Filed under: Feature | Tags: Android, CES, Facebook, GAMING, Golden Globes, Harvey Weinstein, iPhone 4S, Mashable, MG Seigler, Soul!, Spotify, TechCrunch, TED, The Artist, Turntable, Ultrabook
THIS WEEK: THE ARTIST DIGESTED & CES ROUND-UP
Happy Martin Luther King Day!
Last night, the Golden Globes descended upon Hollywood. The critics’ acclaim and 3 Golden Globes for the silent film, The Artist, got me thinking about a general trend in our culture at large, something I spoke about last week as well. If you’ve seen The Artist, then I’m sure you were also struck by the sheer simplicity of the film. Make no mistake about it, I’m not saying I liked it, just that it filters to a true simplicity not seen with most other films. Love, greed, empathy, pain, these were the simple messages evoked in the movie. While watching the film, my friend commented that perhaps she was not intellectual enough to understand the acclaim driving reviews. I don’t think that’s it at all. I think the passion around this film is simply that we are overwhelmed with entertainment and messaging.
Recently, I watched a variety show from the 70’s called Soul! and was struck by the sheer number of lengthy pauses in which the silence was deafening to my modern ears. In my former 5 years as a radio DJ, I would periodically have nightmares in which I was sitting in front of a blinking sound board paralyzed with dead air blaring from the studio speakers. In the modern era, sometimes watching Gossip Girl can literally make me feel like I’m in a dance club with a strobe light. The transition between scenes is on warp speed as our collective attention span has constricted. In some ways, we’ve acclimated to become faster human engines of efficiency. In other ways, we’ve become unaccustomed to the phrase, “stopping to smell the roses.” Back to The Artist. I think the insight into this film is not that it is good or well-acted in fact. I think Harvey Weinstein, the man who purchased the first silent film in over 70 years, is simply an innovator, one who sees what we all want before we want it. We all have been yearning for the simpler life, but without someone to bring this to us in entertainment form, we did not realize it. So Harvey Weinstein, I say well done. I didn’t like The Artist, but I understand it’s inherent value and for that the Golden Globe wins seem warranted. I can’t say the same for George Clooney I’m afraid.
On to the digitalverse. This week, the largest consumer electronics show wrapped up in Vegas. As I said last week, I am not a fan as usually the show produces a compendium of crap rather than one true innovation. This assumption was proved correct. Can’t say I told sold…oh wait, I can. That said, here’s a bit of a round-up from Mashable and a note on how the word ‘ultra-book’ is nothing more than a marketing campaign from Intel. The one highlight for me is really the focus on creating ecosystems rather than attempting to force consumers to purchase new gadgets that they don’t need. In other news, the iPhone 4S helped close Apple’s gap on the Android, especially interesting to note given the number of devices running Android. On the heels of that data, a very interesting post from MG Seigler (formerly of Techcrunch) emerged on why the writer despises Android. You’ll take note of the fact that it has less to due with Apple’s user interface and more on Google’s broken promise to make the consumers’ needs most important.
In other news, Facebook launched a “Listen With” feature which the community at large immediately compared to Turntable. To contradict that theory, I think Facebook discovered a more interesting insight which is that the mass audience does not want to do the work of playing DJ all day on Turntable. They simply just want to know what their friends are listening to. Hey Facebook, I’m still not turning on my listening data in Spotify. A girl has her secrets and you’re not getting all of mine. Nice try though… In bigger Facebook news, Facebook’s IPO is rumored to be hitting late May. And finally, TED returns to Long Beach, CA at the end of February.
Some more Cool Sh-t:
From Gaming to Escape our Real Lives to Gamifying Reality
Filed under: Feature, ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Android, App Store, Apps, Apps Store, Blackberry, Gartner, Handhelds, iPhone, Kettle, Mobile, Olivier Peyre, Palm Pre, Smartphone, They Make Apps
GOT MOBILE APP DEVELOPERS?: THEYMAKEAPPS DOES
As someone who prides herself on being a digital nerdstress, I often field questions from folks looking for mobile app developers. It’s very analogous to that moment where someone texts you looking for a good restaurant or bar in their neighborhood. Inevitably, your mind goes blank and the vestiges of cool locations are lost rendering you helpless in directing your friends to that cool bar you always want to refer people to. Eventually, perhaps you muster up the mental energy to pull a few developers out of thin air, developers who most likely have no additional bandwidth to take on new projects. FAIL.
Enter TheyMakeApps, an online directory of iPhone application developers categorized by location and price. iPhone users have so far downloaded over 3 billion applications from the iTunes store. A recent study from Gartner found that users will download, on average, 20.1 apps per smartphone this year. With that much consumption, it’s easy to see why everyone is looking for a good developer. With over 100K registered iPhone developers, it’s easy to see the need for something which weeds though that much choice. The challenge in finding the right person is in finding someone who can execute the vision at the right price. They Make Apps helps it all come together in a slick user interface that makes the process a bit more fun.
How to
Currently, users can browse through apps filtering by price (up to $20K) and by location. The site was developed by Kettle, a NYC-based digital consultancy. Olivier Peyre, Creative Director of Kettle, tells me that search will be available soon. Clearly, search is a critical feature allowing users to drill down on exactly what they’re looking for, be it a mobile app developer specifically or a developer who has worked with a brand of interest. I like that the site allows for users to save mobile developers of interest for a comparative look later in the process. Any developer can easily sign up on the site to be included in the directory.
Currently, the limiting features for me are the lack of search (which is already on its way), the lack of budget options above $20K, and the lack of Blackberry, Android and Palm Pre developers. Some nice-to-have features would be a way to vote up and down certain developers creating a hot list of preferred vendors and a way to email developers of interest to friends.
TheyMakeApps isn’t exclusively for agencies and developers. SPIN magazine used the directory to find the developer for their latest project. Nick Pandolfi, Digital Edition Manager of SPIN describes his experience:
“TheyMakeApps was a huge help with SPIN’s latest development project. Rather then reach out to all our contacts for developer references, it was a quick way to find locally based developers and see exactly what they specialize in. I’m sure we’ll be using it again soon!”
TheyMakeApps is simply the glue connecting need to the solution. And frankly, I love glue.
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- Staggering iPhone App Development Statistics to be Unveiled at Inaugural App Exhibit at Macworld 2010 (prweb.com)
- Mobile apps to generate untold riches for developers (go.theregister.com)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, Apple, Business, HTC Magic, LG Electronics, Mobile phone, Research In Motion, Smartphone
While other carriers might finally be dipping their toes in the Android water this month, T-Mobile has been in this game for a long time. They got their first Android phone (the G1) out last October, and managed to launch two more (the myTouch and the CLIQ) within the year. It makes sense, then, that they’re the first to pipe up with some usage details. (Mobilecrunch11/4)
If you’re determined to shake down some deals during the mother of all U.S. shopping days, then forgive the cliche when we tell you there’s an app for that. Powered by dealnews, the just-released version 2 of their Black Friday app (iTunes link) adds a number of new features for bargain hunters. (Mashable11/4)
LG Electronics, the world’s third-largest cell phone maker, is eyeing sales gains of 20% this year and in 2010, Skott Ahn, the CEO of its mobile-device business, said. At a separate event Tuesday, LG Electronics CEO Yong Nam said the company was “investing heavily” in smartphones, adding that, “We’re not yet there but we’ll get there.” Nam said LG saw companies such as Apple and Research in Motion, rather than fellow handset makers, as its chief competition. Reuters (11/3) , The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (11/4)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, BlackBerry Storm, HTC Corporation, HTC Hero, PC World, Research In Motion, Smartphone, Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless will introduce an HTC Android-powered smartphone Friday alongside the Motorola Droid, the carrier said. The $99 handset, which Verizon Wireless has dubbed the Droid Eris, has similar features to the HTC Hero, industry observers reported. Verizon Wireless also said last week that it was “very pleased” with the initial sales of Research in Motion‘s BlackBerry Storm 2, which launched Wednesday. Yahoo!/PC World(11/1) , The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (10/30)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, Barcode, Google, Google Product Search, Google Product Search for Android, Scan, Search Engines, Searching
Google announced
that Google Product Search for Android now has barcode scanning support. If you’re looking to price compare a product that’s right in front of you, why type out its name and dig through irrelevant results when you can just scan the barcode? (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/05/14/google-product-search-for-android-adds-barcode-scanning-just-as-we-predicted 5/14)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, App Store, Apple, Blackberry, iPhone, Microsoft, Smartphone, Verizon Wireless
Microsoft is denying reports that it is working on a smartphone for Verizon Wireless to rival the Apple iPhone. “Microsoft is not going into the phone hardware business,” says a spokesman for the software giant. “We’re deepening our relationship with our hardware partners.” (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/smartphones/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217200733 4/29)
Good news, BlackBerry users! Never again will you need to kludge around in your browser just to dig up a number or determine who’s behind the number that just called. Following the success of their iPhone and Android applications, WhitePages
will soon be announcing the upcoming availability of a native BlackBerry application. (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/04/30/whitepages-bringing-their-mobile-app-to-blackberry-devices/ 4/30)
Yesterday, Techcrunch talked a bit about how some companies are clearly trying to capitalize on the Swine Flu craze that is sweeping the nation. Naturally, someone just had to make an iPhone app. And the winner is IntuApps, which has Swine Flu Tracker, waiting for approval from Apple before it’s released into the App Store. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/30/want-to-avoid-swine-flu-theres-an-app-for-that-too/ 4/30)
We’ve reported in the past on how Apple has not only been late on payments to iPhone app developers, but has also neglected to pay some developers for their app sales at the store entirely. We thought that perhaps our post might call Apple’s attention to the problem. Apparently, developers complaints have gone unheard at Apple and now they are so upset that some of them are threatening to sue Apple for breach of contract. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/30/iphone-app-developers-threaten-to-sue-apple-over-late-payments/ 4/30)
Acer hopes to bring a smartphone to market this year, one of several devices the computer maker is building using Google’s Android open-source operating system, CEO Gianfranco Lanci said Wednesday. Lanci added that it was “too early to say” if Acer would install Android in a netbook, although he did term the software “very, very good for communication and Web access and so on.” PCWorld/IDG News Service (4/29)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, AT&T, Google, iPhone, Smartphone, United States, Verizon, World of Warcraft
At the risk of repeating myself for the millionth time, in many peoples’ minds, the Achilles’ heel of the iPhone is the network it’s on in the US: AT&T. Since the day it was announced as being exclusive to that provider, people have been wondering one thing: How long until it’s on Verizon? Rumors have surfaced time and again about the possibility, but today brings perhaps the most concrete news yet that the two sides are talking. The two sides are discussing the possibility of getting Verizon version of the iPhone ready for 2010, sources tell USA Today
. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/26/apple-may-hear-verizon-now 4/26)
Samsung is close to bringing its first Android-based smartphone to market, according to reports, which say the Samsung i7500 that O2 is expected to launch in Germany in June will be less than 12 millimeters thick, not include a hardware keypad and run on the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) operating system. Relatedly, Google will release its first Android-powered netbook in the next three months at a cost of $250, according to several reports. Softpedia (Romania) (4/27) , CNET (4/26) , Computerworld (4/25)
A mammoth application comes to an iPhone near you: World of Warcraft. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/04/25/world-of-warcraft-on-the-iphone-heralds-end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it 4/25)
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