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�hat may have been true in the past,
but there are clear signs that change
is afoot in this most fast-moving and
rapidly-developing of industries. Mobile
memory solutions – be they removable
cards, high capacity SIMs or embedded
handset memory - are poised to take a key
role in enabling the widespread introduction
of advanced mobile services.
Driving this is a realization that without
enough memory and smart memory solutions
(including security and the ability to
execute applications), the ability to deliver
a satisfying user experience for content
(video, music) consumption and services
(such as mobile TV, user-generated-content)
is severely limited.
Memory is claiming a key role on the
mobile scene, becoming a critical factor
in enabling new service and application
delivery and taking the mobile user experience
to the next level. Memory solutions
are evolving not only in capacity (i.e. chasing
after the latest and greatest microSD
card) but also in functionality and their
ability to perform active functions.
The principal reason for this is the
growth in the consumption of content
by mobile users, fuelled by three distinct
trends: 1) The relentless increase in mobile
content consumption (music and video)
driven by Operator efforts to increase
revenue and enhance the mobile user
experience; 2) the increase in centrality
of handsets in our lives (this means for
instance we use our mobile to carry our
music and other personal information)
3) opening up to external content providers
including services such as mobile TV,
user generated content and peer-to-peer
applications.
All of these trends, combined with the
desire of operators to differentiate themselves
mean a voracious appetite for memory.
As a result, all types and formats of
mobile memory and storage devices have
been experiencing outstanding growth
over the past 2 years, with 2008 promising
to be a bumper year for suppliers as
network operators, handset manufacturers
and, of course, users adjust their expectations
of what a mobile phone can deliver.
Users themselves are becoming increasingly
interested and knowledgeable about
memory. Unbelievably, for those of us
involved in the industry, memory is sexy!
Memory is being mentioned in the same
breath as other leading trends such as the
latest crop of high-end handsets, streaming
content, high speed network implementations
et al.
In fact, there is a direct link between the
advent of high-end handset introductions
and network technologies, and the need
for increased memory and higher “memory
intelligence”. Recent research has
shown that the users of high end phones
have a 2x-4x propensity to consume mobile
content; 3G subscribers are six to 10 times
more likely to do so than 2G subscribers.
With the inevitable trend of switching to
3G networks and high end phones, this
means a clear shift to higher consumption
(3G phones growing from 15% in 2007 to
44% in 2011).
So if you want subscribers to enjoy
a better user experience, help improve
service and content discovery, get the most
30 Mobile Communications International | First for news, best for business
of all the functionality and applications
of modern mobile phones and exploit the
implementation of mobile services, you
need one thing: storage. You want lots of
it, and you want it to be smart and secure
(and no, we are not necessarily hinting at
DRM implementations).
Modern storage solutions provide
capabilities that support and enable these
functionalities. They can directly impact
revenue generation (and profits) for both
Operators and handset vendors, as well as
increase customer loyalty.
In terms of the user experience, a
number of factors are at play. First, there’s
the simple benefit of allowing the user to
store the videos and music and other content
in a meaningful quantity. Using MP3
player capacities as a yardstick, this means
at least 2-4GB of memory. Second, local
memory (of any form) on the handset can
act as an extension of the network, or as a
local cache. Combined with sophisticated
background update and push technologies,
the storage device can help overcome
ever pervasive coverage problems as well
as download speed problems – we all
know most 3G networks do not deliver the
consistent performance or actual speeds
needed for a quality content experience.
The three main mobile memory solutions
are removable cards (the best known
of the lot); embedded handset memory
and high capacity SIM (the latest addition
to the pack). Removable cards are mainly
user centric and provide high memory
flexibility.
The user can choose how much memory
they want and when to upgrade it, and the
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