Back a lifetime ago, Google’s VP of Mobile Platform Engineering and I used to work for Microsoft racking up the frequent flyer miles by traveling the globe hawking programming interfaces and all other things Windows NT.  We’d have every known hack, alligator clip, modem, acoustical devices, etc, in our bags trying to stay “always on and always connected.”  Hanging out in the early nineties in say Hong Kong usually meant taking the cover off the wall’s phone jack and using the alligator clips to then get into the phone system so we could get a some type of crappy data connection which would then allow us to dial some GEIS local number. This got us onto some packet network which then got us onto the Microsoft UNIX mail system so we could send and receive a few emails before the 900 phone bill went into 4 (or five) figures.  

I’m only ever so slightly exaggerating.

Fast forward to today. I’m a suit and he is still a major geek.  Vic’s role at Google gives him a unique insight into the mobile evolution.  He recently wrote a guest post for TechCrunch titled Follow the Mobile User.

Focus on the mobile user, and all else will follow

Simpler data, better browsers, and a smoother experience
Today the mobile industry finds itself in a unique position to do right by its users:

Worldwide phone penetration continues to climb at a break-neck pace, with over 4 billion mobile subscribers at last count. (In comparison, the PC industry is forecasted to see its sharpest unit decline in history.) Prevailing economic conditions will accelerate this trend, as users consolidate pricey communication services into cost-effective, all-in-one mobile devices. And for the first time ever, half of all new connections to the internet will come from a phone in 2009.

Be sure to check out the full post here.  Smart guy, that Vic.