An article in Design Week, the market leading title for the UK design community, reports on the challenges facing the UK design industry as it gears up to communicate the benefits of third generation phones to consumers. Start design director Richard Crabb, a former Orange staffer, is quoted throughout.

 

The article takes its lead from the fact that UK mobile phone operators, having spent billions on their 3G licences, now seek to convince consumers that it's worth splashing out on new technology. It reports that rather than trying to market an intangible 'next wave', mobile phone operators are instead selling specific, 'user-friendly' services.

 

Crabb is quoted as saying that lessons have been learned from where WAP, or wireless application protocol, went wrong. He says it was 'a substandard product, coupled with an over-promised and disappointing experience'. He thinks that simplicity and intelligibility are now the order of the day.

 

Crabb is further reported as saying that usage of data services won't catch on until the 'killer app' of face-to-face communication arrives. Text messaging was the breakthrough application for the previous generation of phones. But an Economic and Social Research Council survey of text messaging found its success was largely due to its limitations. Texting happened because it was 'cheap, controllable and quick', agrees Crabb.

 

The article concludes that it may be more difficult for brands to lead consumer demand. Hutchison has secured a deal to show clips of Premiership football on its '3' platform, but that won't replace the attraction of big screen viewing. 'People can manage their lives around their preferred channel use,' says Crabb.