A new report from ABI Research forecasts that SMS will remain the top revenue-generating mobile messaging service through 2013, when it will rake in $177 billion. How it gets there will differ from region to region, depending on how successfully it expands into the Web, advertising and social networks in various parts of the world, ABI says.

Currently, developed regions of North America and Europe have the highest messaging ARPUs, and send the most messages from the computer to the mobile device using IM. Mobile users in Asia-Pacific sign up for the most SMS alert services, and Latin Americans are heavy SMS users, but prefer pay-as-you-go for all messaging services.

According to ABI senior analyst Dan Shey, device and messaging platform suppliers will need to pay attention to regional differences in customer type, payment preferences and usage as well as "manage across markets where growth is king - and other markets where product differentiation is king."

Because of these differences, Shey sees a ripe market for smaller players to break into, either alone or in partnership with a larger company, with new products and services designed to "serve the niche needs of a region or country."

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