Either way, there had been many false dawns before, not least the expectations raised by mobile operators who overplayed the speed of the mobile internet. But throw in generally reliable 3G and those same operators offering fixed-rate data plans and the inflection point was reached long ago.

But what of the future? Will the current ubiquity of the apps model remain or will the mobile web take over; a mobile web that already offers exciting interactive branded experiences?

For developers of content, most would say that most basic apps can be developed with HTML5 and it will be other genres such as games that will be driver behind apps… and it’s a good bet that Angry Birds will be around for the rest of time whatever direction things go.

But what of business and how to truly integrate mobile into companies’ strategy? The current situation would seem to be untenable. Imagine a High Street shop-front advertising that company’s business by sending customers to another shop-front to buy their products? It makes no sense, but that is exactly the state of play when it comes to companies putting apps on the App Stores.

There certainly is no lack of an engaged audience. A recent report from On Device Research, a company that conducted a survey of 15,000 people directly ON the mobile internet, threw forward two interesting demographics.

In the emerging economies of Asia and Africa, countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and India have a mobile penetration rate of more than 50%. People in these territories can’t wait for fixed-line access and have jumped straight into mobile.

In the US and UK another demographic is using the mobile internet and it isn’t only the iPhone or BlackBerry-wielding businessman, it is Everyman/Everywoman because fixed-data rates mean it is cheaper for him/her than coughing up money to BT and Virgin Media for fixed broadband access.

So the audience is engaged, what about the experience? The technology is there, but too many mobile websites are exactly that, they are websites that work on mobile, but aren’t made-for-mobile and lead to bad user experience.

Potential customers that have to wait and wait for a 1MB website to load up still become annoyed even if fixed-rate data costs mean they don’t have to watch the meter. It doesn’t matter on which device a customer is accessing the internet, they will go elsewhere if the experience is unsatisfying.

Nobody is going to stop using the mobile internet and smartphone customers are not going to become less smart, so companies should start before it’s too late. Users are accessing content when they want and how they want (near 400 billion page views in 2010 according to Opera) and it’s not sitting in front of a PC.

For those who are nimble and implement efficient mobile strategies now will benefit from jumping ahead of the curve. While there is unlikely to be a backlash against Apple’s superhuman ability to understand people’s needs, the plethora of platforms means users will be curious to find out what’s beyond the Apple garden.

Naturally, apps won’t go away and there will still be a market for them, but with bigger and better mobile browsers on the way and content that is less static and rigid as it is now, the mobile web will become more important and eventually dominate.

It seems to have attracted a lot of flames. Blimey! Time for Mobile Web Junkie to dive in…

Read the  article. It’s great.

If you’re trying to make money, dump your iPhone strategy

Then the comments but in case you feel too much pain before you get as far as my comment, here it is, just for you:

Wow, what a lot of hate in the comments. I really think that a lot of you need to read back what you’ve written and see if it’s truly in the spirit of constructive debate.

I would suggest that every single flame has been posted by iPhone owners. A trait I’ve noticed is that as soon as someone jumps onto the Apple train they feel they have a fight on their hands. I guess it’s a complex caused by Microsoft constantly trumping Apple in the OS battle.

Let’s all calm down a little. There really is no need for all this flaming.

I don’t like the iPhone but I do recognise that it has done wonders for educating the public that there’s more to mobiles than just voice and text. Finally we have a platform that can do so much more, but importantly it makes extra applications accessible and consumable.

My problem is that the worldwide market share that Apple has is actually a lot smaller than iPhone fans would have you believe. Given the amount of absolute trash that is available on the App Store I find it difficult to believe that enough people make money out of selling apps to maintain a sustainable environment.

This problem is not just Apple’s. I recently switched from Nokia to Android and I am inundated with rubbish and duplicate applications in the Marketplace and I am overwhelmed to the point that I cannot discern good from bad. It has become painful to find applications because of the distinct lack of editorial to filter the stuff that matters from that which doesn’t.

I am a mobile web expert – developing and delivering services for mobile web for the last 7 years at Wapple. I believe in the broadest possible publishing models and I believe in open markets not manufacturer-owned distribution channels.

The mobile web unifies all operating systems. Mobile web is the platform that we should all be publishing for as it is unrestricted and platform independent (provided you use the correct tools to overcome device variations).

A colleague of mine was a complete Apple head. He spent a lot of money on the App Store – then he had his phone stolen during a night out. Disgusted with O2′s refusal to honour the insurance policy he had paid for he bought himself a new Nokia, swearing never to return to iPhone again.

He lost all his apps. Those that he had paid for.

More worryingly for everyone in this forum, he was lost as a customer to those businesses relying on his ongoing custom through the App Store.

Though all the services that he engaged with through his mobile web browser were maintained as he moved to a new operating system.

Now the theft of a phone is an extreme example, although we can all relate I’m sure. But let’s look at our own histories. I am a Windows PC user and have been for 16 years. Sure I’ve used other operating systems fleetingly but I have worked with the same software and service vendors for years.

But when it comes to phones, I have used many different models from different manufacturers. Every 18 months for the last 10 years I have changed models and manufacturers.

I find it hard to believe that anyone will be an iPhone user for life. Right now iPhone is the ‘big thing’. All the decision makers have them (what about all the customers, though?). But it will not be the big thing forever.

Users will migrate. You will migrate. Then all the development and marketing you have put into attracting a small slice of the entire mobile audience will be for nothing.

Personally, I’ll keep developing for mobile web. It’s not a direct competitor to mobile apps anyway, but I do know that what I make will move with me, my customers and the market through all its twists, turns and trends.