Mobile Internet - All the time, Everyone, Anywhere

by Willy Lim
(Co-Founder, NetProfitQuest)

Original article appears in July 2010 issue of SME & Entrepreneurship Magazine

Mobile Internet means CONNECTED ALL THE TIME
Many forward looking businesses are banking on mobile devices for future growth -- particularly in Asia -- as consumers leapfrog cumbersome computers to access the Internet via feature-packed handheld gadgets.

The fact is that tens and hundreds of millions of users will come to use mobile internet over the next five years. Already in Indonesia, mobile data plan subscribers (required to surf the internet using mobile phones) have outnumbered users of personal computers. India now has about 40-50 million PCs but this is far fewer than the estimated 550 million mobile subscribers, of whom around 20 million use their handheld gadgets to access the Internet. Mobile data users in India are expected to surpass PC users in the next two to three years.

Smartphones with better operating systems, high-speed Internet networks, falling prices and a plethora of content will fuel the mobile boom. Mobile phones play a crucial role because they are the most ubiquitous devices in the world. Perhaps there are only more toothbrushes in the world than mobile phones.

Also, with newer, more user friendly mobile devices like the iPads (which Apple sold more than 3 million units in 80 days), more people can access the internet on the move without being shackled to a cumbersome desktop. All these point towards the inevitable reality that huge numbers of people will be connected all the time to the internet 24/7/365 within the next few years.

Mobile Internet is for EVERYONE
Case to prove my point: about 6 months ago, I and my dad got our iPhones. I had to persuade him to get this high tech gadget as he is one of those senior citizens who say “I only need to make phone calls with the phone and I don’t know how to use such a complicated smartphone.”

Fast forward 6 months later today, he uses his iPhone to skype with me when I’m overseas, send emails to his colleagues and check Toto winning numbers for my mom. My dad also uses his iPhone to read news, search for investment properties and watch Youtube videos. These are tasks which he had once upon a time found it cumbersome to do using his laptop.

Now he shows off his new found iPhone internet capabilities to his younger colleagues, who gaped in amazement when they saw a 63-year-old being savvier than them on the internet. In 6 months, the iPhone, with its mobile internet capabilities, has made my dad an internet savvy senior citizen.

Mobile Internet is accessible ANYWHERE
As for me, a self-professed social media addict, the iPhone is the ultimate socializing tool.

Before the iPhone, I had to use a laptop to update my Facebook status or share my thoughts on Twitter. Socializing on the internet while staring at a laptop is something that only a geek would do! However with the iPhone, I find it so much more fun and spontaneous to share photos and experiences on social media.

In fact, I have planned my entire Chinese New Year vacation with my family to Malacca this year with the help of the iPhone and my friends on social media. I used the Google Maps in iPhone to search for all the points of interest in Malacca, bookmarked them and planned the itenary. Before we set off for Malacca, I posted on Facebook using my iPhone, asking my friends which are the highly recommended food places in Malacca that die die must try, and my Facebook friends posted lots of helpful comments about where to eat on my Facebook profile.

Using the built-in GPS capability of the iPhone together with Google Search and Google Maps, I brought my family to visit most of the sight-seeing places in Malacca, explained the historical background of Malacca and tasted many local Malacca delicacies (like the chendol with gula melaka from Jonker88!) that come highly recommended from my Facebook friends. I feel all knowing and omnipotent – thanks to power of the mobile internet :)

The rise of mobile internet together with social media has profound implications on the way we keep in touch with friends, find information and do businesses. It would be good foresight for SMEs now to start embracing mobile internet and position themselves to engage this new wave of smartphone wielding, social media savvy prospects or risk losing out to competitors who do so.