22 Jun 2011

July 4th: The State of the Developer Nation

vision mobile cover

Not just for developers ...

Sponsored by Blue Via, our July event is focussed on the state of the developer nation where we will have key players from within the developer ecosystem share their thoughts and experiences on the topic. The report: Developer Economics 2011 (free download) is the quintessential mobile developer research report. In this second annual report, we explore both what drives developer mindshare, and how brands are fast-forwarding into the world of mobile. It takes the reader across the entire developer journey, from the shift of mindshare and why "users can buy you love," to how money is made in mobile. It covers the hottest issues, from app design and promotion to monetisation and user support.

Speakers for the evening include Eli Camilleri from Vision Mobile, Tom Hume from Future Platforms, Simon Davis from Snaptu, Chad Cribbins from Sapient and Simon Walker from comScore.

Venue - CBI at Centre Point. Please use the entrance at street level. Nearest tubes are Tottenham Court Road (Central Line only – Northern Line exit is closed until November) and Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly Lines).

To attend the event, please please RSVP at http://momolo.org/event.jsp?eventid=114RSVP is required

Agenda:

6pm Doors open

6.30pm Welcome and introductions

6.35pm Report Summary

6.45pm Panel session and discussion led by Eli Camilleri

8.00pm - Drinks and networking courtesy of Blue Via

9.30pm - Doors close

Sponsors:

Blue Via logo - Blue Via



15 Jun 2011

MEF Global 2011: Mobile Content & Commerce–discount available for MoMoLo members

MEF_150x150_DiscountBannerWant some insight into what’s happening in mobile content and mobile commerce globally. Are you a media owner, retailer or brand? Do you have mobile solutions for any of the above? Then you may want to check out MEF Global 2011 where they’re talking about exactly these things. Mobile Monday London is an association partner this year and Helen was a judge for the Meffys again this year. And as a judge, one of the best things about it is seeing the global context of the entries. And that’s what this conference gives you – a true global perspective.

MEF Global 2011: Mobile Content & Commerce is a one-day conference in London on July 7, 2011, which will facilitate industry-shaping debate and focused deal-making, connecting influencers from the worlds of brands, content, finance, mobile, retail and technology. Along with established MEF brands, the MEF CEO Summit and Meffys awards, the event forms part of 2-days of insights, networking and celebration for the expanding mobile sector. MEF Global 2011 is a great opportunity to engage with the entire mobile value chain, gain an understanding of the issues which need to be addressed to take advantage of the huge opportunities around mobile and drive new business for your company.

As a partner for this exciting new event, we can offer our members an exclusive discount to attend both the conference and Meffys Awards. Please click here for further details. There are discounts on both the early bird tickets (available until Friday) and standard tickets and it’s reasonably priced.



13 Jun 2011

Round-up of our 6 June 2011 event: HTML vs. Apps–You Decide

viji pathyThis month’s write-up is brought to you by regular Mobile Monday London volunteer, Viji Pathy. Viji is an independent mobile software consultant at MoKaadu Ltd

MoMoLo's “HTML or Apps - You Decide” was a debate on the relative merits of applications and the web as a channel to engage consumers and provide mobile services and products, now and in the near future. The panel consisted of 2 teams with each speaker getting 5 minutes to contribute to the case for their team. The event was sponsored by the lovely folks at BlackBerry.

BlackBerry_Logo_Preferred_Black_RChaired by Leila Makki, the debate began with an introduction by Andy Tipton from RIM discussing the main factors which have come together to make mobile such an interesting commercial proposition recently:

  • Connectivity used to be the most challenging factor as well as the most expensive element of utilising mobile as a channel, but mobile technologies have become more and more advanced and able to provide always-on connectivity with the advent of WiFi, WiMax and 4G.
  • Device Hardware capabilities have increased to allow advanced functionality to be executed on the client side, whether through apps or via the browser.
  • Device Software platforms have evolved from the days of basic J2ME devices and only a few smartphone platforms such as Symbian and Windows Mobile, to a range of advanced mobile platforms in the last few years, and on the web side the HTML5 and JavaScript specification advances are facilitating advanced mobile web propositions.
  • Finally the Business Model opportunities to monetise services (whether by credit card transaction, advertising or operator billing) has contributed, as well as the ability to streamline user interaction via a 1 click process, such as iTunes or the “one-click” apps introduced by RIM. Andy concluded RIM themselves use a range of native, web, and hybrid solutions which use web technologies wrapped into downloadable apps.

gavelThe debate started with Team Captain of Team Apps, Sam Machin (website) from O2. He told us the key advantage of apps was discoverability, the first thing a user could do to find a service they wanted was use the in-built app store on most devices, easily accessible from the home screens, select the relevant category, find a suitable app and complete the process with a 1-click installation. Web searches on the other hand meant using the browser to open a search engine, which might output thousands of pages making it hard to find something which met the user's need directly amongst so much information. Sam also noted that nowadays most apps on the major smartphone platforms are not web apps but native apps which make full use of the platform functionality, and countered the argument that developers were easier to find for web development by noting that there was increasingly huge opportunities and availability for native app developers.

Team Captain of Team Web, Bryan Rieger of Yiibu, made the first argument for Team Web by talking about numbers – of the world population of over 6.7 billion, around 74% have a mobile phone, meaning the are over 5 billion mobile users on the planet. He compared this figure to the number of users for particular smartphone platforms, such as around 100 million iPhone users in total. In addition prices were rapidly coming down for all devices which would only increase overall numbers, and most devices already came with a browser. In fact in many countries, a large proportion of web users only had access to the mobile version, this was especially true of the developing world and emerging markets, but even true of significant numbers in the West. He also noted that there might be limited opportunities to get a return on investment for businesses investing in native only mobile solutions, because of the high development costs and increasingly low prices being charged for apps on most app stores, for instance a large proportion of apps on Apple's store charged the minimum 59p, and significant proportions on both the App Store and the Android Market were completely free. Bryan concluded with the point that everyone has access to the web and that users want the choice of access to the same services from whichever device they are using, and an integrated experience to all services from their device such as links to social networking sites which were only available in the web.

Alex Watson (website), who is head of app development for Dennis Publishing, continued the debate for Team Apps saying the purpose of a web site was often not easily understood by many normal consumers in simple terms, i.e. what was it for? Web sites could often be very complex but lacking a clear purpose. Single purpose apps make sense to users, who are able to easily find a specific utility, download it, and easily navigate to it whenever required from the home screen – this made users build a regular relationship with the app and use the service more. By giving users a more focused experience, concentrating on limited functionality of use to them, users are rewarded and that's why apps are so popular.

Mauricio Reyes from Flirtomatic, then continued the debate for Team Web, he also compared the numbers involved, noting that Apple and Google boasts of 100m iPhones sold and 350K Android devices activated every day were not so impressive compared with the 5.3 billion mobile subscribers worldwide. Even now feature phones are still selling in huge numbers, so any business should ask itself ‘who are my users?’, ‘what devices do they have?’, and ‘which ones will they be likely to update to in the future?’ Users of mobile services don’t fall neatly into small groups of handset owners so when considering where to put your services, mobile web has to be a major part of your mobile strategy. Mauricio noted that Flirtomatic's revenue split (via add-ons such as virtual gifts) was 74% from mobile web compared to 26% from native apps.

Rebecca Pate who is Mobile Product Manager for Tesco, concluded the debate for Team Apps, noting that at Tesco, native apps have encouraged users to come back regularly to use Tesco's services – this was because apps provided a personalised service for the user with push notifications and personalised widgets which encouraged habitual use, they offered a more enhanced and optimised UX with features such as transition effects and gesture interaction, and integration with other services on the device such as messaging, as well as with device hardware such as accelerometers and the camera.

Finally Cait Roberts (blog) from MePlease, concluded the debate for Team Web, noting that mobile search was getting better and better on the mobile web, with stats indicating that mobile search engine traffic had increased 247% in the past year and that 49% of users on the mobile web had made a purchase based on the mobile web search, these figures were very high compared with the comparative figures for native app usage and purchases. She noted that often apps did not give users a satisfactory experience and they couldn't interact with all the services they required, and mobile users tended to blame the brand rather than the device for a poor mobile experience. So brands needed to create a mobile strategy which include first and foremost a mobile web solution to get full awareness amongst all their users. She cited M&S and Dominos Pizza and other examples of brands having great mobile web solutions as a major part of their mobile strategy had resulted in huge increases in sales.

Next the panel considered questions from the audience.

Did the cost of app development (averaging £20K per app) justify the investment? Rebecca thought it did as Tesco had recouped the investment in their iPhone app within a week of publishing, because of its popularity with users. Sam thought the same and also noted that the mobile web, although potentially a large platform, did not yet equate to real users and and a real market. Bryan however felt that only targeting a tiny proportion of (usually your richest) users could leave huge parts of the population unable to access your services, which was an issue for large companies and government organisations. Team Web also though that the investment did not often pay off if you were relying directly on monetising the app without linking to other business models.

What about services requiring complex functionality, were they better served by mobile web or apps? Sam noted that O2 are currently working on very complex apps using telephony and rich graphics which the mobile web did not yet support. How did the fragmentation of browsers affect the web as a an ubiquitous platform? Cait thought that as long as your baseline for each solution was chosen well, the web could provide better solutions for each user, for instance touch web sites and better search and discovery. Was integrating to web based social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook important for mobile? Alex agreed that a multi-platform approach should be taken, with services available everywhere but with the UX tailored to specific users, such as integration with device features such as sending messages for app users. Did advertising models used in apps have an impact, for example for competitor adverts? Sam thought this was not more of an issue in apps, which gave users a more controlled UX, for instance allowing users to do a highly targeted search in an app store, whereas search engines like Google returned users a lot of generic adverts.

Will apps end be like ringtones, i.e. hugely hyped for a few years then disappear? Alex thought ringtones were a different case because users were often scammed after purchase, but Cait thought there might be a similar problem emerging with apps where unsatisfied users were unable to get refunds from app stores. Was app store curation going to be an issue for apps, for instance with Apple controlling distribution and placing restrictions on app store content (such as gambling apps), businesses were not free to create products in the way they could on the web? Team Web agreed but Alex noted there could be benefits for app store curation, giving the users a better experience, Team App also noted the control Google had over decreasing rankings in user searches.

Is there a monetisation model using the web for software creators not linked to an existing business, such as games creators? Cait thought there was and pointed out web based social media is increasingly monetising web solutions through various models, Mauricio also agreed noting Flirtomatic uses a model of online payment for virtual currency and gifts which has proved successful.

How did the panel see things progressing in 5-10 years time? Sam thought that although the web would have long since caught up on existing technologies, it will always trail future technologies introduced in apps by companies such as Apple because of the need for standards agreements, so premium services will always be available first on high-end platforms and devices. Alex also noted that the technologies introduced in apps have a positive effect on the mobile web and vice versa, so there would be mutual benefit in having both options. If the browser ended up being just another app, how would the tide away from the web be stopped? Bryan thought there were issues with moving into an app-only scenario, with companies like Apple and Microsoft tying businesses and developers into their proprietary platforms, whereas the web provided them with a layer of abstraction. Alex thought there were similar issues on the web with companies like Google wanting everything free to sell their own business model.

Could installable web apps be another option? Sam agreed noting that the technologies used were less important than the ability for users to have focused installable solutions easily available to them on their device home screens. Is it the case that apps are the more reliable option now, but that will change in future as the mobile web becomes a better platform? Bryan thought that the mobile web was not very far behind apps in technology terms, and Cait emphasised that that they key was finding out where your consumers are currently accessing web services from and supporting that channel. The final comments from the audience supported a multi-platform strategy, with apps and the web used for different purposes as required.

With the debate rounded up, the audience cast the final vote on which solution they saw as the future. The result was very close indeed, but the winners were...Team Web – Bryan, Cait and Mauricio.

A big thank you to all our speakers – Leila Makki, Sam Machin, Alex Watson, Rebecca Pate, Bryan Rieger, Mauricio Reyes, Cait Roberts and Andy Tipton. A big thank you to our sponsors, BlackBerry – don’t forget to check out their BlackBerry Developer Zone and you may also be interested to take a look at this year's BlackBerry Developer Challenge... lots of categories and lots of prizes on offer.

Our next events are on 20 June on Geo-spatial matters with UCL and on 4 July, where we’re taking a look at the state of the developer nation with BlueVia. Registration is now open for both events at http://momolo.org



Upcoming events: Geo-spatial matters on 20 June & The State of the Developer Nation on 4 July

Yes, that’s right. We have not one but two upcoming events in the next three weeks. Phew!

Geo-spatial Matters on 20 June – Please RSVP at http://momolo.org/event.jsp?eventid=113

First up, we’re talking things geo-spatial with the folks at UCL. Maps and Mobile are natural bedfellows and have been part of the mobile landscape for quite a while whether that's using GPS or mobile technology to determine location co-ordinates. LBS has been touted as the next big thing for at least 10 years so is it already here? Are there really opportunities? And what do real people use this stuff for?

Kindly hosted by UCL as part of their Making Money in Mobile Apps Bootcamp, we'll be exploring the state of mobile geospatial. Does the arrival of GPS equipped tablets mean that the days of the dedicated SatNav/GPS are over? What's the relationship between Location Based Services, Augmented Reality and Maps? We'll be exploring all this, most likely we'll touch on open data and a whole lot more ...

We have speakers from Navteq, Ordnance Survey and UCL.The session will be chaired by Andrew Scott who founded Rummble and is the co-founder of Magical Jaguar. Andrew has been working in LBS for 10 years so knows a thing or two about this area.

If you have a demo in this space we'd love to hear from you - please let us know by filling in this form and we'll do our best to include you.

To attend the event, please RSVP at http://momolo.org/event.jsp?eventid=113RSVP is required.

NB. The event will be held at UCL and NOT at our usual Centre Point Venue.

Please enter UCL via the Malet Place gate (opposite Waterstone’s bookshop in Torrington Place). The Roberts building is immediately on your left. Nearest Tube Stations: Goodge Street, Russell Square, Euston Square, Warren Street. More venue details http://momolo.org/venue.jsp?venue=24.

Agenda:

6.00 pm Arrival

6.30 pm Panel Session

7.30pm Demos

8.00 pm Networking

9.30 pm Close

Sponsors:

Making Money in Mobile Apps LogoIn association with Making Money in Mobile Apps Bootcamp, a 5 day bootcamp running from 16th to 22nd June for entrepreneurs to get to understand what it takes to develop and deploy iOS apps - at £250 this is a real bargain.

NB The event will be held at UCL and NOT at our usual Centre Point Venue. Address and directions here.

Kindly sponsored by RBS, Interreg and Capital Enterprise. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The State of the Developer Nation on 4 July – please RSVP at http://momolo.org/event.jsp?eventid=114

Sponsored by Blue Via, our July event is focussed on the state of the developer nation where we will have key players from within the developer ecosystem share their thoughts and experiences on the topic. The report: Developer Economics 2011 (free download) is the quintessential mobile developer research report. In this second annual report, we explore both what drives developer mindshare, and how brands are fast-forwarding into the world of mobile. It takes the reader across the entire developer journey, from the shift of mindshare and why "users can buy you love," to how money is made in mobile. It covers the hottest issues, from app design and promotion to monetisation and user support.

Speakers for the evening include Eli Camilleri and Andreas Constantinou from Vision Mobile, Tom Hume from Future Platforms, Simon Davis from Snaptu. Further speakers tbc.

Venue - CBI at Centrepoint. Please use the entrance at street level. Nearest tubes are Tottenham Court Road (Central Line only – Northern Line exit is closed until November) and Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly Lines).

To attend the event, please please RSVP at http://momolo.org/event.jsp?eventid=114RSVP is required

Agenda:

6pm Doors open

6.30pm Welcome and introductions

6.35pm Report Summary from Andreas Constantinou

6.45pm Panel session and discussion led by Eli Camilleri

8.00pm - Drinks and networking courtesy of Blue Via

9.30pm - Doors close

Sponsors:

Blue Via logo - Blue Via



7 Jun 2011

Making Money in Mobile Apps Bootcamp with UCL–16 to 22 June

Stop Press: Just a few tickets left so be quick if you’d like to attend as tickets are just £250 for the five days. For More info: Click Here and you can Book Now

Mobile Monday London is pleased to be associated with a unique event from University College London. This five-day bootcamp will provide entrepreneurs with the opportunity to design, develop and deploy their first apps and equip them with the skills and knowledge necessary to get apps into the Apple App Store.

iOS is a platform for iPhone and iPad application development that has seen large scale adoption in recent years. The bootcamp will breakdown the entry level knowledge barriers posed by the new platform and is of interest for both entry level developer and those wishing to learn more about the app development process.

The five day program will cover the basic technical skills involved in learning or adopting new programming languages and provide the resources to experiment and develop on a new device. Importantly, it will also cover financing and marketing new apps and educate entrepreneurs on possible business model, IP and app project management issues.

Each day will consist of an overview of a specific topic, break out workshops to discuss and develop new apps, a guest lecture from an industry expert and provide an opportunity to build new networks and business opportunities.

It’s just £250 for the full five days.  For More info: Click Here and you can Book Now

rbs_logo   interreg  ucl logo  mobile monday  noodle fruit  state of play  bw



The BLN Money in Mobile Award 2011 presenting companies are…

BLN Award 2011 logoWell, there were 48 entries in total for this year’s MiM award and having been through the entries myself, I can see that a lot of our very own Mobile Monday London friends were in that list including many who have demo’ed at Mobile Monday London in the past. But not everyone can get through to present unfortunately. However, there are a great selection of companies who will be presenting next week at the Money in Mobile Forum. By the way, there are only a handful of tickets left and we have a 35% discount so grab ‘em quick if you want one.

Given the interest in so many of the businesses that entered, it was apparently very hard to make a clean cut so there will be12 companies, rather than the original 10 presenting on the day. I also understand that there may be opportunities for those who didn’t quite make the cut to meet and demo on the day. So that’s good news all round I think. There were over 25 judges who provided input into the list (including me) and therefore the selection is both eclectic and not representative of a single individual or organisation.

Money in Mobile Award 2011 – the presenting companies:

CogentaCogenta Systems Limited - http://www.cogenta.com

Eagle Eye logoEagle Eye Solutions - http://www.eagleeyesolutions.co.uk/

 

HyperBees logoHyperBees Ltd. - http://hyperbees.com

 

Masabi logoMasabi - http://www.masabi.com

 

ParcelGenie logoParcelGenie - http://www.parcelgenie.com

 

paythru logopaythru - http://www.paythru.com

 

Qriously logoQriously - http://www.Qriously.com

 

welivecricket logoRoulette Cricket Ltd - http://www.welivecricket.com

 

Screenreach logoscreenreach interactive ltd - http://www.screenreach.com

 

Strikead logoStrikeAd - http://www.strikead.com

 

Swiftkey logoTouchType - http://www.touchtype-online.com

 

 

VouChaCha logoVouChaCha - http://vouchacha.com

 

About Money in Mobile Forum 14th June

We want to see how companies are making money from mobile today as we think the companies that take mobile mainstream will be among some of the most successful businesses of the decade. Putting some of the people that are making this happen together in a room and helping them share ideas, meet partners, investors and customers seemed like a sensible thing to do. Throw in some press for good measure and we have the ingredients for an exceptional day of discussion, business development, networking and mobile brain food.

Want to see who is coming? Have a look at the confirmed participants as of May 24th.

  • You will get to meet with senior people from companies playing leading roles in making mobile a business necessity.
  • Over 35 of the most active VCs in mobile will be there.
  • You will hear from ten twelve businesses out of the 48 entrants who will make a case to be the winner of our Money in Mobile Award. This will be presented to the company who in the opinion of the judges has the greatest potential to make money for customers.

If you are making things happen in mobile – either as an entrepreneur or adopter of technology – you will fit right in. Pontificators, hangers-on and wannabes – not so much.



3 Jun 2011

NN4D–NAVTEQ Developer Day–London 8 June

navteq logoMobile Monday London is very pleased to be supporting NN4D with their upcoming developer day on 8 June in London. It’s free to attend, but registration is required: http://www.nn4d.com/site/global/market/developerday/p_devday.jsp/. This is a unique opportunity and the first time the NN4D team have brought developer days to Europe. They’ve just had a great developer day with Mobile Monday Tel Aviv so let’s make sure this is a great one too.

Why come?

  • Learn directly from NAVTEQ and our partners Nokia, Samsung, Orange, Blue Via, deCarta and more about their map data and partner APIs to quickly apply your skills to create the most compelling location-based mobile apps
  • Listen to developers share their lessons learned
  • Explore augmented reality and next-generation technologies for location-based 3D apps and games
  • Learn about free technical support, free marketing support and free business development opportunities to meet global channel partners (this is the most interesting bit for me – the opportunities are very real and are there for the asking and can make a real difference to your business)
  • Network with peers, meet experts and discover how to get your app in front of potential customers and industry influencers
  • Participate in a Lucky Draw to win an iPad and other prizes and giveaways

Learn about the latest developments and innovation in location through case studies, interactive panel discussions and unique networking opportunities. Meet the people who matter both on the business side and the technical side. They will be out in force to help you.

Find out what the global opportunity is for location-based applications and how NAVTEQ data can help you differentiate your applications. Discover how the NAVTEQ Network for Developers (NN4D) can assist you every step of the way, from building your app straight through to business development and marketing and help you meet global channel partners. And all this is offered free. They will never ask for a penny from you in fees or in revenue share. Ever.

The technical portions of the day focus on APIs and SDKs that enable both mainstream location-based apps and services, and next-generation technologies for location-based 3D apps and games.Learn how to get started creating location enabled mobile apps from partners, such as Nokia, Samsung and deCarta who will introduce you to their APIs.

The day is suitable for both business people making decisions about mobile apps and services and how they can be distributed and marketed and also developers and coders who need to know more about the nitty gritty of the technical detail.  The full agenda is here: http://www.nn4d.com/site/global/market/developerday/agenda2/p_agenda2.jsp

Where is it?

Dexter House, 2 Royal Mint Court, Tower Hill, London EC3N 4QN  – nearest tube is Tower Hill map.

The event is co-located with Mobile Apps World and there are discounts available to attend that if you wish.

When is it?

Wednesday 8 June 2011 – registration opens at 8.30am and the day will finish around 5.30pm.

RSVP

The NAVTEQ® Developer Day is free of charge but you must pre-register. Please RSVP here:  http://www.nn4d.com/site/global/market/developerday/p_devday.jsp

See you there next week!



2 Jun 2011

Speakers confirmed for Monday night's debate

I'm very pleased to confirm our speakers for Monday evening - The session will be introduced by Andy Tipton from BlackBerry, chaired by Leila Makki and speakers include Bryan Rieger from Yiibu (heading up Team Web), with Cait Roberts from MePlease, Mauricio Reyes from Flirtomatic, Sam Machin from O2 (heading up Team Apps), with Alex Watson from Dennis Publishing and Rebecca Pate from Tesco.

Our motion is 'this house believes that apps are the new ringtones and therefore have a limited shelf-life for long-term commercial gain'.

Should be great fun so if you'd like to come and you haven't done so already, please RSVP at http://momolo.org/

The drinks are on BlackBerry! [Oh, and there'll be some Playbooks to have a gander at too.]

Hope to see you on Monday.