Robots as friends: Kids think technology is fundamentally human

23Jan12

An interesting article from The Insider: Here

I like the resonant phrase “With robots as friends, learning is play and play is learning.”

Filed under: 2011 December   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Robots as friends, The Insider

Ofcom revise mobile 4G proposal in the UK

16Jan12

Ofcom has today changed its focus toward wanting near 100% UK coverage from the next generation 4G mobile phone network frequecy licences. Ofcom will also no longer offer a guarantee for preferential treatment in considering applications from mobile operators who don’t currently have 800MHz frequency space. This potentially impacts on Orange and 3 harder than Vodafone and O2.

Ofcom had previously promised 3 and Everything, Everywhere – the UK merged T-Mobile and Orange brands – that they would both be guaranteed a share of frequency space on the 800MHz band, which at present is only being used by Vodafone and O2. As more space will be made available at 800MHz due to the switchover from analogue to digital TV in the UK later this year.

In 2000, the 3G mobile frequency auction raised £22,477.4 million for the government. The UK’s national debt is set to be approximately £1.2 trillion this year, so expect the new funds raised from 4G license bidding to only cover around 7.5% of the UK’s current economic problems, allowing for a little inflation.

By switching expectations from 95% to 98% UK coverage for 4G, operational prices for the networks will rise considerably; but more rural areas should enjoy fast mobile broadband and mobile phone internet access.

BBC story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16527490

Filed under: 2011 December   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: 4G, Mobile News, Mobile Phone, Ofcom

Bento School Lunch Boxes In Japan – Competitive Artistry Among Parents

15Jan12

A news item from the BBC on the ultra competitive world of artistic school lunch box design in Japan.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16069217

Examples of Kyaraban and Oekakiban forms of Bento in an earlier post on the blog: Here

Filed under: 2011 December   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Bento, Bento Box, Kyaraban, Oekakiban

Social media unique visitor scores: Google+ starting to deliver reasonable numbers

24Dec11

TechCrunch have published some Comscore data that compares Facebook and Twitter, among others, to the new kid on the social media block, Google+.

Google+ had a respectable 66 million unique visitors last month. While this may fall well short of the 150 million some forecasters were speculating, it’s still early days for Google’s site. Like many, I’ve invested so much content in Facebook, Twitter and my blog, that changing to Google+ seems irrelevant, even if it is possibly better, than the other options.

Read the article: Here

Comscore data below

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Tags: Comscore, Google, TechCrunch

The smartphone app using audience by country

24Dec11

An interesting piece of research on the size of the audience currently using apps on Apple iPhone and Android smartphones, split by country: Here

Tech Crunch have added some commentary for the data.

Filed under: 2011 December   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Smartphone, Smartphones

Schrage’s innovative ideas for 2012

24Dec11

Michael Schrage blogs his innovative ideas for 2012 in full: Here

1. The Slacktivism Co-Opt

As much a term of derision as global sociological phenomenon, slacktivism has emerged as social media’s way of making support for a cause as easy as a re-tweet or clicking Facebook’s “like” button. Critics insist that this “path of least resistance” mechanism for saving the whales/the earth/indigenous tribes or supporting the fight against breast cancer/prostate cancer/muscular dystrophy better represents an impulsive twitch of a finger than thoughtful commitment. But that doesn’t mean savvy marketers aren’t supremely well-positioned to embrace slacktivism as an innovative outreach to customers and communities alike. The growing desire of large organizations and global brands to align with — or be seen to be aligned with — causes that matter assures that we’ll start seeing market leaders seek a higher profile in making it easy for their communities of customers to show their support.

2. Counting on Self-Quantifiers for Growth

Mobile, digital and networked devices have created a global sub-culture of self-quantifiers — that is, individuals who rigorously count every step they take, ever calorie they eat, every minute they sleep, every email/text they send/receive and every schedule change they make. The even quantify how often they self-quantify. Some think of this as networked narcissism. But individuals hewing to Thales’ admonition to “Know thyself” believe self-quantification the greatest innovation in the history of introspection. Organizations like Weight Watchers and LiveStrong already offer calorie counter apps for overweight SQers but it’s clear that self-quantification offers a remarkable marketing opportunity for firms that want their customers to count on — and up — the value they get. Health care, nutrition and energy consumption are only the most obvious marketing opportunities for Innovative Self Quantification Marketing Opportunities. Transportation, mobile communications professional development and — yes — parenting are also rife with opportunity. Given ongoing trends, consumers will soon find self-quantification apps and options as ubiquitous as “Like” buttons and QR codes.

3. Gerontabletification

Demography is, indeed, destiny. The world — particularly the wealthy OECD countries — is growing older. This creates enormous fiscal strains for social welfare states but fantastic market opportunities for device-driven innovators. Mobile phones are too small; their screens too tiny and keyboards too minute. But tablets have emerged as ideal media platforms for those requiring larger fonts and bigger keys. The iPad — originally marketed as the hip & cool media consumption device — has ceased to be a symbol of youth and vitality. It’s now how silver haired executives — and 75 year old grandmas — read the news, manage their email and play games with the kids. When this reality is linked to emerging medical research indicating that mental exercise can delay the onset and impact of cognitive diminution, it’s clear that there are more reasons for the aged population to have tablets than not. Any company with older customers that doesn’t customize apps and offerings for their 60+ users are guilty of brand-destructive age discrimination.

4. Globalizing Grand Challenges

The X Prize Foundation has transformed commercial space entrepreneurship with its innovative X Prizes. DARPA — the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — has transformed robotics, autonomous vehicle design and real-time social media network utilization with a series of provocatively produced “Grand Challenges.” Over the past decade, America has been a leader in the design, development and marketing of competitions and prizes for technical innovation. But it’s time the so-called emerging economies stepped up. Brazil is a vibrant, eco-conscious, increasingly entrepreneurial and innovative economy that has the money and the brains to design a Grand Challenge that inspires attention and excitement from innovators worldwide. Should it be Amazon or Flex Fuels related? Or might agro-biotech be the better offer? India desperately needs more innovative ways of handling education, health care and — especially — infrastructure. Which Indian state or ministry — or billionaire! — will design the right kind of stimulative competition or prize? China, of course, is China. Who is better positioned to exploit “not-quite-market” mechanisms to bring high impact innovation to the middle kingdom? China wants to spur innovation. This is one dramatically cost-effective way to do it.

5. Handheld Augmented Reality

Even in an increasingly virtual environments, physical space matters. The rise of accessible augmented reality technologies makes physical location matter more. Place-based social media like Foursquare have done tremendously well in attracting both users and attention. Who, or what, will be the Foursquare of Augmented Visualization and Interaction? Companies like Layar are taking an active stab at it. But Apple’s IOS and appstore ecosystem — as well as Android’s and Microsoft/Nokia’s new innovation efforts — now makes it far easier to link visual overlays, “enotations” and virtual Post-It notes to geo-spatial coordinates. In other words, don’t just read the Foursquare comments but “see” graffiti, sketches, maps and comments simply by peering through your tablet or mobile phone. Instead of “taking” pictures and images, it lets you “see” them as a function of the “augmented reality” layer of data and information stored in the digisphere.

A store like Macy’s or Home Depot could use augmented reality layers to let people see underlying details of clothes or tools that a simple tag or QR code might not. Indeed, expect a tussle between retailers and product suppliers over whose “augmented reality” deserves in-store primacy. We may see “augmented reality” fees replace stocking fees as part of physical retailing business models. But that’s a battle for beyond 2012. What’s next is the first wave of mobile devices becoming augmented reality viewers for their users. Expect to see QR code/augmented reality mashups as a 2012 investment to facilitate the virtual transition.

6. The Greenlash Arrives

The ban on incandescent light bulb sales in America is delayed. The costs — and unwieldiness — associated with energy efficient devices turn out to be greater than expected. BP’s solar shut down and solar power company bankruptcies in Silicon Valley and Berlin surprise. The failure of Spanish and Scottish wind farms to deliver disappoints. The economic opportunities from “tight” gas and oil finds in America and China impress. The rate of technical innovation in horizontal drilling and fracking continues unabated. The Chevy Volt is a hot car (but in the wrong way.) The economic growth debates around the proposed Keystone pipeline intensify.

Is there a Greenlash emerging that’s pushing populations worldwide to reconsider so-called fossil fuels as better, safer and more reliable than their renewable counterparts? There’s little doubt that they’re proving to be cheaper.

Vibrant innovation worldwide in natural gas and petrochemical technologies has come to rival — both in perception and reality — innovation associated by Greentech. Certainly, the global oil industry seems more excited by its most recent advances than the “green VCs” see in theirs. Instead of being technologically moribund and creatively dull, an established industry has challenged the eco-myth of “Peak Oil.” Conversely, the green promises of eco-tech are taking longer and costing more than many of its champions promised. As energy-dependent economies chug along with growth far lower than expected or desired, green options are looking rather gray. Fossil fuels are being rebranded as organic.

Filed under: 2011 December   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Michael Schrage

David Armano’s 6 predictions for social media in 2012

23Dec11

David Armano’s 6 predctions for social media in 2012 in full: Here

In summary:

Convergence Emergence. For a glimpse into how social will further integrate with “real life,” we can look at what Coca Cola experimented with all the way back in 2010. Coke created an amusement park where participants could “swipe” their RFID-equipped wristbands at kiosks, which posted to their Facebook account what they were doing and where. Also, as part of a marketing campaign, Domino’s Pizza posted feedback — unfiltered feedback — on a large billboard in Times Square, bringing together real opinions from real people pulled from a digital source and displayed in the real world. These types of “trans-media” experiences are likely to define “social” in the year to come.

The Cult of Influence. In much the same way that Google has defined a system that rewards those who produce findable content, there is a race on to develop a system that will reward those who wield the most social influence. One particular player has emerged, Klout, determined to establish their platform as the authority of digital influence. Klout’s attempt to convert digital influence into business value underscores a much bigger movement which we’ll continue to see play out in the next year. To some degree everyone now has some digital influence (not just celebrities, academics, policy makers or those who sway public opinion). But for the next year, the cult of influence becomes less about consumer plays like Klout and more about the tools and techniques professionals use to “score” digital influence and actually harness, scale and measure the results of it.

Gamification Nation. No we’re not taking about video games. Rather, game-like qualities are emerging within a number of social apps in your browser or mobile device. From levels, to leaderboards, to badges or points, rewards for participation abound. It’s likely that the trend will have to evolve given how competition for our time and attention this gaming creates. Primarily, gamification has been used in consumer settings, but look for it in other areas from HR, to government, healthcare and even business management. Perhaps negotiating your next raise will be tied to your position on the company’s digital leaderboard.

Social Sharing. Ideas, opinions, media, status updates are all part of what makes social media a powerful and often disruptive force. The media industry was one of the first to understand this, adding sharing options to content, which led to more page views and better status in search results. What comes next in social sharing is more closely aligned with e-commerce or web transactions. For example, Sears allows a user to share a product or review with their networks directly from the site. Sharing that vacation you just booked, or recommending a product, or service from any site to a social network is where sharing goes next. We probably don’t know what we are willing to share until we see the option to do it.

Social Television. For many of us, watching television is already a social act, whether it’s talking to the person next to you, or texting, tweeting, and calling friends about what you’re watching. But television is about to become a social experience in a bigger and broader sense. The X Factor now allows voting via Twitter and highlights other social promotions, which encourages viewers to tap social networks while they watch. Another way media consumption is becoming social comes from a network called Get Glue which acts as something of a Foursquare for media. Participants can “check-in” to their favorite shows (or other forms of media) and collect stickers to tell the world what programs they love. Watch for more of this this year as ratings rise for socially integrated shows.

The Micro Economy. Watch for a more social approach to solving business problems through a sort of micro-economy. Kickstarter gives anyone with a project, the opportunity to get that initiative funded by those who choose to (and patrons receive something in return). A crowdsourcing platform for would be inventors called Quirky lets the best product ideas rise to the top and then helps them get produced and sold while the “inventor” takes a cut. Air BnB turns homes into hotels and travelers into guests, providing both parties with an opportunity to make and save money. These examples may point to a new future reality where economic value is directly negotiated and exchanged between individuals over institutions.

Filed under: 2011 December   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Social Media

Our use of language reveals alot about us

23Dec11

An interesting HBR article on how language reveals a lot about the speaker or writer: Here

Filed under: 2011 December   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Use of language

A history of the sky in one day

23Dec11

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A journey through HP Touchpad, webOS and smartphone patents

07Nov11

HP saw their future in Palm

Palm had a track record of quality smartphones using their webOS and bet the farm in developing the Palm Pre range. While critics loved them, consumers gave them a tepid response and Palm achieved only a 1.5% global market share in 2009; posting a financial loss for 11 straight quarters up to April 2010.

In a bold move, HP announced its purchase of Palm for $1.2bn. The prize then was the webOS and HP believed this Linux-based OS would allow them to compete in the mobile device market worldwide.

Take two tablets

webOS 3 powered the HP Touchpad that launched in August 2011. While it’s possible to think that the tablet market has been buoyant, with the number of product launches since early 2010. Every launch has been a tale of just two tablets; new challenger versus the Apple iPad. The original iPad fuelled and defined the market; with iPad 2 simply improving the performance and versatility of the original. Nearly 40 million iPads have been sold since launch in April 2010, 11 million in Apple’s last financial quarter.

While Blackberry’s Playbook and Motorola’s Xoom have gained media attention, 75% of global tablet sales remain with the Apple iPad.

The HP Touchpad had a fast processor (1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon), memory to spare (1GB RAM and either 16 or 32GB HD) and a vibrant 9.7 inch screen. The HP compared favourably against the iPad 2 on many key comparisons, except the bulk of the Touchpad; as it weighed 20% more and was noticeably thicker.

But it was the price that was the Achillies’ heal. The HP Touchpad launched with prices from $399/£399, limiting the appeal of HP’s new tablet, as consumers were faced with the thought ‘I could buy an iPad 2 for that.’ Paying similar money, but not purchasing the Apple iPad simply wasn’t going to work. Particularly as so many consumers had already invested heavily in curating their own iTunes media library.

Further softening appeal

The underlying problem, beyond the high price of the HP Touchpad, was not the webOS software; but the lack of App support for it. Whereas the iPad2 has hundreds of thousands of Apps, many optimised just for Apple’s tablet. The Touchpad has a few thousand webOS Apps, only a few hundred of which are designed specifically for HP’s tablet.

While these Apps cover all the bases you’d expect; from Social Media (Facebook, WordPress, FreeTexting), to media content (Kindle, TuneIn Radio, HP MovieStore), to business productivity (QuickOffice) and games (Angry Birds, Need For Speed). This is flattery through the shallowest of comparisons and highlights a lack of breadth and depth in the HP webOS App portfolio.

Touchpad epilogue: Everything must go

In August HP announced that the Touchpad would be scraped and remaining units sold in a fire sale, priced from only $99/£89. It’s not surprising that the remaining stock was snapped up; but by whom? Were these the consumers who were previously waiting to pay several times this price for the HP tablet? Or were they tech bargain hunters, with more modest expectations in terms of future support or App development? Perhaps like the purchasers of the final Betamax VCR’s or MiniDisc Recorder? Buying a tablet at this low price represents great value, but little in the way of certainty for the future.

HP have tried to protect their brand by offering to refund the price difference for any customer who paid the original price in the few weeks before the fire sale. They’ve estimated they may lose $100m on clearing the final units at this low price. And they’ve suggested they may continue to try to licence webOS to other manufacturers.
But which manufacturers might be interested, and what might they really be interested in?

Patent pending

When Nortel, the Canadian telco giant, was put into liquidation in 2009, its portfolio of telco patents was hotly contested in bidding and then group negotiation. Eventually a consortium including Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM, Ericsson and Sony bought the 6,000 patents for $4.5bn.

But controlling the look, feel and function of smartphones through their OS has remained contentious. In the last year Apple and Samsung have tried to counter each others litigation over patent infringements to smartphone OS. And HTC has used several of Google Android patents to litigate against Apple.

With Microsoft and Nokia now working closely together, Google, the owner of Android, recently purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn. This leaves HTC, Samsung and LG among the major global handset manufacturers that own little OS intellectual property; as Sony and RIM participated in the Nortel patent purchase and both own larger portfolios of proprietary OS patents.

While HTC have previously hedged their bets against Apple OS, by offering both Android and Windows 7 OS smartphones; they are manufacturing smartphones under the respective competitive benevolence of Google and Microsoft.

Perhaps the review of whether HTC develop or acquire their own OS may provide appropriate future insurance, despite Peter Chou, their CEO, downplaying this option in August. As HTC’s Chairwoman, Wang Cher, mentioned it maybe worth considering purchasing webOS recently in September.

Patents may well shape the future face of competition in the smartphone sector. And HP may get back the money they lost in purchasing Palm and offloading the Touchpad, by selling the patent portfolio they hold.

Addendum

8th November 2011 – Microsoft pursue Huawei regarding patent infringement for using Android: Here

21st November 2011 – Intel show interest in purchasing webOS: Here

Filed under: 2011, November   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Apple, Blackberry, device, Google, HP, HP Touchpad, HTC, iPad, iPad 2, LG, Motorola, Nortel, Palm, Playbook, Pre, Pre 3, RIM, Samsung, Smartphone, Smartphones, webOS, Xoom

An analysis of multi-modal story telling

22Oct11

An interesting article has appeared in the graphic design magazine: Eye

The article provides an analysis of a style of story telling from an enduring and quintessentially British children’s cartoon strip; Rupert the Bear.

This example of multi-modal story telling combines looking, reading and hearing; in a manner that helps bring the story to life.

Read the article: Here

The cartoon strip analysed is a children’s story called Rupert the Bear that first appeared in The Daily Express newspaper in Britain in the 1920′s. The cartoon strip went on to develop into a franchise covering books, TV series and branded merchandise over the last 90 years.

In his article Rob Waller summarised the structure of the narrative and how it may be read at different levels: page title (‘Rupert Heeds A Warning’), pictures, rhyming couplets that link the pictures and the full text. This is truly multimodal, involving looking, reading and hearing (the couplets under each picture are meant to be read aloud).

Rob Waller is professor of information design at the University of Reading, director of the Simplification Centre, and chair of the Information Design Association. His blog is: Here

Filed under: 2011, October   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Eye, MultiModel Story Teling, Rob Waller, Rupert the Bear

Apple iPhone 4S Price Comparison on Vodafone UK

15Oct11

Excel Spreadsheet of data: iPhone 4S total price comparison

Data correct on day of launch for Apple iPhone 4S in the UK: 14 October 2011

Filed under: 2011, October   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Apple, Apple iPhone 4S, Cheap iPhone 4S, iPhone 4S, iPhone price on Vodafone, Vodafone UK

Steve Jobs: A Perfect CEO?

07Oct11

Harvard Business Review have released a podcast (Here) to commemorate the recent death of Steve Jobs.

I understand Steve wasn’t the easiest person to work for. But he certainly got results and Apple’s designers produce some of the best computing and communication devices in the world.

One of the most touching things about his death this week is that millions of people found out while using one of Apple’s products.

Fast Company write about the meaning of Steve Jobs: Here

The photo in the press, showing how people have started to leave apples, with a bite taken out of them, outside Apple Stores is herd tribute that’s fascinating.

Filed under: 2011, October   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Apple, Steve Jobs

Apple iPhone 4S just announced

04Oct11

Well, it took a month longer than expected, but the new iPhone is about to launch. As reported on this blog, it’s not going to be an iPhone 5, but an updated iPhone 4 – the iPhone 4S. As predicted on 16th May 2011 (Here), it’s an improved product, like the iPad 2 was, rather than a new product.

The key question of pricing is still unclear as I type this an hour after the launch event.

But other details for the product have been released and are broadly inline with the expectations: A5 processor (from the iPad 2), the improved camera (8mp), the larger storage memory option (64mb). Importantly the aerial, which was a common problem for the iPhone 4 at launch 14 months ago, has been reworked – so the iPhone should be a better mobile for calls.

It’s a fraction slimmer and weighs in at 140g. It ships with iOS5 and iCloud, both of which will be interesting in the way the enhance usability and access to your media.

Read more info and specs: Here

Filed under: 2011, October   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Apple, Apple iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S

Trendhunt: Retail Design – Streetology, Sydney

10Aug11

Find out more about this interesting retail project on Architiser: Here

Filed under: 2011, August   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Architiser, Streetology, Trendhunt

Journey of a lifetime

04Aug11

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles: Here

http://t.co/9FlYIuC

Filed under: 2011, August   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Journey of a lifetime

Plannersphere Twitter Stats

04Aug11

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Tags: Plannersphere, Plannersphere Tweets, Plannersphere Twitter

WIG Ships: The technology of low flying boats is reaching the tipping point

23Jul11

Imagine if a small aircraft so efficient it uses only a third of the fuel associated with modern planes. By harnessing the lift generated by flying close to the surface of the ocean, flying boats, called WIG’s (Wing In Ground), are able to travel at 200KMPH and up to 150m above the sea-level with low fuel consumption.

Strangely enough, vehicles that fly this close to the surface of the water aren’t classified as aircraft – but as boats instead. After two decades of product development by different nations, these oddities are starting to be developed with passenger compartments large enough to be considered for commercial flights (or should that be cruises?).

By flying so close to the sea, the WIG generates a ground effect cushion of lift that it rides as it flies along, using much less fuel than ordinary aircraft. The flight is typically smooth and while several test craft fly close to 15m above the sea in normal flight, they are able to increase altitude for shorter distances; in order to manoeuvre or avoid obstacles, such as ships, safely.

Small military or civil WIG models have been built previously. But Korea now has a prototype craft capable of carrying 50 passengers and concepts that plan to carry nearly double that number. Bringing commercial use into reach.

Read more about WIG developments in Korea: HERE

Filed under: 2011, July   |  2 Comments
Tags: Flying Boats, Ground Effect, WIG