Kieran, as co-founder and CTO of Intohand might just be the archetypal chap a lot of these developer outreach programmes are designed to target.

Kieran has been working with mobile platforms for donkeys years — and, I think it’s fair to say, has spent many a frustrated hour dealing with signing and certificating issues — the challenges you really had to get right back in the day with the world was Java and Symbian-based. Recently, Intohand has developed services for the likes of Disney, Chelsea Football Club, Jeego and Bath Rugby Club.

As always with the Mobile Developer Titan profiles here on Mobile Industry Review, sincere thanks to the team at Telefonica’s BlueVia for helping support the series and make it possible.

Right then, over to Kieran. My questions are in bold.

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The man himself, Kieran Gutteridge

1. Who are you and what’s your background?

Kieran Gutteridge – I have been involved with mobile since the early days of Java Mobile. I started off making games for very limited resolution devices!

2. What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?

CTO and co-Founder. Attempting to predict trends and find the easiest way for the team here (who are all smarter than myself) to produce great software in a timely manner.

3. When did your organisation begin trading?
April 2006

4. Why did you/your founder(s) start the company? To solve what prob-lems?

We had a Nokia N80 delivered – it had a “retina” display and WiFi… The three of us believed that publishing content via apps and web to mobile would eventually become mainstream and make it easier for “brands to go mobile”.

We believe there will be always be some form of “fragmentation problem” be it software platform, hardware devices, app stores, browser differences, marketing difficulties or something else. Our mission is to make publishing to the small screen easy for content and brand owners, without all the normal complexity that surrounds tele-coms and software development in general.

5. How are you funded?

Self-funded by owner managers.

6. How do you generate revenue? Who are your customers? Or do you sell directly via App Stores?

Through application development for digital agencies, brand owners, small businesses and more.

7. Who are your principal directors/team members? Could you give us a few sentences about each of their responsibilities and backgrounds?

Kieran Gutteridge – Tech: Directs the technical strategy, oversees all development, drives the team.

Stuart Scott – Commercial: Looks after the operation, engagements, overall business strategy.

Kieran Kelly – Creative: Responsible for web and mobile look, feel, usability and user satisfaction.

8. Could you give us some key turning points or memorable moments from your perspective regarding the development of the mobile marketplace?

• The Sony K700: finally a developer friendly device that was similar to the Sun reference emulator, with great documentation. We hope Sony Ericsson can assist like this with Android, the way they assisted us back then with Java Mobile.
• The Nokia N80: having wifi and inspiring us that mobile web and apps would have a mainstream audience.
• The iPhone, making “mobile” a reality and for providing a global means of distribution that included payment – finally a viable method to address an audience beyond a single carrier in a single country.

9. Can you remember back to some of the first applications that caught your attention? What were they? How do you remember responding to them?

• King Kong by Gameloft. Proving what could be achieved even with a lim-ited device, it inspired the team I worked with to write our own anima-tion system, for Dilbert Cubicle chase and other games.
• Mozzies on the Siemens SX1. Using the camera in AR to extend a simple game and make it fun.
• TubeDeluxe on the iPhone. I had walked around for quite a while with a simple, scrollable gif of the tube map that I wrote for my Sony K800… Seeing that people would actually pay and use apps as simple as this really inspired. Then seeing how much further you can take a seemingly simple tubemap and put the love, care and attention to detail that Malcom Barclay has put in, is an inspiration to every software developer.

10. What was your first application launch? How was the development process? What was the biggest learning experience you derived from your first application build?

I ported “Shark Tale” to 35 devices and that just showed how diverse the mobile ecosystem was back then (2004) and how difficult it was for the artist at the time to produce art for screens that ranged from 96×65 all the way up to 240×320. For us as software developers to try and realise the original concept in a limited medium was the biggest overall challenge.

11. At what point did you think ‘this mobile thing has legs’? Did you know from the inception of the business? Or did it take a little while before you felt confident with the marketplace?

It does?! I have always believed but certainly since the launch of iPhone and Android, life for developers and those involved in producing content for small screen devices has got a lot more pleasant – and the opportunities are far far greater.

12. Do you ever work directly with mobile operators?

Yes.

13. What current or existing mobile operator capabilities would you like to see made accessible to app developers?

Identity provider: I would trust a UK regulated company to be my identity provider before I trusted certain startups that may not be around in a few years… Or worse still, who may be in juristiction that do not have as strong data protection and privacy laws.

14. What application platforms are you focusing your efforts upon? And why?

Android and iOS, native development has become fun again once we lost the legacy. Just in terms of trying out an idea we achieve about a 4-6 fold increase in productivity on the new platforms – and that is without removing the headache of signing and certification that used to come with other platforms.

15. Over the next few years, where do you think your focus will lie?

Android, iOS and hybrid web applications. Whilst I believe HTML 5 has a place and great web apps will offer a superb experience, I feel the industry is searching for a silver bullet for cross platform development – much like we did with J2ME – rather than playing to a particular plat-form’s strengths.

16. What innovations are you most looking forward to in the mobile marketplace?

Every time I am asked this question I say NFC and gestures – so at the risk of sounding like a stuck record I will repeat!

17. What handset(s) do you use currently? What’s your primary mobile network of choice and why?

iPhone 4 on Vodafone and a HTC Nexus One on O2, Personally the networks for me provide much of a similar service. Subjectively Vodafone’s data network feels better in Bath and London, but all the operators do a relatively great job of providing the basics (as someone who has roamed on AT&T in the US, I can never see where the complaints everyone makes come from though, as I thought it was a brilliant level of service, so perhaps I am an easy to please customer!!)

18. Can you remember your first handset and network?

An analogue Nokia on BT Cellnet.

19. Could you highlight 3 mobile applications (and/or developers) that you seriously admire and explain why?

• Tapbots for the extremes they goto with customizing UI for simple apps is simply amazing.
• Simon Maddox for distilling application ideas down quickly and always being someone who is willing to bounce ideas and help anyone.
• Any mobile developer who has got their hands dirty and is willing to share their experience and pains, we all have a lot to learn and the op-portunities before us are vast.

20. And now let’s talk BlueVia: Have you had a play with the API? What did you come up with?

Yes, aside from silly proof of concepts such as a chat bot, we have implemented a great idea to push location updates to Google latitude so that you could save your battery, available in beta form at locateupdate.co.uk.

21. What features of BlueVia are you most excited by?

Simple self service APIs: The simple fact of not having to go through 3-6 months of Biz dev to gain access and prove/test a concept. Means we have an inclination to offer customers of a particular niche a greater ex-perience that cannot be simply offered by a platform provider, who by necessity is more generic.

22. How do you react to the revenue possibilities presented by BlueVia?

Its a great initiative and hopefully others will take the lead and open up to developers. If it’s proven developers can help drive up volumes and use of network services, that I believe should have been self-service many years ago, when the phones were incapable of doing client side, as a reference point here Apple have sent 100 billion push notifications…

23. What’s missing from the BlueVia offering at the moment? What would you like to see?

Billing of data loads: the ability for a network to tell us developers when it would be cheap and efficient for us to send a user their data (though I believe with geo-fenced location, like is coming in iOS and Android we will be able to manage this with a user’s home WiFi shortly).

24. Would you like to see more operators adopt a more open framework similar to Telefonica and BlueVia?

Yes – I have always hoped initiatives such as OMTP, Bondi, WAC would deliver the oasis of a single api for developers to integrate and tap into a network’s capabilities. However now I will trust the West Coast to bring us these abilities such as Location, in app payment, global distribution, and more.

25. Finally, let’s talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years of mobile application development?

• Designing for mobile/small screens first – before the web.
• Gestures becoming more and more important.
• Data contention in peak hours and means to address this, client and network side.
• App and services discoverability. This is soon to become a weakness on the small screen.

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Thank you for taking the time Kieran — and kudos, much kudos, for the really smart implementation using the BlueVia API. I recommend all readers with a Telefonica/o2 SIM to give Kieran’s beta service a try out — it’s at www.locateupdate.co.uk.

This time we’re featuring the phenomenal team at Mubaloo. They’re the people behind some absolutely stonking applications for some of the country’s most recognisable brands. So, for example, they’ve delivered applications for the likes of RBS, AXA, NHS and Sky — to name but a few. It’s companies like Mubaloo who are performing a critical role within the marketplace, helping many of the country’s biggest companies get to grips with mobile applications.

Mark Mason is the company’s co-founder and chairman. He’s in the hot-seat today. Over to you, Mark:

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Mark Mason, co-founder & chairman, Mubaloo

1. Who are you and what’s your background?

My name is Mark Mason. After gaining a degree in electronic engineering and a diploma in marketing I worked in the semiconductor industry with a marketing company and saw the opportunity to set up an agency that specialized in working with technology companies. In my late 20s I co-founded a digital marketing agency called Mason Zimbler which we grew to around 40 people. Following the dotcom burst in 2001, we shrunk the company to 10 and I bought my partner out. Following this I grew the company again to having a turnover of £6 million with 60 employees and clients such as Microsoft and Toshiba. In 2008, I sold Mason Zimbler to Harte Hanks and decided it was time to take a year off.

2. What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?

I am the co-founder and chairman of Mubaloo. My responsibilities are to find good people and take away any obstacles that stop them being great. I also set the sails for the business and point everyone in the same direction.

3. When did your organisation begin trading?

Mubaloo began trading on 1st April 2009. We are based in Bristol’s thriving tech scene and started with just two employees. This remained the same until the early part of 2010 – we then very quickly went up to 48 employees and are continuing to expand. In the past few months alone we’ve won the 2011 Innovator of the Year in the Bristol Evening Post Business Awards and are just about to move to new offices to facilitate our growing team.

4. Why did you/your founder(s) start the company? To solve what problems?

Having taken some time out of work after the sale of Mason Zimbler I started looking for my next opportunity. I had an iPhone at the time and started to realise impact apps were starting to have on me. It was then that I spotted the potential for apps in the B2B and B2C markets. At the time the developers were mainly based from home and fairly geeky bunch. This made me think that the UK market had space and need for a professional approach.

I asked a recruitment agency if they knew of any experts in the app space. The first person they introduced me to was Ben Trewhella. He had an impressive background and had done a few apps. I had the money; he had the developer brain so we kicked it off.

5. How are you funded?

Mubaloo is a 100 percent self funded company. Following the sale of Mason Zimbler to US marketing services company Harte-Hanks I had some capital to invest in a new business.

6. How do you generate revenue? Who are your customers? Or do you sell directly via App Stores?

We sell our planning, creative and development skills. Our customers are large blue chip organizations so we work to deliver mobile solutions to them and help to advice on the right strategy. We offer a premium service as we deliver a premium product. We’ve encountered a number of instances where a company will go for a smaller developer to save on costs, only to come back to us to finish or re-do the job properly.

We have completed over 100 App development projects and our customers include RBS, Samsung, Global Radio, AXA, the NHS, Virgin Media, Sky, Met Office, William Hill, Allianz, Nike, the AA, Institute of Physics, Britain’s Finest, The Carphone Warehouse, Channel 4 and Experian (to name a few).

We don’t sell anything on the App Stores although some of our customers might.

7. Who are your principal directors/team members? Could you give us a few sentences about each of their responsibilities and backgrounds?

Mubaloo’s MD is Matt Hatch. Matt has a strong track record in managing technology businesses, from blue chip multi-nationals through to high growth start-ups in a range of sectors including consumer electronics, mobile, wireless and IT networking. Matt is responsible for the day to day running of the business.

Business development is in the safe hands of Chris Price. Chris has been working with technology companies for more than 15 years, helping them to implement and manage channel sales and marketing strategies on an international basis. He has worked with companies including Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems and Samsung as well as smaller hi-tech fast growth companies. He is successful in creating and implementing business strategies and developing client relationships at the executive level. He sees huge growth and opportunities in developing mobile marketing strategies for brands big and small.

Ben Trewhella is the company’s CTO. Ben is an expert when it comes to knowing how to build and integrate IT systems. Over the last ten years Ben has built mainframe, desktop, web and mobile applications for consultancies, financial institutions, NFPs, social networks, technology start-ups and SMEs internationally. He is a Prince 2 qualified project manager and business analyst with a background in computer science and management, Ben is skilled in the process of delivering IT solutions. For the last 24 months Ben has been working primarily on mobile technology, developing apps and integrating mobile interfaces with web and server based databases.

Adam Fox is our Chief Architect and ensures Mubaloo designs and integrates software to the highest possible standard. He comes from an extensive background in mobile and brings with him a broad range of technical expertise; from commercial database design, game development, mission critical high-throughput system integrations to UNIX administration and hardware architecture. Adam is focused on keeping on top of the latest technologies to ensure he stays ahead of the curve and can spot the next big innovation.

8. Could you give us some key turning points or memorable moments from your perspective regarding the development of the mobile marketplace?

After we set up in our shed the business was relatively quiet for the first 9 months. That time allowed us to slowly build a portfolio of apps. It wasn’t until January 2010 that things really took off. That was when the iPhone was released on Vodafone and T-Mobile. Up to that point it had only been available on O2. The phone suddenly started ringing.

9. Can you remember back to some of the first applications that caught your attention? What were they? How do you remember responding to them?

When I first met Ben he had been working on developing a low cost fuel app. He wanted to integrate an Experian database of fuel stations into the app. It was a great example of an app using data to add real value to the user. An app that would save them money every time they filled up their car. This made me aware of how apps were going to change the way businesses functioned.

10. What was your first application launch? How was the development process? What was the biggest learning experience you derived from your first application build?

The app I’ve just mentioned was our first launch. Ben developed it over about 3 months. It took us a long time to negotiate access to the data so the app probably took about 5 months to develop. The biggest learning experience was that whilst we thought the app was brilliant, some people didn’t understand how it worked. The app offered the 5 cheapest fuel stations around you and that might have not included the station next to your home. For that reason some people rated it 3 stars and less. You can’t also just build an app and hope people will buy it. It needs traditional marketing as well as social marketing to raise its profile. We managed to sell ours to The AA which helped raise its profile.

11. At what point did you think ‘this mobile thing has legs’? Did you know from the inception of the business? Or did it take a little while before you felt confident with the marketplace?

I think it was when our first blue chip client came knocking, that was AXA Insurance. They saw the savings they could make in their business processes by using apps. They got it. But that was probably 6 months in.

12. Do you ever work directly with mobile operators?

In our experience, the mobile operators seem strangely uninterested in the B2B markets when it comes to mobile apps. They just want to make sure consumers are buying their products and services on their networks, obviously having devices that play Angry Birds has become increasingly important to them. We find it odd that operators seem to be overlooking B2B apps. We believe it could make a real difference to selling their networks into Enterprise organisations. Maybe BlueVia will change that.

13. What current or existing mobile operator capabilities would you like to see made accessible to app developers?

The operators have a huge amount of social demographic information about their customers. They know their mobile habits, their locations, their social activities. It would be great if they could share this. I think this is what BlueVia is all about.

14. What application platforms are you focusing your efforts upon? And why?

At Mubaloo, we feel there will be four main platforms moving forward. iPhone, Android, Windows 7 and web apps. BlackBerry will die a death unless it radically changes, but I don’t think it can or will. It’s increasingly difficult to find developers who focus on the platform. It’s not easy to develop for and doesn’t deliver the level of user experience of the other platforms. We see web apps as right for some applications but not all. Native apps will become more sophisticated as HTML5 capabilities continue to be understood and technology in smartphones continues to push the boundaries of what we can do with mobile devices.

15. Over the next few years, where do you think your focus will lie?

We think smartphones will become essential to improving the processes and collaboration within all businesses. As well as becoming a new sales channel for many companies, apps will start to be used by all employees to run their day-to-day agendas and facilitate the way they do business. Mobility is vital in this day and age.

16. What innovations are you most looking forward to in the mobile marketplace?

I think the one thing holding the mobile marketplace back is network bandwidth. LTE (4G) will usher in ever more exciting services on mobile devices. There is also Near Field Communications (NFC) and Augmented Reality (AR) which we are experimenting with. There is huge potential in those markets.

17. What handset(s) do you use currently? What’s your primary mobile network of choice and why?

I have used an iPhone and the O2 network ever since the iPhone came out. It seems to work as well as any of the others.

18. Can you remember your first handset and network?

My first handset was a Nokia on the Orange network. Nokia was the obvious choice at the time for ease of use and the fact that it had my favourite game, Snakes!

19. Could you highlight 3 mobile applications (and/or developers) that you seriously admire and explain why?

One of the apps that set the bar when it first came out was Jamie Oliver’s app developed by Zolmo. They focus on the user experience which leads users to return over and over again. It is a masterclass in user-experience. From my understanding they’ve only developed one other app for Phaidon – it would be good to see what else they come out with.

I think the Train Time’s app is a great example of a really useful app. Apps that integrate into back office systems to offer real value to the user. This is what we do with our apps. It gets you coming back and delivers real value. I love them.

The third, and the one I probably use more than any other, is the BBC News app. It’s well put together, runs well and does what it says on the tin.

20. And now let’s talk BlueVia: Have you had a play with the API? What did you come up with?

Yes some of Mubaloo’s developers have had a play with BlueVia. They have been particularly interested in the User Context API and how they can integrate that into some of our current apps.

21. What features of BlueVia are you most excited by?

I think the ability to send, review and manage SMS and MMS will be hugely valuable to many developers, as well as the opportunity to build new SMS based services with mobile frontends. As we specialise in the B2B and B2C markets the User Context API is most relevant to us – we think this could be an exciting area to explore further.

22. How do you react to the revenue possibilities presented by BlueVia?

We can see how the revenue possibilities presented by BlueVia could be a huge benefit to some of our clients.

23. What’s missing from the BlueVia offering at the moment? What would you like to see?

That’s a difficult one as some of the social demographic data we would like to see may not be possible. We think this is a great start and look forward to seeing how BlueVia develops further.

24. Would you like to see more operators adopt a more open framework similar to Telefonica and BlueVia?

We think this is the way forward for operators. This adds real, tangible value to their networks and moves them away from just being bandwidth providers.

25. Finally, let’s talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years of mobile application development?

I think we’re going to see an exposition of multiple-media experiences which combine your TV with your tablet and smartphone. NFC and Augmented Reality will also be at the corner stone of the next wave of innovation. There are some clever examples out there now, but when it gets to being truly useful we will see the explosion. Finally, companies will start using smartphones and apps to run and manage their entire organization. We know that IBM and many other multi-nationals have started doing this; it’s just a matter of time before it really kicks off. We are already helping companies to do this, helping to make us the experts in the game.

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Mark, thank you for taking the time to answer the questions. Every success for the future — I look forward to finding out about your next projects!

You can find out more about the series in this introductory post.

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Our very first Mobile Developer Titan is AlwaysOnMessage, one of the leading mobile agencies in the United Kingdom.

Not for nothing does the company’s roster of clients boast luminary names such as Channel 4, BBC, Endemol, IPC, Universal and Glenfiddich. Remember the Jamie Oliver 30-minute-meals Egg Timer app that brought together television programming and practical usage? (you may have seen it on a billboard in the tube!) That was one of Peter’s. Do you remember the movie Bruno (featuring Sacha Baron-Cohen)? The Bruno app was one of the company’s first projects and it hit 400,000 downloads in days and went straight into the #1 slot on most App stores.

I first met the company’s CEO, Peter Swain, at The Big M event in Bath earlier this year. We had corresponded briefly beforehand and managed to take some time together at the event. I was struck by his fervour, excitement and experience in the mobile marketplace. He’s a true globe-trotting digital pioneer.

Right then, let’s get on with the questions.

1. Who are you and what’s your background?

My name is Peter Swain CEO of AlwaysOnMessage. I’ve spent my life running digital agencies and have been involved in digital since 1995 and specifically mobile since 2009.

My digital career has spanned the globe, with time in Dubai as the founder and MD of The Concept House, a specialist web and digital agency that helped facilitate the evolution of the digital industry in the UAE and earlier in London where I worked on the first Yell.com and web work for Sony, Williams F1 and The Cure (amongst others!)

2. What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?

As CEO and Co-Founder, I oversee strategy and direction with the goal of understanding where mobile is and where it may go. I specifically keep responsibility of user experience and app direction, both of internal apps and client offerings, as well as working closely with platforms, MNO’s, and certain clients in advising strategy and mobile roadmaps.

3. When did your organisation begin trading?

2009.

4. Why did you/your founder(s) start the company? To solve what problems?

We launched into mobile after I purchased an iPhone, “the iPhone represented the first paradigm shift since the Internet arrived in the early 90′s”. This was / is a fantastic time to be in mobile and watch how it affects each and every part of how we work, eat, sleep, play & consume.

5. How are you funded?

We are largely self-funded, although we did take a small loan from the EFLGS [Enterprise Finance Loan Guarantee] when we started trading.

6. How do you generate revenue? Who are your customers? Or do you sell directly via App Stores?

All of the above. We have 3 principal business lines:

• Client work: during the last 2 years we’ve worked with brands including the BBC, Jamie Oliver and Universal Pictures.
• Revenue Shares: we explore brands with great IP that we can utilise to generate revenue for both parties. We have 5 major apps due for release later this year across TV and Magazine IP.
• Handsets and Operators: We work with a fair few platforms and operators helping them ensure their app offerings are up to scratch. We find it amazing that more mobile agencies don’t focus resource at talking to the operators … They have a unique position of controlling distribution, even if they don’t realise it yet.

7. Who are your principal directors/team members? Could you give us a few sentences about each of their responsibilities and backgrounds?

Gideon Roberts is my Co-Founder and our Operations Director. Gideon’s main goals at AlwaysOnMessage (AoM) see him overseeing all aspects of production: from design to implementation and deployment, to the smooth-running of all in-office processes; including the daily operations associated with app development and in ensuring the company has access to cutting-edge solutions that deliver expert apps on time, and on budget.

Richard Collins is our Chairman. Richard’s main duties are to ensure the company remains on task. Working closely and openly with the CEO, Richard’s overarching goal is to ensure the company has a clear strategy that encompasses both style and tone, and promotes constructive debate and effective, commercial decision-making. Having been involved in the internet since 1995, Richard first started in digital marketing when he set up Tempest, one of the UK’s first digital media and search marketing agencies (which amongst other accolades was Google’s first European agency client). He sold the business to global giant WPP in 2001, and went on to run OgilvyOne and Mindshares’ digital media businesses in the UK, working with some of the world’s leading global brands.

Harlan Davis is our Commercial Director. He’s responsible for commercial strategy and development. His focus areas are marketing, sales, product development and customer service, to drive customer satisfaction, business growth and market share. Harlan’s knowledge of the mobile apps industry, along with strong marketing and business development skills enable him to take ownership of customer relationships to ensure that the organization is functioning in a way that will enable it to meet its short, and long-term goals.

8. Could you give us some key turning points or memorable moments from your perspective regarding the development of the mobile marketplace?

It has to be the iPhone release for me above any other moment in mobile. WAP and other mobile innovations were key to growth, but Apple redefined what mobile is.

9. Can you remember back to some of the first applications that caught your attention? What were they? How do you remember responding to them?

The iPint and Skype stick out … One showed a unique marketing opportunity, the other how “old” businesses could find a new home and revenue stream.

10. What was your first application launch? How was the development process? What was the biggest learning experience you derived from your first application build?

Our first app was for Bruno … It received 400,000 downloads within a few days and was #1 on most App stores (Austria weren’t too impressed!!)

Development wise we used our own methodology (SLIM) which allows us to scale up as and when required.

The lesson we learnt: Have the platform (in this case Apple) involved in the build as soon as possible.

11. At what point did you think ‘this mobile thing has legs’? Did you know from the inception of the business? Or did it take a little while before you felt confident with the marketplace?

We launched knowing mobile was about to change the world and we wanted to be one of the first there.  We were confident from day one and I would say our first app, Bruno, put us on the stage.

Profitability can’t be ignored as a success criteria, but the companies that trust us with their brands are validation that money can’t buy.

Operators and platforms that want to validate their businesses by working strategically with us speaks for itself as well.

12. Do you ever work directly with mobile operators?

Wherever possible … I’d go as far as to say we’re frustrated that some carriers don’t seem to understand the app economy and how big an impact it’s having / going to have on their business.

13.  What current or existing mobile operator capabilities would you like to see made accessible to app developers?

I’d like more carriers to follow BlueVia’s model and start interacting with their developer audience. We’re very impressed by BlueVia and firmly believe that initiatives such as this represent the future of how MNO’s shift from infrastructure to business partner.

14. What application platforms are you focusing your efforts upon? And why?

We’ve operated across most platforms and can’t perceive that changing anytime soon … AlwaysOnMessage is a mobile agency … How can we advise our client base if we don’t understand each and every competing technology?

15. Over the next few years, where do you think your focus will lie?

Broadly as it is now … The daily shift in mobile dominance will no doubt continue and we will adapt to fit. The only guarantee to some degree is the continual change and we for one intend to stay ahead of this.

16. What innovations are you most looking forward to in the mobile marketplace?

NFC and the further proliferation of QR Codes … Anything that can bind the real and mobile worlds together. We’re also excited by TV Apps and seeing how “second screen” approaches become a reality over the next few years.

17. What handset(s) do you use currently? What’s your primary mobile network of choice and why?

I’m on O2 and currently use an iPhone4 as my primary handset (although the company owns a host of handsets so we stay mobile aware across the full ecosystem)

18. Can you remember your first handset and network?

A Motorola Flare, although the network escapes me.

19. Could you highlight 3 mobile applications (and/or developers) that you seriously admire and explain why?

• Addison Lee – one of the best integrated experiences out there
• MPeso – Having given 24% of Kenya the ability to perform commerce is an amazing feat.
• Apple – if you want to see amazing user experience in play, Apple’s the place to look … I’m STILL bowled over by visual voicemail (I can’t believe I used to go through an IVR to get my voicemails!)

20. And now let’s talk BlueVia: Have you had a play with the API? What did you come up with?

We’ve had a look at the API and there are several things we’re interested in … the concept of both functionality and revenue is exciting.

21. What features of BlueVia are you most excited by?

That would be telling! We have some cool ideas we’re looking to build on the back of BlueVia and we’re looking to announce a fairly major project in the near future. So, watch this space!

22. How do you react to the revenue possibilities presented by BlueVia?

It’s exciting and shows that O2 have a genuinely different offering for the market. AoM has talked about the app economy and its affects on MNO’s for the last year and its good to see a viable roadmap being presented. If MNO’s want to move beyond being regarded as infrastructure they need to partner with developers … BlueVia does exactly that.

23. What’s missing from the BlueVia offering at the moment? What would you like to see?

The word “missing” seems harsh and pre-supposes that BlueVia is finished and (from our understanding) there is a roadmap of new functionality being delivered.

Our top 3 requested features would be:
- SMS / MMS refunds … user confidence will drop if charges are applied next to a service we can’t deliver.
- The ability to change settings as well as read them e.g. changing a voicemail recording or call forwarding rule, not just reading the rule
- Cross network support … I’m not even sure this is possible, but limiting features to O2 customers is a real hindrance to adoption.

24. Would you like to see more operators adopt a more open framework similar to Telefonica and BlueVia?

See above! MNO’s MUST evolve if they want to protect the customer base (and profits) they have. The prospect of developers being able to influence the entire ecosystem is very appealing. However, we’re concerned this will lead to another set of fragmented standards being applied vs. a cohesive approach across network.

25. Finally, let’s talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years of mobile application development?

We’ve long held the belief that the current state of mobile is very similar to the internet in the mid 90′s. We’re currently seeing platform wars (browser wars), native apps (flash, shockwave etc), a lack of analytics (a lack of analytics!), handset fragmentation (browser, monitor, PC proliferation) etc. If that holds true, we’re going to see plenty more change before things stabilise.

Specifically we think:
- Microsoft / Nokia will be the new Apple
- Blackberry will be the new Nokia
- Android will be hit by security and virus concerns due to fragmentation
- Several rival NFC programs will be launched to the utter confusion of the consumer
- The dotcom bubble will be back with us, with VC funding exploding quarter on quarter
- Apple will be Apple

- – - – -

Peter, thank you very much for taking the time to answer the questions. I’m looking forward to hearing more about what you’re cooking up with BlueVia!

Standby for the next Mobile Developer Titan profile coming soon.

FreeAppAlert is a service that tells you when the app you’ve been wanting to buy — but weren’t prepared to pay for, becomes free.

Across the evolution of an application, you’ll often see an app released for $$$ before the price is lowered, and sometimes, it’s made free — especially if the developer’s after your eyeballs in return for ad revenue or another related metric.

Me? I’ll just keep on buying.

You can set up FreeAppAlert’s site to notify you via email, twitter, or RSS about the newest free iPhone apps, including those making the jump from behind a pay wall. If you don’t want to be bothered with notifications, you can browse the site by date when you’re in the mood to stock up on new apps.

via FreeAppAlert Notifies You When For-Pay iPhone Apps Become Free – Free – Lifehacker.

Something else to consider – there are no shortage of old, crap phones. Should we (as developers & networks) cater to them or wait until they all upgrade to an iPhone?

The answer is simple: Wait ’til they upgrade to an iPhone. Or Android or Ovi capable handset. Anything with a decent path-to-discovery-purchase-and-use.

That’s it.

There is no other answer.

If you’re using a piece of shit Motorola, stuff it. Lump it.

Not unless a mobile operator is going to pay you to develop for other platforms. The development cost, the discovery and marketing costs — usability cost (“I downloaded it, now, how do I find it on my handset?”) — they are just too high.

That’s why 25,000 iPhone applications have been contributed to the App Store and why4.7m applications are being downloaded per day on the iPhone. There’s a route to cash.

There are problems with the iTunes App Store. It’s not all roses. But there’s a clear path to cash.

Everything else is 100% bollocks. Agree?

What am I missing?

I was interviewing Mark for the DeviceAnywhere Developer Roadshow we’re doing here at SMS Text News. I tell you, it’s just brilliant. Brilliant. I’m thoroughly enjoying being able to show DeviceAnywhere to top quality developer/entrepreneurs like Mark.

I sat him down and flipped open the DeviceAnywhere Studio (check out the walk-through) and brought up a few devices.

“Awww, look at that!” he said, as I opened up a few handsets, “It’s like having the handset there in your hand!”

Mark went on to explain that he’s spent about 20,000 pounds or more on handsets over the last three years (including contracts). With burgeoning demand for ShopQwik on a whole load of different platforms, testing is a key issue for him — he reckons he’ll be able to get some excellent benefits from using DeviceAnywhere, although I’ll leave the specifics ’til the video.

We’ll have it cut and online next week.

Meantime I’m off now to catch my flight to Dublin for Unlimited Drinks tonight!

I decided we needed to do a roadshow a few months ago. Spread the word. The mobile industry is difficult enough (as per my piece on Monday) without adding even more arse in the form of development and testing woes.

(If, by the way, I was aware of any competitors with such a comprehensive offering, I’d also be including them too.)

I’ve already covered the basic proposition of DeviceAnywhere in a previous post so here’s a quick primer before we jump in:

You want to test your applications and services on hundreds of different devices on different networks, right? Don’t buy them all yourself, just log on to DeviceAnywhere’s site and, bish-bash-bosh, you’ll be using a real, live unit, remotely. Don’t mess around testing easily repeatable actions on a ton of different devices, DeviceAnywhere’ll do that.

Right.

I logged into DeviceAnywhere and added a few packages to my account. First off I chose 3UK. This really is a piece of genius, this service. With the 3UK package, you get to play with a total of 39 live devices. That is, 39 devices that you can remotely mess around with — each with it’s own sim card and account on 3UK. A quick glance down the list shows handsets from 3′s key suppliers — LG, Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson. They have, ready for me to play with (amongst others) the U-300 and U970 from LG, a horrifying RAZR 3x from Motorola, a veritable cacophony of Nokias (6000 series, E61, E65, N70, N73, N95) and a big showing of Sonys (K530 all the way up to the K850 and W950s).

I want a bit of variety with my testing.

I decided to add AT&T! Woo! I can actually check out American devices — all 158 of them!

And that’s only the first of four pages worth of devices, standing by for testing.

What about the Vodafone and o2 range of test units? Here’s Voda’s first page:

And o2′s first page:

(Interesting to see the “Helio Cocoon” — for a moment I thought that was referring to the US MVNO…)

Right, let’s have a play with one of the devices.

It’s quite simple. At the top of the DeviceAnywhere page, there’s a toolbar:

See the big orange button? Click it and then this pops up:

DeviceAnywhere’s Studio is java-based so it’ll work on whatever you’re using, provided you’ve got Java support (sometimes I use it via my Apple, other times via a nearby PC).

Here’s the login box via my Apple:

You need to allow the app to load it’s various datasets — perhaps a 2-3 minutes — and then you’re up and running.

Now, before we go there. I’ve actually uploaded Anthony Pranata’s brilliant ‘Screenshot’ application to my DeviceAnywhere library — the concept being that I’m pretending I’ve just made it and I’m going to demonstrate it working for you with DeviceAnywhere Studio. I thought it’d be neat to publish a screenshot I took on a remote device in this manner (Although you can take snapshots and video from the Studio easily).

Right! Let’s get the Studio up…

There’s my package — it’s defaulted to Vodafone UK. Scroll down and I can choose to visit and play about with any one of the devices that’s available. Sometimes you’ll see someone’s already working on one and it’ll be marked with a little no-entry sign. You can choose to hop on to it the moment they’ve finished work.

Let’s swap to my AT&T package:

Ok. Let’s have a look at the E61…

Click, click… woosh. It’s mine for the moment! See the locked icon?

Right. Let’s have a play!

It’s startling when the device pops up on your screen like this:

I’m hesitant for a moment then I decided to click about on the E61′s keypad…

The device wake’s up from standby:

Right, let’s get on the net, eh?

Before I know it I’m surfing AT&T’s homepage and trying to search for Anthony’s site:

I typed the URL incorrectly! So I thought I’d then try out a Nokia N95 from Vodafone:

See how you can run devices next to each other? Wicked! I typed in Anthony’s site URL and woosh:

A quick glance into the N95′s applications folder confirms the app installed:

.. and here it is running!

Then I installed Nimbuzz. Worked like a charm… and then I decided it was time to play with the iPhone! I wanted to give that a go…

I’m without my iPhone at the moment as I’ve given it to my other half… so let’s have a look at SMS Text News on the iPhone’s Safari browser:

Nice! Ok. Right. Now I want to add a bookmark on to the front screen… (I’m simply dragging my mouse over the iPhone as though I was tapping it with my finger)

And let’s see if the icon is there…

Ah, brilliant! There it is.

So that ends the walk-through.

If you’re a developer charged with making your service available to as many people as possible across this mobile industry of ours, I defy you not to get value from DeviceAnywhere. If you’d like a trial, you can get a few hours free with no commitments from their site at www.deviceanywhere.com with immediate activation. If you’d like a bit more time, drop me a mail (ewan@smstextnews.com) and I’ll get you double the time to play with. Once you’re out of trial, the cost starts at around $100/month per package (depending on promotions) and then around $16 an hour.

Interestingly, there’s a feature on the DeviceAnywhere site under your account that lists the most popular devices and operators being tested that day, by package. The winner today form the 3UK package? The E61. And the AT&T package? The Apple iPhone. No surprise, eh?

Back to the roadshow. We’re visiting ShopQwik soon and then Palringo. Standby!

Next week, SMS Text News begins our UK mobile developer roadshow. This has been something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I’m aiming to visit with four different mobile developers across the next few weeks to profile them and their applications on SMS Text News and get their opinions on DeviceAnywhere’s MobileComplete service. I’ve seen it demonstrated live and I know people who use it — it’s a regular piece of magic and, I reckon, an essential service for developers. So much so that I talked to DeviceAnywhere and I’ve asked them to give each developer that we showcase a free test account to play with and they’ve agreed to support the roadshow.

If you’re potentially interested, the only mandate is that you need to be UK based so I can easily visit you (or vice versa) for an interview. We’ll publish full details here on Monday. Please do drop me a mail (ewan@smstextnews.com) if you’d like to be profiled.