Tomi T Ahonen, self-proclaimed "world's leading 3G strategy consultant," unabashedly declares:

Much like the Western calendar marks time from before and after Jesus Christ, and how the computer world changed totally by the Macintosh—remembering that Windows is Microsoft's copy of the Mac operating system—I am certain that the mobile telecoms world will count its time in two Eras. The Era BI: time Before the iPhone, and the ERA AI: time After the iPhone.

He views the iPhone model of mobile multimedia, multitasking thingamajigger as a new paradigm, on top of which a new Silicon Valley bubble will be built, since "Microsoft, Dell, HP, Intel, IBM, any IT company will suddenly want a cellphone strategy. Mobile experts will suddenly be in short supply," making this "the new dawn of the computer age. The real revival after the dot-com bust."

For all of his hyperbolic bombast, however, he's more than likely spot on in one respect: mobile advertising will probably become more aggressive post-iPhone and iClones, given the range of content that will ostensibly be viewed on them, and to nod his way, the size of the screen.

What do you guys think? Dawn of a new era or over-hyped blip on the gadget radar? How bonkers (or not) is Tomi? – Matt Buchanan

Entering iPhone Era: Marking Time in Mobile [Communities Dominate Brands via Smart Mobs]

Contact information for this author is not available.