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Flixwagon gets a big update and opens to all!

Flixwagon has released a big update today! They’ve also opened the service to anyone now from the previously closed beta. You can sign up here.

Notable enhancements:

  • Share on Twitter and YouTube directly from phone: you can share individual videos on twitter and YouTube directly from your device, as well as customize the message or titles. All you need to do is add your Twitter or YouTube account details on Flixwagon.com, and then you can customize posts directly from your phone.
  • Detailed sharing from device: on your device you can now easily choose which specific groups (friends, family, etc.) can access your video. Make sure you set up your contacts, groups, and alerts first on flixwagon.com and you can start sharing flix with them on the fly.
  • Digital Zoom-in and zoom-out.
  • Post messages back to chat. You can send IM messages back to the video chat room, making chats around your video 2-way. This is especially useful when you want to respond to your viewers’ comments without interrupting the video or audio in the broadcast.
  • Change title: you can now change the video title directly from the phone while broadcasting. This is great when the ‘right’ headline comes to you while you broadcast (and can help more viewers discover your broadcast while you’re still broadcasting live).
  • Choose between delay or video quality: in the preferences section you can determine whether your broadcasts will be optimized for the shortest delay, or highest video quality.

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Never underestimate the power of core functions over features

FierceMobileContent has highlighted a very interesting study …

Almost three quarters of mobile phone users cite text messaging capabilities as the most important feature when purchasing a new handset, according to a consumer survey conducted by mobile solutions provider Access Systems Americas and independent research firm Amplitude Research. Given a list of 19 different mobile features and services, 73 percent of consumers cited texting as the most critical data component–cameras were second with 67 percent, followed by mobile email (63 percent) and web access (61 percent). Music (34 percent) and video (33 percent) also featured prominently in the poll. Conversely, only 0.5 percent of consumers said battery life plays a role in their phone purchase, with voice activation earning just 0.33 percent.

The Access survey also reports that 39 percent of respondents have added new applications to their handsets, with just over 21 percent adding six or more new apps. Forty-two percent of respondents cited stock tracking applications as the most necessary, followed by sports teams/game trackers (36.6 percent), business applications (10.3 percent), productivity apps (7.5 percent) and utilities (4.8 percent). Almost 40 percent of respondents said they use their cell phone for “alerts,” e.g. traffic, weather and stock market updates. Nearly 30 percent of respondents said they use their phone for banking transactions or to check account balances. [FierceMobileContent]

Messaging (txt and email) is the clear leader in what consumers want along with a camera… It’s easy to see how a device like an iPhone or a Blackberry with qwerty functions make it simple for people to select. Clearly those devices along with most others offer a host of additional capabilities, but people are installing only a few key applications.

It should be interesting to see what effect the iPhone applications store has on this once the initial frenzy cools out. My take is that we’ll see quite a few of the same types of applications and that there’s likely to be some fatigue after people get over the fact that they can even install something on the iPhone.

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Trust

I don’t write to make money here though it’s certainly fun to drive traffic and see my adsense revenues grow. This blog has always been about my interests rather than rumors and breaking news. I have not leaked information through any employer, my clients or those who’ve reached out through this blog to share information. Actually, let me make one correction… I did actually share a very advanced preview of Rhapsody for the Nokia Tablet and enjoyed being first though that site has no ads and I was inspired only by my inner geek to share. I think it’s fair to say I have a far more mature view on things and would rather be able to have a collaborative and productive conversation around the product or service than purely leak information. I’m not operating under any NDA though I’ve certainly signed them for things in the past. I respect the people willing to share with me and share my opinion – that which they seek – openly whether positive or negative.

Recently Charlie Schick wrote a very thought compelling post on the Nokia Conversations blog about trust and leaks. It hit home for me then and again today because for the second time in a few short weeks I am seeing things discussed when I know they should not be quite so in the open. Granted, the mobile tech blogosphere is a small place compared to say the Wall Street Journal, but the point is that people are clearly violating the trust of those who are inviting us to share our opinions.

Charlie’s key takeaway is that leaked hardware and software products change before going public. As discussion builds around an early product, it can actually lead to negativity rather then the excitement companies hope to get when things are finally released.

I enjoy getting early and privileged access and am in no way looking to risk that access by violating your trust.

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Cartier’s Love Campaign on Myspace

Just caught this via AdAge and I’m having a hard time getting past this quote:

“There’s this misperception in the market about MySpace being a youth site, a site for teens,” said Travis Katz, managing director-international operations for MySpace. “But 85% of our audience in the U.S. is over 18, and 40% of all moms in U.S. are on MySpace.” He claims that MySpace reaches more people making $100,000-plus than other social-network competitors, such as Facebook and Yahoo 360.

The site is certainly well designed for MySpace, but I can’t help but cringe thinking that people playing on MySpace are just waiting to be engaged by a marquee luxury brand like Cartier. While 85% of the audience is over 18, what’s the the actual range? Is it 18 to 60 or more like 18-24? I’m reluctant to believe that MySpace is the winner in the Household earnings stat as well… just not buying it.

I guess this is one to watch … not sure how long the terms of the deal are, but let’s see if it gets renewed.

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Shozu for iPhone

shozu for iphone

While I won’t be waiting in line for the 3G iPhone, I’ll probably still install Shozu as soon as it’s available as being able to share my media to any site is a core function of what I do with any smartphone. It’s good to see Shozu is releasing the feature complete iPhone version of their application so you can publish and subscribe to media across their full list of supported sites.

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Not linking with Bravia Internet Link

As exciting as the possibility for Day and Date releases are within the current test by Sony is incredibly frustrating. We have a number of Bravia LCD sets in our house yet none currently have the $299 Bravia Internet link accessory and I have no reason to believe buying this will offer anything beyond this for the time being.

I already have a few ways to get internet content to my television (AppleTV and a Wii) and thus far watching YouTube has remained a rare, because I can experience. Of course downloading or streaming movies is great and currently I enjoy that via AppleTV though nothing in the available selection is currently playing in the theater.

The main cause of my frustration is Sony’s standard view that they need to control the end to end experience. There are plenty of ways to distribute high bandwidth content online and a few options on the DRM front as well. The NYT piece makes no mention of the PS3 as a receiver in the system, so for now I will assume it is not an enabled component. The PS3 represents the greatest distribution point for Sony and could cover a few bases for marketing the experience as well. Bravia’s Internet Link is yet another thing a consumer has to purchase and fiddle with and adds complexity to an already crowded space by the TV. I get that everyone wants to control the full deal here, but if you make it complicated and difficult or worse proprietary – the consumer will just continue to work around the system.

I look forward to the day when I can enjoy a high quality currently in-theater production from the comfort of my couch. Who wouldn’t want day and date feature (not DVD release) in their home theater? I am even willing to pay a premium for the pleasure over the theater ticket price to make up for the lack of concession sales. $300 is a bit more than I am willing to gamble on Hancock. If instead Sony offered videos through AppleTV, PS3 or even (gasp) the XBox, people would be more than happy to download and watch. Actually I would buy a PS3 if that was the conduit here … it would enable multiple experiences for the family and actually deliver some value.

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Dash GPS – It Learns!

One of the downsides to digital mapping and GPS is that when driving regular routes you usually know more than the system. Seems Dash has felt the same way and with My Route, they let your knowledge contribute to the system:

With the new MyRoute feature, as you travel from one point to another, Dash Express will automatically learn your preferred route in the background. The next time that you drive between the same origin and destination, the first route choice will be MyRoute, complete with traffic-based arrival time data. MyRoute can be compared to the computed Dash routes, including traffic detours, to decide which is optimal. The Dash Express via jkOnTheRun

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Google Media Server

google media server

Google just released a media server gadget which enables UPnP sharing to your DLNA devices … things like your PS3 and XBox as reported by Crunchgear. I’m thinking this is actually far more about mobile then set top box though that’s likely to be both a source of content and a display end point.

Given what Nokia has cooking with Home Sync, the rumored iPhone wifi sync and AppleTV, this year is looking good for consumers to get a handle on media – both at home and on the go.

The iPhone definitely stepped up the bar for device sync and I’m looking forward to seeing where this all nets out. Anything that makes it easier to sync content to and from your mobile device as well as within a home network is a good thing in my book. The more functions we cram into things the easier it is for them to become islands and the main reason capture and create media really is to share.

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Nokia N78 Updating Over the Air

06/27/2008, originally uploaded by atmasphere.

Pretty cool stuff …

The latest S60 update (Feature Pack 2) supports firmware over the air and today I had a chance to test it out. Using a wifi connection I was able to check and then download the update which then proceeded to reboot and update my device as shown.

I manually checked for the update via the Device Manager application (Tools / Utilities) which took care of the rest. Unlike previous efforts to update my phone, I did not have to have a SIM card inside and there was no worrying about bumping the cord.

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Nokia N78 NAM Available Now!

IMG_0343 - Share on Ovi

I’ve written a fair bit about the N78 recently and wanted to note that the US 3G (NAM) edition is available! I’ve yet to have the pleasure of HSDPA on this device and can only imagine how much better the experience this will bring, The N78 is really an very powerful device in a slim little package.

After using it for a couple of weeks, it has really grown on me. The only thing missing for me is 3G and that’s finally here for my US friends. The N78 runs S60 Feature Pack 2 (S603.2) and offers considerable ease of use enhancements as well as some cool new tricks like Remote Disk Sharing and Home Sync.

The N78 sells for $560 which places it in the upper middle end of the N-Series line, but like all devices it’s completely open – and ready for whatever you might imagine.

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Nokia’s Home Sync

Like the Media Sharing I showed in a recent post there’s another new feature within FP2, that’s worth showing because I would bet that most N-Series users are going to be pretty enthusiastic about it … and that’s Home Sync.

Essentially Home Sync takes the UPnP (and DLNA Certification) to the next level enabling full sync of your content through dynamic sync lists which are essentially smart playlists letting you choose what makes sense to take with with you based on the device capacity.

There’s a demo video on the NSeries site which refuses to embed … You can watch it here.

I have not had a chance to test this and can’t see really running this via VMWare for now though the idea of an intelligently synced device is very attractive. As nice as UPnP is, it still feels very underutilized and passed over by Apple’s Bonjour which is how most of my media moves around my house. If anyone has this working, I’d love to know more …

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Men outnumber Women 9-1 on the mobile web?

At least according to the latest trend report from Opera …

I think it might be more likely that men are installing applications and in particular a new browser while women are perhaps more content to use the experience provided by their handset manufacturer or carrier. It’s hard to really know but the only way Opera can even report this type of data is based on who downloads, installs and registers their software. via Mobile Entertainment

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Yahoo! OneConnect … dead or alive?

Remember Yahoo OneConnect?

I’m thinking this might be DOA at this point. Sure the landing page says Q2 2008, but it’s been a rocky road at Yahoo recently and I can’t imagine this project is high on the priority list.

I hope it’s still moving forward regardless as I think this is the only mobile lifestream / presence aggregator under public development. At Mobile World Congress Yahoo demoed both a standalone as well as Yahoo Go widget though I’m hoping if this comes through there will definitely be a standalone option as I really don’t want to be locked into Yahoo! Go which I loathe ….

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Mix it up with Ludicris from your phone

Just caught this via Wired …

“The old way of making records is a thing of the past,” Ludacris told Listening Post via phone. “A&R, marketers, the radio game, million dollar videos, predictable producers — this system makes it really tough for new blood or new ideas to rise to the top. Using WeMix allows new artists to get their voice heard.”

WeMix, the site he founded with former reality TV producer Matt Apfel, already accepts amateur recordings through a web-based upload tool. But on Tuesday, they announced that users will be able to call a number and enter a code to record directly onto the site from any phone, thanks to a partnership with In-Call Network Exchange provider VoodooVox. And this is no land grab — users keep the rights to their uploaded material. [Wired.com]

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Google updates Search, Reader and iGoogle for mobile

You may have noticed that Google updated Search, Reader and iGoogle for mobile … The iGoogle page has been around for a while though not named iGoogle. If you’d signed into Google, you were able to personalize the start page via mobile which was nice, but now there’s an easier way from your desktop. (thanks AAS)

Reader has been enhanced via the iPhone URL for a while now and I enjoy that view on my N810 as well as the various handsets I tend to use. This morning, I noticed that the old default (and crappy) view has been altered to be more like the iPhone version though …not quite as nice. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you’ll see that you are probably within the Classic view. Click on Mobile instead and you will have access to the richer iPhone view which as discussed previously works great on S60 and on the Maemo Mozilla Browser. The new enhancements work great too … I can now share with note or email from within the mobile view on both platforms which essentially gives me (and you) a full featured mobile reader. Another tip is to hit # and the view zooms out one level which gives you more on screen. Enjoy!

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N78 – Remote Disk enables remote streaming!

There’s no need to wait for Apple to flip .Mac into MobileMe to take advantage of your iDisk via mobile …

The Nokia N78 as well as other Feature Pack 2 (S60 3.2) devices all have the capability to connect and use remote drives via a feature called Remote Disk. I’ve added my Apple iDisk from my .Mac account and can stream music and video over wifi. I’m sure it would work over 3G as well if 3G was accessible on my device and at my house.

There’s much to play with here…

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Where is the iPhone’s presence?

iPhone SDK location map

While the Core Location API is a very intriguing aspect of the iPhone’s potential for LBS and social networking, there was no mention of Presence which you’d think would really be a key piece to making it all click together.

There’s been plenty of speculation about Android and the Google acquisition of Jaiku which could very easily deliver Phonebook 2.0 – an integrated view of location, availability and sense of status. In other words, you have a rich contextual view of who you know. I expect Android to deliver this …

Jaiku does this today on the S60 platform and offers a very rich view of your contacts including bits from their lifestreams. Jaiku is even smart enough to read your calendar and offer a busy view when you are booked in a meeting. Quite a few of my friends enjoy this view and we spend a lot of time interacting within the application rather than the native contacts. It’s just as easy to call or message but with more context and knowledge about the person.

There’s nothing preventing someone from writing an application for the iPhone to do something similar, but it’s interesting that iPhone has not gone in this direction natively. Given that Apple is pretty focused on closed systems (usually to enhance user experience) they could push an iPhone driven social network with their very active and engaged user base. With the global release for iPhone 3G, the potential for this to shake out against Jaiku, Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed etc could be rather substantial and it would lead with mobile.

Presence is something that companies like Avaya, Microsoft and Cisco are pushing for within unified communications suites and mobile is a key component. With the iPhone’s new focus towards enterprise, I Apple could lead the pack with an very strong play here. They could be the new default over Blackberry with this type of integration … an interesting spin as RIM seeks more attention from the consumer. The iPhone is a consumer device first though – at least in this generation.

Perhaps this is still too geeky … though I think over the course of this current generation of mobile adoption we will certainly see something more along these lines.

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