Fred Wilson recaps a big week for mobile web.
When I use the word “mobile web”, I am not referring to the web running in mobile browsers, although I understand that is what the words have come to mean. I believe that mobile devices are bringing web services into our pockets and purses, onto restaurant tables and bars, and into schools and stadiums.
I am not particularly concerned about whether these web services are deployed in a browser or in an app running on a mobile device. I realize that these are big issues for developers and that the mobile web suffers from too many browsers, too many operating systems, and too many device configurations and screen sizes.
But the power of the web in your pocket is so large that none of this really matters at the end of the day. The “mobile web” is where “it” is at right now. And it is also where it is all going.
And this past week was a big one for the mobile web. We got three big things we’ve needed badly:
1) A real competitor to the iPhone - the Droid
2) A scalable business model for mobile apps - in app transactions in free apps
3) A standard for broadcasting video (and audio) to mobile devices
As important as these three developments are, I suspect we’ll see like weeks like this past week a lot in the coming years. The mobile web sector is developing quickly and innovation is happening all over the place. It is very exciting to see.
Amen!