Dan’s Blog (2.0)

I’m very excited to announce that on September 7th I will be co-presenting, with my friend and fellow Mobile Monday organizer C. Enrique Ortiz, a Barcamp-style event in Austin, Texas! The event will focus on mobile widgets and we are looking to bring in presenters and participants from all across the spectrum of companies and industry efforts involved in this burgeoning space. The event will feature a mix of structured and unstructured time, with both a program of speakers (to be announced but including speakers from OMTP and W3C) and an open schedule on which participants can write in their own sessions. If you’d like to attend, just put your name on the wiki (see link above). If you’d like to present in one of the pre-programmed slots, please get in touch with myself of Enrique.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 2:53 under Mobile Monday, Mobile Web
Tags: austin, barcamp, mobilemonday, MobileWeb, widgets

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I’ve been following with some interest the press surrounding the 100th anniversary of the Model T, the original “people’s car” that is credited with creating the automative industry as we now know it. The Model T is famous for a number of reasons, but one thing I hadn’t quite appreciated was how versitile and extensible (to use a modern word) the car was. A whole after-market industry grew up around the T, letting people transform it into sports car, a truck, a tractor, a harvester - whatever task required motive power. This factor of openness and extensibility, combined with mass-production and low cost, helped to make the car a success story and created a new industry. The slightly more modern equivelent might be the IBM PC. But this left me wondering: what is the mobile computing equivelent to the Model T? What is the Model T of the mobile Web? Though I love it, I have to say the iPhone ain’t it. It fails on both the low cost and the extensibility criteria. The OLPC device fails on mass-market grounds.

What we need is for someone to come along and deliver a mass-market, low-cost device that is extensible and open but which has enough ease and simplicity of use that it is embraced by the great public and enough oomph to be a mobile Web workhorse. There is a gigantic vacuum in the mobile industry right now with this exact shape. Candidates include Google’s Android, Limo devices, next-generation Nokia devices based on the new Symbian Foundation and possibly even Microsoft Smartphones, developed under their new “end-to-end” strategy. Any others?

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 17:35 under Mobile Web, mobile 2.0
Tags: iPhone, Mobile, MobileWeb, ModelT

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So what does Wordpress’s application for iPhone give you that sets it apart from just blogging through the browser?First and foremost, it allows you to blog while off-line. I’m writing this while sitting in the Tube, under the streets of London where network signals are not in abundance. Having the option to compose offline and then seamlessly publish could be a boon to people like me who often find themselves offline.

The mobile app also let’s you take photos, a feature that I am testing in this post, so more on how well that works later. [Update: there was an error sending the picture so some bugs still need to be worked out.]

On the downside, the app doesn’t have any spelling tools (actually a problem with all iPhone apps). The auto-correction software built into the iphobe can be both a blessing and a curse in this regard, both fixing up obvious mistakes and introducing insidious errors you don’t catch until it’s too late. (iPhone 2.0 has started to auto-correct ‘its’ as ‘it’s’ which can be particularly problematic).

One wish-list item for me would be geo-tagging of posts using the Skyhook-supplied location platform demonstrated at this month’s Mobile Monday London (and built in to the iPhone). I doubt even Skyhook, though, could locate me 200 feet below Tottenham Court Road. One more note on location: all iPhone apps now prompt the user for permission when they try to locate you. I believe this is a function of the underlying software - and if that’s the case then it’s good news for location privacy It’s not clear to me though whether the application must ask every time or if this is a one-time thing - that should be made more clear in the wording of the prompt.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 17:40 under Blogs, mobile 2.0
Tags: blogging, BT, Bugs, geolocation, iPhone, Mobile, RIT, time

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I’m writing this post from the new (free) Wordpress iPhone application. Is it the holy grail of mobile blogging? That remains to be seen, but it certainly was easy to install and get up and running (with my own installation of Wordpress 2.6 that I have running on Torgo.com). The text creation capability is the same as email and like email there is no way to turn the unit on its aide to get a bigger keyboard. The new 2.0 keyboard seems more accurate and swift than the previous rev though. More on the iPhone update in a later post. Ta Ta for now.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 10:13 under mobile 2.0
Tags: blogging, iPhone, Mobile

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Dummies everywhere are rejoicing today. Finally, they will be able to know the joys of the Mobile Internet, thanks to a new reference book, of which I am proud to announce I have been a co-author, Mobile Internet for Dummies. Based on the structure of Internet for Dummies (and co-written with that book’s author, John Levine, Michael O’Farrell, Jostein Algroy, James Pearce), Mobile Internet for Dummies takes you through the ins and outs of getting connected and using the mobile Internet (and the mobile Web) from chosing the right phone to mobile blogging and photo sharing, to developing your own mobile Web site. This book demystifies the whole topic of the mobile Internet and hopefully gives people a lot of timely and useful information they can use to get online on the move and make the most of the medium.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 0:09 under Mobile Web
Tags: Dummies, mifd, mobileinternet, MobileWeb

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Open Business Model Panel at Mobile 2.0 Europe moderated by Mike Butcher

It’s the final panel at Mobile 2.0 Europe, featuring panelists from Blyk (Leif Fågelstedt), Admob (Laurence Aderemi), GetJar (Ilja Laurs), Bango (Ray Anderson) and Fjord (Chris Liu) and moderated by an ebullient Mike Butcher. The theme of openness has been a central one here in Barcelona. Everyone seems to agree that openness is good, but nobody can agree quite what openness means or what should be open and what can remain closed. The iPhone, for example, has been held up as a beacon of innovation, but the iPhone is also closed in a number of respects, especially around native application development.

Interesting comment from Chris of Fjord - do we need a “Microsoft” for Mobile (i.e. a single vendor who can dominate the operating system space)? Ray Anderson’s response (which I agree with) is that that common platform could be the Web (and I would add, mobile Widgets which run on top of a runtime environment). Coming back to the iPhone, the thousand+ mobile Web applications in Apple’s directory should be a indication of this trend. The only problem with Web apps is - no access to device capabilities (camera, location, PIM etc…). But this is coming. Both Ilja and Laurence have spoken up on the power of mobile advertising to help bootstrap mobile innovation. We haven’t heard too much from Leif about open business models — they are pretty focused on their basic “voice and text” proposition. My question was: will mobile (Web) advertising morph from simple banners into “branded experiences” such as mobile widgets where the widget itself is the advertisement? No clear answer from the panel but I’m convinced this is the way forward.

Phew! What a day! Lots of contraversy, lots of industry expertise, lots of startups. In short - a fantastic debut for Mobile 2.0 Europe! I need a drink!

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 16:55 under London, mobile 2.0
Tags: m20eu, mikebutcher, mobile2.0

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We didn’t announce the startups on the agenda for Mobile 2.0 Europe - we had to keep something back to make for a little suspense. As I write this, the startups are now on stage presenting:

Aka Aki: an exciting mobile social network platform that uses location and proximity (through Bluetooth) to encourage unanticipated interactions - such as looking up the profile of someone you happened to bump into on the street. It does this by tracking the unique Bluetooth addresses of everyone around you and checking these against registered profiles. Creepy? Possibly, but very cool.

Dial2Do: a voice-based platform for access Web 2.0 services (with a special emphasis on hands-free usage, such as from the car).

Shout’Em: A mobile social network out of Croatia that enables micro-blogging, media sharing, the whole shebang.

ViaMobility: A mobile widget play - taking PC widgets from a varierty of platforms onto the mobile. From the mockup of the experience they presented, it looks pretty compelling.

YouLynx: Converging  the mobile / Internet / PC experience, focusing on messaging, blogging, media share and incorporating Geolocation.

Zipiko: Another social utiloty focusing on organizing adhoc social activities, meetups, and enabling “spending time with friends.” Making it easy to communicate your intentions (like: “I’m going to go get a coffee now”) among a circle of friends. I think they’ve got something - the user experience and design is spot-on. Plus it “improves your sex life.”

There you have it. Time for a coffee break!

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 10:27 under Misc
Tags: m20eu, mobile2.0

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Pekka Pohjakallio of Nokia Keynoting Mobile 2.0 Europe

In late 2006, I helped to run an event called Mobile 2.0 in San Francisco. Run up against Web 2.0 Summit, the event was first conceived as a kind of mobile “meet up” for people attending Web 2.0 - people who were interested in mobile innovation, and especially the growing convergence between Web and Mobile (which in 2006 was still quite contraversial). We ended up drawing a crowd of 300 industry professionals. In 2007 we re-ran the event and established Mobile 2.0 as a conference series. Today in Barcelona, Mobile 2.0 Europe is kicking off due to the not inconsiderable talents of Rudy De Wale. In the mean time, the topics we’ve been covering in Mobile 2.0 have gone main stream. Mobile Web, mobile social networking, social media, and other innovations that were seen as fringe in 2006 are now coming into the mainstream of industry thinking. Pekka Pohjakallio from Nokia spoke this morning on how his company is becoming an Internet services company. Alistair Hill from M:Metrics has presented dramatic growth in mobile Web usage in western markets. Now we have on stage a panel on Mobile Social Networking including Zyb (now part of Vodafone) founder Tommy Ahlers and Antonio Vince Staybl, CEO of Itsmy.com (a mobile-only social network that is taking off like wildfire). The rest of today’s program is packed with real industry experts and startups across the spectrum of mobile innovation.

Exciting times? Yes.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 9:04 under mobile 2.0
Tags: Barcelona, m20eu, mobile2.0

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W3C are producing an online training course for mobile Web developers: “An Introduction to W3C’s Mobile Web Best Practices” which will run from May 26 to June 20 2008. This will be a great chance to get more information on mobile Web development practices from the experts — highly recommended for any Web developers out there who are interested in getting into mobile.

W3C is organizing an online course to introduce Web developers and designers to W3C’s Mobile Web Best Practices.

In this course you will:

• • * learn about the specific promises and challenges of the mobile platform
  • * learn how to use W3C’s Mobile Web Best Practices to design mobile-friendly Web content and to mobilize existing content
  • * discover the relevant W3C resources for mobile Web design

Participants will have access to lectures and assignments providing hands-on practical experience with using W3C’s mobile Web Best Practices. They will have direct access to W3C experts on this topic who are the instructors for this course. Participants will also be able to discuss and share experiences with their peers who are faced with the challenges of mobile Web design.

More information at
http://www.w3.org/2008/03/MobiWeb101/Overview.html

Register now at
http://www.3gwebtrain.com/moodle/

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 13:23 under Mobile Web, W3C
Tags: Mobile, MobileWeb, MWI, Training, W3C, Web

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In about an hour, I will board the final flight of my round-the-world trip, from San Francisco back to London. I’ve mostly been in Beijing and San Francisco, and I’ve transited through Singapore and Hong Kong on the way. The most grueling part by far was Wednesday, where I boarded a flight at 9 AM in Beijing and after hitting Singapore and Hong Kong I finally ended up in San Francisco at 8 PM San Francisco time - that’s roughly a full day (24 hours) of traveling. The highlight from a travel perspective was flying on the new Singapore Airlines A380. This is an absolutely amazing aircraft. What struck me most was how quiet it was - others have commented on the quietness, but I haven’t seen any comments about how much bigger the lavatories were. This was a nice touch. It was the first time I’ve been able to wash my face in an airplane lavatory and not get water all over the floor - which I think is a significant quality-of-life improvement. The sweeping staircase at the front of the plane is a nice touch. I can’t wait until the A380 shows up on some of my more commonly traveled routes. This was my first flight on Singapore Airlines. They are certainly a very nice airline, but honestly I still prefer Virgin Atlantic.

Beijing was a basically what any pre-olympic city is: a mass of construction. On my one day of being a tourist, I was able to take in the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City - both of which are primarily outdoor, which is a shame as it was raining quite hard. I managed to snap some photos - I was particularly drawn to the architectural detail and intricate carving. Flight boarding now - more notes soon.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 23:39 under Travel
Tags: a380 www2008 web2expo

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