More Danger for Handset Market

There is an interesting new model for handset design and manufacturing being defined by a small company in the center of Silicon Valley called Danger. The new handset from this company, which according to Reuters will be manufactured by Sharp, has integrated GSM/GPRS/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth network access. The device has email, IM, web browsing, SMS, and of course voice communication but also integrates calendar, notepad, address book, and the rest of the basic organizer functions. Importantly, data on the handset automatically and constantly synchronizes with a personal web site for every user -- ensuring ubiquitous data access.

The rest of the handset market should be watching closely -- first because of the company's business model -- disaggregate the business of designing a handset from the business of manufacturing. Secondly, because Danger will prove with this device that there is a solid market for a converged computing/voice handset. But thirdly, and most importantly, that web-based data services will be an increasingly important part of offering a handheld computing platform. Its not just about the device or about the network -- but about how we will use the data.