About Mobility

This week’s Carnival of the Mobilists #172 is at MobileStance.com and is packed with great essays from bloggers from around the world. A must read.

Thanks to Jamie Well who selected my blog entry as the post of the week!

If monetization of mobile apps turns you on, then head over to About Mobility and check out On Mobile Applications, Platforms and Monetization -”Show me the Money.” A very well thought out piece that really puts the space(s) through the paces. So good in fact, it’s our POST OF THE WEEK. Nice job, CEO - really top shelf!

ceo

I’ve been keeping track of a very interesting thread at Forum Oxford (FOROX) on the topic of Android phone dissapointing developers (w.r.t. iPhone), with Jason Delport, Alex Kerr, William Volk (who started the thread) and others adding their different perspectives on the matter. All these guys are mobile experts so what they say resonate with me…

I like Jason’s responses as there is no bias, just pure pragmatism (i.e. he has been burned before); he makes a living building mobile apps, so for him it is about business and making money. Period. Jason’s take on why Android is dropping the ball is as follows:

1. User’s don’t want to sign up to Google checkout
2. There are plenty of places to find illegal copies of paid Android apps
3. The store is over cluttered with crap apps
4. The store has a poor design and has a rubbish user experience compared to the iPhone app store
5. Paid apps were launched later than free apps and a tone was set in the market that apps were, and should be, free.

For which I respond as follows:

On #1, Google should do one of two: 1) require and capture credit card information the first time a user tries to buy a premium application, or 2) integrate with the network operator’s billing. On #2, true, but #1 is the main issue. On #3 and #4, I totally agree, plus, the good apps are hard to find! A better way to find applications is needed. On #5, I totally agree as well; the wrong expectations were initially set.

Alex followed writing that developers should be focusing on the platforms that are most “useful” to as many people as possible in the world… these being J2ME, Web and S60.

But useful is *very* relative. For talking on the phone? For writing applications? For deploying and making money from? I used to think as Alex… yes, it all sounds reasonable — target the platforms that (in theory) have the largest subscriber reach. Well, that is, until you take into consideration “Show me the money”, as Ajit likes to say.

From the “show me the money” perspective “rich development platforms and ecosystems” have proven, finally, successful. When I say “rich development platforms and ecosystems”, ecosystems go beyond app repositories, and it is about all the details that make it work, which includes user experience, integrated billing/payment, social and not, feedback system, and all the goodies a good/properly designed app store is all about.

I remember the debates between Ajit and myself over Web vs. local apps a couple of years ago, including at JavaOne Motorola Keynote, where I defended local applications while Ajit debated that “AJAX will replace both J2ME and XHTML as the preferred platform for mobile applications development” (note that he wrote J2ME but he really meant local apps). Today I can humbly say that I was right about local apps, and that “AJAX will not replace local apps as the platform of choice for developing mobile applications”. At least not yet. Ajit was/is right that mobile web apps will be huge, but they will in a different way as when it comes to richness and user experience and making money, today it is about a local apps.

And it took Apple to show “us” the way.

App Stores have proven central for developers (i.e. “show me the money”), and for subscribers (to easily find and download apps). And as a consequence, have proven beneficial to network providers themselves - gosh, it has taken so many years for network operators to finally open their eyes, not be so paranoid and over-controlling, and agree with common sense — it is an ecosystem after all. So now, all are converging into similar solutions such as iPhone’s App Store. They have to - the power is shifting to the subscriber itself, and to the developers who are bringing applications, software to the market. And those platforms that don’t play nice with the ecosystem, will fail.

So the argument that subscribers would not download local apps, argument a number of us didn’t agree with and defended against over the years via our blogs and apps, resulted in a non-issue. Yes, users will download rich, useful applications, and even better, will pay for them if given ways to easily find, pay for, and download those applications. While other types of apps such as Web and SMS, well, subscribers do like, but for free! Don’t you agree? What this translates to is into business models centered on the subscriber vs. “the other side of the subscriber” such as businesses, etc.

A word on the various platform

A word on iPhone: the device, the platforms rocks. I have an Android (personal) and an iPhone (work). And the iPhone is a beautifully designed piece, overall, from hardware to software. AT&T will hurt and cry if/when iPhone goes to other operators. As a sidenote, see ReadWriteWeb article by Sarah Perez titled The State of the Smartphone: iPhone is Way, Way Ahead, where she explores a recent report by Flurry that concludes that the iPhone is way ahead when it comes to mobile apps (based on the number of developers, apps and consumers). But, let’s take this report “with a grain of salt”. Why? Because it can be biased as follows: the majority of the developers using their analytics instrumentation code might just be iPhone developers, thus, the sample-set is biased by default.

A word on Android: just give it time. Android has the potential to be everywhere - phones, internet appliances, cars, etc. around the Globe, and thus many different types of developers (mobile to embedded). And it very well might allow developers to enter “emerging” markets easier. Judging Android after 6 months or so means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Time will tell (but I stand by what I’ve been saying thought).

A word on BlackBerry. They are getting it, but imposing a minimum app price of $2.99 — because “they value the efforts of developers” is bogus and is an attempt to sound developer-friendly. Let the market decide pricing!

A word on Nokia: they are trying with Ovi, but keep it simple! I really hope Nokia hits the ball out of the park –but they should consider simplifying their portfolio tho, see On Nokia’s App Store Strategy. Nokia’s attempt to do integrated billing for their App Store and (eventually) requiring Credit Cards mean they are thinking the right way.

A word on J2ME: Java ME suffered over the years due to 1) the process that created it was too slow to adapt, allowing for inconsistent implementations and incomplete API-sets, 2) its security model, and 3) lack of integrated app repository (i.e. app store). I still believe it has potential to be the platform of choice for mid-level phones. Specially with the latest MSA API-stacks and MIDP3 that (I hope) will come out later this year. And today,if you have the right market and channels, go for it.

A word on Web: best channel for apps that easily bring “generic” content out to people. Huge potential, especially with efforts such as BONDI and HTML 5 persistent data and the Canvas elements. In any case it is always a good idea, if it is applicable, to have a mobile web version of your app.

A word on short messaging (regardless of SMS or Twits): best channel for notification-like distribution. Second to none. True SMS is way to expensive and prohibitive for many; SMS though is a cash-cow for network providers who must be terrified of Twitter. If targeting notification-like app such as promotions SMS and Twitter is the way to go.

A word on voice apps: I wish we spend more time investing/researching this mode of interaction.

A word on SIM-based apps: The SIM card will always be at the center of mobile apps - directly or indirectly. New technologies such as JavaCard 3.0 and Smartcard Web Servers (SCWS) have the potential of bringing a new breed of mobile applications. Still developing SIM-card based applications is a niche and very network provider oriented, but if you have the relationship w/ the carrier, go for it!

And what the best type of application is? The hybrid app! This is a rich *local* app that is very good at consuming and rendering web content, as well as direct messages (i.e. SMS, Tweets). In the future, mobile web has tremendous potential but again, it is about making money *today*.

So in conclusion, we have to agree that today, integrated app stores that caters subscribers directly is the best channel for subscribers, and developers, and for operators as well. The potential for reaching more subscribers via J2ME, S60, and Web do exist, but but one thing is to create and attempt to deploy apps for those platforms, and the other is those apps getting payed for, downloaded and used.

As a recent report by IDC (Scott Ellison) titled “Developer Strategies for Success Shift as Apple iPhone Apps Store Passes 1 Billion Downloads” concluded:

Apple has demonstrated — again and again — that the success factors in mobile can change in the blink
of an eye — indeed in as little as 3 quarters in the case of the Apps store. The Apps store is increasingly
central not only to Apple, but to any developer or company seeking to play in the mobile applications and
content space. And understanding the shifting success factors within the Apps store is key to success
both on the device and in the digital marketplace that continues to remake mobile.

ceo

P.S. Anders Borg (Abiro Mobile News) has written an excellent analysis of this blog piece — see The state and future of mobile applications. And I like very much Michael Yuan’s comment saying “What developers want is to address the “maximum number of people who are willing to pay”; exactly!

Great map by MobileMonday Estonia:

View MoMo Chapters in a larger map

It is great to see how many chapters we have now / how much the MobileMonday community has grown over the last years…

The Austin chapter was founded on May 10 of 2005 and today it consists of more than 280 members. Our mission has remained the same “an open community of mobile professionals and enthusiasts in Austin, TX, that share both a common interest in mobile technologies and a desire to foster cooperation among individuals, the industry and academia.”

ceo

A great writeup by Mike Rowehl, Please Don’t Mistake My Apathy For A Lack of Understanding, in response to VentureBeat’s piece iPhone devotion blinds Silicon Valley app developers.

Mike, who is a very experienced mobile developer and technologist in general, writes about his apathy for all the companies and people how now seem to “get it” when it comes to things such as app stores and ecosystems and the importance of developers; the same companies/people who made the life of developers next to impossible (i.e. fragmentation, cost/fees, certifications, lack of support, failing to deliver, over-control) when trying to develop mobile applications in the past. The same companies/people responsible for slowing down advancements in mobility because of lame excuses and FUD and control — that is, until Apple with the iPhone showed them differently.

My comment (modified a bit) that I left on his blog follows:

Agreed. It took Apple the vision to create the integrated experience that even non-techies get how to discover and download of apps. It took Apple to show/change the playing field, vs. being a “yes man”. And it took Apple show how a touch experience and mobile browsing should be, while others were afraid of taking step and while others didn’t get it at all. And, it took Apple to show it is about the experience and ecosystem and the developers to bring value to the mobile platform. Amazing, isn’t it?

Now everyone is copying. Now everyone “gets it”.

But it is good to see now that everyone else is “getting it”, and are doing something about it.

But I agree, don’t call developers blind (or stupid), as what developers are doing is just the opposite - it is not about devotion — it is about low investment, quick time to market, exposure, and large as possible ROI. And as others platform get to show good return potential, developers will develop for those as well… Show us the money!

ceo

For the first time ever, pictures of a massive star (50-100 times more massive than our own Sun) exploding and becoming a black hole (Science Daily).

Supernova SN 2005gl: explosion from start to finish, including the black hole ending

This is so impressive (and so cool) - you can see the star’s Solar Filaments and Prominences, just as in our own Sun. The star exploding, and most of the material going inward as the star collapses…

Dr. Avishay Gal-Yam of the Weizmann Institute’s Faculty of Physics and Prof. Douglas Leonard of San Diego State University, saw the star before going supernovae, calculated its mass… then were lucky enough to capture the photos (using the Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Hubble Space Telescope) of the star going supernovae and becoming a black hole.

…only a small part of the star’s mass was flung off in the explosion. Most of the material, says Gal-Yam, was drawn into the collapsing core as its gravitational pull mounted. Indeed, in subsequent telescope images of that section of the sky, the star seems to have disappeared. In other words, the star has now become a black hole – so dense that light can’t escape.

Note that when an exploding star is 20 times the mass of our sun or more, its gravitational pull becomes so great that it wins over the energy of outburst itself (inward energy beats outward energy), resulting in a black hole, with gravity forces so powerful that not even light waves can’t escape - becoming “invisible”.

ceo

As (mobile) technologists we must be aware of and recognize the potential for harm when obvious/weak-patents are granted by the Patent Office. We should be able to trust the patent system, but the system is weak.

In particular I am here writing about the USA patent 6,199,048 (PDF) titled “System and Method for Automatic Access of a Remote Computer over a Network” by NeoMedia which was part of EFF’s Patent Busting Project. I’ve written about NeoMedia back in 2006 and now I find myself once again writing about it.

As a technologist in the field of software and specifically mobile computing, I will say that the patent ‘048 has no merit. And that it is unfortunate that our PTO is weak in understanding the foundations of the web (on which ‘048 is based) and what is obvious vs. non-obvious concepts and variations. The ‘048 patent is totally based on existing Point of Sale (POS) and Web concepts (even for 1999 when it was filed). That an index or key (i.e. code) is entered by hand or scanned and is then mapped by a remote computer and related information is returned, this has existed years before in POS systems. That a URL is returned and used later on for the initiation of a connection to a particular resource on the Internet is at the heart of the Internet and the Web, even before 1999. While I do recognize the inventors’ vision, their claims are or should be invalid due to non-obviousness and prior-art.

It is my personal opinion that honoring this patent is harmful to the industry, and that the EFF while having good intentions failed by initiating a process which gave NeoMedia the opportunity to “strengthen” its position from the PTO perspective, resulting on the narrowing of some of its claims vs. invalidating the patent per-se. That said, the narrowing might turnout to be a success all on its own, as by narrowing the claims it allows for alternative paths or workarounds. At the end patents are about protecting a set of claims, which also is the weaknesses of patents.

I want to point out the fact that the PTO first granted, then invalidated, then narrowed the claims for ‘048 is proof of the PTO’s incompetence and lack of proper expertise thus failing at its duties. You will hear from lawyers that this happens all the time, but it still shows the lack of expertise by the PTO as this specific ‘048 is not rocket science to get.

The community must recognize the harm of granting obvious patents such as ‘048 which is going to be applied in strength by NeoMedia to everything related to digital-to-physical world connections, such as “mobile barcodes” and even potentially to NFC-based interactions; the latter harder to protect as the ‘048 is mainly about barcodes yet it is up to interpretation as the ‘048 does mention “RF”.

This is a serious matter and I predict the ‘048 patent is going to be a heated topic in the future.

ceo

I’ve been very busy lately to post this, but wanted to acknowledge all of our sponsors and speakers at our last (March) MobileMonday Austin event, specially the W3C Mobile Web Initiative.

It was a great meeting with great speakers. SXSWi was a blast as usual, and the MobileMonday Austin event complements it every well.

Thanks again!

ceo

I’m sure that by now you have heard the rumors about IBM potentially buying Sun. Even yesterday Intel CEO says Sun was shopped around (cnet news).

Why is this a significant announcement? And why I think Intel’s CEO is wrong (when he said that Solaris and SPARC will get EOL)?

Well, besides acquiring an iconic and historically-rich company in the Valley when it comes to technology, there are other items of interest:

1. Java licensing - IBM has invested millions if not billions on Java technology. I remember years ago when the company totally committed to Java technology, and even created the San Francisco project on which IBM poured millions of dollars. IBM has its server-side J2EE and Java ME (mobile) technologies and VMs. Most of IBM’s products are Java based. On every Java Specification (JSR) voting cycle IBM always comments on their disagreement when it comes to the current licensing model. But, by acquiring Sun this would mean a long-term strategy on security and millions of dollars saved on a core technology that IBM is dependent on, now and in the future
2. Access to great IP - Sun has a great Intellectual Property (IP) porfolio: from software to hardware. This will put IBM, the already leader in patents and intellectual property, much further ahead than everyone else
3. Solaris and Sun servers (here is where I disagree w/ Intel’s CEO) - Sun has a lot of expertise and robust products from S/W to H/W. The UltraSPARC processor are pretty kick-ass design. Sun equipment and Solaris 10 is certified for telecoms (NEBS and ATCA) — IBM/AIX is not! This would give IBM immediate access to all telecoms; pretty big stuff, don’t you agree?
4. Access to lots of smart people - Sun has lots of smart people, again from S/W to H/W and services
5. Java open source - back to #1 above, IBM might end up (fully) open source Java and related technologies, all under the Eclipse model! This will benefit IBM and the whole community

About about NetBeans? That probably continues but w/o funding/support from IBM — totally community based. OpenOffice on the other hand may have a different story as it doesn’t compete with IBM/Eclipse and is a pretty valuable office-suite, and thus would probably continue under the Eclipse model, meaning with funding/support from IBM. As a matter of fact, all open source projects acquired by IBM from Sun would move to an Eclipse or Apache licensing model.

ceo

A reminder that today is MobileMonday Austin;topic The Mobile Web. It is going to be a great session… See you there.

When: March 16, 2009, 5:30-8:30pm (but will try to be done by 8pm to go back and continue enjoying SXSWi)

Where: The International Center of Austin (http://www.austin-international.us/)
201 East 2nd Street (btwn Brazos & San Jacinto)
Austin, Texas 78701
See map: http://tinyurl.com/d3voml

Cost: Zero, nada. Pizza and sodas will be served. But please register, see below

Topic: Mobile Web

Speakers:
* Mobile Web Industry metrics — Nielsen-Mobile
* The State of the Mobile Web — W3C (TBD)
* On Web Browser Trends and Strategies — Skyfire
* On Web Runtime APIs — OMTP
* On Widgets, the GSMA OneAPI — Vodafone
* Latest on Opera Browser and its Widget Platform - Opera Software

ceo

A reminder that this evening, Sunday March 15 don’t miss the “Mobile Web Apps & Widgets Meet-Up” at 5:00pm:

• Event: Mobile Web Apps & Widgets Meet-Up “Find out about your chance to win £20,000″
• What: Informational Meeting
• Host: Vodfone/Betavine & OMTP
• Start Time: Sunday, March 15 at 5:00-8:00pm
• Where: Driskill Hotel Bar

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=56573382794&mid=238ec8G3289174dG3ff128fG7

Or if you don’t use Facebook, just show up.

ceo

Update Venue information for MobileMonday Austin. The next event will take place at The International Center of Austin; very convenient right on 2nd street by SXSW! Thanks to The International Center of Austin for the meeting room. And thanks to our sponsors W3C Mobile Web Initiative, Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP) Forum, and Motive/Alcatel-Lucent.

For more information see MobileMonday Austin — Great speaker lineup — The Mobile Web.

- - -

But wait, there is more!

Also, on Sunday March 15 don’t miss the “Mobile Web Apps & Widgets Meet-Up” at 5:00pm:

• Event: Mobile Web Apps & Widgets Meet-Up “Find out about your chance to win £20,000″
• What: Informational Meeting
• Host: Betavine
• Start Time: Sunday, March 15 at 5:00-8:00pm
• Where: Driskill Hotel Bar

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below: http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=56573382794&mid=238ec8G3289174dG3ff128fG7

Please note the next MobileMonday Austin meeting is on March 16, 2009 (the Monday of SXSW Interactive). More information will be published at the MobileMonday Austin website; see http://www.mobilemondayaustin.com.

Please note that I am still trying to figure out the venue. But mark your calendars. We have a great speaker line-up. If you have a room that holds 50 or more people in the downtown area, please let me know ASAP***.

For headcount purposes, please register at http://groups.google.com/group/momoaustin/edit/mobilemonday-austin-event-mar-16-2009.

• When: March 16, 2009 — 5:30-8:30pm (we will try to be done by 8pm so we can go and party/celebrate at SXSWi)
• Where: The International Center of Austin (http://www.austin-international.us/)
  201 East 2nd Street (btwn Brazos & San Jacinto)
  Austin, Texas 78701
  See map
• Cost: Nada, zero, free — if you would like to sponsor, please let me know
• General Topic: The Mobile Web
• Speakers:
• Mobile Web Industry metrics — Nielsen-Mobile
• The State of the Mobile Web — World Wide Web (W3C)
• On Web Browser Trends and Strategies — Skyfire
• On Web Runtime APIs and BONDI — Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP)
• On Widgets. The GSMA OneAPI — Vodafone

For headcount purposes, please register at http://groups.google.com/group/momoaustin/edit/mobilemonday-austin-event-mar-16-2009.

If you would like to speak/present and/or sponsor, please send me an email to enrique dot ortiz at gmail dot com.

This week’s Carnival of the Mobilists #163 is at the Golden Swamp blog. Great set of essays from new and veteran bloggers.

Thanks to Judy for picking up my entry on app stores.

ceo

When app stores first came out, I was very excited. Finally, I said, all the right pieces, all together, all correctly placed: the integrated catalog that allows for easy application discovery, the download over the air that works, integrated billing/payment, the ecosystem, the business model, and apps that work. The realization was that app stores were the new deck.

It took years for someone to break the ice. Why do I say break the ice? Because traditionally handset makers have been very careful (afraid?) about crossing the line into the network provider’s turf. Everyone knew that the old the deck stunk bad and that it didn’t work. Yet, no one was willing to cross that line.

But Apple did. And they proved the world how things should be done. Apple also proved that network operators are the reason why when it comes to innovation beyond the network, is why things have stalled for so long. It is nothing personal when I say this, it is just the way it is.

Then came Google, with a similar ideas. Then BlackBerry and Microsoft and Nokia finally. So far so good.

But now we have Comverse and Amdocs offering app stores. See More Apps Stores Unveiled. But why Comverse and Amdocs? Amdocs and Comverse are taking advantage of the new opportunity. They have realized that operators are in a tough position, as all these new app stores are all working around them. So why not put together a (white-labeled) app store infrastructure and offer it to the operators? And in addition to the online catalog, also offer to “review each application and conduct testing, certification and legal reviews before hosting an application in its store.” Again, all this very operator-centric. And with this, app stores will become the new walled-garden, as Andrew Gill writes.

All of this sounds *exactly* as the old deck, doesn’t it? And guess what? It won’t work.

One more thing. A big reason why app stores such as Apples and Google’s work is because the downloaded apps work. And that is possible because the target (number of) platforms were simplified. So 1) let’s start by simplifying the platforms, 2) don’t go back to the old operator-controlled deck.

Well, I should say that it is fine to have operator-controlled app stores, but don’t preclude other/better app stores.

The new deck is much more than trying to copy Apple…

Related to this:

• App stores abound at Mobile World Congress
• Are App Stores Just Another Type of Walled Garden?
• On Nokia’s App Store Strategy
• App Stores are the New Deck

ceo

After so many years in mobility, 2009 was my first 3GSM/Mobile World Congress. I always wanted to attend, but couldn’t justify the expenses at the time (being a small startup).

It was my first time in Spain as well, “La Madre Patria” as it used to be said in Puerto Rico. Visiting Spain was interesting for me, mainly because of my inheritance implications; was great to see that part.

MWC was for me about business meeting after meeting every day: with partners and potential partners, customers and potential customers and walking the halls for some intelligence gathering of course. Because I was so busy I missed many of the annoucenments and friends and couldn’t blog anything at all during the event (I Twittered a bit tho). I think that it is funny that one can learn more about the event itself by not attending and just reading the news/blogs.

Mobility-wise, I saw a little bit of everything. Product and products, big announcements such as (billions of dollars) LTE-related which will soon shape the future of wireless networks, app stores, WinMo and PalmPre, widgets, partners and competitors, and something that really, really bugged me - a blatant copy cat of the iPhone, BlackBerry and other look-a-like handsets (where is the honor and pride on that?). I did though find a couple of gems; more on this later.

I enjoyed the city very much; no, I loved the city, the people, and the food. We stayed at an apartment right in the middle of Barcelona (see photos below). I really had a blast. I met some of my Mobilists and Twitter friends, some of whom I’ve known virtually for years. And I missed many folks due to my crazy meeting schedule; sorry about that. I also missed many of the activities and parties as well; not enough time to see it all. MWC at night is pretty intense.

I was able to attend the MobileMonday dinner and one or two of the parties (such as the Smaato). I missed the Mobile Peer Awards and the MobileMonday founder’s meeting, and I missed Helen Keegan and Caroline Lewko’s (WIP) events, and many others.

But I was able to visit La Rambla (what an experience, literally), el Puerto Olimpico, La Sagrada Familia (impressive). Got to eat great paella and drank great wine, great coffee too, and got to hang out with my co-workers and friends from ACCESS, and others. The best food I had was at a couple of very small restaurants right in the middle of Barcelona - great tapas and Cataluña food and wine.

By the time I got home on Saturday, I was so exausted that I could sleep for 2 straight days; but I couldn’t! That Saturday was my wife’s birthday for which I cooked something nice for her and then Sunday it was soccer game (daughter) all over again.

Going to MWC of course means pushing your regular schedule back a week+, so this last week after MWC was tough with business stuff + hundreds of emails and thousands of blogs to read (still), with MobileMonday Austin that following Monday (great meeting BTW), so it was not until today, a week later, that I got a chance to write this piece about MWC/Barcelona.

So, in short, it was a great trip and experience, definitely a business/working trip that helped validate many product ideas (Motive), met great people and it was all worth it, business-wise and personally… I hope to be back. Below are some of the few photos I captured. Cheers.

ceo