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June 30, 2008
Carnival of the mobilists No 130 at Andrew Grill's blog ..
Carnival of the mobilists No 130 is at Andrew Grill's blog . Well worth reading as usual
Posted by ajit at 5:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Good white paper from Xtract about advertising and social intelligence ..
Good white paper from Xtract about advertising and social intelligence. Link is HERE
The latest MIT Technology Review also talks about challenges of advertising in social media and about new solutions to really monetize communities.
Posted by ajit at 12:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 28, 2008
Book review: Next generation wireless applications by Paul Golding
I have recommended Paul Golding’s books in the past – and his new book Next generation wireless applications is also highly recommended.
Very few people can write a book of 600 pages on this topic .. and Paul is certainly one of those. It covers considerable technical depth and with an emphasis on new technologies like Mobile TV, coverage of both Mobile Web and Java applications development(including MIDP 3.0), emphasis on IMS, network elements including wimax, HSDPA etc
I have used the first version of this book as a reference book – and the same goes with this version.
The book is oriented to the relatively novice reader to orientate themselves in the mobile applications landscape in terms of technologies. It is also primarily oriented from the Operator perspective with chapters like 'Becoming an Operator 2.0'. In doing so, it is one of the few books that span the Internet and the telecoms technologies
The book is overwhelmingly about IP-related technologies used across the mobile-data network end-to-end.
There are generally two-levels of books
1. About mobile applications themselves from the industry trends, concepts and paradigms perspective
2. Technical books about software (e.g. developer books) or networks
Paul’s book is a systems level book somewhere between these two levels. It is based on the diagram of the ecosystem in the form of concentric rings (below) and the book then proceeds to cover the technologies in each layer extensively in 600 pages ...
I would have no hesitation in recommending this book and I hope you like it as well.
Posted by ajit at 3:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Trusted flash?
Any views on Trusted flash? Is anyone using in?
My first impressions - it is content centric - so if it is only content then its media, movies etc etc .. this will face customer resistance .. Secure apps are more interesting(NFC for example) than secure content(which is more of interest to media companies)
From the link above ..
TrustedFlash™ Security Technology Platform
Create. Protect. Enjoy.
A N Y W H E R E™
The TrustedFlash platform, powered by TrustedFlash security technology, signals a new world of premium, digital content mobility using flash memory where protection and seamless portability go hand in hand. The TrustedFlash Forum gathers together leading companies within the mobile community who recognize the value to themselves and to users of a thriving ecosystem to support this platform.
The TrustedFlash platform is based on data-centric, rather than device-centric, security. This unique approach lets users access all of their data whether premium content, applications or service-related on any of their TrustedFlash-enabled devices. Now users can enjoy their music, videos, global positioning system (GPS) applications, games, mobile TV and e-Commerce applications on any of their TrustedFlash-enabled MP3/MP4 players, handsets, GPS stations and portable media players (PMP). A secure, multi-vendor environment gives them the freedom to download their data of choice from multiple providers, instead of only from a single provider. Now users can access all of their premium content/services on any of their mobile handsets within the operator’s network.
TrustedFlash security technology is at the heart of the TrustedFlash security platform. It securely stores sensitive digital data and applications on flash media, extending the trusted environment to include Secure Digital (SD™) cards, microSD™ cards, high-capacity SIM cards, USB flash drives and embedded flash drives. Built on international standards for cryptography and authentication, TrustedFlash security technology supports a variety of digital rights management (DRM) formats. It is comprised of these basic building blocks:
* Secure key session: random key encryption during data routing to/from the TrustedFlash-enabled device, multiple secure sessions, multiple simultaneous applications.
* Content encryption: TrustedFlash internal hidden keys, state-of-the-art cryptographic processor (RNG, AES, DES, 3DES, SHA1 Hash, PKI, key pair generation), on-the-fly encryption/decryption, advanced PKI and Trusted Time System.
* Multiple partitions: secure and public with on-the-fly dynamic allocation, hidden partition visible only to authenticated application, full integrity between discrete partitions.
* Secure storage modes
o TrustedFlash Playback: only authorized application can read the TrustedFlash encrypted content.
o DRM agnostic card: rights objects (ROs) are encrypted with TrustedFlash security keys and stored with the associated content in TrustedFlash-enabled device.
o TrustedFlash Playback + DRM: encrypted content and RO are encrypted internally with TrustedFlash security keys.
* Secure execution environment: customized card applications, install/uninstall/browse card applications, standard card applications such as one time password (OTP), multiple DRM scheme support, conditional access system (CAS), secure interoperable personal video recorder (PVR), preloaded secure content.
* Scalable platform, storage and security: Secure memory platform that can be extended with more storage and applications, choice of multiple protection levels that can be implemented per content/application.
Contact us for further information: info@trustedflashforum.com
View Frequently Asked Questions about the TrustedFlash security technology and platform.
Posted by ajit at 9:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 27, 2008
iphone vs. Symbian vs. Android vs. Limo vs. Ovi : We cannot compare an ecosystem with an operating system
The big news of this week was the open sourcing of the Symbian operating system. Having now had some time to think of this .. here are some more thoughts about this rather unexpected but seminal opengardens development
APPLES AND ORANGES
The title of this blog shows how often people compare the proverbial apples and oranges. It is not possible to compare Symbian vs. Android; or Symbian vs. iPhone .. because it is not possible to mix operating systems with ecosystems
iPhone, Ovi and Android are ecosystems. In contrast, Symbian and Limo are operating systems or Operating system consortia.
Thus, iPhone vs. Android vs. Ovi is a valid comparison(three ecosystems) as is Limo vs. Symbian(two operating systems) .. but NOT Android vs. Limo(an ecosystem vs. and operating system) .. and (not yet) Android vs. Symbian
By including the iPhone in this mix, you can see that I value the ecosystem vs. the operating system – and that is correct. If anything, the Symbian announcement shows conclusively that the mobile operating system is a commodity .. even when Symbian has shipped 150 million devices with annual revenue of £195 million, at £210 million – the Nokia deal values Symbian at only two times the revenue.
Now, let us consider the question of Open source ..
OPEN SOURCE
Open source conjures up images of geeks working late into the night for altruistic reasons and for peer recognition .. Indeed that’s one component of the story – and it is also the motivation behind the original success of Linux on the PC. However, there is another angle here .. companies are getting into the Open source play in a big way – i.e. creating code and then open sourcing it under specific open source licences(the license itself matters a lot and for a greater discussion of this issue see the blog Open source vs. Open Standards – complementing or competing?
There are many prominent examples of this approach .. Apple(and then Nokia) with Webkit, IBM with Apache, IBM(subsequently) with Linux
And why will companies give away code for free ..
Because everyone benefits if we have interoperable systems(i.e. no one driver for the code base) BUT at the same time – we will find that competitive advantage can be maintained depending on which open source license you adopt(see the link Open source vs. Open Standards – complementing or competing? above to see how Android exploits this idea brilliantly)
However, when it comes to Open source on mobile devices, we have yet another factor which comes into play i.e. the BOM(Bill of material) of the device. Software can play a part in reducing the Bill of materials (i.e. the combined hardware and software cost) – especially if it is modularised. This was the original reason why Linux was ported to mobile devices and also explains the rise of specialist Linux integration vendors like windriver
Thus, there are two audiences – developers and device manufacturers. It is debatable how many developers will benefit from an open source Symbian(or will toil through the night contributing code to it). The real question is – how many NEW device manufacturers will take up Symbian as an Operating system.
IMPACT ON THE MARKETPLACE
I believe that the biggest impact of this announcement will be on LIMO since it directly correlates to Symbain(in contrast to Android which is an ecosystem). Indeed LIPS(another Linux consortium) has folded up after this announcement into LIMO and interestingly Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi dismisses LiMo as a major factor and calls it a PR machine.
Symbian is tested. It is now open source. It is familiar to developers. It is a safer bet if you want a pure OS.
The Jury is out – but the real question is – how many more device manufacturers will take up Symbian as an Operating system? How modularised is it for an OEM vendor(say from Taiwan) to take up and deploy? Etc etc.
In the blog Crossing the chasm with Android , I said that the key benefit of Android will be the emergence of new entrants into the devices market. In that sense, the Symbian announcement is good because it will allow more players to enter the devices space. Even then, we need to see more from Nokia. Symbian is not yet an ecosystem (like Android or even Ovi). It is merely an operating system.
MOBILE DEVICES AS A COMMODITY
Ultimately, not just the operating systems but the device itself may become commoditised. This is ironic since devices will become even more important - both for customers and for brands. However, they will also become cheaper, commoditised and modularised. Of all the companies, Nokia knows this best and for a year now Nokia has been busy reinventing itself as an Internet company – a truly far sighted vision that is paying off big time now. For the same reason Ovi is more relevant than Symbian / LiMo foundation and one to watch over time.
Indeed I see many more devices(from many more vendors) who will enter this space.
Interestingly, the LIMO foundation press release about the Symbian announcement says
We welcome the formation of Symbian Foundation as it follows behind the pioneering direction of LiMo Foundation which recognizes that the industry must coalesce on far fewer handset OS’s in order that innovation can be unblocked and far better propositions brought to consumers.
I disagree with this. I actually don’t think we are coalescing around fewer devices. Instead I see MANY more devices which will be launched and that’s a good thing.
The most common question developers ask is: How do I get this service on to phones? With many new entrants, the possibility of getting a service on a phone increases. At the moment, there are really only four device manufacturers(Samsung LG Nokia and Sony Ericsson) + Motorola (with its status in balance). If we see many more device vendors, that is a good thing. Indeed 3D holograms from Infosys and the award winning Gemalto’s smart card web server(pdf)
could be their own ‘devices’ i.e. if the device becomes cheap then we could model the device around a specific development(like SCWS)
AND WHAT ABOUT ANDROID/GOOGLE?
Contrary to media comparisons, I believe that Google is addressing a fundamentally different problem to most other people(including Nokia). It is addressing the problem of making Web services usable on mobile devices(mostly existing Google services like mail and maps).
This needs advertising support simply because there is no other revenue model that can work. Why? Because the information is available mostly for free on the Web(or we have services like email which are also free on the Web). It is not possible to charge a premium for this service just because it is ‘mobile’(A lesson which many in the mobile industry doggedly refuse to accept!). (You see the same problems with companies that try to monetise mobile widgets). Instead, the service becomes free and ad funded.
And Android has been designed from the ground up to achieve this goal(i.e. within every element of the stack) and has features like XMPP integrated into it XMPP (features which have no parallels in an integrated manner currently). And is modularised. This strategy will pay dividends depending on how many people are addicted to Google web apps(and I am!) and will want them on mobile devices – a trend I explored in a blog called Am I the only one who uses Gmail with Blackberry .. and what does it say for mobile apps ..
SHOW ME THE MONEY?
So, if the OS is free, the devices are free .. etc etc .. where is the money going to come from? The answer lies in understanding the behaviour of the PC/Web software industry. I come from a background of PeopleSoft(now Oracle corporation) prior to mobile – and Oracle continues to make lots of money – not from software but from services(more than half it’s revenue) and UBS analyst Heather Bellini calls Oracle a ‘profit machine’
I see the same trend on mobile devices. As devices and systems software becomes cheap(like on the PC) but ironically more complex, applications and services will drive most of the revenue. These could be advertising but also subscription services(including some form of tech support/ insurance etc)
DR IRVING WLADAWSKY-BERGER THE UNSUNG HERO OF THE OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT
Let me conclude this article by mentioning the impact of Dr Irving Wladawsky-Berger - a great unsung hero in my view for Open source movement
Dr. Irving Wladawsky-Berger of IBM has done more than anyone else to adopt the ideas of open source to companies – analogous to what Linus Torvalds did for Linux in the Operating system domain. Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting Dr Berger .. he has an infrequent but insightful blog HERE which I recommend you follow . Today, as a result of that vision from some corporate pioneers like Irving Wladawsky-Berger – we see a unique and a vibrant ecosystem – not dominated by a company, or by governments.
Indeed, that’s the reason I have always said that the market will develop differently in Europe, North America and many other places in comparison to Japan and Korea and inspite of early advantages .. Europe and North America will be the leaders for Mobile applications that also span the Web.
Here is a section from an interview with Irving which shows a pragmatic vision to open source – and over the years it has given rise to a whole ecosystem as we see today in the mobility space.
>>>
TG: Sun has committed to releasing all of its code as open source. Do you think IBM will do the same?
IW-B: I don't think so, because I honestly don't think everybody wants to see all your code. Remember, the key to open source is not the ability to see the open software, it's the forming of a community around it that will participate in its development and its maintenance.
You cannot go in your closet and look for old code and throw it out there and tell people to form a community around it. They may say, Irving, that's legacy code that we have zero interest in working on. We continue to open source quite a bit of code, but we are fairly selective, and we work very closely with communities to decide whether to open source or not.
<<<
Open source and open standards will lead the way – and may it so remain! We are seeing the fulfillment of a trend which began about a decade ago .. and it is proving very disruptive in the mobile domain - as Android and the Symbian announcement continue to demonstrate
Also see
Crossing the Chasm with Android
Open source vs. Open Standards – complementing or competing?
Posted by ajit at 9:55 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
June 26, 2008
iPod fairy tales 2.0
Why are kids’ stories so outdated?
I have a five year old son who is VERY technology savvy (His second word was ‘Gagga’ – which turns out to be ‘Google’!!).
I was reading Jack and the beanstalk to him - and in it he encountered a harp .
What is a harp? He wanted to know?
I told him it is a musical instrument.
I tried to elaborate. I said – ‘Music plays from it’ .
He thought for a minute - and his face brightened as he asked Like the ipod?
Well .. Yes .. I said. Of course he is very familiar with the ipod, but has no clue what a Harp is.
After hunting for a harp for a long time .. he suggested that maybe we can find it on Google images? And there we found one!
The point illustrates a key trend .. If anything needs a 2.0 version, it is fairy tales!
The wording of Jack and the Beanstalk reads as follows!
Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!??
I smell the blood of an Englishman.
Be he 'live, or be he dead,
I'll grind his bones to make my bread.
Just how do we explain this wording to a five year old? Who by the way happens to be an ‘Englishman’ at birth(unlike me who is a naturalised British citizen).
Give me fairy tales about the iPod any day!
Image source: http://blog.collectables-now.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/harp.jpg
Posted by ajit at 10:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
.mobi in the world of new changes from ICANN
My first impression as I read the ICANN announcement .. - what is the future of .mobi in this world?
With so many domain types - wont it be confusing? Will people bother to 'bid' for more?
Will we see new arrivals (for instance .mobileafrica to denote African mobile sites)?
Do we take it that ICANN sees a new business model here? This announcement is not as rosy as it sounds
From the BBC link above
>>>
It is not a view shared by everyone. Many businesses have pointed out that the new system could be very costly.
"The major issue with the potentially large number of new TLDs is going to be for brand owners who will want to protect their trademarks," said Mr Eggensperger.
"For a major pharmaceutical business, the cost of registering all of their trademarks when a new trademark is released runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds."
Others point out that some generic domain names - such as .news or .sport - could become subject to contention and a bidding war.
Icann has said that it was "aware of all of the concerns" and that it had "considered them very carefully".
<<<
Posted by ajit at 9:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 25, 2008
Infosys - Holographic mobile handsets
With the renewed interest in user interfaces after the launch of the iPhone, this is an interesting announcement from Infosys about the development of Holographic mobile handsets specifically the use of Fourier transforms to compute the third dimension.
As Indian companies become multinationals and grow beyond their traditional domains of expertise, we can expect to see more such developments from innovative Indian companies
Infosys press release here
As per cnet
Holographic mobile handsets capable of projecting, capturing, and sending 3D images have been developed by Indian tech giant Infosys.
By 2010, the devices will routinely beam 3D films, games, and virtual goods into our laps, according Infosys, which has patented the handset.
The portable machines will capture and send 3D snapshots of the surrounding world, helping accident investigators, teachers, and doctors work remotely by instantly relaying realistic depictions of car damage, injuries, medical scans, or educational aids.
The powerful onboard processor on the Infosys machine would build a series of 2D shots taken, for example, from a digital camera, into 3D holograms using algorithms called 'Fourier' transformations to calculate the extra third dimension.
The patent, granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, says this allows complex 3D holographic images to be squeezed through the narrow pipes of existing communications networks by sending only the unprocessed data to be translated into the 3D hologram at the other end.
Infosys' device will be able to both send and receive these 3D images, displaying them using a projector with a laser source and micro holographic optical elements lenses.
The global 3D screen market is forecast by the industry to grow to 8.1 million units by 2010.
"Holographic handsets have the capability of enriching the user experience with an actual 3D experience and higher-quality images," an Infosys representative said. "This gives users a more realistic experience in areas like gaming, medicine, movies etc."
She said the technology would enable 3D images to be displayed without losing resolution, something that is not possible using current 3D technology such as stereoscopic displays.
source: cnet
Posted by ajit at 6:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2008
Symbian on the way to being Open sourced ..
This is very interesting ..
Mores so because like Android (which was under an Apache license) this initiative is under the eclipse license . Both these licenses are good for commercial development in my view(i.e. changes you make need not be released back - thus providing commercial incenctive for developers to build their own applications). See Open source vs. Open Standards – complementing or competing? to put this in context and especially the reference to the Apache license
However, open source itself is not significant. what is needed(from Nokia) is to create the equivalant of an iPhone commercial ecosystem - which is the missing link at the moment. However, this is a good development for the ecosystem in general
Mobile leaders to unify the Symbian software platform and set the future of mobile free
June 24, 2008(source Nokia
Foundation to be established to provide royalty-free open platform and accelerate innovation
London, UK - Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DOCOMO announced today their intent to unite Symbian OS(TM), S60, UIQ and MOAP(S) to create one open mobile software platform. Together with AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone they plan to establish the Symbian Foundation to extend the appeal of this unified software platform. Membership of this non-profit Foundation will be open to all organizations. This initiative is supported by current shareholders and management of Symbian Limited, who have been actively involved in its development. Plans for the Foundation have already received wide support from other industry leaders.
To enable the Foundation, Nokia today announced plans to acquire the remaining shares of Symbian Limited that Nokia does not already own and then contribute the Symbian and S60 software to the Foundation. Sony Ericsson and Motorola today announced their intention to contribute technology from UIQ and DOCOMO has also indicated its willingness to contribute its MOAP(S) assets. From these contributions, the Foundation will provide a unified platform with common UI framework. A full platform will be available for all Foundation members under a royalty-free license, from the Foundation's first day of operations.
Contributions from Foundation members through open collaboration will be integrated to further enhance the platform. The Foundation will make selected components available as open source at launch. It will then work to establish the most complete mobile software offering available in open source. This will be made available over the next two years and is intended to be released under Eclipse Public License (EPL) 1.0.
The Foundation's platform will build on the leading open mobile software platform, with more than 200 million phones, across 235 models, already shipped by multiple vendors and tens of thousands of third-party applications already available for Symbian OS-based devices.
"Ten years ago, Symbian was established by far sighted players to offer an advanced open operating system and software skills to the whole mobile industry", said Nigel Clifford, CEO of Symbian. "Our vision is to become the most widely used software platform on the planet and indeed today Symbian OS leads its market by any measure. Today's announcement is a bold new step to achieve that vision by embracing a complete and proven platform, offered in an open way, designed to stimulate innovation which is at the heart of everything we do."
"Establishing the Foundation is one of the biggest contributions to an open community ever made," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia. "Nokia is a strong supporter of open platforms and technologies as they give the freedom to build, maintain and evolve applications and services across device segments and offer by far the largest ecosystem, enabling rapid innovation. Today's announcement is a major milestone in our devices software strategy."
"The complete, consistent platform that the Foundation plans to provide will allow manufacturers to focus on their unique differentiation at a device level" said Dick Komiyama, President of Sony Ericsson. "Sony Ericsson believes that the unified Symbian Foundation platform will greatly simplify the world for handset manufacturers, operators and developers, enabling greater innovation in services and applications to the benefit of consumers everywhere."
"Motorola has long been a leader and advocate of open software for mobile platforms. We're excited to be joining Nokia, Sony Ericsson, NTT DOCOMO and others in leading this open source effort to form the new Symbian Foundation and unite the Symbian ecosystem," said Alain Mutricy, Senior Vice President, Platforms & Technology Office, Motorola Mobile Devices. "Also, Motorola, together with Sony Ericsson, will be contributing UIQ technology to the Foundation and will work with UIQ as they are refocusing as an important supplier in the new Symbian ecosystem. This will be a great addition, as the Foundation will be able to leverage UIQ's unique experience, which includes expertise in touch technology."
"DOCOMO welcomes this development and we look forward to moving our Symbian based devices and service onto the Foundation platform. We are also willing to contribute our MOAP(S) assets to the Foundation. This is a very positive step in further increasing the adoption of the Symbian software and creating an even more open, consistent and complete platform. The Foundation software will enable us to enjoy the benefits of a global platform in bringing new, leading-edge services to the Japanese market. It will increase efficiency and help us provide our wide customer base with the most advanced mobile experiences." said Toshio Miki, Associate Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Communication Device Development Department of NTT DOCOMO.
"Mobile phones have turned into sophisticated multimedia computers and smart phones continue to grow in popularity," said Kris Rinne, Senior Vice President of Architecture and Planning at AT&T. "The Symbian Foundation will reduce fragmentation in the industry and holds the promise of incorporating leading technology and the most mature software into a unified platform for the entire industry. This will create an environment that will encourage and enable developers to build compelling applications that will positively affect our customers' lives and support AT&T in offering its differentiated services to consumers."
"Joining the Symbian Foundation is an ideal opportunity for LG to broaden our commitment to providing our customers with the best possible mobile experience" said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "We believe that open mobile platforms will contribute to advance the mobile industry. At LG we will play a leading role in creating a better mobile environment, working with the Symbian Foundation to provide our customers with smart new features based on this open platform."
"Samsung Electronics is committed to Symbian as one of the future platforms for our mobile devices and believes that establishing the Foundation is a visionary move in positioning the platform as a proven open platform for future development. We are delighted to be playing a significant role in that future by joining the Foundation board. We have already used Symbian and S60 software successfully to deliver appealing devices and see these steps making the platform even more attractive for bringing the latest technologies and services to the market" said Dr. Do Hun Kwon, VP & Managing Director, Samsung Electronics Research Institute.
"ST sees strong consumer demand, across all segments, for a richer multimedia experience," said Monica de Virgiliis, General Manager of the Wireless Multimedia Division, STMicroelectronics. "This new foundation synchronizes and harmonizes the mainstream software approach to address this need and makes the software widely available. We anticipate this will fuel the growth of multimedia-capable devices and we are excited about being able to leverage our long-standing leadership in consumer digital multimedia to satisfy more and more consumers."
"TI has long supported open platforms, and we are excited about the formation of the Symbian Foundation. We believe the new structure will remove barriers to innovation in the mobile industry by providing a common platform on which exciting next-generation applications and services can be built," said Greg Delagi, senior vice president of TI's Wireless Business Unit. "Manufacturers can get a head-start on development with TI's proven OMAP-based Symbian S60 software development platform. Combined with the Foundation's open collaboration model, this will allow more developers to harness the performance and multimedia capabilities of the OMAP family to accelerate improvements in the mobile user experience."
"Vodafone believes this is a significant step in driving mobile innovation for the Internet as well as creating a richer mobile experience for our customers" said Jens Schulte-Bockum, Vodafone's Global Director of Terminals. "We have been challenging the industry to reduce complexity and focus on fewer operating systems. This step will help to drive even faster innovation, as well as enable operators to accelerate time-to-market for compelling and varied new services."
Foundation members share the vision that the Foundation will unify the software platform, supercharge innovation and accelerate the availability of new services and compelling experiences for consumers and business users around the world. The combined platform is already one of the most advanced and widely used mobile platforms, making it highly attractive for all ecosystem partners, including developers, mobile operators, content and service providers and device manufacturers.
The Foundation is expected to start operating during the first half of 2009, subject to the closing of the acquisition of Symbian Ltd by Nokia.
Posted by ajit at 8:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 22, 2008
Venue in San Francisco in Sep for one day
Hello
I am looking for a venue in San Francisco in Sep for one day for a mobile related event for about 100 people. Any suggestions - please contact me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com kind rgds Ajit
Posted by ajit at 10:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Dont buy print edition of Forbes Top 100 celebreties - online is much better ..
I have been a fan of Forbes magazine and especially of Forbes issues which include lists (for instance Richest people, Best corporations to work for etc). Hence, I was disappointed with the latest issue from Forbes – The Forbes celebrity 100. The problem is – there is so little content. Just a list and three or four people covered in that list. A large portion of that issue is extensive advertorials (one about Greece, one about Environmental protection agencies and one about IPTV). I certainly did not pay money hoping to read these advertisements and so little content. This is very poor coming from Forbes and I don’t recommend that you buy this issue
In contrast the online coverage is a LOT better and I think that’s all you need i.e. don’t bother with the print edition.
I have never seen such contrast in content between online and print – with print being so content poor. Maybe this is a broader trend of the demise in print media.
Posted by ajit at 10:19 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 21, 2008
Android apps winners - a good list ..
Lots to learn here ... i.e. who are the winners and why .. Android apps winners
Posted by ajit at 12:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Google Gears APIs and videos ..
some great developments here .. Google Gears APIS and videos
Posted by ajit at 11:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Open systems – giving the client for free – pros and cons ..
One of the key reasons I advocate open systems is the emphasis on interoperability and interconnectivity. One option to achieve this is to give the client for free similar to Adobe Acrobat and more recently to Flash Lite on mobile devices. Qs is - what are the pros and cons of this approach?
Posted by ajit at 11:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
t-mobile slashes data roaming rates - others to follow? - Three cheers for Ms Reding ..
t-mobile slashes data roaming rates - others to follow? - Three cheers for Ms Reding ..
Specifcally .. anyone from Vodafone reading this? I am seriously looking to switch. I called Voda and they had no clue .. which is sad ..
Posted by ajit at 10:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 18, 2008
The Commoditization of GPS & the Golden Age of Location-based Services
Great post from Om Malik. The Commoditization of GPS & the Golden Age of Location-based Services I blogged about this before as well LBS is definately back
Posted by ajit at 5:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 17, 2008
Having a great time at Supernova ..
I am having a great time at Supernova. It’s great to meet so many leading edge thinkers in one place. The conference has a nice feel to it and it is oriented to conversations - Yesterday, it was nice to meet Tantek Celik, Esther Dyson, Mike Arrington and of course Kevin Werbach himself in person. And I really liked Jason Devitt’s presentation. Although I had known Skydeck before - it was nice to get an idea of the company in person from Jason (Skydeck is building an online service that helps you to manage your cell phone and your cell phone bill.)
Posted by ajit at 4:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 15, 2008
Looking for a speaker who works with Open Social
I am looking for someone who understands OpenSocial as a speaker at a conference in San Francisco. If you are interested or can recommend someone – please contact me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com
Posted by ajit at 7:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Lovely song from Brazil
I find it amazing how YouTube has the potential to share media/songs across cultures and enrich our lives. My friend and Brazilian journalist Priscila Grison sent me this lovely song from Brazil. It has a beautiful therapeutic tone to it. It’s like a chant/meditation – and although I don’t understand a word of it – it’s wonderful.
The song is called Waters of March" (Portuguese: "Águas de Março") and its Brazil's most popular song. The singer is Elis Regina
Hope you enjoy it as well
Posted by ajit at 7:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Interview with Justin Oberman - Opportunities and redundancies in the converged world of telecoms and mobility ..
Justin Oberman is a well known blogger in the mobile/wireless space through his blog mopocket and also a good friend.
Justin is now directing the Mobile/Telecom desk for Precision Research Group, a boutique executive search firm that has been finding the "unfindable" for talent hungry companies since 1996. Justin's expertise lies at the intersection where mobile and telecom connect with entertainment/media, finance, marketing and advertising. With this background,Justin offers a refreshingly therapeutic approach to the sector's workforce needs.
I had the chance to speak with him during my travels and here are some clips from our conversation:
My overall comments: I have tried my best to capture our conversation in an interview format – but the overall issue I was discussing is as follows: When I see so many traditional telecoms people in the infrastructure side – I wonder how(and if!) they will make the transition from the world of Telecoms as it stands today to the emerging world of mobility – driven more by converged companies like Apple and Google. I believe many Telecoms personnel will not be able to make that transition sadly. We saw many redundancies on the infrastructure side in Telcoms in the eighties and early nineties. I see the same happening again. There are two caveats to this – firstly some people from Telecoms will be able to make the transition – and we are already seeing some of this happening – but they are few and far between. Secondly, Telecoms will need new blood to enhance the existing genepool and will need to attract people who currently are not in 'telecoms' but are needed there. These people will have cross functional experience especially in light of the new world which we are increasingly finding ourselves in Telecoms and mobility.
Me: What are the best ways you think companies in the New Media and Wireless space can optimize their investment in human capital.
Justin: Well, Hiring talent in the mobile/telecom space is a tricky endeavour. Sure, there are various sources you can use to identify potential candidates - ranging from employee referrals and in-house candidates, to recruiting ads and search firms. Throw in online job postings, social networks and information aggregators, and the result is usually an avalanche of names.
Me: Plus add to that the fragmented nature of the industry.
Justin: Exactly! You see, the wireless industry is still developing and feeds off a mishmash of other disciplines (i.e. entertainment, marketing, finance) that give it functionality and potential. And what typically breaks down in the hiring process is that companies look for skills that are so hard to define that they almost don't exist.
Me: So what should companies in the new media and wireless industries be looking for?
Justin: What is needed in our industry are professionals who have experiences in diverse disciplines and the potential to leverage what they know and transition that into something new.
Me: So, what are companies doing wrong now?
Justin: Well, you see, taking the conventional, linear approach to recruiting, by attempting
to match job requirements and skills, will yield underwhelming results. Rather, hiring managers must re-orient their thinking and approach the evaluation talent from a different angle. Instead of focusing on skills, hiring managers should focus on personal
attributes.
Me: Why?
Justin: Because attributes more accurately reflect how people do their work and what drives them to achieve results.
Me: Can you give me an example?
Justin: Sure, for example, an attribute that is important for many roles in the wireless industry is courage. What is courage? It is an eagerness to participate. In other words, someone who is brave enough to step into the outer boundaries of the fragmented, new media industry.
Me: How can a company or the person doing the hiring determine if a person was the courage to work in the new media or wireless space?
Justin: That a very good question and it's something that we work with hiring managers to help them figure out. So a few questions to ask candidates to determine their level of courage are
1. How have you reached beyond your comfort zone?
2. What are some situations in which you had to explore the unknown?
3. When have you demonstrated a fearless commitment to achieve
an objective?
4. Have you risked failure in the quest for novel solutions?
By penetrating into a candidate's inner professional psyche, you can paint a picture in your mind about his/her ability to not only deliver value to your enterprise, but also fit into your organizational culture.
If you want to discuss more, Justin can be contacted at 212-230-1991 or email joberman@prgconnect.com
Posted by ajit at 7:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The future of the book/publishing: A social network based on a book ?
INTRODUCTION
This post covers two topics:
a) For the budding author who wants to write a book in the business or technology areas – this post provides an understanding of the publishing industry – both where it is currently at and (more importantly) where it is going to
and
b) A vision of my own business (futuretext) which is a niche publishing company. Specifically our vision is based on the idea of creating a creating a social network based on a book as I explain below
So, you want to write a business/technology book – Where do you start? Should you start at all?
In writing about the publishing industry, I have a unique perspective - being a published author (through Mobile Streams ) and then going on to set up a publishing company futuretext . We have published books from authors like Tomi Ahonen, Alan Moore, Rakesh Radhakrishanan (Sun Microsystems), Mark Curtis and many more to come.
Some of our authors have appeared in leading publications – for instance Tomi Ahonen on CNN , Mark Curtis(in the Financial Times) etc.
Unlike the more traditional publishers who don’t understand new media like blogs (Some actually prohibit their authors from blogging ‘too much’ since it may hit sales!) – we were born in the era of the blog and we actively encourage our authors to blog. When we started futuretext, I toyed with the idea of starting a magazine to promote our books. However, after reading the seminal article in Business week about how blogging will change your business in May 2005, I realised blogging was the way to go. I went on to create one of the most successful blogs in the mobile space(OpenGardens blog ) (The OpenGardens blog was also started on 31 May 2005 inspired by this article ). For a note on why blogging works for our business (publishing) see SEO: How to use blogs for Search engine optimization and to improve your Google ranking/Alexa rating
So, I hope – my views and insights cover both new and old media and add value to you. In turn, your feedback will help me to formulate the future direction of my company
The questions which I get asked most often are - 'I want to write a business/Technical book. Should I do it? How long does a typical book take to write? How much money will I make? Do you think my book will be covered by the mainstream press? Etc
There are lots of articles, books etc about 'How to write a book' - but mostly they are from the perspective of the existing publishing industry, they ignore new media like blogs and they often cover fiction writing. So, this article focuses only on business and technology books especially taking into account the emergence of new media like blogging.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
Here is a simplified structure of the book publishing industry as applicable to our discussion i.e. writing technical/business books.
We can classify books into the following categories
a) Mass market fiction – think Harry Potter!
b) Business books – Many entrants - Very few winners. Historically the industry promotes the same books over and over again – even though there are many newer books on similar topics. If you doubt this, next time you are at an airport lounge – see how many ‘old’ books dominate the business sector. Two classics I see are Barbarians at the Gate and Built to Last. Both are excellent. But ‘Barbarians’ I read when I was in school(not typical reading for your average school kids – but my dad always had many books at home and this was one of them!). It is the story of the hostile takeover of RJR Nabisco by K Kohlberg Kravis in the 1980s. Point is - its chief protagonist Henry Kravis has since gone on to do many more things – yet this story of greed in the 1980s dominates the bookstores in 2000s – for reasons to do more with risk aversion from the publishing industry. Traditional publishers like Harper Collins who published Jack Welch
and also academic/business publishers like Harvard business school press who publish Hamel and Prahalad are best known in this space
c) Traditional technology books - Large business and technology publishers are in this space – Wiley, Blackwells etc.
d) Academic books – Written by academia (often for academia). Expensive and with a relatively small print base
e) Programming books – ‘How to’ books for programmers. Companies like O Reilly, Apress and others dominate this space
f) Niche publishers – a relatively new phenomenon – publishers focussed narrowly on a specific vertical – for example futuretext in mobility and convergence
g) Publish on demand – Self publishing – strictly not a publisher for reasons outlined below
THE IMPACT OF DIGITIZATION ON THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
Before we begin ..
Let me tell you a little secret – I believe that the book publishing industry as it stands today, will be unviable in the near future – if it is not so already. It will be a victim of the relentless digitization we are witnessing around us and which has already affected movies, music, newspapers, magazines and other non digital forms of media.
Books are no different – and there is no reason why books will be an exception.
The most important effects of digitization on the publishing industry are
1) A reduced barrier to entry for publishing through digital printing (print on demand ). Print on demand is a process. It conjures up an image of literally printing one book at a time. However, there is another way to look at print on demand. It enables us to print a smaller batch size. The option to digital printing is litho/offset printing – with a minimum batch size of 1000 copies and often a lot more. Thus, digital printing enables many smaller publishers to get started(and this was the route we took to get started as well).
2) The emergence of niche publishers specialising in specific topics for the reasons listed above (Digital printing)
3) The ability to bypass the print media altogether through blogs
4) The rise of Amazon – which is a ‘level playing field’ when it came to publishers (i.e. it treated all books equally irrespective of whether they came from a small publisher or a big publisher). Note that recently Amazon has started to distinguish between its own printing company booksurge vs. the rest. But that’s a different story i.e. Amazon still treats all publishers as the same)
5) Print on demand – the ability to print one book at a time leading to self publishing
6) A voice for the Long tail – the emergence of long tail books i.e. books which would normally not be printed but are now possible since barriers to entry have been reduced
7) Many more avenues to gain exposure – for instance the blogosphere. Contrast with the few large newspapers, magazines prior to the rise of blogosphere.
PROBLEMS WITH THE STATUS QUO FOR AUTHORS, PUBLISHERS AND THE CUSTOMERS
There are many problems with the existing market structure for authors, publishers, distributors and customers. Here is how I see them
a) Publishers have become risk averse – focussing on the same few authors and titles which they think are ‘safe’. I mentioned Barbarians before. In an ironic twist , the book The Long Tail has also become a permanent fixture of many an airport lounge(I took this picture at Heathrow a couple of months ago)
b) The rate of change of information is far greater than the print media can manage i.e. books take too long to produce and by that time the topic has moved on
c) The most knowledgeable people have no time to actually write a book
d) It is difficult to get exposure in media – and I say this inspite of having authors on CNN and the FT. If I am honest, there was an element of luck and timing with it. In addition, big media is itself declining – for example the decline in newspaper readership.
e) Books are too expensive in emerging markets like India, China and Brazil. The biggest growth however will come from these markets.
f) Book distributors continue to take as high as 55 percentage of the price of the book. This means many of the more interesting and latest books will never make it to bookstores. I don’t see bookstores changing their business models. Instead I see many large bookstores and distributors dying out in the near future and the industry will face considerable consolidation.
g) There is little revenue for the author in terms of royalties. This fact coupled with long timeframes to write the book and little exposure – make the whole process unviable for authors
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
So, what are the solutions
a) What about self publishing? This seems most obvious – but has a critical flaw – since no one has invested in / validated your book – it immediately has less value in the minds of the reader. In contrast for instance, even with a niche publisher like futuretext, the fact that you are in the company of other authors like Tomi, Rakesh and Mark – is an intellectual validation of your work. By the way, while we are on this topic, don’t ever sign up to someone who expects the author to pay the publisher! That’s vanity publishing!. The publisher must always take the commercial risk for the book.
b) Why not create your own blog? This is a possibility – and if you can do it – I encourage you to do so. It is however not easy to get exposure for blogs and most bloggers will admit that it’s really hard work.
c) The industry is evolving and the best developments are from the digital / new media – than from traditional publishing. Google with Google book search , O Reilly with Safari books and various developments from Amazon are the most promising
VISION
So, what do I think will work?
Obviously, the book publishing industry still works (except in my view the self publishing option for the reasons listed above). Hence, if you get a publishing contract with a reputable publisher and you can write that book within a timeframe – it is well worth considering
However, I believe increasingly the following trends are driving book publishing to change the nature of the book itself:
a) It will be increasingly not be possible to make money on books for authors
b) There is a trend towards the ‘reference’ book i.e. if the book is simple enough – most of the content can be obtained online. People will pay to buy a book which is complex and one they need to refer back repeatedly
c) Ironically, at the same time, there is an opposite trend –towards smaller, cheaper books. The wired article on Snack content provides a rationale towards consumption of content (including books) in bite sized chunks
d) Emerging markets are the key drivers but they will warrant a much lower cost of the book(they already do)
e) Increasingly, fewer books will be covered by mainstream media for the reasons listed above
f) I find that authors will increasingly struggle to write books especially in the light of the fact that they get little exposure in the first place and little royalties.
So, I believe the creation of an online social network based on a book may be an option
Here are some more thoughts on this
a) There is an increasing tendency to pay online. Consider Wall street journal, Financial times and the Guardian all have paid models
b) We need differential online prices for emerging economies
c) We need the interactivity i.e. people pay for the community.
d) The book becomes a living document –there by making it easier to write since writing becomes an ongoing process
e) I believe that translations will play an important part in this process
f) I see a price point of $9.99 / year for emerging markets like Brazil, India, China etc and $19.99/year for UK/USA etc.
I seek your feedback on this especially the price points and the benefits.
You should also read the work from The future of the book project
Many thanks to Justin Oberman for pointing out the link to me.
Posted by ajit at 3:15 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 13, 2008
Digital youth
I like this presentation from MTV and it reflects a view I put forward at the Mobile World Congress that Mobile Youth is a myth because it does not reflect the youth’s social graph(as does facebook, myspace etc).
This MTV presentation talks of the concept of Digital youth with greater emphasis on social networking, web 2.0, Myspace, Facebook etc – with only a brief mention of ‘mobile’.
I agree with this idea of Digital Youth.
It is reflective of a more holistic interaction than pigeonholing an entire demographic(youth) to a technology type(mobile)
Watch this space - we may be doing some interesting work in this space
Posted by ajit at 8:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
LBS is definately back ..
LBS is derfinately back and will be big
KEY difference is this time it is not driven by operators
See this post from Tom Hume for the resons why.
As an industry, we have had many a false dawn with respect to LBS - this time we have a good chance of success
Posted by ajit at 8:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Why should mobile social networks not be built in Java(or other downloadable platforms)?
Yesterday at the Mobile Web summit, it was great to hear Mark Curtis and his views on how they built up Flirtomatic. Mark is a good friend and also one of my authors. Mark mentioned something subtle .. Which I think many people(including me) had missed for some time ..
He said .. They started with Java for their Mobile social network, then just before their big launch they abandoned Java .. A costly decision but one he has never regretted it.
Instead they exclusively adopted the Mobile Web(XHTML and above) and have stuck with it ever since with great commercial success
Why should mobile social networks not be built in Java(or other downloadable platforms)?
They key to flirtomatic’s success is its extremely fast feature turnaround, adaptation to customer needs, introduction of new features, responses to customer needs etc.
For example –he mentioned ‘roses with glitter’ which they introduced immediately since people seemed to like them, A ‘ring’ for February 29(the only day on which women can propose to men it seems) etc. Many of these features arose from customer feedback and were implemented immediately
And why not implement in Java?
Because – changes to the service are not propagated immediately. It is a mess – and the user pays for the downloads(airtime) – apart from the time needed to test the service in the first place on a wide variety of handsets
With the Mobile Web, this is not a problem. They can change the service every hour and the changes are reflected immediately with no cost(and pain) to the users.
This is not a fluke ..
ALL the big social networks are based on the Mobile Web .. And none on Java .. which is counterintuitive since developers may want to design cool, sexy features and a great user interface - but they dont make business sense in light of the above
The big players are peperonity , mig33 , itsmy , flirtomatic, mocospace are all above (or in the ballpark) of million plus profiles.
Java has never been to get to such numbers and with good reason as we see from Flirtomatic's experience as above
Posted by ajit at 7:28 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
June 12, 2008
Survey results: Most popular operator - Nokia!
I heard this today at the Mobile Web Summit(name withheld on request). A company had a survey asking people to rate their most popular Operator - and 'Nokia' was the winner i.e. the most popular response was 'Nokia' :)
What does this tell us? See my blog as below. Devices will always have the stronger brand - whether the Operators like it or not!
The Chicken and the Egg: The device and the network – which came first
Posted by ajit at 4:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 10, 2008
Implementing Mobile Web 2.0 – The Eleven architectures of Mobile Web 2.0
This article explores the implementation of Mobile Web 2.0. It is based on my keynote talk at the Mobile Web 2.0 summit this week. Starting from first principles, I discuss the practicalities of Mobile Web 2.0 and how it can be implemented at various points within the Mobile stack
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MOBILE WEB 2.0
Why should you be concerned about Mobile Web 2.0?
Let us consider three key developments ..
1) When asked about the Web’s biggest growth areas - Eric Schmidt said the answer was Mobile Mobile Mobile.
2) Apple iPhone shares 70% of its revenue with developers – a development that flies in the face of the many excuses that so many Operators have been putting forward for so many years.
3) Nokia chairman Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo says that Nokia is going to be an Internet company
All these factors point to a critical trend
The Internet companies are finally driving the mobile agenda (and the savvy Mobile Companies like Nokia are now embracing the Internet and dominating it). These companies are looking at the Web and the Mobile Web together and see a seamless vision of the Internet spanning both the fixed and the wireless domains
It is no longer possible to ignore the impact of Web/Internet on mobile applications. This means applications that span the Web and the Mobile Web are becoming increasingly important. Traditional mobile applications like Ringtones are becoming saturated. The younger demographic is increasingly also looking at Web based social networking like MySpace and not just the mobile devices.
(Note: Strictly the Internet denotes any device connected to an IP network. The Mobile Internet denotes connecting to the Internet via a mobile device. The Web denotes an application level framework based on HTTP and HTML. And the mobile web denotes the usage of the Web on mobile devices. We use these terms here interchangeably depending on the context)
MOBILE WEB 2.0 – CANNOT IGNORE WEB 2.0
So, what is Mobile Web 2.0?
We cannot discuss Mobile Web 2.0 in vacuum. In discussing Mobile Web 2.0, let us not forget the intellectual debt owed to Tim O Reilly in defining Web 2.0.
Whichever way you look at it, Web 2.0 (as postulated by Tim O Reilly) has the following characteristics
a) The use of the Web as a backbone
b) Harnessing collective intelligence and
c) Creating a database/body of data that becomes richer as more users contribute to the system .
MOBILE WEB 2.0
While the Mobile Web has made increasing strides over the last few years, especially in the launch of Web Widgets , offline browsing and the availability of the full web browser on the Mobile Web(i.e. JavaScript, CSS etc), – we still have a way to go in the universal and ubiquitous availability of the mobile web on to mobile devices.
Hence, if we extend the above paradigm of Web 2.0 to Mobile devices (i.e. Mobile Web 20) – there are two implications :
a) The Web does not necessarily extend to mobile devices
b) Even though the Web does not extend to mobile devices, intelligence can still be captured from mobile devices since the Mobile device is always available at the point of inspiration and many elements can be captured uniquely through mobile devices(for instance Location)
This can be depicted as follows.
The iPod/iTunes service is a preliminary example of Mobile Web 2.0. The ipod uses the web as a back end and the PC as a local cache. In this sense, the service is ‘driven by the web and configured at the PC’ but it is not strictly a ‘Web’ application because it is not driven by web protocols end to end (iPod protocols are proprietary to Apple). However, it uses the Web as a backbone and this makes it a Mobile Web 2.0 service if we extend the definition of Web 2.0 to mobile devices.
THE DEEP BLUE SEA PROBLEM
The problem with the above diagram is: Once the content goes on the ‘deep blue sea’ of the Web (for instance on Flickr, YouTube etc) - the mobile industry lost its leverage i.e. unique advantage.
So, the fundamental question regarding the implementation of Mobile Web 2.0 is: How does the mobile industry adopt the ethos of the Web (openness, no walled gardens etc) and yet maintain some unique advantages? I.e. bridge the world of the Mobile and the Internet?
IMPLEMENTING MOBILE WEB 2.0
There are at least eleven ways if we extend the idea of Mobile Web 2.0 across the stack
1) The Operator implementation – This will be likely based on IMS/SDP.
2) The handset implantation – This approach is best indicated by Nokia’s Ovi strategy and the iPhone.
3) The Enterprise network strategy – Best epitomised by Cisco’s foray into Web 2.0 based on recent acquisitions such as Tribes and Five Across
4) The Web players coming to mobile .. Best example of this approach is Android.
5) Mobile Web 2.0 and Devices –Amazon Kindle
6) SCWS(Smart card web server) – A relatively new approach with the SIM cards being increasingly powerful and with the deployment of a web server on SIM cards with companies like Gemalto deploying SCWS services.
7) Identity and Security – Identity and Security can complement almost any service and a telecoms network has an advantage there.
8) Browser APIs/DOM extensions – OMTP, OpenAjax alliance and others are doing some great work here
9) Voice Call detail records to create social graphs
10) Make it quicker / easier – users will always pay extra for the small improvements which make their life easier even when other(more cumbersome) ways exist which may be cheaper. 11) And finally, there is the concept of Umbrella social networks Beyond Web 2.0
11) Umbrella social networks – i.e. a social network that spans the Web and the Mobile Web. Twitter being one such example http://opengardensblog.futuretext.com/archives/2007/10/umbrella_social.html
CONCLUSIONS
As developments like the Android start becoming mainstream and the iPhone continues to make a big impact on the Mobile ecosystem – the full impact of Mobile Web 2.0 is only now starting to be felt. As more services span the Web and the Mobile Web, we will see greater uptake of Mobile Web 2.0
These ideas are explored in the forthcoming book Implementing Mobile Web 2.0 by Ajit Jaokar. Please contact me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com if you wish to know more.
Posted by ajit at 11:25 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Bo Diddley again ..
Since last week , I have been listening to Bo Diddley’s music .. and there are many subtle things you notice. This music is earlier than my generation – but it is timeless ..
Here .. from about 7 mins – Bo takes this song over to a wonderful tune ..
And in this song .. he does a strange moon walk type routine at about 2 mins .. maybe the world’s first ..
A talent much missed by guitar lovers worldwide ..
Posted by ajit at 11:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
No MMS on the 3G iPhone - good or bad?
There have been some questions about the lack of support for MMS on the new 3G iPhone ..
I think there is a simple explanation .. Apple is right to leave MMS out of the iPhone(and it reveals a much broader strategy as we see below)
I think the question is- What exactly do we need MMS for(from the user standpoint)
Three things are possible ..
a) person to web communication(photo album type of application)
b) person to person communication
c) A2P (Application to person i.e. web site to person) - this is like a daily news paper
In reality is P2P communication via MMS is dead (and MMS has only itself to blame)
More importantly no matter what Apple does - it cannot control the P2P experience since the operators, other device etc will not be interoperable
The other two(A2P) and Person to web - can be done by the iPhone much better without getting bogged down with MMS
The question reveals a key insight ..
Both Google and Apple are wisely not mucking around with the network layer .. I.e. leaving the network layer to telecoms and focussing on the Apps layer(playing to their strengths and to the revenue sources)
When Android was launched .. I had a post saying - No IMS stack for Android? Which is the same thing(conceptually)
So, it makes a lot more sense when you look at it from both tech and functional angles
The chickens have come home to roost for the telecoms industry ..
If they launch ventures like MMS and dont get the interoperability right and make them viable for the whole ecosystem (think OpenGardens) .. these initiatives(and the cost) become dead in about three years when players like Apple and Google will simply bypass them. We saw that with LBS. Now we see that with MMS.
The future belongs to the Web players dominating the Mobile space - which is nice :)
Posted by ajit at 7:57 AM | Comments (46) | TrackBack
June 9, 2008
iPhone version of Flirtomatic launched ..
With uncanny timing coinciding with the launch of the 3G iPhone , Flirtomatic launches the iPhone version of their service for the iPhone and the iTouch.
The Alpha version is available worldwide and has a new enriched mobile interface which has been completely built for the iPhone and iTouch user. With access to over 800k users currently, the feature set includes registration, login, chat, search, rating and the ability to send and receive gifts. Flirtomatic claims to be the only service to have optimised all of these features for the iPhone in the UK currently. Further functionality including location search will be available shortly.
Launched in 2006, Flirtomatic is a real time, high capacity, multimedia, messaging platform that currently has over 800,000 registered users and nearly 400,000 mobile users, making it UK's leading flirting service on the mobile and web.
Targeted at young adults (75% of users are 18 – 30 years old), Flirtomatic operates a free and uninterrupted service across the web and mobile, that enables users to flirt, meet new people and have fun online. Users have the ability to discover members on the basis of their preferences, interests, location and other information stored in their multimedia user profile. In May, Flirtomatic users were sending 1m messages a day, generating 21m web page views and 115m WAP page views.
With this announcement, flirtomatic extends their reach to the iPhone, iTouch and the 3G iPhone.
Mark Curtis, CEO of Flirtomatic believes that the i-phone layout actually works on an N95 and some other high end handsets. So, the feedback on the iPhone design will go towards making designs on other high end phones easier.
Posted by ajit at 8:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 2, 2008
Going medieval - Time warner and metered bandwidth - great techcrunch post ...
I am with Mike Arrington here : Going Medieval: Time-Warner Begins Metered Bandwidth Testing
Cable companies have regional monopolies and are able to extract excess profits from these monopolies. Innovation and the health of the ecosystem is dependent on a competitive marketplace. If one part of the market falls behind (and we’re already behind in broadband penetration and average data speeds), it becomes very difficult for the ecosystem to remain competitive.
I’m almost never in favor of government intervention of markets, but monopolies are an exception. We need to encourage data usage by consumers, not the opposite. The cable companies are standing in the way of economic growth and innovation. We can’t afford a decade or more of screwing around before trying to fix this. Let’s start now.
Posted by ajit at 11:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
RIP Bo Didley ..
The inspiration behind so many bands .. including U2, Buddy Holly and my favourite ZZ top who credit him for their unique Guitar riff and even teaching them to put fur on their Guitars!
Here is a clasic video in celebration of Bo's music
Posted by ajit at 9:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 1, 2008
Etisalat welcome roaming message arrives in Hong Kong ..
I am I Hong Kong giving the keynote of the Asia Pacific Web technology conference and conducting a two day workshop on the implementation of Mobile Web 2.0. I transited via Dubai. I was in Dubai for around 3 hrs. As a Vodafone UK customer, I was roaming in Dubai. However, imagine my surprise when I got the following message from Etisalat (Dubai Operator) in Hong Kong(long after I left Dubai)!
Dear Guest, Welcome to the UAE. Enjoy the best network coverage and other unmatched services only with Etisalat. Please use <+> or <00> before the country code for int'l call. For directory service call 181, for availability of GPRS, MMS, 3G roaming services call Etisalat Travelers' Help Line 8002300 & for inquiries on tourism, entertainment, shopping, etc call 7000-1-7000 (Roaming rates apply). Have a pleasant stay in the UAE.
The point being – I am almost 100% sure that I am paying for this message – which has no use whatsoever since I got it in Hong Kong(i.e. after I left Dubai)
How many more such instances when we may be perhaps be spending money due to the provider’s fault and never recovering it since it’s a small amount? But that small amount is a source of profit for the provider?
Posted by ajit at 11:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack