitors, the majority of the most popular titles are available. The upgraded Focus S is priced at $200 on contract and includes a 4.3-inch screen and 16 GB of memory.
• A new, all-inclusive voice, text, and data wireless service launched this week called Republic Wireless. The service relies heavily on the assumption that users will typically be within range of a known Wi-Fi connection and attempts to route traffic over Wi-Fi networks before falling over to Sprint Nextel Corp. network. The $19 per month service is available without a contract and a specialized LG Corp. phone running the latest version of Android, Gingerbread, is the only available option at this time. Republic Wireless is a division of Bandwidth.com, which provides Internet and telephony service to businesses and government agencies, reserves the right to discontinue service for users that rely too heavily on the carrier network. The company's Web site states that using 550 minutes of voice, sending 150 texts, and downloading 300 megabytes (MBs) of data would not pass its usage threshold. Elsewhere, Adobe Systems Inc. revealed that its next version of Flash for mobile devices will be its last as the company is restructuring its mobile efforts around HTML5 and Adobe AIR technologies.

Experton Group believes the new 7-inch Amazon and Barnes & Noble tablets are compelling alternatives for consumers interested in tablet media consumption. Despite the better specifications and prior experience with its successful Nook Color tablet, Amazon likely offers the more compelling option for consumers given the richer media options and partner relationships the Internet behemoth is continuing to establish to entice users into the burgeoning ecosystem. Though powerful enough and priced compellingly for business use, corporations would be wise to stay away from these devices as iPad alternatives given that the specialized Android environments, availability of applications, and required supporting management infrastructures are not in place.

Nonetheless, Experton Group expects that both devices will be resounding sales successes and the lessons learned in the consumer space will translate over the next 12 to 18 months into lower-priced, compelling business alternatives to the iPad. IT executives should expect alternatives with rich ecosystems, user experiences, and sub-$300 pricing to change the business tablet market in the near future.

Samsung’s new Windows phones, along with the Nokia Corp. ones announced last week, offer compelling alternatives with their combination of corporate Microsoft application integration and novel approach to information display. The new Focus S, in particular, is attractive thanks to its low cost of entry. IT executives should limit the number of smartphone platforms and devices supported by IT to keep costs and complexity to a minimum; however, IT executives may wish to consider experimenting with the Windows platform as many support of the required infrastructure components are already in place.

The new Republic Wireless unlimited smartphone offering is unlikely to fit into existing business requirements; however, the potentially disruptive nature of the program should be of interest and closely watched. Wi-Fi and other non-traditional carrier networking technologies are various stages of testing for future deployment to compete with mainstream options and IT executives should keep abreast of such technologies as they will become viable options over the next three years.

Adobe's discontinuance of Flash for mobile devices comes as little surprise to those accustomed to existing implementations that are prone to application and system crashes, slow speeds, and missing menu options. Though Steve Jobs was right in his declaration of Flash being inappropriate for use on mobile platforms, Adobe is not abandoning the space and is working to reposition existing technologies and manpower to develop more appropriate solutions. Though most IT executives are not relying on Flash for mobile enterprise application connectivity, those with close ties to Adobe will want to understand how future solutions can align with enterprise requirements. Opportunities to ease homegrown Web applications for the desktop and mobile devices should become easier with Adobe's new trajectory.