With third generation (3G) phones -- capable of accessing the Internet, downloading pop videos, as well as plain old voice conversations -- poised to hit the market over the next few years, the search is on for the ultimate gimmick to attract consumers in a highly competitive market.
Known amongst industry specialists as the "killer app" (application), this high tech holy grail is often spoken of in hushed tones as marketing executives brainstorm with boffins to create the perfect accessory to hook their customers.
The benchmark has already been set by the short message service (SMS), an application which, though added almost as an afterthought by handset designers, became a runaway success.
SMS has wormed its way into popular culture, generating it's own lexicon and, in one memorable week in the Philippines, proved instrumental in mustering support for the overthrow of then president Joseph Estrada.
As representatives of the major phone manufacturers and networks met in Hong Kong for the 3G World Congress, it became increasingly clear that the writing was not yet on the wall for SMS.
Maurie Dobbin, managing director of industry analysis firm Teleresources said that more than 50 billion SMS messages were sent in the first three months of 2001. In just two years the number of SMS messages have grown from one billion to 16 billion per month
He predicted the SMS would continue to play a crucial role in phone development with the popularity of interactive reality shows, such as the popular TV series like Big Brother or Popstars, which relies on SMS for viewer participation.
Yet as the industry strives to find an application with equal pulling power, many experts are coming to the conclusion that there is no single tool capable of usurping the text message.
"There is no such thing as the killer app," Chris Hall, managing director of UK firm Manx Telecom told delegates.
"If you want to give people their ideal killer apps, every single person will get something different," he said, to unanimous agreement.
Larry Poulson, vice president of product line management for Nokia Mobile Phones, underlined that handsets of the future were likely to be sold on their ability to be customized, rather than on a single gimmick.
"Even if it's a basic black and white, or grayscale handset, we need to turn it into a personal product," he said.
"Like a housewife who gets an SMS when the school bus leaves the yard -- the creation of applications like this is what is driving the business."
Brian O'Shaughnessy, a senior executive at Canada's Bell Mobility also stressed the need for developing flexible services rather than focusing primarily on hardware.
O'Shaughnessy said that while entertainment news and financial services were likely to be well received on 3G handsets, SMS would continue to hold sway.
He said current surveys predict that 40 percent of future 3G network use would be dedicated to checking e-mail, and sending and receiving messages, proving that no matter how phones are marketed or what services they are packaged with, at the end of the day, text sells.
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