Who is Ewan? | About | Advertise | Contact | Services | Newsletter | Feeds | Shop | All Categories

Archive for the ‘iPhone’ Category

« Older Entries

The iPad is nothing but an oversized iPhone–now where does the line form to buy one?

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Yes, it has a cringe-worthy name. Yes it’s a closed development environment. Yes it’s $500 I don’t NEED to spend. Yes it is highly derivative of the iPhone. Yes it has a huge bezel. Yes it’s on AT&T’s shameful excuse for a network. And yes, I want–nay–must have one. I will now address each potential problem area point by point.

  • The Name – It sucks. Who cares? I’m over it.
  • Closed – Oh no! Whatever will I do? As much as some arbitrary app rejections might suck here and there, the App Store has set the standard for all other app stores. All my favorite apps that I can’t live without will be on the iPad. And the fact that the App Store is closed; the fact that Apple makes the hardware and the software, is the very reason why people love the Apple experience. Developers can cry all they want about its policies, but the App Store made buying a mobile app mainstream. Millions of customers that wouldn’t have existed otherwise  are now accustomed to paying for mobile content. You’re welcome, snotty developers.
  • It’s $500 – OK, I already have a MacBook Pro, an iPhone 3GS, do I need an iPad? No, I desperately need an iPad. I just do. Tech is my life, it’s how I make my living.
  • Just a Big iPhone - Yes! Exactly! That’s like saying that if you have a fifty pound pile of cash–a great thing, who would want a 100 pound pile of cash? Me who. That’s who.
  • Huge Bezel – OK, I’ll admit, at first sight of the big bezel–especially after seeing those sexy barely-there-bezeled mock-ups–I was taken aback. But then I thought it through. Where else would you grip it? Would you hold it like a cocktail waitress holds her tray?
  • AT&T – This is the only part that kills me. But for my needs, I’ll go WiFi only, and save on the $130 bucks and extra monthly subscription to yet another service. I’ll use it to surf the web at home, and use my iPhone when I’m out in the wild–who wants to lug around a tablet anyway? So by default this doesn’t matter to me at all (I know a total cop-out and AT&T’s SHIT 3G network should be a dealbreaker if you require 3G connectivity).

So yes, sign me up! I have already pledged my soul to the His holiness in the church of Jobs. Call me a sheep, a weak-willed fanboy, but when you are fiddling with your stylus, trying to get your sodding handset to work with that fragmented application, I’ll be joyfully multi-touching my way through the Internet, an ebook or one of the most compelling 140,000 apps ever made for a mobile platform.

Posted in Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPhone Apps | Comments

CTIA Fall 2009 — Android’s Coming Out Party

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

The Fall CTIA is always the red-headed step child of the two CTIAs. At least they usually happen in San Francisco, the new center of the mobile universe, but this year, the Fall CTIA was in San Diego, and of the two CTIAs it was more like the red-headed step child with 11 toes. Attendance was just down, I don’t know what the numbers are that CTIA is releasing (nor would I necessarily believe them), but it was just a down feeling you got. Another feeling I got from CTIA, was the overwhelming presence of a little green robot: Android.

500px-android-logosvgGoogle and Verizon set the tone with their announcement at the beginning of the week. With Motorola showing a major commitment to Android with their CLIQ/DEXT, and phones either released or in the pipeline from every major OEM,  the little green robot was on everyone’s lips the whole week.

Everyone seemed to be mentioning Android as the “next step” for their company or product. Maybe it’s just hype, but you get the feeling that the iPhone was just a preview of what we will see with Android. As if the iPhone rewrote the rules and just set the stage for what Android can/will do.  At last year’s CTIA, everyone knew that getting on better hardware than the dodgy G1 would be the next step for Android, and open up a world of opportunities. Well, with the HTC’s MyTouch and  Hero, this next step has happened.

Android–the Next WinMo?

With WinMo 6.5 only a touch-up on 6.1, and Motorola announcing  they will skip 6.5 entirely, are consumers  (or the bigger question–other OEMs) going to be patient enough to wait for Windows Mobile 7, especially since Microsoft is notorious for missing internal deadlines? With Motorola and Samsung and even Sony Ericsson going Android, are we witnessing the birth of the next Windows Mobile and the death of the first one?

But never count out Microsoft, because even if they aren’t the most nimble company around, they basically have unlimited acquisition assets and  can buy the companies that are nimble. Also, if Microsoft wanted to cease mobile operations, and start from scratch once the smartphone OS industry has matured, they can afford to do that. Remember the X-BOX launch? Microsoft insinuated itself out of nowhere into an industry that was dominated by a handful of players.

But I’m getting distracted–the point of this post is not about WinMo, it’s that I’m extremely bullish on Android, and the time of taking a “wait-and-see” approach from folks in the industry is over. If you don’t have an Android strategy in the smartphone game, then you simply don’t have a strategy.

Rich Wong, of Accel Partners wrote a great summary (ok, way better than mine) of what he saw at CTIA, give it a read to get the scoop straight from the whip-smart VC himself.

Also on the open theme of Android, I plan to file a report from the Open Mobile Summit next month in San Francisco. Anything I should look out for at the show? Let me know in the comments.

Posted in CTIA Reports, android, iPhone, motorola | Comments

What’s new in iPhone OS 3.1

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

You can’t have failed to hear that Apple had a little get-together last night – unless, of course, you don’t use Twitter, don’t watch the news or have spent the past 14 hours or so with a tin foil hat on your head.

New iPods – and the second coming of Jesus first public appearance of Steve Jobs in months aside, the event also saw the official launch of iPhone OS 3.1. So what’s new, and is it worth an upgrade?

The main featured additions seem to involve Apple’s clever ‘Genius’ recommendation system. Already a feature in later versions of iTunes, Genius on iPhone OS 3.1 will recommend you apps based on your appstore purchase/download history and, in conjunction with iTunes 9, turn your music library into mixes.

Also on the list for 3.1 is ringtones – and lots of them – over 30,000 in fact. Priced at $1.29 a pop, you can browse, preview and download them on a new ‘Ringtones’ section of iTunes 9.

Meanwhile there’s a whole heap of bug fixes and little changes over OS 3.0. Apple claim 3.1 brings improved syncing for iTunes and iPhoto content, better iPhone 3G Wi-Fi performance when you’ve got Bluetooth switched on, anti-phishing warnings in Safari, improved Exchange calendar syncing, Bluetooth headset voice control for the 3Gs, and a few other bits and bobs along the way.

OS 3.1 is available now, and more details are on the Apple site here.

Posted in Apple, iPhone | Comments

o2 gets Palm Pre for Christmas in the UK

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Poor old Orange. They didn’t get the Palm Pre. And I think they really could have done with it. Neither did Vodafone but it’s not as if they need it, do they?

o2 — usually connected with the iPhone when you’re talking about the UK, is now set to become the official Palm Pre exclusive operator, reports New Media Age.

But not until Christmas.

Even though the Pre is due to hit the United States in 14 days, the British Pre fans are going to have to wait another 6 months. Sorry.

What an arse? ;-)
The solution? Fly to San Francisco and pick one up… if you’ve got a spare few thousand dollars.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Originally published on Mobile Developer TV and automatically republished here on Mobile Industry Review. View the original post.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Christmas, Mobile, MobileDeveloperTV, Orange, Vodafone, iPhone, o2 | Comments

Mark Curtis of Flirtomatic: Don’t forget the mobile web

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

I popped by the Flirtomatic London offices today to meet with founder Mark Curtis and the team. I’ve long been a follower (and fan) of Flirtomatic (check out the MIR archive coverage) and particularly fascinated with how they’ve managed to build such a massive base of users via the mobile web.

Flirtomatic is, as you might have guessed, all about flirting — not necessarily dating in the traditional sense. Mark and his team are uber-smart. They’ve got the sign-up time down to approximately 45 seconds via mobile. So if you click on an advert or if you visit via an operator portal link, you’ll be able to become a member extremely quickly. This fastidious and razor-sharp focus on the sign-up process has helped them garner a massive, massive user-base.

Mark was telling me that when they started, they used to convert just over a third of sign-ups into active users (and by active, they mean ’sends a flirt message’, not just logging in). They’ve now got that ratio up to 70% – a simply phenomenal figure.

I spent a few hours with Mark discussing his take on mobile development. The resulting interview is fantastic food for thought. Firtomatic have built a solid foundation of decent, healthy and increasing revenue through mobile web. Why? Well, he explains in some detail on camera and makes some super observations.

If you’re after some highlights, try these snippets for size:

* They users bought 14,000 virtual engagement rings in 72 hours to celebrate the leap year back in 2008.
* Don’t write off credit cards as a method of payment. 10% of Flirtomatic’s revenue is derived from credit cards — details of which are input via the mobile browser!
* Vodafone UK’s ‘free data’ day on May 1st for PAYG users boosted sign-ups 13 times.
* iPhone users are by far the longest to validate (i.e. confirm) their accounts — in some cases it takes four days for a user to login to their email to validate their account.
* The N95 remains one of their most popular handsets by traffic.
* On average within 2 hours of signing up, males get roughly 4 flirtomatic messages from other users. Females get about 20!
* They money is in visibility (i.e. users paying to improve their rankings/ratings). That point is probably one of the most incisive takeaways.
* It’s not necessarily about apps. I think a lot of developers will be very interested to understand why Mark and his team simply haven’t bothered with mobile applications as yet.

We also did a walk-about of Flirtomatic’s Towers, indeed they’re now a proper tower since new additions have led them to expand on to a second floor. Mark did a quick introduction to the staff before we sat down and got talking.

Mark’s video(s) should be up shortly. If you’d like a reminder, we’ve got a nifty function that will update you by email every time we post. Subscribe here.

(That screencap above of Mark is from the video import.)

Share/Save/Bookmark

Originally published on Mobile Developer TV and automatically republished here on Mobile Industry Review. View the original post.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Applications, Hot, LG, Mobile, Mobile Applications, Mobile Development, MobileDeveloperTV, News, Vodafone, iPhone | Comments

Android cometh: Sony Ericsson confirms Android 2.0 handsets

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

Goodness me it’s getting interesting in the mobile industry.

For years I’ve been screaming with utter annoyance at the absolute rubbish Sony Ericsson has been vomiting into the marketplace. Their devices are amongst the nicest engineered on the planet. They’re well built, stylish, reliable and the cameras are simply amazing.

But the dumb operating system (or, more accurately, the stupidly limited UI) is — literally — from the 1990s.

I positively loved their K800i handset — a class leading device in it’s time — and I’ve continued to admire the workmanship of their more recent models — but actually using a Sony Ericsson is akin to jumping in an Ashes to Ashes style timewarp back to 1990.

It’s pretty accurate to refer to a Sony Ericsson user as a Mobile Caveman. Just like a human caveman, a Mobile Caveman (”MobCav, anyone?”) is able to manage life’s various transactions (fire, food, sex) but when it comes to anything more enlightened or connected, no dice.

Your Sony handset will browse the ‘mobile web’. Cool. It will — with quite a bit of persuasion — synchronise your address book. You can play music on it. You can even play game(s) on it.

But put a top of the range Sony handset next to other class leaders (iPhone, G1/G2, Palm Pre, Nokia N-Series) and it’s immediately clear it’s not in the same league.

Don’t get me started on developing for a Sony Ericsson.

Besides from a degree in Nuclear Physics (with hons and some fannying about with the Dean’s List), you’ll need a massive budget and the patience of a demigod to develop for the current range of Sony Ericssons.

The Xperia device is … well, let’s put it this way, have you seen anyone with an Xperia recently? Hobbled by a ridiculous, ridiculous Microsoft bollocks operating system, the Xperia was never, ever going anywhere.

“Why won’t they go Android?” I used to scream, “Can you imagine how brilliant a Sony Ericsson would be with Android?”

Well… it’s happening.

Finally.

It had to happen. It was inevitable. Just like Apple bringing out an iPhone (they had to make the move or surrender the mobile music market to the likes of Nokia).

Slashphone reports that at a recent showcase in Taiwan, Peter Ang, the Sony Ericsson VP of Marketing, confirmed Android is now a key operating system for the company. Along with Symbian and Windows. Gah.

Sony’s Android handset(s) are due to arrive with Android 2.0 — and there’s speculation (from Chris Davies over at Android Community.com) that the devices will sport a proprietary UI along the lines of the Xperia UI.

The upshot?

Upgrade Android in your estimations. With the consumer giants such as Sony Ericsson (and Samsung) jumping in, it won’t be long before high-end (and shortly after, mid-tier and low-end) normal mobile users (”normobs”) will be shopping for their Apps via the Android Marketplace.

Exciting news.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Originally published on Mobile Developer TV and automatically republished here on Mobile Industry Review. View the original post.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Apple, Devices, Hot, Mobile, MobileDeveloperTV, News, iPhone, marketplace, nokia, samsung | Comments

I’d like to see a Wakoopa for my mobile handset

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

I didn’t bother signing up for Wakoopa when I heard about it a while ago. I thought it was a cool concept — track the desktop applications you’re using (along with ‘web applications’) and then publish the data to let you track what your friends are using.

Now and again I’ve found myself on some obscure blog post from 2005 only to discover a genius application for uploading screenshots or something like that.

Indeed I think that’s how I came across ImageWell (uploads screenshots via FTP) and Mailplane (run Gmail / Apps as a proper application) and more.

I didn’t sign-up initially because, well… so much of my desktop usage is browser based. Looking at the applications I have open at the moment, it doesn’t really make for shocking or surprising reading:

* Safari
* Firefox
* Microsoft Word
* Skype
* Mailplane
* Spotify
* ImageWell
* MarsEdit
* Terminal
* Adium
* TweetDeck

Hardly earth shattering, eh? But then… you never know. So I signed up this afternoon and I’ve added two chaps already, Geetarchurchy and Ricky Chotai. Aside from the basic ‘what’s he using that for’ thoughts, it’s really quite interesting. I can see how this will/would really help with discovery of new applications.

Which brings me to the subject of this post. I’d really like to see something like this for mobile handsets. I’m sure the Wakoopa creators are considering something like this. Of course it wouldn’t work very well on an iPhone in real time (no background apps on an iPhone… yet) but it would work reasonably well on Android and Symbian.

Nokia’s already doing this with the upcoming Ovi Store (just WHEN is it actually, actually launching?). Peer-to-peer recommendations. I should, theoretically, be able to see what my Ovi friends are buying/using/consuming via the Ovi Store. I’m looking forward to seeing how people react to that feature, I think it’ll be a winner.

I certainly find the iPhone application discovery process a little bit haphazard at the moment — indeed, it’s positively lonely when you’re sat looking at the App Store on your iPhone. I tend to hear more about applications when I’m not actively browsing, when I’m out-and-about or when I’m working. That’s fine, but it’s not necessarily when I’m most receptive to looking at new things.

I can imagine opening up the App Store on my Nokia with the intent of finding out what my friends have checked out recently.

I’m hoping that once all the kinks are worked out, the Ovi Store will reinvigorate the desire to install new apps… We shall see.

Originally published on Ewan.net and automatically republished here on Mobile Industry Review. View the original post.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Applications, Feature, Hot, Mobile, People, ewan, iPhone, nokia | Comments

Mobile Developer TV is heading to Paris

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

We haven’t launched officially yet (where ‘official’ = deciding on a logo, implementing the theme) but the diary is already choc-a-bloc here at Mobile Developer TV.

We’re putting on an event this month in Paris, France. I’ll have more details soon — but I can say that the event will be in the last week of this month and it’s set to feature some of the hottest mobile developers in France.

Much like the previous Developer event we held back in January (at Mobile Industry Review), we’ll be interviewing every single attendee, doing some show-and-tells demonstrating their applications and publishing those in a special edition of Mobile Developer TV.

France has always had a pretty decent mobile development industry — but it’s been severely hamstrung by the day-to-day realities of the European market (e.g. working with the likes of Symbian, trying to generate revenue via premium rate text). The iPhone changed all of that, though. At Mobile Monday Paris in March, I saw a community of 300+ developers electrified by the opportunities offered by the end-to-end iTunes platform.

It’s most certainly not all about iPhone, especially in such a Nokia-centric country and continent, but iPhone is, of course, garnering the lion’s share of attention and support from newly revitalised investors.

So I’m looking forward to visiting Paris. I’ll have more details up soon, we’re just confirming the date and venue.

Meantime if you’d like to come along to the event, just drop me a note (ewan@mobiledeveloper.tv) and I’ll keep you updated.

[Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post�

Share/Save/Bookmark

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Originally published on Mobile Developer TV and automatically republished here on Mobile Industry Review. View the original post.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Applications, Hot, Mobile, Mobile Development, MobileDeveloperTV, Twitter, ewan, iPhone, nokia | Comments

« Older Entries
Powered by Interactive Energy | Sign up to The Application Review newsletter