Wireless Trends for 2007

By Allan Pulga

Wireless experts and industry prognosticators are gazing into their crystal balls to see what’s in store for the New Year based on the outcomes of 2006. Most expect 3G technology to continue improving in 2007, leading to related network and content developments bent on keeping up with demand.

While the consensus is clear – 2006 was a big year for smartphones so expect the industry to build upon that momentum – a lot of variables are still up in the air… or should I say, airwaves?

Rhonda Wickham, editor-in-chief of Wireless Week, forsees carriers continuing down the path they followed in 2006, investing heavily to expand coverage and roll out new data services and applications. She also points to the fickleness of the U.S. cellular customer, noting that consumers are more attentive to the type of service they receive from carriers, which could relate to their wireless retail experiences at well. About MVNOs, Wickham says (and I agree) the failure of Mobile ESPN served as a major wake-up call to investors. “The MVNO start-up rage is over,” she says.

Michael Oryl, editor of MobileBurn.com says 2006 was a good year for music phones and camera phones. He expects 2007 to be even better. “North American markets (will) start rolling out serious UMTS/HSDPA networks that will compete with the EV-DO networks that are, even was we speak, upgrading to the faster Rev A technology,” he says. Oryl also predicts Wi-Fi and VOIP on mobile phones to pick up in 2007.

David Haskin of Computerworld echoes Oryl’s predictions, calling the advent of the cheap smart phone and Sprint Nextel’s “bodacious” announcement to build a nationwide mobile Wi-Max network “the two biggest stories of 2006.” Haskin expects more competition for 3G support (between Wi-Fi and Wi-Max providers – like EarthLink – and cellular carriers) and added growth for mobile e-mail, search and media.

Even the video game nerds at ING.com are expecting the increased popularity and affordability of 3G phones to shake things up in 2007. “Most newer handsets have the power to run bigger games and may have the juice to play 3D games,” wrote ING.com Editor Levi Buchanan. He also said a move toward 3D games could bring more mobile gamers to buy (instead of simply download) games, a trend that already occurred in Europe.

Sascha Segan at PCMag.com called Verizon wireless instituting a cheaper fee to opt-out of a contract the best trend for 2006. Meanwhile, she called the continued dominance of the Motorola RAZR the year’s worst trend. “The RAZR came out in 2004,” she noted. “Why does it still dominate the market at the end of 2006? I’m tired of seeing new RAZRs with a new color and a new feature or two, but no real innovation.”

- PCMag.com’s Top 5 Smartphones               and Worst 5 Smartphones:

1. Motorola Q                                           1. Helio Kickflip

2. Palm Treo 700p                                    2. Verizon CDM-180

3. BlackBerry Pearl                                   3. LG AX490

4. Nextel i580                                           4. LG CE500

5. Samsung X820                                      5. Motorola RAZR V3i

- CNet.com’s Best Cellphones of 2006:

1. Nokia 5300 Express Music (Red)

2. Sony Ericsson K790a

3. Sony Ericsson W810i

4. LG VX8300

5. LG CU500

6. Nextel Motorola i580

- TopTenReviews.com’s Top Carriers for 2007:

1. Cingular                         6. Alltel                      

2. Verizon                          7. Cellular One

3. Sprint Nextel                  8. PowerNet Mobile

4. T-Mobile                        9. Liberty Wireless

5. Qwest                           10. Cricket