Mobile infrastructure must catch up with user needs and demands. Ubiquitous mobile computing is all around us, not only when we use smartphones to connect with friends and family across states and countries, but also when we use ticketing systems on buses and trains, purchase food from mobile vendors, watch videos, and listen to music on our phones. As a result, mobile computing systems must rise to the demand. The number of smart phones will exceed the number of PCs in 2014.
Some time in the next six months, the number of smartphones on earth will pass the number of PCs. This shouldn’t really surprise anyone: the mobile business is much bigger than the computer industry. There are now perhaps 3.5-4 billion mobile phones, replaced every two years (versus 1.7-1.8 billion PCs replaced every 5 years).It means that mobile industry can sell more phones in a quarter than the PC industry sells in a year. After some years we will end up with somewhere over 3bn smartphones in use on earth, almost double the number of PCs. The smartphone revolution is changing how consumers use the Internet: Mobile browsing is set to overtake traditional desktop browsing in 2015.
It seems that 4G has really become the new high speed mobile standard widely wanted during 2013. 3G will become the low-cost option for those who think 4G option is too expensive, not everyone that has 4G capable device has 4G subscription. How the situation changes depends on how operators improve their 3G coverage, what will be the price difference from 3G to 4G and how well the service is marketed.
Mobile data increased very much last year. I expect the growth to continue pretty much as projected in Mobile Data Traffic To Grow 300% Globally By 2017 Led By Video, Web Use, Says Strategy Analytics and Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012–2017 articles.
When 4G becomes mainstream, planning for next 5G communications starts. I will expect to see more and more writing on 5G as the vision what it will be destined to be clears more. Europe’s newly-minted 5GPPP Association plans to launch as many as 20 research projects in 2014, open to all comers, with a total budget of about 250 million euros. The groundwork for 5G, an ambitious vision for a next-generation network of networks that’s still being defined, and the definition will go on many years to come. No one really knows today what 5G will be because there are still several views. Europe’s new 5GPPP group published a draft proposal for 5G. 5GPPP is not the only group expected to work on standards for next-generation cellular networks, but it could become one of the most influential.
The shifting from “dumb” phones to smart phones continue. In USA and Europe smart phone penetration is already so high levels that there will not be very huge gains on the market expected. Very many consumers already have their smart phone, and the market will be more and more on updating to new model after two years or so use. At the end of 2013 Corporate-Owned Smartphones Back in Vogue, and I expect that companies continue to shop smart phones well in 2014.
The existing biggest smart phone players will continue to rule the markets. Google’s Android will continue to rule the markets. Samsung made most money in 2013 on Android phones (in 2013 in West only Samsung makes money from selling Android), and I expect that to continue. In 2013 Apple slurped down enormous profits but lost some of its bleeding-edge-tech street credit, and I expect that to continue in 2014.
The biggest stories of the year 2013 outside the Samsung/Apple duopoly were the sale of Nokia’s mobile phone business to Microsoft and the woes of BlackBerry. BlackBerry had an agonising year and suffered one of the most spectacular consumer collapses in history, and I can’t see how it would get to it’s feet during 2014. Nokia made good gains for Windows Phones during 2013, and I expect that Microsoft will put marketing effort to gain even more market share. Windows Phone became the third mobile ecosystem, and will most probably keep that position in 2014.
New players try to enter smart phone markets and some existing players that once tried that try to re-enter. There are rumors that for example HP tries to re-enter mobile market, and is probable that some other computer makers try to sell smart phones with their brands. In the Android front there will be new companies trying to push marker (for example OPPO and many smaller Chinese makers you have never heard earlier). Nokia had a number of Android projects going on in 2013, and some former Nokia people have put up company Newkia to follow on that road. To make a difference in the market there will be also push on some smaller mobile platforms as alternative to the big three (Google, Apple, Microsoft). Jolla is pushing Sailfish OS phones that can run Android applications and also pushing possibility to install that OS to Android phone. Mozilla will push on with it’s own Firefox OS phone. Canonical will try to get their Ubuntu phone released. Samsung is starting to make Tizen powered smart phones and NTT DoCoMo could be the first carrier to offer a Tizen powered device. None of those will be huge mainstream hits within one year, but could maybe could have their own working niche markets. The other OS brands combined do not amount to 1% of all smartphones sold in 2013, so even if they could have huge growth they would still be very small players on the end of 2014.
As smartphone and tablet makers desperately search for points of differentiation they will try to push the limits of performance on several fronts to extremes. Extreme inter-connectivity is one of the more useful features that is appearing in new products. More context-aware automatic wireless linking is coming: Phones will wirelessly link and sync with screens and sensors in the user’s vicinity.
You can also expect extreme sensor support to offer differentiation. Biomedical sensors have lots of potential (Apple already has fingerprint sensors). Indoor navigation will evolve. Intelligent systems and assistive devices will advance smart healthcare.
Several smartphone makers have clear strategies to take photography to extremes. 40 megapixel camera is already on the market and several manufacturers are playing with re-focus after shooting options.
In high-end models we may be moving into the overkill zone with extreme resolution that is higher than you can see on small screen: some makers have already demonstrated displays with twice the performance of 1080-progressive. Samsung is planned to release devices with 4k or UHD resolutions. As we have seen in many high tech gadget markets earlier it is a very short journey to copycat behavior.
It seems that amount of memory on high-end mobile devices is increasing this year. To be able to handle higher resolutions smart phones will also need more memory than earlier (for example Samsung lpddr 4 allows up to 4 GB or RAM on smart phone as now high-end devices now have typically 2GB). As the memory size starts to hit the limits of 32 bit processors (4GB), I will expect that there will be some push for chip makers to start to introduce more 64 bit processors for mobile devices. Apple already has 64-bit A7 microprocessor in iPhone 5s, all the other phone-makers want one too for their high-end models (which is a bit of panic to mobile chip makers).
You will be able to keep your mobile phone during some flights all the time and browser web on the plane more widely. At some planes you might also be able to make phone calls with your mobile phone during the flight. Calls on flights have been theoretically possible, and United States has recently looked at mobile phone calls allow the flights.
In year 2013 there were many releases on wearable technologies. Wearable is a trend with many big companies already in the space, and more are developing new products. It seems that on this field year 2013 was just putting on the initial flame, and I expect that the wearable market will start to heat up more during 2014. The advent of wearable technology brings new demands for components that can accommodate its small form factor, wireless requirements, and need for longer battery life.
The Internet of Things (IoT) will evolve into the Web of Things, increasing the coordination between things in the real world and their counterparts on the Web. The Internet is expanding into enterprise assets and consumer items such as cars and televisions. Gartner suggests that now through 2018, a variety of devices, user contexts, and interaction paradigms will make “everything everywhere” strategies unachievable.
Technology giants Google Inc. and Apple Inc. are about to expand their battle for digital supremacy to a new front: the automobile. The Android vs. iOS apps battle is coming to the automotive industry in 2014: car OEMs aren’t exactly known for their skills in developing apps and app developers don’t want to develop so many different versions of an app separately (for Ford, General Motors, BMW, and Toyota). I am waiting for Google’s response to Apple’s iOS in the Car. Next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Google and German auto maker Audi AG plan to announce that they are working together to develop in-car entertainment and information systems that are based on Google’s Android software. The push toward smarter cars is heating up: Right now, we are just scratching the surface.
For app development HTML5 will be on rise. Gartner predicts that through 2014, improved JavaScript performance will begin to push HTML5 and the browser as a mainstream enterprise application development environment. It will also work on many mobile applications as well.
1,857 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Disturbance in the force lets phones detect gestures with WiFi
These are movement detection devices you are looking for
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/25/gesture_control_for_a_smartphone_with_no_new_hardware/
How would you like a phone that gives you gesture recognition – without needing to buy a new phone?
That’s the tantalising prospect offered by a project at the University of Washington (UoW), which uses the existing WiFi capabilities of consumer-grade devices (laptops were used for the research paper) to work out peoples’ movements.
Their software, dubbed Wi-Fi Gestures, “detects large amplitude peaks caused by human gestures”, the authors write.
“Specifically, as the human moves her arm, the wireless reflections from her arm either constructively or destructively interfere with the direct signal from the Wi-Fi transmitter. This results in peaks and troughs in the amplitude of the received signals”, the paper states. The algorithm they created in their research classifies gestures according to the size and timing of the peaks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony Said to Plan E-Paper Watch in Test of Innovation
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-26/sony-said-to-plan-e-paper-watch-in-test-of-innovation.html
Sony Corp. (6758) is developing a watch made out of electronic paper for release as soon as next year in a trial of the company’s new venture-style approach to creating products, according to people familiar with the matter.
The watch’s face and wrist band will be made from a patented material that allows the entire surface area to function as a display and change its appearance, the people said
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony to cut TV, smartphone lineup; sees growth in PlayStation, image sensors
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/us-sony-outlook-idUSKCN0J903A20141125
Japan’s loss-making Sony Corp plans to slash its TV and mobile phone product line-ups to cut costs, counting on multi-billion dollar revenue surges for its buoyant PlayStation 4 and image sensor businesses over the next three years.
Having lost ground to nimbler rivals like Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in consumer electronics, Sony said on Tuesday its goal for TV and smartphones is to turn a profit, even if sales slide as much as 30 percent.
“We’re not aiming for size or market share but better profits,”
“Getting out of the mobile market is an option, but they can’t do that now, so they will need to make some fundamental changes.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartwatch detects skin’s electricity to predict seizures
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26599-smartwatch-detects-skins-electricity-to-predict-seizures.html#.VHWATclM0il
Yet another smartwatch launched this week. Called Embrace, it is rather different from the latest offerings from Apple, Samsung and Motorola: it can spot the warning signs of an epileptic seizure.
Embrace was developed by Matteo Lai and his team at a firm called Empatica, with the help of Rosalind Picard at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It measures the skin’s electrical activity as a proxy for changes deep in the brain, and uses a model built on years of clinical data to tell which changes portend a seizure.
It also gathers the usual temperature and motion data that smartwatches collect, allowing the wearer to measure physical activity and sleep quality. Empatica launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo on Tuesday and has already raised more than $120,000. Backers who pledge $169 will receive an Embrace watch.
Embrace – A gorgeous watch designed to save lives!
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/embrace-a-gorgeous-watch-designed-to-save-lives
Tomi Engdahl says:
Homescreen Is Betaworks’ Latest Experiment-Turned-Product
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/24/homescreen-is-betaworks-latest-experiment-turned-product/
When someone picks up their phone to take a peek, I can’t help but take a peek, too.
With the latest product out of betaworks, you can take that curiosity to a whole new level.
It’s a simple app called Homescreen that asks you to take a screenshot of your home screen and share the generated link on Twitter. The link will lead back to your homescreen.is/username page where other people can see the apps that are nearest and dearest to your heart. Plus, the service uses image recognition technology to let you get in-depth information about the app by hovering over any app, whether it’s in a drawer or not.
Obviously this is super simple, but the trend is already there. People are already finding a forum to share their home screen on their own, and the best marketing scheme for an app is word of mouth anyway. By pairing those two things together, betaworks is creating its own user-generated app recommendation engine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
One click automatic transfer
http://www.piceasoft.com/index.php?page=piceaswitch
PiceaSwitch automatically transfers all of your personal content from one phone to another. No extra hardware needed, only a PC and the application.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Business press release states that the used phone market is one of the mobile phone business one of the fastest growing areas. Especially for Apple devices already exist well-established secondary market, and this year’s phenomenon is that the sell have been particularly expensive equipment.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/kaikki_uutiset/exnokialaisten+firmat+edistavat+kaytettyjen+kannykoiden+kauppaa/a1032052
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s $700 BEEELLION market cap makes it more valuable than Switzerland
Cuckoo clocks and cheese no match for iThings
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/26/apple_700_beeelion_market_cap_makes_it_more_valuable_than_switzerland/
Apple has achieved a record-breaking market capitalisation of $700bn – making it more valuable than Switzerland.
The cash-laden fruity firm has now become the most expensive company in human history, after its stock rose to a high of $119.75 yesterday.
At its peak during trading yesterday, Apple reached a market cap of $703bn, before dipping slightly to end the day to a pathetic $690bn.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile payment technology reaching critical mass?
http://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4437704/Mobile-payment-technology-reaching-critical-mass-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_consumerelectronics_20141126&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_consumerelectronics_20141126&elq=ca6e4f95c09149b6b4b67fb77b769971&elqCampaignId=20353
Long predicted but always seeming to be “just around the corner,” mobile payments may finally have arrived. While Apple’s recent Apple Pay announcement may in retrospect be seen as launching the coming mobile payment revolution, the underlying technologies – and alternative solutions – have been emerging for some time.
The fundamental technological enabler for mobile payments is of course the ubiquitous smartphone, with wearables promising to create even more, and new, opportunities. Technologies playing a supporting role in this shift include encryption advances, digital currencies, biometrics, NFC, Bluetooth, QR codes, and even the use of sound wave data transfer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony cuff-puter to do one thing smartwatches can’t: Give you DAYS of hot wrist action
New idea is worth the e-paper it’s printed on
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/27/sony_debuting_epaper_watch_that_will_give_days_of_wrist_action/
Sony is to bring out a smartwatch with an e-paper screen that solves one of the biggest wearable shortfalls: battery life.
Sources familiar with the project told Bloomberg the gadget will use the entire wrist band to display information, but it will not be as advanced as other arm-slabs on the market.
Unlike today’s crop of cuff-computers, Sony’s gizmo won’t have much in the way of technical sophistication, the sources said, but will have a very long battery life. Sorta like a real wristwatch.
Sony Said to Plan E-Paper Watch in Test of Innovation
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-26/sony-said-to-plan-e-paper-watch-in-test-of-innovation.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gartner: Tremble iPhone, Windows Phone will rise
Office phone may be impossible to get Android as the affordable Windows phone fits better to the employer.
Windows Phone catches up the iPhone’s lead almost closed in 2018, Gartner predicts. Even this year, Apple’s phones are bought more than four times higher than Windows phones.
Companies should therefore continue to choose three trays.
Gartner analyst Nick Jones believes that Apple can not fully rely on its position as the preservation of even a luxury phones. Despite the new versions of the iPhone has changed over the years, just a little.
“Apple may be problems with the lack of innovation,” Jones says.
Windows Phone for increase access to affordable models, which are becoming more common, especially business use. Consumers popularity brake competitors a little quiet range of applications.
The overwhelming number one low-cost Android phones is growing. Some of the companies the employee is useless to ask for your Android handset.
“Security tools are still weaker than the Windows and iOS phones,” Jones says.
Source: http://summa.talentum.fi/article/tv/uutiset/113380
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Watch site refreshed to highlight Timekeeping, New Ways to Connect, and Health & Fitness
http://9to5mac.com/2014/11/26/apple-watch-site-refresh/
Apple has quietly refreshed its Apple Watch microsite with a few changes including more details about the upcoming wearable and newly added interactive images of the device. Previously Apple had a single ‘Features’ page for describing the functionality of the Apple Watch, but has replaced that page with expanded descriptions of the watch’s functions across the separate pages labeled “Timekeeping,” “New Ways to Connect,” and “Health & Fitness.” Each page goes a bit more in-depth into each category with additional details and interactive images.
http://www.apple.com/watch/
Tomi Engdahl says:
There’s something of an irony here in that the European Parliament is calling for punitive action against Google’s PC search business just as many users are shifting their time and focus to mobile devices and away from traditional search.
Source: http://searchengineland.com/oh-didnt-european-call-unbundling-search-rest-google-209813
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digitimes Research: China smartphone makers increase overseas shipments by 53% in 3Q14
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20141110PD208.html?mod=2
Huawei Device was the top China-based smartphone maker in the third quarter of 2014, with shipments of 14.8 million units, according to Digitimes Research.
All together, China-based makers shipped 111.1 million smartphones in the third quarter, an increase of 5.6% on quarter and 44.1% on year, the latest Digitimes Research China Smartphone Market and Industry Tracker Service noted. Of the shipments, 43.6 million units or 39.2% went to overseas markets, an increase of 7.5% on quarter and 53.0% on year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony put its e-paper watch on a crowd-funding site in September under the name “FES Watch” to gauge interest, promises delivery after May — Who’s Behind the E-paper FES Watch? — As it seeks to differentiate itself in a competitive market, Sony is developing watches and bow ties using electronic paper.
Who’s Behind the E-paper FES Watch?
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/11/28/whos-behind-the-e-paper-fes-watch/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Black Friday traffic brings down Web stores of HP, Best Buy, others
Retailers’ systems buckle under load of post-Thanksgiving Web shopping.
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/black-friday-traffic-brings-down-web-stores-of-hp-best-buy-others/
While content delivery networks (CDNs) have made it possible to push static content out closer to Web and mobile shoppers and reduce overall traffic hitting e-commerce sites, the load on the sites is still causing some to buckle and break, albeit briefly.
Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2014 Web and Mobile Performance Live Blog
http://apmblog.compuware.com/2014/11/27/black-friday-cyber-monday-2014-web-mobile-performance-live-blog/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jason Del Rey / Re/code:
Black Friday online sales grow more than 20% year over year, with 27% of transactions on mobile or tablet
Strong Black Friday Online Sales Give Hope for Big Holiday Numbers
http://recode.net/2014/11/29/strong-black-friday-online-sales-give-hope-for-big-holiday-numbers/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Line Purges Its Games Platform Again, Removing 15 Titles From Its Messaging Service
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/28/line-purges-its-games-platform-again-removing-15-titles-from-its-messaging-service/
Line, the messaging app company with 500 million registered users, just announced the closure of 15 of its third-party games, that’s nearly half of the titles on its games platform and its second purge in six months.
You won’t find games on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, but they are a major part of the Line experience. Users download separate apps for iOS and Android which then link up to their Line app to provide a game ID and the ability to share scores, battle friends and more. The service also offers non-gaming companion apps, which include apps for sticker creation, translations, photos and more.
Games barely affect Line users who don’t play them, but they can be hugely lucrative. In-app purchases — such as power-ups or boosters — from apps on the games platform collectively account for over half of Line’s revenue, which doubled annually to reach $192 million in Q3 2014.
Line was among the first to offer games, but these days U.S.-based duo Tango and Kik include similar services, too, as well as Kakao Talk in Korea and WeChat in China. Facebook recently revealed that it tested highlighting games before ultimately deciding to focus its platform and vast reach on app install ads instead.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Richard Lai / Engadget:
OnePlus to roll out its own custom Android ROM built on Lollipop to One users in India, after Cyanogen signs exclusive deal with Micromax
http://www.engadget.com/2014/11/28/cyanogen-oneplus-one-india-betrayal/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Glass Is Dead; Long Live Smart Glasses
Even though Google’s head-worn computer is going nowhere, the technology is sure to march on.
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/532691/google-glass-is-dead-long-live-smart-glasses/
Google Glass Failed, but Here’s the Path Its Successors Will Take | MIT Technology Review
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/532691/google-glass-is-dead-long-live-smart-glasses/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony makes experimental e-paper watch
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30245296
Sony has developed a watch made from e-paper as part of an initiative to experiment with the use of the material for fashion products.
The Fes Watch has a minimalist, monochrome design but falls short of the features offered by smartwatches.
However, the battery of the e-paper watch could last far longer with an estimated 60 days of use.
The device has been described as “retro and cool” by gadget expert Stuart Miles from Pocket-lint.
“One of my predictions for next year is that fashion is going to play a huge part in shaping the tech industry.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Sony had deliberately kept the development of the watch low-key, opting to use a spin-off division called Fashion Entertainments to work on the device.
Fashion Entertainments ran a crowdfunding campaign to fund the watch’s creation, the WSJ reported, in an attempt to gauge the public’s interest in the concept.
It raised 3.5 million yen ($30,000; £19,000).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Potential Pot of Gold in Mobile Marketing
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1324796&
Fasten your seat belts. Marketing via mobile devices will be $15 billion industry in 2019.
The billions of smartphones and tablets out there represent a captive audience for marketeers. However, mobile marketing is relatively new and has been slow to take off.
Reasons for the slow ramp up include inertia that comes with any new media, as companies rely on tried and tested methods until the results demand change, through to inexperience and a lack of understanding on how to implement new marketing strategies within a new medium. Further, in such a scenario companies have little experience to draw from and end up throwing a lot of proverbial mud against a wall to see what sticks.
It appears that for mobile marketing we are entering a phase of steady growth and today have a fairly good base of experience to draw from. In its latest report, market research firm MarketsandMarkets is currently forecasting that the global mobile marketing market will grow from $4,314.5 million in 2014 to $15,287.4 million by 2019, at a CAGR of 28.8%. North America is expected to be the largest market, while Europe and Asia-Pacific (APAC) are predicted to experience increased market traction, during the forecast period.
One caveat to all this is really based in the end-user experience, which today in many areas is not good when it comes to data services. Even 4G, in many areas is not delivering the speeds it is supposed to. Consequently, the success of mobile marketing, will to some extent depend on mobile networks delivering more robust 4G services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
OnePlus loses Cyanogen in India
http://channeleye.co.uk/oneplus-loses-cyanogen-in-india/
Mobile phone operating system Cyanogen was supposed to be making its first foray into India under the bonnet of the OnePlus phone.
In the US OnePlus’ One smartphone has used Cyanogen, which is an operating system built atop Google’s Android, but it looks like that will not be happening in India.
Cyanogen has instead chosen to go with Micromax, an OEM more familiar to the Indian market. Cyanogen and Micromax also have an exclusive deal.
- See more at: http://channeleye.co.uk/oneplus-loses-cyanogen-in-india/#sthash.i2J5pOHA.dpuf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Technology
Top Samsung Executives Remain in Roles Amid Management Changes
Samsung Announces Annual Management Changes but Top Executives Keep Current Positions
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/top-samsung-executives-remain-in-roles-amid-management-changes-1417395185-lMyQjAxMTA0MjMwMDEzMDA4Wj
Samsung Group announced annual management changes at its business units on Monday but said top executives at its flagship unit, Samsung Electronics Co. , will remain in their current positions as the company seeks to reverse recent profit declines.
Samsung Electronics’ mobile business head, J.K. Shin, the chief of the company’s consumer electronics unit, B.K. Yoon, and the current chief executive for the component business, Kwon Oh-hyun, will all maintain their positions, Samsung said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook, Google, And Twitter’s War For App Install Ads
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/30/like-advertising-a-needle-in-a-haystack/
An unexpected consequence of our love of apps is that now there’s just too damn many of them. The app stores are overcrowded, leaving developers desperate for a way to get their games and utilities discovered. That is why the app install ad has become the lifeblood of the mobile platform business.
Big brands aren’t the only ones to suck up to anymore. No one buys a car or Coca-Cola on their phone, at least not yet, so proving the return on investment of mobile ads to these businesses is tough. There is one thing people will instantly plop down a few bucks for on the small screen, though: Apps.
Lured by billions in app install ad spend per quarter and hoping to grow that pie, Facebook, Twitter, and Google have stepped up. But to win those dollars, they have to buddy up to developers.
Before the big platforms redefined their roadmaps to pry open developers’ wallets, a slew of independent ad networks ruled the space.
Google saw the potential of mobile advertising and bought the big dog AdMob in 2009 fro $750 million, while Apple acquired Quattro Wireless and launched its own ad network iAd in 2010. Both ran app install ads, but those weren’t their sole focus. It wasn’t until 2012 when the real landslide shift from desktop usage to mobile happened that Facebook wised up.
Facebook’s mobile monetization platform strategy had been a bit far-fetched: Hook developers up with social sharing APIs, and hope users pushed their content from Facebook-connected apps back to the web or mobile News Feed to where Facebook shows ads.
But app install ads let Facebook use its consistent mobile app traffic to turn things around.
Why App Install Ads Work
The web’s decline is dragging the banner ad towards its grave. On mobile, there’s no room for a shotgun approach of riddling the small screen with tiny, low-quality, poorly targeted marketing messages.
Instead, mobile ads are often shown one at a time. That means better targeting goes a long way. This has allowed platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter to outcompete the independent ad networks like Millenial Media by combining powerful personal data with native app install ad formats that blend into their content
While many would like to see banners ads die a painful death, app install ads are some of the only banners that can succeed on mobile. That’s because app install ads have two big advantages on mobile compared to traditional brand ads
With the app stores just getting more cluttered, developers began pouring cash into the ad format.
Simply selling ads would have been a missed opportunity, though. Driving installs is so important to developers that, lacking operating systems, Facebook and Twitter built their mobile platform strategies around app ads. The goal: provide high-quality services and tools to developers in order to form relationships that lead to ad buys.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Potential Pot of Gold in Mobile Marketing
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1324796&
Fasten your seat belts. Marketing via mobile devices will be $15 billion industry in 2019.
The billions of smartphones and tablets out there represent a captive audience for marketeers. However, mobile marketing is relatively new and has been slow to take off.
Reasons for the slow ramp up include inertia that comes with any new media, as companies rely on tried and tested methods until the results demand change, through to inexperience and a lack of understanding on how to implement new marketing strategies within a new medium. Further, in such a scenario companies have little experience to draw from and end up throwing a lot of proverbial mud against a wall to see what sticks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Race to Become the WeChat of the West
https://medium.com/@tedlivingston/the-race-to-become-the-wechat-of-the-west-3fe52c8db946
I remember pitching Kik to investors in 2009. It was the most frustrating experience. Why do you need chat that’s just on your phone? Why wouldn’t you just use Facebook Messenger? Why not just text? At the time, the West completely underestimated chat. People thought Facebook would rule forever.
Five years and a string of billion-dollar financings later, the West no longer questions the value of mobile-first chat. But once again, the West is completely underestimating where this is all going. They look to the East at WeChat and Line and say their platforms could never work here. They are so right, and yet so wrong.
“There are more official accounts created on WeChat each day in China than there are websites brought online.”
“Young consumers in the West are like all consumers in the East.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Elec to launch Tizen smartphone in India – S.Korea paper
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/01/samsung-elec-smartphone-tizen-idUSL3N0TL20620141201
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd plans to launch a new sub-$100 smartphone running on its own Tizen operating system in India later this month, South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper said on Monday.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It seems that Apple and Samsung have some issues with their ‘selfie’ camera on their new devices:
iPhone 6 users say their ‘selfie’ camera is shifting out of place
http://www.dailydot.com/technology/iphone-6-camera-shift-problem/?fb=dd
Hundreds of iPhone 6 users are frustrated over a widespread problem with the front-facing “selfie” camera on their devices. The complaint arises from a tendency for the camera lens to shift slightly, causing a grey crescent shape to appear at the right of the camera’s opening.
Front camera is broken in S5
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s5/388663-front-camera-broken.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
No wristjob, please, we’re Apple fans: Just 10% would buy the Apple Watch
Don’t scoff, though, that’s still 24 million units – analyst
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/02/dont_like_the_apple_watch_you_and_nine_tenths_of_the_world/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pebble: The brilliant stealth wearable Apple’s Watch doesn’t see coming
Meet the man who accidentally created the smartwatch hype
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/02/pebble_the_brilliant_stealth_wearable_that_might_be_a_winner/
The wearables bandwagon rolled into town this year – heralding the arrival of glossy and expensive new wearable timepieces. Android Wear and Apple’s iWatch have grabbed most the headlines, but I suspect that come Christmas morning, more people will be unwrapping a Pebble than the glitzier rivals.
We caught up with Pebble’s founder, the chap who arguably started the wearable hype, Eric Migicovsky, recently.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dan Grover:
WeChat product manager details the differences between Chinese and US mobile app UI trends
Chinese Mobile App UI Trends
http://dangrover.com/blog/2014/12/01/chinese-mobile-app-ui-trends.html
People here use myriad methods of typing Chinese characters: everything from Pinyin, to tracing characters by hand, to a stroke-organized keypad, even one emulating older cell phones’ numeric keypads. The method one prefers seems to depend largely on the era and region one grew up in, though Pinyin seems the most popular.
Yet sites and apps here do not require using of any of these. They’ll happily accept Latin characters as search terms and resolve them to Chinese-language results — independent of your operating system. They even use heuristics to interpret typos and homophones. Once you’re used to it, it’s annoying that the OS and most other apps don’t work this way.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Buying Mobile Email Startup Acompli for More Than $200 Million
http://recode.net/2014/12/01/microsoft-buys-mobile-email-startup-acompli-for-more-than-200-million/
There may not be much surprise in this one thanks to an errant blog post, but Microsoft’s purchase of Acompli shows that the company is serious about supporting mobile operating systems beyond its own.
Acompli, an iOS and Android email client, has been praised for being a great way to connect to Microsoft’s email servers as well as to Google’s mail service.
It’s the project of veterans from Zimbra and VMware who felt that people look at a lot of email on their phones but don’t take much action.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile payment technology reaching critical mass?
http://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4437704/Mobile-payment-technology-reaching-critical-mass-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20141201&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20141201&elq=fc2940b702dc43cb92d871e3ef1439fc&elqCampaignId=20418
Long predicted but always seeming to be “just around the corner,” mobile payments may finally have arrived. While Apple’s recent Apple Pay announcement may in retrospect be seen as launching the coming mobile payment revolution, the underlying technologies – and alternative solutions – have been emerging for some time.
The fundamental technological enabler for mobile payments is of course the ubiquitous smartphone, with wearables promising to create even more, and new, opportunities. Technologies playing a supporting role in this shift include encryption advances, digital currencies, biometrics, NFC, Bluetooth, QR codes, and even the use of sound wave data transfer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung fires three execs over Galaxy S5 failure
http://www.cultofandroid.com/70538/samsung-fires-three-execs-galaxy-s5-failure/
It’s pretty clear that Samsung’s mobile business is faltering at the moment, and members of its executive team are paying the price. Not only has Samsung recently posted dismal quarter profits, but it also wildly overestimated the appeal of the Galaxy S5, with the result that unsold units are now piling up in warehouses.
According to a new report coming out of Korea, to get things back on the right track Samsung has just sacked three top executives in its mobile business as part of large-scale reshuffling/downsizing effort.
The Galaxy S5 went on sale earlier this year, only to miss projections by 40-50 percent. While that would hurt at any time, it’s particularly bad coming at a time when Apple is in the middle of an iPhone-fueled sales boom.
3 Samsung mobile biz executives to resign
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20141201001083
Top executives at Samsung Electronics’ mobile business unit will step down to take responsibility for the sluggish mobile business this year, according to sources Monday.
Market watchers had expected the anticipated reshuffling, as Samsung had signaled that it would take action to streamline its oversized mobile business down the road.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pizza Hut’s New Menu Supposedly Reads Your Mind Then Picks Your Toppings (In 2.5 Seconds)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/01/pizza-hut-eye-tracking_n_6249078.html
After just 2.5 seconds, voilà! The menu reveals the customer’s “perfect” pizza based on the ingredients he or she has been staring at the longest. There are 4,896 possible combinations, according to a Pizza Hut press release from Nov. 28, so that’s pretty fast.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t try out the system ourselves, and neither can you — yet.
So far, Pizza Hut has only tested the system with select journalists and customers in the UK, and claimed in the release that it has had a 98 percent success rate.
The system is powered by Swedish company Tobii Technology, which specializes in eye-tracking technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IBM: Cyber Monday online sales up 8.5%, iOS numbers more than quadruple Android’s
http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/02/ibm-cyber-monday-online-sales-up-8-5-ios-numbers-more-than-quadrupled-android/
Cyber Monday, the day meant to encourage even more buying in the wake of the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend, remained the busiest day this year for online shopping over the five-day period. Online sales grew by 8.5 percent over 2013, according to the latest figures from IBM.
Mobile traffic accounted for 41.2 percent of all online traffic, up 30.1 percent over 2013. Furthermore, these visitors weren’t just browsing: Mobile sales reached 22 percent of total Cyber Monday online sales, an increase of 27.6 percent year-over-year.
As always in the U.S., iOS beat out Android in mobile shopping this holiday season. iOS users averaged $114.79 per order compared to $96.84 for Android users, a difference of 18.5 percent.
iOS traffic accounted for 28.7 percent of total online traffic, more than double that of Android, which drove 12.2 percent of all online traffic. More importantly, iOS sales accounted for 17.4 percent of total online sales, more than four times that of Android, which drove 4.4 percent of all online sales.
The discrepancy between Android and iOS for these numbers can often be attributed to the fact that the latter has a larger market share in the U.S. Yet that doesn’t explain why the difference is even larger for sales than for traffic. The reason may come down to smartphones versus tablets and the fact that iPads are even more popular than Android tablets in the U.S. when compared to iPhones being more popular than Android smartphones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Misfit Raises $40M From Xiaomi And Others As It Eyes More Growth In China
http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/02/misfit-raises-40m-from-xiaomi-and-others-as-it-eyes-more-growth-in-china/
Wearable device maker and health and fitness platform provider Misfit has raised an additional $40 million in a Series C funding round led by GGV Capital and including Xiaomi, JD.com (online retailer with massive reach), Shunwei and existing investors, including Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund and Northwest Venture Partners. The new funding brings Xiaomi and JD.com on board as strategic partners, which reflects a deepening of Misfit’s commitment to the wearables market in China, which currently drives about a third of its total business, according to Misfit CEO and founder Sonny Vu.
“To us, [China] is probably our favorite market,” he said in an interview. “It’s a vastly larger market, even when you take into consideration income differences and what not. They have 1.7 or 1.8 billion people, and it’s a super important market for us. China’s always been a very strategic market for us, because we got there early.”
Xiaomi’s investment in Misfit is its first in a U.S.-based company, and the four-year-old smartphone industry titan seems to recognize the value of having Misfit on board as a partner, despite the fact that it already markets its own wearable devices, including the $13 Mi Band.
Tomi Engdahl says:
YotaPhone 2 launching in Europe this month, coming to US early next year for around $650
Yota Introduces Yotaphone 2, Available in Stores This Week
http://sputniknews.com/art_living/20141202/1015419414.html
Yota, one of Russia’s leading tech enterprises, has introduced its newest Yotaphone 2 during a special event in Moscow’s Gorky Park, and will start its sales in Europe this week.
MOSCOW, December 2 (Sputnik) — Russia’s leading mobile devices manufacturer, Yota, officially introduced its second generation smartphone, the newest YotaPhone 2, featuring an appealing design, improved technical characteristics, along with its main feature and an e-ink screen on the device’s backside panel. The product will enter the consumer market at a price of roughly 33,000 roubles ($620).
According to Yota’s CEO, the smartphone has several advantages over its market counterparts. Consumption far less energy, the Yotaphone 2 can work for up to five consecutive days in the ‘read’ mode on a single charge. An ‘economical’ energy scheme allows the device to work up to two days straight without charging the battery, with most of the standard functions like calling, texting and reading emails available.
The device also houses a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.2 processor, developed in California, the Android KitKat 4.4 operating system by Google, an eight megapixel main camera, a two megapixel front cam and 32 GB internal storage. Similar to many other mobile devices, Yotaphone 2 is manufactured in Southeast Asia.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Skype founder backs Wire, the ‘best possible communication tool’
http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/3/7325083/wire-chat-service-skype-founder
Backed by Skype co-founder Janus Friis and a team of tech veterans, the freshly launched Wire aims to be more than a regular chat service. It is a marriage of its competitors’ most popular features, including the ability to “ping” contacts. In an interview with The Guardian, Skype co-founder and Wire investor Janus Friis remarks, “What attracted me to Wire is that it is something truly new. This is not some marginal improvement. This is not just an app.” He then adds, “Skype was launched more than a decade ago. A lot has changed since then – we are all used to free calls and texting, and we have taken to carrying our computers in our pockets.” Friis says that now is the time to create “the best possible communication tools” that are as beautiful as they are functional.
Available on iOS, Android, and OSX, Wire will allow users to sync conversations, call one another, participate in one-to-one and group messaging, share SoundCloud music, and more.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tim Moynihan / Wired:
Puzzlephone is a modular smartphone concept with just 3 swappable parts, available end of 2015
The Puzzlephone Is a Slick, Simpler Take on the Modular Phone
http://www.wired.com/2014/12/puzzlephone-modular-phone/
The Puzzlephone is a conceptual handset built around an idea similar to Google’s mix-and-match Project Ara phone. One big difference is that this Finnish phone keeps its modularity to a minimum: Instead of having 8 to 10 swappable parts like the prototype Ara devices, Puzzlephone only has three. Another major difference is that Puzzlephone only exists in the form of renderings right now.
By this time next year, the phone may actually exist. The company that designed it, Circular Devices, just received its seed funding and became incorporated in September. According to Puzzlephone’s site, the phone will be ready to ship by the end of 2015.
It’s likely to run Android according to the site, but Circular Devices is open to a device running Windows Phone, Firefox OS, or Sailfish OS. The Puzzlephone should also be able to jump between OSes, thanks to a removable “Brain” module that houses its processing power, its camera, and its volume buttons. A “Heart” module with the Puzzlephone’s battery will slide into its “Spine,” which houses its LCD screen and home button.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jamie Rigg / Engadget:
YotaPhone 2 review: mediocre camera, average battery life, and a high price, but E Ink and dual-screen design make this a cool device
YotaPhone 2 review: niche and expensive, but seriously cool
http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/03/yotaphone-2-review/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Luxottica and Intel Take the Fashion/Tech Hookup to a Whole New Level
http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/luxottica-and-intel-to-collaborate-on-eyewear-tech/?_r=0
On Wednesday, Luxottica, the Italian eyewear behemoth, and Intel, the American technology giant, announced a partnership for the research and development of tech-infused glasses that both signals a new stage in the wearables revolution and shows the brands staking their claims as the most tech-forward fashion company and the most fashion-aware tech company.
“The growth of wearable technology is creating a new playing field for innovation,” Brian Krzanich, the Intel chief executive, said in the announcement. “Through our collaboration with Luxottica Group, we will unite our respective ecosystems. We expect the combination of our expertise to help drive a much faster pace of innovation and push the envelope.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Makes Its Audience Polling Service Bing Pulse Available To Anyone
http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/03/bing-pulse-2-0/
Microsoft is expanding its audience polling tool Bing Pulse today — Josh Gottheimer, general manager of corporate strategy, told me that it’s moving from a model of one-off partnerships to self-service. So basically anyone can now use Bing Pulse at their events and meetings.
While there are a number of polling and visualizing products out there, Gottheimer said this is really the modern version of those research tools where audience members are asked to turn a dial to show how they’re feeling. It’s not just about conducting a single poll, but rather tracking how people are feeling throughout an event.
Gottheimer said people can now do something similar at individual meetings — you point attendees to a URL that they can access on their phone, tablet, or desktop/laptop computer, then they continually update you on how the meeting is going. Or you can send out specific questions, like, “How is Josh doing in his presentation?” You can track that information just for yourself, or display it on a giant screen, whichever you prefer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Do You Feel IoT Device Fatigue Yet?
You can wear app, but advertisers can wear you
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1324824&
After the novelty of the wearable device wears off, will consumers settle into device fatigue or out-and-out revolt? Who wants the whole neighborhood knowing you forgot to brush your teeth?
Morgan Stanley’s wearable forecast is bullish. Its analysts expect shipments to grow at a 154% compounded annual rate from 6 million in 2013 to 248 million in 2017. That projection is “more than double industry estimates and is arguably still conservative,” the report said.
But how do consumers benefit, I wonder. What incentivizes non-corporate people to go whole hog for IoT devices?
Current-generation IoT/wearable devices are often paired with smartphones and tablets. They usually have apps to decipher sensor data collected by a personal IoT end node. Alternately, the mobile device sends IoT data to the cloud for further analysis.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home brewery monitored with the smartphone
Hungarian Brewie newly purchased product combines many interesting facets: a series of funding, a smartphone and a beer. The company is looking home brewery production of a number of financial support for the campaign. Now everyone can have their own micro-brewery in the kitchen, the company enthuses.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2155:alypuhelin-monitoroi-kotipanimoa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Brewie: World’s first fully automated home-brewery
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/brewie-world-s-first-fully-automated-home-brewery
Tomi Engdahl says:
Developers offering Mozilla-like experience will work on Firefox-like experience for iThings
Moz caves after years of stalling
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/04/mozilla_firefox_ios/
A software house offering a Mozilla-like experience has confirmed it will end its years-long standoff with Apple – and bring a Firefox-like browser to iPhones and iPads.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung’s Open Source Group Is Growing, Hiring Developers
http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/12/03/1752233/samsungs-open-source-group-is-growing-hiring-developers
The new Open Source Innovation Group at Samsung is now 40 people strong, including 30 developers, devoted full-time to working on upstream projects and shepherding open source development into the company. The group is hiring aggressively and plans to double the size of the group in the coming years. Their first targets are project maintainers and key contributors to 23 open source projects that are integral to Samsung’s products, including Linux, Gstreamer, FFmpeg, Blink, Webkit, EFL, and Wayland.
Samsung’s Open Source Group is Growing, Hiring Developers (Video)
http://www.linux.com/news/featured-blogs/200-libby-clark/797530-samsungs-open-source-group-is-growing-hiring-developers-video
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Opens Bing Pulse 2.0 Real-Time Polling Platform
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2473076,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121/RK=0
Microsoft is bringing its real-time polling platform, dubbed Bing Pulse, to the masses.
The software giant on Wednesday introduced Bing Pulse 2.0 beta, a new self-service version of its polling technology suited for event planners, producers — or anyone else who wants to use it. Released in Feb. 2013, Bing Pulse is a tool for gathering massive, real-time viewer feedback during live events.
The tool features a producer dashboard that lets you set up, customize, and control the polling interface. You can allow the audience members to share their opinions in real-time during an event, push out poll questions at any point, and integrate social media handles and hashtags into the interface.
From there, as an administrator, you can immediately view poll results, share them in real-time, integrate them into video feeds, or embed them on your website.
Pulse 2.0 is free until Jan. 2015, and then Microsoft will start charging. The company has not yet revealed pricing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How high-tech, temporary tattoos want to hack your skin
http://www.dailydot.com/technology/tattoos-wearables/
When you think of temporary tattoos, you probably picture throwaways pieces of paper with cartoon animals on them. Of the damp washcloths pressed over your arm again and again, trying to make them stick. And then the slow fade while the ink peels off.
These temporary accessories are full of nostalgia and little else, but a push from technology could make it the latest trend in the wearable market.
The Center for Wearable Sensors at the University of California San Diego has been experimenting with attaching sensors to temporary tattoos in order to extract data from the body. The tattoos are worn exactly as a regular temporary tattoo would be worn. The sensors simply sit atop the skin without penetrating it and interact with Bluetooth or other wireless devices with a signal in order to send the data.
“The skin is an important sensory function. The skin is not only our own body, but it could be the body of any host, like a building, a tree, or moving car,” Wang said at the summit.
But for now, the center is focused on human applications and has gained attention on their work with sweat. A biofuel battery applied as a temporary tattoo converts sweat into energy
The Center consists of multiple groups working toward the goal of one day commercializing temporary tattoo sensors.
Critics complain that wearable devices are invasive technologies that haven’t really achieved the adoption rates they need in order to make them a synonymous part of everyday life.
NewDealDesign presented a similar idea in October when Fast Company asked them what wearables might look like beyond the wrist. The company came up with Project Underskin, a digital tattoo implemented onto a user’s hand. It would interact with everything—trade data with a simple handshake, unlock the door, or track blood sugar levels, the company revealed in its presentation.
The company, which already saw success with its Fitbit line of fitness trackers, sees the hand as not only a part of the body that would allow for optimal functionality of the tattoo, but a facet of our lives that reveals a lot about ourselves and our culture.
A company called MC10 seems to be bringing that concept to life. MC10 has been developing attachable computers in the form of small stickers that somewhat resemble a Band-Aid. The company specializes in creating technologies that conform to the human body without compromising function or quality. The company teamed up with researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to develop the same kind of technologies that the Center for Wearable Sensors has been working on and that NewDealDesigns dreamed up.