Annual mobile sales were predicted to hit one billion, by 2009.  There are already 4 times as many internet-enabled phones in the world than there are PC’s.  Here are some of the marketing trends we can expect.

According to DotMobi (dotmobi.net), one third of the global population are connected via mobile phones today and approximately half are expected to be using a mobile Internet phone by 2008.  An IPSOS survey suggests that 29% of mobile phone users in the UK searched for news and information on their handset during 2005.

These statistics are impressive and will get any marketer’s pulse racing.  But it does seem as if we’ve been hearing about the potential of mobile search market for some time, and yet very few travel companies appear to be active in the mobile search market for some time, and yet very few travel companies appear to be active in the mobile search space and mobile ecommerce revenues are still modest.

Up until now most advertisers have been ignoring mobile as a marketing channel, according to a new report by Forrester Research called “Interactive Marketing Channels to Watch in 2007”.  It suggests that only 13 percent of marketers use mobile text message ads and only 11 percent bother with advertising on wireless application protocol (WAP) sites.  It seems clear that advertisers are waiting for evidence that the market is there before deciding to jump in themselves.

What are the barriers and limitations to growth?

Despite the huge number of people that have access to the mobile internet, there are a number of barriers to mobile web adoption:

Cost and Clarity – carrier data plans can be expensive and confusing compared to normal internet access plans.

Screen Size – the limited screen size of many handsets negatively impacts the user’s browsing experience.

Ease of use – due to the limited screen size there is an increased number of clicks needed to get to content.

Lack of content – there is a walled garden approach to the content offered by many mobile network operators which means that not all mobile users get full access to content.

Competition with the WiFi Explosion :

Another factor that may have impacted on the growth of mobile internet usage is the increasing availability of high-speed WiFi internet access in many public areas.  Airports, hotels, bars, libraries and commercial shopping centres are increasingly offering WiFi, and it’s often free.  This has encouraged users to use laptops and PDA’s to access the internet while on the move rather than through mobile phones.