B. Mann Consulting

I'm catching up on some mobile-related blog reading today, and was spurred to write something by Tim Bray's Mobile Blues and Dean Bubley's re-post of an article by David Wood. (And thanks to Roland's Google Reader Shared Items, where I am getting a wealth of mobile and food related links)

Canada (and the world in general) is caught up in a storm of mobile imaginings based on the launch of the 3G iPhone. Recent results of app sales potentially point to a future where carriers *don't* have a chokehold on the mobile handset experience: for the first time, your average non-technical end users can easily buy and install applications for your mobile fun. Except, of course, it's just another kind of walled garden, just one run by a computer company instead of a carrier.

Tim in particular has issues with that, as well as with having to learn yet another development environment to program native apps for the iPhone:

But there’s a little problem and a big problem. The little problem is that I don’t wanna learn Objective-C and I don’t wanna learn a whole new UI framework. I acknowledge that lots of smart people think Objective-C and Cocoa are both wonderful, and quite likely they’re right. I don’t care. I’m lazy; I know enough languages and enough frameworks. You’re free to disapprove, but there are a whole lot of people like me out there.

The big problem is this: I don’t wanna be a sharecropper on Massa Steve’s plantation. I don’t want to write code for a platform where there’s someone else who gets to decide whether I get to play and what I’m allowed to sell, and who can flip my you’re-out-of-business-switch any time it furthers their business goals. …

OK, points taken. You don't *have* to learn another programming environment, but every experience I've had with Java on every single phone I've ever owned has been .... terrible. Use Java if you want to quickly prototype an app for your enterprise ... but the usability and UI for the average end user, never mind the install process, is terrible. Most people go to native platform code for that final bit of polish (IF that polish is needed for your target market).

I don't have much to say on the locked platform aspects: you make your choices. In some ways, writing native apps for *any* platform is a level of lock in. That is, shouldn't we rail against OS X native only apps in the same way?

And here we finally come to the punchline hinted at by the title. For desktop operating systems, there are now a couple of site specific browsers (SSBs [wikipedia link]): you enter in the URL of a website / webapp and it is bundled into a separately clickable "application" that you can run like any other native program on your desktop. I use Fluid, based on a WebKit engine, and there is also Prism, based on a Mozilla engine.

So, somewhere between widgets and full blown native applications, can an SSB engine for mobile operating systems reign supreme? Bubley's summarized thoughts on this are:

…for many applications, Mobile Web will be the way to go, for ease of development, cross-platform support, rapid update and so on.

But for some the most important and demanding applications, there will still be a need for native development, even if it comes with a dose of pain.

The mobile web, with advanced, compliant browsers available on smartphones like the iPhone or various Nokia phones, is the Internet. Various UI niceties and formatting to fit the screen factor aside, this is regular ol' HTML and AJAX, no new platform to learn here.

So, I'm looking forward to "Fluid for iPhone" or "Prism for Series 60": I can think of a web app developer or three that would be VERY interested in exploring a potentially very quick way to have apps on these smartphone platforms, without the full pain of native app writing. Actually, paging Handimobility -- there might be a very nice business in there...

I'm glad I waited in posting any sort of "the iPhone with Rogers will suck" commentary, as it seems they have somewhat come to their senses. As usual, John Biehler was my iPhone news source, and here's the link to the Roger's press release.

A new "promotional" data plan is going to be available until August 31st (and I actually believe they'll extend it...), where you can bring your own voice plan, and add a 6GB data plan for only $30 / month. Hmm, maybe over 50K signatures at ruinediphone.com changed their mind? No, it's not unlimited ... but in talking to Roland -- who is the heaviest mobile app user I know -- he's never gone over 500MB. I think I used a couple of GBs when I was at the Olympics in Torino, and large megapixel camera phones and the fast 3G speeds could certainly eat bandwidth, but 6GB seems fair.

So...am I getting an iPhone? Nope. I don't really like contracts, and I don't like locked phones. I imagine we'll be able to get an unlocked iPhone at some point, where I'll be able to swap out SIM cards when traveling as I do now.

Meanwhile, looks like I'll be on CTV Newsnet talking about the other Canadian wireless barons -- Bell and Telus. They are going to start charging for incoming text messages. Well, this should be a fun ride ... Rogers isn't charging for incoming, it has the iPhone and the latest Nokia phones, and now -- decent data plans. Really, what are Bell and Telus thinking?

Update: Looks like this is not just for iPhone -- you can add this plan to *any* phone, as long as you sign a 3 year contract, and it does apply to Fido as well. See the post on howard forums for reference.

Looks like I'll be on CTV Newsnet at 12:15pm today, talking about Rogers bringing the iPhone to Canada.

Of course, the funny thing here is that there are many many people in Canada who already have the iPhone, in its "unlocked" edition. John Biehler's iPhone category is my source for all the latest in unlocking and cool applications.

The rumour seems to think that part of the delay and secrecy is because of the possibility that we might get the "new" version of the iPhone, with 3G (which is a faster data network connection). The other rumours about the new model (or models? maybe a "business" version to compete with RIM's BlackBerry?) are things like a much upgraded camera, or even a front mounted camera for video calling.

I'm genuinely happy that we're getting the iPhone "for real" in Canada, but I'm worried about a) the price of the contract and b) the length of any contract from Rogers. We're in a monopoly situation here, since there aren't any other GSM providers in Canada. Expect Telus and Bell to start heavily pushing the HTC Touch and various consumer BlackBerry devices like the Pearl.

Update: here's a direct link to my video clip.

Chris Bovard just left a great comment on the iPhone Nano thread -- here's the closer on his post about why he's unlikely to get an iPhone and why he can't understand why everyone is so hyped about it:

My next phone purchase will be N95 8gig because I love my current N95. If I buy another bigger phone it will be a http://www8.garmin.com/nuvifone/ when it is out. I own an older Garmin GPS I use for mountaineering. You can drop it and it goes under water. If Garmin puts this much though into their phone well the iphone will be just another toy.

Maybe time for everyone too look at the big picture instead of yet another Mac babysitter product for the mass.

"Mac babysitter product" is a great post. Except, well, the masses WANT babysitter products. I replied in the same thread -- here's the last bit of my comment:

Food for thought. I am all for competition, so I hope that Nokia continues with Series 60 development and also innovates in their new Linux-based systems (ref: their purchase of Trolltech, which makes cross platform GUI stuff). What these other players MUST realize is that the time has come where the mobile phone is moving BEYOND the bounds of the walled garden telcos, into the open platform of the Internet, and all competitors MUST strive to engage with network and platform effects in order to succeed long term.

The mobile market is one of those areas where so much interesting stuff is happening. I'm glad that we're having these types of discussions.

So...who else thinks there is going to be an iPhone Nano?

The main complaint against the iPhone seems to be the price point. Looking at things like the widely popular Motorola RAZR, which ended up in the mass market price bracket, I just have to believe that Apple is thinking along the same lines.

A similar form factor as the Nano, except screen taking the place of the click wheel. What else removed? Not sure, maybe no wifi? Limited storage?

Anyway, just thought I would record this crazy idea. I have no inside information, only time will tell if I'm right. And without a photoshop mock up, I'm not going to get tons of traffic :P

Update: Alexa commented and made a Photoshop of an iPod Touch Nano / iPhone Nano:

Since I've written about how expensive mobile data plans in Canada are, I should probably praise Rogers for finally getting some sane(r) pricing.

I saw via John Biehler that Engadget had posted rates from Rogers as low as $65 / month for 1GB (recall that in comparison the chart in the previous link which shows 1GB at $4000 / month). Well, as Engadget mentions in the title, my jaw did drop, but it quickly snapped shut again when I looked closer and saw that this applies to PC Cards only ... not to the GSM or 3G phones we've been toting around for years.

Per device pricing for data rates seems....well, it seems underhanded if not down right illegal. I wonder what the rules around pricing of telecommunications services have to say about this? Paging Michael Geist!

Still...this hints that Rogers *could* offer prices like this for, say, the iPhone?

Thanks to the TorCamp Swarm on Skype for discussion around this.

Me showing Monique the magic of flagging and unflagging and showing how it changes the starred / unstarred in the Gmail web interface. Photo by Duane Storey, you can buy some great photos of Vancouver from him.

I've spent this past week or so having switched to using Gmail's new IMAP interface. I had switched to using the web-only interface for perhaps the last year or so, and it worked quite well for me. POP3 doesn't cut it when you have multiple machines (laptop and home desktop) and devices (Nokia smartphone, iPhone, etc.). And that's exactly what the IMAP protocol was invented to take care: keep folders, messages, and other status (read / unread, flagged, etc.) synced across multiple devices.

I wasn't sure whether I would like going back to using a desktop email client. And it's been great. Email is fast, I can go back to having a couple of drafts open as separate windows to remind me to get to them today, and so on.

Gmail's labels become folders....with a few funky side effects, in that thinking of them more as folders rather than things you might use multiple labels for will be less confusing.

A big thing I miss: I'm so used to the Gmail search interface that I find myself typing "from:Some Name" in Mail.app's search box, rather than typing the name and then clicking the "From" button. I bet some enterprising soul could do a good job of an AppleScript or something that could change this to work Just Like Gmail Search.

OK, enough just talking about the outlines. Head over here for extended instructions on setting up Gmail IMAP for Mail.app or your iPhone, which has the excellent extra tips of "mapping" your Gmail Trash, Junk, Drafts, and Sent folders to the right folders in your local app, and everything "just works".

Those of you with iPhones (or Nokia phones or any other device that can talk IMAP to get email) will want to go this method, so you can actually quickly manage email on the go and have all those changes reflected when you get back to some other device.

Now what? Well, I need a way to sync my contacts in Gmail to my local Address Book. A Plaxo plugin already takes care of synching between machines, and the standard Bluetooth iSync syncs to mobile.

With the Apple event last week, I was a bit surprised at the ringtone announcement. At first glance, it seemed like a money grab. What, 99¢ for songs you already have? I don't get it.

Today I came upon the concept that music publishers consider a ringtone a "performance" of the song that must be licensed separately, hence there are actual costs to Apple if it wants to say "this is a ringtone".

For more background, read an "Ars Technica article from last year. The FAQ at Harry Fox Agency (the largest issuer of music licenses in the US) is interesting to read through as well.

Ringtones for 99¢? Apparently, we should be glad to be paying so little. Or being allowed to use them at all? In any case, it seems to be fairly simple to use some file renaming to make ringtones out of existing songs.

Everyone loves a good Apple rumours post, and since tomorrow is a "special Apple event", we've got only hours to wait until we know the real answer...hence the perfect time to predict.

What I'd *like* to see is my own long-predicted Mac Tablet. But really, with the iPhone, isn't that product already here? So....what I would like to see is an iPhone without the "phone" part -- a touch screen iPod with Wifi that runs OS X. It really is an iPhone, just without the cellular connection (or contract). But with WiFi, that could mean GoogleTalk / Skype / whatever for voice communications (with my bet on GoogleTalk). Yes, sort of like Nokia's N800.

OK, so back from dream land to something that's more likely. The iPod Nano becomes the "classic" iPod for audio, and a new touchscreen, wide aspect iPod is the "Video iPod". No WiFi, that'll come in later revs.

AppleTV revs? Well, it fits in the general video category, and there's been noise around TV downloads recently. Aside: so NBC is high as a kite. Regardless, I just want the licensing figured out so I can buy stuff in Canada! Actual details? No idea...probably just software, maybe some gaming support.

What are your predictions? Any purchasing plans? What are you waiting for?

Update: so, we now have an iPod Touch. Sweet. And it comes with Wifi already. Yep, the tablet is here...

Ethan Kaplan has set up iPhoneHints.com, to start capturing some of the tips and tricks that are going to come spiralling out of the iPhone ecosystem.

Two things:

1. Let's make it less bloggy
2. How about aggregating some iPhone-tagged feeds (not on main page, but let people vote/rate them/editorialize them to get them on the front)

...ok, I have way more than 2 ideas. Like OpenID enabling. And Feedburner. And getting rid of "submit content". And tweaking the slogan to include "hints" and "iPhone". How about an admin account? :P