2003 wishlist

If you are reading this, congratulations for having survived a grueling year of new TV txt game shows, copycat txt TV channels, wanna-be content providers, the wide proliferation of SMS txt promos and the hot-selling logos of Maui’s assets. What an exhausting year to say the least. As 2002 comes to a close, I think it’s safe to say that the year has at least lived up to what we hoped: it was better than 2001, but only by the narrowest of margins. Have you noticed how the year has suddenly ended in a downward spiral in every area possible? Most bonuses were even released just last week, according to many. As I am already anticipating a somber 2003, I have personally managed my expectations for next year. Yet, I see some growth and maturity still to be had next year from our mobile market. With a helping hand from our mobile buddies, I enumerate below some of the most popular wishes that I gathered from them.

Will 2003 bring to the market an MMS colored cellphone below P10,000? This question has topped the wishlist pile. Well, MMS is fairly new; as such, a thorough scan of the market shows that an MMS unit can be had today from P15,000 to P25,000. On any given day, that is an awful lot of money. If handset makers and our carriers do not work together to bring down handset cost, then there would be not much MMS usage to speak off. Though a lot of subs have acquired new MMS handsets lately, these "high-end" consumers have not even bothered to adjust their MMS settings. The MMS cell thus solely becomes just a status symbol and MMS messages sent to them just end up on the carrier’s web-mail awaiting expiration. To engage the loyal critical mass, handset prices and its 10-peso per MMS message sent price would have to come down.

I have been using my MMS unit just lately to send X’mas photos and I have noticed that I could not do cross-carrier MMS. Many have brought a similar observation to my attention. If this is so, cross-carrier MMS then should be enabled the same way it is possible via SMS. Also, average MMS owners keep asking me about where they can get more pictures for their MMS handsets. I always recommend checking their carrier’s WAP sites for photos and most come back complaining that these are lacking. I suggest then that maybe a wireless picture search engine can be marketed by the carriers. Imagine a "Google" that can zero in on that much sought-after photo.

Lastly, whether it be on SMS or MMS, a broad base of people has been demanding that more progressive and useful value-added services be deployed by our current telcos. I have been a victim of such comments during many social functions. It seems that innovation has been set aside lately for the more lucrative trivia promotional campaigns that have been gaining prominence. Well, I understand the Filipino’s penchant for a quick reward, but another segment yearns for practical services. I came across a cool new service called "Star Codes." This service allows you to pull movie schedules and other such practical data by just saving keywords to your address book, much like a name. Since then, I have never missed a movie screening time. In all fairness to some content providers, do check out SMS services like TXT2mail, IM and The Lounge, which have lived up to the furthering of cutting-edge development.

All things considered, 2003 will still shape up to be an exciting year where both telcos and their content providers will be challenged by the maturing wireless Filipino. Merry Christmas and a more prosperous 2003 to all!

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Patrick R. Garcia is managing director of Bidshot Wireless Services. For comments or suggestions, text your message to 233011 (Globe) or 243011 (Smart) or e-mail [email protected].