FUTURE MOBILE TRENDS

The mobile phone industry is showing no

signs of a slowdown. Drivers of change
include user growth in emerging markets, the
role of the smartphone as a life hub and the
mobile -first attitude of Generation Z.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Future Mobile Trends
The mobile phone industry is showing no signs of a slowdown. Drivers of change include user growth in
emerging markets, the role of the smartphone as a life hub and the mobile - .

The nu mber o f glob al mobil e s ub scr ibers i s set to rocke t from 3.2 billion people in 2012 to 3.9 billion by 2017 ,
according to a 2013 AT Kearney re po rt for the G S M Association (G S MA). As a result, rapid growth is predicted across
the sec tor, with cumula tive ecosys tem revenues se t to hit $9.1tn over the 201 3 2017 period.

"Mobile is a vibrant and evolving industry at the hear t of everyday life for billions of people around the world," says A nne
B ouverot, director general of the GS MA. "Mobil e h as gon e b ey ond b eing a mere c omm uni cat ion s too l to one that
provides life enhan cing, and in s ome cas es life saving , services to men, women and children. It' s exci ting to look at the
poss ibilities ahead of u s a s we connect the world's population to the mobile internet."

A new report on mobile trends published by marke ting communica tions giant J WT earlier this month identifies some key
themes that emerged from this yea r’s Mobil e Wo rld C ong res s (MWC) even t in B arcelona . T he report, entitled 13
Mobil e T re nd s for 2013 and Bey on d, looks at the impac t of new subscribers from emerging marke ts and the
increasing importance of the mobile phone as a life hub for consumers.

Mobile phone use r

Emerging Markets
A billion new mobile phone subscribers were added in the past four years, according to the G S MA. Mobile phone
opera tors are now se tting their sights on c onn ect ing the n ext billio n by releasing entry level phones targeted at
consumers in developing markets.

 B udg et Ha ndset s : Nokia is the curren t marke t leader for entry level phones . I n F ebruary , the F innish firm sough t
to cement its position by releasing the $19 Nokia 105 at MWC. However, Nokia may be facing competition from
smar tphone marke t leader A pple. T he US t ech giant is rumou re d to be releasing a budget iP hone later this year
– a move that could pay off, as many consumers in emerging markets are bypassing PCs altogether and having
their first onlin e ex per iences via mobil e. Challenges s till remain – notably the lack of power supply to remote
regions and low levels of literacy – but the arrival of mobile promises huge benefits, both to brands and citizens of
resourc e -scarce areas of the world.

 Mobil e Ba nk ing and Hea lth: F or newly connec ted consumers , the rapid spread of mobil e b ank in g sys tems
 such as M P esa and M S ente show s mobil e’ s potential as a tool for economic development in some of the
world’s mos t deprived regions . Mobil e phon es are als o tra nsf orm ing the d elivery o f h ea lthcar e: MMS and
S MS platfo rms a re key to the fa s t communication of a cc urate patient data.

 Mobil e Vid eo: Brands now have the opportunity to establish themselves at the centre of the mobile experience for
these new consumers. Research presented at MWC by global market research firm WIN/Gallup revealed that
many consumers in the emerging marke ts of A sia , S outh A merica and Af rica are optimistic about the benefits
of mobil e, and are more open to mobile marketing and m commerce than their wes tern counterpar ts . A s 3G and
4G connectivity become more widely available across Africa and hardware and data costs continue to fall, mobil e
vid eo i s tipp ed to emer ge as a ma jo r pl atf orm for enterta in me nt me di a over the next 10 years.

Mobile phone users in emerging marke ts

Generation Z
Generation Z is the first generation to grow up in a fully connected world. Toda y’s teens have never known music without
YouTube, friendships without social networks or education without Google. A 2013 st udy by the P ew Research Cen ter in
the US f ound that 78% of U S teens own a mobile phon e, and around one in four use it as the primary method of
interne t access . B rands mus t har ness this c on sta nt c onn ect ivity to crea te new educa tion models and exploit new
forms of communication.

Since members of the youngest generation take mobile connectivity for granted, they have come to expect everything –
information, products, friends, entertainment – to be instantly available in the palm of their hand. This mobile - informed
outlook makes them more impatient, socially connected and constantly stimulated than any generation before –
presenting a new challenge for marketers looking to engage with them. JWT, 13 Mobile Trends for 2013 and Beyond
Members of Gene ration Z a re moving awa y from Fa cebook towards alte rnative fo rms of communication. Snap chat – the
mess aging app that s ends photos and mess age s that s elf destruct seconds after opening – has proved particularly
popular among members of this age group. T he app gives youths a sense of digi tal free do m that is perhaps miss ing on
F acebook and other more formal networks .

B rands should harness the properties of S napcha t to appeal to this “alway s on” genera tion, such as by sending time
s ens itive and e xclus ive promotions to nearb y us ers ( s ee a rece nt cam paig n from New Yor k based frozen yoghurt brand
16 Handles for inspira tion) or revealing exclusive previews of new products.

S napcha t S napcha t S napcha t

Mobile: Life Hub

S martphones that offer healt h tracking app s , applian ce
control, leisure advice and more are becoming anchor
devices for mobile owners .

 Knowledge Ban k: Toda y’s smar tphones are

capable of tracking, storing and interpreting data on
all areas of life, from sleep quality to mood levels.
The proliferation of self tracking apps , coupled with
high speed mobile interne t, makes access to
information simpler than ever. As mobile phones
become more ingrained in the lifes tyles of
consumers around the world, marke ters should pu t
the res ul ting w ea lth o f d ata to good u s e. For
example , Gi mba l – a so ftware developmen t kit
(S DK ) released in 2012 by US chipmaker Q ualcom m
– boos ts context awareness for apps by gathering
data from smar tphones to allow push notifica tions to
be adjus ted based on time, loca tion and user profile.
  On Demand Personal Assistant : V oice activated personal assistants will soon become ubiquitous to
smartphones and boast ever more advanced capabilities. In January, US tech giant Apple released the latest
upgrade for its pioneering personal assistant application Si ri, enabling US users to make purchases through the
app for the firs t time.

 Proac tive Service s : P roactive s ervices a re al s o be coming a key a rea fo r de velopment. Donn a is a new personal
assis tant applica tion from US t ech firm Incredible Lab s . Released earlier this month, Donna syncs with a use r’s
personal diary and offers contextual information, including wea ther, traffic and directions , f or the day’s agenda .
Incredible Lab s ’ deliberately anthropomorphic creation, which can anticipate a user ’s needs without prompting,
points to what S iri and its rivals will become – intelligent personal assis tants , capable of anticipating, researching
and execu ting tasks for busy users .

Donn a Donn a

 Rem ote C on trol: W orldwide machin e to machine connections are forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of
36% between 2011 and 2021, a cc ording to a 2012 st udy by global telecoms research firm A nalysys Mason . T ech
s tartups are entering this space by c onn ect ing h ar dw ar e, linking “dumb” items such as a front door with
common web programmes. Founded in 2012, Australian startup Ninja Blocks is developing technology for tiny
computers with buil t-in sensors . Aft er linking Ninja B locks to the web-based Ninja cloud platform, users can set
trigger aler ts for their Ninja B locks ; a Ninja B lock could be programmed to send a F acebook message when
movemen t is detec ted by the back door. T he open source so ftware allows users to develop and adap t the
technology to work in their lifes tyles .
Ninja B locks
Summary
The next billion mobil e
subscribers will come from
deve loping re gion s such as India
and su b S aharan Africa . T hey are
“mobil e op timist s ”, who are more
receptive to targeted advertising and
mobile commerce opportunities .
Mobil e i s the p rimary scree n for
G enerat ion Z. Thi s tech savvy
demographic is turning to new
"mobile firs t" forms of
communication .
S martphones that offe r healt h
tracking apps, appliance control,
leisure advice and more are
becoming anc ho r d ev ice s for
mobile owne rs .
Ninja B locks
L evera ge the tool s o f mobil e to
reach un tapped consumers in
emer ging market s . Consumers
there are ready and willing to listen .
New forms of communication can
in s pire n ew w ays o f reac hing
c on s umer s . F or example , sel f
des tructing messaging services lend
themselves to innovative marketing
campaigns us ing location based
data.
In vest now in p roact ive mobil e
serv ice s . I ntelligent personal
ass is tants a re s et to be come a key
part of the high end sm artphone
marke t’s offering.
 MOBILE VS TABLET APPS CONSUMPTION
Kantar Media has, in its latest TGI Clickstream study,
found that mobile apps are being downloaded at up to triple the rate of tablet apps globally

Oct 2011-
Sept 2012
Tablet apps Mobile apps
downloaded downloaded

Oct 2011-
10 Social networking Lifestyle 18 11 11
Sept 2012

03 03 Entertainment (games,digital books etc) Health and diet 18 12

07 04 Music Sports
News/Weather Property
08 19 Maps Other practical apps 22 20
Shopping Other
10
18
11 % of tablet 27 04
11 15 web users

25 37
32 % of smartphone
web users

“There are a billion smartphones on the planet, and tablet sales are still in their millions.
While tablets will continue to become both more accessible and sophisticated,
the smartphone is still considered the all-round communication device that stays with a user for nearly 24 hours a day.”
Geoff Wicken, head TGI International, Kantar Media