IDC: iPhone may forever change mobile operator/device vendor relationship
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Oct 19, 2007 at 10:14am
Apple’s iPhone could forever change the institutionalized—and some may argue, fossilized—structural relationship between mobile operators and device vendors, tilting the balance in favor of the latter, according to the IDC research group. Elsewhere, an industry-redefining struggle is underway for control of the content to be viewed on the “third screen” of mobile devices.
These potential shifts in the balance of power have significant implications for the mobile industry and will be addressed by IDC’s mobile experts at a breakfast briefing to be held Oct. 24 in conjunction with CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2007. IDC believes that the U.S. mobile ecosystem is ripe for transformation to one that focuses on customers and the customer experience—whether that customer is a mobile user, a content provider, or an advertiser. The ecosystem needs to be transformed to one that focuses first and foremost on maximum value creation for the key players in the ecosystem starting with end users, rather than maximum value extraction from end users’ wallets, the research group says.
“One of the many consequences of technological convergence is that industry players, once rooted in erstwhile separate industries like telecommunications, broadcasting/media, and the Internet, are now competing in the same content delivery space,” says Shiv Bakhshi, Ph.D., IDC’s Director of Mobile Device Technology. “The blurring of sectoral boundaries has created new opportunities as well as generated new causes for concern for many players. While most players recognize that collaboration and cooperation are obvious keys to success in the emerging environment, the rampant fear of seeing value ‘bleed’ to other sectors is keeping most players from embracing collaboration.”
IDC’s breakfast briefing will be held Wednesday, Oct. 24th from 7:30-10:30 am at the Hilton San Francisco. IDC analysts will provide commentary through individual presentations that explore the reshaping of the mobile ecosystem and will participate on a discussion and debate panel moderated by Tracy Ford of RCR Wireless News.
Submissions are being taken for the “Macsimum Macworld San Francisco 2008 Coupon Book.” For details email Dennis at daseller@earthlink.net
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
