Analyst: Evidence of a backlash against mobile convergence

Research released today by analysis firm In-Stat reveals US businesspeople are not quite ready to move from using multiple portable devices to a single converged device, even though demand for such a device appears to be on the increase.

Manufacturers describe "convergence" almost as a force of nature, and the driving incentive behind the design of almost every category of CE. They say customers are the ones pushing convergence, but today's research from In-Stat actually suggests otherwise.

"Portable device manufacturers are 'pressing' the issue by making multiple functions available and promoting it. That is the most that they can do," Bill Hughes, In-Stat's principal analyst for its wireless research group, told BetaNews this afternoon.

"I look at this issue from the other side. I think that they should take a step back and see what is really working. Simply putting together two devices is not what users really want," Hughes continued. "They may buy it, but they do not use it unless it either adds value in the combination, like a smartphone, or the user interface is such that both can be used as easily as a standalone device. A camera phone is almost an example: Many people have them and use them, but they bring their digital camera if it is anything more than a quick snapshot."

The transition to smart phones began worldwide after mobile phones got smaller, lighter, and more battery efficient, while at the same time stand-alone PDAs died down in popularity. You'd think that would be the perfect incentive to converge and make things easier for everyone. But the In-Stat survey indicates more workers claimed they would rather carry multiple devices rather than have a converged device that may be limited in some capacity.

According to In-Stat, up to 8% of US businesspeople who frequently travel now solely use a mobile phone, without using a land-based line at all for business communications.

The research leading up to today's In-Stat report would appear to trend in the opposite direction. Several studies between 2004 to 2006 indicated a growing trend towards converged devices. For example, in late 2005, a Canalys Research study indicated a growing trend from standalone mobile devices to converged devices, but a number of factors may be interrupting this trend.

Hughes shared his thoughts on several key issues that face businesspeople who want to use converged devices but have been unable to. "One issue is that their employers are going back and forth on what is a personal expense used for business and what should be a business tool," he said.

"The next issue is that no two employees are alike, but often they must carry the same device to make life easier for IT support," he continued. "The user may prefer a desktop and a smartphone, but company policy is that they have a laptop, use a PDA and mobile phone. Finally, the user interfaces are hard to learn. Most users stick with a basic set of capabilities. They do not get the time to fully learn the capabilities of their devices. Part of this is the fault of businesses, but also users have other priorities besides reading the manual."

In-Stat speculates corporations will be able to transition their employees towards converged devices after handset manufacturers realistically deal with ergonomics and battery power issues.