I'm intensely interested in mobile solutions. Sheryl and I live a highly mobile life and we both pay close attention to every mobile solution we hear about. It's our life.

EQO is one mobile solution that I could never quite make sense of myself. It began as a way to put Skype on your mobile, but none of the early release stuff worked well for me at all. Over time they've broadened out to some kind of multi-platform IM client. Adn they provide some sort of gateway for making international calls.

This morning, my good friend Phoneboy weighed in on EQO.

Why I Think EQO Is Doomed

Image via CrunchBase, source unknown

I don't like to prognosticate, but after reading the latest PR speak from EQO, I am not overly optimistic about EQO's chances at success.

The latest thing they are releasing is a version of their EQO client geared specifically at operators. EQO originally started out as a way to bring Skype to your mobile, now they offer a multi-IM client along with a way to make international calls using "local" (to the caller) gateways. This is similar to the consumer Jajah service, Rebtel, and more recently, Truphone Anywhere.

While I don't think their downloadable consumer-level application has this, they supposedly provide more functionality:

EQO CE transforms almost any mobile phone's traditional phonebook into a social phonebook. EQO's social phonebook allows users to stay connected to friends, family and business contacts - from anywhere at any time.  Whether users want to view their contacts' presence, status and location, or communicate with them via IM, messaging and voice, EQO offers it all from an integrated mobile application.  EQO also interfaces with web-based social networks and content sites, allowing users to subscribe to friend and news feeds to get relevant information in a timely fashion.  Across all supported platforms, EQO's community has exploded to millions of users in over 220 countries.

So why do I think this is a bad strategy? First, relying on the slow, plodding carriers to get built into their branded phones. Some of the things I've seen related to operator acceptance testing for mobile phones suggests this will be a long, slow process that could take years to see anything worth the trouble.[

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There's a home run in there from Dameon. At a time when users are scrambling to find ways around the carriers, adding the delay of getting a product onto a carrier branded phone is nothing short of foolhardy. Users are, in large part, looking for unlocked, unbranded phones.

Add to that the negative incentive, or disincentive for carriers to cannibalize their own SMS revenue, and it's a recipe for failure. Carriers are already gouging SMS customers, wringing ridiculous profits from the service, and routinely raising pricing. SMS is a perfect example of carriers pushing the envelope to find what the market will bear, then gouging as much as they can.

I'm with Dameon. I don't think EQO has a chance of a future without a radical departure from their current path.