Broadband Developments

More than 140 million mobile subscribers worldwide will use social networks on their phones by 2013, generating over $410 million in subscription revenues, according to ABI Research’s September 2008 “Mobile Social Networking” study.
ABI said it was intentionally very conservative in its predictions.

“Subscriber numbers for mobile social networking will climb at a relatively modest rate for the next three or four years, but will then start to accelerate sharply,” said Michael Wolf, research director at ABI, in a statement. “That uptick is based on assumed acceptance levels in the giant emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China.”
The company’s latest forecast is lower than its previous estimates. In December 2006, ABI Research published one of the first mobile social networking reports, forecasting that mobile social communities would reach 174 million users by 2011.

Juniper Research estimated in August 2007 that the number of mobile social networking users would rise to around 600 million worldwide by 2012. At the high end of the spectrum, Pyramid Research projected in February 2008 that there would be 950 million mobile social networking users by 2012.
Based on multiple sources and its own analysis, eMarketer predicts more than 800 million registered site members will use their mobile phones to access social networks by 2012.

Big news over the weekend was the Apple iPhone 3G.  I took the weekend off to get away from the hype but apparently it was a big weekend.  First the rush was on to get the iPhone then the big crash by the fload of activations.

Apple is posting a sales number of 1 million iPhones sold.

Apple executives were pleased with the early results. “IPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend,” Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement. “It took 74 days to sell the first 1 million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”

Still, iPhone sales pale compared with those of established mobile phone makers, such as Nokia , which sells almost 10 million phones each week, or Samsung Electronics Co Ltd  and LG Electronics Inc , which each ship more than 100 million phones a year.

While those phone makers often unveil dozens of models in year, Apple has only one, and its sales spark a retail frenzy as consumers around the world line up to grab one.

The iPhone 3G still has the popular touch screen, but also offers a faster wireless network and the ability to download third-party applications like games.

Perhaps more important, the new iPhone sells for about $200 in the U.S., about one-half the price of its predecessor.

“We don’t yet know the breakdown of how many phones were sold to new customers and how many existing iPhone customers upgraded, but regardless, sales during the first weekend were very impressive,” said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecommunications analyst, in a note.

Analysts said iPhone sales may dent sales and profit margins at Samsung and LG this year.

Activation problems marred its U.S. launch on Friday, with many buyers leaving stores frustrated that they could not use the hotly anticipated gadget after waiting in line for hours.