November 20, 2008: Google searches for voice; RIM looks Web-ready
While it's not true for all mobile applications, many services enabled by the mobile Internet are meant to be as close to the traditional Internet experience as possible. That's where efficient and elegant device design and browser-power come in.
Sure, Microsoft announced plans last week for a new, mobile version of IE6, but it also only made an emulator of the forthcoming mobile browser available because the browser requires a more powerful handset--Redmond says IE6 needs new devices.
On the same note, Research In Motion is also ramping up its mobile Internet strategy with souped up devices like the Bold. Key partnerships like online social networking powerhouses like MySpace are only half the battle--the other challenge is keeping customers in your wheelhouse even after they discover the iPhone or Android's G1.
As competition ramps up and clear choices between the top Internet-enabled devices become more difficult to sort out, the industry will increasingly look to side-by-side reviews of devices like those CNET and Gizmodo carried out this past week. As our weekly columnist and Rethink Research Director Caroline Gabriel points out in this week's Special Report: CNET compared a half dozen handsets as they ran a full length movie, TV episode and audio track. The iPhone 3G, BlackBerry Bold, Samsung Instinct, LG Dare and HTC/T-Mobile G1 were all equipped with a 4Gb MicroSD except the 8Gb iPhone and all were running on 3G networks. According to the CNET review, the Bold blew away the competition on download speeds, performing at 13.9Mbps for the movie and 9.59Mbps for audio. The G1 came in second, with ratings of 5.99Mbps and 5.08Mbps; iPhone was third with 5Mbps and 2.79Mbps; the Dare performed at 1.49Mbps and 1.31Mbps; and the Instinct scored 0.79Mbps and 0.74Mbps. Read more here.
At the same time Gizmodo carried out a similar review with a very similar lineup of handsets--but the results were vastly different. Apple's iPhone, Google's Andorid G1 phone and the Blackberry Bold finished in the top three spots--but in that order. Read more here.
Finally, Google has given voice-enabled search another go on the mobile platform. Google's voice search launched on Apple's iPhone, though, not G1. Read this week's Mobile Internet Watch to find out why.
