Study finds strong demand for practical mobile content

I recently ran across the results of a study that showed consumers’ want practical content on their mobile device. I think the results of this study are very interesting, even though it centered on the use of the mobile web and not mobile applications.As I have said before I strongly believe the mobile web, as it is today, is not suited to address the real, practical needs of mobile users.

I don’t think this should surprise anyone. Mobile devices are used quite differently than desktop and laptop computers. For instance, while computers tend to be used for more time consuming tasks in fairly interrupt-free environment, mobile devices live in a highly interrupt driven environment. Core functionality, not only interface design, needs to reflect this fundamentally different user environment and expectations.

The true potential of mobile technology is only achieved when mobile becomes practical. By that I mean when mobile applications are not only designed to live in this interrupt driven environment, but are designed to actively help the user in conducting daily, real-world tasks. Now, keep in mind that what is practical, useful, or real-world, for one person might not be for another. For some people, being able to reserve a tee-time at their favorite golf course is an essential lifestyle task. Other people might find it critical to be able to track their team’s baseball scores. Others might need only to know where the nearest coffeeshop, parking garage, nightclub, or grocery store is. The point is, for all these different applications, the mobile device needs to be the consumer’s “wing-man,” bringing disparate content sources together in a personalized way to help the user act.

This is what GoLife Mobile is all about; an enabling technology to allow software developers create these practical applications. Unlike dotMobi I truly believe this can only be realized through the use of On-Device Portals. The web was simply not built for on-the-go practicality.