Mobile Wars

     The fact that Microsoft, Apple and Google are all fighting each other so hard over the mobile market is great news for the consumer. When you remove competition, innovation will also disappear. Each company is forced to make a product that we like better than what we already have; otherwise we won’t buy it. For us, this means that every company is going to make a device that either does more than the previous market leader or they will make a device that does at least that much but does it better.

    I had resisted the temptation to have my email forward to my cell phone ever since the technology became available. Two weeks ago, I gave up the fight. Our mobile devices are becoming so advanced and widespread that if you don’t have one, you will be at a disadvantage. Granted, I like the convenience of having my email in my pocket whenever I need it but it does force you to take work home with you. I know several businessmen that refused to use company-supplied Blackberrys (they blamed it on the difficulty of using one) but the real reason was that they didn’t want to be tethered to their work at every moment of every day. There is an advantage to being able to work from home and make your own hours but the freedom is quickly overshadowed by the fact that you are now on call. The typical workplace is quickly vanishing and giving way to virtual workplaces but this also means that the typical work hours are vanishing as well. So all I can say is that you better enjoy what you do because it is becoming more and more difficult to hit “pause.”

    On the subject of Google Talk; Personally I don’t think the argument that Google will not compete with Skype holds much water. Google is slowly but surely creeping into every facet of technological innovation. Google didn’t start the VoIP revolution but I will not be surprised if and when they start to overtake Skype. However, regardless of the outcome, it is clear that typical telephone providers are in trouble.