Consumers Expecting a Lot From Wireless Phones of Future

There you are, strolling the avenue, when something happens that just has to be captured on camera. You reach into your pocket and snap the photo--with your mobile phone.

OK, wireless phones can’t do that yet. But get ready, because it’s looking more and more as if mobile phone-like devices will be widely used for much more than making calls.

In a limited but telling survey of consumers to be released today, two-thirds of those interviewed expect that mobile phones will be used to access e-mail remotely (this is already possible on some phones), and about the same number concluded that wireless phones will come with global positioning system (GPS) technology capable of sending directions to users.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) can see consumers tapping into the Internet through their wireless phones (a capability already being offered by U.S. carriers such as Sprint PCS).

Six out of 10 consumers in the survey said wireless phones will be able to snap digital pictures and ship them to others, and 57% think they will be able to conduct videoconferences via their mobile phones.

The survey, while far from conclusive, represents a snapshot of what consumers expect from wireless phones in the future. And it’s likely to be of some comfort to companies that have been rushing to add everything from Internet browsing to online shopping to phones without really knowing how many people will accept or use the new functions.

“People are expecting their wireless device to provide them with the capability to manage all aspects of their lives,” said Richard Siber, worldwide managing director for Andersen Consulting’s wireless communications practice.

Siber believes the future of wireless devices is more likely to mimic phones than hand-held mini-computers such as the Palm Pilot. Why? There is simply a larger market in place with phones. While there are 5 million Palm devices, there are 250 million to 330 million wireless phones in use worldwide.

“We have an installed base of wireless phone users that is growing faster than the Internet community, and now we’re marrying it with the Internet community,” Siber said.

This kind of talk is music to the ears of the phone-making industry. For years, they have been pushing to bring imaginative data capabilities into phones, only to be slowed by network limitations, compatibility problems and high prices that have kept users away.

Now, however, phone makers, carriers and Internet companies are all convinced that the wireless world is going to be big, and they are racing to claim part of it. Suddenly, heavy-hitters and start-up companies alike are touting wireless technology and services ranging from streaming video to traffic reports and restaurant guides that use location technology.

“There are things I’ve seen in company laboratories right now that Q would bring out during the James Bond movies, and the prototypes in some of these labs are wildly cool,” Siber said.

The survey was conducted by research firm Yankelovich Partners over three days in late January using random dialing. It included interviews with 1,013 U.S. consumers 18 years old or older.

LetsTalk.com, a company that sells wireless phones and services both on the Internet and through more than 250 stores, helped pay for the survey to gauge user awareness of the evolving wireless world.

Delly Tamer, founder and chief executive of LetsTalk.com, said the information will help the company tailor its consumer advice to the growing complexities of choosing wireless phones and service.

“Consumers want somewhere to go where they can get safe, simple information. . . . They want help in deciding whether they need these new things or not,” Tamer said.