Interesting new info from Gartner, with some major implications. For clients thinking about mobile launches, I think this means the focus may shift to cross-device compatible mobile websites, iOS apps, and importantly, Android Apps. When considering a global client, Nokia may be a consideration, but those platforms under considerations should be restricted to the Windows Phone platform, recently adopted by Nokia. Simbian, RIM are lagging.
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Tag: Android
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Gartner Reports Android Up and Coming Fast…
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Mobile Video Calling Can’t Survive Fragmentation
Every day there seems to be a new mobile video conferencing service popping up. Fring, ooVoo, Skype, Facetime, and so on. They’re each great in their own respect, and each have their own great features – FaceTime works natively on iPhone 4, ooVoo for Android has six way video chat, and Skype has a huge installed base. However, none of these services have really helped bring widespread mobile video conferencing into mass use. Sure, lots of people have capable handsets, but I don’t believe they actually use it.The problem is platform fragmentation.
Spring and Fring get a huge product placement in last week's episode of Fringe, on FOX. Click for video. -
Roll your own iPhone Application
(Image from Smashing Magazine) Lately there have been a couple new websites and services which allow users to “roll their own” iPhone and mobile applications. Sites like ShoutEm, AppMakr and iSites all take your content feed, and re-present it in a custom designed iPhone, Android, or general mobile app.
Most roll-your-own app makers charge a small fee, and import an RSS feed into a custom branded, multi platform application. Additionally, some apps are even allowing users to custom create social networks, complete with location awareness.
This is a great indicator of the important that mobile apps have gained. IN terms of branded applications (opposed to utility apps, games, etc) now, not only do large companies have apps, but smaller business, including even individual bloggers can have their own. Especially since location based services like Foursquare have gotten so popular lately, custom apps that can latch onto these existing networks could be destined to engage their niche, target audience.
Interesting custom mobile app sites I’ve found include:
- SocialLight = “The simple way to connect with people through space and place.”
- Shout’Em – “Roll your own Mobile and Location Based Social Network” (Shout’Em and Social Light on ReadWriteWeb)
- App Makr – “Mobilize your Brand” (AppMakr on Crunch Gear)
- iSites – “Reach Generation Wireless” (iSites on Mashable)
On a similar note, Agata just wrote about smartphone wardrobe and beauty applications – a great target utility for mobile!
Update – Seems like apple has started cracking down on the most basic do it yourself iPhone applications.
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Open Networks, Open Standards – the critical next step
Broitman, I think you’re right on with giving Google the openness award. Your importance of being open article is spot on, but I just wanted to step back a bit to how they got to this new openness.Google has to free up technologies that can have the most impact in an open environment. Technologies like cellular networks and broad-area wireless coverage, such as the 700mhz networks they helped to free, are the pathway to the future. Additionally, I agree that the opening up of the social networking standards, cell phone platforms, music formats, etc, is all the way of the future. In fact, the very industries that built up these technologies will die without openness.
However, we didn’t get to this point easily, and we definitely could not have gotten here without initially constructing closed, proprietary systems. In fact, I’m all for closed systems and technology, at least for the beginning stages of growth and adoption. When a company develops a new technology and keeps it closed, it encourages that company to pour as much as it can into the tech, building it up to make it the biggest and best. Additionally, fundamental values, operating procedures, and quality control are concentrated. If, for example, the wireless 700mhz spectrum were always a freely available chunk of spectrum, I think that its effectiveness would become diluted. Way too many people would be making half-assed efforts to use it, and it would never be able to concentrate that critical mass of userbase, tech base, and monetary support.
Going forward, I’m eager to see where we go in developing new applications based on formerly closed, now opened technologies. If the industry can break out of the molds already made by the industry, we could begin to see some really killer technologies. Google’s Android and Open Social are just the beginning.
The one potential step back that i see the industry trying to take is Net Neutrality. I’m all for it, and think that the reason the internet is great, and will continue to be great is that its neutral – bandwidth is bandwidth. So let’s keep it open too, ok?