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Broad Trends Dominate CTIA:
Content, Community, Search, and Advertising

Aside from Paris Hilton’s brief appearance during a keynote address, the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2006 conference in Los Angeles offered few surprises for wireless industry watchers. But several broad themes emerged, which point to continued market growth – especially when it comes to the delivery of wireless content aimed at consumers.

While industry announcements and discussions at CTIA were more incremental than monumental, it’s clear that key concepts like mobile advertising and mobile search have some momentum, while the concept of “community” is still looking for greater traction.

Following are a few of the key trends observed by NPD analysts at CTIA:

Content: The Scramble is on for Control

“Content” is the industry’s catch-all word for everything from music, ringtones, wallpapers, TV, video, and games. And while content was on everyone’s mind, much of the discussion was about how it’s delivered and who would control it.

News Corp President and COO Peter Chernin perhaps set it up best in his keynote speech when he said, “It’s a joke trying to find mobile content today. It’s anything but consumer-friendly.” In an effort to improve that situation, News Corp and UIEvolution announced a deal to develop a mobile user experience for users of News Corp-owned MySpace.

Another key announcement in the content arena was RealNetworks’ recent purchase of WiderThan – a South Korean company known for its mobile music expertise. This news generated appreciable industry buzz, since it was yet another sign that larger players, beyond carriers, are scrambling for a larger slice of the mobile content pie.

Some lesser-known companies also got into the act at CTIA. Mobile media platform provider Nellymoser and Third Screen Media announced a deal to provide an integrated rich media and advertising solution for carriers and content providers.

Taken as a whole these deals and surrounding discussions illustrate that the mobile content business is still in its infancy and clear mobile content leaders have yet to emerge.

Community: Trying to Mimic MySpace

“Community” was also a very hot topic at CITA. And while there was no clear definition of what “community” actually means, a general consensus seemed to settle around the notion of attempting to mimic or leverage the MySpace phenomenon on mobile phones.

There are many companies trying to bring the concept of community to mobile devices, but one in particular that caught our attention was Mixxer. The company already claims four million members and 160 different deals with publishers and other content providers.

CEO Sky Dayton of MVNO Helio also discussed “community” several times during a panel discussion, as did the other panelists. The industry’s challenge remains finding ways to generate a sustainable business out of social-networking connections.

Search: Tying it to Your Location

Mobile search was also a key topic at CTIA. While it might seem simple to migrate Google and other Web-based search applications to mobile devices, it’s just not that easy.

Verizon Wireless announced a deal with Medio for its free “Get It Now” search service, which is now available on selected handsets. This partnership allows Verizon Wireless customers to look for downloadable content across Verizon’s offerings. This functionality is a step in the right direction, but it’s not likely to cut it when consumers want to look beyond Verizon’s proprietary offerings.

When push comes to shove, search needs to be more robust, if it’s going to fly with consumers. Sometimes that means tying search to location. One company with an interesting offering in this arena is JumpTap. Its concept is to take search, make it local to your surroundings, and tie in advertising that is relevant.

Advertising: It’s only a Matter of Time

It’s only a matter of time before mobile advertising becomes commonplace. During his MECCA presentation, Paul Reddick, Sprint Nextel’s vice president of business development and planning strategy, made it clear that mobile advertising will soon become commonplace. During his myth-busting discourse, Reddick questioned the notion that mobile entertainment must remain commercial free.

To underscore his point, Sprint announced a deal with Enpocket at CTIA that will bring advertising to Sprint’s mobile content this fall. Similarly Verizon Wireless is conducting mobile ad trials now, and will no doubt begin offering marketers a chance to reach subscribers once those trials are completed.

Devices: Music, Multimedia and Data

Several mobile phones were prominent at this show. Those generating the most excitement included: LG’s music-focused Chocolate, RIM’s new multimedia-focused Pearl, HTC’s new Windows Mobile flip phone offered by Cingular, Nokia’s E62, and the d900 ultra-slim slider from Samsung.

-- by Neil Strother, research director for mobile devices, content and services, and Charul Vyas, senior wireless specialist