Tag Archives: Mobile

Business, Technology

Mobile User Interface: Heat Map will Focus Users’ Attention to their Priorities

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The Windows Mobile User Interface (UI) reminds me of a project or program manager heat map report which will draw the attention of the viewer, at a high level, immediately to the most important or high priority areas of the project.  I don’t think a Heat Map is part of the Windows Mobile User Interface, but it’s an interesting concept to immediately draw attention of the smartphone user what they want to focus on, according to their preferences.

A project Heat Map is a common tool to look at complex data, and enable the user of the map to quickly, at a glance, guide their focus toward the important aspects of the data.  A mobile user interface [dashboard], at a glance, that has squares, or spaces, that expand, retract and changes colors, based on specific application user preferences can be a leap in evolution of the smartphone user interface paradigm.

At this point Android has widgets on their dashboard, and both Android and iOS have screens of icons representing applications that I must sift through to get to the specific application I would like to launch.  Widgets were an evolutionary leap allowing the user to display some of the pertinent information, as well as launch specific features of the application right from the mobile OS pages screen.

Allowing the user to designate importance to specific application properties, and then the application squares or spaces that represent the application, grow or shrink, and change colors based on user defined attributes assigned within the application for the user’s level of importance.  For example, I can provide a ‘space’ for Facebook, and if there are certain birthdays of people I am fond of, I can assign a color to the application space to change, and growth indicates amount.  It could be a hue of colors within the space. If there are Facebook user messages, that could indicate another color, and a portion of the space turns that color, and the space grows or shrinks based on the amount of messages.  The application spaces also shrink and grow relative to the total Mobile OS user interface (UI) [dashboard] page (i.e. available screen space). The space overall of the Mobile OS UI screen would have a relative importance between each of the OS applications on the Mobile OS [dashboard] page / screen prioritized by the user, e.g. The user prefers to see their Facebook messages over their importance of their twitter functionality

In addition, automatically, mobile applications should appear and disappear from the heat map dashboard where applications can be launched.  The two ways to execute a mobile application, drill down to the application through the normal hunt and peck for your app, or execute the application from the heat map in the dashboard.  The applications that you use the most will automatically appear in the dashboard, thus you don’t have to manage the applications that appear on your dashboard.

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Business, Technology

Elastic Computing for Mobile Devices: Mobile OS Hosting Maximizing Computing Capacity

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Why not port each mobile OS over to a cloud, a server farm of virtual machines where users are able to scale their CPU, RAM and storage needs to streach as far as their imagination, and keep the local processing power focused on local needs, e.g. antenna, input.  I worked on a project where we used a server farm of mobile devices, DeviceAnywhere, to test our mobile applications.  The product was in its relative infancy, they racked the devices.  I’m thinking you image the mobile OS, and allow for scalability. The primary limitation, bandwidth and refresh rate for the device user interface (UI), AND local mode for truly ‘remote’ or ‘unplugged’ access.  The first issue will gradually go away with the expanded speed of the global networks.  We also had accelerometer and GPS issues with the rack / Cloud configuration, but that can be easily fixed with an alternate VM architecture where the device passes this information to the VM.  This way local computing power would focus on GPU and other local access requirements.  Their could be a lightweight Mobile OS for a truly ‘unplugged’ experience.  Why? Simple.  Mobile companies are almost on a ‘space race’ similar to the 1960s.  This time there is no moon as the limit.  This way innovation can go back to focusig on all local breakthroughs, the integrated devices just like what got us here, an accelerometer, GPS, music enhancenents, usability design, and so on.

Business, Finance, Mobility, Technology

Reduce your Monthly Mobile Bill with a Mobile Affinity Credit Card

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Mobile Reoccurring  Costs are Increasing.

The days of a “free phone upgrade” are behind us.  Month over month costs to pay off your costly mobile device in conjunction with a group mobile data plan could put a dent into your monthly digital discretionary spending.

Help Cushion the Impact of the Costs

Why not create an affinity credit card partnered with a financial institution and …

  • Mobile Operating System Co. (Apple [iOS] or Google [Android]
  • Mobile Carrier Co. (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless)

Every time you spend on the mobile affinity card, some portion of your purchase is subtracted from your mobile bill.  In addition, cardholders receive a percentage off qualifying, digital purchases, such as Google Play apps, songs, music, movies, and the same for the iTunes store. Content providers must ‘opt-in’ to allow discounts for this purchase plan.

The incentive around the Mobile OS CC is in line with unlocked phones.  OS CCs may reduce the cost of monthly use from the Mobile Carriers.

Business, Finance, Politics, Technology

Is the Apple and Samsung Battle Really about Android verse iOS?

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Is this just a question of Samsung verse Apple, or iOS verse Android, but Apple is not battling the U.S. company, Google, and Google is not defending it’s partner because it has its own internally acquired hardware vendor, Motorola Mobility?

Since Samsung is a foreign company, should it be protected under United States Antitrust regulations, and if so, do they apply?  If by taking Samsung out of the U.S. marketplace, would Apple monopolize the marketplace?  Is it a grey area, the current number of mobile hardware manufacturers, relative to their share in the market, and how much control Apple would have shaping the U.S. marketplace if Samsung was removed?  Are the mobile hardware and/or OS manufactures an Oligopoly or a Monopoly?  As an example article, here is a brief statement on Monopolies and Oligopolies, and examples of Oligopolies. U.S Antitrust Laws could apply, but this decision should at least be presented to the U.S. Supreme Court, and possibly in a different context.  Is this a hardware manufacturer issue, or a mobile Operating System issue?

I continually see news articles like, Apple wants ban on Samsung products, even more damages.  Here is a solid paper from a Law student at Fordham regarding Oligopolies and Antitrust Law.  It started to make me think, along with another article from CNN Money, Android races past Apple in smartphone market share.  In the article it mentions how RIMM and Nokia / Symbian fell in market share significantly, and the top two competitors are Apple and Android.  For me, these articles raised a few questions.  Clearly RIMM and Nokia/Symbian differ in form factor and feature capabilities, and have been outpaced by Apple and Android.  Google purchasing Motorola Mobility seemed to enhance the lack of Google’s interest in backing other hardware manufacturers.  My first question is what is the difference between generic drugs and name brand drugs, and this situation, and how do Generics persist in the marketplace?  Is this battle really Android versus Apple, but Google is keeping an arm’s length because they have their own hardware manufacturer internally?  Second, are every single innovation adopted by one OS and/or hardware manufacturer, e.g. mutithreaded / multitasking support, all up for debate, fines, and closed the ability to compete in the marketplace.  This situation smells of geopolitics, and how American Capitalism marketplace may be leveraging some form of Protectionism.  Again, this case, and possibly Samsung should partner with another Android OS partner, possibly outside the U.S., to transform this case to the U.S. Supreme Court, and make this about the Operating Systems rather than hardware.

Technology

Mobile Devices, Larger RAM, Multi-level caches, and Multi-core chips

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As with everyone else on the market creating these devices, it occurs to me that as mobile devices contain more and more memory, e.g. 1 GB RAM on the Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5 as well as adding CPU cores, especially with touchscreen keys  and gestures, as well as ‘core or bundled applications’, it IS increasingly important to manage memory in mobile systems the way desktop or server systems manage memory. See Multi-level cache and Multi-core chips in the Wikipedia article CPU cache as two levels of complexity in working with expanding CPU and RAM sets.  A person is already able to create delays in touch typing in these cool new devices as they have several to many applications running in parallel processing data. Beyond expanding the capacity of these devices, CPU and memory management has to be a key factor in maintaining the stability of these devices. Maybe this is already implement although not transparent in the specifications I have seen.  Although at present, not as important, or glitzy in marketing literature to sell more devices, or currently negligible to the non-power user, it will become increasing transparent.  At this stage, we are just ‘throwing bodies’ at the problem, i.e. adding more CPU and Memory capacity.

 

Business, Technology

Google Project Glass / Glasses and 3rd Party Application Development

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Google’s Project Glass, or Google’s augmented reality glasses, I wonder, as propably others, if ANY 3rd party developers will be allowed develop and roll out applications just as they have done with Google’s Android OS, and Google play.  There may be liability concerns with applications, and how developers and their users engage in their use.  It should be very interesting if 3rd party application developers, any, are allowed to develop and roll out apps.  I can think applications will certainly go beyond what pop culture is expecting.  If Google allows for any 3rd party applications, with development toolkits and a simulator just as it does for Android OS, it will streach all of our imaginations what the system and its users are capable of.

The list of applications is extensive from your basic set (i.e. checking email) to:

  • Partnered with a Lucas Films licensee, use small plastic force feedback sticks, the handle of a light saber and leverage Force Feedback for game play with the glasses for the ‘light’ of the light saber (game)
  • Just like there are apps for speed traps, and social network GPS network location check ins, application developers could really be ‘creative’ with this one, and some could similarly border the ‘speed trap’ legality issue.
  • And finally, what parts of the spectrum will Google Glass allow the user to detect.  I can see, excuse the intended pun, enabling the user, with an app, to view alternate parts of the spectrum, not visible light, and their could be a tremendous set of applications for this last point.  If Google doesn’t include it, alternate competitors could, and there is an opportunity.  Baby steps.
  • The visible spectrum, with a creative application developer, could filter or disect    parts of the view-able spectrum, and apply it to specific applications. Polarize me, Scotty!
Business, Technology

Battle for Developing Nations: Firefox v. WebOS

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A Firefox smartphone for a developing world may be one small step to cost effective smartphones, however, the ultimate prize will be to get WebOS open source out of beta and in the hands of cost effective, even small country, government subsidized, hardware vendors to mass produce the devices.  The question remains, will Firefox be expandable enough, yet energy efficient, and will WebOS be energy efficient.  I hope HP designs a ‘lightweight/energy’ option into the phone. See article on “Firefox Targets Developing States with Open Source Affordable Smartphones”