I’m in a Nexus state of mind

I’m a multi device user. Currently I’m working with three active mobile devices… a Galaxy S4 (work), Galaxy note II (personal) and a Nexus 7. The Nexus re-awakened my desire for pure Android as it’s so clean and importantly so fast. I’m constantly moving between applications and while the flow of Android is pretty awesome, its accentuated within the more pure view.

Towards the end of last week I started actively considering the Google Play Edition S4 as the hardware is great and it’s clean. My S4 has been fine but I wanted something more like the N7. I’d rooted (motochopper) quite a while back so the opportunity to wipe out the AT&T piece of my experience was there but the main OS experience was still via TouchWiz but after some considerable N7 use it was time to change that as well.  A quick google led me to the solution which of course is a GPe S4 ROM ready to roll onto my phone. I did fail once as the initial effort required second step following the flash which I failed to initiate rendering my unit in AT&T startup jail until I could reflash the original state back and try again. I’m noticing a dramatic performance increase without battery penalty. Mission accomplished.

While the S4 was in transition, my Note II submitted itself to a spontaneous reset. I honestly have no idea what happened but while I was in a meeting it looped twice and when I looked down was at the initial start screen waiting for me to sign in and get going. As frustrating as this was I took it as a chance to reconsider this phone as well. Given the somewhat older status of the Note II and the strong likelihood of a model rev this year getting a fresh Jelly Bean update from either Samsung or AT&T seemed low … Back to Google and this time I found a solution through Paranoid Android. While not pure in the Nexus sense PA offers a straight+ experience meaning like Cyanogenmod, there are some light enhancements rather than sweeping UX changes. Seemed like a good thing … Downloaded and flashed.  Boom.

I’m now running a pretty parallel experience across the various form factors and it’s rather sweet. The pick up and go or even pick and continue opportunity is killer. As the powers within android collect, enabling sync through background operations I’m just where o want to be on whichever screen I choose.

While the similarities in ux seamlessness are parallel in iOS, sync is badly missing and while I’m in no way way seeking out iOS for any of my mobile needs the sameness is important. If you use multiple brands of devices or even multiple SKU’s within the same brand you can get a very different experience and I don’t think that’s a good thing. What manufacturers and even carriers have done is create the fragmentation everyone loves to talk about in regard to Android. While perhaps the historical delivery from Google was mediocre, the last few generations of Nexus products are not just strong but leading edge as well.

The vast majority of add-ons from Samsung, HTC, AT&T, Verizon are typically superfluous and only challenge the ability of developers, brands and importantly the user to maintain focus and currency within the system. This needs to end. Looking at the Paranoid Android example in comparison to what Samsung or HTC have done is a good place to start. Instead of forcing a new user experience on top of the core is, there are instead some slight tweaks mainly within the preferences to offer up adjustment. My use of the Note II is very similar to the other devices … Oh and PA even detects the S-Pen so there’s that. Apps that take full advantage of the pen can still be on board in a close-to-pure view.

At the beginning of the year I was thinking this might be the year we see developers go Android first. It looks like that’s more likely in 2014 at this point though I’d love to be surprised. One substantial way to capture that developer attention would be a stricter focus on areas where innovation and enhancement should occur. Marketing could and should be about the nuances in hardware design, form factor and not the crazy layers distracting from how we might just use our various devices. Adding unique apps doesn’t seem to hurt but when there are suddenly layers forcing a certain tinted view we’ve gone too far.

tapped and swiped on the N7 while on my commute

Interesting tech perspective

So I’m on a plane seated next to a recent college grad and he starts asking me some tech questions.  He’s curious about Android… Running a blackberry and considering his next phone purchase.  His perception is that phones update all the time and it’s a complex decision…  Obviously he’s a very mainstream user. 

In our conversation he shares how he has a laptop and is considering a tablet. His main uses seem to be email, news and text though that’s clearly shifting to whatsapp particularly with international contacts.  What really caught my ear was his use of rss (his word and prompt)  and how it is only happening in mobile.  He actually showed me his feeds which are all mainstream need sources…  Amazing that he has no desire for a desktop reader given the efficiency.  Google Reader was not something he knew anything about. 

On the desktop he’s mainly just doing msnbc and either nba.com or more directly the nba’s youtube channel to cut straight to the clips. 

As a final thought he was attracted to windows 8 for a tablet but it sounded like peer pressure might be steering him away – though for such casual use it actually seems like a great fit.

His online habits are surprisingly light and limited…  I really expected more. No twitter, limited facebook and no tumblr.

Pingdom’s 2012 Internet Stats

internet.users_.per_.region.2012.002
internet-penetration.003

Some additional highlights …

2.2 Billion of us are using email to send 144 Billion daily messages of which 61% are considered non-essential. 68.8% of mail is considered spam of which 50.76% was related to pharma.

Brazil is the most active country on Facebook with over 85K posts per month. There are an average of 2.7 likes per active monthly user on Facebook.

Google+ has 135 million active users, but generates 5 Billion +1 clicks per day!

Much more here

Expecting more from LinkedIn

I got an invitation to take a survey from LinkedIn this morning and since I recently upgraded my account, I figured I’d give it at least a moment … though when I clicked through I discovered this ridiculous first question:

As someone who works in the marketing field, it’s rare that you get to complete surveys like this, but LinkedIn actually knows not just who I am but where I work and my full work history making it pretty easy to filter this from even hitting my inbox.

Good Try, Sprint

This ad from Sprint really bothers me.  It’s not the completely smug attitude from the boss – I like the cheeky style.  What’s bothersome is the complete miss by Sprint on who’s paying the bill.  While it’s certainly possible that the bring your own device user base is growing, I can’t imagine that an international business would expect employees to carry their own weight for for data intensive things like video conferencing.  Who’d want to work like that?  Maybe Sprint’s business accounts are limited … 

Are the carriers driving complexity in device selection?

An interesting post popped up at The Verge last night where Motorola’s Sanjay Jha starts to reveal that the Carriers are what’s driving so many variants of user experience on Android.

We also talked about OEMs’ perennial press to skin the operating system — a trend that looks poised to continue in Android 4.0 — which developed into a full-blown conversation about the conflict between the mythical “stock Android device” and the realities of business between manufacturers like Motorola and carriers. “Verizon and AT&T don’t want seven stock ICS devices on their shelves,” he said, insisting that he “has to make money” and that there simply isn’t a way to profit on a device that isn’t differentiated. “The vast majority of the changes we make to the OS are to meet the requirements that carriers have.”

There are a few considerations that come to mind for me… For starters, how about selling fewer devices? Part of the issue is trying to show you have a massive library of devices when I’d be willing to bet that 10-12 smartphones would be plenty (not counting storage differences in certain models like the iPhone). A quick look on the carrier sites at smartphones and I can see that Verizon offers 56, AT&T has 43, T-Mobile 34 and Sprint 38. (there are few extra with SKU nuances).

They don’t all sell all operating systems, nor do they really need to but using my quick ignorant math we can cut the number down drastically … iPhone (2), Android (5), Blackberry (2) and Windows Phone (3). Imagine walking into a store and being able to quickly decide on a platform and then quickly make a choice between a few key differences. Today that decision is challenged at best for the average consumer. We know the carriers force / suggest / demand that OEM’s rename their devices so that each service has a “unique” device even though they are exactly the same. This illusion of difference complicates things for the layperson and really just does a disservice to the industry. Carriers must obviously like this in the same way they keep our billing complex.

If we maintain something like my suggested shorter list, OEMs would need to start thinking about what features to highlight as differentiating (limited specs or perhaps custom apps / services) rather than simply how many devices can I possibly manufacture as if it’s some sort of arms race.

From a consumer side, the main things that seem to matter are: Can I do email / web? Can I do apps?  Can I send pictures?  Do I really need to sort through between of 38-56 devices to find a match when every single one of them can do all of those things?

Good idea, poor execution Sprint

image

I just caught this ad in the latest Wired and since I’m the proud owner of a new Nexus S I was intrigued by the highlighted apps. The problem was when I went to get them …

Instead of using the standard QR code which works with the android barcode reader, Sprint decided to use scanlife which means I need to download an app before I can even respond to what I’d being suggested.  The mention to download scanlife is quite small and noted via an asterisk … lame.

Let’s keep it simple … unless you really don’t want consumers involved.

Online TV Viewers Tolerate More Ads (and get paid)

The only thingI want to know is how much the panel gets paid to endure 16 MINUTES of ads during a 30 Minute show. Who are these people? I’m sure the groups were considered a great success …

Viewers of 30-minute TBS sitcoms like “Meet the Browns” watched, on average, 40 percent of the episode if there was one minute of ads and 37 percent of the episode if there were 16 minutes of ads. Viewers of hourlong TNT shows like “Memphis Beat” watched 59 percent of the episode if there were one minute 15 seconds of ads, and 49 percent of the episode if there was 20 minutes of ads.

via Online TV Show Viewers Tolerate More Ads, Turner Says – NYTimes.com.

What exactly is Nokia’s problem?

What the hell is happening at Nokia?

They have been in a real decline with no sign of change which is just ridiculous considering their global share of mobile. I’m glad I’m not a shareholder, but if I was I would be freaking out and calling for change … Instead i will just use my iPad.

When Nokia forced the N97 out of the gate early it was, in my opinion, a move made of ignorance. While it is typical for them to release a hardware product that requires firmware to smooth things out, consumer experience had substantially changed since that proactive started. The initial N95 was the same actually. It took a big software update to deliver on the multitasking promise as it shipped without the ability to page memory and therefore needed to close apps constantly as you moved through the device. The N97 continued that tradition and actually shipped with crappy hardware hardware as well. It was barely tolerable with the N97 but people were far more aware of their options (iPhone, Android etc) when the N97 arrived. As a result sales suffered and consumer demand is low … Outside of course of the carrier based low cost phone channel. A place all flagship devices seek …

Now the N8, next flagship is due to arrive and according to aEldar’s review at Mobile Review is yet another disappointment. I’m sure Nokia will make it up by only charging $600 instead of $700 as with the N97.

Nokia’s device strategy is allegedly based on solutions, but their goal of integrating software through Ovi remains another empty promise. The lack of a core suite of reliable services is ridiculous given the amount of time that has passed. I’m not saying this is easy to do, but the company line has been “it’s coming” for far too long … As in years.

Perhaps you think Maemo, oh I mean Meego is the solution? Let’s just look at the stellar track record there. The N900 is the 4th device on the 4th version of the maemo platform. Maemo 6 is DOA and instead Meego will replace. Let’s see how that goes … I won’t be holding my breath. Even if Nokia and Intel pull off a reasonable UX, the services won’t be in place, nor will the apps. Maemo haas been the red headed stepchild within Nokia through each phase it has existed. Instead of creating a dual OS strategy and giving Maemo some real resources, Nokia instead has played it coy and left a lot of the work on the community, which while enthusiastic, remains more hobbyist than anything else. Instead the “effort” has gone towards S60 and Symbian.

I’ve used countless Nokia devices since the launch of Nseries back in 2005. I have loved and actively promoted the brand. I’ve even worked for Nokia in that time through the digital agency I still work for today. Through all that time Nokia has made many broken promises but because they have also stuck to the old game no one else is playing they are losing and badly. It’s great that manufacturing excellence leads to global efficiencies and reduced costs for emerging markets, but where’s the innovation?? Where’s the passion for mobile?

It’s time for a real change.

It’s called Facebook

Seth, meet Facebook. Facebook, Seth.

PS If I ran Twitter, I’d build my new ad service about a socially acceptable way for corporate users to build large lists of followers, people who would give permission to get news and discounts and insights from advertisers. Twitter knows who likes what and they have permission from users to be a bridge between the user and those that might want to talk to them. That’s a powerful place to be.

JetBlue Fails Their Own Digital Savvy Test

This morning I read about how JetBlue used Twitter to try and test the agencies pitching for their business.   I think it caught my attention as I had a Jet Blue flight booked for later in the day …  Well fast forward a few hours to that time and suddenly I’ve got a reason to reach out to JetBlue about my family’s experience today.  It wasn’t great.

On the way down to Florida, we were booked in 4 seats in row 1 and our last seat in row 18.  Not exactly stellar and something only a computer would do.  We had to actually forfeit the row 18 seat and checked our car seat once on the plane in order to make sure the whole family stayed together.  Traveling with three small kids can be stressful and not being together only amplifies the potential challenge of keeping everyone calm.  JetBlue has said (via the flight attendant) that they’d be looking to reimburse us for the lost seat … I guess we have to wait it out on that one.  I didn’t tweet it, but I’m posting it now.

Today was our return trip and while our seats were booked together, we were in the back of the plane.  Not ideal, but certainly acceptable -being together was the most important detail.  While waiting around for the boarding call, I tried to see if we might move forward a bit (we were booked 2 rows from the back).  I waited patiently and politely and stood quite when a passenger was called up from the back of the line to be helped first.  Her issue was apparently far too complicated and used up any available time for me.  Instead we got a gruff, there are no seats to move around (after the passenger ahead in line moved).  OK …

About 5 minutes later the pre-boarding call was announced and we immediately made our way over to the gate door.  The JetBlue attendant looked at our boarding passes and gave us an earful about not coming over sooner for the pre-board even though she had literally just announced it.  Instead of letting us on the plane, we were asked to stand to the side while other rows for main boarding started.  There were at least 3 other families who also found the same experience and all were surprised to find that there wasn’t a pre-boarding and that we were being scolded for not respecting the call (that had just happened).

I’ve traveled far too much to know getting angry with the person behind the desk never leads to anything good for you, but man the families were livid.  We all have small kids and definitely need more time to get on the plane, deal with car seats unpack etc.  Not today …   My family was cool.  We got on board eventually and I was able to get the car seat belted for my son, but one of the other families ran into an issue and started to get quite nervous about securing their child safely.  Joe (real name) from JetBlue came over to help but got testy with the nervous parent who was certainly pushing to get things resolved.  We heard Joe scold the dad by saying “I don’t come to your office and tell you how to do your job, so don’t tell me how to do mine.”  I can’t help but think that extra time we all wanted during pre-board would have been exactly what we needed right then.

Back to the original tweet test … I tweeted this as it was happening today – twice.  JetBlue?  No comment today … tomorrow won’t matter.  Let’s not forget this social media stuff is a two-way street, JetBlue.  Looking at you, @martysg.  Comcast and Zappos don’t need #sneaky hashtags, they pay attention and respond within a reasonable amount of time – sometimes surprisingly fast.

How Google Won the #brandbowl

Unlike the vast majority of crap that ran last night, Google delivered an incredibly focused piece for the Super Bowl.  The ad is simple, shows off the product and keeps the brand on screen for the entire time.

How do you define an active user?

mocoNews reports today on Nokia’s positive growth in “active” Services users, yet also reveals a dirty little secret about about how companies claim to count who’s active.

But this is only a small silver lining to a bigger cloud: the company counts as active users every consumer who has used a service just once over the last six months. And considering that there are an estimated 1.1 billion Nokia (NYSE: NOK) users worldwide today, this is a far cry from critical mass.

Nokia is far from alone in how they report numbers like this. It’s obvious why companies do this – it makes things look better. But it’s total BS.  There’s likely to be a considerably amount of float in this calculation for users who trial and never return … consider the services bundled with new devices as an easy example.  Try Maps with Navigation for that 7-10 day trial but then never use it again.  For at least half the year that batch of new sales considerably bumps the base figure and if you continue to push out bundled “solutions” you can game the services figures.  I doubt that’s really the intent and I’m not trying to be completely harsh, but come on this is just BS!

I can’t imagine building a relationship with people who use your product an average of  twice a year.  Good luck with that retention plan …

Maybe T-Mobile wasn’t sleeping this whole time

Walking to the train tonight it suddenly hit me how awesome T-Mobile’s network announcement (Full HSPA+) was today.  It’s unclear how long they knew the Nexus One was coming, but clearly they knew enough and had enough lead time to pump out the upgrades for launch day.  Doing so takes the network issue  largely off the table.  By partnering with Google, they were able to ride the wave into what will hopefully be the start to how consumers consider their mobile purchase.  AT&T … not quite so fast.

Google has confirmed that Nexus One, and all subsequent Google phones sold via the company’s online store, will be available unlocked for use on every participating carrier. If a particular Google-branded phone is not on a particular carrier, then that’s only because that phone doesn’t have the proper radio to support its network. In addition to being unlocked, the phones will also have bundled plan options where the pricing and details are up to the carrier.

By offering a lineup of phones that is essentially carrier-independent (with the radio compatibility caveat), Google has separated the two previously interlocked parts of the phone/plan-buying experience—phone selection and carrier selection—and has done so in a way that threatens one of the most important enablers of carrier lock-in.

In short, what Google announced today wasn’t just the Nexus One, but the world’s first carrier-independent smartphone store; the Google store is now the only smartphone store in the world where, for every phone on offer, you first pick which phone you want, and then you pick a network and a plan on that network. So you can comparison shop among networks based purely on plan price and network quality, because you already have your phone picked out. via Ars Technica

I’m intrigued by the Nexus One, but not buying anytime soon. I definitely like where Android is going and have a good deal of respect for what Google is trying to do. I’m just not compelled enough to pick up a second mobile bill (@ $80/mo+tax) especially since while the G phones run on GSM, it’s another network band meaning sadly I still do need to consider where I want my 3G.

Nokia suggests waiting just one more year

I missed this piece while writing my last post. It doesn’t say anything too specific about the higher end market (like nothing) but does indicate we’ll keep on waiting to see what Nokia has in store … I’m looking forward to seeing how the service integration evolves is revealed.

(Nokia’s executive vice-president and head of the mobile phones, Rick Simonson) I can even make a prediction for 2010: In Latin America, we will grow faster than them. By 2011, our efforts will start producing results, as we will be at par with Apple and RIM in smartphones. Not only we draw level with them, we will also win the war because, in addition to email, we will be adding content, chat, music, entertainment and several other features, which will soon become very critical for success of any company in this space.

Another crucial factor that will play a large role in our success is that we have the power of open operating system coupled with the open distribution model that is not restricted by geographical or technology boundaries. Look at our targets for any segment of our devices for 2010 — they are all 2-10 times that of any of our competitors. via The Economic Times.