Category — Mobile

For what seems like forever (well at least that last 4 years, which is practically forever in the world of the Internet) the ‘Mobile Internet’ has been pitched as the next big thing. Many startups have launched ideas centred around mobile web access, but so far, mass adoption has failed to materialise. The biggest barrier has been the cost (or at least the perceived cost), but this is changing. In the UK, competition amongst the major networks has reduced the cost of all inclusive data plans drastically, so not only is it becoming cheaper, advertising is also getting this message out to the average customer. I recently managed to talk Vodafone into giving me unlimited data access on my phone for only £3.50 a month (hint: tell them you are thinking of switching to 3 mobile).

With this in mind, the travel Internet industry is a-buzz with talk of mobile travel being huge in the following year. True, there have already been some great innovations, such as SilverJet offering entirely mobile check-ins. But surely the real potential of ‘mobile travel services’ is accessing destination information whilst on your trip. Imagine being able to roam the world armed only with your mobile phone, and getting maps, hotel information, sightseeing and peoples recommendations without needing a stack of guide books. Not to mention the appeal of being able to easily stay in touch with people at home.

Sounds great hey? Unfortunately we find ourselves up against the same pricing barrier that all mobile web access was up against a few years ago. Even if you have cheap (or inclusive) data access in your own country, its unlikely that you will have that whilst abroad. Indeed, on my package it would cost about £8/mb to access the web, prohibitively expensive. I will be needing to reserve room in my baggage for Lonely Planets for a little while longer.

There is one chink of light. In a recent conversation with the founder of backbacklife.com, he pointed out that many backpackers who spend a significant amount of time in one country actually buy a local SIM card, giving them cheap data access and calls. So it may be that long term travellers do access the web on their phones (he pointed out that having a mobile on the web is much better than spending half your trip in an Internet cafe), but I think it will be a while before travellers on shorter trips do so.

At World Reviewer, we would love to roll out great mobile content for travellers, but at the moment at least, we honestly dont think anyone would use them. Can anyone prove me wrong? I hope someone can!