Networks that toast

I can see it now. Wireless phone ads of the future may read something like this: It slices, it dices, it toasts bread! At the rate operators talk about their myriad unique services, I wouldn't be surprised.

In today's competitive wireless landscape, carriers feel the need to discover the killer apps that will make customers choose their services. And rightly so-with six competitors in some markets, operators need to differentiate their services somehow.

On the other end of the spectrum, carriers tout simplicity. Some carriers, especially PCS providers, focus on simple pricing plans-flat rates any time of the day in large coverage areas. They also tout easy-to-use phones and services that are designed to make our lives simpler.

But where do the killer apps meet simplicity?

I once interviewed a vendor of a slick service designed to make wireless phone users' lives infinitely easier. He cited results of a survey from an unidentifiable source that showed 99% of all wireless subscribers use only one feature out of an average 100 features of their phones. Maybe that's because those features are hard to use.

I consider myself fairly wireless-savvy, and I've been using a certain mobile phone for about six months. But during that time, I have not been able to figure out how to delete a name from the address book. The carrier that provides my service deems the phone so simple to use that it doesn't supply a manual for it.

Now, if I'm unable to figure out how these features and services operate-along with the vast majority of wireless users-why are carriers offering them?

Two of life's tried and true mottos could point vendors and carriers in the right direction toward offering services customers might really use: You can't teach an old dog new tricks, and patience is a virtue.

Industry players that take these sayings to heart might begin to offer services people really will use. Take the "old dog" saying. We humans are a lot like old dogs after the first time we do things-when we learn to do something one way, it's tough to teach us to do the same thing another way. Don't ask us to dial special numbers or make previous arrangements to roam in another country. We're used to picking up phones anywhere and dialing direct. Don't craft timesaving ways to receive e-mail on handsets. We're used to finding subject lines in our e-mail inboxes and clicking on them to read the message.

Some companies are developing features that use procedures similar to the ones users are accustomed to. For example, Paragon Software has developed a product that allows wireless users to download contacts from most of the widely used address book software for computers directly to wireless phones. The idea allows customers to use their computer address book software, with which they already are familiar, to manage their address books on their wireless phones. It allows users to take advantage of the address book feature on their phones.

As far as patience, sometimes carriers would be better off waiting for technology to evolve before offering a cumbersome, expensive service that no one wants to use. Take some of today's data services. Who wants to insert cards and connect cables to use slow, limited data services? Some carriers would be wise to upgrade their networks first to handle increased data rates and then wait for smaller, more efficient hardware.

At the end of the day, customers want the best of both worlds: They want lots of useful services, but they also want them easy to use. Many services available today, such as data, international roaming and short messaging, may be useful services but are too complex to use. Until technology evolves, and carriers and manufacturers simplify usage, customers may continue to use only one feature of their phones.