Can touch this! Touch screens are here to stay!

A quick look at how the handset industry has changed after the iPhone was first introduced at Macworld 2007, confirms that visual interfaces are becoming a de facto standard for mobile devices:

• Just a few months after the iPhone launch by AT&T, Verizon launched the Voyager, made by LG.
• In early 2008, Sprint announced at CTIA the launch of the Samsung Instinct.
• More recently, just a few weeks ago, Research in Motion introduced the first touch screen Blackberry.
• Finally, Nokia, introduced its flagship phone for 2009, the N97, a few days ago.

These are just a few of the many example of new touch screen devices by major handset manufacturers. At first instance it might seem like iPhone clones are flooding the market, but I strongly believe they are more than that; they are part of a growing trend that focuses on user experience.
While it can be argued that Apple's iPhone did not actually create these innovations, some of which had been around for several years before its release, the fact is that it was not until Apple entered the mobile market that they gained any significant traction with operators and with handset vendors.
We have discussed previously about how improvements on the user interface can impact VAS usage and revenue. The key element is not the touch screen by itself, but rather innovations in the user interface which make it easier and more intuitive for the end user to use applications.
The iPhone has shown how visual interfaces that improve the user experience can impact usage. Acording to M:Metrics, the iPhone is already the most popular device for accessing news and information on the mobile Web (see here).
With mobile penetration reaching saturation in advanced markets worldwide, it is expected that growth will come from data and content in the next five years.
Improvements in user interface provide operators new ways to increse data and content revenue. This will be the challenge handset vendors and operators face when launching these new devices in 2009 (see The iPhone in Latin America - a lost opportunity?). If operators are unable to show significant gains in data and content revenue, touch screens will indeed become a fad and operators will miss a golden opportunity.