Don't try to be Microsoft, mobile players warned

The mobile industry should stop fighting itself over standards and accept that no one will dominate the sector in the same way as Microsoft has the PC world, according to analyst Ovum.

Instead, vendors in the mobile sector should accept that they are working with a very segmented market and be prepared to engage with a variety of hardware and software platforms.

This would allow a measure of customisation rather than trying for a 'one size fits all' approach. It would also give third parties the chance to customise phones without the need for expensive factory changes.

The mobile business differs markedly from the PC industry, Ovum said, because network operators, manufacturers, application providers and end users all have a much bigger say in standards.

In contrast the computer industry is pretty much a straight fight between hardware manufacturers and software companies.

"Trying to be the next Microsoft is a disease," said Jessica Figueras, research director with Ovum.

"There is a wider variety of people down the value chain, operators and the like, which have a greater say in the decision making process on standards.

"Mobile phone manufacturers saw what happened to PC manufacturers and do not want that to happen to them."

René Schuster, global marketing director at Vodafone, agreed. "There is no single company that can dominate this market," he said.

"The only way we are going to crack this is by working together. To have anytime, anywhere access is the next killer application and it is that we should be concentrating on."