McGuire’s Law

Standard disclaimer: don’t take from my selections, ordering, headlines, etc. any indications of the interests or plans of my employer (if you do, you’ll undoubtedly be disappointed when they don’t play out.)

• Palm’s Synergy could be game changing
• ten years of mobile design
• Who Wins, Who Loses With Broadband Grants
• House stimulus package includes $6 billion for broadband: $1 billion set aside for wireless carriers, tower companies
• DTV delay to impact access to 700 MHz licenses
• Two hands means two chances to consume 7th mass media
• Spending on Cell Phone Services Has Exceeded Spending on Residential Phone Services
• Digital TV transition to be delayed until June 12: Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility forced to delay 700 MHz buildout plans
• Repeaters vs. femtocells Part 2
• Mobile Industry Isn’t Immune From Saturation, Recession

As we work to build mobility into every product, service, and process, our greatest inhibitor is the mindset represented by those who defend the tethering of products and processes to specific places. This mindset is fueled by the investments that have been made that establish power in the companies, departments, and individuals that stand in the way of mobilizing our lives and our businesses. These investments are not always in hard assets, but often are investments of time and experience to establish intellectual and relational assets. We should expect our assault on these ways to be defended to the death. Here are recent examples:

• Surprise… Big Bell Dogma slows adoption of full mobility
• Big Bell frustrating customers into upgrading?
• Big Bell openness claims “has meant almost nothing”
• France outlaws certain cellphones
• Safety council wants to ban all mobile use while driving
• Big Bell again in contempt of merger consents
• Qwest Cuts Off SkyWi in Network Dispute

Converging products into a cellphone is one way that mobility is getting built into every product, but it’s not the only way. Every month, I’ll focus on devices that are integrating the power of mobility into products themselves in ways that create new value for the customer. Power up!

• Watches
• Picture frames
• Keychains (and other stuff)
• Car dashboards
• Weather forecasters
• Hats
• Thermostats

Research is good. Free highlights from expensive research reports are great. Here are some recent headlines:

• $1T in mobile revenues by 2013 (Informa)
• $52B in mobile content revenues by 2013 (Juniper Research)
• $13.4B in unified communications services by 2013 (Wainhouse Research)
• 95M M2M modules shipped by 2013 (ABI Research)
• Mobile Imaging Application Market to Exceed $500 Million by 2013 (Parks Associates)
• 150M mobile banking customers by 2011 (Juniper Research)
• Half a billion mobile financial services customers by 2013 (ABI Research)
• $1.4B in mobile dating by 2013 (Juniper Research)
• 240M GPS-enabled handsets to ship in 2009 (ABI Research)
• 2.5B 3G subs by 2013 (Park Associates)
• 60M smartphone sales in 2013 (Park Associates)

Standard disclaimer: don’t take from my selections, ordering, headlines, etc. any indications of the interests or plans of my employer (if you do, you’ll undoubtedly be disappointed when they don’t play out.)

• Wireless Devices in Stores Found Vulnerable in Survey
• Netbooks Hurting Notebooks; Will They Also Kill the MID Market?
• Mobile feds: We want our BlackBerries, too
• So what’s the next great new smartphone going to be?
• Cell Phone Shipments No Longer Growing
• A New Dawn or the beginning of The End for Nokia?
• The Handset Market Is Getting Darwinian
• Zumbafone: The secret phone from the land of Zumba Lumba
• With Pre, Palm breaks from the Storm
• Microsoft patent makes smartphones more like PCs
• UMPC makers need to decide between WiMAX and cellular technology
• Samsung to release 12 megapixels of cameraphone foolishness this month?

This weekend, Michelle B. commented on this site, and among other things, said: “I, as others have stated, am not sure why once we become a customer and stay loyal for years, we are treated so poorly. Existing customers should be offered better deals just for being loyal! Sprint should say Thank you for being loyal and we know you are keeping money in our pockets and food on our tables so we will reward you with some freebies!”

Great timing on the question, Michelle.  Today, Sprint announced the launch of Sprint Premier.  The program may not perfectly match what Michelle was asking for, but hopefully it’s a strong step in the right direction.

From the press release: “Loyalty pays. So Sprint is rewarding its most loyal and high-value consumer customers with perks, privileges and discounts that drive higher satisfaction, through the launch of Sprint Premier. … After being automatically enrolled in Sprint Premier, customers receive benefits such as: Early Upgrades, “Just Because” Perks, Anniversary Rewards, First to Know/First to Buy, Accessory Discounts, and Courtesy Plan Check. … Eligibility requirements for Sprint Premier are simple: 1) For three consecutive months, consumer customers must be on an individual wireless plan of at least $69.99 per month or spend at least $99.99 per month on a plan that shares minutes, or 2) they must have been a Sprint wireless customer for at least 10 years.”

Congratulations Michelle. With your 15 years with Sprint, you’re automatically in!