Blog » Mobile

The Red-Hot Smartphone Market Gets Hotter, in 3D!

Kate — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:43:54 +0000

I know, not more on 3D right? Well, it goes in conjunction with our post from last week on the ever-expanding number of smartphone options, and the need for handset manufactures to separate themselves from the pack by offering new products that are easy to use – preferably ones that work seamlessly with the devices we already know and love.

It looks like we were right on the money about the growing demand for smart(er)phones. According to a post over at FierceMobile Content, the smartphone surge shows no signs of slowing. Global shipments of smartphones increased by almost half in the second quarter, proving that the latest batch of handhelds is indeed “the hottest sector in mobile.” The one down-note (if you can call it that) of this whole scenario may be that, as this post puts it, “the smartphone industry is starting to feel the effects of intensifying competition.” Manufacturers are scrambling to offer new features and carve out a special place for their devices in this volatile market, which is all the more reason to create new and innovative user experiences.That’s usually a good thing for consumers.

So, how will the hottest sector in mobile make itself even hotter? Say it with me now… 3D! That’s right, we’ve talked about 3D TV in your living room and prepping for a 3D future that includes TV and gaming devices. Now its time to consider an even more exciting proposition…… 3D on your smartphone. Some are now saying that the era of 3D cell phones might be closer than we think. And who can blame them? When you combine the public’s ferocious interest in 3D with the incentive to innovate among smartphone manufacturers, you get a perfect storm that just might deliver 3D mobile devices sooner rather than later.

And no, you won’t have to wear those stupid glasses. The iTV Doctor’s article we looked at a few weeks ago confirms that a smaller screen actually makes it easier to achieve vivid 3D effects—minus the headgear.

Do you 3D mobile devices are just around the corner? How would you use this technology to connect with your friends? Is this going too far

World Cup was a Mobile TV Success, Will Music Videos be Next?

Kate — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:34:33 +0000

Last month, we talked about a ton of cool ways to view the World Cup on any screen. This year’s festivities really took advantage of some serious advances in technology and communication—especially when it came to mobile devices that allowed fans to watch matches whenever and wherever they wanted.

We were pretty impressed with the amount of mobile coverage (and user interest!) this worldwide event inspired, and so was the team over at Fierce Mobile Content. They outlined the World Cup’s mobile TV footprint in a post last week, showcasing some very solid numbers in the process.

Here are just a few of the details:

ESPN’s mobile coverage reached 1 million unique viewers during the tournament and registered 93 million total minutes of viewing over the 31 days of the tournament
MobiTV streamed 108,291,096 World Cup minutes
73% of all FLO TV viewers between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm EST on June 26 were tuned in to the U.S. loss to Ghana
FLO TV’s total usage minutes grew 34% in June over May, with close to one in five subscribers tuning in for more than an hour each viewing day

Toward the end of post, though, they raise good question: what’s next for mobile TV? Does it take a large and endlessly hyped event like the World Cup to motivate mobile TV viewing?

The numbers don’t lie, but I think this momentum can definitely build on itself—no spectacle necessary. As more and more companies see the numbers that mobile TV can deliver, more and more content will become available (great news for those of us who like our TV on our schedule and on the go).

One company that’s taking the lead is music video distributor Vevo, which just announced plans to expand its web-based service to any and all of your favorite screens, mobile devices included. Vevo has iPhone, iPad, and Android apps in the works, and plans to roll out Video On Demand cable services in the near future.

According to a Vevo CEO, their overall mission is to “put more content in more places,” which means more options and easier access for the user. It sounds like this is one company that’s really embraced the multiplatform gospel. Here’s to hoping that others follow suit. Do you think music videos can make a splash in mobile TV? Will the World Cup’s success spill over into other types of content?

The Army of Smartphones is Growing

Kate — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:07:38 +0000

Financial Times posted an interesting article last week about the war that’s currently raging among smart phone makers. Mobile devices are getting stronger and more diverse by the day, but which company will come out on top? With Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, Google and others crowding the market, the business world is hard at work trying to place bets on a winner. Here’s a little bit of what FT had to say on the subject:

“Amid this upheaval, a familiar battleground is re-emerging…Apple is reprising its role as the high-end, beauty-is-truth contender while Microsoft’s part is, unfortunately for Microsoft, being taken by Android.”

It’s not news to hear that Apple is – yet again – locking horns with a large and powerful competitor…it’s the way of the world. I won’t pretend to know which of these giants will win at the end of the day (or at all), but I will say that the prize will probably go to whichever company creates the easiest and most appealing user experience. It’s easy to get lost in analyzing the business side of the mobile market, but it’s ultimately the users who have the power to make or break the latest smart phones, and we want devices that fit into our lives!

“In the most compelling devices, software and services have been integrated with hardware to form a whole… But the rapid ascent of Android, which now powers devices from the Verizon Droid to Samsung’s new Galaxy S, shows the power of software.”

This is an interesting point. Android has become successful by making software its major concern, especially with Google’s new App Inventor.
But let’s not forget that hardware and software are both important, because they both contribute to making a device easy to use. With so many choices out there, when it comes to mobile devices, the decision to buy really comes down to the handheld that the user feels most comfortable with. This means a smartphone with inviting hardware and engaging software, not one or the other.

“The gatekeepers in the mobile world – operators that subsidise and sell handsets – have a vested interest in diversity”

If service carriers want to compete in the ever-changing mobile world, it’s true that they have to offer a wide variety of handhelds that allow users to accomplish a wide variety of tasks. But with so much competition, these operators will constantly be looking for ways to separate themselves from the pack.

And that doesn’t mean that application providers are off the hook. They need to provide solutions that work on at least two or three OSs, and this can be a challenge – to make sure you’re on the winning platforms and that you can strongly fight for visibility on those platforms.

I’d say they should develop products that focus on delivering what the user wants rather than the offerings of other manufacturers or operators. The device that will really win out is the one that fits best into peoples’ lives and creates an experience that’s easy and seamless. More than a brand name or a handheld with complex bells and whistles, potential customers want a device that satisfying user experience.

What features do you most want to see in a smartphone?

Post Holiday News Round up

Kate — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:29:29 +0000

Catching up on the RSS feeds after the long weekend. Here’s what we found:

Global Future of TV to be Shaped by Twitter and Facebook (Utalk, 2 July) Facebook and Twitter are fighting for key roles in the worldwide television market, particularly TV advertising and pay-TV, as Internet-connected television makes TV into a social medium, says a new report from research company Futurescape.

Apple TV 2 Rumor (IPTV News, 6 July) What do you think the next round of Apple TV should include?

USA.gov includes mobile app store (FierceWireless, 6 July) The Obama administration relaunched the USA.gov website, introducing 18 free mobile applications spanning a host of federal bureaus and initiatives.

73% of Global Population Owns a Mobile (GoMo, 6 July) …the global mobile penetration rate will have reached 73 per cent during Q2 2010. That’s one hell of a market for mobile apps.

More Smartphone Users Using Local Search and Social Networking (WebProNews, 6 July) More people are increasingly using their smartphones for local search, social networking and gaming, according to a new survey from Compete.

Weekly News Roundup

Kate — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:29:44 +0000

Here’s what we were reading this week…..

ESPN’s World Cup content yields 8 million mobile views (FierceWireless, 14 June)

Interactive TV Trivia Challenge (ITVT, 17 June) Fun trivia questions!

Is TV the Next Domino To Fall? (Connected Planet, 17 June)

TV Widgets to Generate Over $1.7B by 2013 (IPTV News, 17 June)

Top 20 Mobile Phones in the US (WebProNews, 18 June)

Mobile Phone Gathering Outlines Successful Projects (MediaShift Idea Lab, 18 June)

More Evidence of Device Multi-tasking: Remote Controls

Kate — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:09:10 +0000

Last week we talked about being able to perform one action on multiple devices (which we talk about a lot here). Well, Monday morning reading shoves an example of being able to perform multiple actions on one device in my face.

Agora Media reported on a new generation of remote controls that allows you to simply install an app on your smartphone, and be able to control your TV in various ways – essentially it’s a new age remote control with current and future capabilities that put regular remote controls to shame.

One of the more interesting pieces of insight was the following:

“The Boxee iPhone app provides a ‘pointer’ mechanism, in that you can track your finger across the iPhone screen and it will direct the movement of a spot cursor on your TV. A nice gimmick you say and perhaps you are right, however one of the main reasons why these companies developed and launched these remote control apps is because it provided an easier way to input text into the search function or sign up function on the TV….have you ever tried to type in a long phrase, or your email address using just the remote control…?!”

This development is clearly a move in a direction that would support Social TV much better. One of the complaints so far on current technology is the clumsiness of being able to type on your remote control. For Interactive TV to work, the way people accomplish the interaction – in this case, the remote – needs to be sufficient. Up until now, I’m not sure we could say it has been. For years, companies have tried to develop solutions that have ultimately failed, or, at the very least, come far short. Among these are on-screen keyboards, wireless keyboards and all sorts of steroid-injected remote controls.

With this new suite off apps and device capabilities, the usability of many of these applications is smooth and seamless. More importantly, the implications for Social TV are endless (check out Agora Media’s thorough rundown on their post). It looks like the industry is finally tying in devices that people are comfortable with – not just for holding in their hand and typing in front of the TV, but also for multi-tasking.

I feel like a broken record, but here we have more evidence of people wanting to perform either multiple actions on one device, or have one device perform multiple actions.

And when it gets down to it, it’s not about what actions you can perform on what device. It’s about the way peoples’ lives are shifting, what they’re trying to accomplish in a world of new technology. And it’s really great to see that some companies are embracing that and trying to provide solutions to all of these voracious consumers…..

Cellphones: Used for Data more than Calls

Kate — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:05:31 +0000

Looks like it’s an NYT week around here. Another good article on how cellphones are being used now, but not for calling. A few stats:

For example, although almost 90 percent of households in the United States now have a cellphone, the growth in voice minutes used by consumers has stagnated, according to government and industry data.

And then:

The number of text messages sent per user increased by nearly 50 percent nationwide last year, according to the CTIA, the wireless industry association. And for the first time in the United States, the amount of data in text, e-mail messages, streaming video, music and other services on mobile devices in 2009 surpassed the amount of voice data in cellphone calls, industry executives and analysts say.

It’s definitely worth a nice Friday read: “Cellphones Now Used More for Data Than for Calls“

Wannabees

Gene — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:56:28 +0000

Photo Credit: SEO Consultants

From the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Main Entry: wan·na·be

Variant(s): also wan·na·bee \ˈwä-nə-ˌbē\

Function: noun

Etymology: from the phrase want to be

Date: 1981

1 : a person who wants or aspires to be someone or something else or who tries to look or act like someone else
2 : something (as a company, city, or product) intended to rival another of its kind that has been successful

Since the beginning of time, there have been and always will be ‘wannabees’ in every facet of society. The technology industry is no different and it could be said they are prevalent in hi-tech.

Two prominent examples come to mind quickly , one in the video sector, the other in the communications sector Communications: Text’ing applications for portable electronic devices such as iPod Touches, iPad’s and Smartphones.

Video Wannabee – “Upconverting” DVD’s masquerading as HD

The upconverting DVD players that claim they can play ordinary DVD’s in HD(High Definition). In storage capacity terms, DVD’s hold approximately 4.7GB, whereas Blu-ray discs hold up to 25GB, over 5x the amount of a standard DVD. HD requires more storage because it has more data.

You cannot derive HD resolution, depth, and audio encoding from a disc that does not contain the HD video and audio data. These ‘upconverting’ DVD players remove interlacing, smooth edges and perform a technique referred to in the video/graphics industry as “smudging” that makes ordinary DVD’s appear better than standard definition(SD) on an HDTV.

Communication Wannabees – “Text’ing” Apps for iPod Touches/iPad’s/ Smartphones which are really Glorified Email apps

There are lots of so called Text’ing applications/services that are available for iPod Touches, iPads and smartphones that operate over IP via Wi-Fi. They are laudable for their promotion of SMS, but, they are ‘wannabees’ as they do not embody the original core function of SMS:

Enabling quick and simple messaging between two people who have a unique open global identity associated with their mobile device anytime and anywhere.

The key characteristics are:

unique (only one such identity)
open (non-proprietary and not a private community)
global (addressable from anywhere in the world)

Look under the covers of virtually every one of these so called text’ing apps, one finds they are nothing more than glorified email services pretending to be SMS. They’re private and closed, you can’t receive a message until you send one. Many identify the user with an address in the form of ‘name@xyz.com’ where people can send “text messages” to them using the app. If someone that isn’t running the same app, they must use their email client on their device (PC, PDA, mobile phone, etc.) to send a message to the person. That doesn’t look or feel like SMS text’ing to me.

If you have to use email to send or receive so called ‘text messages’, regardless of whether it’s apparent on the surface or not, it isn’t SMS and never will be.

How did Merriam-Webster define ‘Wannabee’? something (as a company, city, or product) intended to rival another of its kind that has been successful; especially : one for which hopes have failed or are likely to fail.

News Round up of the Week

Kate — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:34:38 +0000

Another good batch of news for this week….

2010 Digital Election attracts a new generation of voters (GoMoNews, 5 May 2010): Social participation and the British Elections.

Taking “Unlimited” to the max with the iPad/AT&T torture test (MobileCcrunch, 5 May 2010): How far is AT&T willing to let you go with ‘unlimited’ plans?

Social TV – Time for some answers (Agora Media, 4 May 2010): How does the consumer come into the equation of Social TV?

The Future of TV is….TV (Blog Maverick, 3 May 2010): Mark Cuban claims consumers don’t want over-the-top video, but instead want to watch cable TV and VOD on their new, shiny HDTVs

….. and then NewTeeVee’s response – The Future of TV: 5 Lessons From Mark Cuban (NewTeeVee, 4 May 2010)

….. and then Mark’s response written to NewTeeVee – The Future of TV: Why NewTeeVee is Wrong (NewTeeVee, 4 May 2010).

Mobile Device User Input and Interacting with Data

Kate — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:05:46 +0000

Over on Fierce Wireless, Ramon T Llamas wrote a great piece about how people input data on mobile phones nowadays (“IDC: The future of mobile device input,” 3 May 2010). He spoke about the shift from alphanumeric keypads to the inclusion of Qwerty or SureType keypads on current mobile phones, and how this shift has both affected and has been affected by the way people are communicating.

While highlighting the increase in the number of Qwerty keypads and touchscreens, he brings up several good points. Firstly, people want data. They want to do everything on their phones.

Secondly, and more interestingly, it indicates that people want to interact with that data. They don’t just want to consume and read.
“Users become more attuned to how well they can navigate through the screens and applications as a result, making for an overall efficient process. Anyone with a Qwerty or touchscreen-enabled device today would be hard pressed to move to an alphanumeric one.”

While he takes a few moments to defend those who may want just the simplest form of connection – a phone call – he concludes that there will be an increase in the number of phones shipped with both Qwerty and touchscreen:
“If we revisit the data points mentioned earlier to determine the proportion of devices offering both Qwerty and touchscreen input, only 5.1 percent of all mobile phones shipped featured both in 2008. Of those, most of them were for smartphones. One year later, that number more than doubled to 10.4 percent, and this time the majority went to feature phones.”

This ultimately allows for a much more interactive experience all-around, which will keep the users coming.

While this technology may not be the wave of the future, it will still take its rightful place in the device line-up for those who do want a faster, easier way to interact with the large amounts of data they have coming at them each day. It will make these people more social, and more able to not only interact with data, but also communicate with the people around them, bringing about a truly social experience that allows for information-sharing, collaboration and connections.