Mobile Content and Application World

Mobile applications should be designed for mobile devices from the start and not ported by removing pieces of a desktop application until it fits onto a device. Mobile device applications may share information sources and broad purpose with desktop applications, but beyond this the two classes of applications have little in common. It is important to decide the scope of the mobile application and then design from the ground up.

A myth that is worth dispelling is that mobile devices will replace personal computers; there seems to be no practical evidence to support this. To be successful in creating great mobile applications, think of mobile devices as augmenting existing software with new mobile behaviors as well as creating entirely new classes of software rather than replacing existing desktop or Web software. People use mobile devices in qualitatively different ways than they use desktop computers.

Think of working with a word processor, doing e-mail, shopping for airline tickets on the Web, or programming with a software development tool. All of these are rich exploratory activities that often involve long sessions at the computer. It is not uncommon during a session with a desktop or laptop computer to pull information together from several different sources and use applications in an ad hoc way. Good mobile device software, on the other hand, provides the user with a focused, task-centric ability to zoom in on needed information during short usage sessions. For example if the user wants to quickly make a phone call they’ll be frustrate of trying to look up an address on a badly designed mobile device address book. 10 seconds is a frustratingly long time to fiddle with buttons and navigate user interface when trying to initiate a phone call. Mobile devices are about portability, about always being on, and about quick access to information and services.

It is important to specifically consider the usage patterns and specific circumstances of the people who are going to be using the software. Is the application going to be used in a delivery truck right after a package delivery is made? Will the application need to be simple enough to be used by people while walking down crowded streets or will people use it while sitting down in someone's office and looking up complex data? Is the application going to be used during a flight, where communications will need to be cached until connectivity is available? Is the application going to be part of a package, where the same person uses the desktop and mobile device software, or will the people using desktop computers and mobile devices be separate and united only by the data they work with? What is the level of experience the target user has with using other computers and applications? Will the user interface need to be simplified to take user inexperience into account? If your application requires a certain kind of user interface, this may have a strong effect on the hardware and form factors you choose for your application. This will not only help you determine the right features and user interface for your mobile application but may also help you choose the right target hardware for your mobile solution.

There are many technologies we may use when creating mobile applications. There are C++, BREW, Mophun, etc. It is important to consider which platforms have the widest range of device support, and more importantly which devices are most popular among users. In some cases you might want to target a specific region or phone network operator, in this case the choice of target platform might not lie in your hands. As an example, Verizon (one of the largest network operators in the US) are pushing BREW enabled handsets.

From those many option, I choose J2ME to develop my mobile application. I suppose that many of the developer out there had the same thought as mine. J2ME considered as one of the most convenient for developing application especially games.

Well, there are a couple reasons why J2ME is chosen as the core technology by many developers as well as me, some of it is:

• Industry Standard. J2ME already become a de-facto standard which is backed by many mobile device manufacturers. Almost every mobile device right now is java enabled.


• Free and Open Platform. We may reduce the development cost when using J2ME because it is free already. There are many supports also.


• Portable. Java advantages is “write once, run anywhere”. Just develop it once and it is guaranteed will work on other device which is java-enabled.


• Optimized. J2ME as part of java technology which is focused in mobile development.


• MIDP. There is an API which is designed specifically for developing application in mobile device called Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) in J2ME.

To develop application in J2ME you’ll need to obtain:J2SE SDKAs you will be writing and compiling java code you will need the standard J2SE SDK. This includes the basic tools needed to compile your code. So if you haven't already, download and install the J2SE SDK from Sun Microsystem official website.The Wireless Toolkit As you might have suspected you will be developing for a device that is not a "PC" so you will need something that emulates the target device or platform. Enter the J2ME Wireless Toolkit. The J2ME Wireless toolkit or WTK will be your best friend (and sometimes enemy) in the coming time. The WTK includes these main features:

• The MIDP API classes and documentation


• Default set of device emulators


• Example code and applications


• Java class pre-verifier (more about this one later)

The WTK can be downloaded and installed also from Sun Microsystem official website.

According to midlet-review.com, Vivendi games mobile announced to launch of SWAT® Elite Troops for mobile phones, the sequel to the award winning SWAT Force mobile game. The SWAT Elite Troops game is now available on mobile phones throughout Europe and will be available in March 2008 in North America.

Based on the successful and award-winning SWAT PC franchise from Sierra Entertainment. The genre is "Instant tactical decision".
SWAT Elite Troops for mobile features 16 unique levels as well as three different side challenges. Players lead a team of three highly trained officers through 15 authentic crisis situations to safely rescue hostages and minimize enemy casualties.

By looking at the screenshot, the graphic is pretty awesome. The environment is charming and vivendi said that the gameplay will stun many gamers.

Well, this is a sequel of a hit game on 2006. Will it follow the prequel's success ? we still don't know. But vivendi brand is a guarantee that this game at least offering something good.

Wait, what is a mobile game anyway? Well, you may consider it as any game which is played in a cell phone, or any mobile media or simply wireless. Mobile games bring alternatives in gaming. People usually categorize games into console games, PC games, and handheld games. Mobile game is almost similar to handheld games in physical ways. Tiny screen and can be carried out, etc. But it is integrated with another function of the device such as phone, which a handheld game is not. Mobile games have become a primary entertainment for people. Their phone becomes a multimedia entertainment device. The market for mobile games is good too. With the mobile phone user increasing every year and predicted to reach 220 million in 2009, such a great number if we could say.In past few years mobile gaming had an evolution from black and white games to real-time color games. We can divide mobile games into three types:

• Embedded games: games which are already embedded into the mobile devices by the manufacturer. Example: Snake in all Nokia phones.


• SMS games: games which are using SMS in playing. People send SMS to server and eventually get the result by SMS also. The cost for the player is pretty high since you must pay for the SMS you send.


• Browser games: games which are played using mobile phone’s built in microbrowser. People may play online games through their cellular carrier's or a third-party game provider's game Web site, or download them for offline gaming.

The browser game is the one which is very popular right now. The innovation is very high and likely. The cost is lower than SMS games, and very rich of multimedia content. The development in this games type is great. Right now, people can develop their own mobile games easier than other games. Many of the development tools are free. There is no need to be a big developer to create a good one. Even hobbyist or small production house can develop a mobile game. No wonder there is so many people interested in this.
To develop mobile games, we need a game platform. There are couple platforms in the market. Some of it is:

• J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) is a part of java language developed by SUN microsystems which is optimized for small devices such as mobile phones. J2ME improves mobile phones ability to support games significantly. Almost every phone in the market support java. It has become an industry standard while there are other platform around.


• BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) from Qualcomm. It is a C++ API for mobile platform. It is also a certification and distribution model for getting mobile phone applications out to the audience.


• Mophun created by Synergix Interactive, is a software based gaming console for mobile devices. Sony Ericsson was the first manufacturer to integrate the Mophun games engine in its phones. It is C based.
  
  Another platform is: ExEn, WGE, DoJa, .Net compact Framework, etc.

Most of the resources to develop mobile games are available for free. We can get Java SDK, Wireless Toolkit, emulator from vendor, and many more from the internet. An individual or small group of people may have their own games idea and develop the games themselves. So are you interested?

Developing content for mobile devices is almost the same with developing for web content and PC content, just with a few considerations. We may use the same phase and method but just remember one thing that the most important thing in developing content for mobile devices is the end user behavior.

Differ with accessing content in another media, something like browsing the web on your phone can often be a slow and painful process. With a tiny little screen, and not very comfortable interfaces of mobile phone, people may not voluntarily choose phone as their main device to browsing web pages.

Most people use phone to browse is because a necessity, and not a choice. People usually just want to access the specific information they want and get out as quick as possible. With these things in mind, provider and developer should make the content can be accessed quickly and easily.

Various contents on the web which mainly accessed by users is timely information such as news or plane schedule. People may access this information in a hurry condition. If they find the information is hard to access or need more time than expected, they may feel stressed and frustration which lead to avoid accessing your content ever again.

One thing to consider is not to fill the content with too much information that people may find it is difficult to looking for a specific thing. When people take a look at a tiny screen with so many things in it, they may lose their will to find the information they want. So, please consider carefully what information we’ll provide in your content. The content should clear on what purpose people may access it. If the content purpose is clear, then the information will fit as well, not too much and not too little.

Another thing to do is testing. We must test your content well. With so many devices and application out there, and of course with different screen size, we must know how the content will be displayed. Some devices came with different color limitation and another limitation. We can use mobile emulator software for the testing. Some of it is free to use.

Get the internet content you want, when you want:
- Find your favourites or discover something new: One simple entry box allows you to search for information or type in an Internet address. Mippin also makes it easy to find the things you want with handy browsing categories.
- Make Mippin yours: Mippin automatically personalises itself to you - creating a MyMippin profile that keeps track of all your favourite content.
- Enhance your Mippin: Adding Mipplet applications to the home page gives you quick shortcuts to news, weather, horoscopes and more. Simple and fun!
- Pass it around: It’s easy to share your favourite news, blogs, images and other information by SMS text, email, Twitter or Facebook.
- Then get voting! Vote for what you like and dislike or see what other Mippin users are reading and voting for.

CrestBreaker 1.9 takes after the previous 1.8 version and push it further. New features are now included in the demo, while graphics are now fully revamped. In this game, you plays as a nameless Aulian missile commander, in charge of launching missiles attacks towards the enemy nation, Eulian. Your job is to launch missiles to enemy buildings, but each buildings are coded with a secret number that will block your missiles unless guessed correctly. To make matter worse, each misguided missiles will cause civilian casualties which will reduce the UN's tolerance towards your country, leading to your apprehantion. So you have to guess carefuly, and swiftly too, before the enemy guess your codes as well! The game is similar to the classic game 'mastermind', but with a new twist. Instead of simply guessing numbers, you play against an AI opponent who is also active.
You can also plays against a friend, or plays a campaign in story mode to gain secret maps. What's new on the demo: - Story mode: play through 3 campaign, from easy to hard levels - Multiplayer: play against friend in bluetooth (not available in demo) or hotseat mode (available in both version) in 3 maps (2 in demo) and 2 secret maps (only in full version) - Set the difficulty from easy to hard (hard mode only available in full version) and sounds (only in full version)

Many people in the world using Google map and feel pleased. Google map already becoming one of the default service people use everyday. Now, Google map isn’t just giving you a map but is also giving your location when using mobile.

The newest update in Google maps allowing user to track where they are right now by using mobile. This new feature called ‘My Location’. While still in beta version, this feature tried to help they who don’t have GPS around.

Google can find your location to within about 1,000 meters. Google locate your position by using the relevant information gleaned from nearby cell towers. It still not perfect location but is good enough, especially if you lost in somewhere you really don’t know where.

It also has advantages over usual GPS. You can use it indoor, where GPS can’t. It also works faster by using shortcut button on your mobile (the “0” button). Moreover, you don’t need to buy another gadget apart from your mobile.

This feature is still in early stage, you may found more location error if you are in more rural areas. But in big city, this error reduced significantly.

Not every phone can be used also. It's available on color BlackBerry handsets, new Nokia Symbian phones, new Sony Ericsson phones and a number of Windows Mobile handsets.

Movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc is in talks with all the major mobile phone makers about partnerships aimed at making it easier for consumers to watch movies on the go, Chief Executive James Keyes said on Tuesday. (Reuters)
"We're talking with virtually all of the major manufacturers about the opportunity to provide greater mobility and convenience," Keyes said.

Blockbuster already talks with some other companies like Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung. They are trying to arrange some partnership about how mobile phone or gadget can download and playing blockbuster’s movies.

Blockbuster also talks with some software companies but didn’t name them.

The process of downloading and playing movies in mobile is not mentioned in detail. Blockbuster targets they who are rare in home for watching movies.

This may be a great advancement in mobile content, but we still don’t know if this kind of service will be convenient or not. People may feel that watching movies on mobile isn’t something worth of.

Beside anything, we shall wait and see how this will going on. Will Blockbuster take lead or will it just stumble?

Right now, one third of the global populations are connected via mobile phones and approximately half are expected to be using a mobile Internet phone by 2008 (according to dotmobi.net). Also annual mobile phone sales are predicted to hit 1 billion by 2009.
That’s a very significant statistic we have here. Not just stopping here, about 29 % of mobile phone users in UK using their gadget to do searching (according to an IPSOS survey on 2005).

But until now, there are not much marketers or advertisers gaining advantage from this marketing channel. Many of these marketers are still waiting and see. They are not confidence about the potential and market of mobile as one of marketing channel. Only 13 % of marketer use mobile text ad and 11 % advertising on WAP sites (according to report by Forrester Research).

With the growth, mobile search will become one of the greatest e-commerce and marketing potential. The barrier that people think about mobile technology such as adoption of web format into the mobile gadget screen will eventually overcame by the improvement in technology.

Mobile is a perfect platform for advertising. People bring it every time, it always on, it is interactive, it also provide location data and many other things. By now, people search about things like news, entertainment, ring tones, map and directions, local services, train schedule, movie schedule, restaurant and many more.

Going forward, more complex searches and bigger transactions will become viable as technology advances.

Many internet and telecommunications enterprise already invest in mobile search section. Company like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Motorola, and LG already arrange their mobile search unit and adding features in their products.

It is clear that mobile search will be the next big thing and be the major part of online marketing. Will we just sit down and watch or anticipating this booming already?