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Posts Tagged ‘new’

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The new media economy with Twitter at the heart

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

I’ve been watching the Twitter phenomenon closely over the past days and I tell you, it’s getting more and more exciting watching the mainstream — and even new-mainstream media — trying to figure it out.

For so long we’ve been used to reading The Times — for example — and getting the news, with *authority* — from them. News written by serious people wearing serious scowls disdaining of the great unwashed and, every day, deigning to let us take a peak into their world.

One of my good friends was until recently at a senior position in a national newspaper here. She spoke of ‘civilians’ and D-list notices and, frankly, having all the gossip and — if you were lucky, she might even tell you what the rest of the know-all on-the-pulse newsroom team were talking about.

The actor Stephen Fry was stuck in a lift for X minutes last night.

The Times had the story. In fact 41 other news outlets served by Google News picked it up:

What I found really fascinating was this critical Tweet on the frylift conversation:

It reads:

dmacfarlane: Deary me. It took 10 hours for DigitalSpy to update us all on @stephenfry’s #frylift escapades. They’re slacking.

DigitalSpy is described as the UK’s leading website for all things media and entertainment. I visit them now and again and enjoy the site.

However dmacfarlane raises an interesting point. 10 hours? The Stephen Fry episode took place at, what, just before 11pm yesterday? And DigitalSpy published a story on the matter at 09:42am the next morning.

Is that simply not good enough? Clearly, the author has got into work, had a look about, knocked up the post and got it live on the site just before 10am.

Is that perfectly fine? I suppose so.

But then again, if it happened 10+ hours ago, isn’t that unacceptable? The Daily Mail got in there with a post at 1:54pm today. That’s a bit late.

I wonder, I wonder.

What is clear is that Twitter is becoming the source of an increasing amount of news/entertainment stories. And, as a result, there’s next to no room for the Old Media Ego (or, indeed, the New Media Ego). The source is right there for you to read on Twitter. If you’re interested enough to read a story about Stephen Fry (and you’re a bit geeky), chances are you’ve already subscribed to Fry via Twitter and you already experienced this.

Which reduces the value of the story to a little bit of delight to see Twitter getting a mention.

Of course that’s also helping educate the masses about the possibilities of Twitter.

But how long before you switch off The Daily Mail and Digital Spy and simply get the news and opinion raw, unfiltered and direct from the celeb themselves?

2 years ago, would the Daily Mail, or The Times, have printed a story about Stephen Fry stuck in a lift?

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Posted in Mobile Services | Comments

The HTC Tungsten will be the new T-Mobile G2

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

After our posts about the HTC Tungsten the other day, we’ve heard from various knowing sources that it will most certainly be the next generation T-Mobile G2.

Just from the pictures the Tungsten looks a lot more SOLID than the pop-out-and-wobble-about G1.

Interesting.

I am, actually, quite enjoying my G1 at the moment. As long as I switch off the device and only switch it on when I want to use it. Otherwise the battery wears down pretty swiftly.

(Photo via PPC Geeks).

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Posted in Devices | Comments

The Highs and Lows of 2008.

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

What an interesting year!
Since I joined the formerly SMS Text News/MIR team in July of this year, a lot has happened. But there has also been so much more too… And here are some of my highlights, or should I say, more notable occurrences!

The iPhone 3G! This was bound to appear somewhere, and so I thought it’s best to get it out of the way sooner, rather than later. Personally, I’m not a fan; and from what I’ve read, seen and heard accounts of, it hasn’t been all too great for Apple too. However, as much as I insist that it’s a pile of rubbish (feel free to beg to differ); it sold once again in its thousands.

Apple has conquered another market, and whether it’s because they found monopolising the MP3 market too easy, they’ve certainly made a statement. And even though the 3G came out way back in June/July the device still makes a regular appearance here on MIR. I do not doubt for a second that Apple have something lurking up their well-tailored sleeves, and if the rumours of an iPhone Nano are anything to go by… Then 2009 will be dominated with more Apples than your doctor can prescribe!

Secondly, Blyk! Hmm, well, me and Ricky between have more than enough to say on Blyk. For me, I was so hopeful that Blyk could be that turning point, especially here in the UK – where we ever so often fall behind in the world of technology and thought – and I was so disheartened with what eventually happened with them, it still annoys me now.

It can’t all be bad, and as much as I say I don’t like them and that their bound to fail… They haven’t yet. In fact, Blyk is over one year old now, and it still seems to be maintaining momentum. I think in 2009 we’ll either start to see how incredibly flawed Blyk’s aims and business model is; or dare I say it, it still surviving and the European expansion working out for the better for the company.

For me also, as I’ve begun to really take note and interest in the world of the Mobile Phone, I’ve seen certainly more usability on the rise, and a better use of SMS and mobile communications from businesses and services.

The “Knife Crime” Crime Stoppers text in service has to be, for me one of the single best things I have come across. It’s been implemented correctly in schools (well, at least in my school), without making itself appear too formal, and scary to use. And it’s using basic innovation, which as I know I have repeated many-a-time over the past few months; is severely lacking.

Slowly though, I’m beginning to see more and more use of mobile communications, for example my local hospital texting me when I have an upcoming appointment so I can’t forget; or my School using a system to ensure parents know if you’re not in school – when say you’re meant to be.

Hopefully over the next twelve months more of this good thinking and logic will be applied to other aspects of our general lives; and maybe with that, we might even get some more innovation out of that… And surely, that can only be a good thing?

Finally, my favourite mobile application… Well this has to go to MusicStation, which is available to Vodafone users. When I was first introduced to it by Ewan, I’ll admit I was majorly sceptical; I’m a music lover in every sense of the word. I don’t like the idea of being sold half-hearted 96kps versions of a song, or only having a minute and pointless library of music to download from; and this is all I expected to get.

I was wrong, and I loved the service. I haven’t yet seen it used by anyone I know on Vodafone, in fact, I’m not even sure if any of my friends are even aware of what they can get on their mobiles for a small fee per month; but if they did, then I do not doubt that it would be highly used by all of them.

Nokia I suppose are heading out in a similar direction, although I can’t comment on how the “Comes with Music” service works; I don’t doubt for a second that music services like the ones Vodafone and Nokia are offering are going to stop or end here.

—

I look forward to the next year, and I look forward to the new technologies developing, and being released, and being pleasantly surprised as I have been this year. I also see that as much optimism that I have, one cannot forget the looming “recession” and what impact will that have? I dare not speculate, but for more than one reason I’m pretty sure next year will be interesting and something to look forward to!

Anyway, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Samantha.
samantha@mobileindustryreview.com

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Posted in Apple, Applications, Blyk, Devices, MMS, Mobile, Mobile Applications, Mobile Commerce, Mobile Development, Mobile Services, Operators, Opinion, SMS, iPhone | Comments

Buddycloud’s new Symbian application is out! Get it!

Friday, December 12th, 2008

I had a note in from Simon Tennant, one of the top chaps at mobile social services, Buddycloud. They’ve been innovating at a tremendous pace and Simon emailed with this update:

- – - – -

Ewan,

We don’t really do press releases but I wanted to ping you about what have been beavering away on here in Buddycloud Towers. We’re terrible at blowing our own trumpet but I figured that if we are going to talk about ourselves, then we’d rather tell you first.

This morning Ross received a newly signed build back from Symbian that rolls up all our development build goodness. Things like pushing status message to Twitter and Facebook and place syncing. eg: “Ross Savage met with Helge Timenes at Buddycloud Towers.” The chat and find-people-nearby stuff is also now looking good.

Helge has also been hard at work on our location engine, tweaking it to get even better, more accurate place bookmarks using just Cell Towers for location. And now, when a user is not at one of their place bookmarks, we share your general location with your friends (eg Ewan is on-the-road in Shorditch or Ewan is near to MIR Towers).

Helge has also been fixing some strange problems with using cellid for positioning (we discovered that all Starbucks use the same ethernet address!) The Wifi lets you be hyper-accurate but for the most part Cell Towers is “good enough”.

And I’m currently working with a university team in Munich and one in Vienna that are using our backend and handset code to develop a
carpooling and mobile dating service respectively. I’m also working with some of the standard boards to find a nice way to share location and find people nearby. Eventually we want Buddycloud, Brightkite, Fireeagle, Nokia Friendfinder etc all working together.

Some progress: A protocol we put together is now in the experimental phase
(http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0255.html)

A couple of weeks back we asked them to help us translate the Buddycloud application to more than just English. Within 5 days we were supporting 11 languages. (Thanks gang.)

I also updated our product description page if MIR readers would like to know more about us:
http://www.buddycloud.com/cms/node/56

(trumpt blowing over) If you would like something a bit more press-releasey ping me back and I could jot something down for you.

- – - – -

STEP AWAY FROM THE PRESS RELEASE, Simon. I much prefer an email update from the chaps who’re doing it. I’m pretty sure the rest of the readers here on Mobile Industry Review prefer that too.

I’m off to go and put Buddycloud on my handset…

Here’s the link you need to download.

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Posted in Applications | Comments

New mobile BBC iPlayer hits beta

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

A blog post has appeared on the BBC informing of a new iPlayer mobile website in beta trials, plus support for new phones.

Posted by Richard Titus, the new Future Media Controller, Audio & Music and Mobile goes on to highlight some interesting new developments.

We’re probably all well aware the iPhone was the first to be bestowed with access to the iPlayer, then the Nokia 96 back in October and now N85 too.

What some might not be aware is that the new iPlayer portal is now available for the Samsung Omnia and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. The Sony Ericsson C905 is also being geared up for access to the site by the end of next week, with compatibility for more devices in the next few weeks.

Just aim your phone, the ones listed above, at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer and their system should figure out what device is trying to access the site.

Those who already use it will be familiar with the layout and will spot a few new tabs. As they’ve extended the portal with some new features and navigation methods.

They’ve also broadened their support for the first Windows Mobile devices with the likes of the Samsung Omnia and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, first hitting the mark with good WIFI and 3G.

More can be seen on the blog post here.

Let’s hope other channels follow suit with their on-demand offerings too.

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Posted in Mobile | Comments

RumourMill: New Nokia Touch Screen phone?

Monday, December 8th, 2008

The rumour mill has gone into over drive with the sighting of a new Nokia phone, a full touch screen mobile – not even a week after their symposium in Barcelona started.

Slashgear amongst others, starting with them, have all picked up on this story and run with it like the Olympic torch.

We passed this along to be confirmed by our newly gained and most excellent contacts now inside Nokia. Who in turn passed it along to HQ in Finland, where the answer came back that no one was clued in on the model.

With the official word being that it just looks like a ‘marketing concept shot’, which we concur with. As we’re unsure of a handset coming out that boasts a “Direct UI simplifies interaction with standard strokes and gestures”.

Some other news came to light just as we were writing this up, in the form of an update on the main news site.

They’ve also had the image confirmed by Nokia, where it just appears to be a shot showing off the latest UI and its features.

A feature set that does look very familiar to the one we saw supported on the N97, which we extensively used last week.

Perhaps it’s more than just a concept mock up after all and could be a definite glimpse into the future.

Does anyone have a Flux Capacitor so we can find out? McFly? McFly?

See here for more on the story.

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Posted in Mobile | Comments

NokiaWorldWatch: The new Nokia, the N97 – the full skinny, the complete low down, the full enchilada – everything you needed to know but were too afraid to ask.

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

Nokia’s new QWERTY keyboard based mobile was announced today, completing their arsenal of N series handsets. This could easily be compared to other manufactures mobile keyboard arms, with the likes of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 and HTC’s Touch Pro first popping into mind.

The N97 now fits nicely into the latest series line-up with a distinct feel of the N96, plus having a very close similarity to the 5800 in feel and shape.

This time around, the new handset comes with what Nokia are calling the ‘tilting touch display’. Where the screen retreats to an angle and a three-row keyboard is then exposed.

Its hinge is a mechanical one, which in our mind screams main point of failure. Although they’re confident the forged steel they’ve used was the toughest one around and will suffice. Also they’ve aired to us it has been over engineered to very much deliberately compensate, for this new venture of theirs.

One of the issues we had when we began to use the keyboard is that it looks and feels like it’s geared only for left handed people. We’re sure many others will feel the same way too. The d-pad is located for the left thumb to use only, which does feel odd. We asked why this was the case; the answer came back rather obviously and just shows who it’s aimed at.

After a great deal of research they discovered the left hand thumb was used more often in navigation when it came to consoles. Ahhh, the penny drops as to who they’re aiming this at now.

When you remember you do actually use that thumb in that way, the muscle memory sort of kicks in and you’re well away.

The other issue we had is that it does take some effort to open the keyboard up. It doesn’t move as easy as the arc slider on the X1 or as smoothly as the Touch Pro. After a while of use it becomes rather irksome, but this could be a good point – as it doesn’t accidentally open. This is a bother to most users, with the phrase ‘ass dialling’ becoming more and more common of late.

There’s also a new personalised touch screen, with its own widget set that’s fully customisable. These are live and can be updated in real time, with the likes of email being shown and social networking status too.

These are very much akin to the latest Samsung handset widgets, but are presented in a much more clearer way. Others could learn from this, take heed those of you out there and you know who you are.

Nokia are calling this handset a mobile computer, not a smart phone per se. Others have equated this phrase to laptops, netbooks or even a tablet pc.

They’ve gone down another route here. This is despite other handsets mentioned above being much closer to smartphones, although Nokia have been bold enough to call there’s something else.

The Nokia N97 comes along with 3.5-inch 16:9 touch display, that also works well in both landscape or portfolio even with the keyboard exposed. The internet is a clear factor in its initial design planning, which is obviously clear when you see websites on screen, as the display is really shown off here.

Although, as pointed out by a colleague last night it has a much inferior screen to the X1 or Touch Pro. As it only measures up to being 640 x 360 pixels, with the X1 having a smaller screen but better resolution at 800 x 480 pixels.

In terms of storage , the handset comes along with the 32GB onboard with the expandability potential of another 16GB. That’s right, you’ve read this correctly – 48GB in total, with the remainder being from a microSD card. Although in the morning keynote the speaker alluded to the phone could be 64GB at launch, meaning the 32GB card could be around sooner than expected.

With a 5MP camera and support for Nokia Music Store, with continuous playback time of 1.5 days it’s certainly a veritable phone. Couple that with quad-band GSM , 3G and WIFI it does show a lot of potential.

As a series 60 device we were suitably impressed with what we saw, with some minor reservation over its usability. If Nokia listened and took on board feedback from its critics, there could be a good chance they could steal market share from others.

There’s always worry that spec’s will change as the launch date hasn’t been set in stone and the preliminary time is so far far way.

We’ve been told that what we have seen and used might not have the same foibles as the finished retail model.

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Posted in Mobile | Comments

New Nokia 6260 mobile slides into view

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

The former wood-pulp millers have just made public their latest handset, the 6260 Slide. Which is an addition to their other 6260 from 2004.

Although not really drawn as update as such on the previous series, it does still share the same model number. Only now the word Slide is has been added, almost as a suffix at the end.

The original model in case you were at all interested was of a clam shell design, and if you weren’t, it’s too late now.

They’ve tagged this one for marketing purposes as being ’made for high speed sharing’, whatever that means.

We assume, and we’re sure there’s something about making the ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’ in there, it’s geared towards sharing photographs and videos via social networking sites out there.

Running from the Series 40 OS it’s capable of HSDPA and even has WIFI onboard, with images to be captured for its 5MP Carl Zeiss camera lens with flash.

There’s also GPS and Nokia Maps pre-installed, amongst other wonders accompanying the phone such as the navi-key functions for guiding your way around the OS.

It’s due to hit the shops early next year, with a price tag of 299 Euros. We’ve asked about possible networks carrying it, but none have been made public yet. Boo!

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Posted in Mobile | Comments

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