Work Smart

I travelled from Paris to Amsterdam this week... (for a business conference).

I took the Thalys speed train. They offer WiFi on board... supposedly via satellite with fallback to multilink 3G when necessary. The reality is it works only 50% of the time. It especially doesn't work every time the train is stopped in a station with a roof. It's almost a joke. They claim offering internet access at hight speed is a technical challenge... yeah well... I almost believed that until I set up my iPhone for tethering and got a better connection through my phone than through the train's WiFi. It costs some data fees, but on the other hand, I don't have to go through the annoying WiFi login screens.

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I was at a conference in Amsterdam last week and although we don’t have the iPads in Europe yey, I had the opportunity to play for 15 minutes with an iPad brought by a US attendee.

My first impression was: it’s really nicely designed, extremely intuitive and responsive. I gotta get one. I also loved the little switch to lock the orientation. Super useful for reading while lying on your side in bed! (Unlike on the iPhone)

However, after a few minutes I started to realize that a) I don’t quite know how to hold that thing (whether with or without the Apple carrying case) and b) it’s getting damn heavy if you hold it in your hand. Those impression were shared by the owner as well as the other people who played with it.

I believe this is going to limit how much you actually want to use that device in different situations. I think it’s actually very impractical to use when you don’t sit down. Also, I believe Apple should actually drop the stupid glass screens: they’re heavy and the glare is just annoying!

Anyways, until then it looks like the Apple product segmentation goes like this:

• If you’re standing, use your iPhone
• If you’re sitting in an armchair, couch or other laid back situation, use your iPad
• If you’re sitting at a table, use your MacBook
• If you’re sitting at your workdesk, use your iMac or Mac Pro

Ah yes, also:

• If you want to watch something on your TV, use your Apple TV or better yet: Mac Mini.

Remember when DSL internet access started to come with unlimited data transfer plans? This is when everyone started using for the web for all kinds of things: this is when people actually started surfing the web!

The reason behind that is that flat rate removed the dis-incentive to surfing we had when every page we loaded added up on our bill!

The exact thing is now happening with the mobile web. Mosts carriers are now offering unlimited data plans... well at least in the US. Combine that with browsers that are actually usable like the one on the iPhone and we've got everything we need for the mobile web to thrive.

I for one, have been using the internet on the iPhone like crazy since I got it. Everytime I stand in line somewhere, I get a little netfix ;) Don't you?

Interestingly enough though, I use connected iPhone apps just as much as the actual web browser. It doesn't change the cause though: without flat rate pricing I wouldn't use any of this.

Now the interesting thing with the apps compared to standard web pages is this: it's a new business model for the mobile web! Even if it's poised to become a nightmare when trying to support more platforms than just the iphone... (

Btw, the iPhone is the most used mobile web browser, but do you know who's #2? No it's not the BlackBerry! It's the Motorola RAZR...

As Russel [link gone] puts it: 2004 is the year of the mobile [applications]. (Okay, here in France, it might shift to 2005, but whatever...)

Of course, the two main markets here are:

• mobile games (play while commuting...)
• and mobile enterprise applications (sales forces empowerment/reporting...)

Well, it wouldn't make sense to develop mobile games on any other technology than J2ME since no other technology is as widely available on a variety of trendy phones... the ones the targeted audience will buy, or already has bought.

However, regarding enterprise applications, the equation is quite different. The targeted users often do not have a recent (smart)phone (they just don't care that much, as long as they can use their phone to call! :P) and even if they have: it doesn't matter! Actually, the cost of new phones with a specific technology will just be a fraction of the cost for the global distributed application. Therefore, Microsoft smartphones and Palm based smartphones are just as well positioned to be used for mobile enterprise applications! Actually, the advantage may go to the platform that provides the most efficient middleware/framework to speed up development!

Another question remains: while a color phone screen and a keypad are enough for playing games, we yet have to check what screen size and input method are appropriate to fill out forms. Maybe connected PDAs will prove more relevant... (just add a bluetooth headset for phone capabilities). Personally, I tend to think that smartphones with large screens (P900, Sendo X, 6600, SPV E200) will do the trick, but we really need a reality check here!

Seems like a pattern beginning to emerge... :>>

Picturephoning.com:

Samsung bans camera phones in workplace

This is wild. Samsung Electronics, the world's leading maker of high-end camera phones said it would block employees and visitors from bringing their camera phones into their factories. The ban will be effective from July 14, according to Saturday Nation on the Web and The Korea Herald (a valid link courtesy of Mike Masnick from Techdirt Wireless)

"The company seems to have no other choice. The fast penetration of high-powered camera phones is now fueling worries over leakage of corporate information and industrial know-how".

Joi Ito:

Camera phone book theft banned in Japanese bookstores

People are using digital cameras and camera phones in Japan to photograph pages of magazines and books instead of buying them.

IOL: Starting on Tuesday, bookstores across the nation will put up posters urging magazine readers to "refrain from recording information with camera-mounted cellphones and other devices".