Being the thoughts and writings of one Gustaf Erikson; father, homeowner, technologist.
Russ is giving a talk at Web 2.0. From his post:
Not only are the numbers there (160 million Americans with mobile phones), but every American carrier has reasonably priced unlimited data plans. [...] This gives the U.S. a huge advantage over other markets around the world which continue to charge by the kilobyte.
Right! The Yanks are gonna clean our clocks -- again! Just because the carriers are so short-sighted that they can't see that when it comes to mobile data, cheaper traffic means more traffic! The net is addictive, but right now everyone's scared of the kB charges.
Make a short-term dent in your revenue, reap the benefits later. Otherwise, the US will OWN the mobile data services space.
Update: Frank agrees.
Some more opinion points:
As Matt said, what if audio blogs are the Next Great Thing, and we curmudgeons missed it? So as to be able to snidely comment on this phenomenon from a position of knowledge, I pulled down yesterdays Daily Source Code by Adam Curry, and put it on the taco, my trusty N-Gage.
OK, step one was accomplished, and I didn't need those near-obligatory accessories, a $300 iPod and a $1,500 Mac. That's nice, because I can't afford either.
I started listening on my way home (5 minute walk, 35 minute subway ride, 7 minute walk). The taco is a nice enough mp3-player, but it lacks a fast-forward feature. I pressed pause to avoid looking like a zombie and read a book instead, but when I tried resuming, it started from the beginning. Obviously, an iPod would handle this better, as would any dedicated mp3 player.
Adam is involved in iPodder.org which he intends to turn into a centre for podcasting. Well, that's all well and good, but if he wants creating and listening to podcasts to become mainstream, he'd better get a better, less iPod-specific name. Now you get the impression that it's only for Mac + iPod users. Also, Apple's lawyers may have some things to say to him.
The post itself was entertaining, I'll say that. It sure beats trying to find new music to listen to, and fills a niche that FM radio perhaps can't fill. But still, the Net is about TEXT, goddammit. Audio is all well and good for music and entertainment, but for information, the bandwidth is wasted. I may be able to read articles and blog posts "interstitially" at work, filling those blank pauses when I task-switch from one issue to another, but I can't multitask enough to listen to speech.
Also, the barriers to entry are pretty high, both for producers and consumers. A blog poster needs to be able to handle a web form and a keyboard. An audioblogger needs mics, audio software, BANDWIDTH, and audio nous, not too widely available. Lots more talented writers than talented radio artists, but that may change as podcasting becomes more popular.
Consumers need: a fast net connection, an mp3-player, a modern computer, an intimate knowledge of RSS (version 2.0, no less), and weird and wonderful "iPodder" software, which, despite it's name, is not tied to an iPod. Go figure.
Who's the audience? The web is available to perhaps 20% percent of the planet's population. Of this percentage, maybe 15% wander outside MSN et al. Of these, 10% read blogs. Perhaps 5% of these listen to podcasts. But I bet 99% of these are white, and male, and live in the US and Western Europe.
However, for all its flaws, audio blogging is much much better than that next scourge, videoblogging. That will be scary. Until then, I'll stick to text, thank you very much.
Frank and Russell have pointed out some problems with the user interface (UI) on smartphones. Specifically, the Series 60 OS used in most smartphones today.
For the purpose of this post, I define "smartphone" as a mobile phone that has an OS that can accommodate non-trivial extra applications. Examples of smartphones are the Nokia 6600, Siemens SX1 (Series 60), Sony Ericsson P900 (UIQ), Treo 600 (PalmSource), Orange SPV C500 (MS Mobile). "Phone" on this context is a traditional mobile phone. Examples are Sony Ericsson T610, Nokia 6620, Samsung E700.
Phones have some core applications. Central ones are making and taking calls, handling addresses, and messaging (SMS, email, IM protocols). Cameras probably also fall into this category. Less central areas are Web browsing, calendars, etc.
Ideally, all phone functions should be accessible using the keypad one-handed. This means using the thumb of one hand. The Sony Ericsson smartphones use a jog wheel under the index finger of the dominant hand (the right one). Relying on this feature for accessing functions excludes all those who prefer to use their left hand.
An alternative to shoe-horning everything into "thumb-mode" is a two-tiered approach. Basic functions are accesses using a keypad, but an auxiliary keypad or stylus+touchscreen combo is used for more advanced features. But where to draw the line between basic and advanced?
I have had the misfortune to configure email on both a recent Sony Ericsson and a Nokia. Tapping in multiple server names without the benefit of copy and paste sucks. A PC-based app would help here. Another solution is a web interface that sends a SMS with the configuration.
But this begs the question: why do I have to do this? Why can't I buy a phone where the data connections Just Work? Why is MMS and GPRS settings different? Why do I, as a consumer, have to care about whether my phone manufacturer and my service provider has their act together?
Speech recognition holds some promise, but will remain a complement to the keypad.
How about gestural interfaces? I did a bit of research about applications of gestural interfaces in the course of writing my graduate thesis. (For the morbidly interested, you can download it here). An example is scrolling through an image gallery by tilting the phone from side to side. Another is answering a call simply by picking up the phone. My guess is that inertial interfaces will be on par with speech interfaces; a complement to a primary interface which will still be keyboard + screen.
However, the keypad is often woefully underutilised. Usually there's some buttons that are dedicated to navigation, or a joypad. The large 3x5 grid of numerals are used for inputting numbers and text. How about using the '3' and '9' as PageUp and PageDown buttons when browsing sites?
Who will usher in the Mac Age for mobile phones? Not Apple, they can't cover the mobile space (they outsourced the development of the iPod). Maybe Nokia can rise to the challenge. Another contender is Sony Ericsson, with the Japanese half in charge of making lots of tiny devices easy to handle. Another contender is Microsoft, if they're serious about taking the mobile space to the next level, and not just treat it as an adjunct to the desktop space.
Dave Winer has, in his inimitable way, defined moblogging for the rest of us. Oh, Scoble helped out too.
The definition?
Moblogging is any activity that occurs away from your normal blog-writing place whose purpose is to create content for your blog.
Hmm.
This is a bit too inclusive, if you ask me. For example, this blog
is hosted on a server in the States somewhere (even
Rafe, the guy generously donating
space and server resources, isn't sure where -- ain't outsourcing
great?). I update it via tramp on emacs, running under screen on a
machine in the server closet at work. I just fire up Putty at work, or
on the Toshiba in the kitchen, or the Thinkpad while waiting for
Viking to sleep, or on the Dell upstairs, or my dad's computer at his
place... So I'm basically moblogging all the time according to
Winer/Scoble.
FWIW, others agree with me and have drawn the ire of the man himself. He was just being lighthearted, he says now. Just trying to start a discussion.
Far from me to define moblogging, but it seems to me as futile exercise. If I can blog from my mobile phone, I will (and I have); if I can blog from an internet cafe in Katmandu (or Norrt�lje), I will; if I am incarcerated with only a i386 running Windows 3.1 and Trumpet Winsock, I'll blog with that.
In time, the artificial divide between "blogging" and "moblogging" will disappear. Only a few diehards will consider their
desk, fully supported by [their] normal high-speed net connection, laptop, multi-gigabyte external hard disk, second monitor, USB hub, mouse, etc etc.
as a "normal blog-writing place". For the rest of us, the world will be that place.
Update I headed over to Scoble just to see that the link worked, and it turns out he's dumped some guy's feed, because he was fooled by a hoax. Well, so was Rich, and he admits it. Yet he's "dumped". Scoble "can't trust what goes on his blog anymore".
Wow. Talk about taking lessons from the master. No wonder they're defining terms for the edification of the rest of us.
The AAS pub meet! Where you can win a brand new, yet-to-be-released Nokia Communicator 9500!!
How the hell can I persuade the company to send me to London on the 4th October? I could plead the sorry state of the London branch's PCs, but that would mean I would be expected to fix them, and there's not enough time for that...
Steve Litchfield posts some tips for the serious taco user.
"Work in progress".
The 9300 is my new lust-thang, and I know my dad's interested in upgrading his Psion to a 9500. This is just a place to store random URLs and info for the time being.
Update 2024-09-30: Al reports from Malaysia that the 9300 keyboard is very small, the 9500 is more like the Psion. On the other hand, Christian reports that the 9300 is the size of a 6110. Yay!
Frank tells me that the list price for the 9300 is €600.
A few years ago, Ericsson was losing it in the mobile handset space.
The phones it produced were technically excellent, but lacked the styling and ease of use of Nokia's handsets. Finally Ericsson faced it's failings and teamed up with Sony to form Sony Ericsson.
One of the first phones was the T68, later upgraded to the T68i. This phone was criticised for being slow, but had excellent Bluetooth support and quickly became a popular business choice. It also had a rudimentary email client.
Early last year, S-E released the T610. This trend-setting cameraphone set the stage for the triumphant return of Sony Ericsson. The combination of camera, large colour screen, snappy styling, email, and polyphonic ringtones made this a very popular phone choice. In Sweden, where I live, it's not unusual to see 12-year olds with T610s.
The T610 was followed by the Z600, the T630, and now the K700, all upgrading the basic concept. Meanwhile, Nokia has stumbled, arguably missing the cameraphone trend and perhaps pushing the smartphone concept a little too hard.
At my workplace, a medium-sized tech company in Stockholm, the T610 "family" of phones is predominant. As a support engineer, I can attest that it fits our profile very well. The email client especially is appreciated by our sales force. And the ability to sync contacts and calender with MS Outlook is also a plus. Bluetooth support is excellent, and infra-red connectivity is included as a matter of course. The UI is colourful and stylish, although texting and text input is still slow.
For us, and for many other people, the latest S-E phones are "smart enough". The additional bulk and complexity of Nokia's Symbian smartphones can't compete with S-E sleek styling.
Smartphones will remain a niche product for a few more years, but eventually, mid-level phones from S-E and others will gradually approach their functionality from below.
Russ has hacked together mOlympics.com with the help of Erik and Matt.
It's a mobile-ready Olympic news aggregator.
Development time: 1 day. Go Mobitopians!
Telia is offering a 3G deal for businesses. You get a Sony Ericsson Z1010 for 1 SEK (about 10c) if you sign up for a 24 month plan. To sweeten the deal, they offer free data access until the end of the year -- to the tune of 500 MB a month. According to the billboards, this is just "data", but according to the website it's GPRS data. Maybe it is one and the same, but for me, GPRS goes with GSM, while 3G has another sort of data.
However, it's beside the point. The point is that the billboards say that these 500 MB are worth 4,000 SEK (about $535). So if you're hooked with 3G and want to continue your profligate data lifestyle after your free months are up, you can end up with a habit nearly as expensive as illegal drugs.
The interesting thing is the way Telia are pushing this deal. By calling attention to the potentially enormous savings you would make by accepting this offer, they make the deal sound better. But on the other hand, they call attention to the truly bizarre pricing of mobile data at the moment.
According to Engadget, Sweden has more mobile lines than people.
In our family, we're five. One is 2 and a half, he hasn't got a mobile.
Between us, we have eight working phones.
We have four active SIMs, which gives the Erikson-West household a mobile penetration of 80%. Below average for Sweden.
Sometimes (not often enough, if you ask me) msmobiles.com goes off on a tangent and rants about how the world is unfairly hindering the progress of Microsoft in the handheld market. It's the only reason I have them in my aggregator.
Of course, I want to share these gems with the gang at #mobitopia, but we don't want to increase the ranking of these pages -- the author (or authors) are not above dirty tricks themselves, so why should they get Google juice from us, the Symbian Mafia?
Enter evilurl.com. This works just like tinyurl.com, but the generated URLs are ... well, evil. This is now the preferred way to link to msmobiles.com among the members of the Mafia. What goes around, comes around.
I wasn't the one who suggested using evilurl.com (I think it was Jim), but I was the first who used it in the channel. Now they've noticed, and I'm officially an "anti-Microsoft fanatic". I've kind of had that feeling. It's nice to get it in writing.
In this week’s Ny Teknik, Hans Strandberg wrote an editorial about the need of Sweden’s 3G providers need to look up from building the infrastructure and to start selling/distributing content.
He’s concerned that the enormous amount of money spent on 3G in Sweden will be squandered on providing “3G”: Games, Gambling, and Girls. The first provider who sends video from a local council meeting will get a gold star for “kaxighet” (Swedish for chutzpah).
Is that the future we are facing? “Free enterprise” selling crap, or the “worthies”, Sweden’s politicians and authorities providing dull information?
I don’t think so. On my short ride to work today, on bus and subway, I came up with four possible mobile data services.
In the same paper there was a small article on how Lunarstorm, Sweden’s largest commnunity for young people, has a 3G service. People can chat with their friends, update their profiles, play games… just like on the web. Only now they can do it in the classroom, which will probably lead to 3G phones being banned in schools soon.
Scenario: I ride more or less the same route to work every day. I got SL’s site and set my preferences for that journey. Every weekday between 08:30 and 09:15 I can see any scheduled or unscheduled outages. I can also see when the next bus/subway will arrive, so I can decide whether to run or just take the next one. Same thing for the return trip.
The same principle can be applied to commuters in cars. Video feeds can show congestion, flash messages can warn of big accidents, a reminder can be sent when the roads are icy.
Sveriges Television has a videotext service. Making this service available to 3G handsets is such a no-brainer that I’m suprised no-one’s done it yet. For that added pizazz, a link to a video feed can easily be added.
Another article in Ny Teknik described a virtual treasure hunt in Tokyo, played with GPS-enhanced mobiles. Not really a 3G application, but one that can be enhanced by a video feed showing the target location and if anyone is nearing it.
The thread tying these services together is that they are evolutionary, not revolutionary. They are web services that can be simply adapted to mobile data terminals. No need for gimmicks, just try to deliver information and services that are useful and simple to use.
The Nokia 6630 (aka. “Charlie”) is a UMTS (3G) phone with Series 60. I’ve been holding off switching to 3G from GSM due to the lack of good phones. Series 60 is the operating system used in smartphones such as the Nokia 6600, the Siemens SX1 and the N-gage. There are lots of apps available for this platform, and the integrated planning tools and email reader are good enough for me.
But I won’t buy the 6630. Why? Because it’s ugly.
The 6630 combines the pear-shaped, bottom heavy look of the 3660 with the faux-metal shine of the Siemens ST55, a desperate attempt from Siemens to cash in on the cameraphone trend.
Nokia can do better than this. The 7610 may have an unusable keypad, but it looks good. The original N-gage, aka. the Taco, packs lots of features into a package that can be described as “interesting”, even if it makes the the user look ridiculous.
Let’s hope that Nokia will re-discover its design edge and give a 3G smartphone with looks and content.
I think MS is making a strategic mistake in focusing on "corporate" phones. They bet that if you use a MS phone to sync to Exchange at work you'll do that at home too. The strong focus that Microsoft has on mobile developers is part of this too -- it's going to be easy to create vertical applications and enterprise-specific solutions.
So corporate users of phones will influence other buyers, and MS smartphones will slowly but surely infiltrate the mobile space.
But I'm not sure that the average phone customer has quite the good picture of Microsoft's products that MS seems to think.
Having a monopoly on desktops doesn't mean that your users like you. In fact, Microsoft is shielded from normal market pressures in the desktop space.
In the phone space, there is still competition. Nokia has a very strong brand and a product line that spans from simple black-and-white phones to communicators. This is true for Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and Samsung too.
Microsoft phones have a minimum spec -- there has to be enough oomph in the phone to run Pocket Explorer etc. Soon enough Moore's Law will ensure that every phone will be able to do just that (but the power supplies may not follow the same development). The question is: do people want a PC in their phone?
I don't think so.
The taco earned it's stripes today as a business phone. When I answered a job call at home (for the first, and I hope the last, time), I needed to login to the firewall. No probs, I used the handsfree set. Until Viking decided he wanted to play with that.
Hmm. The taco is impossible to hold between the cheek and the shoulder like a normal phone. But it does have a loudspeaker. Presto, I could check logs, talk, and hang out in IRC at the same time.
The only thing left to use is the games in a boring meeting.
From now on, my Nokia N-Gage will be referred to as the "taco".
I've looked around a bit, and while there is a lot of software available for Series 60 phones, I still miss some simple things.
Most of these things would be easy to do if the following conditions were met:
This is what I would do if that were the case: