The Seven Biggest Mobile Content Stories of 2007

In an industry as young as mobile content, every year can seem like a turning point. But 2007 feels especially monumental--consider where the business was in January compared to where it is now. The news and trends outlined below were the major catalysts behind the industry's transformation, each chosen as much for its headline-grabbing impact this year as for its potential ripple effect across the years to come. From the home office in Wahoo, Neb., here are the Seven Biggest Mobile Content Stories of 2007.

1. Apple introduces the iPhone. For sheer advance hype alone, no story was bigger in 2007, but for the most part the iPhone delivered on its promise. The device effectively transformed consumer perceptions of the mobile media experience, delivering music, video and web services via means of a simple, intuitive user interface and wrapping it all up in a sleek, elegant product design. If you still question its impact, consider this: Earlier this month, research firm NetApplications released its breakdown of operating system market share for November 2007, reporting that in just five months since its commercial debut, the iPhone has secured a 0.1 percent share of the global browsing market, topping web browsing on all Windows Mobile devices combined. The iPhone is now the 10th most popular web browsing platform, a short distance behind desktop platforms Windows NT, Linux and Windows ME, as well as the most popular mobile browser overall.

2. Google launches Android. After months of frenzied speculation on its mobile future, most of it forecasting an iPhone-like device known colloquially as the gPhone, Google zigged instead of zagging by introducing Android, a Linux-based open software platform for mobile devices. The Internet behemoth also will lead a broad industry group, dubbed the Open Handset Alliance, formed with the stated goal of "fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms." In essence Google turned upside-down the conventional mobile revenue model, virtually giving away software and services in exchange for income derived from targeted mobile advertising efforts while promising "one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products." Which leads us to ...

Click here to read the rest of the best stories of 2007...

P.S. Please note FierceMobileContent will not publish next week, and will return Wednesday, January 2. See you in 2008. - Jason