top 5 web trends of 2009 mobile web & augmented reality

Written by Richard MacManus / September 10, 2009 5:30 AM / 3 Comments « Prior Post Next Post »

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Top 5 Web Trends of 2009: Mobile Web & AugmentedReality

This week ReadWriteWeb (http://www.readwriteweb.com) is running a series of posts analyzing the 5 biggest Web trends of 2009.So far we've explored these trends: Structured Data(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_5_web_trends_of_2009_structured_data.php) , The Real-Time Web(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_5_web_trends_of_2009_the_real-time_web.php) , Personalization(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_5_web_trends_of_2009_personalization.php) . The fourth part of our series is on MobileWeb. We're including Augmented Reality in this category, as we think it's a key element of where the Mobile Web is heading

circa 2009.

In April we reported statistics from browser company Opera(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/opera_reports_explosive_mobile_web_growth_worldwide.php) showing large growth on the Mobile Web. Accordingto Opera, there was a 157% increase in usage of their Opera Mini web browser from March 2008 to March 2009. What's driving that growth isdevices like the iPhone, new mobile operating systems like Android, and hot applications like Augmented Reality.

Apple Dominates Mobile Web, But Android on The Rise...We named Apple our Best Bigco of 2008 (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/best_bigco_of_2008_apple.php) , mostlydue to the success of the iPhone and accompanying App Store. By most statistics, Apple is in a fairly dominantposition in the Mobile Web. At the beginning of the year(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/report_apple_dominates_the_mobile_web.php) we reported data from AdMob(http://admob.com/) (a leading mobile advertising marketplace) showing that Apple has a 48% market share ofsmartphone traffic in the United States. That figure doesn't just come from the iPhone, but the iPod touch too.

By June 2009, Apple's share of smartphone traffic in the U.S. had surged to 64%(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/iphone_os_international_growth_on_the_rise.php) . Perhaps more significantlythough, Apple's share of worldwide smartphone traffic had increased to 47%. This is important, because internationally other smartphoneswere utilized much more than in the U.S. before the iPhone arrived.

However, Apple can't afford to rest on its laurals. Google's mobile OS Android has been making rapid progress. According to the latestAdmob statistics available, for July '09 (http://metrics.admob.com/2009/08/july-2009-metrics-report/) , requests from the Android Operating Systemincreased 53% month over month and Android now has 7% worldwide OS share. The iPhone OS dropped slightly to 45% worldwide and 60%in the U.S.

Bigco Initiatives & Trendy StartupsAll of the big Internet companies have strong Mobile Web initiatives. We discussed Apple and Google above.

Yahoo continues to push Mobile Web(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/yahoo_rolls_out_new_mobile_web_campaign.php) , which currently goesunder the OneConnect (http://mobile.yahoo.com/oneconnect) brand.

Microsoft has announced a number of mobile initiatives this year, including a mobile version of MicrosoftOffice (http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2009/08/microsoft-nokia-to-announce-mobile-version-of-office.php)and MySpace bringing its platform(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/myspace_and_microsoft_bring_opensocial_to_windows_mobile.php) toWindows Mobile phones.

Earlier this month Facebook announced a mobile expansion of their Facebook Connect platform(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_connect_expands_to_mobile_web.php) . "Facebook Connect forMobile Web" enables developers to add a Facebook Connect button to their apps in order to make themmore social.

Probably of most interest is watching the up and coming Mobile Web startups. We've had our eye on Brightkite

2009-9-12 Top 5 Web Trends of 2009: Mobile…

readwriteweb.com/…/top_5_web_tr… 1/3

(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/best_littleco_of_2008.php?p=2) for some time, but perhaps the trendiest startup right now is Foursquare(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/foursquare.php) . It's a location-aware social app for the iPhone, but only available in a limited number ofcountries currently.

Augmented RealityAugmented reality, the addition of a layer to the world on your mobile device, has been a very hot trend this year. Aswe noted in August (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/prepare_yourselves_augmented_reality_hype_on_the_r.php) , it isin everything from mobile apps to kids toys. Many people think that "AR" will soon be talked about by everyone theway they used to talk about "social media" and "Web 2.0" before that. That remains to be seen, but there's nodenying there is a lot of interest in AR right now.

As we reported at the end of August, the AR apps are starting to flow into(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_wall_has_fallen_3_augmented_reality_apps_now_l.php) Android (the early leaderin this space) and iPhone devices. We reported that the Paris Metro Subway(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/first_iphone_augmented_reality_app_appears_live_in.php) was apparently the firstAR-enabled app to be accepted into iTunes. Then came a new Yelp app with AR

(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/yelp_brings_first_us_augmented_reality_to_iphone_s.php) , which any 3Gs owner can turn on by shaking theirphone. Presselite (http://www.presselite.com) , the company that made the Paris Metro Subway app, followed up with a London Bus app(http://www.londonbusesiphone.com/) for the App Store.

ConclusionClearly mobile devices are an increasingly important way to access the Web. Many of our readers have smartphones nowadays, a goodproportion of them being iPhones or Android devices (our statistics prove this). And there is no shortage of mobile web applications flowinginto the App Store and Android's marketplace - not to forget Nokia and other prominent mobile manufacturers.

What's perhaps most encouraging however, is the entirely new class of mobile apps we're seeing. Augmented Reality is the most obviousexample. It's been a big year for mobile, with much promise to come.

ReadWriteWeb's Top 5 Web Trends of 2009:

1. Structured Data2. The Real-Time Web3. Personalization4. Mobile Web & Augmented Reality5. Internet of Things

Comments

Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts1. Great post! As I am always interested in knowing something new about the mobile technology and It gave the usefull information on current trends inmobile web and applications.....

Posted by: batterie | September 10, 2009 6:09 AM2. One of the main uses of mobile devices besides phone is for gaming. Witness the success of the AppStore for the iPhone. Ongoing, we can expect

to see increased integration of game-like applications into mobile that enhance real world experience. In 2007, a virtual shopping center, ChipuyaTown went mobile. The "game" mapped to the real world shopping center enabling users to interact in ways that were impossible in real life.

http://www.marketingvox.com/in-japan-a-virtual-world-revolving-around-shopping-hits-mobile-phones-034970/

Posted by: Roger | September 10, 2009 8:03 AM3. Hi guys,

Good post for the lastest trend of 3g techonology



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