The Quest for Convenient Communication (2)

• The Customer Experience. We, as consumers, have very high expectations for new technologies. Mobility requires us to frame our experience in a completely different way than we’ve been accustomed to. The average screens size for most mobile devices is merely an inch or two in width. That leaves little room for error for content designers. If our experience on the wireless Web does not meet our expectations, it’s just as easy for us to switch back to our wired desktops. It’s easy for Web designers to make the same mistakes that early Internet providers made by focusing on the technology and not the customer. In the days when the Web was in its infancy, anyone and everyone was in a fury to launch their company’s Web site, giving little thought to the strategy or content of the site. That same idea is being applied to many wireless Internet sites that were launched simply to establish a presence. Now that consumers have the option of over a hundred different mobile devices and virtually hundreds more sites to browse, it’s even more critical to focus on your customer’s experience.
• Devices, Devices, Devices. With the last count of over 200+ mobile devices, the choices consumers need to make in purchasing a mobile device are frightening. The mobile device environment is more dynamic than ever, making the decision-making process for consumers as exciting as ever, yet potentially confusing. It’s not uncommon to purchase a mobile phone or wireless PDA, and see that same device upgraded one month later. There doesn’t appear to be an end in sight for mobile device innovation. With that in mind, device providers need to keep their consumer in mind more than ever. It’s almost impossible to be everything to everyone, but many providers have almost succeeded in designing the perfect mobile device. We’ll discuss the various mobile devices later in this book.
• Lost or Stolen Devices. The beauty of purchasing that shiny new desktop PC was that usually it was big enough that theft was of little concern to the home user. And, you’d have to be a pretty sorry customer if you actually lost your new Pentium PC. Mobility has changed everything about those formulas however. Mobile phones and PDAs are now smaller than many men’s wallets and more likely to be lost or stolen. Because mobile phones are used as a means of communication, not just commerce, we find ourselves accessing those devices constantly in our daily lives. Replacing a mobile
  phone may not be as traumatic as we think, because service providers can quickly replace them with a mere phone call. But, the loss of convenience or data stored on the device certainly weighs into our decisions in how we use mobility today and in the future.

Taken From : Enterprise Guide to Gaining Business Value from Mobile Technologies