Mobile devices: Should you go for large, medium or small?
By Paul Taylor
Published: February 15 2010 11:40 | Last updated: February 15 2010 11:40
When Compaq Computer unveiled the first IBM-compatible portable PC at the Waldorf Hotel in New York in November 1982, it was shaped like a portable sewing machine and at 28 pounds quickly became known as “luggable” rather than portable.
It featured an Intel 4.77 MHz 8088 processor, 128KB RAM, a 9-inch monochrome monitor, one 320Kb 5.25-inch disk drive and cost $2,995 – well out of reach of most consumers and many business users.
Ten years later, Nokia launched the world’s first commercially available GSM digital phone, the Nokia 1011. The handset (195mm x 60 x 45) could hold contact names and numbers, came with a two-line monochrome screen and needed an extendible antenna.
Since then, Moore’s Law and competitive markets have worked their magic and users can now choose from a vast array of integrated portable computing and communications devices ranging from a pocket-sized smartphone such as the iPhone 3GS, Palm Pre, HTC Hero or BlackBerry Bold, to the latest netbooks, smartpads and laptops.
Today it seems there is a mobile device to suit every taste and meet every need and most are “converged devices” that combine computing, communications and entertainment.
So what are the pros and cons of different types of device and what are they best for?
By Paul Taylor
Published: February 15 2010 11:40 | Last updated: February 15 2010 11:40
When Compaq Computer unveiled the first IBM-compatible portable PC at the Waldorf Hotel in New York in November 1982, it was shaped like a portable sewing machine and at 28 pounds quickly became known as “luggable” rather than portable.
It featured an Intel 4.77 MHz 8088 processor, 128KB RAM, a 9-inch monochrome monitor, one 320Kb 5.25-inch disk drive and cost $2,995 – well out of reach of most consumers and many business users.
Ten years later, Nokia launched the world’s first commercially available GSM digital phone, the Nokia 1011. The handset (195mm x 60 x 45) could hold contact names and numbers, came with a two-line monochrome screen and needed an extendible antenna.
Since then, Moore’s Law and competitive markets have worked their magic and users can now choose from a vast array of integrated portable computing and communications devices ranging from a pocket-sized smartphone such as the iPhone 3GS, Palm Pre, HTC Hero or BlackBerry Bold, to the latest netbooks, smartpads and laptops.
Today it seems there is a mobile device to suit every taste and meet every need and most are “converged devices” that combine computing, communications and entertainment.
So what are the pros and cons of different types of device and what are they best for?
Mainstream Laptops
Windows-based laptops still command a small price-premium over desktops and if you are looking for the ultimate in performance, you might be better off with a desktop system, particularly if you plan to upgrade the system on a regular basis with the latest technology.
But for most mainstream business users, consumers and students, a standard 15-inch or widescreen laptop, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad T500, may be the best option, certainly if it is required in more than one place.
Those using a laptop regularly in one place might also invest in a docking station, a large screen monitor such as the Viewsonic VG2427wm and wireless keyboard and mouse such as Logitech’s Wireless Desktop LX310. Alternatively, a laptop stand will elevate a laptop screen to a more comfortable height for viewing.
Thin-and-light Laptops
Slim, stylish and ultra-lightweight laptops have been around for more than a decade, but the latest machines, such as Apple’s MacBook Air, Dell’s Adamo and Lenovo’s ThinkPad X301 make fewer compromises than their predecessors.
For example, Intel’s family of Core 2 Duo processors has helped deliver desktop-like performance while minimising power consumption and extending battery life. High-density hard drives are expanding portable storage capacity and solid state drives are reducing weight and power consumption still further.
Most machines in this category weigh about 3lbs and have LED backlit screens of 13 inches or larger. But these features do not come cheap and ultra-lightweight machines typically command a significant price premium over more mainstream machines. For example, the MacBook Air costs from $1,500 while the ThinkPad X301 costs from $1,890.
As a result, these machines are particularly well suited to road warriors who need lightweight, high-performance laptops. They have also become popular as executive status symbols and as technology fashion statements.
Netbooks
Netbooks are the new kids on the portable computing block. They initially evolved about two years ago as an offshoot of efforts such as One Laptop Per Child to build low-cost computing devices primarily for education in developing countries.
Most of the first netbooks, such as the EeePC designed and built by Asus, the Taiwanese consumer electronics group, were powered by Intel Atom processors, ran Linux operating systems, 10-inch or smaller screens and had limited local storage capacity.
They were designed primarily for network-based or cloud computing using a wired or wireless wi-fi connection, hence the name Netbook.
Typically, they cost $399 or less and were immediately popular as second laptops or for travellers who did not want to carry a full-size machine around.
Initially, most mainstream laptop makers shunned the new devices, arguing that they lacked the performance or usability of full-sized laptops and were not suitable for business use. Privately, they also feared that their success could threaten margins on higher priced laptops.
That left the emerging netbook market to companies such as Asus, MSI and Acer who quickly expanded the market by adding Windows XP-powered netbooks, boosting screen sizes and storage capacity.
By the end of 2008, netbooks were the fastest growing segment of the PC market and one that even the big PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard and Dell, could no longer afford to ignore.
Since then, a steady stream of netbooks has been launched that has found its way into corporate use as low-cost alternatives to laptops, with some offering higher-performance Intel Atom processors, larger screens (up to 13ins) and large hard drives.
Other “crossover” machines, such as Acer’s $600 Aspire Timeline 1810T, which has a relatively powerful dual-core Intel Ultra-Low Voltage processor and a bright 11-inch screen, come with Windows 7. Others come with built-in cellular data modems enabling them to connect to 3G cellular broadband networks as well as local wi-fi hotspots while on the move.
One of the most interesting new netbooks is the Nokia Booklet 3G, designed to be a communications and computing device for all-day use.
Smartphones
If 2008 was the year of the netbook, 2009 was the year of the smartphone. While laptops became smaller, lighter and better at wireless communications, mobile phones grew smarter and more like mini portable PCs with open operating systems, full web browsers and a wide range of downloadable third-party applications.
These converged devices, including the Apple iPhone 3GS, BlackBerry Bold 9700, Nokia N97, Palm Pre and Motorola Droid, are designed for far more than voice communications.
Most run one of a handful of smartphone operating systems such as Symbian, BlackBerry OS, Windows Mobile 6.5, Android, and Linux and take advantage of their built-in 3G radios, wi-fi and GPS chipsets to deliver a wide range of services.
Most feature cameras and many now use touchscreens as a primary user interface, or – like the Motorola Droid – combine a touchscreen with a thumb-operated Qwerty keyboard.
The first smartphones, including the early BlackBerrys, grew popular mainly because they supported push-e-mail and this remains a primary requirement for most corporate smartphone owners.
But, as Research in Motion, the Canadian manufacturer of the BlackBerry, has acknowledged, smartphones today need to appeal to both consumers and business users, and that means combining extensive multimedia and social networking features with more mainstream business features such as contact databases, mobile calendars and the ability to create, view and edit office documents.
For some, a smartphone may be a viable alternative to carrying a laptop. For others, particularly those who need to do a lot of typing, smartphones, at least for the moment, are complementary rather than laptop substitutes.
Apple’s iPad
The iPad, which will go on sale in the US towards the end of March, represents an interesting example of the convergence of technologies and devices.
It has a 9.7-inch multitouch-enabled screen, runs the iPhone operating system and comes with wi-fi and an optional 3G cellular modem and seeks to fill the gap between smartphone devices, the iPod touch digital media player, and the bottom of the laptop market.
While some analysts have characterised it as a “large screen iPod Touch”, Apple clearly envisages it providing a much broader platform enabling the delivery of a wide range of services.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s mercurial chief executive, positioned the iPad as primarily an entertainment device capable of running most of the third-party applications available in the iPhone App store. But he also highlighted its capabilities as a next generation e-Book reader that could challenge established rivals such as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader family.
Some corporate IT directors also see a place for the iPad in business, as a “lite” portable PC, or as a display device, although, at least for the moment, the iPad’s lack of support for Adobe’s Flash technology could be a limiting factor.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
Mainstream Laptops
Windows-based laptops still command a small price-premium over desktops and if you are looking for the ultimate in performance, you might be better off with a desktop system, particularly if you plan to upgrade the system on a regular basis with the latest technology.
But for most mainstream business users, consumers and students, a standard 15-inch or widescreen laptop, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad T500, may be the best option, certainly if it is required in more than one place.
Those using a laptop regularly in one place might also invest in a docking station, a large screen monitor such as the Viewsonic VG2427wm and wireless keyboard and mouse such as Logitech’s Wireless Desktop LX310. Alternatively, a laptop stand will elevate a laptop screen to a more comfortable height for viewing.
Thin-and-light Laptops
Slim, stylish and ultra-lightweight laptops have been around for more than a decade, but the latest machines, such as Apple’s MacBook Air, Dell’s Adamo and Lenovo’s ThinkPad X301 make fewer compromises than their predecessors.
For example, Intel’s family of Core 2 Duo processors has helped deliver desktop-like performance while minimising power consumption and extending battery life. High-density hard drives are expanding portable storage capacity and solid state drives are reducing weight and power consumption still further.
Most machines in this category weigh about 3lbs and have LED backlit screens of 13 inches or larger. But these features do not come cheap and ultra-lightweight machines typically command a significant price premium over more mainstream machines. For example, the MacBook Air costs from $1,500 while the ThinkPad X301 costs from $1,890.
As a result, these machines are particularly well suited to road warriors who need lightweight, high-performance laptops. They have also become popular as executive status symbols and as technology fashion statements.
Netbooks
Netbooks are the new kids on the portable computing block. They initially evolved about two years ago as an offshoot of efforts such as One Laptop Per Child to build low-cost computing devices primarily for education in developing countries.
Most of the first netbooks, such as the EeePC designed and built by Asus, the Taiwanese consumer electronics group, were powered by Intel Atom processors, ran Linux operating systems, 10-inch or smaller screens and had limited local storage capacity.
They were designed primarily for network-based or cloud computing using a wired or wireless wi-fi connection, hence the name Netbook.
Typically, they cost $399 or less and were immediately popular as second laptops or for travellers who did not want to carry a full-size machine around.
Initially, most mainstream laptop makers shunned the new devices, arguing that they lacked the performance or usability of full-sized laptops and were not suitable for business use. Privately, they also feared that their success could threaten margins on higher priced laptops.
That left the emerging netbook market to companies such as Asus, MSI and Acer who quickly expanded the market by adding Windows XP-powered netbooks, boosting screen sizes and storage capacity.
By the end of 2008, netbooks were the fastest growing segment of the PC market and one that even the big PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard and Dell, could no longer afford to ignore.
Since then, a steady stream of netbooks has been launched that has found its way into corporate use as low-cost alternatives to laptops, with some offering higher-performance Intel Atom processors, larger screens (up to 13ins) and large hard drives.
Other “crossover” machines, such as Acer’s $600 Aspire Timeline 1810T, which has a relatively powerful dual-core Intel Ultra-Low Voltage processor and a bright 11-inch screen, come with Windows 7. Others come with built-in cellular data modems enabling them to connect to 3G cellular broadband networks as well as local wi-fi hotspots while on the move.
One of the most interesting new netbooks is the Nokia Booklet 3G, designed to be a communications and computing device for all-day use.
Smartphones
If 2008 was the year of the netbook, 2009 was the year of the smartphone. While laptops became smaller, lighter and better at wireless communications, mobile phones grew smarter and more like mini portable PCs with open operating systems, full web browsers and a wide range of downloadable third-party applications.
These converged devices, including the Apple iPhone 3GS, BlackBerry Bold 9700, Nokia N97, Palm Pre and Motorola Droid, are designed for far more than voice communications.
Most run one of a handful of smartphone operating systems such as Symbian, BlackBerry OS, Windows Mobile 6.5, Android, and Linux and take advantage of their built-in 3G radios, wi-fi and GPS chipsets to deliver a wide range of services.
Most feature cameras and many now use touchscreens as a primary user interface, or – like the Motorola Droid – combine a touchscreen with a thumb-operated Qwerty keyboard.
The first smartphones, including the early BlackBerrys, grew popular mainly because they supported push-e-mail and this remains a primary requirement for most corporate smartphone owners.
But, as Research in Motion, the Canadian manufacturer of the BlackBerry, has acknowledged, smartphones today need to appeal to both consumers and business users, and that means combining extensive multimedia and social networking features with more mainstream business features such as contact databases, mobile calendars and the ability to create, view and edit office documents.
For some, a smartphone may be a viable alternative to carrying a laptop. For others, particularly those who need to do a lot of typing, smartphones, at least for the moment, are complementary rather than laptop substitutes.
Apple’s iPad
The iPad, which will go on sale in the US towards the end of March, represents an interesting example of the convergence of technologies and devices.
It has a 9.7-inch multitouch-enabled screen, runs the iPhone operating system and comes with wi-fi and an optional 3G cellular modem and seeks to fill the gap between smartphone devices, the iPod touch digital media player, and the bottom of the laptop market.
While some analysts have characterised it as a “large screen iPod Touch”, Apple clearly envisages it providing a much broader platform enabling the delivery of a wide range of services.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s mercurial chief executive, positioned the iPad as primarily an entertainment device capable of running most of the third-party applications available in the iPhone App store. But he also highlighted its capabilities as a next generation e-Book reader that could challenge established rivals such as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader family.
Some corporate IT directors also see a place for the iPad in business, as a “lite” portable PC, or as a display device, although, at least for the moment, the iPad’s lack of support for Adobe’s Flash technology could be a limiting factor.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
Showing posts with label Mobile apps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mobile apps. Show all posts
Monday, February 15, 2010
Does IT work?: Mobile apps making real difference in many sectors
Does IT work?: Mobile apps making real difference in many sectors
By Stephen Pritchard
Published: February 15 2010 11:40 | Last updated: February 15 2010 11:40
The market for mobile applications is growing at a frenetic rate. Gartner, the analytic company, expects revenue from applications – across all the main mobile platforms – to grow from $4.2bn in 2009 to $29.5bn in 2013.
This growth is all the more impressive, considering that a market for downloading mobile phone applications hardly existed before Apple launched its iPhone in 2007.
The vast bulk of those downloads are based around entertainment or personal productivity. But business software vendors are starting to wake up to the possibilities, as chief information officers, for example, become increasingly willing to use mobile business applications and distribute them via applications stores.
This is the approach adopted by the French arm of Generali, the life assurance provider. The company approached Accenture, the IT consultant, to write an iPhone application.
The app is aimed at self-employed financial advisers who sell Generali products. They can download the software directly from Apple’s iPhone app store and use it to track clients’ portfolios via a 3G or wi-fi connection. The app provides simple graphical representations of clients’ holdings and asset allocations.
According to Bertrand Boré, director of internet and distribution strategy at Generali France, a smartphone is simply a better tool to help advisers do business, especially when they visit clients.
“We were already quite advanced in providing online information to financial advisers,” he says. “But we were meeting a limit with the need for a wi-fi connection, and to take a laptop. If you are in a meeting with a client, it is not that easy to connect yourself, whether it is in a coffee bar or their office. So we built on the mobile concept to give advisers that information anywhere.”
In the US, Nationwide, the insurer, pursued a strategy of developing mobile applications that are not specific to a single platform. The company’s mobile staff mostly use BlackBerrys, but, says Robert Burkhart, head of technology innovation, there are also users with iPhones, the Droid (a phone from Motorola that uses the Android operating system), Symbian and Windows Mobile.
“We are now also asking whether it has to be a company-owned phone or whether it could be a personal device. We want to protect our data and our intellectual property, but we also want to ensure that we see the productivity gains associated with giving staff the information they need to do the job,” he says.
Despite the extra efforts involved, developing specific mobile business applications rather than relying on web applications pays off in improved functionality and productivity, Mr Burkhart argues.
“For the best experience, it is better not to have a web-based version [of the application] but one that is specific, depending on what the user is doing. It is about having right functionality.”
It is not just a question of designing applications so they fit on a mobile device’s smaller screen, he says, but providing the right amount of task-specific information to field-based staff. Too often, re-purposed PC or web applications produce cluttered screens, and frustrated users.
Paying close attention to mobile workers’ needs also pays dividends in industrial and blue-collar applications.
For example, JCDecaux, the outdoor advertising company, developed a field-based app for staff and subcontractors installing billboards and posters. The app allows the installers to photograph when each poster goes up, and provide a GPS location and time stamp via a smartphone.
JCDecaux customers can also view the images, taken by the Windows Mobile devices, in near real time, allowing them to track the roll-out of their campaigns.
The project, developed with PA Consulting and Vodafone, involved fine-tuning settings on the handsets, in particular to boost performance of the onboard camera in poor lighting, so crews do not need conventional cameras and do not have to load images to a PC before sending them to clients.
It is not only custom-built apps being used by business. Chevron, the oil company, is trialling an iPhone-based version of Nimbus Control, a business process management package.
This, says Jim Boots, senior BPM adviser at Chevron, will enable the company to deliver up-to-date process information to staff anywhere around its plants. The vast size of oil refineries puts a strain on conventional IT tools and connectivity. Maintenance engineers, for example, will be able to view the latest guidance on servicing or repairs directly from a device.
Modern smartphones stand out from industrial devices for their ease of use and clear screens. “We have tended to use heavy-duty devices and there are certain requirements for our environment,” says Mr Boots. “But people already use their phones here without wrecking them.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
"FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. Privacy policy | Terms
© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2010.
MAKING AN APP
Read Alan Cane’s feature on creating a mobile app, plus:
• Apps and marketing;
• Wi-fi and network overload;
• A case for fibre-to-the-home
By Stephen Pritchard
Published: February 15 2010 11:40 | Last updated: February 15 2010 11:40
The market for mobile applications is growing at a frenetic rate. Gartner, the analytic company, expects revenue from applications – across all the main mobile platforms – to grow from $4.2bn in 2009 to $29.5bn in 2013.
This growth is all the more impressive, considering that a market for downloading mobile phone applications hardly existed before Apple launched its iPhone in 2007.
The vast bulk of those downloads are based around entertainment or personal productivity. But business software vendors are starting to wake up to the possibilities, as chief information officers, for example, become increasingly willing to use mobile business applications and distribute them via applications stores.
This is the approach adopted by the French arm of Generali, the life assurance provider. The company approached Accenture, the IT consultant, to write an iPhone application.
The app is aimed at self-employed financial advisers who sell Generali products. They can download the software directly from Apple’s iPhone app store and use it to track clients’ portfolios via a 3G or wi-fi connection. The app provides simple graphical representations of clients’ holdings and asset allocations.
According to Bertrand Boré, director of internet and distribution strategy at Generali France, a smartphone is simply a better tool to help advisers do business, especially when they visit clients.
“We were already quite advanced in providing online information to financial advisers,” he says. “But we were meeting a limit with the need for a wi-fi connection, and to take a laptop. If you are in a meeting with a client, it is not that easy to connect yourself, whether it is in a coffee bar or their office. So we built on the mobile concept to give advisers that information anywhere.”
In the US, Nationwide, the insurer, pursued a strategy of developing mobile applications that are not specific to a single platform. The company’s mobile staff mostly use BlackBerrys, but, says Robert Burkhart, head of technology innovation, there are also users with iPhones, the Droid (a phone from Motorola that uses the Android operating system), Symbian and Windows Mobile.
“We are now also asking whether it has to be a company-owned phone or whether it could be a personal device. We want to protect our data and our intellectual property, but we also want to ensure that we see the productivity gains associated with giving staff the information they need to do the job,” he says.
Despite the extra efforts involved, developing specific mobile business applications rather than relying on web applications pays off in improved functionality and productivity, Mr Burkhart argues.
“For the best experience, it is better not to have a web-based version [of the application] but one that is specific, depending on what the user is doing. It is about having right functionality.”
It is not just a question of designing applications so they fit on a mobile device’s smaller screen, he says, but providing the right amount of task-specific information to field-based staff. Too often, re-purposed PC or web applications produce cluttered screens, and frustrated users.
Paying close attention to mobile workers’ needs also pays dividends in industrial and blue-collar applications.
For example, JCDecaux, the outdoor advertising company, developed a field-based app for staff and subcontractors installing billboards and posters. The app allows the installers to photograph when each poster goes up, and provide a GPS location and time stamp via a smartphone.
JCDecaux customers can also view the images, taken by the Windows Mobile devices, in near real time, allowing them to track the roll-out of their campaigns.
The project, developed with PA Consulting and Vodafone, involved fine-tuning settings on the handsets, in particular to boost performance of the onboard camera in poor lighting, so crews do not need conventional cameras and do not have to load images to a PC before sending them to clients.
It is not only custom-built apps being used by business. Chevron, the oil company, is trialling an iPhone-based version of Nimbus Control, a business process management package.
This, says Jim Boots, senior BPM adviser at Chevron, will enable the company to deliver up-to-date process information to staff anywhere around its plants. The vast size of oil refineries puts a strain on conventional IT tools and connectivity. Maintenance engineers, for example, will be able to view the latest guidance on servicing or repairs directly from a device.
Modern smartphones stand out from industrial devices for their ease of use and clear screens. “We have tended to use heavy-duty devices and there are certain requirements for our environment,” says Mr Boots. “But people already use their phones here without wrecking them.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
"FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. Privacy policy | Terms
© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2010.
MAKING AN APP
Read Alan Cane’s feature on creating a mobile app, plus:
• Apps and marketing;
• Wi-fi and network overload;
• A case for fibre-to-the-home
Apps aim to solve every mobility problem
Apps aim to solve every mobility problem
By Alan Cane
Published: February 15 2010 07:40 | Last updated: February 15 2010 07:40
When Apple Computer launched the iPhone 3G in 2008, it introduced a new option on its iTunes menu: the App Store.
This is a collection of software programs or applications (pieces of software that help users perform specific tasks) that can be downloaded to, and run on, a “smart” mobile phone or other mobile device.
Just over 18 months later, the expression “mobile apps” – hitherto used only by IT specialists – has become synonymous with a phenomenon comparable only to the craze for distinctive ringtones a few years ago.
The range of functions available from the App Store is bewildering: cooks can carry a library of recipes in their pockets; birdwatchers, the identifying features of every feathered creature they are likely to encounter. Many apps are meant to do no more than raise a quick laugh – an image of a glass of lager, for example, which empties as the phone is tilted.
Increasingly, however, apps are becoming serious and useful. Sccope, for example, has developed an app that allows shoppers to compare prices from a number of leading stores using a phone’s camera to scan product barcodes.
There are now 100,000 iPhone apps in the App Store, mostly free or costing only a few dollars, leaving other hardware and software manufacturers to play catch-up.
Google, which developed the Android smartphone operating system, has introduced Android Market; BlackBerry has the BlackBerry App World; and for Windows Mobile, the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
BlackBerry’s App World, for example, offers business-focused apps that can be downloaded to its devices to perform such tasks as managing expenses claims, keeping a mobile call log and tracking vehicle mileage. The Android market includes such productivity-enhancing tools as the TooDo task reminder list and an app that gives added information about the identity of those calling your phone.
“Apple has done a really fantastic job for the mobile internet with the iPhone and the App Store because it has made people aware that they have the internet on their phones,” says Mat Diss, co-founder of Bemoko, a developer of mobile websites.
He goes on, however, to point out that the App Store is a “walled garden” – only Apple-approved apps are on offer and they are written only for the iPhone – and the iPhone has only 5 per cent of the market.
According to the consultancy Capgemini, the introduction of app stores has brought significant changes in the way mobile content is produced and accessed.
One change is that the entry cost of developing a mobile app has reduced, in theory at least, to little more than the cost of the developer’s time.
Several companies have produced online tools to simplify the task. Late last year, Golden Gekko, a mobile website development group, launched Tino, a web-based service which, it claims, will allow anybody to build a mobile application and bring it to market more quickly and cheaply than before. The cost could be as little as £100 ($157) compared with £5,000 to £10,000 that an app might still typically cost today.
“It requires no developer skills,” says Magnus Jern, Golden Gekko chief executive. But he adds drily: “To make it look good, you would need to be a fairly skilled designer.”
Mr Jern explains that organisations are becoming aware of the importance of mobile apps but lack the money or skills to create them and typically under-estimate the cost of a professionally produced app: a museum with a budget of €2,000 might ask him to develop a “mobile guide” app – something that could still cost up to 10 times as much.
According to one survey, only one in three smartphone owners keep an app on their phone for more than a day. (If they have paid for it, of course, the developer’s task has been accomplished.)
What has driven mobile apps to become the new big thing? A large factor has been Apple’s mission to persuade individuals that downloading software to a phone is simple.
Mr Jern argues that most people who own a mobile phone have played games on it – but only if the game was pre-loaded. With the iPhone and the App Store, apps became easy to find and easy to access: “If you deliver something truly useful, people will want it,” Mr Jern says.
Dan Rossner of PA Consulting argues that the arithmetic underpinning the growth of the mobile phone market is compelling: “High-speed connectivity and improved user experience has accelerated mobile internet take-up and the ubiquity of the mobile device will make it the dominant connected platform,” he says.
“Globally, the number of mobile devices exceeds desktop devices by a factor of 10. Businesses should therefore be looking at how to achieve competitive advantage through this channel in the same way if not more so than they did with the advent of online services on the PC.”
The trend towards the useful rather than trivial seems set to continue. Gartner Group, the US-based consultancy recently predicted the top 10 consumer mobile applications for 2012, leading off with money transfer followed by location-based services, mobile search and web browsing.
Of course, as Christopher David of the handset manufacturer Sony Ericsson points out, mobile apps have been around for a long time. Today, they fall into two broad categories – the stand-alone application, which lives within the phone, does one thing only and has no access to, or need of, further resources, and the networked app, where the “front end”, or “controls”, reside on the device which accesses information via the internet.
Many of the apps currently creating interest fall into the first category.
But it seems the growth of mobile apps has sparked controversy within the industry over the future of software on the go.
When asked whether the excitement was justified, Rich Holdsworth, chief technology officer of Wapple.net, a mobile web design and development company, replied: “Absolutely not.”
He argues that the future lies with mobile browser-based services: “It’s a massive step backwards. There are some quirky cool things you can do with apps but the pool is a pretty shallow one.”
The argument is essentially that developing a distinctive stand-alone app is hard and expensive and has to be repeated for each kind of mobile phone; an app written specifically for the iPhone will not run on a BlackBerry, for example.
On the other hand, browser-based services can be developed for a broad range of handsets that can all access them via the mobile internet: “The future is moving away from installed applications and towards browser-based services,” Mr Holdsworth says. “These are available anywhere, any time on any operating system and are continually refreshed and updated.”
Rob Bamforth, a consultant with the consultancy Quocirca, is also sceptical: “Apps come from mobile developers and the big question is ‘why?’. What motivates them? Many have been on the iPhone bandwagon of developing lots of IT aimed mainly at entertaining consumers, but this is low investment, back-bedroom and extremely hit or miss development.
Other industry experts are more enthusiastic. Stuart Orr of the consultancy Accenture says the sheer level of innovation and number of apps available is impressive.
“For every business, there is at least one app available that can help to solve your problem. Furthermore, these apps are available at compelling prices,” he says. “The iPhone has been the key here, as it opened the floodgates by showcasing the potential of mobile services as well as allowing small developers a low-cost route to market for some excellent business applications.”
On balance, it looks as if apps and mobile internet sites will co-exist for the foreseeable future. As Mr Holdsworth puts it: “The app brigade will tell you that mobile internet sites don’t compare with apps. From a certain point of view they are right.”
He continues: “The decision to choose either a mobile internet strategy or one based on apps will depend largely on what you want to achieve. For images of spirit levels and tilting pints of beer, it’s apps all the way.
“For anything that offers dynamic data, interactive services and user participation, then you really should give the mobile internet a go. It’s cheaper, more flexible, is more tightly integrated into your e-strategy and it will work on pretty much any connected handset.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
"FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. Privacy policy | Terms
© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2010.
Read:
Apps in action: Did IT Work?
By Alan Cane
Published: February 15 2010 07:40 | Last updated: February 15 2010 07:40
When Apple Computer launched the iPhone 3G in 2008, it introduced a new option on its iTunes menu: the App Store.
This is a collection of software programs or applications (pieces of software that help users perform specific tasks) that can be downloaded to, and run on, a “smart” mobile phone or other mobile device.
Just over 18 months later, the expression “mobile apps” – hitherto used only by IT specialists – has become synonymous with a phenomenon comparable only to the craze for distinctive ringtones a few years ago.
The range of functions available from the App Store is bewildering: cooks can carry a library of recipes in their pockets; birdwatchers, the identifying features of every feathered creature they are likely to encounter. Many apps are meant to do no more than raise a quick laugh – an image of a glass of lager, for example, which empties as the phone is tilted.
Increasingly, however, apps are becoming serious and useful. Sccope, for example, has developed an app that allows shoppers to compare prices from a number of leading stores using a phone’s camera to scan product barcodes.
There are now 100,000 iPhone apps in the App Store, mostly free or costing only a few dollars, leaving other hardware and software manufacturers to play catch-up.
Google, which developed the Android smartphone operating system, has introduced Android Market; BlackBerry has the BlackBerry App World; and for Windows Mobile, the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
BlackBerry’s App World, for example, offers business-focused apps that can be downloaded to its devices to perform such tasks as managing expenses claims, keeping a mobile call log and tracking vehicle mileage. The Android market includes such productivity-enhancing tools as the TooDo task reminder list and an app that gives added information about the identity of those calling your phone.
“Apple has done a really fantastic job for the mobile internet with the iPhone and the App Store because it has made people aware that they have the internet on their phones,” says Mat Diss, co-founder of Bemoko, a developer of mobile websites.
He goes on, however, to point out that the App Store is a “walled garden” – only Apple-approved apps are on offer and they are written only for the iPhone – and the iPhone has only 5 per cent of the market.
According to the consultancy Capgemini, the introduction of app stores has brought significant changes in the way mobile content is produced and accessed.
One change is that the entry cost of developing a mobile app has reduced, in theory at least, to little more than the cost of the developer’s time.
Several companies have produced online tools to simplify the task. Late last year, Golden Gekko, a mobile website development group, launched Tino, a web-based service which, it claims, will allow anybody to build a mobile application and bring it to market more quickly and cheaply than before. The cost could be as little as £100 ($157) compared with £5,000 to £10,000 that an app might still typically cost today.
“It requires no developer skills,” says Magnus Jern, Golden Gekko chief executive. But he adds drily: “To make it look good, you would need to be a fairly skilled designer.”
Mr Jern explains that organisations are becoming aware of the importance of mobile apps but lack the money or skills to create them and typically under-estimate the cost of a professionally produced app: a museum with a budget of €2,000 might ask him to develop a “mobile guide” app – something that could still cost up to 10 times as much.
According to one survey, only one in three smartphone owners keep an app on their phone for more than a day. (If they have paid for it, of course, the developer’s task has been accomplished.)
What has driven mobile apps to become the new big thing? A large factor has been Apple’s mission to persuade individuals that downloading software to a phone is simple.
Mr Jern argues that most people who own a mobile phone have played games on it – but only if the game was pre-loaded. With the iPhone and the App Store, apps became easy to find and easy to access: “If you deliver something truly useful, people will want it,” Mr Jern says.
Dan Rossner of PA Consulting argues that the arithmetic underpinning the growth of the mobile phone market is compelling: “High-speed connectivity and improved user experience has accelerated mobile internet take-up and the ubiquity of the mobile device will make it the dominant connected platform,” he says.
“Globally, the number of mobile devices exceeds desktop devices by a factor of 10. Businesses should therefore be looking at how to achieve competitive advantage through this channel in the same way if not more so than they did with the advent of online services on the PC.”
The trend towards the useful rather than trivial seems set to continue. Gartner Group, the US-based consultancy recently predicted the top 10 consumer mobile applications for 2012, leading off with money transfer followed by location-based services, mobile search and web browsing.
Of course, as Christopher David of the handset manufacturer Sony Ericsson points out, mobile apps have been around for a long time. Today, they fall into two broad categories – the stand-alone application, which lives within the phone, does one thing only and has no access to, or need of, further resources, and the networked app, where the “front end”, or “controls”, reside on the device which accesses information via the internet.
Many of the apps currently creating interest fall into the first category.
But it seems the growth of mobile apps has sparked controversy within the industry over the future of software on the go.
When asked whether the excitement was justified, Rich Holdsworth, chief technology officer of Wapple.net, a mobile web design and development company, replied: “Absolutely not.”
He argues that the future lies with mobile browser-based services: “It’s a massive step backwards. There are some quirky cool things you can do with apps but the pool is a pretty shallow one.”
The argument is essentially that developing a distinctive stand-alone app is hard and expensive and has to be repeated for each kind of mobile phone; an app written specifically for the iPhone will not run on a BlackBerry, for example.
On the other hand, browser-based services can be developed for a broad range of handsets that can all access them via the mobile internet: “The future is moving away from installed applications and towards browser-based services,” Mr Holdsworth says. “These are available anywhere, any time on any operating system and are continually refreshed and updated.”
Rob Bamforth, a consultant with the consultancy Quocirca, is also sceptical: “Apps come from mobile developers and the big question is ‘why?’. What motivates them? Many have been on the iPhone bandwagon of developing lots of IT aimed mainly at entertaining consumers, but this is low investment, back-bedroom and extremely hit or miss development.
Other industry experts are more enthusiastic. Stuart Orr of the consultancy Accenture says the sheer level of innovation and number of apps available is impressive.
“For every business, there is at least one app available that can help to solve your problem. Furthermore, these apps are available at compelling prices,” he says. “The iPhone has been the key here, as it opened the floodgates by showcasing the potential of mobile services as well as allowing small developers a low-cost route to market for some excellent business applications.”
On balance, it looks as if apps and mobile internet sites will co-exist for the foreseeable future. As Mr Holdsworth puts it: “The app brigade will tell you that mobile internet sites don’t compare with apps. From a certain point of view they are right.”
He continues: “The decision to choose either a mobile internet strategy or one based on apps will depend largely on what you want to achieve. For images of spirit levels and tilting pints of beer, it’s apps all the way.
“For anything that offers dynamic data, interactive services and user participation, then you really should give the mobile internet a go. It’s cheaper, more flexible, is more tightly integrated into your e-strategy and it will work on pretty much any connected handset.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
"FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. Privacy policy | Terms
© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2010.
Read:
Apps in action: Did IT Work?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)