Archive for the ‘iPhone 3.0’ Category
Scoble Dishes on His New Mobile Roadie Apps
posted by Nicole Jordan
We’re pretty excited to announce that Robert Scoble has joined the Mobile Roadie app family. I caught up with him just before his trip to Israel to find out more about why he decided to upgrade his existing app with one built on and powered by the Mobile Roadie platform. Robert joins a growing number of online influencers experimenting with apps to give their audience a more holistic view into what they’re up to, and another direct way to connect. He’d taken note that we were investing in the early adopters in the tech industry in a way that others weren’t by supporting several well-respected tech people and conferences.
“[Mobile Roadie] has an idea of events and community which the other’s don’t,” he told me. And then he shared a few comments about the breadth of capabilities of our CMS and vision as a company versus alternatives who are just offering “a template with lame content.”
Oh stop. We’re blushing. OK, keep going. We don’t mind.
“I never used my app. With Mobile Roadie it’s the completeness that I like. My content behavior is spreading out. I used to be a blogger but now i do a lot of content across many platforms like Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, that collectively make up what my brand is. With my app, I can see Twitter faves, people who write to me on Twitter, show videos, blog content..It gives a more complete picture of what I do.”
When I asked him why he wanted an app in the first place he said, “I want to see what it can do. I have a personal brand and don’t need an app to survive but I already use my mobile phone so much to interact with celebrities and bloggers and people who write content I care…everything is changing due to mobile and Twitter and Facebook and I wanted to explore what that meant and how my audience would react to it. When you have a committed audience that wants to interact they are going to consumer more of this type of content in this format.”
So how’s it going, you wonder? Well, Robert called it an “awesome app” and said he’s hearing a lot of praise from people who’ve tried it. We’re thrilled.
Being the curious company we are we pried a bit into how he was envisioning using the app. Robert said he isn’t entirely sure yet and wants to see what happens and how his audience consumes and engages with the content. He knows videos will be something to watch since “it’s easier to find videos on that app than on YouTube… I can see why my video views are already doing well.” He’s also looking forward to playing around with the Fan Wall, where anyone with the app can post comments, and virally push them to Facebook and Twitter.
Given Robert’s highly social nature and his very active audience, we’ve no doubt he will turn the use of his app into an example for the rest of the industry to follow.
Mobile Roadie and the iPad
posted by Michael Arcand
This weekend Apple is launching their latest in a line of new and revolutionary products, the iPad. Described by Steve Jobs as “magical” some customers may have concerns about their Mobile Roadie apps and how they will perform on the iPad. Well, we’re here to reassure you that the Mobile Roadie platform puts your app among the 150,000+ current apps that Apple says will run on the iPad. And we know (and have been hearing) that you are excited by the opportunities presented by the iPad as well.
While there may be some inherent challenges with increasing the resolution of videos and pictures from the current iPhone apps when displayed on the iPad (simply because of the resolution contained within the files themselves), we also want you to know that we will be working to maximize the performance of the Mobile Roadie platform to take advantage of the new features and opportunities presented on the iPad through the iPhone OS version 3.2. Look for future iPad support from Mobile Roadie, scheduled for the third quarter of 2010.
We know that the future of computing lies in the mobile web and applications that can access and provide quality information in the best possible format. Mobile Roadie is committed to doing just that for our customers – helping you to reach your best potential and put the best foot forward for your business, whether that is music, writing, conference presentations, etc. The bottom line is that as the requirements for future mobile applications change with advances in technology and new gadgets like the iPad, we’re here to help you along the way.
So Just How Big Will Your iPhone Market Be?
posted by Michael ArcandYesturday a report was released by Admob, a company (now owned by Google) that analyzes data from ads served on mobile networks to glean insight into the mobile web usage of the 21st century. So what did this report have to say today about the Apple iPhone? Despite the fact that the company is owned by Google, who has its own stake in the mobile Internet through the Android OS, they didn’t hide the fact that the iPhone uses up a whopping 50% of all mobile data traffic as of October 2009. In case you didn’t get the big picture, let me put this in non-techie terms … one out of ever two mobile data transmissions (i.e., e-mail, IM, text messaging, website visits, etc.) take place on the Apple iPhone.
Despite the fact that the iPhone doesn’t dominate in sales numbers, this report would seem to indicate that the iPhone users are accessing the web and data services more frequently than other smart phone users. So what does this mean to you? It means that now is the time to get your web-based app into the iPhone App Store. Think about it … half of all mobile data travels through the iPhone. If your app uses data interactively, directs traffic to or syndicates information from your website, chances are 50/50 right now that your customer will be looking for you on the iPhone. And the percentage is growing. Soon, if your app isn’t available on the iPhone, it will be like trying to promote your band, business or product in a flea market.
So why not take a tour of MobileRoadie and see how we can help you get your hat in the ring so your business can get a piece of the iPhone data pie!
Amazon Kindle’s Newest Challenger: The iPhone?
posted by Michael Arcand
It’s hard to fathom all the different applications that an iPhone user has access to these days. Everything from useful time management apps to the senseless Pepsi app that recently got so much media attention (which was also subsequently pulled). So what would you guess is the highest category of iPhone apps on the market today? Believe it or not, its e-books. Yes, that’s right … e-books are more prolific in the app store than games. I know it’s hard to believe, but let’s take a look at the numbers and where they are headed.
Games led in the app store supply chain from August 2008 through August 2009, according to a report published by Flurry, an analytics company. Interestingly enough, however, in September 2009 a new category eclipsed games, fueled in its expansion by rising consumer demand. The category was e-books. In fact, Flurry noted that 1% of the U.S. population is already reading an e-book on the iPhone. They go on to predict that just like Nintendo DS sales were impacted by the iPhone, the same impact will be felt by Amazon’s Kindle sales. Only time will tell if they are right about that.
One thing we can be sure of is that the e-book is here to stay and its making a big impact on the iPhone platform. With millions of dollars flowing through the Apple app store, authors of any genre and status have a chance to sell their product and get their name out there. It’s just another example of how technology is literally leveling the playing field and allowing the entry level writer to compete against multi-book authors – in the same marketplace.
So what’s the bottom line? If you are an author, you need to leverage the iPhone popularity and platform to get your book out there in the marketplace. And MobileRoadie is here to help you do just that. It doesn’t matter how well known you are or how big your book is, we can help you get it packaged for the app store so you can ride the iPhone e-book wave. So what are you waiting for?
iPhone Making Moves on the BlackBerry
posted by Michael Arcand
When the iPhone first hit the smart phone market, most business users already had a smart phone, namely a Blackberry or Palm Pre. However, in just two short years Apple’s iPhone has gone from being a new shiny Mac fanboy toy to being a serious competitor with other smartphones, even in the business market. According to a report recently released by ChangeWave research, a full 30 percent of all smart phone owners are currently using an iPhone, compared to 40 percent with a BlackBerry and only seven percent with the Palm Pre (absolutely dismal numbers for the Pre, which once dominated the market).
So what is the driving factor behind the advance of the iPhone in both overall smart phone use as well as business? It’s the same thing that has driven successful products and referral marketing for years: customer satisfaction. According to a recent J.D. Powers study, Apple came in first place among smart phone business owners, beating out LG (second place) and BlackBerry (third place). ChangeWave’s report noted that 74 percent of their survey participants who used the iPhone were very satisfied with the smart phone.
The convergence of these two trends, the consumer and business sectors, can only mean one thing: continued growth for the iPhone and possibly the domination of the smart phone market within the next six to twelve months. The handwriting is on the wall. More and more people are moving from traditional wireless phones into the smart phone market. More and more businesses are seeing the advantages in customer satisfaction coming from iPhone users.
This all adds up to one thing for you. Now is the time to get on board! If you’re looking to catch the wave of incoming iPhone users and tap into the market that’s already there, then there is no time better than the present to develop an iPhone app for your band or website. Let MobileRoadie help you today to get started.
The Mobile Web is Exploding … Are You On Board?
posted by Michael ArcandFar be it for us to toot our own horn, but we just happen to think we’re in the right place at the right time. And we want you to be right there with us. Are you ready? Here’s why we think the mobile web is where it’s at and why the iPhone is the one platform you must be on …
Mary Meeker, the managing director of Morgan Stanley (yeah, those investment folks), gave a presentation last week at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Fransisco touting the tech sector as a leading indicator that we are rebounding from the recession. But more importantly, to us at least, was the emphasis she placed on the mobile web and her perspective on things to come. Meeker surmised that the mobile web, which is already expanding during the recession, will explode once the recovery in other sectors of the economy is in full swing. At some point she feels that the mobile web use will dwarf the desktop use of the Internet 10 to 1.
So why are we so excited about this and what should this mean to you as an iPhone developer? Meeker pointed out that the iPhone and the iPod Touch are the fastest growing pieces of electronic hardware ever. Given the fact that the iPhone currently dominates the landscape in usage share and market share numbers, the sky is the limit with this platform. It will only get bigger and bigger.
If you want to look over all of the slides from her presentation, you can check them out below. Why not take a few minutes to think about what impact the mobile web will have on your business in the future, then let us help you get where you want to go.
Age-restriction alert fail on iPhone 3.0 apps
posted by brocksteady
Most iPhone users are now fully aware that iPhone 3.0’s parental controls allow you to specify the age of the user, from 4+ to 17+, and offer warnings about apps Apple thinks its users might find objectionable.
Theoretically, this is not a bad thing. We’re all used to seeing warnings on television shows and video games that forewarn of violence, bad language, sex scenes, etc. But Apple’s “objectionable material” warnings are inherently flawed — they don’t go into any detail as to the reason for the warning. For example, we’re forced to rate Mobile Roadie powered apps with the highest level of restriction (17+) simply because they allow users to comment on media in the app. So the cryptic warning on a completely inoffensive app like Jazz Piano is the same as for an app that actually does contain questionable material: “This product contains material that may be objectionable to children under 17.”
Basically these warnings are complete overkill for 99.9% of our apps. A warning more descriptive like: “This product contains user-generated content…” would be much more clear, as well as a much more honest representation of what the alert is about. Hopefully Apple will soon implement categories for these alerts, rather than the current all-encompassing cryptic warning from the Moral Authorities that completely overstates the objection.
