Preparing For Mobile Internet

It’s been projected that mobile internet may surpass desktop internet by 2015. Whether this actually happens or not is anyone’s guess because 2015 is five years away.

Mobile internet as we know it right now means to access internet via a smartphone, although it does account for other devices such as Apple’s iPad. If you’re not connecting to the internet via mobile now, chances are in five years you will be in some form or another. You may say, “No way! Too expensive!” It’s too expensive for most people now, but in five years it may only cost pennies compared to today’s mobile data rates. For all you know, you might access your internet solely by a smartphone in the future, and tether the access to your PC for an all-in-one solution. Hey, it could happen.

At present it’s not a bad idea to start preparing for mobile connectivity now. The way in which to prepare is easy. Examine the companies that are doing well with web products and innovating / improving / developing them on a regular basis, and also examine those same companies that have a genuine interest in mobile internet now, because it’s most likely true they’re ready for the future.

Using web products from these companies will give relative assurance that when mobile internet becomes more common – and it will – you won’t have to migrate your data, such as switching email providers.

Here are a few companies we know have large interest in mobile internet.

Apple

Everybody is talking about Apple right now because of the iPad product, however there’s one huge problem by being an Apple user, that being they don’t have too many apps of their own. Sure, they’ve got the hardware and that’s not in dispute. But the apps are usually all made by a completely different company. In addition, Apple is notorious for introducing hardware that expires quickly, causing you to spend boatloads of cash just to stay current.

Google

Web products by Google are the darlings of mobile internet at present. Gmail and mobile go together like peanut butter and jelly. The big G also is continually developing their product line to work better and be more mobile-friendly.

Google also has the Android platform, which to date has received several accolades for working great. The platform combined with Google’s web products is a knockout package that’s sure to please.

It stands to reason that Google will still be around in five years, and still be a large player both on the internet in general and for mobile use.

Microsoft

Where Microsoft sat on their laurels for far too long, they’ve now come back with a vengeance and are a leading player in the mobile arena. Almost all of the Windows Live suite (Hotmail, Calendar, contact sharing, etc.) is already 100% mobile compatible whereas other companies are still struggling to get things working right.

Like Google, Microsoft also has its own platform, that being Windows Mobile. It is widely used and widely trusted, although it’s not as slick as Android or iPhone OS – but it’s quickly catching up to speed with Windows Phone 7 – coming this Christmas.

Microsoft does understand that mobile internet is the future, and the largest advantage by using the Microsoft platform is that they’re completely OK with not being first. Instead of rushing out incomplete products just to claim bragging rights (Google does that a lot as does Apple), they take more time to get the product right, then release.

Yahoo!

Nobody knows what’s going on with Yahoo! these days. At present they’re stagnating. All their products work, but are clumsy, incomplete and very rough around the edges. Even their most-used product, Yahoo! Mail, still isn’t finished. This is obvious because if you use the “new” Yahoo! Mail – which is now old – and attempt to change some settings, you will run into the “Please pardon our appearance” notice, and revert back to the ancient early-2000s interface until you go back to the mail mail screen.

Yahoo! Mail for mobile does exist, and it does work, but Y! is very slow on the draw with bringing on new innovations compared to the other big 3 companies above.

How should you prepare?

For the time being, your two best choices are Google or Microsoft, meaning Google Mobile or Windows Live for Mobile. Both are stable, solid and reliable platforms that are ready for mobile use now with more or less guaranteed innovative features coming in the future.

If you don’t use any mobile internet now, consider switching your email to Gmail or Hotmail, or at least enable one as a secondary account. Doing so is the best thing you can do to prepare for the mobile internet of the future.