IBM, long synonymous with the personal computer, hopes to become equally influential in the world of mobile computing.
The company plans to announce Wednesday a $100 million investment pool to develop new services for mobile phones. The company provided few specifics about its research goals but said it broadly hopes to improve mobile payment methods, security, privacy, and user interface and, chiefly, to enhance the ability of corporations to used mobile devices to interact with customers and employees.
In developing such a fund, IBM is tagging behind venture capitalists, mobile phone manufacturers and carriers who have created big pools of research and investment money for the mobile space. The growth of more advanced phones that give consumers easier access to the Internet has spurred their interest, as has corporations hope of turning mobile gadgets into content delivery and commerce platforms.
In a press release, IBM picked up on the trend that the personal computer no longer the center of the action.
“Mobile devices are gradually becoming ubiquitous and helping us transcend many boundaries – geographical, economic, and social, among others,” says Dr. Guruduth Banavar, global leader of the mobile communications focus for IBM Research and director of IBM Research – India
IBM hopes its research will serve “the millions of people who have bypassed using the personal computer as their primary method of accessing the Internet and instead use their mobile devices for managing large forces of enterprise field workers, conducting financial transactions, entertainment, shopping, and more.” [via NYTimes]
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