Gartner charts 10 mobile technologies to watch this year

"We are highlighting these technologies that should be on every organisation's radar," comments Nick Jones, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "These were selected because they will evolve in ways that affect corporate strategies. Significant numbers of customers or employees will adopt or expect them, or they will address particular mobile challenges that organisations will face through 2011." The 10 include Bluetooth, Mobile Web, mobile Widgets, Platform-Independent Mobile AD Tools, App Stores and Enhanced Location Awareness. On the Bluetooth front, Jones points to two new versions emerging by 2011. Bluetooth 3 will introduce 802.11 as a bearer for faster data transmission, and Bluetooth 4 will introduce a new low-energy (LE) mode that will enable communication with external peripherals and sensors. "Both versions will include other technical improvements to improve battery life and security," he says. "Gartner believes that Bluetooth 3 will facilitate corporate and consumer functions demanding large bandwidth. Bluetooth LE will enable a range of new sensor-based business models in industries such as environmental control, and will be used by handset and PC peripherals." It's a similar story with Mobile Web, where Gartner expects more than 85% of handsets shipped globally to include some form of browser by 2011. "The growth in smartphones with relatively large and high-resolution screens will encourage greater numbers of people to access conventional websites on mobile devices, and will make it possible to deliver some B2C applications using conventional web tools without adaptation," says Jones. In mature markets, he reckons that the mobile web, along with associated web adaptation tools, will be a leading technology for B2C mobile applications through 2012, and should be part of every organisation's B2C technology portfolio.