**As published in RCR Wireless News**

Vertical markets present wireless carriers with a host of new opportunities and challenges. Just because wireless technology and enterprise infrastructure should work together doesn’t mean they do. As carriers target these new customers and encourage them to move from a wired to a wireless world, they’re adapting their business strategies according to the trends and problems that businesses face in each market.

Carriers Climb the Vertical Ladder (PDF)

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

SEATTLE — Less than a block from the waterfront and ferry terminal, Swype Inc. is still settling into its new digs near this city’s historic Pioneer Square. Having moved in to its new headquarters just a few weeks ago, there is plenty of room for the company to grow into its space that takes up the entire second floor here at Columbia Street and Western Avenue.

With 42 employees on board now, the company shows all the signs of a startup on the verge of that coveted next phase of growth (and profitability). The team includes engineers, computational linguists, a sales staff and a group of executives and founders with an impressive background in mobile.

“We’re today’s media darling and tomorrow we’re just another included feature,” CEO Mike McSherry told RCR Wireless News during our visit last week. Read more

**As published at RCR Wireless News**

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. appears to be putting the final touches on its rollout plans and the accompanying marketing blitz for its latest device.

The smart phone and enterprise mobility pioneer is holding an invite-only event in New York City next Tuesday where just about everyone expects it to launch a slider-style touchscreen device with a full QWERTY keyboard. Not only will the heretofore-called “9800″ or “Torch” deliver what analysts and many users have been clamoring for from RIM — a large touchscreen paired with one of BlackBerry’s wildly popular keyboards — it’s also set to mark the public debut of BlackBerry 6, it’s latest operating system. Read more

**As published at RCR Wireless News**

Citigroup Inc. has publicly disclosed a security flaw in its iPhone banking app. While the disclosure is clearly the right move, it also shines a light on some weaknesses in mobile banking that might not bode well for the industry in at least the near term.

Banking and finance is roundly accepted as a sure win for the mobile environment — the reasons for growth and global acceptance are impossible to ignore. The industry has spent more than a decade encouraging its customers to move from physical to virtual-based service in the online world for at least some of those reasons. But every security misstep the banking industry makes on mobile could push the public’s willingness to accept mobile banking back even further. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

SAN DIEGO – In the closing keynote at Gartner’s Wireless, Networking and Communications Summit, the research firm’s VP and distinguished analyst, Nick Jones, offered his take on where mobility should fit into the general roadmap of enterprise. Looking out, five years down the horizon, Jones told the audience via video Web cast that while many industries are transitioning to a more nimble communications environment, many technologies are intersecting to create more opportunities for business.

“This is a critical time,” he said. “No one can afford to skip up. If you don’t establish your presence in the next year or two you may never establish a presence.” Those businesses that wait much longer will find that others, including their competitors, will be much further ahead in implementing an enterprise mobility strategy and may find it difficult to narrow the gap.

“Think about where you are as compared to your peers,” Jones said. Businesses that are misaligned with their peers’ approach to a mobile strategy – either too far ahead or behind – should review their plans. Read more