Guest Room
Vote Yeah on MIDs; U.S. Consumer Audience Has Decided
With Android (News - Alert) dominating conversations and clearly establishing its presence in the global communications marketplace, I feel confident in saying that mobile Internet devices are now poised - more than ever before - to penetrate the U.S. consumer market.
Demand for Apple's (News - Alert) iPad has exceeded expectations, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.
As with anything new, there are several naysayers who believe that these non-essential devices do not have a snowball's chance to establish a meaningful footprint here, and that past attempts in recent years represent some of the biggest consumer technology flops in recent memory.
However, several indicators lead me to believe otherwise.
For starters, the American consumer environment is just now beginning to accept the concept of a secondary or alternative mobile device - other than the cell phone. Most recently, the e-book concept, or more commercially known as the Kindle, not to mention the iPad, is changing the mindset and usage model for the Connected Joe Public.
Both devices are Internet-enabled.
MIDs are the least known today. It will take some time for the e-book to get more popularized and mainstream. And with Apple stores nationwide sold out of 3G iPads (in less than 24 hours), I believe the verdict is in. About 300,000 iPad 3G models sold on launch weekend, and it's reported that this device is selling twice as fast as the iPhone (News - Alert).
According to In-Stat (News - Alert) Research, nearly half of U.S households will have an adult that considers himself/herself to be a leading edge or early adopter of technology by 2013. In addition, the industry analyst and research firm forecasts that over the next five years, Internet power-user households will double in number, and nearly two-thirds of U.S. broadband households will be power or social users.
Perhaps most important to note is that media convergence, widespread adoption of IP communications and IP-enabled devices have been an essential driver for any recent communications-related economic growth over the past 36 months.
In all fairness, I am not blind to the fact that it has taken American consumers much longer than other regions to accept that the general population has a default cell phone. However, as penetration rates continue to test the age boundaries of acceptance, the average consumer will be more open to having an alternate mobile Internet device. I predict that within the next 24 months no less than five tier 1 content or lifestyle brands will make a wide push and launch a branded MID with a utilitarian purpose. This type of commitment would be the first step for the MID device to take its place with the American consumer.
As such, when I read recent articles that detail the so-called hurdles for this next generation of devices, I truly believe that the stated opinions only represent the attitude and temperature of today, and that they may be short-sighted when speaking about the unlimited potential of tomorrow.
