IBM launches Mobile Web Initiative

At the 10th anniversary commemoration of IBM's India Research Lab, the company today unveiled a new initiative to bring even more features and functions to mobile devices as they continue to rival the PC as the primary tool for Web-based business, education, communication, entertainment and more.

For the first time ever, more people will have a mobile phone than a regular telephone. Mobile devices outnumber PCs by three to one, credit cards by two to one and TVs by two to one. IBM's Institute for Business Value predicts the number of mobile Web users will grow by 191 percent from 2006 to 2011 to reach one billion. This proliferation of mobile devices and mobile Web users signals an incredibly lucrative growth opportunity for businesses.

"The world is entering the 'Era of the Mobile Web'. In many countries, the mobile phone has become an electronic wallet, the window to the World Wide Web, an education device and more. Globally, mobile devices outnumber PCs, credit cards, and TV's," said Dr. Daniel Dias, Director, IBM India Research laboratory. "Today, we are launching projects that will make a mobile device even easier to use than the PC, allowing you to do everything you can with a PC and much more."

The new IBM Research program announced today will entail a number of efforts to bring simple, easy to use services to the billions of people in the world who have bypassed using the personal computer as their primary method of accessing technology, and are instead using their mobile phone.

As part of the mobile Web initiative, IBM is making major investments in mobile software and hardware platforms and has opened several worldwide telecom solutions labs focused on research and development.

The projects, which will be led out of India, but also are being incubated in IBM's eight global labs in six countries, include:

1. The Spoken Web "� Voice-enabled mobile commerce
2. Instant Translation "� Real-time communication between multiple languages through mobile devices
3. SoulPad "� Enabling any portable device to carry your computing application in your pocket
4. BuddyComm "� Social networking on-the-go
5. Good Samaritan "� Mobile healthcare information made available in any emergency situation

IBM Research examines in great depth the current trajectories of new technologies in the lab and marketplace, concentrating on trends that could be disruptive or the harbingers of change. In many regions, mobile devices are becoming an increasingly viable alternative to PCs. These devices are capable of delivering more types of data, applications and services through advanced wireless networks. This, coupled with the openness and convergence of Web applications, is making a major impact on the global mobile market.

"Today, staying competitive means looking ahead. The rise of globalization is shifting the way business works," said John Kelly, Senior Vice President, IBM Research. "Business leaders need to anticipate how these changes will affect their ways of operating and look to new technological innovations to help them succeed in this new landscape."

In the past 10 years, IBM's India Research Laboratory, located in two sites, New Delhi and Bangalore, has grown into an innovation hub for information engineering and computing solutions. IBM has worked with local clients and partners to shape India's innovation landscape, helping transform it into a significant contributor to the world economy.

Since its inception, the India Research Laboratory - the youngest of the IBM Research's eight world-class globally integrated research labs across six countries - has been driven by one mission: to advance state-of-the-art innovations in IT through research in software and services, and to provide leadership by delivering innovations to IBM's clients globally. Now, the India Research team will serve as IBM's catalyst for delivering new mobile web solutions to emerging markets around the world.

IBM believes in taking the lab to the client, and often teams up with academia, government and industry to develop a vibrant research eco-system. By integrating its researchers' knowledge with the "innovation ecosystem" in India, IBM delivers a unique combination of scientific and business expertise to clients. IBM India Research Laboratory has also maintained active relationships with several leading universities across the world. The laboratory provides support to faculty and students from many institutes of higher learning including IITs, IISc, ISB, IIMs etc., sponsoring faculty awards, fellowship and grants.