Posts filed under 'mobile internet'
.tel – more like .hype
Hurry, rush, grab – The Times reports that yet another top-level domain has gone live.
According to Telnic, the company that runs the .tel registry, businesses and individuals can manage all their contact information through their .tel domain – sort of a unified communication hub.
And boy, at just $300 for the first three years, isn’t it a steal?
What’s next – .con?
“.tel is your place on the internet, which will act like a switchboard.” said Kash Mahdavi, the chief executive of Telnic, the London-based company that runs the .tel registry. “You can say, ‘Here are my Facebook details, here is my mobile number, and people will always be able to find you’.”
1 comment February 5, 2009
Olympics draw mobile Web newbies
The Olympics seem to be striking a deep chord with first-time mobile Web users. The Star Tribune reports that according to NBC, almost half the people accessing information on the Olympics via their mobile phones are new to the mobile Web – though the absolute number of users ranging around half a million is relatively small, compared to the average primetime viewership of over 30 million. A small yet significant trend that portends the mass adoption of the mobile Web.
The number of people requesting Olympic content over their phones is still relatively small — but NBC executives say they’re stunned at how many of those never used the phones for this purpose before.
NBC Universal has been using the Olympics as something of a research lab to track the adoption of new media technology.
“To some extent, the Olympics are beginning to influence how people use new technology,” said Alan Wurtzel, research president for NBC Universal.
1 comment August 14, 2008
iCatalyst
Will the iPhone be the tipping point for the mass adoption of the mobile Internet? Well, more than 10 million applications were downloaded from the App Store, in the week following the release of the 3G iPhone. Further, looking at the clamor among the likes of eBay, Facebook, Google, AOL, SalesForce to launch iPhone versions of their key products, it does look like the game is finally on, after many false starts.
Though the iPhone has brought down its pricing a bit, it’s still a niche phone – the mass market part of the game will be driven by traditional handset manufacturers, who have now scented a massive opportunity – and who would be soon flooding the market with handsets that offer similar browsing capabilities and features, which should spur the beginning of mainstream adoption and usage of mobile websites.
One thing’s for sure, the iPhone has been a catalyst unlike any other – it has demonstrated to all the naysayers that not only is browsing on mobile very much possible but it’s actually engaging. In all fairness, the naysayers were not far from the truth – to put it mildly, the experience was rather frustrating, if not downright torture. Now if only carriers would take the lead and do something about factoring data as a standard part of all tariff plans.
Add comment July 24, 2008
a tale of too many standards
The world might be becoming smaller and more integrated but the mobile world definitely isn’t – Windows Mobile vs Symbian vs Linux vs Android vs iPhone. GSM vs CDMA. DVB-H vs MediaFlo vs S-DMB vs STIMI vs ISDB-T vs T-DMB vs DAB-IP (that’s right, there are at least 7 Mobile TV formats) – be it operating systems, network technologies, mobile browsers or mobile TV formats, there are multiple mobile standards (and acronyms) in play across the globe.
Competition to establish standards is vital in any market but if allowed to drag too long without any clear winners, arrests innovation and development. Focused on self promotion and protecting turfs, players lose focus and severely restrict application development and adoption to niches – leading to a proliferation of small, regional players but hardly any mass players.
We could take a leaf out of the recently concluded DVD standard wars between Blu-ray and HD DVD – with the vote going in favor of Blu-ray, consumer electronics firms and content providers can focus on core strengths, instead of waiting by the sidelines to see which format will come out on top or trying to develop players and content for both the formats.
To an extent, it does not really matter which standard is adopted – each standard comes with its own set of advantages and issues. The industry or key players (and if necessary, governments) need to come together and throw its weight behind adoption of single or at best dual standards.
Once frozen, a standard can be the base for all efforts to evolve a core ecosystem – establish concrete business models, institute payment protocols and speed up application development, leading to mass adoption – which in turn will push down price points and further drive innovation en masse.
A monopoly in standards would not be all that bad, especially if it’s controlled by a consortium of players from across the mobile world representing all key interests. The ideas are out there but they can evolve and scale only if standards are in place. It’s inevitable standards will emerge, with or without the support of the industry - the only question that remains is, will the boost come from within or outside the industry, and when.
Add comment July 21, 2008
cellphone overkill?
Sure seems like it – in view of the alarmingly rising cases of addiction to the mobile Internet, AP reports that the Japanese government plans to initiate a program to limit use of cellphones among children – which includes asking cellphone makers to bring out a range of models with only voice and global positioning system (GPS) features. Had highlighted this concern among parents in an earlier post but the Japanese government is probably the first government to initiate concrete steps. It’s however going to be next to impossible to wean away kids from the mobile Internet with voice-only phone models, a more reasonable approach would be to look at ways to control and manage usage. The key however perhaps lies closer home – parents probably just need to spend more time with their children.
The government is worried about how elementary and junior high school students are getting sucked into cyberspace crimes, spending long hours exchanging mobile e-mail and suffering other negative effects of cell phone overuse, Masaharu Kuba, a government official overseeing the initiative, said.
“Japanese parents are giving cell phones to their children without giving it enough thought,” he said.
Add comment May 29, 2008
Batman wants to be added to your phonebook
Why build a social network from scratch – Forbes reports on the emerging trend of address book services trying to turn your phonebook or email contacts into a social network. However, a user’s data on most of today’s social networks are by nature “public” (defined here as information shared with friends and/or others), while one’s phonebook data is inherently “private.” It’s one thing importing selected contacts from your phonebook to build a social network, and yet another building a social network on top of the phonebook. An exceedingly delicate balance is required to prevent a user’s personal information from being compromised.
Comcast agreed to acquire online address book service Plaxo on May 14, for an undisclosed sum. On May 16, U.K.-based carrier Vodafone spent $49 million on its first mobile Internet purchase: Zyb, a private Danish company, which, like Plaxo, helps users manage their contacts with social networking features.
Both Comcast and Vodafone plan to use their acquisitions to help people share information with contacts listed in their cellphone’s address book.
Add comment May 23, 2008
fueling mobile internet usage
The mobile data clock might soon just stop ticking for users – in slow, some times wavering steps, operators around the world are “opening up” . Vodafone has been a key player on this front, be it strategic tie-ups with the likes of Facebook or offering a range of unlimited data plans. ZD Net reports that in a significant move, Vodafone UK is offering unlimited internet access as part of all its monthly tariff plans – the operative word being “all.”
“Today, with our new price plans, Vodafone customers have the confidence to browse for as long as they need, with no extra costs when checking their email, visiting their favourite social-networking sites or making a final bid on eBay,” said Vodafone’s director of consumer products, Ian Shepherd.
Add comment May 5, 2008
Skype goes mobile – beta
With the beta release of a Skype client for Java-enabled mobile phones, Skype steps up its efforts to bring internet telephony to the mobile space. It is currently available for around 50 handsets from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung, with efforts underway to make it compatible with more handsets. Earlier, Skype had exclusively partnered with the UK based mobile operator 3 to develop the Skypephone.
You can call or instant message any of your contacts who are using Skype on their computer or mobile device. In this beta version, anyone can receive calls, instant message and see who’s online. If you want to call phones, mobiles, or any of your Skype contacts, this is limited to people in Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Sweden and UK.
Add comment April 30, 2008
mobile internet – a catch-22 for parents
With rising penetration of the Internet on mobile, and chat and social networking sites just about accessible from anywhere, parents are increasingly concerned about their children’s surfing habits. WSJ reports that according to the Yankee Group, 26% of teens surveyed indicated that Internet access was a must-have feature on the phone. In light of this, carriers have started offering parental controls for mobile phones. But are there more safety measures that handset makers and Internet services can take to reassure parents?
On one hand, the devices allow adults to maintain contact with their kids, helping to supervise their activities from afar. On the flip side, advanced features on some phones let kids check email, send instant messages, and visit mobile versions of Web sites. And that’s where teens can get into trouble.
As mobile Web browsing becomes more common, it will just be another aspect of cellphones that parents need to understand and be informed of, experts say. Monitoring your children’s cellphone comes with risks, especially when dealing with teenagers. Communication is essential. Minors should understand why their parents are monitoring them. If not, experts say parents risk alienating and losing the trust of their children.
1 comment April 23, 2008
