MobileBizBuzz

March 24, 2010

SRSLY- W@ wr u smokn?

Filed under: Mobile App Dev,Mobile Apps,Mobile Devices — Tags: , , — Chris @ 7:58 am

asotv_main200It amazes me to see so many poorly designed apps.  OK, so maybe “poorly designed” isn’t the right phrase.  How about saying, ”It amazes me to see so many full featured and cool apps that don’t take into consideration the unique strengths, and inherent limitations, of the mobile platform.”  Better?  No?  Let me be clear - for any budding app developers or product managers out there, let me offer up some advice:

Mobile App ≠ Web App

It’s not the same platform and the web rules do not apply.  Functionality, core content, ad placement, ease of use, screen real estate, etc. between a web app and mobile app must be reconciled to some extent.  That doesn’t mean that any web app’s functionality should be curtailed to match the mobile app.  I think Alexandre Mars, CEO of Phonevalley and head of mobile at Publicis Groupe, said it best:  ’When approaching mobile, “you need to forget your web education.’ 

So what’s up with the post heading?  Read this article from MediaPost’s Online Media Daily for a classic quote (you’ll know it when you see it):  http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=124450&nid=112354

March 1, 2010

How cell phones will change the world – CNN SciTechBlog

Filed under: Industry News,Mobile Apps,Mobile Devices — Chris @ 12:33 pm

Living and working in the high-tech mobility eco-system, we get to see and work with the latest technologies and applications. Some of the concepts we are working on today, both internally and with our clients, take mobility to a higher level in terms of usability, utility and even the desired ’coolness factor’. 

At the same time, we must remember that the latest in high-tech isn’t required to provide value. As John D. Sutter points out via an interview with Tero Ojanpera, a senior vice-president at Nokia, there is great utility in the simplest of apps. Interestingly, the interview ends with Ojanpera exclaiming the details of an upcoming high-tech mobile app that will “blow your mind”! 

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/11/ted-2010-how-cell-phones-will-change-the-world/

February 10, 2010

Mobile Market Changes

Filed under: Mobile App Dev,Mobile Devices — Tags: , — Chris @ 9:23 am

Well, it’s been a while since I posted, but that’s not because nothing has been going on in the mobile world (was that a double or triple negative?). There continue to be changes in device popularity and availability which is having an impact on the smartphone market. For instance, back in September of last year Android was just beginning to gain traction with a couple of Android phones and about 8,000 applications in the Android Market.  The only mobile device Apple made was the iPhone.  And most of us would not have had a clue as to what AT&T and Verizon’s 3G coverage maps looked like.

Today there are about 25,000 apps in the Android Market, and there are several Android phones available, including one from Google itself. Apple just recently announced the iPad (insert your favorite product name joke here), which is truly a mobile device. It’s relatively small and light, and supports not just WiFi, but also cellular data connections. And we are all probably sick of seeing the coverage map wars between AT&T and Verizon, though some of the commercials have been pretty creative.

smartphone_1209As the industry continues to evolve, it would be a good idea to remember that the more things stay the same, the more they change. Actually I think the phrase goes the other way around, but stating it this way suits my purposes for this post. ComScore just recently released a report showing the US smartphone marketshare by operating system. Ars Technica was kind enough to put together the chart you see to the left.

There are several things about this chart that are interesting. Two items come to mind with regards to the iPhone. First of all, we all have come to accept that Apple is a huge player in the mobile market. The thing I think that bears remembering is that three years ago the iPhone had just been announced, but had not yet appeared in the market. That wouldn’t even happen till the end of June in 2007. Now look at it. Three years later and it has 25% market share for smartphones in the US.

The second item about the iPhone that is interesting is that even for all of it’s success, it is still dwarfed by BlackBerry (RIM for those of you in the industry). BlackBerry is still king, and though it has lost some ground to other players, Apple still has a long way to go to catch them.  For people developing software, this is an important point. Apple has gotten a ton of traction in the application world, but developing a great app for BlackBerry opens up a huge market to developers.

The third item I wanted to point out in this chart was Android. Listed in the chart as Google (because they are the force behind Android), it has made amazing strides since September. For the better part of a calendar year, there was only one Android phone available. It was the G1. It was available only on T-Mobile, and let’s face it…the phone wasn’t very good. Now several big players such as HTC and Motorola have multiple Android phones, and Google even has one. As a result of this push, Android market share has doubled in just 4 months. I’ll go out on a limb and say you should look for this to continue.

I hadn’t posted in several months before today. And look at what has happened in the market in that time. It’s only going to continue to accelerate. So strap on your helmet, and fasten your seat belt. It’s going to continue to be a wild ride.

September 2, 2009

Another App Store?

Filed under: Mobile App Dev,Mobile Apps — Tags: , — Chris @ 8:40 am

According to a press release yesterday, Microsoft has finally driven a stake in the ground and will be delivering new phones with Windows Mobile 6.5, as well as the Windows Mobilewinmo-65Marketplace on October 6th.  Windows Mobile 6.5 is the newest version of the Windows operating systems for smartphones and related devices that has been promised since very early this year.

If you take a look at what Microsoft is doing with this launch, it is pretty aggressive.  In North America alone, it will be released on the 3 largest carriers in the US, along with about half a dozen device manufacturers.  Pretty impressive, and definitely a non-trivial undertaking.  But probably the most interesting thing coming in the announcement is the launch of the new Windows Mobile Marketplace.

It’s hard to realize that with almost 65,000 titles online today, Apple just launched the App Store a year ago July.  That’s right.  It’s only been a year, and now all new devices are being judged as to whether or not they have a good app store.  One of the few criticisms I continually read about the Palm Pre is that there are very few applications for it.  I say that not to throw rocks at Palm, but to illustrate how much the market now demands applications for smart phones.

What makes Windows Mobile Marketplace so interesting is that Microsoft has a ready made set of applications for Windows Mobile devices already.  Estimates put the number of Windows Mobile applications at about 20,000.  More interesting is the fact many of these applications run on more rugged devices from Intermec and Symbol.  By definition many of the applications are business oriented vs. consumer oriented.  The App Store is extremely consumer oriented.  It will be interesting to see how Microsoft’s entry into the environment changes things.  I think they may have enough critical mass to swing the pendulum at least somewhat toward business applications.

July 27, 2009

My PC is More Mobile Than Yours

Filed under: Mobile Devices,Mobile in SMB — Tags: , , , , , — Chris @ 10:22 am

iphoneI met with the owner of a restaurant last Thursday and had something completely unexpected happen.  The gentleman I met with has been in the restaurant business for quite some time, starting out with Subway, then rolling out his own pizza franchise concept, and now finally launching his own pizzeria.  I was there to do a little research for the product side of our business.  We talked for about an hour about several ways mobile technology could assist him in the operation of his restaurant, and also how it could help him be more in tune with his customers.

The discussion was very helpful to me, and I believe to him as well.  However, about midway through our discussion something completely unexpected happened.  This gentleman held up his iPhone that had been sitting on the table next to him throughout our discussion.  As he held it up he declared “This is my PC.”  His point was that he was not in the restaurant all the time, and he used his iPhone as not only the mechanism to help keep him in tune with what was going on his his restaurant, but also to help him access other information, make calls, visit web sites etc.  In every way, this little “phone” had become his primary computing device.

I have made mention of this trend in other previous posts, but in this case I got anecdotal confirmation straight from the horses mouth without any prompting from me.  This is not an advertisement for the iPhone, though it is a very slick device.  I am sure if asked others would say the same thing about their Windows Mobile device, or their BlackBerry, or maybe even the Pre now.  The point is that in fact, our phones are becoming much more than phones.  They are in many instances taking the place of our PC’s in the real world.

June 12, 2009

Smartphone Shootout

Filed under: Industry News,Mobile App Dev,Mobile Apps,Mobile Devices — Tags: , , , , , , — Chris @ 11:43 am

pre-and-iphoneWell, it’s finally here.  Palm launched the Pre last Saturday, and they are now finally in direct competition with Apple and the iPhone.  So which one’s better?  For me, I think the verdict is still out.

By now, unless you live under a rock somewhere, I’m sure you know how successful the iPhone has been.  They have sold millions of devices in the two years the phone has been out, and users have downloaded over 1 billion applications in the year since the App Store was available.  Apple also broke a lot of long standing rules in the cellular industry by having the phone activated through iTunes instead of directly with AT&T, and also by funneling users through iTunes for content instead of through AT&T.  The iPhone was also ground breaking in that it introduced the concept of using gestures via a touch screen to interact with the device.  What they have accomplished is truly amazing.

Don’t count out Palm just yet.  Palm has traditionally been very strong with “prosumers”.  This is a term they coined to talk about their sweet spot in terms of users.  The demographic Palm originally catered to with the Treo was professional people who purchased their own devices and used it both for work and personal purposes.  Add to that the fact that they pioneered the whole smartphone segment 5 years ago, and you have a pretty accomplished competitor for Apple.  The new Pre has a slick little physical keyboard, a very nice touch screen, and a gesture base user interface.  Sprint says the Pre broke all of their sales records for new devices.  Sounds kind of like the iPhone, doesn’t it?

I think the real battle is still to come.  WebOS has some very interesting capabilities with it’s application platform.  It allows applications to integrate with the web, on device information, and across applications.  Of course there aren’t many applications on the device yet.  It will be interesting to see what developers come up with on the Pre.  Part of what has made the iPhone successful is the slew of applications that have been introduced by developers outside of Apple.  I’ll be curious to see how many, and what types of applications get introduced for the Pre.

April 23, 2009

Apple App Store Hits 1 Billion Downloads!

Filed under: Mobile Apps — Tags: , , — Chris @ 3:15 pm

iphone-app-storeThat’s right, about 20 minutes ago Apple’s App Store crossed an amazing threshold.  They have now had over 1 billion applications downloaded in their first nine months of existence.  This is a phenomenal feat for any company, even one with the marketing prowess of Apple.  While mobile applications have been in existence for well over a decade, nobody else has generated the interest in applications that Apple and the iPhone have.

If you want a little more information on them reaching the 1 billion mark, check out this web site.  There are links on that page for the top 20 paid apps, and the top 20 free apps of all time.  Some of the ones that made the list are almost as amazing as the record itself.  Hang on tight now.  This whole “application thing” is just getting started.  Congratulations, Apple!

April 9, 2009

What’s a Dell To Do?

Filed under: Industry News,Mobile Devices — Tags: , , , — Chris @ 1:54 pm

PalmDellLogoRumors have long circulated that Dell would be entering the smartphone market. As far as rumors go, that one seems believable. After all, they’ve gone from making personal computers out of a garage to becoming a massive manufacturer/distributor of desktop computers, laptops/notebooks, netbooks, monitors, servers, storage component, etc. They even had a (not so well receivied PDA, the Axim, in 2007). Why not get in the smartphone market now?

Well, it sounds like they have been trying to do just that. Unfortunately, the prototypes they’ve been shopping around seem to have been, well, boring. In other words, no iPhone killers. In fact, the only rumored iPhone killer that anyone is even talking about is Palm’s new Pre. So what’s a Dell to do? Wait…I have an idea! Dell should buy Palm! While that move wouldn’t guarantee Dell’s success, some analysts think it is a good idea. In fact, it may be the only reasonable way for Dell to enter the market this late in the game. Regardless, if Dell is serious about jumping in, they have one heck of a hill to climb.

What do you think? Should Dell go it alone or should they buy Palm? Here’s some more information to help you craft your thoughts:

palmdelllogoxsmallMichael Dell hints at smartphones, mobile Internet devices – InfoWorld
palmdelllogoxsmallDell’s iPhone Killer rejected by carriers as too dull – AppleInsider
palmdelllogoxsmallMore details on Dell’s supposed smartphone – CNet
palmdelllogoxsmallA Dell Smartphone Would Face Big Hurdles – Business Week
palmdelllogoxsmallPalm Pre a Bump in Dell’s Smartphone Road? – Pre Central
palmdelllogoxsmallHandoff: Why Dell Needs to Buy Palm Now – Fast Company

March 16, 2009

Carrier Based App Store

Filed under: McGuire's Law,Mobile Apps — Tags: , , , — Chris @ 11:10 am

Telstra, an Australian carrier, recently announced their intent to launch the app store concept for their subscriber base.  Russ McGuire provided a link to an article over at GigaOM on this topic.  The article is worth a quick read, but I think the comments are even more interesting.  Basically the comments reflect people mulling over what is really different in this announcement than what happens already.

In today’s world most, if not all, carriers have a web store that allows their users to download content.  This includes ring tones, wallpaper, music, video, and applications (generally games).  A user purchases the content through the carrier storefront, and they are billed for that content by the carrier.  I too am not sure what is really different here.  It seems to me Telstra is simply trying to capitalize on the buzz surrounding app stores right now.  There certainly isn’t anything wrong with this, but I don’t see it as a game changer in any way.

What we are witnessing right now is a huge rush for many companies to take advantage of Apple’s success with their App Store.  Basically all of the device manufacturers are jumping in.  In the case of Android and Microsoft, the organizations responsible for the operating systems are jumping in as well.  This is good in that folks will now be able to find applications for their devices.  This will help the shift to devices becoming more than just phones.

I expect we will see more carriers ride the wave in the near term.  I would if I were them.  However, consolidation will come. It has too.  I’d be curious what others think about this.

March 2, 2009

WinMo & RIM Hit 50MM in Device Sales

Filed under: Industry News,Mobile Devices — Tags: , , — Chris @ 10:44 am

SourceL Tjeerd

At the recent World Mobile Congress, Microsoft rather quietly announced that the company has sold more than 50MM Windows Mobile devices (the operating system) over it’s 10 year lifetime.  RIM also recently announced achieving a 50MM in BlackBerry device sales milestone over the same 10 year timeframe.

In comparison, Apple has sold a total of 17MM iPhone as of January 2009. But to put that in perspective, the milestone was achieved in only two years. Projections for iPhone sales have been trending downward for the past several months, but (depending on the source) could still go as high as 30MM units in 2009.

Can it be possible that the iPhone can reach the same 50MM milestone in less than 3 years? The smartphone market is only now becoming mainstream, and overall sales have been increasing around 40% a year. This opens the field for hundreds of millions of new smartphone sales, from iPhone, WinMo, RIM, Palm, Android, etc., etc.

In fact, the third largest phone maker in the world, LG, which sells about 20x times as many handsets a day as iPhone, has just signed a deal with Microsoft to put Windows Mobile on 50 LG phones over the next 5 years. I have to believe that’s going to have a big boost for WinMo. And whatever you do, don’t forget about the new Pre – now scheduled for a May-June launch.

These sales milestones are impressive, but they will pale in comparison to what the next couple of years brings.

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