AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Why ‘08 Isn’t Mobile’s Year — Again…. from Ad Age:Each year since about 2000 — and maybe even before — has been wrongly touted as the year of mobile marketing. And this year won’t be it either, despite the we’re-not-kidding-this-time rhetoric being spouted by mobile-marketing boosters converging for telecom’s big powwow in Las Vegas this week. Here are five reasons why — and five fixes that could make 2009 the year the channel becomes really, truly, we’re-not-joking meaningful.

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Coming Soon to a Phone Near You….from Wall St. JournalYour mobile phone is about to get a lot cooler. How cool? In the coming months, you’ll be able to dictate text messages and surf the Web just by speaking commands — no tapping or clicking required. If you’re trying to figure out where to go to lunch, you’ll be able to call up a map marked with local eateries your friends and family recommend. And you’ll be able to film movie clips on your cellphone and send them live to somebody else’s gadget.
WSJ’s Jessica Vascellaro takes a look at several of the advanced services consumers can expect to see for their mobile phones in the coming year, from voice-activated search tools to more-robust games. Rapid hardware advances are making all these new offerings possible.