The arrival of a truly mobile Web, offering a new generation of location-based advertising, is set to unleash a "huge revolution," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Friday."It's the re-creation of the Internet, it's the re-creation of the PC (personal computer) story, and it is before us--and it is very likely it will happen in the next year," he told a panel at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland.
Current estimates for mobile advertising are cautious, with consultancy Forrester predicting revenues of under $1 billion by 2012.
But Schmidt said this figure was too low and failed to take into account the fact the mobile Web was reaching a tipping point.
Google aims to be a prime mover by bidding for coveted airwaves to launch an open U.S. wireless network, pitting it against established telecommunications players. The move will take the Silicon Valley-based company well beyond its core Web search and online advertising franchises.
Some analysts are worried at the high costs involved but Schmidt said he was confident that location-based advertising--which could, for example, direct hungry travelers to nearby restaurants--would be "a very, very good business."
Content providers, already struggling in the modern world of music and film downloads, are less convinced that mobile Internet is a minefield.
"It is not going to be easy to hang on the price of content," said Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony.
©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. CNET , CNET.com , and the CNET logo are registered trademarks of CNET Networks, Inc. Used by permission.
