Though it’s only been a few hours since the announcement of the iPhone 5, we’re already starting to field industry reaction and comments — both good and bad.
One of the larger disappointments felt within the mobile commerce industry was the lack of Near Field Communication (NFC) on the iPhone 5. But does it matter? This was the question posed by AIRTAG CEO Jérémie Leroyer, who provided the following statement to MMMW;
“The iPhone5’s incompatibility with NFC does not drastically affect the Mobile Shopping eco-system at this point in time. Right now what will continue to move things forward enough so that eventually an iPhone will be NFC compatible, are Mobile solutions that focus more on the end user and transforming behavior. To get people shopping by mobile, especially in the in-store environment will make the idea of using an NFC enabled phone much more relevant. PassBook in a way is still an introduction to Mobile Shopping; but there has been no time to affect behavior, so in a year an NFC enabled iPhone would be much more relevant.”
In terms of the iPhone 5’s impact to the mobile advertising market, Anne Frisbie, VP & MD North America for InMobi provided the following statement to MMW;
“Rich media on mobile has grown significantly through 2012 and we have seen a recent surge in mobile advertising innovation. Today’s news is great for the mobile ad industry, the iPhone5’s richer display, ability to display larger apps and faster operating speed will allow brands to really take their offering to the next level and more deeply engage through mobile. Apple is the leading device manufacturer in the US and its technology developments drive serious innovation across the mobile ad market. We expect rich media mobile advertising to become even more immersive and broadly adopted in the coming 12 months.”
