Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Mobile Internet "As Important As TV"?

Yesterday at the CES held in Las Vegas, Nevada, Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel stated that he and Intel believe that the Mobile Internet offers an incredible opportunity to redefine Consumer Electronics and the Entertainment industry. "We’re now in the midst of the largest opportunity to redefine consumer electronics and entertainment since the introduction of the television."

Reviews of his keynote speech can be found at Wired and The Stateseman .

With global penetration of Televisions standing at approximately 2 Billion, and as of this month, total mobile phone penetration standing at approximately 3 Billion, I believe that Paul is being very cautious in his predictions.

Whether Menlow, and the Mobile Internet Device is the future of mobility (which I personally do not believe) or the mobile phone platform (which I do), the exciting thing to come out of this year's CES is the clear realization in the U.S. that the mobile platform is fundamental to the future evolution of consumer electronics industry, as well as all of the others that use Consumer Electronic devices to promote their products and services (entertainment, telecommunications, financial services, etc.).

2008 appears to be the year of the mobile internet. We hope that the Mobile Consumer Lab @ IUJ can be a part of the festivities this year!