Written by Rudy De Waele of m-trends.org and edited by Richard MacManus. This kicks off a mini-series of posts on the topic of Mobile 2.0, which we will explore on R/WW this week.

On the eve of Le Web 3 in Paris - and one month after the Web 2.0 Summit concluded - it seems like an appropriate time to explore the world of the mobile Web, a.k.a. mobile 2.0. There has been a lot of discussion lately on this topic, a good deal of it inspired by the mobile 2.0 event - a one-day event held on 6 November 2006, organized by Daniel Appelquist and Mike Rowehl.

Carriers and Mobile Operators are taking notice...

In the closing session about carriers and operators at the Under The Radar: Mobility Conference on 16 November 2006, I heard an Executive Director from Verizon Wireless using the term "Mobile 2.0". Also Orange (France Telecom) is sponsoring one of the biggest web 2.0 related conferences in Europe, Le Web 3 in Paris. The fact that carriers/operators are now linking their brand name to web 2.0/mobile 2.0 related content and conferences, shows that progress is being made. Web 2.0 inspired projects going mobile and/or mobile 2.0 projects have been considered as things to avoid for carriers/operators up till now, since they are disruptive to their current business models. 

So does this mean, with the carriers/operators entering the space now, that mobile 2.0 is finally taking off?

Definitely in Europe. What the Web 2.0 Summit completely ignored is being picked up by Le Web 3 conference organizer Loïc Le Meur, who is including a panel on Mobility 2.0. It's being run by Charlie Schick from Nokia and Marko Ahtisaari from Blyk (the 1st pan-European free mobile operator). Another panel features Jyri Engeström from Jaiku.com and Felix Petersen from Plazes.

What is Mobile 2.0?

It's absolutely necessary that more connections are made between the players in the web 2.0 sphere (a.k.a. next generation web apps & services) and what some Mobilists are calling mobile 2.0. What we mean by 'mobile 2.0' is another (r)evolution, already started, that will dramatically change the web and the mobility landscape that we currently know. The idea is that the mobile web will become the dominant access method in many countries of the world, with devices that become more hybrid and networks that become more powerful - everywhere in the next decade to come.

The rapid penetration of Wireless Broadband Access (WBA) technologies such as 3G/UMTS, the migration of traditional telecom networks to internet technology, the availability of affordable and functional Wi-Fi and dual mode Wi-Fi/mobile phones... will all boost VoIP over broadband internet and ultimately blur the distinction between fixed and mobile services, since both become wireless and IP based.

I often ask myself the question of whether it'll be easier for web 2.0 apps to go mobile, or easier to create a mobile-specific web app or a service that can be easily connected with a web service? The answer is of course that both have a good chance to become even more important aspects of tomorrow's Web than they are now. Why? Well Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, put it very well in a Financial Times article in May this year (subscription only):

"Mobile phones are cheaper than PCs, there are three times more of them, growing at twice the speed, and they increasingly have Internet access. What is more, the World Bank estimates that more than two-thirds of the world's population lives within range of a mobile phone network. Mobile is going to be the next big Internet phenomenon. It holds the key to greater access for everyone - with all the benefits that entails."

Obstacles to overcome

Increasingly we assume that our PC is always connected, however the mobile device cannot yet guarantee such 'always on' connectivity - because the mobile network doesn't work the same way. This might be one of the few hurdles left to overcome for mobile 2.0 apps and services going mass market.

Non-carrier projects like Google Wi-Fi and FON aim to make cities completely Wi-Fi accessible. From personal experience I can tell you that people are going to use these alternative options to connect to the internet, once it's available on their mobile devices.

Mobilist blogger Enrique C. Ortiz sees another hindrance (and I think he's right): the lack of open standards and tools to build your own mobile 2.0 applications. He says:

"Web 2.0 is based on user intelligence instead of technologies, i.e. by giving users smart tools that enable them to apply human semantics to information provided, you get a more intelligent web. This can only be done in a massive (thus useful) way with open standards and protocols that are inclusive and inviting to everyone. Now, as I see it, this 'open-source' story is an aspect seriously lacking from mobile platforms."

Carriers/operators need to cover their investments and so they want to be compensated by any 3rd party using their network. This is fair enough, but the fact is that operators are losing more and more control over mobile devices - because these devices can communicate with other devices over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wimax, NFC, etc. That is, more options are becoming available for mobile users to access the web over networks other than the closed networks of the operators.

Internet players entering the market

Another important thing happening is that handset manufacturers like Nokia, Motorola and Sony-Ericsson (to name the most important) are getting the company of new players like Apple (iPod), Microsoft (Zune) and other device companies, which are entering the mobility space and connecting the physical and the virtual worlds through the mobile. Not forgetting Google's possible strategy of offering free phones.

If you have had the opportunity to experience the latest Nokia NSeries phones, you have gotten close to understanding what mobile 2.0 is all about. It's about connecting your phone through Wi-Fi networks to browse the latest innovative, mobile accessible web 2.0 services. For example downloading your favourite podcasts, reading your RSS feeds, doing a one-click image upload to Flickr (nicely tagged with ShoZu), consulting the location map while on the road, tagging your streamed video's, etc.

Mobile Startups

There's definitely a lot of movement around on the mobile start-up front. Besides Yahoo with Flickr and Google with YouTube going mobile, there are some very interesting start-up companies resolutely going mobile. Many of them are building easy-to-use mobile web apps and services. Here's a starter for ten to check out (too many to link to, but just google them!): 

• BluePulse
• ComVu
• Funambol
• Gizmo
• Loopt
• JuiceCaster
• Mobo
• Mystrands
• Plazes
• Plusmo
• Sharpcast
• SlingMedia
• Shozu
• SoonR
• TalkPlus
• Widsets
• Winksite
• ... and many others. 

In fact please add your name/project to the list here in the comments, so someone can start categorizing them ;-)

Relationship between Mobile 2.0 and Web 2.0

I'm not sure who coined the term 'mobile 2.0' first, but loads of discussions and conversations have been going on for a while now (see links below). To me, the shift happened at a Mobile Music event in London in November 2005. I presented a couple of slides trying to explain what I thought was happening at that point: a Fixed Internet Mobile and Network Convergence, combined with the coming of Hybrid Phones (Nokia no longer calls them phones!), combined with ability to access web 2.0 services.

At that point Tim O'Reilly had just released his article defining web 2.0 and Ajit Jaokar was about to write his first definitions on mobile 2.0, which later resulted in his book Mobile Web 2.0 - which explored the more in-depth relations between web 2.0 and mobile 2.0 related apps and services. His blog and book are both recommended reading for anyone interested in this topic. [Ed: later this week we'll feature an extract from Ajit's book here on Read/WriteWeb]

Here are some essential components of what mobile 2.0 is about:

1) Openness: open standards, open-source development and open access - creating more options for the user, not enclosing them in the walled gardens currently (still) used by operators.

2) The context of accessing the network and associated web services needs to be a positive user experience. For example for mobile search, the context includes: browser type, different device functionalities, security issues, display on a small screen, how to insert ads, etc. Associated with this is the usability experience of the devices, applications and services - and other components. For a more detailed analysis of context and the mobile web, see this article I wrote for gotomobile.

3) Affordable pricing to use the network to access content and services.

4) More user choice in the ways to communicate and share experiences with others (social interaction)

5) Intelligent 'aware' applications and devices that know where you are; location 'aware' applications seamlessly integrated.

6) New business opportunities coming to market, which may or may not connect to operators networks; think RSS feeds, alerts to SMS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Entertainment download zones and access spots, Podcasting to your mobile, Streaming Videocall to TV, Moblogging, Video blogging and media sharing applications, Click to Call (a phone number tagged into a mobile web or WAP page), Mobile Search, and last but not least VoIP tools & services.

Also worth noting that one-click access to the (mobile) web is essential to deploy easy-to-access online services. In this area there has been a lot of movement, with companies proposing solutions using QR codes, image recognition and augmented reality applications in mobile.

Conclusion

To conclude, check this nice mobile 2.0 definition from Daniel Appelquist:

"Mobile 2.0 is not "the Future." it is services that already exist all around us. These services are maturing at an amazing rate and what they are doing is effectively knitting together Web 2.0 with the mobile platform to create something new: a new class of services that leverage mobility but are as easy to use and ubiquitous as the Web is today. These services point the way forward for the mobile data industry."

It took the internet a couple of years after 1994 to reach its maturity on the technology side, not to forget the business side of things. I believe the time has come for another exciting period, the Mobile Web. Some carriers/operators are finally starting to act - how about you?

Written for Read/WriteWeb by Rudy De Waele of m-trends.org.

Recommended mobile 2.0 reading

Google's Big Idea by Russell Buckley

Mobile web 2.0: Web 2.0 and its impact on the mobility and digital convergence by Ajit Jaokar

Mobile 2.0 IS NOT Web 2.0 by Oliver Starr at MobHappy

About context and the mobile web by Rudy De Waele at gotomobile.com

What is "Mobile 2.0" (Beta) by Dan Appelquist

Daniel Appelquist on Mobile 2.0, and views on a different kind of Mobile 2.0 by C. Enrique Ortiz

the mobile designer by Kelly Goto

My Mobile 2.0 Manifesto by Fabrizio Capobianco

10 Things I Learned at Mobile 2.0 by Brian Fling

Carnival of the Mobilists - a group of bloggers, writing weekly on mobility

Additional images: Opera, 3 Mobile, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google

This post is a short extract from the book Mobile Web 2.0, by Ajit Jaokar and Tony Fish.

This week we're focusing in on Mobile 2.0, which is basically the Mobile Web circa 2006. I'm much less familiar with the mobile world than the PC Web one, so I thought it'd be a good idea to tap the mind of an expert in this space - fellow Web 2.0 Workgroup member Ajit Jaokar. Ajit and his colleague Tony Fish published a book this year called Mobile Web 2.0, which I received a free copy of and have been flicking through in recent weeks. The following is a short extract from that book (adapted for this blog), which I hope explains a little about the context of mobile content - and how it is becoming more and more important on the Web. This particular extract is also very in tune with the read/write, two-way Web philosophy (which is why I chose it). Take it away Ajit and Tony...

The six screens of life and the existing flow of content

For the most part, we are consumers of content. In our daily lives, we consume professionally created, produced and edited content from traditional and new media providers on our “six screens of life”. These “six screens of life” are divided into two broad categories, big screens and small screens, each with three sub groups.

The ‘BIG’ screens of life

• Cinema (shared with other members of the public):
• TV (shared privately within our homes)
• PC (personal or shared use)

The ‘small’ screens of life

• Fixed/Portable Players (fixed devices in things that move such as cars, planes, etc)
• Information screens e.g. iPod, radio.
• Mobile-communicator, an individual and personalised handheld device

Both for Big and Small screens, the user has traditionally been a passive receiver of content (i.e. content has been broadcast to the user) OR the user has been seen as a member of a carefully controlled and managed audience (for example voting) – but not as a primary creator of content.

For instance:

• The TV needs users to consume (view)
• A website needs users to consume/interact in most cases
• Cinema needs users to consume

Reflecting the above trend, most of the content on the Mobile device to date, has also been the ‘re-presentation’ and ‘re-production’ of existing material delivered to the mobile screen. However the mobile device is changing from being a primary consumer to a major creator of content. The six screens of life and the creative/consumption balance can be seen below.

(click for larger image)

The above figure is divided into five broad areas. The three main areas are: Supply, Demand and Consumption. These are supplemented by the Platform and the Channel.

The supply side

The supply side of the diagram details content production. Some content is created by professional media companies (for example: movies, music), and other content by the individual (for example: blogs, wikis). Eventually, the content is consumed in a private or a shared fashion.

The platform

Content created from the supply sources is passed through a platform. The platform has two components of service: - the physical components and the enabling components.

Examples of the physical components are:

• The transport network: which provides a means to carry the data from production to the point of access.
• The access layer: that allows the user to connect and receive the content.
• Storage: the component that holds the content until it can be consumed.
• The database: that makes content available for searching.

Examples of the enablers are:

• Search – the engine that drives the ability to search
• Identity – who people are
• Sync – synchronisation to ensure quality of service
• Navigation – enabling ease of use
• Payment services - to ensure that the economics work
• Directory – ability to find
• Rating – what is good and what is not good
• Location – A mapping of location and content
• AdSense – ability to serve ads within content
• Security – protection

The platform is built by companies who want to take content and deliver it to customers. Each company will offer different physical and enabling components depending on their business models.

Demand

Demand is classified into a number of services, each broken into shared and personal modes of consumption. These services include:

• Communication: Shared services such as video and pictures and personal such as IM, SMS and email.
• Information services: Information is a matrix of immediate or historic delivered in either a rich or a plain format. Examples of information services could include information delivered on the TV in a rich media format and the same information would be delivered on the mobile browser in a text format.
• Video, Image and Music: Like information, this group is a matrix, depending on sit forward or sit back, and adjustments for the quality of the service needed. Examples would be CD quality vs. MPEG3; depends on listening in the living room with $4,000 HiFi vs. an iPod on the train.
• Games: Games and gaming is a complex area and is partly driven by the platforms but also by titles. However, like other demand services, it splits into personal and shared for playing.

Channels

The channels of delivery are broadly broadcast, session IP and narrowcast. Broadcast represents TV and other broadcast channels. Session/ IP represents the Internet and narrowcast represents the mobile device. Unlike Broadcast, narrowcast has fundamental limitations due to the physics of the device itself, battery life and radio propagation. The model (supply – platform – demand – channel and consumption) ends with the content created being consumed on a variety of screens on a shared or a personal basis.

Consumption

Consumption is based on the six screens of life. To recap, these are:

The ‘Big’ screens of life

• Cinema (shared with other members of the public):
• TV (shared privately within our homes)
• PC (personal or shared use)

The ‘small’ screens of life

• Fixed/Portable Players (fixed devices in things that move cars, planes, etc)
• Information screens e.g. iPod, radio.
• Mobile-communicator, an individual and personalised handheld device

These screens could be classified into: Fixed, Carried and Carry screens.

Fixed: Fixed screens are physically confined to a space for example the TV, PC.

Carried: A carried device is a device which could be on the move BUT is not personal. In flight entertainment is an example of a carried device.

Carry devices: Carry devices are portable, lightweight and free of wires, the prime example being a mobile phone

Further, the devices could be classified into:

a) Shared : where more than one person could view the screen and

b) Personal : where one screen corresponds to one viewer

Consumption patterns

We make two observations with respect to consumption patterns:

1. Consumption is becoming increasingly personal especially with mobile (carried) devices; and

2. Private consumption needs an understanding of the context and the content. Merely transforming content from the shared, bigger screens to private, smaller screens is not enough. Specifically, in relation to mobile services, we note that existing mobile services are relatively simple and don’t take into account the content or the context. Like the Internet, mobility is all about communications. The end user is the ‘killer application’ providing both the content and the context to services such as voice, email, txt and IM. When we initiate a conversation (contact) we take into account the context of the message – for example, who we are communicating with (Partner, Work Colleague, Friend, Financial Advisor, Utility Service Provider, Customer, etc). This context also drives the content of the message (what we are actually saying). We also take into consideration other parameters, such as the time of day, time we have, the level of urgency, emotional state, location, the bill payer, etc.

So far, the network operators, fixed and mobile, have been successful in provisioning these en-mass communications services. These services lend themselves to provisioning on a large scale and require broad based (untargeted) marketing to their customer base. They are not complex and inherently price driven. As communications markets mature (both in penetration and in reach), new value will be derived from applications which lower costs for the end user, leverage the contextual and situational aspects and/or exploit disruptive technologies.