KempMullaney.com

Microsoft has step-up their efforts to improve mobile browsing and released a semi-public beta of Deepfish.

Dr. Gary William Flake, the founder and director of Microsoft Live Labs, said:

    Deepfish provides users with a full "as-designed" view of virtually any Web site on their mobile device and looks as you would expect it to on your desktop, allowing much more of the Web to be easily viewed on a mobile device than is possible today. The interface lets users zoom in and out on the parts of a Web page that interest them in an intuitive way, making it easy to use these large-screen formatted pages on a mobile device.

Sound familiar? It looks as though they are taking a similar approach to Apple’s Safari on the iPhone. I commented on the affect this will have on mobile advertising in an earlier post. This will only up the ante on marketers to deal with multiples devices.

 

The beta is now closed. Read more at Brighthand.

Posted by kempblog at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This battle has raged since the mobile Internet began. Wireless carriers want to control their greatest asset, their customers while content providers want access to their mobile readers. At CTIA Wireless 2007 the debate rages on, this time between Larry Shapiro, executive VP of business development and operations with Walt Disney Internet Group and Jim Ryan, VP of consumer data products with AT&T Wireless.

The content side argues that carriers are not doing enough to make it easier for wireless users to access content, while Jim Ryan counters,

"We're not just the pipe, we handle the packaging, marketing and distribution."

This is by no means an end to the debate, but it only goes to show that content providers and carriers need to reach a common ground for the benefit of their shared customers.

More can be read at FierceMobileContent.

Posted by kempblog at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Om Malik quotes a spokes person for YouTube stating the launch of YouTube ToGo will be in June of this year. The screen capture is of the blocked site - http://m.youtube.com/?client=ytdemo - as viewed on my Nokia 6680. According to Om,

"The mobile site when it goes live will have around 800 “editorial picks” of videos to choose from. It’s kind of an experiment to see how well things go and how good of a response the company gets, the spokesperson explained to us. Though, the end goal is to create a truly mobile YouTube experience with eventual access to the entire video catalog."

You can see the YouTube logo offset to the right. I can't wait to see the site once it launches.  

Posted by kempblog at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In my last post I wrote, “I have seen hype of Flash Lite come and go (and return.)” Then in a post on Crave I read that Adobe announced Adobe Device Central, a new feature in Creative Suite 3. According to Crave by CNET,

Developers creating Flash-based content for mobile handsets are given a lot of control with Device Central. They can now see how their work will appear on more than 100 brands of phones before loading it onto any device.

In addition, the software allows developers to test different lighting conditions, service strength and other factors that affect performance. This appears to be the return of Flash on mobile devices. To date Verizon is the only US Carrier to promote Flash-enabled handsets. Increased developer support may put additional pressure on the other carriers to support Flash.

Posted by kempblog at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jonathan Grubb, Co-Founder and Design Director at RubyRed Labs, put together eight steps to develop a mobile strategy.

1. Figure out how your product would be more useful if it wasn’t computer-based.
2. Figure out where the web/computer aspect of your service fails.
3. Figure out what aspect of the mobile device makes that feature better.
4. Design your mobile product around this small set of features.
5. Use the oldest technology possible to accomplish the task.
6. Work on as many phones as possible.
7. Back it up with a stripped down version of your desktop site.
8. Or just let others do it for you.

This is a really good list, but I am most interested in item 5, Use the oldest technology possible.

In 2000 a Web design firm invited me to speak at their conference on mobility in New York. It was a great experience for me early in my career, but the most memorable moment came during the Q&A when I realized how out of hand the questions were getting. Mobile commerce strategies were being tossed around as if everyone was ready to make purchases on their phones. This was 2000 when we were still in the bubble and the wireless hype machine was in full swing. Most people weren't even browsing news or sending text messages at this time. Blackberrys were new devices. Wireless Palms used radio frequencies to access the Internet.

We had all become too close to mobility and had forgotten about the rest of the country. San Francisco and New York lead the country in adoption of technology and there was no where near the critical mass of users needed to make mobile commerce a reality. The rest of the contry was way behind us. And the solution the founder of the design firm was promoting was the Palm VII (running on the now defunct Palm.net service).

In the end following Jonathan's strategy back then would have helped you make it through these times. Since 2000 I have seen hype of Flash Lite come and go (and return), OmniSky filed for bankruptcy and got acquired by Earthlink and Palm.net, Palm's wireless solution, rise and fall. Stick with the oldest technology available (and may I add 'standards-based technology') and focus more on the right features and functionality.

Posted by kempblog at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since yesterday, Apple TV has dominated the geek headlines and since it qualifies as a time-shifting device, I have collected a few of the news items here.

Walt Mossberg, tech guru at the Wall Street Journal, gives the Apple TV a great review. You can see a video here at The Unofficial Apple Weblog.
TUAW: Uncle Walt gives Apple TV a thumbs-up

One feature that is missing from the Apple TV is DVR functionality. Or is it? WIRED takes a look at the yet unused USB port on the back of the Apple TV and speculates at its purpose.
WIRED: A Cheap Way To Beef Up Apple TV As A DVR?

But the reviews are not all rosy.
Gizmodo: Five Little Things We Don't Like About Apple TV.

And finally if you have decided to buy an Apple TV, the first thing you should know is that cables are NOT included. And before you run out and spend too much money consider these less expensive options.
Gizmodo: AppleTV: Don't Get Ripped Off Buying Cables

Posted by kempblog at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Surprise, surprise! People don't mind mobile ads if there are incentives! A Harris Interactive study found 35% of users poled didn't mind incentive-based ads (free minutes, ringtones, cash) on their phones.

Via MediaPost 

Medio launches a contextual advertising program with Amp'd Mobile.

Via FierceMobile Content 

There really is a Google phone in the works...

Via Engadget 

UPDATE: There really isn't a Google phone. (My bet is that this isn't over yet.)

Via Brighthand 

 

iLoop Mobile launches a three-tier campaign management platform for mobile advertising. The application also helps with the construction of WAP sites.

Via ClickZ 

Posted by kempblog at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A new feature here will be mobile site review, an analysis of mobile content as sites are launched. As I have covered in a previous post, Time, Reuters and BusinessWeek have launched mobile sites, and I will have reviews for them soon. For my first review, I will cover MacWorld's new site.

MacWorld chose mDog to mobilize their site. The site identifies the type of browser and provides a redirect for mobile devices. Though I think this is a great feature to ease navigation of the mobile Web, I would like to see the option for users to access the regular site and set a cookie to remember the user's preference.

The mobile site includes articles from News, Products, Weblogs, Mac Help and Magazine sections and is up-to-date with the the content on the full site. The only image or color I found is a logo on the main page, which is a big disappointment. Navigation is simple, but lacks the ability to move from one article to the next without backing up to each sections' menu. I do like the search functionality. I received over 10 pages of results for the term 'iTunes.'

PROS:

• Large amount of content
• Great search feature

CONS:

• Lack of images
• Basic navigation

On the whole, I really like MacWorld's editorial decision to include most of their online content in the mobile version and the search funtionality. If MacWorld added images and enhanced their navigation, they would have a real winner. Read the MacWorld Release here.

For mobile browsing I use a Nokia 6680 the the screen capture utility by Antony Pranata.

Posted by kempblog at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The iPhone made a big splash back in January and the fanboys (myself included) can’t wait for it to show-up in the coming months. The handset offers some incredible features, but the one I am most interested in is the browser. Safari comes with the iPhone and allows users to view the Web on their phone almost the same way they do on a desktop. What does this mean for mobile marketing?

Well, we will have to wait and see, but from the demonstrations I have seen it looks like traditional ad units on small screens will be ignored. Or even worse, users will accidentally hit these ads inflating click-thru rates. Rich media landing pages will be small and difficult to read on these devices.

I hope that this version of safari can be identified/separated from normal Mac users giving media companies and ad servers a chance to deliver device specific content (while still letting the users choose full size layout).

Posted by kempblog at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sesame Street now has podcasts available for FREE at iTunes. Ranging in length from 13 to 42 minutes, they include titles like "Happy, Healthy, Ready for School," and "Talk, Listen Connect."

I previously wrote about how impressed I was with NPR's use of podcasting and PBS has stepped right up as well.

I grew up on daily episodes of Sesame Street and believe in the educational power of the show. It is easy to imagine parents keeping these files on their MP3 players and playing them for their kids in the car or while stuck waiting for an oil change or a doctor's appointment.  

I hope they continue to offer their content in as many formats as possible.  

Thanks to LifeHacker for the story.  

Posted by kempblog at 02:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

USAToday.com launched a new design on March 3 and included a plethora of Web 2.0 features.

The enhancements are primarily around creating a social network for USAToday.com readers. After creating an account, readers can comment on stories, recommend their favorites, and submit their own photos. Tags are also supported as well communities where like-minded readers can recommend articles.

This is a BIG STEP for a media company to embrace these features and USAToday has done so with style. Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion wants USAToday.com to take it even further.

"For example, USA Today should let us add our blog, Twitter or Facebook feeds or even embedded YouTube vids to our profile pages."

Steve is right and I would bet these ideas are on the drawing board, but as the first major media site to adopt these features I think USAToday is right to take it slow. I would even go so far as to guess that most USAToday.com readers have never used social networking before, or if they have, they do not know it.

Read more below. 

Micro Persuasion 

TechCrunch 

Posted by kempblog at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)