We just wanted to take the opportunity of the beginning new year to wish all our readers all the best for this year and the new decade!
We are in the process of changing our website design and content. The new page will contain more information about what we have been doing lately and what we will be doing soon - all in the area of games, mobile widgets and app stores.
Because of this there was not much happening here during the last few weeks, except maybe useless filler posts like this one. But it’s gonna be better soon, so please stay tuned!
Technical Review for Apress Book
I have been asked to do part of the technical review of a new book from Apress called ’Beginning Smartphone Web Development’ and was happy to help.
The book is written by Gail Rahn Frederick and from what I have seen so far the book is going to become a great introduction to mobile web development. All the necessary fundamentals are well covered and explained with practical examples and there are some more advanced sections on using Ajax and device capability databases.
Anybody interested in the challenges and details of mobile web development can take away something from the book. Publication is due in December 2009, so make sure you put it on your Amazon wishlist now!
The book is written by Gail Rahn Frederick and from what I have seen so far the book is going to become a great introduction to mobile web development. All the necessary fundamentals are well covered and explained with practical examples and there are some more advanced sections on using Ajax and device capability databases.
Anybody interested in the challenges and details of mobile web development can take away something from the book. Publication is due in December 2009, so make sure you put it on your Amazon wishlist now!
Review Browsergames Forum 2009 in Frankfurt
Last week we attended the Browsergames Forum 2009 in Frankfurt. This forum/conference brought together people and companies from the browser based games area. Germany is a serious location for all browser games (BigPoint, Travian Games, Innogames …) so it wasn’t really surprising that 90% of all attendees were German as well, but we also met people from Bulgaria, Portugal and Israel.
Recently, we have been developing two mobile browser based games for UK clients (news about those soon here) and this conference was perfect for us to see what is going on in this market, what are the upcoming trends and how to make money in this area.
There were several talks, with topics ranging from programing, monetizing, financing to marketing and legal topics and they answered most of our questions above. Unlike typical web startups it seemed to me that browser game companies do not struggle with finding their business model and earning money. They make (in many cases loads of) money, especially by selling items to users.
And options for these item sales are virtually unlimited. Patrick Streppel (CEO Gamigo Games AG) talked about the possibilities. His company had replaced fantasy cars for real and licensed cars (such as BMW, Audi, …) in a game, because the users wanted that and it felt more natural to them and accordingly sales increased vastly. Another interesting story was that in the game you can buy golf clubs which can be used 100,000 times and then have to be replaced by a new one. In another game the users can buy an insurance for their sword in order to be protected against damage. “Buy one, get one free” campaigns or bundle sales are very popular too. There were also some companies offering monetisation models for free-to-play games, such as SponsorPay or fatfoogoo. With these players can basically get premium services or virtual goods/money in games by doing surveys or signing up for other services etc.
Recently, we have been developing two mobile browser based games for UK clients (news about those soon here) and this conference was perfect for us to see what is going on in this market, what are the upcoming trends and how to make money in this area.
There were several talks, with topics ranging from programing, monetizing, financing to marketing and legal topics and they answered most of our questions above. Unlike typical web startups it seemed to me that browser game companies do not struggle with finding their business model and earning money. They make (in many cases loads of) money, especially by selling items to users.
And options for these item sales are virtually unlimited. Patrick Streppel (CEO Gamigo Games AG) talked about the possibilities. His company had replaced fantasy cars for real and licensed cars (such as BMW, Audi, …) in a game, because the users wanted that and it felt more natural to them and accordingly sales increased vastly. Another interesting story was that in the game you can buy golf clubs which can be used 100,000 times and then have to be replaced by a new one. In another game the users can buy an insurance for their sword in order to be protected against damage. “Buy one, get one free” campaigns or bundle sales are very popular too. There were also some companies offering monetisation models for free-to-play games, such as SponsorPay or fatfoogoo. With these players can basically get premium services or virtual goods/money in games by doing surveys or signing up for other services etc.
Application and Widget Development Competitions
As you can see in our Widget and App Store Wiki, a lot of phone manufacturers and operators have already joined the mobile applications battle or are planning their move in this direction. To promote their platforms and app stores and to attract new developers many of them have started competitions, usually with nice prizes to be won.
Have a look at the following currently ongoing competitions:
Have a look at the following currently ongoing competitions:
- NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge
PRIZE:global prize poolcurrently at $8.2 million USD in cash and licenses
DEADLINE: November 6, 2009 (EMEA region)
The NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge is focused on driving the development and visibility of innovative location-based solutions (LBS) for wireless devices. From business applications to sports, travel and security, integrating the accuracy and richness of NAVTEQ digital map data facilitates the discovery of the next wave of LBS using dynamic positioning technology. Winners are chosen by a panel of distinguished judges in each of five regions (EMEA, India, South America, North America, APAC).
Registration for the LBS Challenge, EMEA Region has been extended to November 6, 2009. A completed solution is not required at the time of registration. The winners of the EMEA Region will be announced on February 14, 2010 prior to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The global prize pool for this year’s competition is currently at $8.2 million USD in cash and licenses.
Read more: NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge
RIM, LG, Sharp & Samsung Join JIL for Global Widget Platform
Handset makers Research in Motion (RIM), LG Electronics, Sharp and Samsung Electronics have joined the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) and will support JIL widget specification in future mobile handsets from Q1 2010.
The decision of LG, RIM, Samsung and Sharp to incorporate the JIL widget specifications in their future product roadmap is proof of the tremendous potential that JIL offers both to developers and customers, said Peters Suh, JIL CEO. All four companies are innovation leaders and this is another strong affirmation of both JIL strategy and its robust technical specifications. (Verizon Wireless)
Other members of the JIL include Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, China Mobile and Softbank (Japan) who are claiming to be able to reach a combined user base of more than 1 billion around the world (North America, Europe, Asia and Africa).
The decision of LG, RIM, Samsung and Sharp to incorporate the JIL widget specifications in their future product roadmap is proof of the tremendous potential that JIL offers both to developers and customers, said Peters Suh, JIL CEO. All four companies are innovation leaders and this is another strong affirmation of both JIL strategy and its robust technical specifications. (Verizon Wireless)
Other members of the JIL include Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, China Mobile and Softbank (Japan) who are claiming to be able to reach a combined user base of more than 1 billion around the world (North America, Europe, Asia and Africa).
Mobile Applications hit Cars
At the IAA in Frankfurt (Frankfurt Motor Show) in September 2009 BMW, Nokia and Parrot SA unveiled plans for bringing smart phone applications to cars.
“For software developers, this opens a whole new domain to sell their apps. For car makers, apps provide new ways to deliver infotainment and telematics services to customers. For motorists, apps allow them to enjoy their infotainment systems to the fullest, while paying only for the applications they want, thus saving them money. With apps so critical to the automotive market, companies are pushing approaches that benefit their specific goals. While the solutions shown at IAA were only concepts, they clearly reflect what will soon be on the market.” said Kevin Hamlin, analyst for automotive electronics at iSuppli Corp.
Sounds good? Yes. Where’s the catch? Doing it right!
“For software developers, this opens a whole new domain to sell their apps. For car makers, apps provide new ways to deliver infotainment and telematics services to customers. For motorists, apps allow them to enjoy their infotainment systems to the fullest, while paying only for the applications they want, thus saving them money. With apps so critical to the automotive market, companies are pushing approaches that benefit their specific goals. While the solutions shown at IAA were only concepts, they clearly reflect what will soon be on the market.” said Kevin Hamlin, analyst for automotive electronics at iSuppli Corp.
Sounds good? Yes. Where’s the catch? Doing it right!
Review Frankfurt Book Fair: Opportunities for Publishers & Retailers
As mentioned earlier, I was invited for a panel discussion at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday. The other panelists were Suzanne Koranyi-Esser (Editorial Director of Reader’s Digest Germany, Switzerland, Austria) and Patrik Jaros (star chef, cookbook author, CEO of FOODLOOK Studio GmbH). Siobhan O`Leary (literary agent, translator and writer) was moderating this panel. Good job everyone!The panel discussion was quite interesting and some publishers are already playing around with mobile applications. Patrik Jaros mentioned that he released a couple of cooking applications for different mobile platforms (iPhone, Blackberry, Android). Reader’s Digest has also an iPhone app available for download called “allrecipes.com DinnerSpinner” and it is related to RD’s online community of hobby cooks (German version). The discussion was not about mobile exclusively, but digital in general. Questions ranged from “Should the content in an application be released for free or not?”, “Is the classic cookbook dead?” to “What kind of strategy should publishers and retailers follow in the digital/mobile space?”.
Webmontag Frankfurt
Yesterday we went to the Webmontag in Frankfurt. It took off at 7 pm and was pretty well attended (>100 people). First there were some presentations about Barcamps in general, Conceptual Designers, PR & social media, Wikis for agencys and companies and why todolists fail. I really liked the twitter wall even though the filter only worked for the hashtag #Webmontag and not for #wmfra.
1.5 hours later the networking part started. Nice people, nice talks. Here are some photos from yesterday @ flickr.com.
The next Webmontag Frankfurt is scheduled for 04. December. One talk will be about Google Wave. Btw many thanks to Darren & the rest of the orga team for organizing this! See you there!
PS: There are some more interesting events coming up:
1.5 hours later the networking part started. Nice people, nice talks. Here are some photos from yesterday @ flickr.com.
The next Webmontag Frankfurt is scheduled for 04. December. One talk will be about Google Wave. Btw many thanks to Darren & the rest of the orga team for organizing this! See you there!
PS: There are some more interesting events coming up:
- droidcon 3./4. Nov. (Berlin, Germany)
- BarCamp Mainz 28./29. Nov. (Mainz, Germany)
- GTUGFRA Google Technology UserGroup Frankfurt 17. Dec. (Frankfurt/Main, Germany)
Looking forward to the next Webmontag!
Panel Discussion at Frankfurt Book Fair 2009
I have been invited by the organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair for a panel discussion about digital and mobile solutions in the field of cooking and publishing.
For the first time, the Frankfurt Book Fair is offering over 400 qm exclusively to the world of food, wine and all things epicurean. The Gourmet Gallery (in Hall 5.0), one of the highlights at the book fair, features a show kitchen for live demonstrations by prominent chefs as well as talks, discussions, interviews etc. about everything cooking- and gourmet-related.
The topic of the panel discussion that I am participating in is ”Cooking digital, digital Cooking: digital innovations and initiatives”. It is a B2B talk where we want to discuss examples for new ways for cookery books, trends, innovations and business models for chefs or publishing representatives. We will also talk about electronic culinary schools and getting recipes on your mobile.
Insights from the huge amount of mobile application stores and the emerging mobile widgets market will be things I can contribute, and findings from our research on these topics will come in handy, so I hope. In case you haven’t seen our wiki yet, it’s the place where we collect all available information about app stores and widget engines - our main area of business meanwhile.
It’s my first time at the Frankfurt Book Fair and I am really looking forward to this interesting panel. Many thanks to Heike Scholz @MobileZeitgeist for getting me in touch!
Over The Air Event Reflections
When hundreds of bean bags, big and small Daleks, The Beatles Rockband, Gears of War 2 and hundreds of geeks interested in mobile technology come together, it can only be Over The Air!
This year’s OTA in London was a great event, both in terms of the sessions held and in terms of the organization of the event. Daniel Appelquist’s team succeeded in gathering a batch of speakers who were able to cover a diverse, yet focused set of topics - thanks a lot for all this!
So what were all these experts and enthusiasts talking about? Widgets and app stores of course!
We enjoyed many interesting sessions and right from the keynotes by speakers from OMTP/BONDI, Vodafone and WIP one thing was clear: mobile widgets and application stores are what the mobile industry is all about right now.
For us at PavingWays this is not different, ever since we thought mobile widgets would make the mobile web more ubiquitous we have been looking at this area very closely.
This year’s OTA in London was a great event, both in terms of the sessions held and in terms of the organization of the event. Daniel Appelquist’s team succeeded in gathering a batch of speakers who were able to cover a diverse, yet focused set of topics - thanks a lot for all this!
So what were all these experts and enthusiasts talking about? Widgets and app stores of course!
We enjoyed many interesting sessions and right from the keynotes by speakers from OMTP/BONDI, Vodafone and WIP one thing was clear: mobile widgets and application stores are what the mobile industry is all about right now.
For us at PavingWays this is not different, ever since we thought mobile widgets would make the mobile web more ubiquitous we have been looking at this area very closely.