Best Buy will back up your mobile smartphone with mIQ service

Best Buy's mIQ service will store up to 1GB of data on its own servers for you as well as your phone's contacts, calendar and other data. Mobile phone companies already have these services, and some mobile operators do as well. So, why do we need another one? That's a good question, but it may have something to do with the shift towards smartphones -- err, portable computers.

The growth of smartphones like the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android devices has more to do with perceived benefits more than consumers needing a ton of computing horsepower in their pockets. Whatever the reason, BlackBerries, iPhones and other smartphones are selling at an increasing percentage over regular mobile phones every year. With Best Buy's increasing presence in the space with Best Buy Mobile, it's a solid opportunity to capture these customers for backup services at the point of purchase.

Even a $4.99 per month fee times tens of thousands of customers is quite a take for a retailer that is moving more and more into services as all these gadgets and products become more complex and integrated with consumer's lives. Maybe Best Buy's new mIQ service will indeed become a shining star for the retailer -- just no until everyone has dumped the "free" phones and is picking up a smartphone. Give it a few years, right?