End of Week Mobile News Links - Week 32

OK, another end of week, another long list of links to news about mobile goings on from the past couple of days! Note the mid week blog about this has cut the size of this down ;-) That being said it is still rather long! And this comes out on Friday the 13th! Wey Hey!!

RT @InsideNetwork A Facebook Location API Could Be Coming Soon http://bit.ly/ce5Qxv Don't hold your breath though! – the tech press were all excited about Facebook’s immanent launch of a Geolocation API in April. It didn’t eventuate. Allegedly it is more immanent now as there is some detail. Apparently it will be an API that will allow 3rd party applications to use Facebook for location services. This makes sense in the same way that social gaming makes sense on Facebook. Take advantage of an already existing developer base and open up further API’s for them to allow them to distribute their applications. I wonder if the existing darlings of the LBS space Gowalla and Foursquare would distribute via Facebook? I guess if one starts, the other would probably follow, unless bought by a bigger player themselves!

RT @IntoMobile Google holding mobile event August 12 - What Android goodness is on tap? http://bit.ly/cwYLAf - Cool a Google Mobile event! Will it be better than the Nokia mobile event last week? Am guessing yes! We should know by the end of the week, and by the time this Blog entry is posted ;-). So it seems that the annoncement was Voice Actions for Android 2.2 http://awe.sm/59IuV. Looks great. Cannot test at the moment though as HTC desire has not updated! Unfortunatly for Google on the same day of the announcement Oracle are suing them for JAva in Android!

Fast follow on twitter using SMS. SMS is not dead yet if 50% of mobiles don't have browsers http://awe.sm/59FV1 - I posted a story here about mobile browsers being available on 60% of devices in 5 years time. To me this screams that SMS is not a dead medium. Happy to say that in twitter, in the US, agree with me. When it started Twitter was massively into the SMS use case. In the US this is easy as they are free to send and the receiver of the SMS pays. In other countries it is much harder as the sender pays! Precisely the reason why getting twitter updates via SMS vanished in these regions. Happy to say that most carriers in the UK seem to cover the costs of twitter via SMS now. Note I say MOST and NOT ALL! I wonder if this service will be added to carriers that provide free SMS messaging for twitter? It’s a great use case as you don’t need to be a twitter user to use it and it is another example of adding a further distribution mechanisms to non believers. Who knows if the non-users like receiving the tweets there is a great chance that they will become users. A great way for companies to interact with Customers as well, should they wish to take advantage of this feature.

Neer - a check in service, for those that want to share but are concerned by distributing their location to all http://awe.sm/59FVR - there is a lot of fear with using check in services. It is very easy to track people who use them to know exactly where they are. Of course this can be used for purposes other than trying to meet your friends. For instance should I want to break into someone else’s house a good time to do it might be when they are a considerable distance away. Note I don’t want to do this. Neer seems to take this fear away though as it only exposes your where abouts to those that you explicitly allow to share this detail with. Privacy is obviously a massive concern with these services. I think additional privacy controls will make there way into more and more of these applications. Fingers crossed the privacy controls are not as confusing as Facebook’s ;-). I wonder if these applications ever partner with mobile network operators and have to implement seriously strict privacy controls! I wonder if these types of applications, without strict privacy controls, will ever gain popular traction in countries like Germany?

RT @feebeyer Are there too many mobile platforms? > standardisation is on its way, http://is.gd/ebYcL (via @bobegan ) - There clearly are too many mobile platforms. But the strongest will survive and the weakest won’t. It is interesting to see that although standardisation is mentioned in this article it is not referring to initiatives like WAC, the carrier and OEM’s attempt to standardise. Instead it mentions the defacto standards that are being created by popular support of technology, i.e. screen size and capacitive screens. These are standards created by the fact tat OEM’s see what is popular and mimic (it’s such a nicer term than copy) it. And why not? So to compete in an already crowded marketplace try to make your handset as close a spec to the popular ones as possible. In my view the more people in the game the better, but I think a load are going to be left behind on the way. It’s inevitable.

Why Games Are the Killer App for Social Networks - http://mash.to/2nXkb so platform, content, distribution -> so simple! ;-) – I love articles like these. They make scaling into a massive online presence sound so easy! Think they forget to mention being in the right time at the right place and having good people to deliver when you are in the right place at the right time! Simply having the idea is not enough if you don’t have the folks to work with you to deliver it. Of course having a great idea and being able to turn it into killer content also helps ;-)

RT @feebeyer Developing a Creative Work Culture - "the largest leadership challenge" http://rww.tw/bU6KJS - for me there are a lot of wise words in this rather small article. One that holds true I think is “The quickest way to kill creativity is to put people in roles that don't excite their imagination.” Also “Meaningful work that we feel is making a positive contribution can keep people motivated, not just so we "perform better," but so that we can offer innovative solutions we really care about enacting”. Yeah sure it’s a self help book but I think they are valid points. Think I might ‘borrow’ them and write a self help book that you can buy at an airport soon ;-)

Facebook - another distribution means for Check In services? http://awe.sm/59Fim Another rumour about FB geolocation services – more fuel to the impending Facebook Geolocation API. There is a lot of fuel about at the moment! Let’s see how impending it actually is though! Again this refers to the fact that it will be API’s that 3rd parties can use to create innovative applications with. Facebook benefits as they get other folks working for them. The 3rd party developers benefit thanks to the massive distribution available on Facebook and Facebook users benefit through continual innovation of services they can access. Like The Hot Chocolate song ‘Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s the truth’. Could impact folks that don’t embrace the platform though? Still if you do developers might getting a bigger slice of internet users using their services. At least more than the 4% of mobile internet users that currently know about them ;-) Might this become the mainstreaming of check in services?

RT @theunwired CLIMB-DOWN: Vodafone removes 360 Services from its Android 2.2 Upgrade for the HTC Desire http://goo.gl/fb/2piWY - Yay! The actual Vodafone upgrade for the HTC Desire to Froyo will be the HTC build of Froyo and not be polluted! Other carriers please note ;-). Good to see that Customer complaints have driven action at Voda. Well done Voda for listening and sorting it out. A little wierd that you would time a crappy Android 2.1 update though when people have been gagging for 2.2. Did you really think that no-one would see it? Wierd planning decision that one!

RT @BBCClick Finally the full browsing experience on a mass produced mobile! http://bit.ly/bK6XK1 Simple example of what it's all about - I like the simplicity of BBC Click. It takes the tech news and provides a really simple interface onto it such that non techie folks can see what all the whoo haa is about. I seem to only catch the show on TV when I am travelling when BBC News 24 is the only thing available in English! Also sometimes on a Saturday morning, but it is a good show. This story shows exactly what the Android Froyo and Apple iPhone 4.0 debate is about in simple to view video. Well simple to view on a Froyo device but unfortunatly not simple to view on an iPhone. Probably enough said I guess! If you want access to the internet you have on your PC on your phone, then probably head in the direction of Android Froyo ;-)
RT @mashable HOW TO: Get Tweetable Moments from Your Presentations - http://mash.to/2oxGt - evrythg must be 140 char or less - I love the fact that marketeers are thinking about how to engage the consumers of their presentations and how to use twitter as a distribution mechanism. Not that there is any real need to show it, but it demonstrates (not everywhere) that in many countires twitter has become so mainstream it is worth hijacking as a distribution method! Although this has been known for ages, (and I have been trying to force feed down certain individuals throats ;-) ) this is the first time I have seen a self help guide about getting people to tweet your ideas on your behalf. Aint no-one tweeting this blog entry at way too many characters over 140!! Maybe '@murray_fortescue is forcing more drivvel my way #reallylongblogs' ;-)

I have been using my iPhone too long! Good to get back to the very cool apps that Google make for Android http://awe.sm/59HH6 - This story is about the Android app Gesture Search which has probably been around for ages. I have been using an iPhone for a while now and this one missed me on Android. The update to this version of gesture search lets you flip your phone to get into the app, so you don't have to click the icon in the homescreen to get access. You then write letters on the screen and it does an on device search for you of all of the content on your handset. I love it's simplicity and the preciseness of the handwriting recognition. It gives you really quick access to content on your handset as opposed to fumbling around different menus hunting for stuff. It got me thinking though, and I think this might be a story for another blog, but I love companies who demonstrate how to use their enabling technology. In this sense Google make really innovative applications for Android. Do Apple do the same? From Google - Gesture Search, Maps, Search by voice, sky map, translate, goggles, navigation etc... I am a firm believer that if you are not going to use your enabling technology then why would anyone else want to use it?

Nayway thats it for the past few days. I am off like a bag of prawns in the sun. See you later!

Have fun!

m

Midweek Mobile News - Week 32

As per usual a collection of links regarding things that have happened in mobile this week that I have found interesting. This week decided to post midweek so as to break up the blog length and writing time ;-)

Mobile Tech and Gardening blog now available as an Nokia Ovi Application at http://store.ovi.com/content/50816 - After attending the Nokia develeoper event in London on the 3^rd of August I thought it might be fun to try out their Ovi Application Wizard. It’s OK as a distribution mechanism through the Ovi Store, but there are issues surrounding reporting that distribution. Outlined in the blog entry The Ovi Application Wizard - Any Good?. Still the whole process is ‘fun’ and I can see how non developers would see this as a giggle and worth trying.

QA with Niklas Savander, Nokia’s head of sales and marketing, on twitter http://bit.ly/c5CLMW - "Listening and learning" - Nokia’s head of sales and marketing braves the twitter-verse to have a chat. Interesting discussion and the continued theme of Nokia ‘Listening and Learning’ came through within the discussion. I hope they listen and learn well. With regard to the launch date of the N8 though Niklas says “As we have always said Q3”. So why was the Nokia developer event touted as the N8 launch event? I still think the more strong players in the developer eco-system within mobile the better innovation will be driven for the customer. I for one hope they do learn well!

APPL launches try before you buy apps http://awe.sm/596JA Would be better if it didn't just contain Lite apps. Fully leaded apps later? - I think this is a great idea. Allowing people to have a play with applications prior to them having to pay after you find out they are worthwhile. Unfortunatly the Apple implementation of this is not that great. The ‘Try Before You Buy’ section of the app store only contains Lite versions of applications. These are already freely available elsewhere in the app store so I still cannot see if the advanced features are worth paying for. Maybe in the future the fully leaded or complete apps will be available as try before you buy. Would be a good idea. Maybe Google will come up with a proper implementation of this first ;-). Wow here’s a thought maybe Ovi will! Would actually be a good idea for them to do this as well ;-)

Interesting blog about the longevity of the App store. Can they continually run at a loss? http://awe.sm/596PN Or are they a loss leader - this blog was inspired by the Nokia Developer Event as well. It is questioned how long the various developer portals can all co-exist especially when they are effectively run at a great loss. The thing is though developer access to tools to create applications for devices forms only one part of the smart phone device ecosystem. By far the largest part of the eco-system is the consumers. Lets face it the volume of consumers dwarfs the volume of developers. With the success of app stores it is clear that consumers like the vast choice of applications and new functionality that they can personalise their phones with. Sure there are a core set of applications that everyone goes for, but there are always new trending applications that people flock to. The core set of applications also greatly varies dependant on different demographics of users. Thus great application choice is, in my view, still a key driver to sales of handsets. Consequently the fact that developer relations, tools and market places cost money is just a fact of life. To create an ecosystem where you can allow developers to create and consumers to consume, costs money. If one is run as a loss leader to support volumes of sales in the other then there is no issue to run at a loss. Of course it’s a risk for Nokia to spend money in this area, however I think it is a far bigger risk not to. If you build the right tools, and perhaps Nokia can, then developers will use them. It’s all about distribution. Even if a tenth of the developers who develop for Apple start developing for Nokia this is a great result. Also just because there are two strong app stores currently does not mean there is enough competition. Mobile needs a strong Nokia and many other strong mobile developer eco-systems in order to fuel even more creativity for consumers.

250,000 apps so how do I get notcied!? Imagine if you were an author? 130 million books to choose from! http://awe.sm/596Y0 - This is interesting. So Apple has about 250K applications in its App Store and developers are wondering how they can get traction with respect to Customers seeing there application. Well imagine what it is like if you an author in a market that already has 130 million pieces of content to choose from! OK so not all 130 million books are in print but there are still a vast amount to choose from! Do you think we will start seeing second hand mobile app markets? Unlikely! The thing is, to be noticed you have to market. There are many ways to do this but you cannot rely on your app store of choice to do your marketing for you! Authors don’t expect libraries to do their marketing!

If you use Google Reader and have an Android phone try out the 'Talking RSS Reader' app. not perfect but still very cool! – I love this application. It will talk you through all of the unread items in your Google Reader account. OK the voice is not perfect but it’s pretty damned good! Also why I love the Android Market place. The innovation of some of the apps is just brilliant. I don’t use this everyday as I find reading easier in the long run, but when the text to speech analysis gets better and better I could see myself switching. Who knows your work commute radio station could be created by you with your Google Reader content ;-)

RT @malclocke How facebook engineering team have scaled up to 500 million users http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=409881258919 – I love reading about massive scalability of popular web services. Having to deal with 500 million users? Thank you very much! Although this does not really delve into any technical implementations it does highlight some very interesting processes i.e. deploying small upgrades individually and measuring if they work as well as the developer being responsible throughout the whole process. I love the fact that 3 people are responsible for the photos services on Facebook. A great site, that this was also reported on, for case studies and tips about massive scalability is http://highscalability.com/ Worth reading!

RT @feebeyer "How Google Can Take It To Facebook: Location" http://bit.ly/ax4dvQ (via @MobileHank ) -> Not sure I agree. - When I first read this I thought that I did not agree, however with further thought, Google really does have some great resources to make Location a differentiator. Google Maps yes, but even more so Android, which is shipping on an ever increasing number of devices. Combine maps and a device that knows where you are and the possibilities really become endless, whether that be for sharing purposes or for personal LBS services. I still firmly believe that location context firmly impacts the decision making process and being able to track this is of great value to the individual, as well as your social network. Not only knowing when a decision was made, but where can be of great power. How? That is firmly up to the individual to decide really, but providing tools to be able to manage this is a big first step.

Don't forget to signup for @overtheair http://overtheair2010.eventbrite.com Sept 10/11. Won't be able to make this one unfortunately :-( - Having a look at the Nokia Developer Summit (in London) registration costs over 500 Euro to attend! What? The Over The Air conference is free and there will probably be more developers there than marketers! Read into that what you will ;-) I missed last years one and regrettably I will miss this years one as well due to another commitment I cannot get out of. Will follow progress on twitter though!

Gowalla opens check in API http://awe.sm/59DW5 - "aspires to connect real people with real places." - I am a huge fan of the check in services Gowalla and Facebook. I use both of them but in different ways. Might save this for another blog entry at a later date. For these services to open up there API’s to allow other applications to check in is great. Gowalla want to distinguish themselves from the likes of foursquare by being fairer, i.e. you actually have to be in the location to check in at it. This I like as well, after watching the foursquare cheats! Here I am not pointing the finger at anyone in particular that might be checking in to locations in the UK when they are in Germany. Opening up a check in API is great as well as this gives application access to all of Gowalla’s users as opposed to having to generate a user base by yourself. Good for an application developer and also good for Gowalla as it distributes there service further. I am very tempted to start an idea we had 4 years ago against Gowalla now. Trouble is I need probably 2 developers to do it! Anyone have any good outsourcing options! ;-)

RT @highscalability NoSQL on the Microsoft Platform: NoSQL is a trend that is gaining steam primarily in ... http://bit.ly/9b2XIH - I like the concept of NoSQL in providing massivly distributed data sets allowing massively distributed services run out to millions upon millions of users. Another story on http://highscalability.com/. Seriously there are some great ideas on this web site about how the huge services have defined their architectures. There is so much to be learnt on this site. I don’t get back to it enough!

RT @MobileCrunch First Android Trojan Sends SMS Messages to "Premium Numbers" http://is.gd/ebwRp - this is a really bad instance of hacking on the AQndroid platform and such an obvious thing to do as a scam. It's times like these when the Apple review of submitted applications comes into its own. Is the Android platform shaping up to be the PC of the mobile world that is attacked by dodgy applications here there and everywhere. I certainly hope not! In this case resulting in charges being made against a Customer account. This is so trivially easy to do as well as there is no Customer verification required to send the odd premium SMS once in a while. Will Carrier Customer service ensure Customers are not liable to have to pay for this kind of attack. Not sure what the legal ramifications would be in this case? I think a hole can of worms is being opening round about now!

That’s it for this half week! More by the end of the week if I get time! I might not make it this end of week though! Lets see ;-)

Have fun and cheers

M