I came up from London last night and stayed overnight in the Premier Inn next to the stadium. I then had to make what I’m sure is a very familiar decision to most readers — WiFi or not? Should I give a tenner to Spectrum Interactive (the providers of WiFi at the Premier Inn) or should I simply continue to use my 3 MiFi?

My dilemma was this. I had 1.3GB to download and it would obviously be a lot faster via a fixed connection. However I’ve been to far too many hotels with utterly shit WiFi so I’ve grown very, very wary of wasting my cash unnecessarily. In this context I’d have been happy to pay for the utility.

What’s your perspective?

I took a video and walked through my reasoning. Let me know what you think…

Inkling offers interactive content for iPad. The innovative approach to books aims to offer a better alternative to conventional textbooks. Here’s how they describe it:

No more heavy, expensive textbooks to carry around campus. Inkling textbooks are more interactive, more flexible and cheaper.

Innovating in the field of education, Inkling recently announced commitments from the major publishers McGraw-Hill and Pearson Education.

According to Inkling, their interactive books are not simply ordinary textbooks in digital format, but also offer added value via interactive content, such as manipulating 3D objects on the iPad screen.

I’d have liked to have been able to carry all my heavy textbooks in a tablet!

The following video demonstrates several use cases:

It’s an idea that has always intrigued me; I’m a fan of anything that is gripping, true and something I can relate too (in terms of Dramas that is). Even more so, I’m finding more and more often with the onset of recurrent boredom throughout the day, it would be brilliant to have something on my mobile which was free, that could keep me entertained for five or ten minutes.

Now yes, of course there is the marvel that is the iPhone, and a number of software developers who have found ways to get your favourite films compressed and ready for viewing on said devices, but what if you don’t have an iPhone, and you don’t have the time to watch the first part of the Matrix Trilogy?

Well, there is something like THMBNLS, or if you’re like me and totally at a loss at text language, Thumbnails.

I’ve signed up for this, thinking and hoping for, let’s say the best. After all, I would have hoped that somewhere a long the line something good might come-about this mini-mobile-drama…

Wrong.

Well, actually, that’s just a tad biased. It’s funded by the Government, and the Department of Children, it has a primary focus on all things “teen”, and current in the news; sex, drugs, bullying, respect etc.

Now whilst I like the initiative being shown here by the Government and the obvious attempts at trying to bridge into the “youth of today”, there really is little to be said about this “drama”.

And the same can be said for previous attempts I’ve seen floating about the internet. I can remember a number of similar (although far shorter) offerings being heavily promoted on the popular Social Network, Bebo. Needless to say, they had the same shortcomings of Thumbnails…

They’re not that good, at all.

In a technological age of the internet and Youtube, and the growing popularity of programming such as Hollyoaks, Skins, and even American imports such as The O.C and others, the expectations of the teen audience are far more than what I have come-across with the mobile supplements.

The thing is, as with many brilliant ideas, there is a huge potential here; but once again what is delivered is so much less than what you or I expected. Whereas I would love to find and become engaged in a mobile drama which I could enjoy over a number of weeks, when all there is to offer is quite bluntly, tripe… Am I going to waste my time?

The same can be said for my peers. As far as I am aware, no one that I know engages in opting to watch, sign-up, download or view these things. And I’m really not surprised!

Maybe it’s too early to judge now, if this area of mobile improves like many of the others have done, then I do not doubt that in a few years or so there will be some mini-masterpieces right there on our handhelds!

Until then though, I think I will stick to my daily dose of the good ol’ television.

Samantha.
Samantha@mobileindustryreview.com

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MyThum really seems to have their, pardon the pun, thumb on what’s going on in Canada. Since their startup in 2002, they’ve grown to become one of the leading mobile aggregators in the country, topped off by being named Company of the Year at the Canadian New Media awards in 2007. (Their third major award that year)

From being chosen to facilitate the text-to-vote system for Canadian Idol to managing MuchMusic’s popular PunchMunch system, MyThum has worked with numerous big clients including: Rogers, Corus, CBC, Molson, Global, Best Buy, Nike & more.

Their focus: to help companies build a direct relationship with their consumers using their mobile phone by providing a comprehensive toolkit with features such as text, interactive TV, rich content and more.

At MyThum we believe the mobile device is much more than an advertising or marketing tool. It is about strategy, not tactics, consumer relationships not just engagement. It redefines experiential marketing. The mobile device presents an entirely new communication platform. It presents an opportunity for companies to interact with their target audiences wherever they are, whenever they want, no matter what they are doing. It is a remote control for how people experience and consume media, entertainment and their favourite brands on an ongoing basis. It is a unique platform that can enhance productivity and performance of employees, improving ROI along the way. Our focus with partners is to enable the use of this new utility as a means for creating and monetizing a lasting, ongoing relationship with target audiences.

Keep your eye on MyThum, you never know what they’ll do next.

Stay tuned for more in our Focus on Canada series coming soon.