Nokia is a company that’s pinged my mobile web radar several times in the past week, earning it a place on my watch list. They’re popping up in three key areas: hardware, software, and community.
Mobile Web Hardware
If I lived in the Valley, I might have to fear for my life for posting this, but it’s possible that the iPhone is not the best “internet communications deviceâ€/phone in existence. The Nokia E70 is being touted as an under-publicized rival to the iPhone. It’s certainly an impressive device, and addresses some of the key complaints about the iPhone such as a lack of tactile feedback (though I haven’t heard much about this since the iPhone’s release, any comments?). Further, the E70 has been around since May 2006, showing that Nokia is likely ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile device R&D. They currently have a 36% market share of global mobile devices.
For a hilarious, though not safe for work, review of the Nokia E70 compared to the iPhone, read Maddox’s commentary.
Mobile Web Software
Business 2.0 has named Nokia-funded Widsets.com as one of it’s Top 31 non-US Startups. It’s a free service that promotes available mobile widgets for popular sites, as well as offering tools to let site owners create a widget of their own. Think Facebook Apps for your phone.
Mobile Web Community
The Mobile Weblog reports that Nokia has acquired Twango, a social media sharing site. This ties in nicely with the blurb from Business 2.0, “Next up? WidSets wants to develop interactive widget services with social networking and content sharing sitesâ€.
Of course, mobile manufacturers that want to see better sales of mobile web devices will first need to pressure telecommunications companies into lowering data transfer fees, which as I’ve mentioned before, are the key barrier to more widespread adoption of the mobile web.