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December 31, 2006
Yuvi: A new blogging star is born!
I thought the last post: Inspired by Chicken Run: Google Reader, One Web, Mobile Web 2.0 and Metadata .. would be my last post for this year .. but I could not miss this post about a 15 year old boy called Yuvi from Chennai, India who has done some stunning analysis on Robert Scoble's blog.
See Robert's post and Christian Long's analysis which explains more!
Posted by ajit at 10:28 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Inspired by Chicken Run: Google Reader, One Web, Mobile Web 2.0 and Metadata ..
Over the holiday season, I watched Chicken Run on TV .
At the end of the movie, the chickens debate the proverbial question: What came first – the chicken or the egg …
This made me think of the Mobile Web ..
There is no doubt that when we think of the Web vs. the Mobile Web, there is no ‘Chicken and Egg’ question: the Web came first ..
Yet, why does the Mobile Data Industry often try to think that it is distinct from the Web?
Why don’t we like the idea of ‘One Web’?
Let me put this in perspective with a very concrete, personal example.
Like my friends and two of the best known bloggers on the Web, Richard Mc Manus
and Robert Scoble , I am a huge fan of the Google Reader
I had some trouble getting the Google Reader to work on the new mobile phone I got. So, I searched for alternative RSS readers.
The problem was not finding some excellent mobile RSS readers – there are truly some excellent mobile RSS readers out there.
The problem was my ‘tags’. In other words – the metadata.
Once I had been using the Google reader for some time, the posts were classified using various tags. No matter how good the mobile readers were, I had no intention of recreating my tags and maintaining two sets of metadata.
So, after some work, I got the Google Reader to work on the phone and now it works great.
This may well be an important lesson for creators of Mobile Web applications – you can’t ignore the Web and the question of the Metadata. People will always use the Web first and that factor must be taken into account when creating new Mobile applications.
In fact, if you read posts from Scoble, Steve Reubel et al , there is a strong possibility that the Google Reader could take over the functions of Digg using the ‘sharing’ feature of Google Reader.
With many top bloggers already using Google Reader, I would definitely welcome this possibility.
This again reemphasises my point that the ‘Web’ reader will get ‘better at a faster rate’.
A ‘mobile only’ application cannot hope to match that. Especially, as more metadata gets captured on the Web, Mobile applications cannot ignore the Web.
This was largely the point of Mobile Web 2.0 i.e. you cannot think of Mobile Web 2.0 in isolation i.e. we defined Mobile Web 2.0 within the context of Web 2.0
PS: I am sure you must be wondering, which one is sadder ..
a) I watch Chicken Run
b) I think of the mobile data industry at the end of the movie
c) This post is created at around 20:00 UK time on Dec 31 2006 , here in the UK or even worse …
d) The other documents I am also reading now are about Discrete event simulation techniques and about the Graph theory (relating to my PhD)
e) And finally that .. my verdict on Chicken Run is : I like the Old fashioned Hanna Barbera style animation compared to the newer Wallace and Gromit style animation Stop Motion animation!
Happy New Year everyone!
Image source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120630/
Posted by ajit at 8:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wish you a Happy New Year!
Thanks for all your support in the year for the OpenGardens Blog
Source: http://jeffline.jefferson.edu/SML/resources/journal-notes/happy-new-year.gif
Posted by ajit at 6:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 30, 2006
Experiences of Mobile podcasting?
Do you have experience of a service like melodeo ?
We are about to launch a video and audio podcasting service. As expected, we will have a mobile focus in addition to serving a web audience i.e. our podcasts (audio and video ) would be available on the web as well as the mobile phone
In Europe, practically the only network capable of actually deploying a mobile podcast is three (due to the priceplan issues)
Hence, I am interested in understanding
a) Do you use a service like melodeo? see the mobilcasting blog for more insights
b) If so, for what podcasts
c) do you have a fixed price plan
d) Do you use video podcasts
e) Any other experiences about mobile podcasting welcome
kind rgds
Ajit
Posted by ajit at 8:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 29, 2006
EV-DO vs WCDMA: Who’s ahead?
Broadband is in the air. It has been an evolving year for wireless broadband in the US. It moved from test-beds to real markets nationwide; both EV-DO and WCDMA have made progress, but which technology is likely to be more pervasive in the coming years?
There are 3 critical things that matter the most in the evolution cycle of any wireless technology, namely - the network coverage, the device choices, and the devices and the services cost to the consumer.
In terms of network coverage, even though Cingular (then AT&T Wireless) got a head start with its ceremonial UMTS deployment in four markets, Verizon and Sprint Nextel have jumped much further ahead in terms of national coverage. While Cingular has only covered 52 major markets in 28 states (just over 50% market) thus far, both Verizon and Sprint are nearing complete nation-wide coverage. T-Mobile won’t get into the picture until well into 2007. Alltel, the number 5 carrier in the US has been spreading its EV-DO coverage as well.
In the critical area of handsets, EV-DO is ahead by a mile. As of Sept 2006, there were 15 3G handsets available in the market (representing approximately 20% of the available handsets from big four), 14 EV-DO (10 from Verizon, 4 from Sprint Nextel) vs. 1 UMTS/HSDPA handset from Cingular.
Average Selling Price (ASP) is approximately $130 on the low-end phones and $250 on the high-end. To its credit, Cingular’s LG CU 500 is available at sub-$100 to make it attractive for mass-market; however, it needs much better market coverage and broad range of devices before it can start catching up with its CDMA buddies. The pricing for broadband-friendly services are still in a state of flux but becoming attractive by the day. Starting this Christmas season, we should expect the gap between the two technologies start to narrow as Cingular plays catch-up.
As of 2Q06, CDMA carriers had 93% of the 3G subscribers in the US with Verizon leading the pack with over 80% of the 3G subscribers. 2007 will see the introduction of HSDPA/HSUPA and the evolution is expected to continue with HSPA and LTE by 2009. On the CDMA track, Sprint Nextel and Verizon are already testing and introducing Rev A devices. EV-DO Rev B and Rev C are likely to be introduced in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
So, what can we expect in the next few years? In a way, this match of EV-DO vs. HSDPA in the US is akin to GSM vs. CDMA tussle 5-6 years ago. By the time, AT&T Wireless finally decided to abandon TDMA in favor of the GSM evolution, CDMA 1x RTT was well ahead of the game. EV-DO is clearly ahead in its 5 year maturation cycle in the US and will continue to enjoy a dominant market-share till at least 2010 (though WCDMA will completely dominate EV-DO worldwide). By that time, 3G penetration will reach over 50%.
Posted by ajit at 6:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sam Sethi and Mike Butcher are now blogging at Vecosys
I saw this post on Nic Brisbourne’s blog theequitykicker, Sam and Mike have started blogging at vecosys. Sam and Mike are well respected in the UK and have a lot of good Karma and mindshare. Mike is also the main editor of Mobile Web 2.0. It’s good to see them back in action. Vecosys will be the one to watch! Mike’s personal site is at mbites
Posted by ajit at 8:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 28, 2006
Living a mobile life ..
Sometimes blogging helps you to develop ideas by harnessing collective intelligence! An idea may resonate with people around the world and may be developed almost instantly into what it was originally proposed.
Almost within an hour of posting my blog My 2007 resolution: Living a truly mobile life .. I got an email from Bill Brister co-founder of individui
I reproduce(with permission) an email from Bill
> Ajit -
>
>
>
> I am a big fan of your blog and what you post about. I have been working
> on a concept for the past 6 months about exactly what you posted about last -
> Living a mobile life! My partner and I launched our company a month ago
> with one vision in mind . Live Life Mobile! You can find us here -
> www.individui.com
>
> We are rolling out slowly to begin with, since SMS technology is not as
> "up to speed" as the European and Asian markets are. We are introducing this
> functionality to businesses now in order to create a small but steady flow
> of revenue. Our goal for 2007 is to do exactly what you wrote about "Live
> Life Mobile!"
>
> Thanks for such a GREAT blog and I hope to hear from you soon.
>
>
>
> Bill Brister
While the site has still services being developed, the possibility of collaborating with sites globally is interesting because it will lead to better services/more ideas and ‘making a bigger pie’ – which is of interest to me in general when it comes to the Mobile Data Industry.
The second piece of feedback came from Vladimir Dimitroff – (posted in forumoxford). I am a great fan of Vlad’s views and although we both live in the UK, we have yet to catch up.
Vlad says ..
>>>>>>>
A mobile life would reflect to a large degree our.. 'non-mobile' life, even if that means only what we do with a PC
For business you first need to stay connected - you have the Blackberry (not sure why - unless it's paid by a client or employer). To carry less paperweights/bricks in your pockets, download and test on your Nokia some of the excellent free Java mail clients - you'll never miss a mail.
Then you need an 'Office' suite - text editors and even spreadsheets are also available in Java.
Practical little gizmos like time-sheets, expense trackers, personal finance, language translators, currency converters, measuring unit converters, street and underground maps - are all abundant in Java for all handset makes, mostly free.
Some suites like Morange or Reporo (little apps tied to a service) provide a collection of functions like news, chat, RSS, weather, travel info etc.
There is the ubiquitous Google Maps for mobile - but also Mobile GMaps - another app that adds to Google also MSN, Yahoo and Ask.com maps - all in road and aerial/satellite versions.
Outside business, I won't even start to list the variety of games, entertainment, health-watching and what-not-proggies that are available for the humble mobile. Most are free, the few that are not are cheap. And they won't fill your memory - probably your entire collection of apps will occupy as much as a single video clip or MP3 song (for which today's phones are equipped with more and more memory).
I didn't insert any URLs - because all of this can be found at a single place that I have often recommended: GetJar (no, it's not my site and I am not paid to promote it ).
If Java apps aren't your game, you can still do practically everything you do on a PC via a browser. If the one that came with your handset is somewhat primitive, try Opera Mini or the mod I recommended elsewhere.
Enjoy your flat-rate - and your mobile life!
Cheerz,
V.
<<<<<<<
Keep them coming ..
Posted by ajit at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 27, 2006
My 2007 resolution: Living a truly mobile life ..
My 2007 resolution is: To live a truly 'mobile' life
The basic idea is to use the phone as much as possible and reduce my dependence on the PC. So, to do this, I will identify a series of services and then try and see if I can use them on the phone (for instance booking train tickets, booking cinema tickets, read etc). Within reason of course!
What ‘services’ can you think of which can be used (and also sites which you recommend)?
I am using a Blackberry from Vodafone and a Nokia N73 as part of the 3 X series connection (hence fixed price network for 3).
That’s my main motivation i.e. given that a service is fixed price, how many can I use?
Thoughts and web sites welcome (even your own). Happy to blog about it and link back to you
Image source: warhawks
Posted by ajit at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 25, 2006
I got my 3 X series phone (Nokia N73)
As per my previous post about the three X series phone, I got my 3 X series phone (Nokia N73) – including the slingbox.
Even before I bought it(rather upgraded) my existing connection, a couple of interesting observations.
Firstly, the X-series is not available in other retail stores (such as Carphone warehouse). It is only available in 3’s own stores. This is an increasing trend with both Vodafone and
Orange dropping other retail outlets in favour of their own stores . 3 is also
following trend that by keeping it’s best deals at its own stores - (and few would doubt that the 3 X series deal is one of the best deals in the market at the moment). I had pointed to the wider implications of this trend in an earlier post Why has the mobile entertainment industry suddenly discovered User Generated Content?
That said, it was not easy to find a ‘3’ store even from their own site. The ‘store finder’ simply returns a whole bunch of stores and it is not possible to know which store is a ‘3’ store (hence where I can get the X series phone). (It seems this problem is now being fixed on the web site)
Worse, the 3 help desk woman kept redirecting me to the ‘Harrow on the hill’ carphone warehouse (the closest to my postcode). Ofcourse, that was no good for the X series.
So, I have finally got my phone now from the Oxford Circus store – watch this space!
Posted by ajit at 8:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Get well wishes for fellow blogger - Chang Kim - web20asia (Seoul) ..
One of the joys of blogging is - you form friendships with people all over the world. Chang Kim of web 2.0 Asia is one such friend. Always a pleasure to meet Chang when I am in Seoul
Just realised that Chang was unwell (but is better now). Chang is a great guy and very knowledgeable (one of the only English speaking bloggers from South Korea). So, best wishes to Chang and speedy recovery!
Posted by ajit at 7:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Merry Christmas and greetings for the holiday season ..
Wish you a Merry Chrismas and greetings for the holiday season
Image source Arnes
Posted by ajit at 5:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
James Brown .. RIP ..
Soul godfather James Brown dies
Posted by ajit at 5:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 24, 2006
I am on the Scoble show this morning!
What a nice Christmas gift! I am on the Scoble show this morning speaking about Mobile Web 2.0 and Publishing! Better than being on TV in my book!
Considering its my first major media interview - totally unplanned and unrehersed late at night in a London hotel lobby .. its not bad ..
I have always enjoyed meeting Robert Scoble and the last time I met the Scobles, was when they came to London.
Great to be on the show and thanks Robert.
Please have a look at the Scoble show. I have been following Robert’s work for some time now and I learnt a lot from the following videos (among others) at the Scoble show :
Mark Lucovsky(Google), Bill Watkins(Seagate CEO), Betsy Aoki(Microsoft), Adam Gross(Salesforce.com), Eric Billingsley (eBay), Roman Scharf (CEO Jajah), Mark Cuban, Jonathan Schwartz(Sun Microsystems CEO) and Shai Agassi(SAP)
Considering the above folk, it’s great to be in the same company on the Scoble show. Do check it out!
see the link here at the Scoble show
Posted by ajit at 3:41 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 23, 2006
Dean Bubley’s review of Mobile Web 2.0
Dean Bubley posted a review of my book Mobile Web 2.0 some time back but I had yet to link back to it.
It’s a mixed review but it’s a great to get a review from someone like Dean whose views I truly admire, especially because there are very few people in the industry who understand both the business and the technology aspects of Mobile Web 2.0.
So, many thanks Dean!
An except below but read the full review on Dean’s blog
Overall, the book is a good starting point, and you can use it to generate your own divergent trains of thought. It catalysed my thought process on how mobile mashups could work in reality, for example - if you start with 2 GB of initial mapping data on a memory card, and just "top up" over the network where necessary, and add additional variables generated both locally and through the network.
Bottom line on the book: Read it as a backgrounder, and as a starting point for what what might occur, if awkward realities didn't get in the way. Don't buy into the hype around Web 2.0 being the panacea for mobile communications for everyone, but pick & choose which bits you believe are feasible. Then look for niches where the problems don't matter, or invent solutions to fix the issues raised.
Posted by ajit at 5:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 21, 2006
MyStrands: A mobile social networking system for parties ..
Even in the early days of the ipod, there was a trend among party goers to ‘bring their own music’ to the party (i.e. their music in their own iPod which they wanted to dock in at the event and play it).
With the rise of social networking/mobility, there is the possibility of adding a ‘social network’ element to this activity. In that sense, a service like Partystrands (powered by mystrands ) is a logical extension to this function of bringing your own music. The service seeks to extend the idea of ‘sharing’ music at a party by sending SMS messages about their preferences (and also other messages). These messages are analysed and the playlist is updated based on the aggregated text messages. The screen has other social features like listing names of people at a party, what song is being played, what’s next etc etc.
All this is simple, and frankly pretty mundane.
Mystrands/Partystrands has got some interesting coverage at techcrunch and mobhappy
I am not a ‘party’ person .. So, I am not going to comment on the concept itself.
However, I find this concept interesting for some different reasons ..
Firstly, I am always interested in things that blur the boundary between the Web and the Mobile Web and also the physical and the mobile worlds. Aggregating musical tastes is OK .. but more interesting is the fact that if you are a MyStrands, MySpace, or Last.fm user, you can text your alias in any of these communities, and your music behaviour (as expressed in any of these online communities) will influence the music being played at the bar. This means, you can import your xml profile from last.fm for example into your mystrands profile(knowing your alias), so together this will influence your new profile you're using.
The second interesting element is it’s mobile component. You can follow the ‘party’ from your mobile browser. This means, you can ‘peek into’ the party from your mobile phone in real time to see if it’s of interest. For instance, what bars are now active, what music is being played, who is at the bar, and what text messages are being sent etc etc ..
You can see this at their mobile site. Choose country, take a venue, see it's info, a location map, check it's users, the music
played, pictures uploaded by users, etc... and a demo of the mobile service can be seen at the mystrands blog
A forthcoming Symbian client also allows you to listen to recommendation samples on your mobile through real player or media player...
It is these ‘sharing type’ features which make the famous Tomi Ahonen/Alan Moore discussion about the demise of the iPod (the iPod vs. mobile phone argument) significant. While currently, the iPod provides a superior listening experience, the phone is catching up fast and also the added ability to share immediately would be significant in future.
Some more cool features at their lab site
Many thanks to Rudy De Waele for answering my numerous questions about this service!
Posted by ajit at 10:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Shane Warne ..
Shane Keith Warne A legend retires .. Will be missed!
Image source: cricket.org
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December 20, 2006
Alan Moore's talk at Nokia world ..
Alan Moore gave a keynote speech at Nokia world. Alan is a top notch speaker and makes a great impact in a live presentation (and that’s not just because I am the publisher of Communities Dominate Brands !) . Have a look at his video and other comments at his blog Communities Dominate Brands
Posted by ajit at 2:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 19, 2006
I am speaking at 3GSM in Barcelona ..
I am speaking at 3GSM! - more soon - but if you are attending would be great to meet up.
I will be the moderator and Opening Speaker for a session entitled ‘Technology Breakout Session: Mobile Web 2.0’ speaking on ‘Mobile Web 2.0 – Separating Fact from Fiction’ and then moderating the session
Although it will have a technology focus, I guess we will be covering all aspects of Mobile Web 2.0
Posted by ajit at 8:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 16, 2006
Flash Lite is not WICD - But it should be!
Since I blog a lot about next generation mobile browser applications, a common question I get is: What about Flash Lite ?
Well .. What about it – I say? It’s specific to a company(Adobe) and in my view, that will always be it’s limitation.(i.e. not an Open Standard!)
But more seriously, Flash has got a lot of traction on the Web. Thus, there is reason to believe that Flash Lite may also do well on Mobile devices.
Besides, Adobe is getting a lot of traction for Rich Internet Web Applications on the Web through products like Adobe Flex
But will Flash Lite emulate the success of Flash on the Web?
The crux of Adobe’s Flash strategy on the Web was based on giving the client for free. This led to a whole mass of developers adopting the technology. Adobe made money using developer licences.
If this strategy were mirrored on the Mobile ecosystem , the Flash Lite client would be free and developers would adopt it in significant numbers.
So, is the Flash Lite client free?
Sadly, it is not.
At the moment, Adobe’s entire strategy seems to be focussed towards devices and handsets as opposed to developers and browsers.
In other words, it is NOT the same model which made Flash so successful on the Web since the client is not free and the target ‘customer’ from Adobe’s point of view is not the developer.
So, who is Flash pitched at?
The obvious answer is: the Operator and the Device manufacturer.
This will lead to a slow and a fragmented uptake of Flash Lite (in contrast to the almost global appeal of Flash on the Web)
But in case of Flash Lite, it gets worse: Not only do the Operators and device manufactures have to install Flash(at a considerable cost), Adobe’s entire strategy seems to be pitched towards one specific Operator i.e. Verizon. This is apparent even as you see the Flash Lite site
Sadly, this may end up with the product being defined by it’s first customer
Ofcourse, there is Flash Lite as a browser plug-in – and that’s more interesting and is similar to the Web. However, the browser plug-in approach is not getting a lot of traction from both Adobe and the Web community
Is there an option?
In my view, Yes.
That option is WICD from the W3C.
The potential of WICD has been highlighted by other bloggers like CEO before and while it still has a way to go in terms of traction – it’s basic approach is a lot better.
Its also a lot cheaper, it is an Open Standard and is likely to be adopted by Operators and Device manufacturers for the same reason that they are looking into Linux as an OS now(Open and cost effective).
In my view, a better approach from Adobe would be to focus on the browser plug-in and make the client free.
This would mirror the Web strategy which made Flash so successful.
Both Adobe Flex and Flash Lite are good products. Lets hope that they become successful.
But the only way to do that in my view is by pitching to the developers.
Too many people (including developers themselves) make the mistake of over estimating the UI at the expense of critical mass.
But UI is not the critical factor as I discuss in the article Mobile Ajax: More than just a pretty face and The future is bright - the future is Three! (both of which emphasise features beyond the UI and talk about why UI is not the critical factor in the success of Mobile Applications)
What is needed is a homogeneous marketplace.
Anything that fragments the marketplace is not good.
Anything that encourages a homogeneous market is good.
Thus, the free browser plug-in is a better approach in contrast to the current strategy
Without developer support, it won’t fly and developers need a mass market to succeed.
Thoughts?
Update - based on comments below
Hello Jag, Dalibor
Thanks for your insightful comments.
Re
Actually, the cynic in me says that I *do* think it's relevant, if it's an open standard it's more likey to be designed by a committee that results in the mess that was MIDP 1 and 2. With Flash, as a developer, I know it will work everywhere. With all but the simplest of Java apps that is rarely the case.
With all due respect, it was the Operators that screwed up Java implementations by inconsistently implementing APIs smile and thereby fragmenting Java on Mobile devices! and I agree to your comments that all but the simplest games are possible on Java.
In other words, it was not a failure of Open standards, the problem lay with Operators.
Now coming back to Flash Lite, if Operator A installs it on device B and Operator X installs it on device Y, then you see the problem immediately - a smaller target audience.
The problem is very simple
As an industry, we forget that we are working with consumer applications(which need critical mass).
You can get critical mass in one of two ways
a) The Japanese and Korean model : 'Managed' by a strong entity(in case of Korea - the Korean government for instance)
b) The Open Standards way!!
Thats why my emphasis on WICD
Read my book : Mobile Web 2.0
Image source: Mad Lantern
Posted by ajit at 5:41 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
December 14, 2006
If the US market is fixed price(data) .. why does it not take off?
At forumoxford, I posted a very simple thought which has generated some great conversation.
The question was:
Just wondering ..
If the US market is fixed price(data) .. why does it not take off?
They have had fixed price data apps for some time .. so why dont we see more US data apps?
thoughts?
There are many insights to this question. Michael Mace posted on his blog - which he cross posted on forum oxford the points below. Not all of them are immediately practical (for example some form of application signing/security certificates is needed and releasing the user's private data has much more serious implications on a mobile device - nevertheless, its a great list!
In addition to offering flat-rate data, here are the other steps a mobile operator must take in order to make that mobile data ecosystem work:
1. Provide a consistent architecture that works offline. Web applications depend on having a constant connection between the user's computer and the Internet. That's not practical for the mobile Web. Even in countries with heavy 2G coverage, there are lots of gaps in the 3G network, and will be for years. Mobile Web apps need to work like RIM's e-mail client, which stores both the program itself and the user's data locally and then sends the data to the network when a connection is available.
That means just bundling a browser is not enough. The phones will also need a software architecture installed on-device that can manage applications and data when the user is offline.
2. Kill security certificates. The line between websites and applications is blurring, as Web 2.0 architectures allow much more processing to be done on the client device rather than a server someplace in Mongolia. For example, Skype is mostly an application, not a web site. In the future it will be impossible for a user to tell exactly where an application ends and the Internet begins.
But today the operators treat websites and applications completely differently. The new flat-rate data plans let you browse just about any website you want. But just as we open up the browser, operators are starting to restrcit applications by insisting that they obtain a security certificate before they can be installed. The certification process is slow, inconvenient, and unreasonably expensive for small software companies and those that create a lot of applications.
Can you picture a website paying for certification before it can run on your browser? How many sites would bother? If the operators insist on certificates, they will make the mobile Web a small and uninteresting subset of the real Web, permanently. Certificates have to go.
3. Unlock the user's data. Many operators (especially in the US) make it very difficult for an application to access the user's data stored on the device, such as the address book, the dialer, and the user's current location. But many of the most interesting new mobile applications need to be able to work with this information. The operators are afraid to give access to this data, but they'll need to adopt the same security model used on the Web -- let the user do what they want, and defend the device via security software. It's ugly, but it worked in the fixed line world.
4. Make it easy to discover new content and services. The mobile data ecosystem will evolve faster if it's easy for users to find new services and applications. Today the content discovery tools and software stores on mobile devices, if they are installed at all, are often buried under several layers of icons, or are very hard to use. We need the mobile equivalent of an Amazon.com -- an online content store that's easy to find, browse and search, and that makes suggestions to you based on what you've used in the past.
And oh by the way, that store needs to offer everything, not just the operator's ten favorite apps. Do you think Amazon would have succeeded if it had offered only the books that Jeff Bezos thought were cool?
5. Get ready to go to a flat rate for everything. The logical outcome of putting the open web on a mobile device is that voice and data merge under a single flat fee. If a Skype call is free, then eventually all calls need to be free, or the users will just switch everything to Skype. Same thing for SMS messages once they're directly in conflict with instant messaging. The operators' old financial model won't evaporate overnight, but I believe it's now officially dying. I think the race is now on for full flat-rate mobile pricing. The operator that moves to the new model fastest stands to gain the most customers.
Posted by ajit at 7:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Some great feedback about my Oxford University Web 2.0 / User generated content course ..
This is about my Oxford University User Generated Content and Web 2.0 course
"Through his open and interactive style, Ajit (the course presenter) stimulated a fresh rethink in real and practical terms not only what Web 2.0 is but more importantly the consequences to the participants own organisations. My team found Ajit to be comprehensive and clear in his thinking and communication and found the course stimulated many new ideas."
Tony Kypreos, EVP Business Development & Innovation, T-Mobile International
Thanks Tony!
Posted by ajit at 1:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
3 X series: Blogs about a 3G lifestyle ..
Hello all
Considering my recent enthusiasm for the 3 X series, it was great to meet Mike Stead, project manager responsible for the rollout of the 3 X series. I already have a three connection (which I currently use for mainly for voice!) and I have decided to 'live and blog' the 3G / x series life. This will be an independent assessment of the X series and I believe the readers of the OpenGardens blog would benefit greatly from the findings (essentially the experience of a full 3G service in a fixed price world).
Mike and his team have offered help with understanding the service but there is no other relationship with Three at the moment. Thus, my blogs will be completely independent.
This should be fun so .. Watch this space.
The official xseries blog is HERE
I am off to the Carphone Warehouse for an upgrade!
Posted by ajit at 12:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 13, 2006
Addendum: Mobile Web 2.0/IMS/User Generated Content/Mobile Network Operators training course ..
Here are some addendums to the previous post on Mobile Web 2.0 and IMS
Many thanks to Tony Kypreos - Executive Vice President of T-mobile and course attendee last week (Web 2.0 and User Generated Content training course at Oxford University) for his help and feedback in creating this addendum
All the below in context of IMS/IP/Web 2.0/Mobile Web 2.0
Cross functional appeal for an organization (Marketing/Sales/Customer service/finance/legal)
Cross industry:
Media Companies - impact of User generated content and Long tail
Telco -
Impact on own network,
a) Product development cycles (no longer sequential and silo big scale no iterative, testing and pilots. New services no longer siloed products - mash-up of products to make new services. Fail early and small to learn from customer feedback to succeed big.)
b) Business cases (current approach is not flexible enough to take advantage of fast moving world of User Generated Content),
Legal (much wider reaching and grey areas of collaboration rather than typical vendor buyer),
marketing (understanding of new social trends and competitive threats), service (new ways of servicing more demanding customers)
c) Brands - how can brands develop better interaction and achieve wider reach e.g. via mobile?
d) Consumer trends - how are consumer social trends fuelling the web 2.0 evolution and what are the implications of this to Telco and Media companies?
including Personalisation, Productivity (how web 2.0 is increasing effectiveness (e.g. WebTop applications)), Participation (no longer passive consumers but adding to the community (e.g. myspace))
Posted by ajit at 10:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 10, 2006
Mobile Web 2.0/IMS/User Generated Content/Mobile Network Operators training course ..
Hello all
I seek your thoughts on this concept .
What would you add/remove from a course like this? (mainly pitched to Operators)
As many of you know, last week, I conducted my first ever course at Oxford University on Web 2.0 and User Generated content.
It was good to meet some forumoxford members there but also good to meet BBC, MTV and T-mobile
I am now doing one more course oriented towards Mobile Web 2.0 and IMS i.e. looking at User Generated Content from a telecoms / infrastructure perspective
The course will have a dual perspective. It will approach Web 2.0 from the user perspective and also from the IMS standpoint. It will cover the basics of IMS and will then discuss how IMS would apply in a user generated content / Web 2.0 world
It would cover
• Understanding Web 2.0
• What is Mobile Web 2.0
• Significance of User generated content
• Content types: Movies, music, podcasting etc
• Business models and revenue streams
• Threats and opportunities: legal, social, trust, copyright etc
• The principles of Mobile Web 2.0
• The role of IMS in Mobile Web 2.0
• Seamless / Converged Web 2.0 services in context of IMS
• Threats and strategies for Telecoms operators from Web 2.0 companies
• Services
• IMS, OpenGardens and Web 2.0 – A competitive advantage
• Golden bit pipes
• Is IMS necessary for Web 2.0 services?
• IMS, Web 2.0 and third party APIs
• QOS
• DRM
• Privacy
• Security
• Context/Presence
• Consumer vs. Enterprise
Any one interested in details of this course, please email me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com.
I may be able to give you an early discount to this course
Image source: http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/0205/IMS-fig1.gif
Posted by ajit at 9:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 9, 2006
The 56th Carnival of the mobilists : At mopocket ..
Justin Oberman reporting live from Bangalore does a great job with the 56th carnival of the mobilists . Some great writing as usual
Posted by ajit at 4:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Communities Dominate Brands: New Line Cinema will learn this the hard way ..
As I say on my profile, I have three nationalities – one of which being New Zealander.
So, the news that the Hobbit (prequel to the Lord of the Rings) is not being made by Peter Jackson – does not make me very happy.
This week, at Oxford University in my course about Web 2.0 and User Generated Content , I spoke(among other things) how media companies can ignore the ‘community’ at their peril in a highly interconnected world.
Let’s put the Hobbits episode in perspective:
For years, no one attempted to make the Lord of the Rings because of it’s visual complexity.
In other words, King Kong(also not easy to make) was first made in 1933 then in 1976 and finally in 2005 with Peter Jackson himself.
Inspite of the obvious appeal of the book the only Lord of the Rings version available before 2001, was the 1978 animated version
Thus, when New Line Cinema wanted to make the Lord of the Rings, they had to find the best talent worldwide, considering the complexity of the movie.
That search took them half way round the globe to a (then) relatively obscure director called Peter Jackson based in Wellington (New Zealand)
Now, that the Lord of the Rings is a success by any standards(you can’t argue with three Academy awards!); New Line does not want to use Peter Jackson to create the Hobbit (the prequel to the Lord of the Rings)
This decision is based on an existing commercial dispute. The commercial dispute is understandable – but it seems that the lawyers have won the day.
In my view, The Hobbit (and for that matter other prequels) based on the Lord of the Rings cannot be made without the involvement of Peter Jackson.
For the simple reason that : Communities Dominate Brands (as Tomi Ahonen and Alan Moore would say in their book Communities Dominate Brands – published by futuretext)
Already, more that 300 websites have sprang up to support Peter Jackson and various initiatives are under way on the web
More importantly, the rate at which communities dominate brands has also dramatically increased due to two factors : blogging and mobility
Here are two examples:
Even as early as 2003, movies like the Hulk bombed spectacularly
The rate of decline is particularly memorable because as per this article quoting Nielsen statistics,
Ticket sales tracking firm Nielsen EDI is reporting that this Summer's major releases have fallen an average of 51 percent between their first week and their second, an increase of 11 percent over five years ago. "The Hulk" this year suffered a 69.7 percent drop, "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" fell 62.8 percent, and "Gigli" plummeted by a record 81.9 percent.
This was in 2003.
And what was the reason behind the dramatic fall in the very first week?
Apparently, in many cases in the UK, teenagers were texting from inside the cinema while they were watching the movie that the movie was no good(to put it mildly!)
FIFA learnt the same lesson in 2006. As we say in Mobile Web 2.0 ,
Back in the 2002 World Cup, we were all still debating about the success of 3G and broadband was still not a major factor. Today in 2006, FIFA (the world soccer governing body) has a very different problem on hand. Initially, FIFA stipulated that no pictures of the soccer world cup games should appear on websites until the final whistle and that these pictures should be limited to five per half. Under pressure from the world association of newspapers and the sponsors, FIFA changed its mind.
But, what about the millions of people who could send pictures ‘live’ from the match directly to their own blogs and other sites? After all, it’s very easy to do so using a site like moblog. FIFA cannot control them all - and wisely, they backtracked!
NewLine will learn this lesson the hard way.
It simply cannot ignore the wishes of the community and the fact that the rate at which communities dominate brands (especially through the mechanisms of blogging and mobile) – means that they can never produce the Hobbit (and make it commercially successful) – without Peter Jackson!
Posted by ajit at 4:15 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
December 6, 2006
The Mobile Web Phone: A gedankenexperiment ..
If you read my books or my blogs, you will know that I am 'pro' web/Open Standards.
Thus, this post should not come as a surprise ... and it’s a bit of a gedankenexperiment
What I am proposing is a mobile phone optimised to accessing information on the Web (which is predominantly browsing but not necessarily so i.e. could include Widgets and RSS).
Firstly .. Let us start with some observations
a) For most people voice is still the primary service they access on a phone. However, increasing numbers of people also want to access information on the web i.e. browse/RSS etc.
b) I expect that more people in the developing countries will skip the ‘PC’ revolution and go to the phone directly .
c) 'Smart' phones are becoming too complex.
d) But ‘Dumb’ phones are too dumb!!
e) I think when we say ‘basic phones’ (also called ‘Feature phones’ in some literature), we mostly refer to phones that can be mainly used for voice. As an extension, I am proposing that the basic phone would be extended to include optimised Web access
The operative word being ‘Optimised’.
Phones today are not optimised towards accessing information from the Web.
They lean at one end to being ‘voice only’ and the other end to being ‘Smartphones’ .
Thus, this new ‘phone’ – if it may be called that would have the following features (fewer the merrier!)
a) It is a ‘phone’
b) It’s screen and other device form factors are optimised to browse the Web(sort of like the Blackberry device is predominantly geared towards email)
c) It would include ‘caching’ i.e. localised storage if information
d) Network connections would be optimised towards browsing
e) It would also support Syndication, Widgets etc on a mobile device(not just browsing)
One way to look at it is to think of the same principles of simplicity and optimization both of Nicholas Negroponte’s idea of 100$ computer or Larry Ellison’s Network computer
Implementation aside, the $100 PC and the Network computer are basically valid and the idea of a ‘Mobile Web Phone’ is taking the same principles to the Mobile Web.
But it’s important to see what this idea is NOT and also some caveats
a) It is not a VOIP phone
b) It could be implemented by anyone i.e. network operators / device manufacturers etc.
c) It is not the same as the Sony Mylo – an excellent device but conceptually oriented to a different purpose
d) It could be based on the idea of Cloud computing as I said in a previous blog
e) It is simple, cheap and based on Web standards(W3C)
f) It supports the ‘Full’ web browser i.e. not only WAP
Who could do this?
Many people but my bets are : Google, Opera, Operators(maybe 3 considering their recent announcements , a handset vendor, Nokia or a new start-up?
I am sure that variants of this idea exist on the Web. I just wanted to put it all together, ‘Open source’ this idea and create some discussion around it – with the hope that someone with more resources will take it. Please post comments/email me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com and I will try to blog/comment on it
I am at Oxford University conducting my first ever course on Web 2.0 and User generated content at the University of Oxford ! .. so responses a bit delayed
Read my book Mobile Web 2.0
Posted by ajit at 7:00 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
December 4, 2006
The closure of Google Answers could be a big mistake ..
As Google answers has closed, most of the industry has concurred that it was a simple case of Yahoo had a better service by far .
This is true.
However ...
While I have been a fan of Google in general, I think that the closure of Google answers was a HUGE mistake.
That's because when it comes to mobile (and most would agree that this is now a battleground right at our doorstep) - the 'answers' model is very powerful
This is not idle speculation
As far as I know - there is only one market where Google has taken a beating when it comes to search. And that is from a company in South Korea called Naver .
And what's special about Naver?
Here is a clue ...
The business week article NHN: The Little Search Engine That Could says ..
What he's talking about is a three-year-old initiative called "Knowledge-In." The program lets users ask and answer questions on anything from recipes for kimchi to the composition of rocket fuel. Readers judge the responses, and the millions of folks who have answered questions are ranked as "ordinary," "knowledgeable," "highly knowledgeable," "supernatural," or -- for 22 truly prolific answerers -- "gods." "Naver is great because you get all sorts of detailed information in very specific questions and answers," says Song Han Sil, a 25-year-old pianist in Seoul. "Many of my friends don't even know that Google offers Korean-language service." The database now has some 37 million questions and answers that can get returned with search results.
That sounds very much like the 'answers' model to me ...
That means Yahoo could have a huge competitive advantage here when it comes to Mobile search.
Thus the closure of Google answers may have been premature and may have a wider impact than first thought ...
Am I the only one who feels that’s the case?
Of course the existence of answers does not mean that they will be optimised for the Mobile device.
Google could of course leverage its huge strengths on the Web .. but to me .. the closure of Google Answers was a premature step ..
Thoughts?
Posted by ajit at 10:41 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Letter to Santa ..
By Dr Paddy Byers
Here’s one for the marketeers ..
Today I took delivery of my (7 year-old) daughter’s Xmas list; I assume she thought I needed to pre-process it before passing it on. There were some things on there that could be quite tricky to fulfill - eg a baby sister - but this caught my eye:
A mobile phone (Nokia if possible).
Now, none of her peers have a phone, and I don’t think anyone she knows has a Nokia. So how come she wants one?
I can only imagine it is down to Nokia’s current high profile marketing campaign associated with the X Factor (a TV talent contest un the UK like American Idol, including Simon Cowell). The campaign is ostensibly aimed at music lovers (with the tagline “Love your music, love your Nokia) but it is obviously having a wider impact, and is taking advantage of the very broad (and highly engaged) audience to build brand awareness with a completely new constituency.
The show and the campaign are unusually well-matched to one another – there are many cases where the link between the sponsor and the show is tenuous at best – but I have to say I’m surprised at the impact. Congratulations to the marketeers if it really is down to this.
The other thing that puzzled me: "... if possible". Why only "if possible"? I always thought Santa could get hold of anything, especially seeing as he will pass right by Espoo en route from Lapland to the UK.
Well .. Christmas is in the air as you can see!
Posted by ajit at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 3, 2006
Simeon Simeonov joins the OpenGardens blog as a contributing blogger ..
After making it to the Top 20 wireless blogs worldwide according to Fierce Wireless and being syndicated on the W3C Mobile Planet , I am happy to announce one more significant development
The OpenGardens blog continues to attract the top talent worldwide and I am proud to welcome Simeon Simeonov as a contributing blogger on OpenGardens.
Sim is an ex-entrepreneur and the technology partner at Polaris Venture Partners -a tier one US VC.
(Other partners at Polaris include Dr Bob Metcalfe – the creator of Ethernet and hence the Internet)
Sim is a good friend and also one of the most approachable Tier One VCs I have met.
He runs his own blog and we share many views and thoughts on the industry. I have always valued his insights and I am sure you will gain value as well.
He has also agreed to give feedback (either in public or private) to concepts in the mobile, online and digital media spaces.
Note that this is personal feedback and is not in any way a formal endorsement /solicitation/ relationship by Sim or by Polaris.
Please email me an exec summary or presentation that can be shared with Sim and potentially a handful of other trusted experts I work regularly with at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com.
Responses may be slow but we promise to get back to you!
I wondered .. Why do VCs blog? One often finds many advisors/matchmakers and a whole motley crew of intermediaries blogging .. but a true blue VC from a Tier One VC is a rare exception(and even happier that he is blogging at OpenGardens :) )
I think the reasons are many – but Sim truly likes to share information, he lives in the Web 2.0 world and he enjoys the interaction of ideas at the cutting edge.
Like me, he is also a great believer in Mobility and the OpenGardens blog spans readers from both Web 2.0 and Mobility and also in Europe and North America.
So, this is an ideal home for Sim.
Please join me in welcoming Sim.
Posted by ajit at 11:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 2, 2006
Meeting in Düsseldorf ...
I am speaking at inaugural Mobile Monday in Düsseldorf(Germany).
I always like to meet people when I am travelling and I would be interested in meeting companies/entrepreneurs either of Sunday evening or Monday morning for breakfast. Please email me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com if that’s possible
Posted by ajit at 7:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Robert Scoble is in London and I will be on the Scoble show ..
Robert Scoble is in town and it was a pleasure to meet him and his charming wife Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble . I met Robert Scoble in Palo Alto in October and its always a pleasure meeting him again. We had dinner at a Persian restaurant (name escapes me!) with Maryam guiding us all through the nuances of Persian cuisine.
Also, met Sarah Blow AKA London’s Uber female Geek who runs London geek dinners and Amit Kothari who is doing an interesting start-up called Quotations book
Although not planned, Robert interviewed me for the Scoble show. So, I think I would be on the Scoble show soon! Watch this space .. in a couple of weeks
Posted by ajit at 1:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Carnival of the mobilists at fierce developer ..
Eli Dickinson at Fierce developer hosted the carnival and also made a reference to my Mobile Ajax post. As usual, the carnival is a great place and well worth a read
Posted by ajit at 12:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 1, 2006
The Gmail of the species
By Dr Paddy Byers
Recently Mike Rowehl compared a number of email apps and Gmail came out on top, even when put alongside native built-in applications. The applications compared were the Gmail (Java ME) client, Flurry (Java ME client) and the native Nokia email client on the E61. There was also passing reference to the Blackberry email system. The cited advantages of the Gmail system include connection speed and latency, usability, stability and configuration simplicity.
There’s a bigger message here and it stems from the fact that Mike’s evaluation wasn’t comparing like with like – because it was comparing the native email application with Gmail and Flurry, which are services.
What do I mean by this?
The difference is that an email application is designed to interface (via standardised protocols) to an email service provided by someone else (ie the ISP or operator). The standards concerned are, of course, SMTP, POP and IMAP, relevant encodings, and so on. The Gmail client, on the other hand, is only one aspect of an end-to-end offering from Gmail, which includes all of the back-end infrastructure. The Blackberry – which also provides a superlative mobile email experience – is also part of a service offering rather than just being a device.
What is it about services that results in a superior user experience?
Here are a couple of issues that immediately come to mind.
Firstly, there are different technical constraints. The applications are constrained in that the interface they must conform to is outside of their control. It is well known the POP is totally ill-suited to the requirements of a mobile service, whereas IMAP is complex and heavyweight, and designed to handle hierarchical folder-based repositories rather than tagged archives. The designers of the Gmail system, on the other hand, were not constrained by these standards; they have the freedom to place functionality on the server side or client side as best fits their needs, and optimise as appropriate.
These technical differences are clearly illustrated by the superiority of attachment handling by Gmail as compared with the native app. The service designers have the opportunity to transcode mail attachments to a format the client understands, to optimise the content for the screen and form factor, and to stream the content so it doesn’t all need to be transferred to the device before it can be viewed.
Second, there are different commercial imperatives. The service providers only make money if they build subscriptions and traffic; so they are incentivised quite differently to optimise their solution for simplicity, usability, efficiency, and overall effectiveness. Application providers, on the other hand, don’t have access to an income stream from service delivery and have to prioritise features quite differently. They will also often compete with one another on features – and might even add features that degrade the user experience by cluttering the UI – and other parameters that are less directly relevant to the end user.
So I think the conclusions Mike draws are not related at all to native vs java execution environments per se, but a reflection of a fundamental difference in nature between application development and service provision. Unless someone takes a service provision perspective there’s nobody to ensure the end-to-end system works flawlessly and, more important, there’s nobody working to meet the end users’ real needs.
This makes a couple of other recent developments particularly concerning.
We heard about Google being frustrated in its deployment of Google apps and Mike Rowehl’s other recent observation, in which certain operators are acting deliberately to impede third party service providers.
On the one hand these operators promote platform openness by fostering Java ME and other application platforms, but they don’t provide the ecosystem, infrastructure and commercial hooks to allow service providers to make their offerings effective.
The operators clearly have a legitimate role in the overall value chain; but they have to recognise that it is a two-way street and that the third party service provider also has a role. The service provider, more than anything, is the playmaker; that is, the service innovator and business innovator, and often also the technical innovator. Application (and other technology) providers play their part, but their role is always subsidiary to the service provider. I’ve commented before on the weak position of technology providers that are not part of a service provision business model.
So, to the picture.
We’ve previously thought of the “walled garden” as being one where the user is confined to a particular space and can’t get out; but the problem we’re talking about here is the one where the service provider can’t get in. In our open garden, the service provider is the garden designer and horticulturist, who will be creative in order to captivate his audience. He doesn’t just hand over his wares at the gate. These open gardens will be enabled not just by openness in platform technology, but openness of ecosystem for service providers.
Where do the applications come in? Well, the applications are like the individual plants – they might be beautiful and complex as creations in their own right, but ultimately they are just the vehicle by which the designers’ vision is expressed.
Posted by ajit at 1:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack