TV, VOIP and social networking will be top advanced mobile apps, says City Capital

Mobile TV and Video, VOIP and social networking offer the most promise among advanced mobile applications according to UK-based merchant bank City Capital Corporation. The report compares the prospects of mobile TV/video, UGC/social networking, VOIP, games, music, gambling and e-mail, examining issues such as market potential, competition, ease of use, MNO friendliness, profitability of market entry, and issues surrounding handsets, technology, pricing, rights/content and regulation.

The report concludes that Mobile TV and video services represent the most challenging of the services in terms of standards, networks, handsets etc, but also, probably, the biggest potential given proven global demand for pay-TV. E-mail, however, receives the lowest rating - although BlackBerry has proven that demand in the enterprise market is there. According to the report's author Philip Carse, there is little evidence for consumer demand for e-mail on the mobile device so far.

Carse concludes that, given RIM's dominance in the enterprise space and its ambitions for the consumer market, and the relatively limited opportunities to differentiate e-mail services, mobile e-mail service providers face a hard challenge in building large, profitable businesses. To receive a copy of "Advanced Mobile Services: Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff" email Philip Carse - pcarse@city-capital.com .