A lot has been written recently on the surge of interest in mobile on-device portals (ODP), with media and content companies, like Yahoo! and Apple, embedding their branded data services and content portals directly onto consumer handsets. With the major media companies now deploying permanent homes for their brands on consumer handsets, one has to ask the question: "Why haven't the mobile operators, who are searching for ways to increase the discovery and use of content, implemented more ODP solutions?"

To answer this question we first need to look at past mistakes from the initial ODP implementations that failed to gain traction in the market. This first generation of deployments faltered for several reasons including:

    -   difficulties downloading the ODP onto the handset;
    - a flawed business model that prevented consumers from         exploring ODPs;
    - limited handset coverage and a variety of different handset         standards; and
    - difficulties that content companies and mobile operators had         trying to manage and support the ODP once it was launched.

Keys to the ODP kingdom
Those points of failure indirectly prescribe several keys to ODP success in the future. We like to refer to them as the '4 Ms of Mobility':

Mobile user experience. The ODP must be easy and enjoyable to use. That means letting users work offline with an intuitive interface while a learning engine discovers their preferences and remembers recent search requests, tailoring the experience with each use.

Monetization. An ODP that integrates mobile advertising and merchandising drives monetized content and encourages usage. Ads should be inserted strategically and aesthetically throughout an ODP application e.g., headers, footers, banners, paid search placements and video commercials. Make context-sensitive advertising available to users online or off.