2011 Mobile Trends

For consumer product strategy professionals who want to engage with their customers in the mobile environment, navigating the complex mobile ecosystem with its many different devices, platforms, and operating systems (OSes) — and which now includes tablets and other connected devices — will continue to pose challenges. With the traditional hype around technologies that will emerge in 2011, such as 4G networks like LTE, Near Field Communication (NFC), bar codes, and augmented reality, it is also challenging to figure out the real business opportunities. Forrester believes that the mobile/social/local "combo" will drive lots of innovation and growing consumer adoption but not real revenues — yet. The focus for companies willing to tap into the growing mobile opportunities should be on moving from experimentation to the creation of a mobile business case and strategy, while recognizing that the challenges associated with fragmentation will persist.