The USA behind in Mobile?… don’t bet on it

September 9, 2008 at 5:32 pm · Filed under Tigerspike Innovation Lab, Work Related Stuff and tagged: mobile, USA

I have been living in New York (well half my time at least) for a few months now, talking to various companies about mobile (still sounds funny when the Americans say it), and while some of them still think that ringtone and logo sites are a good idea, most know their stuff.

People always say that country ‘x’ is behind or ahead of coutnry ‘y’ with the most popular sledge (Australian word meaning to ‘take the piss out of’ [english saying meaning "to put down"]) going to the USA. Well I have news for everyone with that viewpoint. You are all wrong. The USA has not only caught up with Europe and Australia, in many areas is has gone past them. USA has more 3G handsets than Europe now, and alot more higher end devices. Nice work American consumers!

Many say this is fuelled by companies like google and Apple, but as far as I am concerned the main driver is money.

• Budgets in the USA are simply bigger than other parts of the world. The market is bigger, so the marketing is bigger. Deals that mobile companies are making are bigger. Some of our American competitors like Crisp wireless for example started after us, but are way bigger now.
• The second reason is that venture capital ensures that even the dumbest wireless startups get funding (don’t get me started on some of the inane companies that have received funding). The Australian VC market is such a retarded cousin to Palo Alto, New York, Boston or London, and it really matters. For exampe I have spoken to some really good, innovative guys in Australia, with a great idea who have received no funding, while the mediocre equivalent in the USA is on an express train past the more advanced Aussie thinkers because they just didn’t have the money.

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