3 things missing from CTIA Wireless 2011

Today, one of the largest wireless tradeshows anywhere comes to a close. Perhaps Consumer Electronics Show in January or Mobile World Congress in February stole some thunder, because CTIA Wireless 2011 doesn't feel as exciting as it should during a year when smartphones and tablets are such hot commodities. Too much of the show is about the future, and that's a problem shared by the other events.

Gartner essentially has declared 2011 the year of the smartphone, while IDC forecasts 50 million tablet shipments, with at least 35 million of them going to Apple. With competition so fierce and demand so hot, shouldn't there be more coming out of CTIA Wireless, particularly as the show takes place when nearly one-quarter of the year is over? Here's some of what I see missing:

1. Product that ships soon after the announcement. Even some of the devices announced at CES or Mobile World Congress are still months away form availability, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is tracking at least six months from announcement to release. Mobile device manufacturers have long been lazy about release cycles, with FCC approval being the only legitimate reason. It's time to suck it up and ship. The mobile device market has dramatically changed in the last 12-18 months. It's like the PC wars of the 1990s, where today's hot model is tomorrow's has been. So there is no room to announce but ship much later.

Shame on HTC, Samsung and Sprint launching new products exactly the wrong way. The Google-branded, Samsung produced Nexus S 4G is "coming soon," while the HTC EVO 3D smartphone and EVO View 4G tablet are slated for summer release. How many AT&T and Verizon iPhones and iPad 2s will sell while Sprint waddles along? By comparison, Motorola and Verizon deserve credit for getting the XOOM tablet to market much faster -- from announcement to availability. The time to ship is when interest is hot -- right after the product introduction.

2. Google tablet. In January, I asserted that the "most important tablet is missing from CES, and it's not iPad 2." The 80 or so Android 3.x tablets so far announced won't be competition enough against iPad 2. When it comes to products and marketing, there often isn't safety in numbers. Google should have done for Android tablets what it did for smartphones: Release a branded device (or even two -- in different sizes) that is reference design for manufacturers and always has the lastest Android software for developers. Otherwise, Android tablets have little to no chance competing with iPad 2. The market of Android competitors is simply too fragmented, manufacturers are taking too long to ship and Apple offers too much to easily compete with.

A branded tablet should be one of Google's top development priorities. Look at the mess Samsung has made of Galaxy Tab or cellular carriers' and tablet manufacturers' approach to pricing. It's too high, and there are too many long-term data contract obligations. The Android tablet community needs leadership. Google should have stepped up before CTIA Wireless 2011 -- and there's still time but not much of it before iPad 2 is tablet platform du jour.

3. Android Kindle. What is Amazon's problem? On Tuesday, the retailer launched the Appstore for Android. Where is the Amazon device supporting it? The time is right for an Amazon Android ereader or tablet, particularly with chaos ruling the Android tablet market. Amazon is better positioned than just about any vendor to compete head to head with Apple -- some ways better, because of the breadth of its digital products and depth of retail partner relationships. Apple's primary business is selling its stuff, which third-party wares merely support. Amazon's primary business is selling everybody else's stuff, something the retailer excels at. Apple's ecosystem exists to help iOS devices. For Amazon, the device is merely a means for selling more digital products.

Update: After I posted, my colleague Tim Conneally IMed about a "fourth thing missing from CTIA Wireless: NTT DoCoMo. Where their booth would be, there's a vase of pink flowers." Tim provided the photo above of the banner hanging over the empty booth. It's a reminder of what's important and it's another reason why CTIA Wireless 2011 is missing something important this year.

Is there something more you would like to have seen come out of this year's CTIA Wireless? Please share with the class in comments, or email the teacher -- joewilcox at gmail dot com.