The Mobile Internet Report Key Themes*

Carriers’ ‘Walled Gardens’ =
Strained Mobile Development for More than a Decade
“Day in the Life” of Mobile Software Developer During Carrier Walled Garden Era…
Develop for multiple (hundreds) of proprietary operating systems / handsets with
various capabilities, resulting in limited scalability
Give large portion of theoretical profits to carriers
Live at whim of carrier / device manufacturer strategy / business process shifts
Compete with global footprint (Finland / Korea / Japan / Taiwan) of other developers
for consumer market share
Endure long development times – often 18 months from inception of idea to getting
app onto carrier deck of a phone
Deal with constraints related to no alternative distribution channels besides official
wireless carrier decks (for most users) + side loading (for advanced users)
Deal with lack of payment systems other than carrier billing systems
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