po-bo

Fancy designing your own handset...?

http://www.openmoko.com/

"The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.”  Mark Weiser

Skyfire

Despite clearly being named by a neolithic tribesman it looks like this new wunder-browser might actually deliver some rather impressive  goods in terms of web-on-yer-mobile. If the hype is to be believed this really will be like the web but on your mobile. No really it will. Exactly the same. You might even be forgiven for thinking for a second that your mobile is really a PC and you've magically grown to giant proportions.

If it does work and doesn't require only the hugest of processors to run it, it will be pretty impressive. Particularly for opening up the kind of Flash based content which has hitherto been ever so slightly out of reach.

Still as usual the question is begged: is this really the right approach? What about services tailored to small screens? Things that actually make more sense on the move then they do at your desk.

It's the web on your mobile, but also that's all it is.

The text message is 15 years old!

http://www.madcomments.co.uk/text-celebrates-15-years-%e2%80%93-can-you-believe-it/

Everyone's wondering what's next.... :)

iApolloGearsPhone?

Very interesting article about iPhone, Nokia, Google, Adobe and web/desktop apps.

In short, there is a strong possibility that applications built for the iPhone will run on Nokia Series 60 devices with relatively little re-coding. [...] The applications will also run on Windows and Mac desktops with the Safari browser.

The final pieces of this jigsaw are supplied by Google and Adobe, who are working together on an open source project - Google Gears - to enable browser-based applications to function off-line. Adobe is planning to incorporate this capability into Apollo [...] which runs across desktop and mobile devices.

[This is] more than just interesting in a mobile context - it is a way of solving one of the key issues which has constrained web-style application development for phones, i.e. what happens when the device loses the network connection.

Sweden to try first mobile music download service

To me, the title of this post is misleading, because even we have had a music download service running on WAP and also handset applications, but according to this report from the Beeb, Sweden will be the first country to try a proper Mobile Music Download service.

It's called Musicstation and is developed by a British company called Omnifone - who seem a bit mixed up and look like a cross between Vodafone (if you look at there logo) and Apple (if you look at there website)...I digress.

Musicstation allows customers to download tracks from a library of one million songs while they are out and about. The service costs £1.99 or 2.99 euros per week and the fee is added to a customer's phone bill. This fee actually includes data charges, to encourage use of the service. It is expected to launch in in other European countries including the UK in the near future.

There are a couple of features which differentiate from existing mobile music services and they are centered around community, namely the ability to share tracks and playlists with other MusicStation subscribers via the mobile network.

Take a look at the two demo videos.
Java Client - quicktime | wmv
Touch Screen - quicktime | wmv

You'll notice the familar looking interface on the Java App and the touchscreen version looks quite similar to something else. The ability to download tracks straight to your phone is a good thing, but there are still issues with speed of downloads and network stability - in and out of signals, the pressure on networks due to potentially many people sharing and downloading tracks.

Apple iPhone June 29th - but no euro launch date yet

All has been relatively quiet on this for a while, or maybe that's just me not obsessing about it, but the US launch is imminent - June 29th to be exact. Apple has started airing the adverts for this and just viewing these reminds me how sleek this interface really is. The way everything is integrated and looks so seamless e.g. open the map application type in a place, then make the phone call. I think when I get my hands on one of these beauties (and I will you know) I'll probably react in a similar way to this chap.

Understanding users, anywhere, anytime

Google lays out its Mobile User Experience strategy.

Which one are you?

A) Repetitive Now
The user is someone checking for the same piece of information over and over again, like checking the same stock quotes or weather. Google uses cookies to help cater to mobile users who check and recheck the same data points.

B) Bored Now
These are users who have time on their hands. People on trains or waiting in airports or sitting in cafes. Mobile users in this behavior group look a lot more like casual Web surfers, but mobile phones don't offer the robust user input of a desktop, so the applications have to be tailored.

C)Urgent Now
This is a request to find something specific fast, like the location of a bakery or directions to the airport. Since a lot of these questions are location-aware, Google tries to build location into the mobile versions of these queries.

Read more here.

Via Small Surfaces, a site that tracks articles about interaction design, user interface design, user experience, usability and social trends related to mobile devices.

First 3rd-party iPhone application appears online

The first third-party iPhone application has come to light. It is hosted at apple.com.
The application, which appears in Apple's Dashboard Widget gallery, is Scenario Poker, a game 'designed for the size of iPhone's touch screen', that 'takes ten minutes to learn and a lifetime to master'.

A standard disclaimer at the foot of the page explains that while Apple is linking to the application, like others in its Widget download gallery, it 'makes no representations regarding the applications or any information related thereto'. It has therefore not confirmed itself that this application will indeed run on the iPhone.

New iPhone ad

Probably not exactly what Apple had in mind but very funny nonetheless.

Mobile Phones for OAP's

Why is this taking so long? Emporia Telecom (Austria) at the 3GSM congress in Barcelona showcased a phone designed to be used by old people. The handset they developed has no digital camera, Internet access or instant messaging capabilities, but it does include a button to call relatives or friends in an emergency, is compatible with hearing aids and can run on regular AAA batteries. None of the mainstream handset manufacturers has launched an oldies phone, but some appear to have recognised that enthusiasm for new products and flash handsets is not shared by everyone. This quote is pretty unbelievable: "Finnish manufacturer Nokia, which has a strong reputation for simplicity, has so far desisted from launching a special phone for the elderly" because their market research didn't show strong demand.

Fancy designing your own handset...?

http://www.openmoko.com/

"The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.”  Mark Weiser

Skyfire

Despite clearly being named by a neolithic tribesman it looks like this new wunder-browser might actually deliver some rather impressive  goods in terms of web-on-yer-mobile. If the hype is to be believed this really will be like the web but on your mobile. No really it will. Exactly the same. You might even be forgiven for thinking for a second that your mobile is really a PC and you've magically grown to giant proportions.

If it does work and doesn't require only the hugest of processors to run it, it will be pretty impressive. Particularly for opening up the kind of Flash based content which has hitherto been ever so slightly out of reach.

Still as usual the question is begged: is this really the right approach? What about services tailored to small screens? Things that actually make more sense on the move then they do at your desk.

It's the web on your mobile, but also that's all it is.

The text message is 15 years old!

http://www.madcomments.co.uk/text-celebrates-15-years-%e2%80%93-can-you-believe-it/

Everyone's wondering what's next.... :)

iApolloGearsPhone?

Very interesting article about iPhone, Nokia, Google, Adobe and web/desktop apps.

In short, there is a strong possibility that applications built for the iPhone will run on Nokia Series 60 devices with relatively little re-coding. [...] The applications will also run on Windows and Mac desktops with the Safari browser.

The final pieces of this jigsaw are supplied by Google and Adobe, who are working together on an open source project - Google Gears - to enable browser-based applications to function off-line. Adobe is planning to incorporate this capability into Apollo [...] which runs across desktop and mobile devices.

[This is] more than just interesting in a mobile context - it is a way of solving one of the key issues which has constrained web-style application development for phones, i.e. what happens when the device loses the network connection.

Sweden to try first mobile music download service

To me, the title of this post is misleading, because even we have had a music download service running on WAP and also handset applications, but according to this report from the Beeb, Sweden will be the first country to try a proper Mobile Music Download service.

It's called Musicstation and is developed by a British company called Omnifone - who seem a bit mixed up and look like a cross between Vodafone (if you look at there logo) and Apple (if you look at there website)...I digress.

Musicstation allows customers to download tracks from a library of one million songs while they are out and about. The service costs £1.99 or 2.99 euros per week and the fee is added to a customer's phone bill. This fee actually includes data charges, to encourage use of the service. It is expected to launch in in other European countries including the UK in the near future.

There are a couple of features which differentiate from existing mobile music services and they are centered around community, namely the ability to share tracks and playlists with other MusicStation subscribers via the mobile network.

Take a look at the two demo videos.
Java Client - quicktime | wmv
Touch Screen - quicktime | wmv

You'll notice the familar looking interface on the Java App and the touchscreen version looks quite similar to something else. The ability to download tracks straight to your phone is a good thing, but there are still issues with speed of downloads and network stability - in and out of signals, the pressure on networks due to potentially many people sharing and downloading tracks.

Apple iPhone June 29th - but no euro launch date yet

All has been relatively quiet on this for a while, or maybe that's just me not obsessing about it, but the US launch is imminent - June 29th to be exact. Apple has started airing the adverts for this and just viewing these reminds me how sleek this interface really is. The way everything is integrated and looks so seamless e.g. open the map application type in a place, then make the phone call. I think when I get my hands on one of these beauties (and I will you know) I'll probably react in a similar way to this chap.

Understanding users, anywhere, anytime

Google lays out its Mobile User Experience strategy.

Which one are you?

A) Repetitive Now
The user is someone checking for the same piece of information over and over again, like checking the same stock quotes or weather. Google uses cookies to help cater to mobile users who check and recheck the same data points.

B) Bored Now
These are users who have time on their hands. People on trains or waiting in airports or sitting in cafes. Mobile users in this behavior group look a lot more like casual Web surfers, but mobile phones don't offer the robust user input of a desktop, so the applications have to be tailored.

C)Urgent Now
This is a request to find something specific fast, like the location of a bakery or directions to the airport. Since a lot of these questions are location-aware, Google tries to build location into the mobile versions of these queries.

Read more here.

Via Small Surfaces, a site that tracks articles about interaction design, user interface design, user experience, usability and social trends related to mobile devices.

First 3rd-party iPhone application appears online

The first third-party iPhone application has come to light. It is hosted at apple.com.
The application, which appears in Apple's Dashboard Widget gallery, is Scenario Poker, a game 'designed for the size of iPhone's touch screen', that 'takes ten minutes to learn and a lifetime to master'.

A standard disclaimer at the foot of the page explains that while Apple is linking to the application, like others in its Widget download gallery, it 'makes no representations regarding the applications or any information related thereto'. It has therefore not confirmed itself that this application will indeed run on the iPhone.

New iPhone ad

Probably not exactly what Apple had in mind but very funny nonetheless.

Mobile Phones for OAP's

Why is this taking so long? Emporia Telecom (Austria) at the 3GSM congress in Barcelona showcased a phone designed to be used by old people. The handset they developed has no digital camera, Internet access or instant messaging capabilities, but it does include a button to call relatives or friends in an emergency, is compatible with hearing aids and can run on regular AAA batteries. None of the mainstream handset manufacturers has launched an oldies phone, but some appear to have recognised that enthusiasm for new products and flash handsets is not shared by everyone. This quote is pretty unbelievable: "Finnish manufacturer Nokia, which has a strong reputation for simplicity, has so far desisted from launching a special phone for the elderly" because their market research didn't show strong demand.