Mobile & Wireless Roundup - Innovation & Industry News

I came across WidSets today and I immediately thought yet another mobile widget workspace allowing RSS feeds to be delivered to the mobile. However, I thought i’d give it a shot, and experiment with the new service.

After selecting my initial widgets I wanted on my mobile, I signed up and a link was sent to my device to download the Java Client pre-setup with my user details and widgets selected.

After allowing the client access to the internet, I was presented with all the widgets i had selected, and the option to download more from the client itself.

The navigation is intuitive, and works using a smooth horizontal scroll which can be accellerated through progressing to new content items. Its all very AJAX style. Opening up the widgets to view the content, is an impressive popup style interface, with all content pre-loaded so no waiting.

The accompanying website allows the user to create their own widgets using an online interface, and make them public to the rest of the community. Heres mine:

The website also shows you how much data you have used on your mobile phone using the service.

I feel that this service should be watched, as it provides a very attractive user interface for devices that do not support AJAX through their browser.

Roughly half of all bluetooth devices have their phones in discoverable mode. Allowing other bluetooth devices to make contact with them. Recently this is beginning to be exploited for marketing purposes.

Unlike MMS and SMS and WAP Push, bluetooth content delivery is free. Being a push technology, the recipient does not require and discovery of the service, the only pre-requisits for delivery are:

1. Bluetooth enabled phone
2. Bluetooth in Discovery Mode
3. User to accept the download

With all this being an advantage to the advertiser, what is the benefit to the end user?

1. Targeted ads - User can receive information about special offers in their vicinity or related to the event they are attending etc.
2. Free Content - Brands can deliver wallpapers or videos to the user, this may be part of a promotion
3. The ability to reject the delivery and switch off Discoverable

There are some limitations to this service. The device is usually a Windows client, or a standalone box, and so requires a source of constant power. The reach of bluetooth varies from 50m to 300, but is severly restricted indoors.

Some people may cause this SPAM, however, in use with proper applications, and the ability to only send to devices once will ensure that the user does not get agitated with the service and hence the brand being marketed a bad name.

Application usage of this type of marketing tool has seen an increase, with billboards in the London Underground providing broadcasting ringtones of a artists to passers by, and people waiting for the train.

Time will tell how this type of application will take off…

The DVB technology has been around for many years. In the UK, DVB-T (Terrestrial) is in widespread use for its Freeview service, enabling digital TV services to most of the UK population.

DVB is not like current TV services found on Mobile in the UK currently, where it uses the networks Data service to stream the content. It actually is broadcast through the air like without the need for a radio signal to carry the data communication (GSM/CDMA).
However, in Korea, they have had DVB-S (satellite) in widespread use on the average handset for a few years now. Most devices released by Samsung/LG for the western market is frequently shipped as a reduced version of the Korean model. For example, the Ultra series by Samsung are known for their slimness, however, the Korean models also feature DVB. The LG Prada, recently released in Europe, has also a Korean release, again with DVB support.

DVB support is not limited to open air location in Korea either, it is fully functional on the Subways in Busan and Seoul. Relays re-broadcast the satellite signal deep underground to the mobile users on their daily commute.

So why do we, here in the UK, suffer this lack of functionality that many people desire so much. What the industry say is that they are still deciding on the correct protocol to use, DVB-H (Handset) is currently the proferred choice.

My opinion on this fact is different. I feel that the networks are able to draw a revenue stream from using data services to stream the TV. Also, in the UK, all television users must pay a license fee, on mobile devices, this will be harder to control, and a new payment or licensing model will have to be drawn up to support such a service.

Having seen how small the DVB chip is that supplies this functionality, there is no excuse that the device will compromise on ergonomics. As seen in Korea, they are able to fit this into a case less that 8mm thick!
I hope towards the end of this year, standards are finalized, and devices are shipping. Delivering entertainment to those bored commutes!

While at the Orange Developer Centre opening event in Beijing, Orange UK R&D announced a project that they were working on called “igloo”.
The concept behind this product is to eliminate the risk of user failure in attempting to install new services to their device.
Making use of Widget style solution, igloo provides a environment on the device where the user can easily identify new services that Orange
have made available. The user can select the widget, and it is automatically downloaded, and installed, and setup on their device with minimum effort.
The example that was presented was a case on eBay for mobile.

Currently, the user would have to ensure that they have the correct APN settings on their phone to access the Internet, they would then have to navigate through Orange World portal (or have eBay mobile web address to hand) to the eBay link. The user would then have to provide log-in details and then navigate through to their destination (be it watched items, or bidding etc)

With igloo, the user just needs to select the widget, it is then downloaded and installed automatically. The user can then log-in first time, and remember their details if needed. The eBay widget will then provide all the details to the user, without them needing to navigate to the web. The widget can then be viewed on the active screen of the device, so a quick glance is all that is needed.

Services can also be pushed to the user by Orange without the user having to perform any actions.

I asked a few questions about this service:
Q. Will the user be able to opt out.
A. The plans are for a subscription based service, the user can decide which services he/she wants to receive automatically

Q. Will the active screen display reduce battery life, as connections to the server will be required on a frequent basis
A. Not significantly, as the users screen-saver will put the service to “sleep”, and will be woken again when the screen-saver has been disrupted.

Q. Will there be billing integration for premium services?
A. It will be up to the service provider, the platform is designed as a framework and so can be implemented how the service provider wishes

What do you think about this?
I personally think that this solution will provide an excellent source of innovative ideas which are hard to get adoption in the Web space.