iPhone

While the UC vendor community still emphasizes the importance of mobility, one topic that doesn't get nearly enough attention is mobile security. Fortunately, there have been a number of developments that had improved the overall ability to secure sensitive information on or accessible through mobile devices, but organizations still must take steps to put them in place. And unfortunately, many organizations still seem to feel that "denial" is an adequate approach to security.

The announcement of two new models of the iPhone and the long-awaited Apple Watch along with a bevy of new capabilities has put Apple back in the position of leading the mobile market to the next phase. The Android faithful are claiming that all Apple has managed to do is "catch up" with things they've had for years, but only Apple has the vision and the clout to redefine markets. Sure, bigger screens and image stabilizing cameras are "catch up" moves, but with Apple the game isn't about matching technical specs, it's about creating a superlative user experience.

John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile, announces that in three to four months a magenta-branded iPhone will be added to the roster of mobile devices on the carrier's shelves. Considering T-Mobile's speedy network rollout, that timing will place the mobile phones alongside the carrier's LTE launch.

IBM ran their annual Lotusphere conference last week, drawing thousands of customers and developers from around the world. As a first time attendee, I was absolutely blown away by the scale and the truly top notch manner in which the event was run. The main theme was introduced by Alistair Rennie, General Manager for Lotus Software and Collaboration Solutions as "Get Social. Do Business," so IBM has clearly placed a stake in the ground to capitalize on their advantage in social networking.

Mobility delivered some big surprises in 2010. Those would include the first 4G smartphones, the launch of LTE-based 4G network service from Verizon, a phenomenal growth spurt for Android, and most importantly, the introduction of the tablet as the new mobile computing platform. That's a lot to digest, and I think that 2011 will be remembered as a year where we begin to see the mobile world for the next decade beginning to take shape.

The first TV ad for the soon-to-be-launched Verizon 4G LTE mobile data service appeared over the weekend. It featured birds flying, dogs barking, some top notch special effects and the tag line "Rule the Air." Verizon also assured us theirs is "the most advanced 4G network in the world," which raises the interesting question, what exactly is "4G" and should mass market consumers really care?