MEX 2006
I have spent the last two days at MEX. MEX is the PMN Mobile User Experience conference, an independent speaking programme (more than 40 speakers) championing customer-focused design and technology in the mobile industry.
Here are some key insights for me from the conference itself and talking with attendees…
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There’s strong contention over who will eventually ‘own’ the customer. (Network operator vs MVNO vs Media brands vs Online brands). This contention is currently an inhibitor to growth and innovation.
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Network operators are starting to reduce their content teams and concentrate on their core competencies (network voice/data) - they have realised that they are not media companies.
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Network operators are currently risk averse to community-based user generated mobile content. This is the kind of content that could fuel future growth.
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Network operators and hardware OEM’s are currently getting away with providing less than perfect solutions. As the market saturates and users realise that it’s not their fault they can’t use advanced services, design may become more customer-focused.
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There are still many ways hardware and software can be better designed around the function being performed at the time. For example, dual screen devices that reconfigure the keyboard and screen to provide a task based (e.g. Music, Voice, Camera) user interface. You can see an early partial implementation of this idea in the new Nokia 3250 which configures (one) screen appropriate to how the bottom of the phone is twisted (to access keyboard, music or camera controls).
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There are many opportunities for innovation in automatic user interface adaption based on sensing the current environment (location, noise, time of day etc). These may also involve transparent device-to-device or device-to-server communication.
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Some companies are moving to advertising based models where traditional purchased content models have failed.
As the conference reporter, I have highlighted some key messages from each of the sessions on the MEX blog. PMN will also publish a full report after the event, including the presentations from the conference. If you’d like to register to receive a copy, please send an email to subs@pmn.co.uk and they be in touch as soon as it’s ready for purchase.