While Europe and Asia have typically outpaced the US in terms of mobile web usage, the release of Apple's iPhone may have helped level the handheld playing field. The iPhone has been called the "new personal computer" and perhaps that it is an apt description.
The sleek handheld's friendly user interface helped remove one of the principal barriers to surfing the web on a mobile device - usability. The iPhone in fact may be key to help Apple secure unanticipated market share in areas like use of its Safari web browser and social networking; not mention the iPod which naturally helps cement Apple's market power in digital music.
But Apple is not the only player in the mobile web game; not by a long shot. Blackberry, Palm, Microsoft and others have been in the mobile web game longer and are rushing to keep pace hoping to transition their large customer bases to their own touch-screen handsets.
As the number of applications in the Apple AppStore continues to grow and as projects like the Google Android phone mature -- the first iteration wasn't a runaway hit but I suspect the next rev will be much more intriguing -- the mobile web user should benefit from the competition.
Mobile users treating their handhelds more like computers and less like phones, will create new opportunities and challenges for content and service providers. The implications of the mobile web multiplies when you factor in the emerging trend of SMS, IM and social media messaging as a replacement for email. This is especially true given the iPhone, Palm Pre, many Symbian handhelds and the Android G-1 all support many of these social networking-focused applications.
Needless to say, all of us will need to pay increasing attention to these trends; specifically, the mobile user experience and how key audiences consume content and services using these devices.
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