Get Ready for a Traffic Jam
As a reminder for carriers to be ever-ready for the next data explosion, a report by Strategy Analytics says mobile phones will generate almost 2.2 Exabytes of data 
traffic by 2013 – and that is excluding wireless PC cards and other cellular-enabled devices.
Such volume of data is equivalent to watching more than 120,000 years of DVD quality video, the firm says. Eighty-four percent of the traffic will come from Web browsing.
Strategy Analytics analysts say consumer appetite for browsing, accessing applications and consuming downloaded or streamed audio or video content has the potential to cripple mobile networks. Management of data traffic load is the biggest current priority for mobile operators, with compression of Web and video content to handsets an important element in any strategy. But operators are expected to use pricing to guide traffic away from peak times and get more creative with using Wi-Fi as an offload mechanism.
SURVEY: Users Want Simplicity, Better Connectivity
An In-Stat survey asked 1,300 respondents to answer the open-ended question: What features are desired on your next phone? The top three responses were better connectivity, better audio and simplicity.
Here’s a rundown of what In-Stat found in its research:
• Video conferencing on cellular handsets is a feature that has yet to find significant adoption, but early adopters are 30–39-year-olds with high income.
• Survey respondents expressed more interest in form factors that are more mainstream than the new “exotic” futuristic form factors such as wearable. Of the futuristic form factors, dual-screen received the most interest, followed by e-paper and roll-out displays.
• Larger screens with touch sensitivity are already gaining momentum and will continue to gain popularity. Customization of home screens will improve usability, with personalization quickly becoming a must-have.
• Perhaps the most compelling advancement in user interfaces will be the integration of picoprojectors into phones. Picoprojectors overcome one of the most significant constraints inherent in mobile devices – small screens. The strongest interest was shown in the 25-34 age segment.
• Media features continue to penetrate the market and the rise of social networking has helped drive demand for integrated cameras.
• According to respondents, digital cameras, speaker phones and GPS were the top features on the “Ideal Phone.”
Go Figure
• More than 450 million users worldwide were accessing the mobile Internet in 2009, a number that is expected to more than double by the end of 2013, according to IDC. IDC’s worldwide forecast calls for the number of mobile devices accessing the Internet to surpass the 1 billion mark over the next four years.
• Nearly 2 billion Bluetooth chipsets are forecast to ship in 2014 alone, according to ABI Research. More than half will be found in wireless handsets. In the same year, almost 1.5 billion Wi-Fi chipsets are expected to ship and again, more than one-third of that total will be used in handsets.
• A Dell’Oro Group report shows the worldwide wireless LAN market grew to more than $1 billion in the third quarter of 2009, due in large part to the increased spending in the healthcare and education sectors, as well as a rise in sales of higher valued 802.11n products.
• SMS in Asia/Pacific and Japan are on pace to reach 1.9 trillion messages in 2009, a 15.5 percent increase from 2008, according to Gartner. In 2010, SMS volumes are forecast to surpass 2.1 trillion, a 12.7 percent increase from 2009.