tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34327966031881941512024-02-19T17:43:42.406+02:00Next Generation Mobile ContentPerspective of an EntrepreneurOfir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-49087360874071306082012-02-23T00:14:00.002+02:002012-02-23T00:21:43.989+02:00MWC 2012 Parties app is here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
If you are going to Mobile World Congress this year, you probably know that the real action happens in the many networking events and parties held during MWC.</div>
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It is hard to keep track of everything, so to make things easier I compiled a list of events into an app - and this year it is available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and JavaME. It is a native app, so once you download it you can view all events offline and save some roaming $$$...<br />
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<b>Download Links:</b><br />
iOS: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mwc12ios">http://tinyurl.com/mwc12ios</a><br />
Android: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mwc12a">http://tinyurl.com/mwc12a</a><br />
BlackBerry/JavaME: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mwc12j">http://tinyurl.com/mwc12j</a><br />
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Note that after downloading it is recommended to press the "Refresh Data" button to get the latest event (Very necessary in the iOS version which is the least updated due to the approval process time)<br />
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Enjoy the show!<br />
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<br />Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-6615472015786170072011-12-13T13:51:00.004+02:002011-12-13T13:51:56.778+02:00WIPJam is coming to Tel Aviv, Yay!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXxUFRxox3SQDIeBNTfpUvSGakD7zAet9R-keGF2_SGS_shin9Ablqt23xJN8FOtPhH1n9b-ReyALkmlwW9228jQUw8dRGnNqZvgka7hZrRhoAJtdCpjPK9e3tjO21WJQ5VIDnLVd0w/s1600/wip-pirates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXxUFRxox3SQDIeBNTfpUvSGakD7zAet9R-keGF2_SGS_shin9Ablqt23xJN8FOtPhH1n9b-ReyALkmlwW9228jQUw8dRGnNqZvgka7hZrRhoAJtdCpjPK9e3tjO21WJQ5VIDnLVd0w/s200/wip-pirates.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I am really glad to announce that WIPJam, the internationally known mobile developer event, is coming to Tel-Aviv! Yes, yes, we'll have a <a href="http://www.wipjamtlv.com/" target="_blank">WIPJam Tel Aviv</a> on January 16.<br />
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I've known the WIPJam events for quite a while, they've become an integral part of most global mobile related events. In the past 4 years I've participated and moderated discussion groups at the MWC (Barcelona), CTIA (USA) and at the MoMo Summit in Helsinki, Well, actually this one was on a ferry going from Helsinki to Tallinn... The theme was "Pirates of the Baltics" as you can see in the picture...<br />
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So when the opportunity came to host a WIPJam in Tel-Aviv, I went for it - I wanted developers here to experience the magic of these events. The discussion group format for one is a great format to really get feedback and insights from our peers - and we'll have at least 8 of those in WIPJam Tel Aviv.<br />
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It wasn't easy getting Thibaut Rouffineau, the Londo based great WIP host to come and host it - WIP is very busy these days doing events all over the world: he'll be coming to Israel after hosting an event in CES and shortly after he departs he has another one in the US.<br />
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But in the end I kinda reminded him of the expected whether in London that time of year (By using <a href="http://theoatmeal.com/blog/seattle_weather" target="_blank">this great oatmeal comics</a>, and on the other hand the one we'll have here... and there we have it: WIPJam Tel Aviv is on!<br />
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So if you're in town join us! Details and registration:<br />
<a href="http://www.wipjamtlv.com/">http://www.wipjamtlv.com/</a>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-27982718408257636802011-05-06T14:32:00.000+03:002011-05-06T14:32:29.435+03:00Israel Mobile Summit 2011 on May 31<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7J9qiLQav7LBddmlG6RH_l2Qncf0wU4jvM6BEaZqZ3jazpDne9FxJlEumKChPG6cF54aWOlRdvD47XaeYhtmWcHj1v5tTh3Z0WOl7Q40VG-Z3hUdfxUTglnHzRCAmP134VfEiNsW8ac/s1600/ims-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7J9qiLQav7LBddmlG6RH_l2Qncf0wU4jvM6BEaZqZ3jazpDne9FxJlEumKChPG6cF54aWOlRdvD47XaeYhtmWcHj1v5tTh3Z0WOl7Q40VG-Z3hUdfxUTglnHzRCAmP134VfEiNsW8ac/s1600/ims-logo.png" /></a></div>I'm organizing these days a unique event - the<a href="http://www.israelmobilesummit.com/"> Israel Mobile Summit 2011</a>. The summit is the first annual mobile event of its kind in Israel - focusing on mobile innovation and showcasing promising startups and technologies. The agenda includes keynotes from top speakers, panels on the hot topics in the mobile space and a very groovy startup contest.<br />
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A limited number of super early bird tickets are available now at the <a href="http://www.israelmobilesummit.com/registration">summit registration page</a>. So hurry to grab those.<br />
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Startups who want to present at the summit and get a chance to impress our judges from Navteq, RIM (BlackBerry) and other top mobile experts are welcome to <a href="http://www.israelmobilesummit.com/startup-contest">register to the contest here</a> till May.15. Winners get great exposure opportunities and nifty prizes!<br />
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The summit is part of a week packed with innovation and hi-tech events in Israel. We'll have two <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/">MobileMonday</a> events that week (One on Monday in Tel Aviv and one on Wednesday in Jerusalem). In addition the <a href="http://www.htia2011.co.il/">HTIA annual conference</a> will take place in the 2 days following the summit. And for the gamers among you, there's also the <a href="http://gameday2011.eventbrite.com/">Israeli Game Dev Day 2011</a> on May.29<br />
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See you at the <a href="http://www.israelmobilesummit.com/">Israel Mobile Summit 2011</a>!Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-86676667215206654622011-02-26T23:36:00.001+02:002011-02-27T09:40:29.632+02:00MWC 2011 RecapAs every year, it is time to sum up Mobile World Congress, which was quite packed this year. What did we have this show? In one word - Android. In four words: Android, 3D, HD and Tablets. Want some more details? Here you go:<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Star of the show: Android</span></b><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK919ioAXJAu-8UJOX2iF96azhkX2v9KlL6c0EjZA5_IUHIEpL9s6Z7Hu6fkof1XIj1Qx8VBAsJxn_gA3hW6bKInnnN1Gv-mPLzrafD90iNnLVRAYUIB3EwcK0LVn5XBXNU-3uiP37CA/s1600/160220111058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK919ioAXJAu-8UJOX2iF96azhkX2v9KlL6c0EjZA5_IUHIEpL9s6Z7Hu6fkof1XIj1Qx8VBAsJxn_gA3hW6bKInnnN1Gv-mPLzrafD90iNnLVRAYUIB3EwcK0LVn5XBXNU-3uiP37CA/s200/160220111058.jpg" width="200" /></a>Android did a really great job this year at the show. It started with their pavilion that showcased Android solutions in just about any category you can think of. It was neatly designed so that big green robots (androids) were placed in the pavilion - each android showcasing a different aspect (gaming, productivity, shopping etc.). The pavilion also offered some attractions such as <a href="http://androidify.com/">androdifying</a> yourself, some weird tasting slushies and a slide to get from the upper floor to the lower...<br />
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Aside from this pavilion, they had presence basically all over Hall 8, and in some other halls as well - overall over 30 companies who use Android partnered with the pavilion and had a smaller green android on their counter. In each such counter there were limited edition Android badges, which quickly became the talk of the show and visitors traded them like crazy. Also, these badges have already made their way to <a href="http://www.chipchick.com/2011/02/android-badges-ebay.html">eBay</a>...<br />
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The total effect is that wherever you looked at - Android was there. Of course this was true even without the branding effort - Android has taken a bite of almost any device vendor out there, and it's here to stay.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Best 3D device: LG Optimus 3D</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSW8kDTEL_mLzpXpO0_0v75qZCusnmUzwHkvFXcvVgTzuY1y5Q6jDteojJjAsMTelXNyAvSbfgqR3Fjy5v7bUkzqrjcdUnOI3ZhNAEQic9guDz5c05165j4YLFi8xzDJTZzXAKdUPjAw/s1600/160220111037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSW8kDTEL_mLzpXpO0_0v75qZCusnmUzwHkvFXcvVgTzuY1y5Q6jDteojJjAsMTelXNyAvSbfgqR3Fjy5v7bUkzqrjcdUnOI3ZhNAEQic9guDz5c05165j4YLFi8xzDJTZzXAKdUPjAw/s200/160220111037.jpg" width="200" /></a>Another trend at the show was 3D screens. I've seen several handsets with 3D screens, but of all, I have to say LG's (Android-based) handset was the best. First, I'd like to emphasize that we're not talking about a 3D screen that requires special glasses - you can look at these screens with your bare eyes, and still see the 3D effect in all its glory. Obviously you can't see the 3D effect from pictures (As you are using a stone age 2D screen...) - but it is truly amazing.<br />
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The downside is that you have to hold the handset firmly and look straight at it to get the full effect - viewing angle is key here, since it is all based on getting a different picture to your left eye than the one received on your right eye. And that leads to the second downside which can only be described as a "3D headache" - the same type of eyes/brain uncomfortable feeling you get while watching 3D content. However, of all devices I saw, the Optimus 3D was the easiest on the eyes.<br />
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The applications for 3D are quite obvious: videos and gaming. And the great thing is that aside of consuming 3D content, you can also produce it - the Optimus 3D features a stereoscopic camera that allows capturing 3D videos.<br />
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The Optimus 3D also features a 3D user interface which looks quite nifty, but a tad annoying... But anyway, you can also use it as a regular 2D handset. When 3D content is not available (i.e. browsing the web) the display looks like a high-quality 2D display.<br />
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And the best thing is that we're not talking about a futuristic technology that you'll see only in trade shows - the Optimus 3D will be released in Q2 2011 (April 25th in the UK)<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Best show in town: Samsung Galaxy S II</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenldzqB2GEKiEXk5BovlkqeJWBxqmGFvUkRebCp6TGOUjT-hJw4SqXJDF9kCSwkIbSvG9FAnR881onp-bHSEW4Xa0ZvaE-vbuzLaJX_OILOSSkl36SSDn-70DTFGpqbh3XmKTx8XWRA/s1600/14022011979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenldzqB2GEKiEXk5BovlkqeJWBxqmGFvUkRebCp6TGOUjT-hJw4SqXJDF9kCSwkIbSvG9FAnR881onp-bHSEW4Xa0ZvaE-vbuzLaJX_OILOSSkl36SSDn-70DTFGpqbh3XmKTx8XWRA/s200/14022011979.jpg" width="200" /></a>And yet another Android based handset that struck some waves in the show was Samsung Galaxy S II. It is a truly remarkable handset, very slick and amazingly thin (8.5mm), and it features a crisp Super AMOLED Plus 4.3" display all on top of Android Gingerbread.<br />
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Even though it's a great handset, the Galaxy S II has a lot of competitors starting with the Optimus 3D and countless other slick Android handsets from other manufacturers. However, what I do know is that Samsung did invest a lot of marketing $$ in MWC to prove they have the best Android out there - their launch event (Samsung Unpacked) was well done with orchestra players playing both traditional instruments and modern instruments such as the Android music apps on the Galaxy S II...<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The resolution revolution</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzr7EbC4eeUcaREi96Wm20E88JsI5V6kvWLUvNf4uqHAIyWKhK7fBFhIHVCIuD8aXxbTjwYc0An_caPb-Bs0nOxfzx5iOE-ZP6QwFeIjwuLKfi12mZeh_s5dfzw-xh7jMXghXtmkhCg/s1600/140220111006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzr7EbC4eeUcaREi96Wm20E88JsI5V6kvWLUvNf4uqHAIyWKhK7fBFhIHVCIuD8aXxbTjwYc0An_caPb-Bs0nOxfzx5iOE-ZP6QwFeIjwuLKfi12mZeh_s5dfzw-xh7jMXghXtmkhCg/s200/140220111006.jpg" width="150" /></a>Once upon a time a QVGA resolution (240x320) seemed like a dream - today QVGA is considered more like a nightmare for most savvy phone users... While the iPhone 4 is still king featuring 640x960 resolution, in most other smartphones we saw up until recently resolutions of up to 360x480 or so. But in this show it was clear that the new standard that most decent 4.3" Android phones feature is 480x800 resolution. That's 5 times the pixels we had in the ancient QVGA and about twice from just one generation ago.<br />
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And that's only on-screen resolution, many handsets come equipped with the ability to connect to external screens and show Full HD videos (1920x1080). Your phone can now be your streamer with no compromise on quality.<br />
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And if a big screen is not enough for you - some handsets come equipped with an internal projector. Now that's a killer feature: You can show up to a meeting and project slides or movies directly from your handset. These projectors still have a few issues, their brightness is usually very low which means you have to project in a dark room, and they consume quite a lot of battery - but the great thing is that's it's already commercial and I've seen handsets from multiple vendors with this feature (And yes, most were Android...)<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Mobile gaming promise: Xperia PLAY</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJroXSOljbON004Cic8SGeJKEXYh9ZJbhf5YlfDpUCkdgqDuV3wBu8xx-VR_06iPBrNy5aEShU4hAUdTJGCvlOl4Qz76hDvdsPO9ujamQQKMMoBS3fHdAJmrD7hOnQAt9cNr4P2mLakQ/s1600/150220111020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJroXSOljbON004Cic8SGeJKEXYh9ZJbhf5YlfDpUCkdgqDuV3wBu8xx-VR_06iPBrNy5aEShU4hAUdTJGCvlOl4Qz76hDvdsPO9ujamQQKMMoBS3fHdAJmrD7hOnQAt9cNr4P2mLakQ/s200/150220111020.jpg" width="200" /></a>For the gamers amongst you, SonyEricsson's Xperia PLAY should be a real treat. But since previous attempts to combine a mobile handset and a gaming console all-in-one failed miserably (Anyone said N-Gage?...) - we'll have to remain skeptical and let this new challenger prove its promise.<br />
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SonyEricsson has a real asset here which is Sony's PlayStation brand. And indeed the gaming controls that slide out of the phone (Instead of a keyboard) look like PlayStation controls, but certainly don't feel that way. The games I tried look great on the handset, but to my surprise PlayStation is mostly used here as a brand and not as a platform: All games are actually remastered version of the original PlayStation games.<br />
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The actual platform used here is no other than Android (again...) with some external APIs to allow access to the gaming controls. So if you thought you're getting a phone that knows to run PlayStation games, forget it - it will run Android games, which is not bad at all - but I think we'd all appreciate if this point was made more clear in this phone's marketing briefs.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tablets, tablets and more tablets</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fcXVb1L1YBMNYyUKL_KzhR73DSSb1lQe2smtAwe_4n7joQ7fPEvo-sVFqKF2vEFU9VdCMpniTAeDyq2bLKH4R472a2_vsS_qRDaHmnr-uj5O1t5qAVRMBmVsnOh9dNNtLExVKshZNg/s1600/150220111013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fcXVb1L1YBMNYyUKL_KzhR73DSSb1lQe2smtAwe_4n7joQ7fPEvo-sVFqKF2vEFU9VdCMpniTAeDyq2bLKH4R472a2_vsS_qRDaHmnr-uj5O1t5qAVRMBmVsnOh9dNNtLExVKshZNg/s200/150220111013.jpg" width="200" /></a>While Apple did not exhibit at the show (They never do...), its impact was well felt again- with Tablets being a buzz leader in the first MWC after the iPad was launched. And in the same way that almost every vendor had an Android phone, every vendor had a tablet - and in fact in most cases, an Android tablet.<br />
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Other than the iPad (And its soon-to-be revealed successor), it seems the BlackBerry is getting a good traction with its PlayBook, Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom lead the Android space (Both running Android 3.0 Honeycomb) and there's also HP with its TouchPad based on Palm's WebOS (Good luck with that...)<br />
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When Apple launched the iPad, people didn't know what to make of it. Some claimed it'll change our lives while others claimed that the iPad is just a big iPhone... I think that sales figures have proven that a tablet is more than just a big smartphone, and are here to stay - and we'll probably hear more on the future of tablets from Apple <a href="http://techland.time.com/2011/02/25/what-to-expect-from-the-ipad-2-announcement-next-wednesday/">later on this week</a>.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Blast from the past: Device cases</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejjYPQx-ZreVQzJ7IfzzMJUebuBwbn8xwHgzCEkd-QRZlnIcdG588xaVgQ2v8uU8tZ8VqDKIx3oZOTAK3diyvR6i9l2nDQoSklXu6uhn04gXB6qLQzwgC0hTY6_WM3ql3fZfOqW6NAg/s1600/14022011989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejjYPQx-ZreVQzJ7IfzzMJUebuBwbn8xwHgzCEkd-QRZlnIcdG588xaVgQ2v8uU8tZ8VqDKIx3oZOTAK3diyvR6i9l2nDQoSklXu6uhn04gXB6qLQzwgC0hTY6_WM3ql3fZfOqW6NAg/s200/14022011989.jpg" width="200" /></a>Remember the days we switched our Nokia handsets cases in the same rate we switched ringtones? Well, I'm afraid to announce that these days are knocking on our doors threatening to come back from the dead...<br />
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In the past few years the case-switching phenomenon disappeared and people were quite happy with their original phone casing (Also I get the feeling people change ringtones much less than they used to). But now I've seen several companies trying to ressurect this trend. For example CaseMate who markets various covers for Android and iPhones - including completely modular sets that allow you to customize your case in ways you never wanted to...<br />
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They're not the only company, I've seen it also in LG's booth and you probably also saw the Angry Birds smartphone cases. This adds up to another trend which is more useful, and that's magnetic charge. There are now adapter cases that replace your original smartphone's case, and hookup internally to its charging port. Then charging is done by simply placing it on a magnetic charger (See <a href="http://www.powermat.com/">Powermat</a>)<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Coolest Demo: Sonim Rugged Phone</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqVQmqseNQas-AS7lkE0gQ47u8PIzbf-vQVFGROR0JSjN53x5THr9K7-LvD7ZNz9y1RJM1PLMC5AUj0Ooh1dzpnS8TfkqSCKEjihbJNTOc0ucdGl7dzEPOH9cXR6Dnrp-ID88qyEUJQ/s1600/14022011998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqVQmqseNQas-AS7lkE0gQ47u8PIzbf-vQVFGROR0JSjN53x5THr9K7-LvD7ZNz9y1RJM1PLMC5AUj0Ooh1dzpnS8TfkqSCKEjihbJNTOc0ucdGl7dzEPOH9cXR6Dnrp-ID88qyEUJQ/s200/14022011998.jpg" width="150" /></a>Sonim produces rugged phones, resistant to dust, shocks, water, oils, extreme pressure and freezing or extremely hot temperatures. It is not clear if the human using this phone should also be as rugged - but at least the phone will survive...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">While this is a niche product, they have the best demos - they placed the phone inside an ice cube and also in a glowing green-yellow liquid that has the cozy temperature of -25 degrees Celsius... A "cool" demo indeed - and in both cases the phone survived... They also have other videos you can check of the phone surviving a spin in a washing machine and other forms of phone-abuse...</div><div><br />
</div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">NokiaSoft and MicroKia</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqa-5t-K6n8TIDPg8L8fvJ0C3CnchErl-J8Dcq4HyAOqW6vuUn7anG6-ricy0Px76dLhhMC6JALcEIkQpp-yFqd-faD9sfgaLRduvHM52Rf5KCu_T4DGVW999x1ISS13-0tGJLDhLoHw/s1600/170220111067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqa-5t-K6n8TIDPg8L8fvJ0C3CnchErl-J8Dcq4HyAOqW6vuUn7anG6-ricy0Px76dLhhMC6JALcEIkQpp-yFqd-faD9sfgaLRduvHM52Rf5KCu_T4DGVW999x1ISS13-0tGJLDhLoHw/s200/170220111067.jpg" width="150" /></a>And finally the biggest mystery of them all: With Android's momentum, is there any place left for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7? And what will the new partnership between the two giants mean? Call it NokiaSoft or MicroKia or whatever you like - even though analysts have written many obituaries about past moves of these two players - combined together we may be in for a surprise.<br />
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I experienced a Windows Phone 7 first hand, and the UI is quite smooth and very friendly. It has all you expect from a new age smartphone and more. Is it enough to triumph Apple fans/cult-members and Android's soaring figures? Unlikely - but only time will tell. Though it looks like a difficult challenge, I believe this move is great for Microsoft which was a niche mobile player until now - and it's a big bet for Nokia that is not going for Android like all other vendors - but one that may pay off if they play their cards right.<br />
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That's all this time - See you next year in Barcelona (And the year after that perhaps in <a href="http://www.gsmworld.com/newsroom/press-releases/2011/5975.htm">Munich, Paris or Milan</a>...)Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-65130168197358870132011-02-08T10:13:00.002+02:002011-02-08T10:14:55.176+02:00MWC 2011 Parties app - for JavaME and Android<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pNGkWNtdhgs?hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pNGkWNtdhgs?hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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As in last year, I have written an app that aggregates most interesting free networking events, receptions and parties happening in the week of MWC 2011 in Barcelona.Get it <a href="http://budurl.com/mwc11app">here</a> while it's hot!<br />
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The app has all the info offline, so if you download it before coming to Barcelona, you'll have all the info in your pocket, without the need to go online (while roaming...).<br />
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You can download it here: <a href="http://budurl.com/mwc11app">http://budurl.com/mwc11app</a><br />
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And the good news is that it's available both for Android and for JavaME (Which should also work in most BlackBerry devices and Symbian phones for those of you who still have it).<br />
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For the iPhone fans, there's no app - but there is a slim mobile web version in the link above that can save you data, and also I'll make an effort to add HTML5 caching tags, optimized for iPhone, so that your browser can see the info even when you're offline.<br />
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For the techies, I can share that the app was made with <a href="https://lwuit.dev.java.net/">LWUIT</a>, Oracle's UI framework that allows rapid development of rich UI mobile apps. LWUIT is mostly for JavaME, but some community contributors have made porting libraries for BlackBerry and for Android - I must say porting this app from JavaME to Android was a snap!<br />
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Enjoy!Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-71994237826462779002010-07-26T12:38:00.004+03:002010-07-26T12:48:02.486+03:00Vote for my prediction of Virtual Worlds in 2020<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjhyphenhyphen8GF2ZoKXxp2GLVk7Xs8h3RT1XHnJuEFE0FAmfAp9GxXch3qo7al7R6p8JCZ4yLh3CvYQZlMn5ONDkojjbuuUImtf7CEm3u2jgcQcxPREJwQDRzNG7pNTT-BiHI8Q9vc4RzuTOAg/s1600/uk-logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 159px; height: 46px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjhyphenhyphen8GF2ZoKXxp2GLVk7Xs8h3RT1XHnJuEFE0FAmfAp9GxXch3qo7al7R6p8JCZ4yLh3CvYQZlMn5ONDkojjbuuUImtf7CEm3u2jgcQcxPREJwQDRzNG7pNTT-BiHI8Q9vc4RzuTOAg/s320/uk-logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498147771969581010" border="0" /></a>The UK Trade & Investment are holding a competition of predictions for the year 2020. I have submitted a prediction that is related to virtual worlds and augmented reality, and it was accepted as one of the top 30 finalists.<br /><br /><div>Now it is the voting phase (Until Aug.4th) - So I'd appreciate your votes as well, especially if you're into virtual worlds and/or augmented reality.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div> Here's the link (I am at group 2, number 6 - "Ofir Leitner"):</div> <div> <a href="http://www.yourbusinesstomorrow.com/en/top_10_voting.html" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr>yourbusinesstomorrow.com/en/<wbr>top_10_voting.html</a></div><div><br />For full disclosure, I'll tell you that if my entry wins, I will be entitled to a business trip to the UK with meetings with key industry people. But of course it will also raise awareness to the virtual worlds and augmented reality spaces.<br /></div> <div><br /></div><div>Thanks, and see you in the UK!<br /></div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-19198339623223308902010-05-10T13:00:00.004+03:002010-05-30T23:58:44.949+03:00Mobile Web in JavaME apps - now with CSS!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6BXBRYkd2dqIuHybPKJvDTv8r72GyK7avLeZhdTsPaOxHM7vIkQXu_Gg_ZcQY69ZqrgTb5JloXKowjMGAABpYdW-qQR1R6ITI58Ml7t3yFo2ew6W4hsVcmyPJEHT9ojArUIheNthYA/s1600/before-after-css.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6BXBRYkd2dqIuHybPKJvDTv8r72GyK7avLeZhdTsPaOxHM7vIkQXu_Gg_ZcQY69ZqrgTb5JloXKowjMGAABpYdW-qQR1R6ITI58Ml7t3yFo2ew6W4hsVcmyPJEHT9ojArUIheNthYA/s400/before-after-css.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469577041573771954" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Twitter's home page as rendered by HTMLComponent before CSS support and after</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Following my post on <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2010/02/mobile-web-and-html-inside-javame-with.html">Mobile Web in JavaME</a> that discussed the new possibility of embedding web content inside LWUIT applications using HTMLComponent, I'm glad to announce that CSS support was added to HTMLComponent and is now publicly available in the <a href="https://lwuit.dev.java.net/source/browse/lwuit/">LWUIT SVN</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, developers can not only render HTML documents in their JavaME apps, but can also design them with CSS by adding colors, borders, backgrounds, fonts and more. This means that now HTMLComponent is almost fully compliant with the XHTML Mobile Profile 1.0 standard, which requires WCSS support (<a href="http://www.wapforum.org/tech/documents/WAP-239-WCSS-20011026-a.pdf">WCSS specs here</a>)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left; ">The support is about 90% complete and provides almost complete coverage for most pages today. The 10% that were not implemented (at least yet) are features that do not sit well with LWUIT's styling model and/or they require extensive efforts and provide with little value (Some of these are less used tags or edge cases). In any case, you should be able to see most pages rendered correctly (And if you create your own content you can simply avoid using unsupported properties for now).</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">And while there's a great difference in how HTML pages will look now, the change is transparent to developers, and there's almost no difference in using HTMLComponent. Basically once you load a page that has CSS segments (either external, embedded or via the style attribute) they will be parsed and rendered.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The only difference is that you can turn CSS off by calling HTMLComponent's <b>setIgnoreCSS</b> method, if you don't want CSS segments parsed for some reason. And actually there may be reasons for that - CSS does require extra memory, and adds some performance overhead as well, all depending on how complex the CSS used in specific pages are. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There are also more esoteric methods such as <b>addSpecialKey</b> and <b>setCSSSupportedMediaTypes</b> - I won't go into details on those here, you can read the documentation.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's the full list of what's supported and what not:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><b>Fully supported CSS properties</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Background: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">background-color, background-image, background-repeat, background-attachment, background-position-x, background-position-y</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Border: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">border-*-width, border-*-style, border-*-color </span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Fonts: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">font-family, font-size, font-style, font-weight, font-variant</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Lists: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">list-style-image, list-style-position, list-style-type</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Margins:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> margin-* , padding-*</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Text:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> text-align, text-indent, text-transform</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Misc:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> color, height, width, visibility</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">WAP : </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">-wap-access-key,-wap-input-format,-wap-input-required</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Shorthand properties: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">All shorthand properties are fully supported</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(* = top/left/bottom/right)</span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">Unsupported/Partially supported properties: </span></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Unsupported: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">clear, float</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Partially supported: </span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">- </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">display - </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Supported: none, marquee / Unsupported: block, inline , list-item</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">- </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">white-space - </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Supported: normal, nowrap / Unsupported: pre</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">- </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">vertical-align -</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Works only within tables</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Known issues</span></b></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">width/height work for simple elements, but may be problematic with complex elements.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">font-family accepts the first mentioned font and ignores all fallback fonts, since finding a matching font is very time consuming, and also since in the ME environment usually there aren't that many fonts anyway.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">text-decoration is unrelevant: since the only mandatory WCSS decoration value is 'none' which is usually used to remove underlines from links - since we don't have underlines it has no meaning.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">text-transform may have issues when overriding a parent which has a different transform.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">HTMLComponent.FIXED_WIDTH mode does not work with some CSS attributes, and thus its default value is now false (The downside is that in FIXED_WIDTH mode 'justify' alignment doesn't work).</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Some properties will be ignored if associated with a pseudo-class (such as a:focus/hover) - and that's because while LWUIT does have separate styles for selected, unselected and pressed states - these styles include properties such as padding, margins, colors, background, font - but for example not alignment or visibility which affect the component in all of its states.</span></li></ul></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-48556242055324424182010-03-01T12:40:00.015+02:002010-03-03T16:00:51.132+02:00MWC 2010 Recap<div>As in the past 4-5 years I've attended the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. I must say that being a veteran attendee it is starting to get a bit old and also a bit sad to see the show shrinking a bit every year, but still I did manage to see some interesting stuff that are worth mentioning, so here goes:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Missing but yet present: Nokia</span></span></b></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWE3ClQ9N6jbnNFeNLUuQ-vF2y5yhOrXAVNJr0n8ETsP9y2BDI7mUWF64NVEusJHAq0dFBDQF2Jh1MjgrsWyowx43yXU9dpQdZE3q2FEog-G13HMribMEwpLCS-tpAtgyD7BQKr8aPqw/s1600-h/MWC_Outside_Once01_lowres.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWE3ClQ9N6jbnNFeNLUuQ-vF2y5yhOrXAVNJr0n8ETsP9y2BDI7mUWF64NVEusJHAq0dFBDQF2Jh1MjgrsWyowx43yXU9dpQdZE3q2FEog-G13HMribMEwpLCS-tpAtgyD7BQKr8aPqw/s200/MWC_Outside_Once01_lowres.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442492586931456178" border="0" /></a>Nokia's decision not to present inside MWC was definitely a blow to the GSMA. But still though it didn't pay the $$$ to the GSMA to be inside the show, it had its own side event a few steps away from the Fira (MWC's venue). So still even for those wanting to meet Nokia, coming to Barcelona in that time a year is still worthwhile which of course works in the best interest of MWC. Nokia's strategy was to create a more targeted side invite-only event, which they hoped would be more productive than the buzz and noise inside the show halls. It will be interesting to see if they repeat that strategy next year and if any other big players will follow.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Saddest Hall: Hall 2.1</span></span></b></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3C4znF4ISY0NyZJLYlHjJGttE46-PFsfS7-OpbUamw16xxrEuFuD-y3OBJCxv7QhqCOf6VBIbh-fBP2ev-n6Eq9xiW4uOD3x9tOZc9bIkvBP9yQQO0XNieZy_ffPxogEogtdTAV2oyQ/s1600-h/17022010656.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3C4znF4ISY0NyZJLYlHjJGttE46-PFsfS7-OpbUamw16xxrEuFuD-y3OBJCxv7QhqCOf6VBIbh-fBP2ev-n6Eq9xiW4uOD3x9tOZc9bIkvBP9yQQO0XNieZy_ffPxogEogtdTAV2oyQ/s200/17022010656.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442234413495144610" border="0" /></a>And very related to Nokia's decision, the show was simply smaller this year both in terms of visitors and in terms of booth space. Last year some halls were already a bit thinner than in previous years, but this time, aside from most halls being less dense, the second floor of hall 2 almost completely disappeared. There were only 2 booths there and the media center and that's it. In the good times it was filled with booths all over. The good news is that I noticed more advertising on the streets, metro stations and next to the Fira, way more than the previous year. So guess we'll have to wait till next year to see if there's a trend here or just a minor setback.<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;font-size:16px;" ><br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Best Booth Babes: CBOSS</span></span></b></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7IXB6TxgZUcY1266rR4yqnKjPOetvyVchm4XFvvJSH4SQHe5FnKUFH6cyoxAd5NZdocQfKwmxm5Q2r3MCabV6SEn1z67gMgbCkUMYOpjvPD_E4aIvb7jaUZzGBVhrlDCoROclPnLSQQ/s1600-h/cboss-girls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7IXB6TxgZUcY1266rR4yqnKjPOetvyVchm4XFvvJSH4SQHe5FnKUFH6cyoxAd5NZdocQfKwmxm5Q2r3MCabV6SEn1z67gMgbCkUMYOpjvPD_E4aIvb7jaUZzGBVhrlDCoROclPnLSQQ/s200/cboss-girls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442275544276233330" border="0" /></a>Well, there's really no competition here... The CBOSS girls simply give the best show of MWC year after year... Definitely the show stopper of hall 1 in which you can see quite an audience every time these lovely girls make an appearance. On the other hand, other companies failed to deliver on the oldest trick in the show marketing book and it was kinda dry elsewhere... I can only say MWC still has a lot to learn from the great <a href="http://www.e3girls.com/">E3</a> games show...<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Most "out-there" product: Motorola</span></span></b></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9g2nmL1N4cMXe6D92qmY_cI0AtUdIukc53m2RPlkFiQ2jyom-GOUR_bFmg03doTNq8lbc9eNMFWVUSV-X81qA3_dUfGjeT2jtrSLS2W-NQtFVvcMwNIaP4zIveqsfD8ZxtCTiXbZTw/s1600-h/15022010637.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9g2nmL1N4cMXe6D92qmY_cI0AtUdIukc53m2RPlkFiQ2jyom-GOUR_bFmg03doTNq8lbc9eNMFWVUSV-X81qA3_dUfGjeT2jtrSLS2W-NQtFVvcMwNIaP4zIveqsfD8ZxtCTiXbZTw/s200/15022010637.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442232159282974306" border="0" /></a>When I walked into the Motorola area, at first I thought I stepped into Borg territory (Startrek reference...) - It seemed to inhabit half-man half-machine beings... Soon enough I was assimilated and became one of them by wearing Motorola's thingie... And in fact what seems to be science fiction at first is very down to earth. This device includes a tiny screen with a magnifying glass that is placed right in front of your eye (with a flexible arm that can be tilted) and when you look into it you get the experience of a full SVGA screen. It has no keyboard, and is activated by vocal commands and has several useful applications like a media player, an office-like suite etc. The idea here is to give people who need their hands free the ability to interact with a computer - for example in construction sites where you need both hands, but may need to take a look at some drawings from time to time. Pretty neat and useful - the only down side (Other than looking like a cyborg) is that it did give me a headache after a short while.<br /><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Yummiest Phone: NTT DoCoMo</span></span></b></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCmFnV60D-9E_6luEaLyzXmhUvJBTCYHIJI4oRHH5ck1Hn61xs2kfFE8RS_Lwy_Y7sJdbueGNaVq9_YWYDNyl3YTb4KdGL2_uwpDxx_7EbuSh_WmAupwpl9A5RMgmkd8FcKZX9ly7mQ/s1600-h/15022010631.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCmFnV60D-9E_6luEaLyzXmhUvJBTCYHIJI4oRHH5ck1Hn61xs2kfFE8RS_Lwy_Y7sJdbueGNaVq9_YWYDNyl3YTb4KdGL2_uwpDxx_7EbuSh_WmAupwpl9A5RMgmkd8FcKZX9ly7mQ/s200/15022010631.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442232155339232658" border="0" /></a>One of the things I've noticed is that as handsets technology advances, it is very hard to really thrill in this domain. If a few years back a touch screen or a full qwerty phone was something to write about, today there's basically nothing new - all improvements of the UI and other handset parameters. So, if you can't innovate in the technology department, you can always do that in the style and design department, and this is exactly what several vendors did, and one of those is this really tasty looking NTT DoCoMo phone along with some cookies... </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Worst Party Ever: Samsung</span></span></b></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRFpzNB2tZrg0IGGKmmOjNLj008EA3ofkaRoGGjcwdCYls5_sjTDd782cmw4rfGIqY3AQ1E9zNxkcj4VPNSzJ7e-OQw-q5MX5JrOFfU8DP18Ly6CBIfptzayEIxpyT52DWQxpRwLKog/s1600-h/samsung-water.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRFpzNB2tZrg0IGGKmmOjNLj008EA3ofkaRoGGjcwdCYls5_sjTDd782cmw4rfGIqY3AQ1E9zNxkcj4VPNSzJ7e-OQw-q5MX5JrOFfU8DP18Ly6CBIfptzayEIxpyT52DWQxpRwLKog/s200/samsung-water.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442489926461672866" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 164px;" border="0" /></a></div><div>And talking about food, I can't forget the special treat some of Samsung's guests got in their party in the first day of the conference: Food poisoning... Yes, unfortunately for me I decided to go to the Samsung party and ate some tapas which tasted a bit weird and proved later on to be truly funky... Anyway, the lesson learned is to be very careful in Barcelona with the food... Samsung - please pick another venue next time... And despite their attempt on my life, I'll be kind and at least mention their Ruggedized phone edition which includes a phone for field purposes (Sand resistant and battery lasting for weeks) and their water-resistant phone shown here. Placing a mobile handset in your aquarium is elegant and it saves the need to buy fish food...</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Sweetest Ride: Qualcomm</span></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqh_pKu1dohBLEJ5lkCbwj6DOVTbIv6bvYuHpjO9GVJ_1QDRQq_mr5u1MwgTZ0DkAOCBwpIIXU61FrLXHzO1VFJNfzGj7vW1XzOqDKbjk0NcmbRMw57oAFIAqReBbgGNhySHsVMZKFeA/s1600-h/15022010606.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqh_pKu1dohBLEJ5lkCbwj6DOVTbIv6bvYuHpjO9GVJ_1QDRQq_mr5u1MwgTZ0DkAOCBwpIIXU61FrLXHzO1VFJNfzGj7vW1XzOqDKbjk0NcmbRMw57oAFIAqReBbgGNhySHsVMZKFeA/s200/15022010606.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442232142739854050" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" /></a><div>Another trend you couldn't miss this year was mobile integration with vehicles. It was very difficult to miss due to the cars several of the big companies placed in their booth. The one that caught my eye was Qualcomm's system installed in a luxurious Audi model (Coming to a dealership near you...). It had all you can dream of - a computerized system that includes GPS navigation, media system, speakerphone, internet browser - and all built it - the driver even has very convenient controls for the system near the stick. All communication is done mobile of course, and passengers can also enjoy wireless internet as the system includes a WiFi router... Indeed a sweet ride...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Coolest Demo: BlackBerry</span></b></span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6j2Bjo7uI7Y0M4KrktMCbRwJnq3qNq823nN9cayqN5OCdZxzERLsPqGCLfLhCLaBZM96tnf0U79evtQbb-TTmLuK9anD6ffnr3xmCBi2MI6uyL-s7oUxb_diQxwFpE_XWm3qxyoy6w/s1600-h/15022010613.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6j2Bjo7uI7Y0M4KrktMCbRwJnq3qNq823nN9cayqN5OCdZxzERLsPqGCLfLhCLaBZM96tnf0U79evtQbb-TTmLuK9anD6ffnr3xmCBi2MI6uyL-s7oUxb_diQxwFpE_XWm3qxyoy6w/s200/15022010613.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442232149375966306" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" /></a></div><div>The Blackberry guys had the neatest demo I've seen. To demonstrate their device's gyro, they wrote a controller for a small Lego robot - If you tilted the device forward, the robot drove forward and so on for all directions - that was really neat, and though I don't think that Apple has driven them into the Lego business, it was really a nice way to catch audience and explain about their stuff - so way to go...</div></div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Greenest solution: Asimelec</span></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAI24xZ5fgZgiQXWdd8hyphenhyphenhq8yGE4PdyWazahhhVCJn1zqA8w7W7CCYL-STvrK-swN1yTwlG39N4QQBu7hJLuKI4NP2KdS2PhdjJsok5UjRFaXxBK-I1Z0ogUUnWfPFAhsiOh2GryHH6Q/s1600-h/15022010596.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAI24xZ5fgZgiQXWdd8hyphenhyphenhq8yGE4PdyWazahhhVCJn1zqA8w7W7CCYL-STvrK-swN1yTwlG39N4QQBu7hJLuKI4NP2KdS2PhdjJsok5UjRFaXxBK-I1Z0ogUUnWfPFAhsiOh2GryHH6Q/s200/15022010596.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442232134999102994" border="0" /></a><div>The green trend is all over the world these days, and Asimelec, which is a Spanish association backed by some of the prominent handset vendors and mobile operators has a solution for your old mobile device: recycle it... These guys place recycling bins for mobile phones and disintegrate them into components that can be recycled back into other industries. And with the current rate of devices innovation, they probably have their hands/bins full... Asimelec's booth was also the most original one: It was made wholly out of cardboard... The booth, the chairs, the table - everything...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Worst use of space: A bags shop?</span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqQPGcQPWwPhbb0lUIKonjCBq-tMi4b4fOzTFgzd_WGOUtUDronUcXUeRjGScu3fw13abGFCxLYeA-Jjo2PswIacLC-LfcTcpLS90Ij0IEAEOzBoK121vUKgPtlHx_IJ3qCbua7v4Fw/s1600-h/15022010640.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqQPGcQPWwPhbb0lUIKonjCBq-tMi4b4fOzTFgzd_WGOUtUDronUcXUeRjGScu3fw13abGFCxLYeA-Jjo2PswIacLC-LfcTcpLS90Ij0IEAEOzBoK121vUKgPtlHx_IJ3qCbua7v4Fw/s200/15022010640.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442234401796901314" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" /></a>Yes, the picture here is from MWC 2010 and not from a fashion trade show... It seems that they will sell space just about to anyone these days...But seriously this booth which was quite centrally located (Right in the entrance to hall 8) was a bit weird to see considering the surroundings, but still perhaps when you have lots of men away from home that have to come back with some gifts, it might be a pretty good idea... In fact, I bet they are the only booth who actually made instant money in this show...</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Best Giveaway: Google</span></span></b></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTQeyWuQzgkoHzwflBaNtm_9cIhuvhAPsXPLg-6_2IhtYF5aqGd8DVSZS8Q9k8IvR3C_faF6LuKuJY3klNN1pdpe6N5tgtyI7Q5FaA05ui7NIrn_ZjVuPdJqRzLzQCPAwkt_hiXmeZQ/s1600-h/nexus-one-official.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTQeyWuQzgkoHzwflBaNtm_9cIhuvhAPsXPLg-6_2IhtYF5aqGd8DVSZS8Q9k8IvR3C_faF6LuKuJY3klNN1pdpe6N5tgtyI7Q5FaA05ui7NIrn_ZjVuPdJqRzLzQCPAwkt_hiXmeZQ/s200/nexus-one-official.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442279112525365266" border="0" /></a></div><div>It was a good show for Google - if last year we saw only a few Android prototypes, this year we experienced an explosion of Android based devices from many vendors. But every blessing has its drawbacks and in this case word of the fragmentation in the Android platform was heard from various sources (And we all saw the toll it took on JavaME). But anyway, Google will probably not be remembered in this show (only) for this but rather for the generous giveaway.... Now, we all got used to giveaways in conferences, including branded mints, pens, bags and even sometimes disk-on-keys. But Google really set a new barrier in MWC 2010: Everyone who attended their Android seminar got a Nexus One phone. Yes - EVERYONE. The only catch was that you either had to be pre-registered to the seminar, or stand for an hour-two in the non-registered queue (Which got bigger as the rumor spread...). And BTW - If you saw people with weird pink markings on their hands - it is how Google marked (or indexed?) people so they won't grab more than one device... Unfortunately for me I got the news kinda late, so when I got there it was already closed... So, Google - if your intention was to hand out phones to mobile developers, bloggers and other professionals so they would spread the word - you missed one (Should I give you my mailing address?... :)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Well that's all for this year, I am sure you all had your experiences as well, so if you saw something interesting drop a comment right here. </div><div><br /></div></div></div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-75842615029352555052010-02-10T14:28:00.003+02:002010-02-11T21:24:32.069+02:00MWC 2010 party list on your mobile!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xmotim54I6s&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xmotim54I6s&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>A video of the app - fonts look better on actual devices (video compression takes its toll)</b></span></div><div><br /></div>Everybody knows that MWC is more than just the show itself. The networking events and parties are sometimes as important (not to mention quite fun...). But with almost anyone throwing a party, it is easy to lose track, especially when you're on the move looking for the evening's next adventure...<div><br /></div><div>Well, no more! Meet the <a href="http://budurl.com/mwcparties">MWC 2010 Parties List Mobile Guide</a> - A small JavaME mobile app with all the info you need in your fingertips, and best of all, it's free and all info is stored in the app itself offline so there's no need to go online while you're roaming!</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div>To download it point your mobile browser to: <a href="http://budurl.com/mwcp">http://budurl.com/mwcp</a></div><div>Or download the JAR to your PC - <a href="http://budurl.com/mwcpjar">http://budurl.com/mwcpjar</a></div><br /><div>I made this small app over the weekend with LWUIT and what started out just as a small test for a new feature became quite a useful app. It still has some bugs and quirks, but thought I'd better release it now rather than after MWC.....</div><div><br /></div><div>You can also find more info on the app here: <a href="http://budurl.com/mwcparties">http://budurl.com/mwcparties</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Also, if your phone supports JavaME and this app doesn't work, drop me a line or fill in your feedback in <a href="http://budurl.com/mwcupdates">http://budurl.com/mwcupdates</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>And if you want to get "technical" on how this app was made, you can read <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2010/02/mobile-web-and-html-inside-javame-with.html">this post</a>.</div><div><br /></div></div></div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-37095599723235705552010-02-03T12:40:00.001+02:002010-02-11T21:25:00.138+02:00Mobile web and HTML inside JavaME with LWUIT<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xmotim54I6s&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xmotim54I6s&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In the video: A use case of using HTMLComponent. Used both to render offline content within the JAR (The events detailed descriptions) and also to access external web-flows (Facebook, Google forms). <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Fonts look better on actual devices (video compression takes its toll...)</b></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the things I always missed in J2ME was the ability to perform some web-based flows or display HTML in general as part of the application (and not by sending the user to the native browser with platfromRequest, not knowing if he'll ever come back...).</div><div><br /></div><div>Most of the other mobile platforms do have solutions that allow embedding web seamlessly into the application, but in J2ME it never existed. So this is why I am glad to unveil my latest project which was done as part of my consulting work at Sun Microsystems: <b>HTMLComponent</b>.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>HTMLComponent is a <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2008/05/java-day-and-lwuit.html">LWUIT</a> component that allows J2ME developers to render HTML documents (local or remote) that conform to the XHTML Mobile Profile 1.0 standard. It truly revolutionizes the things you can do in J2ME and brings the platform to new heights.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Use Cases</span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>There are many use cases for HTMLComponent, here are a few I can think of:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Rendering rich-text locally -</b> The simplest one is when you need to render some rich text locally - for example a text segment that part of it should be bold/italic and an image next to it, or maybe even a small table - to do that with current tools is not an easy task. But with HTMLComponent, you can simply compose an HTML document describing that exact scenario and you're done! This is classic for Help/About pages and can also scale up to rendering parts of your UI with HTML (Since it supports forms).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Dynamic Content and UI - </b>Another common use case is dynamic content and UI. When you release your app, sometimes you need parts of it to be dynamic - for example a catalog section for your app that changes daily or a news page or an elaborate details page. Up until now developers had to make their own frameworks to support such cases and most of the time it wasn't truly 100% dynamic. With HTMLComponent you can simply have the app refer to a URL, and serve HTML there - and since HTML is not only the content but also the layout and even UI, your catalog can look totally different without you changing anything in the application and having to release a new version of it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Using your existing web flows - </b>A third use case is when you already have a web server-side, and instead of writing the whole thing again for mobile, and having to handle 2 separate processes you want to utilize the already existing process for mobile. A good example for that is registration and login - why recreate this process if you can simply redirect users from your app to the existing registration URL?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Embedding third parties web flows - </b>the fourth use case is when you want your users to be able to access third parties existing mobile web content. For example you have an LBS app and want to let your users check the weather in an affiliated site - no problem - just provide the URL. Other examples can be referring users to online dictionaries, translators, search engines and other services.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway - The real strength here is the fusion between the client application and the web. It is ideal for use cases in which a simple mobile web site is not adequate enough - and an application needs to rely also on web-based flow for dynamic content/UI (either existing or specially designed for the app)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Getting HTMLComponent</span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>And now you probably ask yourself: When can I get it and for how much? Well the answers are the best you could hope for: Now and for free!</div><div><br /></div><div>HTMLComponent is a part of Sun's LWUIT framework, a UI toolkit that allows you to create great looking and portable UI for J2ME applications. I worked with LWUIT since it came out back in mid 2008 as a consultant for various companies. I did several project including adding <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2009/06/lwuit-rtl-support-announced-at-java.html">RTL support to LWUIT</a>, and in the past few months I have joined the LWUIT team at Sun as a consultant. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of the best things about LWUIT is that it's open-sourced and can be used also for commercial purposes for free, and HTMLComponent is no different here, so basically this solution is available now for all J2ME developers out there and can be checked out from the <a href="https://lwuit.dev.java.net/source/browse/lwuit/">LWUIT SVN</a> (Note that it is not included in the LWUIT 1.3 drop, so downloading the latest drop wouldn't help, you have to check out the sources from the SVN). </div><div><br /></div><div>If you check it out, don't forget to check out also the <b>LWUITBrowser</b> project which I wrote to demonstrate what you can do with HTMLComponent. I'd like to emphasize that a browser is not the use case we're aiming for, since all mobile phones (at least those with J2ME...) have native browsers that nowadays support even more than XHTML-MP1. But still this demo is the best way to show what types of documents HTMLComponent can render without us having to build a whole server side.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">About XHTML-MP 1.0</span></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>And now a few words about the XHTML Mobile Profile 1.0 standard: XHTML-MP 1.0 is a subset of XHTML adapted to mobile. The standard supports most of the basic elements such as Images, Fonts, Lists, Tables, Forms and even CSS. It does not support however Javascript and frames and also other tags or attributes. The full details of which tags it supports can be found in <a href="http://www.openmobilealliance.org/tech/affiliates/wap/wap-277-xhtmlmp-20011029-a.pdf">this document</a>, and also a more detailed list of which attributes in each tag are supported can be found <a href="http://htmllint.itc.keio.ac.jp/htmllint/tagslist.cgi?HTMLVersion=XHTML-MP">here</a>, though I am not sure of its accuracy.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>The XHTML-MP1 standard should be sufficient for most use cases above, and as for the fourth use case above (using existing third party content) - While there are not many sites that conform 100% to the XHTML-MP1 standard, a lot of mobile sites are very close, and since the parser in the package is not very strict they can be rendered. Just make sure you're using the mobile versions, since using regular web will surely be unsuitable.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Detailed support list</span></b></span></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div>And now for those of you who stayed this long, here's a more detailed list of what is supported and what's not (in general and in the current version):</div><div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Text - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Obviously text is supported... But that also includes most of the important ways to format it in HTML including alignment, paragraphs, div, new lines using the BR tag etc. Text justification is not supported yet (align="justify") and will hopefully be added later on. </span></span></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fonts - </span>Fonts can be changed anytime for example by using B for bold, I for italic BIG for a bigger font, SMALL for a smaller etc. Also header definitions (The H1-6 tags) and other less known font directives (such as KBD, CITE etc.) are supported, but all subject to availability of such font in the device. If the needed fonts are not available in your device or don't look as expected, you can always add LWUIT bitmap fonts and assign them to the various tags.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Images - </span>Images are supported and basically any image format that your device's JVM support will work here. Image download is done asynchronously by using a number of threads, so the document loads up even before all images are available. The number of threads can be tuned and image downloading can also be turned off. Note that HTMLs containing large images may cause memory problems and/or cause the page to look weird.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lists - </span>Lists are supported including nesting. This includes ordered lists (the OL tag) and unordered lists (the UL tag) with their items (the LI tag) and also definitions list (the DL, DT and DD tags).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Forms - </span>Forms are also supported. Both the GET and POST methods are supported as a form action. The HTML package takes care of URL encoding and most input field types are supported including: text fields and areas, check boxes, radio buttons, combo boxes, hidden fields and of course the reset and submit buttons. Regular buttons (both <i>input type=button</i> and the <i>button</i> tag) are not supported due to the fact that they can only function with Javascript. Also not supported is the File upload control (<i>input type="file"</i>) as it is not part of XHTML-MP1.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tables - </b>Tables which are still the best way to layout HTML documents, are supported including nested tables. There are still some open issues here and there but these will be solved over time.</div><div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Char entities -</span> In order to be able to write HTML reserved characters such as the tag brackets or non-displayable/type-able characters, <a href="http://www.w3schools.com/HTML/html_entities.asp">char entities</a> are used and they are supported. All char entities up until ASCII code 255 are supported and beyond that you can add your own.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>HTTP - </b>HTMLComponent is mainly a UI component and its job is to render HTML documents. As such it does not deal with network/IO and the complexities of the HTTP protocol. It does use an interface by the name of DocumentRequestHandler that should be implemented by developers to fetch documents from wherever they need and in whatever protocol they want to use. Since the most common uses are fetching HTML via HTTP, there is an implementation of this interface in the LWUITBrowser project that handles the HTTP communication and knows to take care of request/response headers, cookies, redirects, network errors etc.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Parsing -</b> HTMLComponent uses an internal parser to parse the given HTMLs. The parser is not 100% strict and will also accept some errors in the document. The developer can control however which errors to ignore and continue parsing and which errors to stop on by implementing the HTMLCallback interface. Also note that some errors may be too fatal for the parser, so try to stick to the XHTML-MP1 standard and especially always close tags that have been opened and in the correct hierarchical order.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Refresh/Redirect -</span> HTMLComponent performs refresh/redirect directive that are defined in the META tag and HTTP_EQUIV attribute of the HTML. As for redirect response codes, these should be implemented in the request handler.<br /><br /><b>CSS - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">While CSS (or more accurately WCSS) is a part of the XHTML-MP1</span> </b>standard, it is still not supported in the current version. The meaning is there is no way to change individual style properties of elements. So for example while you can determine the colors of regular text, links and other elements (with LWUIT styles) as a whole per component type (i.e. all text will be black, all links will be blue), there's no way yet to make one word blue and the other red. But this will be added as CSS will be introduced later on.</div><div><br /><b>Embedded objects - </b>While the OBJECT and PARAM tags are a part of XHTML-MP1, embedded objects are not supported, and there are currently no plans to support those (as they would require writing mechanisms that actually run these objects which is a whole different issue...)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, that's about it - hope you'll find this new piece of software helpful for your innovative mobile project, any comments and feedback will be appreciated so we can further develop this technology.</div></div></div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-47008699401682456092009-11-13T15:53:00.007+02:002009-11-14T10:22:31.031+02:00MoMoTLV Exceptional event this Sunday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFa0jT0zTSbmIr_ZgKp5wefyf_89FTIEeuCwuVGZaXG-NvcQlUTWbIljkpXX8xdd8ulHyxSbJ8PhyGhZ0nCfCSrzSfL15aJA0lfZWpoCQ8gHb5G_K39F1n5vkVQuv5cuEdzm37CSEH-eQ/s240/momotlv-logo.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 202px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFa0jT0zTSbmIr_ZgKp5wefyf_89FTIEeuCwuVGZaXG-NvcQlUTWbIljkpXX8xdd8ulHyxSbJ8PhyGhZ0nCfCSrzSfL15aJA0lfZWpoCQ8gHb5G_K39F1n5vkVQuv5cuEdzm37CSEH-eQ/s240/momotlv-logo.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Perhaps a bit late, but I'd still like to update you of a truly exceptional <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/">MobileMonday Tel Aviv</a> event we're having this Sunday (Yes, I know MoMo on SUNDAY...)<div><br /></div><div>We have high-key speakers who came a long way from the edges of the world: <b>Paul Lee</b>, Co-Founder and General Partner of VanEdge Capital and former President of Electronic Arts Studios, <b>Ralph Simon</b>, Chairman Emeritus & Founder of the Mobile Entertainment Forum, <b>Dr. KF Lai</b>, CEO & Co-Founder of BuzzCity and <b>Michael Bidu</b>, Executive Director of WINBC and Founder MoMoVan (MobileMonday Vancouver).</div><div><br /></div><div>All the event details and registration are <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/2009/11/momotlv-november-event-feautring-high.html">here</a>.So if you're around Tel Aviv this Sunday (Nov. 15), please register and drop by!</div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-17074355047298350912009-10-05T19:22:00.003+02:002009-10-05T19:29:45.054+02:00WIP JAM at CTIA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy64chpwZevJPHCFh3hWTEJvGTwIDA6VcPqM48WQoY98PZRPugA7dgZRfFvOi622UpFBReEDXsA0Rq7oX7sOfNFaY1qRrziAmKl1D5LALxTin89j9I_f0Cd7LqDAJ3z-rd6PzH8MavrA/s1600-h/wipjam-button_130x60.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389168181842949986" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 130px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 60px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy64chpwZevJPHCFh3hWTEJvGTwIDA6VcPqM48WQoY98PZRPugA7dgZRfFvOi622UpFBReEDXsA0Rq7oX7sOfNFaY1qRrziAmKl1D5LALxTin89j9I_f0Cd7LqDAJ3z-rd6PzH8MavrA/s200/wipjam-button_130x60.jpg" border="0" /></a>I am moderating a discussion group this week in the <a href="http://www.wipjam.com/">WIP JAM</a> event at CTIA San Diego. Those of you who don't know what WIP JAM is, it's a mobile developer event where the main activity is the JAM sessions in which developers gather around in several discussion groups each discussing a hot topic in the mobile development space. The atmosphere is great and the event attracts great folks.<br /><br />These JAM sessions have been running already in several major mobile conferences such as MWC and CTIA, and it's happening again in October 8, and as said this time I will be hosting one of the discussion groups. I will focus on Mobile UI and will be co-hosting it with Brian Fling.<br /><br />So if you'd like to meet, drop me a line or just show up!Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-22019111175604285132009-06-24T18:01:00.007+03:002009-06-24T18:13:45.949+03:00LWUIT RTL support announced at Java Tech Day<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yKQyWQUTCZw&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yKQyWQUTCZw&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><!--<br /><object width="400" height="320"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4660981&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4660981&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="320"></embed></object><br />--><br />Last Monday in the Sun Java Tech Day 2009 (A mini-JavaOne held in Israel) I announced together with the LWUIT team the new support for RTL (Right-to-Left) languages in LWUIT.<br /><br />LWUIT is a UI toolkit from Sun for the JavaME platform. JavaME suffered for quite a while from lack of a reasonable UI framework. The basic components it provides are well... very basic... And also not very portable across devices, which made developers to adopt other solutions such as developing their own UI frameworks internally or use other frameworks such as J2ME Polish.<br /><br />And then came LWUIT which was announced a year ago in the JavaOne conference. It offers an entirely different mobile coding experience, and gives developers complete control over the UI. In fact it is resembles Swing a lot and gives the mobile developer tools which he/she never dreamt of... (except nightmares...)<br /><br />Moreover, it is open sourced, and unlike other JavaME UI solutions it is free to use for any purpose, including commercial. And let's not forget one more fact that seperates it from other solutions, it is not a 3rd party add-on, it comes from the "source" itself, the developer of the JavaME platform, Sun.<br /><br />I have been engaged with LWUIT for the past year in my capacity as a consultant - helping companies figuring out if it's worth migrating to, building a UI architectures over LWUIT, designing it and even "getting my hands dirty" sometimes and coding... I have to say that my experience shows that this is a truly robust framework, and a real breakthrough for the JavaME world. Like everything else it has its issues and bugs, but overall it is definitely what we all needed a long time ago...<br /><br />One of the things LWUIT was missing was proper support for right-to-left languages such as Hebrew and Arabic. This of course doesn't bother everyone, but here in our local market in Israel, it is certainly something the LWUIT team was asked about.<br /><br />So, Telmap, a mobile mapping and navigation company, which is one of my clients picked up the glove, and sponsosred a full project for adding RTL support to LWUIT. The project was done by myself and after a few months of work - it is here, and will be contributed back to the LWUIT community later this year.<br /><br />The support is full and thorough and includes the following:<br /><br /><strong>* Components - </strong>All the basic components LWUIT offers (Label, Button, RadioButton, CheckBox, ComboBox, TextArea etc.) support the RTL mode and are rendered accodinglty (i.e. in checkbox the box would be to the right of the text).<br /><br /><strong>* Padding/Margin/Alignement reversal - </strong>A main concept of the solution is enabling seamless and easy "porting" of an English/LTR application to a Hebrew/RTL one. So, when the RTL flag is turned on, LEFT becomes RIGHT and vice versa. Why? Because if you had an app with a list of bullets that had a left padding of 10 pixels, it would make sense that the hebrew version of this app will feature these bullets in the right side of the screen, and with a padding of 10 from the *right* side and not left padding. So instead of having to provide different values to your English and Hebrew version, everything is reversed and transparent to the developer.<br /><br /><strong>* Layouts - </strong>All layouts support RTL and components added are added from right to left when applicable. For example in a horizontal BoxLayout everything will be aligned to the right, in a GridLayout of 3x3, the first component you add will be in the top right, the second one in the top-middle, third in the top-left and so on. This of course includes right-to-left focus traversal. BTW - In BorderLayout WEST becomes EAST and vice versa.<br /><br /><strong>* Bitmap Fonts - </strong>One of the problems when using RTL languages, is what happens when it is mixed together with LTR text and/or numbers, the text direction of each segment can be different, which makes things difficult. When drawing such mixed text in system fonts, usually the handsets marketed in the relevant markets already support a bidirectional (BiDi) algorithm that fixes this, but for bitmap fonts, we have to do it on our own - so a BiDi algorithm was added and is applied when a special flag in LookAndFeel is activated.<br /><br /><strong>* Text input -</strong> TextField also supports bidirectional text input, including placing the cursor where it should be (Not very easy in mixed LTR/RTL texts...).<br /><br /><strong>* Horizontal List - </strong>Supports now RTL in all of its modes, all items are added from right to left.<br /><br /><strong>* Misc - </strong>A lot of other behaviours were modified when the RTL flag is turned on, such as reversing the ticker direction in Labels, reversing the horizontal slide direction, the vertical scrollbar is always on the left side etc.<br /><br />That's about it, I'll update here when the code is officially contributed back to the LWUIT source base and can be downloaded. For other LWUIT updates check <a href="http://lwuit.blogspot.com/">Shai's LWUIT blog</a> and to download it and start working you can go to <a href="https://lwuit.dev.java.net/">LWUIT's homepage</a> or simply download the new <a href="http://java.sun.com/javame/downloads/sdk30.jsp">JavaME SDK 3.0</a> which includes LWUIT.Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-67566959280350075302009-06-07T23:01:00.001+03:002009-06-07T23:07:57.923+03:00The power of MobileMonday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQu8HLsAHNJcic8i70rdRLnpgaUjHZhbhzvbapCevo2vN73HQYR29xDDeQDcRbVTQ9gDQqQxS6kk-voIKT9X9aDRtbVAZoBiv5lXGwe3nqDgJ4UEd6E4j_ATSVglXCIg3Raz6-wb1iHA/s1600-h/momotlv_logo-200x99.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344679807127867810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 99px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQu8HLsAHNJcic8i70rdRLnpgaUjHZhbhzvbapCevo2vN73HQYR29xDDeQDcRbVTQ9gDQqQxS6kk-voIKT9X9aDRtbVAZoBiv5lXGwe3nqDgJ4UEd6E4j_ATSVglXCIg3Raz6-wb1iHA/s200/momotlv_logo-200x99.jpg" border="0" /></a>Back a year ago, we had our first <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/">MobileMonday Tel Aviv</a> event. If you're in the mobile business you probably know what <a href="http://www.mobilemonday.net/">MobileMonday</a> (MoMo) is, but in case you have been living in a cave, it's an international non-profit organization that has presence in 70+ cities around the world. The main activity of MoMo is holding monthly events in Mondays, the events usually include sessions on a certain theme inside the mobile world, and a lot of networking.<br /><br /><div><div></div><div>It has been around since 2000 in Finland where it originated from but became a worldwide phenomenon starting at 2004 and it is still growing rapidly these days. </div><br /><div>I saw MoMo events while I was travelling in Europe and the US and thought to myself that this is something we simply have to import to Israel, which is not only rich in web 2.0 startups, but also in mobile startups, as well as several mobile "Giants" such as Comverse and Amdocs. Also, you can hear so much Hebrew at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, that it should be titled as an official congress language...</div><br /><div>And the funny thing is, I used to meet my Israeli colleagues from the mobile space - in Barcelona... There was simply no other format for us to meet here... So I decided to act up and after receiving the Finnish MoMo's blessing, I started forming MobileMonday Tel Aviv. It snowballed quite fast: My call for volunteers to join the organizing team was answered with some great people - and after we had a team, I went on to recruit sponsors - which also proved as quite an easy task. Some already heard of MoMo, others didn't hear but liked the idea - and then we had a liftoff...</div><br /><div>Since then we had already 9 successful events, most with around 120-150 attendees, and tomorrow we celebrate our first anniversary and tenth event.</div><br /><div>Another important thing is that I got to know some great people, founders and organizers of other MoMo chapters around the world. The MoMo community is very diverse, people joined this family each for his own reason, and managing it each with their own style - but in the end we all have in common enthusiasm for everything mobile, for people and events and also for staying connected both in the local and global levels.</div><br /><div>This community is a great driver of the industry, and I am very glad to be a part of it, so if you're in town - come and celebrate with us (<a href="http://www.momotlv.com/2009/06/momotlv-celebrates-1-year-in-june-2009.html">event details</a>). Long live MobileMonday!</div><div> </div></div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-87378787566055050572009-04-22T19:36:00.010+03:002009-04-22T20:19:42.803+03:00Java news: Oracle buys Sun, Google Java App Engine and LWUIT<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mOSxgBYB79lLTtuVn7t7k2NHbKIDPvShcFivxYa3gh6aKHHe-kOBHX2weoptje5GK_OM8E0Kyssip6dgKAB7I_GIaG0ozOe9iEicv5L7oGXdzFUibpZIgTuqw1QzictPNew1TcFEew/s1600-h/hp1v3_announcement.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327556221304003186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 81px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mOSxgBYB79lLTtuVn7t7k2NHbKIDPvShcFivxYa3gh6aKHHe-kOBHX2weoptje5GK_OM8E0Kyssip6dgKAB7I_GIaG0ozOe9iEicv5L7oGXdzFUibpZIgTuqw1QzictPNew1TcFEew/s200/hp1v3_announcement.jpg" border="0" /></a>I just returned this week from a 2 weeks vacation and got straight back into the action... Just 2 days ago I was in a meeting in Sun Microsystems, and halfway through the meeting, Sun actually became Oracle, after being purchased by the latter in one of the biggest deals lately...<br /><br />Many analysts seem to think that Oracle will use this acquistion to provide with a full IT solution (i.e. Oracle's DB and software and Sun's servers) and be able to compete more fiercely with IBM. However, I believe that Sun's greatest asset is not its hardware. In fact, Sun lost a lot of its edge in the high-end and robust computing arena in recent years to competitors of all kinds. Its SPARC processor that was in the heart of their servers in the past lost its place to Intel in almost every market which led Sun itself to move to Intel some years ago. After that, the dive into becoming a commodity in a saturated was pretty quick.<br /><br />But Sun has one thing that tops any hardware - and that's Java. What started as a side project evolved to become one of the most dominant programming languages in the world, and spawned to power a wide range of applications: desktop, enterprise and mobile. Oracle is a software company and has invested a lot in Java as it is. So it seems to me that this is the strong connection point between the two companies and not necessarily the hardware. It will be interesting to see what Oracle's vision is with Java, and in particular J2ME.<br /><br />Also it would be interesting to see Oracle's strategy in regards to MySQL which was acquired by Sun lately. MySQL is a cheap and simple competitor to Oracle's elaborate DB software, will it remain free for development/non-commercial? Will it remain at all?... (Probably it will and be renamed to Oracle super-ultra-lite or something like it...)<br /><br />And on more Java news - Google App engine now supports Java! These are great news for all Java developers. Up until now the engine supported Python only, but now it supports a real programming language... (Just kidding Python is also cool...), for those of you who don't know, Google's app engine basically allows you to run your appliation on their computing cloud, similar to what Amazon is offering, but with Google, the first 5M page hits or so per month are free...<br /><br />And last but not least, LWUIT, Sun's (or should I already say Oracle's) UI framework for J2ME is making some great progress, I am working closely with several companies helping them adopt it, and also working with Sun/Oracle on some interesting projects that will give LWUIT even more "zing" in some markets.<br /><br />Anyway, it's going to be a pretty busy month or two, but I'll still try to squeeze in a post here and there...<br /><br/>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-88041237417850385582009-02-24T18:00:00.013+02:002009-02-26T17:55:01.497+02:00MWC 2009 Recap - Here we go again...As in most previous years, I went to the Mobile World Congress (Previously known as 3GSM) which is held in Barcelona. A totally overwhelming event by all standards, including a huge exhibition floor (though a bit less huge this year), a full conference program, networking events, parties and much more...<br /><br />As in the last conference I've been to, I decided to sum up my experiences by giving the virtual "Nextys" Awards (which don't really mean anything...) to the following companies and trends:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Missing and yet present: Apple</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5E6F072d-d4s-9iijrAkZBD47wkqsh4jSI576xI4hosmLeZc-PACJqSkt_aFvLt6eEShqqjPzSmB9SzJx2hZSnIUy-ZFWrz4GhoRsQwbs5pdDqSo5Tc-alaJAjXodZl5TJY1hY0v6YA/s1600-h/barcelona-market.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306352193390570482" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5E6F072d-d4s-9iijrAkZBD47wkqsh4jSI576xI4hosmLeZc-PACJqSkt_aFvLt6eEShqqjPzSmB9SzJx2hZSnIUy-ZFWrz4GhoRsQwbs5pdDqSo5Tc-alaJAjXodZl5TJY1hY0v6YA/s200/barcelona-market.jpg" border="0" /></a> The only apple I could find this year was in the Barcelona market, and even that was not exactly an apple... The people who brought us the iPhone didn't bother to come and display their stuff in MWC. Perhaps they don't have anything new to announce or simply feel others will do the work for them. And guess what? They're right... Even though Apple itself didn't present, the news from practically all handset vendors focused on sleek UI, touch screens and app stores - all old news in the iPhone world. You could hear everywhere "So, how does it compare to the iPhone?"... So though they didn't have a physical presence, Apple was present spiritually bigtime...<br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Hottest trend #1: Touch UI</strong></span></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxRaoiWFIeG4CtRfCRjFSIvEaQw-ZlSzAPqROqPlCSCRMSEqX7pyVqRwN1GGu_XV4ErFQQkYpOegeXpdbY-q7FfoUTa4Xn9dAhfZGurlt-xY4DGeERZBwCp02xvL85PBsgAf5hbCpJA/s1600-h/MWC2009+063.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306349493429487858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxRaoiWFIeG4CtRfCRjFSIvEaQw-ZlSzAPqROqPlCSCRMSEqX7pyVqRwN1GGu_XV4ErFQQkYpOegeXpdbY-q7FfoUTa4Xn9dAhfZGurlt-xY4DGeERZBwCp02xvL85PBsgAf5hbCpJA/s200/MWC2009+063.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>As said all vendors have been quite busy with designing new and sleek touch UIs, which were not all the time as sleek as expected. For example, Samsung showcased their TouchWiz UI, which features several neat concepts but when I tried it on the device pictured here, it was a bit sluggish. On the left side of the device you have a strip of widgets which appears after a tap on the screen. You can scroll the widgets using your finger, and to open one, you just drag it and drop on the main section of the screen. Widgets is also a hot trend now for some time, and this word was used (and misused) quite a lot both by handset vendors and application providers.</div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">Hottest trend #2: App Stores</span></strong></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIavXiwLdCC_rbqiMHph3dPu_pCXbEC76SKjADstrE813Lf_-USAzV0l81h_n97TtXO_a42g9-IeFkO2wlXnjcZlZ8RVw8bJl3PsAst3AK1aF_IZgr5jazAMYJzJoFNjXMREoEMeY-g/s1600-h/MWC2009+054.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306344069515912082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIavXiwLdCC_rbqiMHph3dPu_pCXbEC76SKjADstrE813Lf_-USAzV0l81h_n97TtXO_a42g9-IeFkO2wlXnjcZlZ8RVw8bJl3PsAst3AK1aF_IZgr5jazAMYJzJoFNjXMREoEMeY-g/s200/MWC2009+054.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>App stores are big. Everyone, and especially the handset vendors, hope this is what will help them balance things a bit when it comes to operators and their walled gardens. All vendors have relaunched their appstores initiatives due to the success of Apple. They all offer the same thing, but one thing did catch my eye, and that's SonyEricsson's PlayNow Download Station. This is basically a physical appstore - you plug your handset and stick in a moneycard, and then choose the content you want using the screen. The prime target is developing markets in which prepaid is king, and this was launched in seeral southeast Asian countries. However, come to think about it, it does have some upside which is no operator in the way and no internet plan needed... I recall that some experts foresaw great future to "sideloading" (i.e. downloading a game/app on your computer and then sending it via bluetooth to a handset), this might be one enabler for that.</div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">Best Blast from the Past: Palm Pre</span></strong></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8qZL03FAU1CSYzj8MecAgJtKRu1QTWqyGBPBrld1bxsgIGvAO_DMgcvDz0tqPLXFvIuID6iRr4-2kRxW-BNNutTNY2-779snk7s4Djd93zqNe8qYIvVynOGQSHFKJSwk7MQeEThgQA/s1600-h/palm-pre.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306345753997716770" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8qZL03FAU1CSYzj8MecAgJtKRu1QTWqyGBPBrld1bxsgIGvAO_DMgcvDz0tqPLXFvIuID6iRr4-2kRxW-BNNutTNY2-779snk7s4Djd93zqNe8qYIvVynOGQSHFKJSwk7MQeEThgQA/s200/palm-pre.jpg" border="0" /></a>Like an 80s rock star that refuses to fade away, Palm is also disturbing our peace with its new and shiny Palm Pre device, which was the uncrowned star of the show. The Pre features a sleek UI (Should I even mention it's iPhone-like?...) that looks a bit more sleek than others with some neat tricks like the "fluid" menu (in the picture) that pops up when you slide your finger from the device's right-bottom corner. Everything is done with hand gestures and provides a great experience. In addition it features an advanced address book that combines your phone contacts with social networks, email and other sources and provides you with presence info and direct connectivity in any supported means. It also has a cool magnet charger, no need for cables, just place the pre on the magnet and it will charge... The only drawback is that it doesn't support any of the known platforms for mobile applications. Instead everything will be done in web technologies (HTML, JavaScript etc.), which makes it unclear how rich applications will be supported, if at all.</div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">Most uninvited guest: Mr. World Recession</span></strong></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7kJ5wym3vYru1SMr5iXUSQk7zzdL1ogDoqyBYdssiGD4HZudWk1UeCsSg6oBEjGh6WH1E-4lQ7zxR9P41pys9fX42nf9eTxcgsJkVMrDz4FKugD8sZgCMgfwJ7r3F_U9M2bEB8YY6Q/s1600-h/MWC2009+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306344073799343058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7kJ5wym3vYru1SMr5iXUSQk7zzdL1ogDoqyBYdssiGD4HZudWk1UeCsSg6oBEjGh6WH1E-4lQ7zxR9P41pys9fX42nf9eTxcgsJkVMrDz4FKugD8sZgCMgfwJ7r3F_U9M2bEB8YY6Q/s200/MWC2009+010.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>A free space in the middle of MWC? This was an odd site in previous years, when booths were so dense you can barely squeeze in your way... But this year, some exhibition halls were quite spacious and some spaces as the one shown here were left empty - however the exhibition was still huge, I actually expected much worse decline of presenting companies, but it was around 15%-20%. Also, the number of visitors decreased by around the same magnitude, on Monday I thought the industry is really going down, but then Tuesday was quite packed and looked like the good old days, and Thursday as always, but a bit more so, I felt like walking in a ghost town. Some areas were more affected than others, mobile content for example was barely seen in the exhibition, while in previous years it had a great presence.</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0RWr8pI3Oc38niY7Ful3gUXA_YZ0AkakVxBIU6pnpZnNwjMia__H1T5TD_UZL7GDqWQpE6DiZW2aZzywQkJWJ1m5dF5c8mAfdRPGPVkr0xIJrsQSKNNeXyJS4pDWCtR9qr1TU7nrUg/s1600-h/MWC2009+117.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306349492870535394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0RWr8pI3Oc38niY7Ful3gUXA_YZ0AkakVxBIU6pnpZnNwjMia__H1T5TD_UZL7GDqWQpE6DiZW2aZzywQkJWJ1m5dF5c8mAfdRPGPVkr0xIJrsQSKNNeXyJS4pDWCtR9qr1TU7nrUg/s200/MWC2009+117.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Another clear sign of the recession was the almost complete lack of advertising around Barcelona. In previous years all the buildings across the exhibition as well as metro stations and central locations were covered with ads from the big players. This year, for the first time you could actually see some of the buildings around the congress.... Another thing was the hotels and flights which were not fully booked as in previous years, which made things easier for participants, so at least we get some upside... However, even with less attendees, MWC remains the only place on earth where the line in the men's WC is (much) longer than the women's...</div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">(Second) Best Booth Babes: i-mate</span></strong><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0W3WlybCek8WcNoorLHFt0mb7sVa4UJhDoNFjICx8O79gk8M5imURnX3dWkpilrmF_0YyvSDN4X6ZPyAl6kUsb5gb6x9rODHs0iSKsoofsUYB-K46Aw5O_oO5RKDtMXcA1B7LKo05w/s1600-h/MWC2009+053.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306342889182467554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0W3WlybCek8WcNoorLHFt0mb7sVa4UJhDoNFjICx8O79gk8M5imURnX3dWkpilrmF_0YyvSDN4X6ZPyAl6kUsb5gb6x9rODHs0iSKsoofsUYB-K46Aw5O_oO5RKDtMXcA1B7LKo05w/s200/MWC2009+053.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Everybody knows that in MWC booth babes equals CBOSS... This Russian integration company always "invests" in top babes that may or may not be above 18... (Check out the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6LCpCdqFDA">girls dance in 3GSM 2007</a>).So the only competition is on the second place, which goes this year to i-mate, with the Lara Kroft-like babes that had water guns to demonstrate their new water proof and shock proof device. Overall I must say that this year the number of booth babes grew, catching up with other shows finally... So at least the recession didn't affect that...</div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">Creepiest Booth Babes: Access</span></strong></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfmuntmGOaA7R2hKTwimxJkn9YDQrzTgVozvA9ApY6rCCOSYNoL1iSmMHiPCVN0iOabjKmBrDvNH0KIJgzmp4iOG8qOgMdXFWnQoB9U30sXUrkgLlSnccqtaWI1SHjDCV1czsErnpKwA/s1600-h/access-babes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306351019556965778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 108px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfmuntmGOaA7R2hKTwimxJkn9YDQrzTgVozvA9ApY6rCCOSYNoL1iSmMHiPCVN0iOabjKmBrDvNH0KIJgzmp4iOG8qOgMdXFWnQoB9U30sXUrkgLlSnccqtaWI1SHjDCV1czsErnpKwA/s200/access-babes.jpg" border="0" /></a>And every year there's also the guys who don't think things through... And this time the Access babes were dressed as a... tree?! I don't know why but this creeps me up a bit... And no, this is not body paint, they were wearing suits, so you can return now your eyes to their place... Of course I have nothing against Access, but c'mon guys, next time a simple bikini would do...<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Awards Event: Mobile Peer Awards</strong></span></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxhLn2kQDP6VXaWLECdtslT6Fh1wO4RE7vztwNGOu-mIMXFzV8zNSPDcAbF9zkOgC424FE0goK6vNbBYHPd409asS5AqRiCPKIOgHmXWBqCjFFrOjSD9ZThhIDETotWV86j7u-SbFQg/s1600-h/MWC2009+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306345758648787362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxhLn2kQDP6VXaWLECdtslT6Fh1wO4RE7vztwNGOu-mIMXFzV8zNSPDcAbF9zkOgC424FE0goK6vNbBYHPd409asS5AqRiCPKIOgHmXWBqCjFFrOjSD9ZThhIDETotWV86j7u-SbFQg/s200/MWC2009+022.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><span style="color:#000000;">As the founder of <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/">Mobile Monday Tel Aviv</a>, I might be biased a bit (correction: I am very biased..), but I do think that the Mobile Peer Awards which was held this year in a magnificent venue, is *the* event to be in. The event which is organized by MoMo Barcelona in collaboration with the MoMo community is a contest in which each MobileMonday chapter sends a startup to compete against the others. The startups get only 3 minutes to pitch and convince the jury, the MobileMonday chpaters and the audience that they deserve to win. What made the event even better for me is that MoMoTLV's nominee for the contest, <a href="http://www.fring.com/">fring</a>, took the MobileMonday community award.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best in-exhibition party: Yahoo!<br /></div></strong></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAR-OTEeJk-cdhfLu-pRjvpRJHsS00-sYoMPQ7NhopIWYWHgWJivHv5YxGMwhUlfbuowCC0JxllNMLk-bXw1nbYf_8K_CHbcga-GO7x3fJiOADeLiVkBmZGQmQeGpDYPgffqq4SC2Lw/s1600-h/MWC2009+069.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306350330628891506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAR-OTEeJk-cdhfLu-pRjvpRJHsS00-sYoMPQ7NhopIWYWHgWJivHv5YxGMwhUlfbuowCC0JxllNMLk-bXw1nbYf_8K_CHbcga-GO7x3fJiOADeLiVkBmZGQmQeGpDYPgffqq4SC2Lw/s200/MWC2009+069.jpg" border="0" /></a> Another "space" that seem unaffected by the recession were the famous MWC parties and cocktails (And there were plenty of those). I liked Yahoo!'s, mainly because they let me in... (Luckily I RSVPed for this one...) - just kidding, they showed a good hospitality in their booth and I also enjoyed hearing about their products, mainly Yahoo! Mobile App (previously known as <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2007/07/go-yahoo-go.html">Yahoo! Go</a>) and Yahoo! Blueprint, their mobile platform for app development.<br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best off-exhibition party: Swedish Beers<br /></strong></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuvB-wCfnx-An9AuFgdFQgpN8GPczug9hZwvEAcnSNZB2OXvKEFiRItLI3cPyWJYz0_SuN9JustNYeXMcQAtPPaXfc9KawFP0zdfEA1HiHFmjHUMW3ElToGoyJp8GUrHvb8VwSqoguw/s1600-h/MWC2009+113.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306350322140961762" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuvB-wCfnx-An9AuFgdFQgpN8GPczug9hZwvEAcnSNZB2OXvKEFiRItLI3cPyWJYz0_SuN9JustNYeXMcQAtPPaXfc9KawFP0zdfEA1HiHFmjHUMW3ElToGoyJp8GUrHvb8VwSqoguw/s200/MWC2009+113.jpg" border="0" /></a>There wasn't a single night in which I returned to the hotel before midnight... Right after the conference everyone is going to the famous MWC parties. There are a lot of events in parallel so naturally I couldn't attend them all, but from the ones I attended, the most "happening" one was Swedish Beers organized by Helen Keegan which did a great job in creating a fun atmosphere which hundreds of people enjoyed (Then again I'll say good things on anyone who give me free alcohol....)<br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Developer Event: WIP JAM<br /></strong></span></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3879vThYXAAa_fB7rARgu9SY5n8NS_Blk6933Y_AFbcC1rEm2BAPrshfKrHmyLNZQxpajeDMCiVezD5vtCrLvf_HGqg1PlV7yYAezMLrJStZqtwLk0xErVjmMYLHawM3rMsLQ2OteZA/s1600-h/MWC2009+127.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306348300949161058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3879vThYXAAa_fB7rARgu9SY5n8NS_Blk6933Y_AFbcC1rEm2BAPrshfKrHmyLNZQxpajeDMCiVezD5vtCrLvf_HGqg1PlV7yYAezMLrJStZqtwLk0xErVjmMYLHawM3rMsLQ2OteZA/s200/MWC2009+127.jpg" border="0" /></a>Another good event worth mentioning is WIP's JAM Sessions. The heart of this event is discussion groups in which mobile developers talk about a variety of subjects. It is very enriching, and among the participants you can find high profile mobile experts, C-level officers and top consultants. This is my first time in this event, though it has been held last year in several conferences including MWC and CTIA.<br /></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">Best (And only?) Mobile Content: Mobile Solid<br /></span></strong></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0mVRMPbDBn5Aez2O-dT8J-a090U91WFBfxj0-G0QwgJlQ9jApUhpRCnY1AoWz5m8VBMD4oAs0s33SCiRL6vdqS9iv7yVtCGjaafYGfPhsw24kVHFBJzrvlZPBS_l6kyeoOpHDKI_VQ/s1600-h/mobilesolid.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306347804993536338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 163px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0mVRMPbDBn5Aez2O-dT8J-a090U91WFBfxj0-G0QwgJlQ9jApUhpRCnY1AoWz5m8VBMD4oAs0s33SCiRL6vdqS9iv7yVtCGjaafYGfPhsw24kVHFBJzrvlZPBS_l6kyeoOpHDKI_VQ/s200/mobilesolid.jpg" border="0" /></a>As said above, mobile content was gone missing this year, but I did saw some neat thing: This technology from Mobile Solid enables video ringtones on your phone - a character of your choice dances to the beat of the ringtone. You can also create characters by cutting and pasting people's faces (Sounds familiar...) which is always fun with politicians, celebrities or your friends. In addition the character animates SMS messages by recognizing words and reacting to it with gestures. It looks really nice, question is of course what is the market potential and is it a gimmick or here to stay.<br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Coolest Appliance: Parrot by Starck<br /></strong></span></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtA7EUtcst_8t9r9UxcJvGT6Pj3Ux55mbcbC_V54c-YfpbZV9hy2TOJxEjbU49APFCTTnQKRYup9-yqpcT0_OfvGYOukUwOcvmthDfMxoXCul6hge_6A7U3jnNEmOUcHigyBG_ONswFw/s1600-h/MWC2009+102.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306345753781683090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtA7EUtcst_8t9r9UxcJvGT6Pj3Ux55mbcbC_V54c-YfpbZV9hy2TOJxEjbU49APFCTTnQKRYup9-yqpcT0_OfvGYOukUwOcvmthDfMxoXCul6hge_6A7U3jnNEmOUcHigyBG_ONswFw/s200/MWC2009+102.jpg" border="0" /></a>I am not really sure what this thingy does, as I didn't have the time to stay for a demonstration, but from what I saw it is simply a bluetooth speaker, you can connect your device and play songs through it. Nothing new here, but both the interface on top of the speaker and the product design itself are extremely sleek in a way that makes them stand out, and this is because it was designed by the top designer Philippe Starck. Parrot is the vendor of other bluetooth products such as speakerphones, digital frames etc. and they seem to do quite a nice job.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Booth Design: SpinVox<br /></strong></span></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAnOs1bCuGvOw1K0L39DX4e3WymP7HWAgFXxz7wKN4h7-8lt08g4KqYLNyjVLYo7y8EMkijDbon_2ON7Ugz7TQ7MnKbKx6-InseiHJGHVbv2TbpvjmE5wjJTdqYKIkqknwciJYjhGdew/s1600-h/MWC2009+105.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306344078510950002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAnOs1bCuGvOw1K0L39DX4e3WymP7HWAgFXxz7wKN4h7-8lt08g4KqYLNyjVLYo7y8EMkijDbon_2ON7Ugz7TQ7MnKbKx6-InseiHJGHVbv2TbpvjmE5wjJTdqYKIkqknwciJYjhGdew/s200/MWC2009+105.jpg" border="0" /></a>And last but not least, an award for creativity in booth design. MWC is still a very big exhibition and it is difficult to stand out. The guys from SpinVox certainly made an effort to do just that, and it certainly works... Very colorful and doesn't look like a booth at all, maybe more like a theme park... I was told they had the same booth last year, but it is the first time I saw it, so great job guys...<br /><br />That's all for now, hope you enjoyed it. I should emphasize that these are really just a small glimpse of the exhibition and even I did not get to see everything, if you want to have the whole experience, make sure to book your hotel and flights early on towards MWC 2010...<br /><br /></div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-39413470796855529452009-01-30T15:00:00.009+02:002009-02-02T09:59:15.159+02:00Top 8 rules for mobile entrepreneurs & application developers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUwh30i0OShBKzkFmCVS08zWaruhzKUaneT9Fcu-Cf3ZgL6QjC02mii0th6d9v-0_-pK6h7VQaGXVxcqyXsk4iQVdsVHr1dAjaEvGwLA4QEqZqR8HnsXA8GQpEaaHtPNWbu8SC4pT8w/s1600-h/sunset_man_run-t2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297068841201570146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUwh30i0OShBKzkFmCVS08zWaruhzKUaneT9Fcu-Cf3ZgL6QjC02mii0th6d9v-0_-pK6h7VQaGXVxcqyXsk4iQVdsVHr1dAjaEvGwLA4QEqZqR8HnsXA8GQpEaaHtPNWbu8SC4pT8w/s200/sunset_man_run-t2.jpg" border="0" /></a>If you are a mobile entrepreneur or on your way to become one, you probably know that there is something different about being in the mobile space... And if you don't know, then you are about to be surprised...<br /><br />So as an entrepreneur that has been surprised a few times, and to save others the surprises on the way I tried to compile here a list of rules that are unique for the mobile space. I tried to be as thorough as possible but if you have any additional rules you're more than welcome to post them as a comment. Anyway, here goes:<br /><br /><br /><strong>Have a solid operator / carrier strategy</strong><br /><br />When asked about their operator strategy, a lot of good startups will say: "Operators? We don't need them! Our product is going to revolutionize the value chain, in fact the whole idea is that with our product you can bypass the operators...". VCs love hearing that sentence, or to be more accurate loved this sentence, as it is definitely easier said than done - the fact is that most startups might begin with these statements, but down the road, they and their VCs find out that working without the carriers is quite difficult.<br /><br />You have to do the marketing on your own, you have to overcome a lot of business model/technical issues and the walled gardens of the operators don't allow you to really bypass them, at least not without losing 90% of your potential customers. So after being a "brat" for a few years, these startups mature and start to cooperate with operators which are a natural partner for mobile startups. <br /><br />Now don't get me wrong, I think operators still hold too much power and are too afraid letting go, which makes things very difficult for application developers (<a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2008/01/so-you-want-to-deploy-j2me-app-in-us.html">read my post on launching an app in the US</a>). A more open environment will probably boost the eco-system and in turn benefit the operators themselves. And someday this will happen, but that day is not today, and in the meantime you have a startup to run and a product to sell...<br /><br />So instead of wasting precious time and resources, establish an operator strategy from the beginning. It doesn't mean that you have to go hand in hand all the time, by all means take advantage of off-deck opportunities if you have the resources to market on your own, or if you find a suitable partner - you can also launch something offdeck to make some noise and grab the attention of the operators - but in the end operators are still one of your best chances to get to the mass market.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Mind the data costs (or: forget about the viral effect)</strong><br /><br />If you provide your application for free and expect it to have the same viral effect free web apps have, you're in for an unpleasant surprise. Nothing is really free in mobile, which is both good and bad for you... It is bad because users who want to download your app will have to pay the data costs for the download. If your app also makes subsequent use of the network - data costs will strike again... In fact virility in mobile takes a real blow from data costs, which makes it harder to provide viral experiences such as Facebook, YouTube etc. <br /><br />The good side of things is that users are okay with paying for services on the mobile, unlike the web 2.0 standard which is everything for free, just come and use our app... But then again, trying to make a non-free application viral is much more difficult, and here is exactly where the problem is: Even if you do make a free application, the carrier will still charge data costs, which still means no money for you (which you're okay with for virility puposes), but no users as well...<br /><br />It is true that there is some movement towards flat data rates which can help things, but as it stand now data costs are very high around the world, and the billing structure is not transparent enough or understandable to users, so a lot of them are simply afraid to use data on their handset. And don't get me started on roaming charges (which kills a lot of applications).<br /><br />There is no simple solution here, but here are some thoughts: Partnering with an operator can sometimes take the data costs off your back. If your game/app is on-deck, a lot of operators allow free access to their portal, so at least the download itself will be free. Same goes with network use inside the application, you can try to negotiate a zero-rated network use for your application - the chance of that happening is highly dependant on the specific operator and the region. However, note that even in cases where the data is free for users - some users have had bad experiences and do not want to take a chance, so they avoid any network use.<br /><br />If you don't have a (good) deal with the operator, which will be usually the case, just make sure you communicate (in your web site) to your users all the info related to the data costs, so there will be no surprises. Also if possible, try to lower as much as possible network use inside the application - use data compression to lower the amount of data sent, and make your protocol as minimal as possible.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Mobile phones are not PCs!</strong><br /><br />This is a very important rule which is overlooked too often. Mobile is a different media than the Web/PC. Not everything we do on the web we would like to do on mobile. This point becomes more important as technology advances, since in the past you couldn't do much on mobile, but today you can. However, this still doesn't mean you should...<br /><br />One of the biggest differences between mobile and PC is the screen size. While PC screens get bigger and bigger, handsets feature small screens, and will stay that way, since one of the key elements of a mobile phone is that it should be mobile... So, while you enjoy watching TV on your 42" TV at home, or even at your 22" PC screen, doing that on a mobile phone is not that comfortable and can be described as a "second best" in a good day. You have to adapt the experience to the medium. For example even if you wouldn't watch a full length movie on your mobile, you still might enjoy a 5-minute funny clip.<br /><br />Another difference is the input method - handsets have limited space for keys which leads either to a numeric pad or a very dense qwerty keypad. Neither is very comfortable for writing long documents (but short emails are okay). Also while I would enjoy playing a complicated game on my PC or console, doing that in mobile is simply impossible, which leads game developers to follow "the rule of thumb", meaning you can play their game with one thumb only...<br /><br />On the other hand, mobile has some clear advantages in some areas, and they can be utilized to give a more in-sync experience. The most important feature of a mobile phone is again its mobility. This led to the replacement of many MP3 players by handsets, and the same cruel fate happened to some really good digital cameras... Another area that is about to flourish is location services. You can give the user info and offers on where he is when he needs it (But of course, mind the data costs...)<br /><br />Of course, every once in a while something comes along and changes the rules, and with the input mechanisms this was the iPhone with its touch screen that opened a lot of options to make things that were not suited for keypad phones to become mobile.<br /><br />In anycase, just remember you are running on a handset, even if you can do anything you can do on a PC on it (And we are not far from that day). For more on that refer to one of my first posts called <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2006/12/mobile-is-different-medium-than-webpctv.html">Mobile is a different medium than the Web/PC/TV</a>.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Choose your Platform</strong><br /><br />Web 2.0 entrepreneurs have an easy life, don't they?... They have to support one platform only called the web browser. Now it's true that there are some nuances between IE and Firefox/Safari, but again these are nuances which can be overcome by good coding practices. Different operating systems? Not really, with Windows dominance on the market this is a non-issue (Plus the browsers serve as a VM for that purpose). Server-side platforms are also a non-issue - you can choose whatever you want: Java, .NET, PHP etc. as long as you serve HTML pages, your application will work on any browser without any special installations. Perhaps the most difficult and significant issue is Flash vs. Java (client-side) for those making extremely interactive content such as games.<br /><br />And what about us in the mobile space?.... Well, not looking too good... A multitude of operating systems and VMs: J2ME, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Brew, Linux, iPhone, Android - all cannot be ignored and have a significant market footprint somewhere in the world and for some type of applications (or will have one in the future). Unlike the web-world, the differences here are not nuances: Applications written in one platform will simply not work in the other (or in some case like J2ME on Symbian will work poorly).<br /><br />As a startup usually you don't have the resources to develop to all these platforms and you have to "choose your poison"... This is not a very easy decision and can make or break your success. There's also a lot of hype to the newer platforms such as iPhone and Android, and this can be confusing since though it does seem they have a bright future, their actual install base is quite small compared to more mature platforms (<a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2008/07/battle-of-platforms.html">See my post on that</a>).<br /><br />The important thing to do is to choose the platform according to the users you are targeting and the play you are looking to make. If you're a game developer and your target market is Europe then no doubt you should start with J2ME. This is by far the de-facto platform in this GSM continent. Your games will also run on Symbian devices with Java VM (i.e. Nokia series-60) though will probably be slower and more buggy, but it's an okay compromise to make until you have the funds to issue a Symbian version.<br /><br />If your target market is the US on the other hand, your decision is more difficult. J2ME should be a good way to go, but since US J2ME devices are some years behind Europe, you might be limited in VM resources which will lead to reduced overall game quality. On the bright side there's a good play to make in the US with BlackBerry (which can run a slightly modified J2ME code).<br /><br />Also there are a lot of Brew devices in Verizon which is the biggest operator in the US, a Brew play might make sense especially if you have some good connections in Verizon, as Brew is basically a walled garden, no way getting something on the air without the operator. But again - just make sure you start with one platform, and advance to the others. And of course there's the iPhone - a play on its own where you can maximize your innovation and get a pretty good market in the US, but again this is not the mass market.<br /><br />If you're going to the Eastern markets, you have to carefully learn the situation there. Starting with developing countries with very basic devices up to the mobile power nations Japan and Korea, which have their own platforms (i-mode, WIPI and more).<br /><br />I can go on and on here, but you get the picture: Choose one platform and focus on it. Just make sure you choose the right one for you.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Establish a porting strategy</strong><br /><br />After you choose a platform, your troubles have not ended, they are just getting started... Even within the platforms themselves there are a lot of variations in the handsets. Starting with operating system/VM versions which are not always backward compatible (i.e. Windows mobile version, J2ME MIDP1 vs. MIDP2), going through unsupported or buggy features or APIs in some devices and ending with the simple fact that devices have varying screen sizes, processing power and input mechanisms (For the issues in J2ME take a look at my <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2007/07/porting-101.html">J2ME Porting 101 post</a>).<br />This requires porting of your code to hundreds of different devices. The cost of porting within the same platform is not as high as porting from one platform to the other (which is basically a code rewrite of the entire app), but still when talking about hundreds of devices, this aggregates to a very nice sum... And bear in mind that porting is not a one time thing, you have to maintain or redo the process every time you issue a new version...<br /><br />The key to survive porting is, again, to know your target market. It is okay not to support every device in the world, or even in your market. You can start with key devices and progress overtime to additional ones. Just make sure to find out which are the key devices are for you - i.e. what devices most (or a big share) of your potential customers hold. Obtain metrics from metric providers and reports on the web, and don't rely on hype.<br /><br />Also, give some preference to easy targets (For example SonyEricsson devices are known to be pretty portable when it comes to J2ME), and forget about devices that give you too much trouble (unless they're critical) - it is not worth it spending 2-4 weeks just to port to some stubborn device...<br /><br />As for the porting itself, some prefer to do it in-house completely, some using 3rd parties tools and some outsource it completely, usually to offshore porting houses. There's no right way here, it depends on your needs.<br /><br />Obviously porting houses in India, China and Eastern Europe can provide with competitive pricing and some already have a well-structed process for porting - this is all they do, so they must be good at it... But as with all outsourcing processes, it has some overhead and the distant communication also doesn't help, but still it takes a huge load of work from your employees that can focus on the development of the product.<br /><br />If you plan to issue new version frequently (and have the resources to do so), meaning you do frequent porting, then porting might be something you keep in-house - you can either use 3rd party tools to manage the process, or build your own framework, which is not as hard as it may seem.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Make sure users can actually use your app...</strong><br /><br />Everyone who deals with usability in mobile will tell you it is simply hell... If creating web applications that are easily understood by users is a difficult task (and it is...), then doing the same for mobile is simply a disaster... Crunching all the info on a tiny screen while trying to let the user to interact with a limited numeric pad is a hell of a challenge.<br /><br />Usability is a major factor that will determine if your application gets adopted. Don't test users' patience - they don't have a lot of it - if they can't understand you app in 2-3 minutes they will never use it again. This also stands for the distribution of the application, there's a lot to improve in the download experience - some of which you can't affect and is in the domain of handset vendors and operators, but there are some things you can make easier for the user (i.e. SMS with a link to the app, sign your app to avoid as many installation questions as possible etc.)<br /><br />As for the application itself - the key to success here is not to get wild. Remember that the average user is not a super-geek like you (or your CTO...), in fact the profile of mobile users in terms of technical capabilities is even lower than PC users. So keep things very simple. Also, it is very useful to see what others have done - don't reinvent the wheel, look at other mobile applications - some of the biggest UI challenges have already been solved in some way that users have gotten accustomed too, so you should probably follow the same guidelines.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Use the power of convergence</strong><br /><br />Being a mobile entrepreneur doesn't mean you have to stay in mobile only. There's a whole eco-system around us, and sometimes your success can come from connecting with non-mobile services or applications. This can sometimes be fruitful for both parties.<br /><br />Now, don't get me wrong, sometimes a mobile-only play is the way to go, for example if you develop non-multiplayer mobile games, you don't necessarily have anything to do out of the little screen - your games look great on mobile, but don't compete even with PC titles dated 5 years back... On the other hand, if you're a mobile VoIP provider, connecting to PC VoIP providers can do you only good. If you're in the social networking space, communicating with the online networks and fetching data from there can do wonders to your app. And how about saving data to known portals, syncing calendars with online calendars etc.<br /><br />Also, if your service is a success on mobile, you can try to see if opening the same for non-mobile users makes sense. Sometimes it doesn't because the service you offer is unique in the mobile space but too crowded in the "regular" web. But sometimes you can bring something different to the mix, relying on your mobile strength. This of course is more relevant to more mature startups, as focus is very important, so you should expand only after you gained some traction in one medium.<br /><br />In any case, the key here is to try to see the full picture. Can your application or service connect with online services in a beneficial way for your users? Will a non-mobile version of what you do now can work? If the answers to any of those is yes, go for it (Just make sure that the answer to "Do I have enough funds to make it happen" is yes as well...)<br /><br /><br /><strong>Don't listen to rules...</strong><br /><br />The last rule is simple: Don't listen to rules... Mobile is a new space and there's still a lot of practices we haven't found. Some of the things that look like Axioms today, might change along the way and open new opportunities. Perhaps you'll be the one to discover them when not following any rules...<br /><br>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-20688676894695449072009-01-17T16:20:00.000+02:002009-01-17T16:22:02.573+02:00The social media war<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qIpjXaFUFf31Gi_aSBr4P_i0P_k14H9KNfUOHabR8h835PKWTHX-_im-UFhQeBMB4xsgx3HzspNIKEyfyewcQHKfpeIiTiT24jj3MRdRgQDRgfDaDA7IMoz0Aq9H9snEGmRe2joP3A/s1600-h/split-social_network.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292267110072959842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qIpjXaFUFf31Gi_aSBr4P_i0P_k14H9KNfUOHabR8h835PKWTHX-_im-UFhQeBMB4xsgx3HzspNIKEyfyewcQHKfpeIiTiT24jj3MRdRgQDRgfDaDA7IMoz0Aq9H9snEGmRe2joP3A/s200/split-social_network.jpg" border="0" /></a>If you don't live on an iceberg you've probably heard about the war in Gaza between Israel and the Hamas. Since this is not a political blog, I am not going to discuss here my personal opinions on the situation or anyone's else, but rather focus on a new phenomena that accompanies this war, and this is a parallel war on the international public's opinion via social networks.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Obviously efforts to change the public opinion have been done in past wars all over the world, but before the advent of social networks this was a task reserved for professionals such as diplomats, PR specialists and of course various media outlets, which may try or not try to be objective and might succeed in that or not...</div><br><div> </div><div>But now, basically everyone can be a reporter, if not to a wide audience as a TV channel, then to his own social network, which can be not that small, and of course people in your network, each have their own network and so on.</div><br><div> </div><div>The most basic thing you can do for example is change your status in your social networks, telling shortly about what you're going through and then everyone in your network sees that. You can also post pictures and video from your area. Mobile plays a big part here, since you can basically tweet or update your facebook account from mobile, send pictures etc. - and sometimes especially in war zones, mobile can be more accessible than the PC. </div><br><div> </div><div>Anyway, these online and mobile individual initiatives happen all the time and have some effect, but what's more interesting are the more coordinated initiatives, which at least I am seeing for the first time in this war, that some call the "first social war" (Probably sounds too nice for a war, but of course the intention is just for the war over PR).</div><br><div> </div><div>For example, people on facebook started posting pictures describing moments from the war, and tagging them as if they and their friends are in the picture, and asking more and more people to tag themselves in. This of course gets the effect that anyone who has a friend "tagged" in this picture will see the picture in his facebook updates and wonder "Hey, what's joe doing in this picture?...", which will probably lead to opening the picture and seeing the message the original sender intended to send.</div><br><div> </div><div>Another good example, are Facebook applications. Yes, people have actually created facebook applications to help spread the word about their side of the story. So, at first there was a facebook application which sends updates in your name regarding how many Qassam rockets fell in Israeli cities, hundred of thousands installed the app in their profile, and due to that success an opposing facebook application was published focusing of course on what's happening on their side of the border, which attracted about the same attention.</div><br /><p>Blogging is also done a lot on both sides, some as individual initatives, and some in a more orderly fashion, like a project I heard about that allows Israeli teenagers from the south (where the rockets fall) to write about their experiences during the war. I even saw a report on a joint blog between people from both sides of the border.</p><p>And of course, don't get me started on the facebook groups... I think there's not a day going by where I don't receive an invitation to support in one way or the other... </p><p>But maybe the most surprising thing is the use of officials in the social media space. Maybe it's not that shocking news as even Barack Obama has used Twitter in his campaign. Currently I am aware of a twitter press conference the Israeli consulate in NY, and also the IDF's spokesperson YouTube channel (An army that releases official videos of its activities on YouTube... who could have seen this one coming?...)</p><p>Anyway, there's not a lot more I can say without getting political, I feel I have been walking on eggs to balance the whole post even as it is, but the message I wanted to convey is that social networks will probably play part also in future wars throughout the world as the voice of people, which is sometimes not the same as the voice of the government or the voice of the professional press.</p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">P.S. - I didn't link or specify the exact names of blogs, applications or sites on purpose. If you want to find it, I will name one site for you: google.com ...</span></p>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-90229314950901519702008-12-23T23:40:00.002+02:002008-12-23T23:46:50.674+02:00The Games Unconference<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnJ_mn3HaaSjqL2lh_hW79fawgvE_YsLuiDqiU-p3Yj_4608i3Y9zaF2eEMzgv8yX4Wo_uODQ3c044bVvLJplyj6SR1k5rwF9TPbpL_6TRdeCfwbP9krQUhd5arLcbNqf6mfbjD4-ZA/s1600-h/IMG_1422.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283097909561172706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnJ_mn3HaaSjqL2lh_hW79fawgvE_YsLuiDqiU-p3Yj_4608i3Y9zaF2eEMzgv8yX4Wo_uODQ3c044bVvLJplyj6SR1k5rwF9TPbpL_6TRdeCfwbP9krQUhd5arLcbNqf6mfbjD4-ZA/s200/IMG_1422.JPG" border="0" /></a>I've attended last week the "Games Unconference" - a special event which was conceptualized (or to be more accurate un-conceptualized) by Yossi Vardi and un-organized by the IGDA guys here.<br /><br />This event is similar to a conference in the way that people from the same field (this time gaming) gather together, but unlike it in the way that the content is not set in advance - when you come to the event there's a whiteboard with a blank table of the sessions - and whoever wants to speak about something, just fills out the topic in the relevant cell (when/where).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUis0f7Tu6kg8LmWL5qFtqzxel9K1FbaAXTxNcfN1RxAEkko2FSLa5MpnHo6LZS9TaRAGUDzBL7MYUw7jAvll-jFeI04WTp-LEjKnbjjaoG_kpY4KUEkag5ZAgq9mFvjc0ZAMiNVVlQ/s1600-h/n574660311_1798414_3091.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283101534529592018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUis0f7Tu6kg8LmWL5qFtqzxel9K1FbaAXTxNcfN1RxAEkko2FSLa5MpnHo6LZS9TaRAGUDzBL7MYUw7jAvll-jFeI04WTp-LEjKnbjjaoG_kpY4KUEkag5ZAgq9mFvjc0ZAMiNVVlQ/s200/n574660311_1798414_3091.jpg" border="0" /></a>I myself wasn't planning to speak and didn't prepare anything in advance, but got carried away in this user generated conference, and decided to talk about the gaming market in Korea and share some of <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2008/11/korea-game-conference-2008.html">my experiences from the Korea trip and KGC</a>. I had a lot of fun - my presentation was composed of the pictures that I had on my laptop from the Korea Game Conference, and I just talked about whatever came to mind...<br /><br />There were also some interesting games in what you would call in a normal conference "exhibition area". Most of it were concepts and early designs, but there were also more mature products.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9dCJHnuxZvYWgidvU3dZYz20TjQgNZQM8isPJRuJuDXVYRS3Jd5BlDIyycL-Y-VARzQy_KhpK4xxV8lVG5kSMThzUiytrW3IZbi6Me_yFN5KkwcAnBgyVP3x0j_gxxkR1Q9lr09D-A/s1600-h/IMG_1419.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283100078933594162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9dCJHnuxZvYWgidvU3dZYz20TjQgNZQM8isPJRuJuDXVYRS3Jd5BlDIyycL-Y-VARzQy_KhpK4xxV8lVG5kSMThzUiytrW3IZbi6Me_yFN5KkwcAnBgyVP3x0j_gxxkR1Q9lr09D-A/s200/IMG_1419.JPG" border="0" /></a>For example, take iFighter. This is a very nice concept - a Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat type of games, but the fighters are real people. In a previous conference (Geekcon), the game designer photographed some of the participants in costumes and various poses (kicking, ducking etc.), so most of the fighters were people I know. Of course the graphics is very basic (each pose is one frame) but still it was fun... The backgrounds were also scenes from Israel such as the old city of Jerusalem, and you have Jewish and Arab fighters, so I guess this game is not so helpful for the conflict and its creators never heard the term "Politically Correct"...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfyvtwiruCV1VZy4JA1QAStTPuUgEprpzJ_CAn_kr-xQHzdNWBp4bSE6bMPNAu19Gvt6sfK-u1urmB1olTC9VTuL6-VLSZk3YuAhzeTqh4wJjvQCtNFumCAVhuVacWAuq8ksvTQUCOA/s1600-h/IMG_1417.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283097897642875522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfyvtwiruCV1VZy4JA1QAStTPuUgEprpzJ_CAn_kr-xQHzdNWBp4bSE6bMPNAu19Gvt6sfK-u1urmB1olTC9VTuL6-VLSZk3YuAhzeTqh4wJjvQCtNFumCAVhuVacWAuq8ksvTQUCOA/s200/IMG_1417.JPG" border="0" /></a>Another fun (and still nameless) game allows three players to "jam"... One plays a guitar player, the other a singer and the third is the drummer. Each figure has different sounds, activated with different buttons, and you can also switch to several modes (jazz, rock etc.) - all samples are played together and what you get is most of the time music you wouldn't like to hear, but when you and your friends create it, it's fun... I liked the arcade-like casing in which the game was demonstrated, very cool...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.camtraxtechnologies.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283097889981862274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOOdKznsbrxqGF4AtKJ078HJEXVLes-RWovLxjTkATjTbVUZudGpCL-Jim3L9MSip1u57UB3eWgTRZ_5RvYShc_oUfDMSvSHw_5B5RA5eS_Oqwgnup-jgAu4nUnTfoeqwnQkkRPECMA/s200/IMG_1413.JPG" border="0" />Cam-trax</a> is another cool technology - it allows you to play with hand movements by using a standard web camera. It was demonstrated with a bowling pin - you hold it in your hand, the camera recognizes it, and from that point on, every movement you make is translated into a mouse movement. This can allow Wii-like controls in PCs.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEGOe4LerP1rsmqjFKTG3PYnB13fnOQviOJtWm5GiRWcvO5bEpmZT5oLDWHl83bBri5PQFMuyCGmnBZ9lThkMfbgTJ07PpXUtCILX_hCm2MsTrNIzp6_bdKb33DUmDHgcKYT1e3UnXg/s1600-h/IMG_1412.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283097886495609570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEGOe4LerP1rsmqjFKTG3PYnB13fnOQviOJtWm5GiRWcvO5bEpmZT5oLDWHl83bBri5PQFMuyCGmnBZ9lThkMfbgTJ07PpXUtCILX_hCm2MsTrNIzp6_bdKb33DUmDHgcKYT1e3UnXg/s200/IMG_1412.JPG" border="0" /></a>I also saw there a game intended for physical therapy - basically you have a large pad that is equipped with sensors (Similar to Dance Revolution), and on screen you see a turtle appearing in several locations. You have to move accordingly on the pad. The focus here is not on very fast movement but rather on slower ones and as said it is destined to make physical therapy a bit more fun to exercise.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCoJAs1ZPQg4bZ7siJyd0dw8kwiXXG_g33neqT0zBZ6tVhrKFjRfOaqtBB77g79EBnDSB23gr0Pdj63cgu5ryD7zSybaDAmCm8eyPexc_SgyF8k1fwnzbwqTg5HPznhyphenhyphenQbe47OB55JNw/s1600-h/IMG_1429.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283100086551160626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCoJAs1ZPQg4bZ7siJyd0dw8kwiXXG_g33neqT0zBZ6tVhrKFjRfOaqtBB77g79EBnDSB23gr0Pdj63cgu5ryD7zSybaDAmCm8eyPexc_SgyF8k1fwnzbwqTg5HPznhyphenhyphenQbe47OB55JNw/s200/IMG_1429.JPG" border="0" /></a>But the game that took the show (at least for me) is <a href="http://www.saveanalien.com/">SaveAnAlien</a>. These guys started as a facebook app that attracted 250,000 people. Soon enough I guess they realized that making money that way is not that easy, so now they are developing a full web portal (off-facebook). Basically it is a pet virtual world, not unlike Neopets, and it allows you to select an alien and fro mthat point on you should feed it and take care of his other un-earthly needs. The alien also communicates with you via ICQ/AIM and tells you whenever he's hungry...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2wwba1Ns8nWdlkqi7zwEUFbzW8rTIYH3a9gqvw5VoARZmy23-L4ufyy68wRog5ESD19lCAjtGKTBlgWdcKtgF8_LBxCuqUvT7Kx3oH3dJrGScl5GMHrejsDH8z9vPdmpKTxoTCR6S6w/s1600-h/IMG_1420.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283097900884146834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2wwba1Ns8nWdlkqi7zwEUFbzW8rTIYH3a9gqvw5VoARZmy23-L4ufyy68wRog5ESD19lCAjtGKTBlgWdcKtgF8_LBxCuqUvT7Kx3oH3dJrGScl5GMHrejsDH8z9vPdmpKTxoTCR6S6w/s200/IMG_1420.JPG" border="0" /></a>And of course you can't have a gaming conference without Guitar Hero or Rock Band, so there was a room for that as well... Oh, and if you're wondering what we had for lunch - it was Pizzas...<br /><br />We also got to see a sneak peak at <a href="http://www.cosmoclash.com/">CosmoClash</a>, a game by <a href="http://www.pixtazi.com/">Pixtazi</a>. This game will remind you of the good'n'old Star Control game, or to be more accurate, a modernized version of that game. The game is the frontend, but there's also a lot of work in the backend as Pixtazi develops secure protocols for multiplayer games, used in this one.<br /><br />Anyway it has been really fun, and it is rumored that the next unconference will be held in April and have the theme of mobile, so this should be very interesting as well.Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-18129572965240665552008-12-14T12:40:00.002+02:002008-12-14T12:49:37.723+02:00Mobile Monday Tel Aviv: Peer Awards - Dec.15Tomorrow we're going to have a very special event in Mobile Monday Tel Aviv, in which we choose the Israeli mobile startups that will participate in the international Mobile Peer Awards Contest.<br /><br />If you haven't heard of it yet, and you're in town - you should definitely come. For more details: <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/">www.momotlv.com</a>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-64453656750339296322008-11-24T19:40:00.010+02:002008-11-25T09:34:05.645+02:00Korea Game Conference 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwFPlmYWt8jZeuQmvrlXeKERs68AmX9JXjVPefeWTcCqcO7FgFN9vqbJn6OMGs-WFcSBvm3hfgylnNT-uiJuh2HKYQAMyCxMdxoHkOiLkG5o683b9nvzedvzWAF6bcWIwKjZnJ1KJuw/s1600-h/IMG_0774.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272259608595299042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwFPlmYWt8jZeuQmvrlXeKERs68AmX9JXjVPefeWTcCqcO7FgFN9vqbJn6OMGs-WFcSBvm3hfgylnNT-uiJuh2HKYQAMyCxMdxoHkOiLkG5o683b9nvzedvzWAF6bcWIwKjZnJ1KJuw/s200/IMG_0774.JPG" border="0" /></a>I just returned from a business trip in Korea which was built around KGC (Korea Game Conference). I had the honor of being a speaker there and delivering a session about the new era of mobile gaming in Europe and the US - a certainly important topic on which I'll hopefully elaborate on one of my next posts.<br /><br />It is a NextGenMoCo tradition to write about my experiences in such events - and this one is no different, and can be of great interest to people who are working in the game industry.<br /><br />First of all, Being at Korea was a true experience. Everything on the street is Korean, which unfortunately for me I am not fluent in... Also not a lot of english speakers there (Even my session was translated simultaneously to Korean..) - so you have to get by, and I learned 4 basic words that helped me along my journey: Anyo-a-ze-ho (Hello), Kam-sam-nida (Thanks), Young-su-tzung (Invoice - for the expense report...) and Poo-ke (Fork - I just can't handle those sticks...).<br /><br />Anyway, KGC is a business-oriented conference and in parallel to that there's an exhibition called G-star, that has a consumer side (not unsimilar to the late E3) and also a business side (Which is not unlike GDC). In addition there are other smaller conferences for serious games and culture in gaming etc. Obviously most of the visually interesting things are in the G-star consumer side, so here goes:<br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Booth Babes</strong></span><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYk8FluPY_ak6WnLrZ67dduzxsHVPW3_3eFzx5WDI5p4c8bKmw-C7sMKNBwzj8S4tecGPH1DXhQwEFNTFJ5s4w4ZPxxWHm2ubfqgprWJ2I66cItXQfOk9W6W1E9KKTOPQO-X576BlSg/s1600-h/IMG_0790.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272268070569952274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYk8FluPY_ak6WnLrZ67dduzxsHVPW3_3eFzx5WDI5p4c8bKmw-C7sMKNBwzj8S4tecGPH1DXhQwEFNTFJ5s4w4ZPxxWHm2ubfqgprWJ2I66cItXQfOk9W6W1E9KKTOPQO-X576BlSg/s200/IMG_0790.JPG" border="0" /></a>Let's start with the best... No gaming show is complete without booth babes... And here there were indeed plenty of those. The first place goes to SK Telecom that provided a lot of attractions... Also most companies knew exactly how to unleash the potential of the boothbabes - they were posing all the time in front of posters of the game of the hour.... well done indeed (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=72377&id=609600151">Full album here</a>)</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Most popular attraction: Booth babes...</strong></span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8ZUu9z9ERqP0TKU2kZ3r_Xe4MuBS_o4qYxisfSdAE7M7ys4eCFxDxyX9IFjKFj-NBzfLOKcD27Gyi-oHQTs6BvIXqp3n2roFdQA-Fvg1veVdOLYLk8YAYwzD5aBDGt8lquFDfb2uCw/s1600-h/IMG_0783.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272268068615335906" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8ZUu9z9ERqP0TKU2kZ3r_Xe4MuBS_o4qYxisfSdAE7M7ys4eCFxDxyX9IFjKFj-NBzfLOKcD27Gyi-oHQTs6BvIXqp3n2roFdQA-Fvg1veVdOLYLk8YAYwzD5aBDGt8lquFDfb2uCw/s200/IMG_0783.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>And indeed it appears that using boothbabes to promote stuff really pays off in Korea. Near every boothbabe, and at any point of time, you could find an army of photographers.... I can't believe how these guys crowd around just to get some boothbabe glamour... Of course yours truly was one of these guys too... couldn't resist it...</div><br /><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Arcade</strong></span> </div><br /><div></div><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgfp4lxERMnIskTUVuJh7vwOU6eWTrbJc-cPqaqxZTalWYW44jTheDZTKc2261UVbFw9CZQE7x6r7StXocb3MwcWZSWl6oY0nJbHvsVNnfVkvGXzmWC42hA90HqH9bGlJ1X5ceNnt3g/s1600-h/IMG_0717.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272275521765537986" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgfp4lxERMnIskTUVuJh7vwOU6eWTrbJc-cPqaqxZTalWYW44jTheDZTKc2261UVbFw9CZQE7x6r7StXocb3MwcWZSWl6oY0nJbHvsVNnfVkvGXzmWC42hA90HqH9bGlJ1X5ceNnt3g/s200/IMG_0717.JPG" border="0" /></a>This is simply cool... As a kid I always liked arcade games that provided me with added value to the home gaming experience. I nthe past this wasn't difficult since PC games was a bit far behind arcade rooms (Wow, this game supports CGA and has 4 different colors on the same time!). Nowadays, you can get almost everything on a PC, and if not you have the killer consoles - so what's left are cool controllers like this drum set which is more impressive than the one you can get in Rock Band. <div></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Trendiest Phenomenon: Board Games</strong></span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofJRk5dhojJzP1h1c4HqULQzGxqI81KfJqhvN8dYmRoNIwnX9BJXTSFnfQzqLysJ0fnnnmmjr8QExnLurMTVQWrdBqeK9CqV15VzkC4kCgmjlipZV_8J13WQ1540v2-KIZ9ig1pYiiA/s1600-h/IMG_0582.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272263268909656754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofJRk5dhojJzP1h1c4HqULQzGxqI81KfJqhvN8dYmRoNIwnX9BJXTSFnfQzqLysJ0fnnnmmjr8QExnLurMTVQWrdBqeK9CqV15VzkC4kCgmjlipZV_8J13WQ1540v2-KIZ9ig1pYiiA/s200/IMG_0582.JPG" border="0" /></a>Once upon a time, successful movies became games and also popular board games became computer games. Nowadays movies are made in thr image of successful games - and apparently so are board games. Meet Starcraft , the board game.... If you can't get enough starcraft and want to play it offline, you can use this board game...</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Mobile Multiplayer Experience</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9x9HQ-3E-v9MKUqWtSkm4R2AWa-QG8q-0unZJ0ieRKRgOv3DuJGA705jGqegUX0jl_4sqNpT_qNnarr_aGXQxy-dQ0YbpJQdmWhwjSRKqdFCT9XE87Tksw9p4wqZM_AAy52wiHVxRQ/s1600-h/IMG_0800.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272268064105080098" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9x9HQ-3E-v9MKUqWtSkm4R2AWa-QG8q-0unZJ0ieRKRgOv3DuJGA705jGqegUX0jl_4sqNpT_qNnarr_aGXQxy-dQ0YbpJQdmWhwjSRKqdFCT9XE87Tksw9p4wqZM_AAy52wiHVxRQ/s200/IMG_0800.JPG" border="0" /></a>Here again in the SK Telecom booth I am playing a zooma-like game against people in Japan via video conference. I guess the video conference is just to show I'm playing against real people (who kinda over-acted their part...). The game is connected to the internet and basically the last one to survive without disqualifying is the winner (And gets notified on realtime). Wasn't very exciting but an interesting concept. Guess we'll have to work harder to find the real multiplayer experience.<br /></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Title Ripoff...<br /></strong></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieh57Dx4lfGUs-kV9RSl9CdSm8DclM9V60VdIlkRXHSmUCbUqRAEa_wFoH5r8-EJAilSiy-Qv5ZSUAirNDPIoY1bX7SunW-SYwohhvjfqblaVfDIvPfeHaPwk1OXJEm2nwM0cUHWHUnQ/s1600-h/IMG_0635.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272263286326681314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieh57Dx4lfGUs-kV9RSl9CdSm8DclM9V60VdIlkRXHSmUCbUqRAEa_wFoH5r8-EJAilSiy-Qv5ZSUAirNDPIoY1bX7SunW-SYwohhvjfqblaVfDIvPfeHaPwk1OXJEm2nwM0cUHWHUnQ/s200/IMG_0635.JPG" border="0" /></a>Take Warcraft and Farcry and fuse them together, what do you get? WarCry... Korea has a massive local game industry, some or most of these games do not get to the western markets, but the Korean gamers are a wide enough audience. Sometimes the game titles sound a bit like the global hits - can't hurt - right?.. I myself am still waiting for Farcraft as well...</div><div><br /></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">Lost in Translation</span></strong></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1BoaRbFmNCSaXjHKdLcBHvmoQxJCBtCZoW6zI_yXH4_EnVVeXh6fsUCbU437pKKIeZYE1zc_ipdmTpnxUJM05wi1D-qK3oT_SMPxGg1vVMNGS8UOrHdkZuTtudtQi_uz4p_Y9dawHA/s1600-h/IMG_0588.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272263278865324466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1BoaRbFmNCSaXjHKdLcBHvmoQxJCBtCZoW6zI_yXH4_EnVVeXh6fsUCbU437pKKIeZYE1zc_ipdmTpnxUJM05wi1D-qK3oT_SMPxGg1vVMNGS8UOrHdkZuTtudtQi_uz4p_Y9dawHA/s200/IMG_0588.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>I am not sure how this Rockband clone is called in Korean but the transaltion says "Funny Band" and the sales pitch says "Funny Online Music"... Hmmm.. I am not sure I ever heard funny music, so it might be interesting to play that. Then again it is probably one of those things who don't pass translation (And there are many of those in Korea as the language structure is so different than western langauges...)</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Lost in Translation 2</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMS8J3SojjtS5x8zfQVgDWXn-bTjxXvJWmdj7alqdFPfkL6T4eX6DYMr6rPsuJ3MSDKEqQp2H4Gt_5JtwiqIcqBhVbsZLWpAwS5IQndtgB2m5Tu-5Kp4xdXAo4g-H4kpaE4leCo38GWg/s1600-h/IMG_0622.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272268073712893650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMS8J3SojjtS5x8zfQVgDWXn-bTjxXvJWmdj7alqdFPfkL6T4eX6DYMr6rPsuJ3MSDKEqQp2H4Gt_5JtwiqIcqBhVbsZLWpAwS5IQndtgB2m5Tu-5Kp4xdXAo4g-H4kpaE4leCo38GWg/s200/IMG_0622.JPG" border="0" /></a>And from the same creator (or at least same translation company) of Funny Band, here is Love Beat which is not only Cool and Wow but it is also Normal! I wanted to play a normal game for some time now - it's such a strong marketing pitch... Anyway I have to go now to some party. I hear it's going to be normal...<br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Simulator (And worst gamer)<br /></strong></span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxFwzd33S745dtDrGOZLNSaq9s21dY5A8tNvMkwNhruM60G0oNysVRdgW52VMOTbjfxXNRyAtm_pQnjnOzu0Cllw_KszuiqoZAgXvqLo2U5ReK1YjxYgxfBVqUYUl4yKSfkrL9W8TEw/s1600-h/IMG_0695.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272263293260590578" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxFwzd33S745dtDrGOZLNSaq9s21dY5A8tNvMkwNhruM60G0oNysVRdgW52VMOTbjfxXNRyAtm_pQnjnOzu0Cllw_KszuiqoZAgXvqLo2U5ReK1YjxYgxfBVqUYUl4yKSfkrL9W8TEw/s200/IMG_0695.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>One of the fun things at game shows are the simulators. In this case I must say it was less fun - getting into this car looks simpler than it really is, and getting out even more so... And I also really sucked at this game and spent most of the time hitting walls and driving on grass... Still it looked like fun for those who are more gifted than me in the gaming art...</div><div></div><br /><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Food</strong></span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVFmQqaw7ynfX9ryY10LYz-UWSR6I_4mXx9Q_TtNB_d8AeKjM-8xBbNPlb6mUg-uJxbA-DfFx1DVZkuk-_TicBmyLngB8G48ffj4yAvkSiOz3vGY0ka50K39jj4pGlRc6EdAU3VT2QA/s1600-h/IMG_0669.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272277996507454562" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVFmQqaw7ynfX9ryY10LYz-UWSR6I_4mXx9Q_TtNB_d8AeKjM-8xBbNPlb6mUg-uJxbA-DfFx1DVZkuk-_TicBmyLngB8G48ffj4yAvkSiOz3vGY0ka50K39jj4pGlRc6EdAU3VT2QA/s200/IMG_0669.JPG" border="0" /></a>Oh, the food... I think I never ate so many new and interesting things. I like to try stuff out and this time it worked for me - most of the things were delicious. Korean food is simply great. It also helped that I could attend all the speaker events (i.e. welcome/farewell parties etc.) which featured the best of Korean food..<br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>Best Supermarket Ever...</strong></span></div><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDR_uXKkoRqmZXQUzaYFEzTH4Cipn8iZeK9SupdqFlEs7pRZRypyCA12W8ONnUDkn0UfvbrcsJD1piaxiQ1fEMFS5En7lh59j2M6JgminN7O25I9SSQGPgeug44vfu-8CKie6_XAVqmQ/s1600-h/IMG_1282.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272271443145139954" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDR_uXKkoRqmZXQUzaYFEzTH4Cipn8iZeK9SupdqFlEs7pRZRypyCA12W8ONnUDkn0UfvbrcsJD1piaxiQ1fEMFS5En7lh59j2M6JgminN7O25I9SSQGPgeug44vfu-8CKie6_XAVqmQ/s200/IMG_1282.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>And last but not least, this picture was not taken at the show, but rather at a supermarket. The first thing you see when you go in is the game section. Hundreds of games for consoles, portable consoles and PCs. And a 5-year old playing the Nintendo DS.... You can see the same sights walking in the streets, especially in the great electronics market at Yongsan which is just full of gaming products - games, controllers, props and of course consoles at low prices (you just need to know how to operate these Korean menus...). All that shows how evolved is the gaming culture here.</div><div></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Well, that's all for now, I really had a good time, so thanks to all the KGC/G-star organizers. Looking forward for the next time!</div></div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-5158788431196539382008-11-18T15:02:00.005+02:002008-11-18T15:13:30.934+02:00Israeli Startups - Register to the Mobile Peer Awards contest!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2vw_d2yOnZlSY5jxHLqoB3Zt8irwO7Favvu9mkP4lRTGcnIu3ZZ9bEUPuncVpS9aYVoQOqUlvVCWMvlZfLkSKr5irv0mrl8qfimhtQQTmG3S0A0o7U432n6Nhb4wcsOBYUvvwlTVbBw/s200/p-awards-07-small.png"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 102px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2vw_d2yOnZlSY5jxHLqoB3Zt8irwO7Favvu9mkP4lRTGcnIu3ZZ9bEUPuncVpS9aYVoQOqUlvVCWMvlZfLkSKr5irv0mrl8qfimhtQQTmG3S0A0o7U432n6Nhb4wcsOBYUvvwlTVbBw/s200/p-awards-07-small.png" border="0" /></a>If you're an Israeli startup and haven't been in the last <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/">Mobile Monday Tel Aviv</a> event, you might have missed our announcement of the Mobile Peer Awards contest.<br /><br />Shortly, this is a contest organized in collaboration with the entire MobileMonday community (~70 chapters around the world), where each chapter sends its best local startup to compete against the others in a contest held at 3GSM/MWC in Barcelona.<br /><br />This year for the first time Israeli startups can compete, since up until this year there was no MobileMonday chapter in Israel... So, hurry up and register at the <a href="http://www.mobilepeerawards.com/">Mobile Peer Awards site</a> - you have only till Nov.30! More details are available at the <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/">MobileMonday Tel Aviv site</a>.<br /><br />Readers outside of Israel can register via their local chapters, assuming they have one, so check out the details at the Mobile Peer Awards site.<br/><br/>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-11949232673262588442008-10-31T19:21:00.006+02:002008-10-31T19:45:38.002+02:00Mobile Summit Sweden<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnlK5tW1Rd3leubpd0JNILhjfNE_XhM752VsL-96_N00YFh98FvjldDU29ylG4hhYk0BUvYkUXnoHT_nH3Rk-hgdY7htgtmWU2FKa6C0Rk01rF4Utiv2ES3PwZOphoZ22jINsDaAK5g/s1600-h/mobile-summit-logo.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263374547762311650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 98px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnlK5tW1Rd3leubpd0JNILhjfNE_XhM752VsL-96_N00YFh98FvjldDU29ylG4hhYk0BUvYkUXnoHT_nH3Rk-hgdY7htgtmWU2FKa6C0Rk01rF4Utiv2ES3PwZOphoZ22jINsDaAK5g/s200/mobile-summit-logo.gif" border="0" /></a>I am just returning now from a week in Stockholm, after attending MobileMonday's Global Founders Meeting (GFM) and <a href="http://mobilesummit.se/">Mobile Summit Sweden</a>. I can't write much about GFM (top secret...), I can only say it has been a great experience, and was very nice to get together with Mobile Monday foundersry from all over the world.<br /><br />As for Mobile Summit Sweden, The conference was organized by Ken Imamura, founder of MoMo Sweden, and a lot of the speakers were also MoMo founders since they stayed after GFM. There was also good content in the usual fields such as panels from VCs and incubators in the mobile field, sessions about mobile marketing, advertising, gaming and so on. It is nice to get to know the activities of Nordic companies in the mobile field - and some really have their game on.<br /><div></div><br /><div>But for me the MobileMonday stuff was the most interesting... for example, we heard about the story of MobileMonday from Peter Westerbacka, one of the founders of MoMo, always important to know our history... </div><br /><div></div><div>The last part of the summit called Global Outlook was especially interesting - we got to heard about emerging markets from MoMo founders in the regions of South East Asia (Andy Zain, MoMo Jakarta), Latin America (Nidal Barake, MoMo Caracas) and India (S R Raja, MoMo Bangalore) - a real eye opener. In the same way we heard from Lars Cosh-Ishi, founder of MoMo Tokyo about the Japanese mobile market, which is the exact opposite: perhaps the most developed mobile market in the world.</div><br /><div></div><div>All agreed that when dealing with an emerging market, one must recognize it and not just "copy & paste" the penetration strategies we use in developed market. The needs can sometimes be very basic (i.e. not 3D mobile games, but rather simple SMS-based solutions). Also business models needs to be rethought - for example, in south east Asia renting a game for one week (with DRM lock) can actually fit the model in which people are used to consume, and will definitely fit their pocket as well.</div><br /><div></div><div>I'll spend now a week or two back in Israel before my next event, so a lot of work for me... See you at the next post!</div><div> </div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-13912732568004709202008-09-22T14:05:00.002+03:002008-09-22T14:08:10.101+03:00Carnival of the Mobilists #142<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0ug0tQcKIfnZE-wMIRbIb_TnrM5B-dn9-GQJvjrhWjvD8r4Y1yXtMzp5C8Jsf9UMtxE0Lf8l1Mhw05jJb5CQIbRvey6q3ek-Q44fZQt_baZdW3-x8KmQFcHizzknJUaX63AvSLiI5A/s200/festival2.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0ug0tQcKIfnZE-wMIRbIb_TnrM5B-dn9-GQJvjrhWjvD8r4Y1yXtMzp5C8Jsf9UMtxE0Lf8l1Mhw05jJb5CQIbRvey6q3ek-Q44fZQt_baZdW3-x8KmQFcHizzknJUaX63AvSLiI5A/s200/festival2.jpg" border="0" /></a>I haven't written here in a while due to the preparation for <a href="http://www.momotlv.com/2008/09/september-event-wrap-up.html">MoMoTLV grand event last week</a> and also some consulting projects that keep me busy - so it is my pleasure to make a great "comeback" by hosting Carnival of the Mobilists #142. The Carnival is a (relatively) old tradition where the best mobile posts of the past week are linked from one blog (More on this mobile tradition <a href="http://mobili.st/?page_id=2">here</a>).<br /><br />Lots of good mobile posts this week... My personal favorite was the one from John Puterbaugh from Nellymoser who writes about the evolution of applications/content delivery in the various platforms in his very elaborate post <a title="Permanent Link to Closed is the New Open: From Vending Machines to Marketplaces" href="http://www.nellymoser.com/blog/?p=30" rel="bookmark">Closed is the New Open: From Vending Machines to Marketplaces</a>.<br /><br />Following are several other posts that also touch the subject of appstores. It seems that due to the success of Apple's appstore, the idea of appstores and what are the secret ingredients of building a good one captures many of the bloggers this week. Starting with M. Radedeas from Techhype who asks <a href="http://techype.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-many-app-stores-does-world-need.html">How Many App Stores Does The World Need?</a><br /><br />Another interesting post in the same area is <a href="http://smartdreaming.blogspot.com/2008/09/happy-medium-building-smartphone-app.html">The Happy Medium: Building a Smartphone App Store that Works</a> by Malcolm Lithgow from Smart Dreaming. Malcolm explores the idea of creating an appstore for smartphones.<br /><br />On a related topic, iPhone being the connecting line, Ram Krishnan dives into recent web browsing statistics, and tells us that while that showed the iPhone is considered a significant growth factor in this market, the numbers tell a different story. All this in his post <a href="http://mobilebroadbandblog.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/revisiting-iphones-browsing-market-share/">Revisiting iPhone’s Browsing Market Share</a>.<br /><br />And some more interesting thoughts on mobile web/apps come from Ajit Jaokar from Open Garden who asks <a href="http://opengardensblog.futuretext.com/archives/2008/09/can_carriersmob.html">Can Carriers execute Long Tail / Web 2.0 applications?</a> discussing how can the longtail model that works so good on the web be translated to the carrier dominated mobile world.<br /><br />You can find more <a href="http://weblog.cenriqueortiz.com/mobility/2008/09/18/on-mobile-browser-based-applications/">On Mobile Browser Based Applications</a> in About Mobility by C. Enrique Ortiz, founding member of Mobile Monday Austin, who takes a deep look into the cons and pros of mobile web vs. mobile client applications, and provides guidelines to choose between the two.<br /><br />And since we mentioned Mobile Monday, James Cooper from Mjelly writes <a href="http://blog.mjelly.com/2008/09/mobile-platforms---momo-london-notes.html">Mobile Platforms - MoMo London September notes</a> which is about MoMo London's last event on Mobile Platforms. On a personal note, I'd like to believe that I had something to do with the rise of that topic as a MoMo event - I posted my article on the battle of the mobile platforms (see below in this blog) in MoMo London's discussion group and it spawned a discussion thread from hell... This subject is definitely hot, and a few weeks later it became an event...<br /><br />You can find more on platforms in <a href="http://www.visionmobile.com/blog/2008/09/capuchin-sony-ericsson-strikes-back-in-the-application-environmentis-it-a-strike-what-does-it-mean-for-the-development-platforms-fragmentation/">Capuchin: Sony Ericsson strikes back in the Application Environment</a>, a post by Thomas Menguy in Vision Mobile that discusses Capuchin, a technology that combines flash lite with J2ME, which is supposed to take the best of both worlds: UI from flash and engine from J2ME, sounds like voodoo to me... (Just kidding, it's actually a very good idea given the what these platforms can acheive when combined).<br /><br />And speaking of UI, Barbara Ballard from Little Springs shares with us an <a href="http://www.littlespringsdesign.com/blog/blog/2008/09/15/interview-with-jason-ward/">interview with Jason Ward</a>, head of UX for Sprint, about mobile UI design, always a very interesting subject.<br /><br />And last but not least, on a less mainstream subject but certainly a fine one, Antoine RJ Wright claims in his blog that <a href="https://arjw.mymobilesite.net/.py?application=-4&action=6&id=146">Reading Shouldn't Require an Interface</a> shares a very interesting vision of how reading on mobile should look like.<br /><br />That's about it for this week, stay tuned for <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/">NextGenMoCo</a> next posts and if you liked this carnival (and even if you didn't..) you can follow the next one at <a href="http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/sshow/index.html">The Smartphones Show</a>.<br /><br>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432796603188194151.post-2870498466986661122008-08-20T11:50:00.004+03:002008-08-20T12:02:23.443+03:00LWUIT is out in the open!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcw80VAnoBGsRIcp7d3dZs8G64mZffzEfr5Eddcx76q7E6GVWwqFVrqA3zLmD2BhbXcxzVqlaY1tzoOaCxBvppOgou89cEFkwF9sMsINSAzYnjGNARacDKK0LqEJGIuKjGsAWltap8A/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236519564081765666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcw80VAnoBGsRIcp7d3dZs8G64mZffzEfr5Eddcx76q7E6GVWwqFVrqA3zLmD2BhbXcxzVqlaY1tzoOaCxBvppOgou89cEFkwF9sMsINSAzYnjGNARacDKK0LqEJGIuKjGsAWltap8A/s200/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a>Just a quick follow-up post: LWUIT, Sun's new UI toolkit for J2ME has been <a href="http://weblogs.java.net/blog/terrencebarr/archive/2008/08/lwuit_released_1.html">released as an open source project</a> . <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2008/05/java-day-and-lwuit.html">I wrote about LWUIT before</a> - it was announced on Sun's JavaOne conference and was destined to become open-sourced, but it actually did just last week.<br /><div></div><br /><div>The toolkit has picked up a lot of interest from the developers community, and several companies are using it, or exploring the option of using it. I have been involved in a UI project in one of the companies I am consulting to, and I've digged deep inside LWUIT, and I must say it is really an upgrade for the J2ME world, coming probably not a moment too soon to give some weight to the <a href="http://www.nextgenmoco.com/2008/07/battle-of-platforms.html">Android/iPhone attack</a>...<br /><br />In addition, the LWUIT team is very responsive and listens to the community, and this can be seen by the vast number of (releavant) features that were added to it since it was launched. They also keep in touch via a <a href="http://lwuit.blogspot.com/">Shai's Java & LWUIT Blog</a> and the <a href="http://forums.java.net/jive/forum.jspa?forumID=139">LWUIT Forum</a> (And since their offices are close very close to one of my clients, I've had the chance to meet them several times and give them some feedback, and I hope I helped and contributed to the later versions). </div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>I can also see the level of interest in a personal level - the term lwuit is one of the most popular search terms that lead to this blog, and up until now there was only one post about it...</div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>So if you're in the J2ME world (or looking to enter to it) and still didn't saw LWUIT first hand, download it <a href="https://lwuit.dev.java.net/">here</a> and you'll see what I'm talking about... </div>Ofir Leitnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08721818051943678344noreply@blogger.com0