Will it really take 5 years for Canada's mobile web market to catch up with the rest of the world? That's what Brian Fling, author of dotmobi Mobile Web Developers Guide, said recently when he spoke at Web Directions North. Hmm... I'm not so sure about that.

In my mind, it may not matter before long. Mobile carriers selling high-priced EDGE/EVDO service might end up losing out to WiFi. When devices like the iPod Touch become cheaper and more common, and public hot-spots become more pervasive, using a cell-phone to access the web will be like using a land-line to make a long-distance call (instead of Skype or iChat). And this could take way less than 5 years to happen. I for one have already gone that route. I hate using my cell-phone to browse. I carry my iPod Touch around wherever I go, and login to WiFi networks, giving me a real browser and a nice big touch-screen that makes browsing a pleasure. And with an SDK around the corner, there will be a flood of mobile widgets coming soon to do just about everything I could ever want. For someone who doesn't like talking on the phone, a device like this is perfect.