The way people use the Internet is changing. Users expect to interact with the Internet from any place, any time and in a user friendly way. Mobile widgets will play an important role in this changing landscape by providing iPhone-like access to the cloud with portable applications that users can share and which developers can easily produce in order to serve niche markets on the Internet.

ARCchart estimates the market for mobile widget platforms was $72 million in 2008 and expects the market to grow at a CAGR of 80%, reaching $1.3 billion by 2013. The mobile widget market opportunity presents a number of potential revenue streams depending on preferred business model. Widget platforms are either licensed to OEMs or wireless operators; or stand-alone widget platforms serve users directly, supported by revenue share agreements and advertising. In many cases, mobile widget platform vendors are leveraging a combination of these business models in order to achieve success in this evolving marketplace.

Topics of coverage include:

• An appetite for disposable applications
• In-depth profiles of the leading platform vendors and standards organisations
• Five year market forecast for widget platform
• Native apps vs. the browser vs. the widget
• Recommendations to brands, carriers, OEMs and platform vendors
• Summary of carrier widget developments
• Emerging widget standards
• Managing the backend: app store, distribution, life-cycle management
• Nurturing a developer ecosystem

Companies and organisations mentioned, discussed or reviewed include:

Abaxia ACCESS Accuweather Amazon Apple AT&T BONDI Capital One Celltick China Mobile Cibenix Feed Henry Google GooJet Hip Logic HTC Joint Initiate Lab (JIL) KDDI LG Microsoft

Mobui (Action Engine) Motorola Myriad NellyMoser Net Biscuits Nokia NTT DoCoMo OMTP OnSkreen OpenWave Opera Orange Palm Pepsi Plusmo Qualcomm Quattro Wireless RIM Samsung SanDisk

Sharp Snipperoo Softbank Sony Ericsson Streamezzo Sun Microsystems SurfKitchen Sybase iAnywhere Telefonica Telstra T-Mobile UIEvolution uLocate Verizon Vodafone Volantis Widsets Willcom Yahoo! Zumobi

Answers and opinions are provided with respect to the following essential questions:

• What is a mobile widget?
• Who are the leading mobile widget platform vendors?
• How big is the mobile widget advertising opportunity?
• Why has Yahoo abandoned Yahoo! Go?
• Why is the revenue forecast for widget client licenses so low?
• Which companies are best positioned to dominate the widget platform market?
• Is there a future for On Device Portals (ODPs)?
• Which market will be more lucrative for widget platform vendors: smartphones or non-smartphones?