A visual history of the cell phone
This is an entertaining view on the history of the cell phone with interesting facts and milestones. It culminates with the iPhone in 2007. How many handsets do you recognize?
May 21, 2008
April 30, 2008
Java + Flash coming to Sony Ericsson handsets
MacWorld and Fierce Wireless report today that Sony Ericsson has merged Java and Flash on its upcoming handsets under the name Project Capuchin. Ulf Wretling, director of Sony Ericsson Developer World, was interviewed by MacWorld. From the article:
This has the potential to produce some incredible, integrated applications with friendly user interfaces.Java has many APIs (application programming interfaces) that let developers access phone functions like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and secure payments, while Flash lacks some of those hooks, he said. Flash, however, offers some nice user-interface capabilities compared to Java. Using both, developers can build a game, for example, that uses Flash for the menu and Java for other features. "They can mix and match," said Wretling. "A Java application can utilize graphics and UI components both from Java and from Flash."
Project Capuchin is scheduled to be available the second half of this year.
April 25, 2008
The Fox Comes to the Phone!
The Mozilla Foundation announced that the mobile version or Firefox, Fennec, is coming down the pipe. A release date was not included with the announcement. Mitchell Baker, the chairman of the Mozilla Foundation and of Mozillla Corp. delivered the information at the Web 2.0 conference on Thursday. From Yahoo:
"The key to the Internet should be the same. The core is information: What can I get to and what can I do with it?" she said.
While technical constraints affect mobile browsing, psychological constraints affect the experience on the PC, caused by usage habits formed over decades, Baker said.
The browser will be built on an open platform.
April 24, 2008
Mobile Image Ads Now Available on AdWords
Google recently added mobile image ads to AdWords. Here is my quick first past
The Good:
- Advertiser can choose ad size,
- Sizes are limited to keep download times low, and
- All ads MUST link to a mobile-friendly landing page.
The Bad:
- The ad size does not appear to be served dynamically.
Imagine a 180 pixel wide image on a 360 pixel wide screen or the other way around. Due to the various screen resolutions on the market today this could diminish click-thru rates on mobile ads.
Check out the Google video on mobile image ads.
March 07, 2008
Occasionally Connected Computing is Coming of Age
It appears that Occasionally Connected Computing (or OCC as Intel identified it) may finally be approaching with Silverlight and Google Gears for mobile devices on the horizon. TechCrunch covered the announcements.
Google defines Google Gears as “an open source browser extension that lets developers create web applications that can run offline.”
Nokia announced that Silverlight by Microsoft will be made available for S60 smartphones. From the press release :
Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering next-generation media experiences and rich interactive applications.
Back in 2005, I wrote about the advantages of what was then called Occasionally Connected Computing in three posts:
UPDATE - Brighthand has a great explanation of Google Gears here.
March 05, 2008
Mobile Ads Drive Astonishing Level of Interaction
Media Post reported on the latest Neilson findings on mobile advertising. The article shows that an increased number of consumers recognize and, more importantly, recall mobile ads. But the most astonishing statistic to come from the research is the third paragraph.
Further, more than half of mobile data subscribers (51%), who saw an ad responded to it by sending a text-message, clicking on it, or calling a specific number.
Fifty One Percent? That would mean that of the 58 millon people that Neilson says recalled seeing a mobile ad between the second and forth quarters of 2007, 29 million interacted with the ad in some way. Mobile advertising has been a powerful performer over the last few years, but this exceeds anything I have experienced or read. Neilson and Media Post may want to take another look at those findings.
The Nielsen study was based on a survey of more than 22,000 active mobile data users who used at least one non-voice service in the fourth quarter of 2007. Participants were asked about responses to banner ads, text ads, and video advertising, among other mobile formats.
March 04, 2008
Content Vs. Carrier, Carrier Vs. Content, Part II
This may be considered more of a battle between carriers and developers than my previous post, but it still brings the walled garden strategy into question.
Mozilla recently announced that they were examining moving into the mobile space with a browser for Microsoft Windows Mobile and embedded Linux.
With the announcement came the typical caveats that some carriers would embrace this while others would outright block the application in order to control the user experience and revenue. The most interesting quote to come from MacWorld’s coverage of the announcement is below.
In Japan, operators said their subscribers transmit three to four times more data when allowed to browse the open Web than they do when kept in a walled garden.
Now some carriers claim that their ‘walls’ protect their users from other dangers, including viruses and criminal acts, but I have yet to see much news out of Japan regarding these types of attacks. Are they coming? I think most people in the industry would answer with a resounding yes. Is the walled garden strategy the best defense? In my opinion, anything that limits the mobile experience hinders innovation, adoption and user satisfaction and it appears that Japan agrees.
The iPhone Affect
Perhaps I am a little late on this one, but I felt I needed to weigh in on what the iPhone has done for mobile browsing.
In 2000 I worked at AvantGo, a mobile content site. Our software helped popular media sites easily move into the then budding mobile space. One of our selling points for publishers and for users of our software was that we designed each mobile site for the most popular screen resolutions on the market. At the time I left, we were making four versions of each site. Though this sounds like a lot of extra work, it was part one of our selling points and something the users became used to (and craved) – content designed for their device.
Fast-forward to 2007 and the release of the iPhone with a browser designed to bring the ‘whole internet’ to your mobile device. As most people who have used and iPhone will tell you it does a pretty good job at doing just that.
The iPhone has also increased the number of people accessing mobile data services. Fierce Mobile Content reported the following from AT&T Mobility president and CEO Ralph de la Vega at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona this year.
“According to de la Vega, 95 percent of iPhone owners regularly surf the web, even though 30 percent had never done so prior to iPhone ownership. In addition, 51 percent have viewed videos via YouTube, and nine out of 10 rated the device better than their previous handset.”
That is great news! Mobile Web usage is growing. But now we need to understand where these users are going and, more importantly,why sites like Digg, Facebook and Travelocity are designing sites specifically for the iPhone even though it includes Safari. These are not just stripped down mobile sites for handsets and smartphones that include the iPhone, but specific URLs with a dedicated layout and functionality designed for the iPhone. Add in Apple's own site where they feature hundreds of iPhone deisgned Web sites and applications and it is clear that is this not a small movement, but a strategy that companies, big and small, are adotping.
So what does this all mean? Well it goes back to what AvantGo preached as early as 2000.
People want content designed for the device they are using.
There will not be a time in the forseeable future, where there will no longer be a need for products like Safari, Skyfire and Microsoft’s Deepfish. But for now, we need companies like AT&T to break down the traffic they are seeing into mobile, and non-mobile sites so we can better understand how users are accessing the Internet on their phones.
May 23, 2007
GigaOm on Mobile Advertising
The dollar amount does not intrigue me as much as the strategic choice to make decisions appropriate to mobile advertising. (Disclosure: I have worked for a few mobile advertising companies since 2000.) I cannot tell you how excited I am that this discussion is happening now. I started in mobile advertising in 2000 (with all the hype and press), and then people were promising the world. Now in 2007, things are just beginning to deliver on the promises of years ago. Critical mass has been met in terms of the number of users of the mobile Internet (and that term includes ringtones and wallpapers as well as browsing) and the eyeballs are there to make advertisers interested in this medium. It is different. It is unique. There is a lot of education ahead of us in the industry. But still, they know mobile is here, and they are INTERESTED! Let’s educate them appropriately.
March 28, 2007
Content vs. Carrier, Carrier vs. Content
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.
March 27, 2007
YouTube ToGo surfaces
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.
March 26, 2007
Flash mobile gets ready for prime time
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.
March 19, 2007
Mobile Round-Up
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.
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
March 18, 2007
Mobile Site Launch - MacWorld
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
- Lack of images
- Basic navigation
For mobile browsing I use a Nokia 6680 the the screen capture utility by Antony Pranata.
March 13, 2007
The Future of Mobile Browsing (and Advertising)
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).
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).
February 22, 2007
Coming of age?
Martina at Adverblog posted about mobile advertising and the promises that have not yet materialized. I agree that the hype spread back when I started in the mobile industry in 2000 hurt the industry to this day, but there have been some important successes recently that should be recognized.
Time, BusinessWeek and Reuters have launched mobile versions of their sites. Now this in itself is not impressive, but there are two BIG differences right now. The first is they are doing this outside of any aggregator or carrier. Second, they all have monetization strategies in place and currently have or have had sponsors.
Why the shift now? There was a time when the mentality was ‘our competitors have mobile so we must as well.’ But now the number of devices that support browsing and more importantly, the number of people using them is starting to tip.
Who are these users? Business users own/use the majority of Treos, Balckberrys and the like. In most cases, these users never see a phone bill, and most of them travel. It does not take long for one of these users to get bored enough and start to play with these devices and start to find their favorite sites. Time, BusinessWeek and Reuters have jumped on this.
I know I am not the first to propose these ideas. You can find some of them published in an article by a former co-worker of mine, Crystal King and in press releases by my former employer, AvantGo. But marketers realize that the mobile market is moving beyond ring tones and wallpapers and media companies are stepping up to deliver rich mobile sites.
Time, BusinessWeek and Reuters have launched mobile versions of their sites. Now this in itself is not impressive, but there are two BIG differences right now. The first is they are doing this outside of any aggregator or carrier. Second, they all have monetization strategies in place and currently have or have had sponsors.
Why the shift now? There was a time when the mentality was ‘our competitors have mobile so we must as well.’ But now the number of devices that support browsing and more importantly, the number of people using them is starting to tip.
Who are these users? Business users own/use the majority of Treos, Balckberrys and the like. In most cases, these users never see a phone bill, and most of them travel. It does not take long for one of these users to get bored enough and start to play with these devices and start to find their favorite sites. Time, BusinessWeek and Reuters have jumped on this.
I know I am not the first to propose these ideas. You can find some of them published in an article by a former co-worker of mine, Crystal King and in press releases by my former employer, AvantGo. But marketers realize that the mobile market is moving beyond ring tones and wallpapers and media companies are stepping up to deliver rich mobile sites.
February 14, 2007
Occasionally Connected with AvantGo
Originally posted on 8/2/2005
Note: I am currently employed by iAnywhere, the parent company of AvantGo. For this reason, this will be a brief, factual overview of the product without any editorial content.
The last few posts have centered on RSS in a mobile environment. Now we will move to a tool that moblized HTML pages for mobile devices - AvantGo.
The AvantGo Mobile Internet Service was launched in 1999 as an offline Web browser for PDAs. Since then the service has evolved to include more operating systems (Palm OS, PocketPC and Symbian) and additional wireless features. Here is an overview.
When the first Palm Pilot PDAs were launched in 1996, most had no way to connect to the Internet. They would sync your calendar, address book and some additional data for you to carry with you in a small, simple package that started instantly. AvantGo created an application that added an additional step to the synchronization process that would take advantage of the user's desktop or laptop's Internet connection. During a sync, the AvantGo client would connect to AvantGo servers and download handheld formatted content to the PDA. This model grew to include wirelessly connected devices and AvantGo named it the Dynamic Mobility Model.
The current version of AvantGo includes their latest user interface (UI) and client that supports DHTML. The new UI is tabbed and takes most of the functionality that was previously Web-based and allows you to control it on the device. It also includes wireless features for user who have a live connection (Wi-Fi or cellular).
Users of non-connected PDAs can update their AvantGo account and then access and interact with content when they are away from their desktop or laptop. Wireless PDA and Smartphone users can store a great deal of content on their device, selectively update that content, and have access all of AvantGo's channels wirelessly (currently around 1,000.) All users benefit from being able to access content when they do not have a connection (planes, underground public transportation, etc.)
The difference between AvantGo and a PDA RSS reader (like the one I mentioned in this post) is that the content AvantGo features is formatted for mobile device, always includes complete articles and in many cases includes graphics. Content providers include CNET, Reuters, USA Today, Accuweather, RollingStone.com, WIRED, Sporting News and many others.
AvantGo has positioned themselves in the Occasionally Connected world with their use of the Dynamic Mobility Model. The AvantGo Client is free and can be downloaded here (requires registration).
Note: I am currently employed by iAnywhere, the parent company of AvantGo. For this reason, this will be a brief, factual overview of the product without any editorial content.
The last few posts have centered on RSS in a mobile environment. Now we will move to a tool that moblized HTML pages for mobile devices - AvantGo.
The AvantGo Mobile Internet Service was launched in 1999 as an offline Web browser for PDAs. Since then the service has evolved to include more operating systems (Palm OS, PocketPC and Symbian) and additional wireless features. Here is an overview.
When the first Palm Pilot PDAs were launched in 1996, most had no way to connect to the Internet. They would sync your calendar, address book and some additional data for you to carry with you in a small, simple package that started instantly. AvantGo created an application that added an additional step to the synchronization process that would take advantage of the user's desktop or laptop's Internet connection. During a sync, the AvantGo client would connect to AvantGo servers and download handheld formatted content to the PDA. This model grew to include wirelessly connected devices and AvantGo named it the Dynamic Mobility Model.
The current version of AvantGo includes their latest user interface (UI) and client that supports DHTML. The new UI is tabbed and takes most of the functionality that was previously Web-based and allows you to control it on the device. It also includes wireless features for user who have a live connection (Wi-Fi or cellular).
Users of non-connected PDAs can update their AvantGo account and then access and interact with content when they are away from their desktop or laptop. Wireless PDA and Smartphone users can store a great deal of content on their device, selectively update that content, and have access all of AvantGo's channels wirelessly (currently around 1,000.) All users benefit from being able to access content when they do not have a connection (planes, underground public transportation, etc.)
The difference between AvantGo and a PDA RSS reader (like the one I mentioned in this post) is that the content AvantGo features is formatted for mobile device, always includes complete articles and in many cases includes graphics. Content providers include CNET, Reuters, USA Today, Accuweather, RollingStone.com, WIRED, Sporting News and many others.
AvantGo has positioned themselves in the Occasionally Connected world with their use of the Dynamic Mobility Model. The AvantGo Client is free and can be downloaded here (requires registration).
Defining Usage
Originally posted on 7/22/2005
In order to set some guidelines, I want to explain my usage of the applications I will be covering. Before each trip (my daily commute or a business trip) I connect to the Internet and 'update' my occasionally connected applications. This applies to my laptop (Apple 12" G4 Powerbook), PDA (HP iPaq 5555 with Wi-Fi) and Smartphone (Palm Treo 650).*
All applications will fit the Intel definition of Occasionally Connected Computing (OCC) as worded in my previous post. There will not be a formal review per se, but more of an editorial overview of the features of these applications and how they benefit the mobile user and their ability to access and interact with media. The applications will be consumer-focused with some references to business use.
I have a few applications selected, but i f you would like to suggest an application, please let me know. My email address is in the right-hand column.
* Because my job is in the mobile sector, I carry more devices than the average person. My PDA and Smartphone are redundant, but necessary for my work.
In order to set some guidelines, I want to explain my usage of the applications I will be covering. Before each trip (my daily commute or a business trip) I connect to the Internet and 'update' my occasionally connected applications. This applies to my laptop (Apple 12" G4 Powerbook), PDA (HP iPaq 5555 with Wi-Fi) and Smartphone (Palm Treo 650).*
All applications will fit the Intel definition of Occasionally Connected Computing (OCC) as worded in my previous post. There will not be a formal review per se, but more of an editorial overview of the features of these applications and how they benefit the mobile user and their ability to access and interact with media. The applications will be consumer-focused with some references to business use.
I have a few applications selected, but i f you would like to suggest an application, please let me know. My email address is in the right-hand column.
* Because my job is in the mobile sector, I carry more devices than the average person. My PDA and Smartphone are redundant, but necessary for my work.
Occasionally Connected
Originally posted on 7/19/2005
I commute an hour to and from work each day. During the trip I spend at least half my time underground (or under the San Francisco Bay) without an Internet connection.* Even when I am above ground and do have access to a cellular signal, I rarely use it since I have been spoiled by broadband speeds. I also fly from SFO to JFK several times a year. Each trip is five hours of 'isolation' from the Internet.
In walks Occasionally Connected Computing (OCC). According to Intel,
Now, more and more services are offering this type of access to content, and users are adopting it quickly. The next few posts will deal with some of the applications that I use and how they benefit the occasionally connected lifestyle when it comes to accessing and creating media.
* Some carriers do have antennae at some of the underground stations in downtown SF, but your time is so limited and the data rates are so slow, that they are in effect useless for any significant Web functions.
I commute an hour to and from work each day. During the trip I spend at least half my time underground (or under the San Francisco Bay) without an Internet connection.* Even when I am above ground and do have access to a cellular signal, I rarely use it since I have been spoiled by broadband speeds. I also fly from SFO to JFK several times a year. Each trip is five hours of 'isolation' from the Internet.
In walks Occasionally Connected Computing (OCC). According to Intel,
"In the OCC model, a connection is used but not always needed. That is, if the connection is severed, the application should still be functional to the highest degree that is reasonably possible."More and more services are being based on this model. Perhaps the best known (and most widely used) application is email. Everything from Outlook to Blackberrys allow email to be cached and viewed offline. Responses can be written and held until the next time the device (in this case a laptop or a PDA/Smartphone) makes a connection.
Now, more and more services are offering this type of access to content, and users are adopting it quickly. The next few posts will deal with some of the applications that I use and how they benefit the occasionally connected lifestyle when it comes to accessing and creating media.
* Some carriers do have antennae at some of the underground stations in downtown SF, but your time is so limited and the data rates are so slow, that they are in effect useless for any significant Web functions.