3G
refers to the third generation in wireless services. At the most fundamental level,
these services aim to improve the transmission speeds of data, thus providing
mobile access to Internet based services. This improvement will play a major factor
in how consumers look for and access content and applications across the board
via their mobile device. In most cases, this technology is already available and
in use within the Australian market today. In the very near future, it will be
common place to see people all around the city booking travel, conducting their
banking, watching TV and of course searching the web for that new home to buy
or rent all from their mobile phone. 3G provides consumers with the flexibility
to access information where and when they want it. The key question that every
business needs to ask itself is "How am I going to ensure that the person at the
train station has access to my content?" Making your business mobile means more
than just providing access to your web based content. A key challenge to be addressed
is how to appropriately display your content and facilitate interactions on the
mobile device itself. To answer this question fully, it is a matter of looking
at how the introduction of mobile technology can be used to enhance your business
profile and leverage some of the unique possibilities that this technology offers.
And the best way to do this is introduce a mobile strategy into your business.
Should I wait for market penetration of 3G devices to increase before I
look to develop my mobile strategy? With significant investment by the telecommunications
sector in Australia such as that by Telstra and their Next G network, there has
been a rapid increase in the number of 3G services and applications available.
While this is the case, the majority of mobile devices on the market today have
at least 2.5G capability which allows for multimedia messaging. This basically
means that you can deliver text, pictures, audio and video to most mobile devices
today. As such, the opportunity to get your business ready to take advantage of
mobility is now. OnRequest offer industry specific integrated mobile solutions
and have been working with the Real Estate industry in making businesses mobile
since late 2004. OnRequest have a Real Estate specific product that provides the
industry with an entry point to the mobile space known as Property OnRequest.
Property OnRequest; " is a mobile marketing application that OnRequest have built
specifically for the real estate industry " provides buyers/tenants with relevant
and up-to-date property information instantly to their mobile phones " delivers
leads back to the agencies who promote and use it. It also provides the agency
with a distinctive marketing tool which can assist in attracting new listings
Those on the OnRequest platform will soon have access to the latest in 3G functionality.
Don't worry... It doesn't end in 3G, 4 is on the way... This is just an opportunity
to get your business up to speed. And R&D has begun on 5G. All this means is that
as the technology advances more and more functionality will become available to
consumers on their mobiles and consumers will demand more from your business via
their phone. Paul Oppenheimer | 
