andforge.net

For the second part of this paper, please see part 2

A couple of weeks ago we announced that andforge.net would be providing scientific papers.
So, here’s the first one, a paper about Making Money Mobile, created for the course “Management Information Systems for SME (Small and Medium Enterprises)” by Dr. M. Gordon Hunter at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. The complete paper will be published in five parts of which this is the first:

[ad#google_image_middle_jo]

Abstract
This paper will take a look at the possibilities of earning money for small and medium-sized enterprises with mobile technologies. In the first part, it will make a comparison between the economic opportunities of the mobile, compared to the “normal” Internet. The second and third parts are based on research with the Open Handset Alliance’s mobile operating system Android and will cover the possibilities of offering priced and free applications in the so called Android Market, a distribution channel for Android applications; and will report about location based advertising in Android applications.

I. Introduction
Mobile phones are becoming more technically mature. What they were actually built for, making phone calls, is by far not the only possible thing that can be done with a cellphone. It is possible to send SMS, MMS, communicate with the Internet and even locate one’s position and navigate via GPS. Currently each year an enormous number of new SIM-cards are sold and and the quantity of activated cellphones is four times higher than those of computers existing on this world [1][2].
[ad#google_article_jo]
Last year, the Open Handset Alliance, a joint venture of many leading mobile technology and service and providers, led by Google, introduced their open and free to use and develop operating system for mobile phones, Android. This system ought to give developers the possibility to develop applications in a way more simple and comfortable than ever before.
For the distribution of this selfdeveloped application, the operating system is provided with a platform to do this also in a very easy way, the so called Android Market. This System, which can be compared to Apples iTunes for the iPhone, combined with the advanced technology of
nowadays phones, opens new perspectives for creating financial value with mobile phones, not only for big businesses, but also for smaller and even single-person-enterprises. The gold rush of the mobile age seems to be just beginning. An ideal moment to talk about how profit can be made of it.

References
[1] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. (August 26. 2008). Number of cell phone subscribers to hit 4 billion this year, UN says.  Communication and Information Resources [Online]. Available: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27530&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

[2] Gartner. (June 24. 2008). Gartner says More than 1 Billion PCs In Use Worldwide and Headed to 2 Billion Units by 2014. Gartner Newsroom [Online]. Available: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=703807