Is 2011 the year of the tablet as many have proclaimed?
I actually think it will be remembered as the year of the device database. In my view, we are finally nearing the point where those of us in the software world finally get pushed over the edge by the number of new devices and platforms that we are required to support and we begin looking for a true long-term solution.
Unlike a few years ago, when we just had the web, the lack of a single standard is allowing the device manufacturers to push the high cost of supporting the current ‘device war’ between Apple, RIM, Android, Microsoft, and others, down to the individual companies producing the software. Potentially, in the long run, increasing the cost of goods and services to the end customer.
To measure the impact, I recommend looking at each device/platform combination your team supports and try to calculate a rough cost per user for each one. For example, you might have an application that runs on an early version of Android, but what is the cost to support that potentially small group of your users? A good comparison might be the cost to support a web user vs. the cost to support a “device/platform” user. I’m guessing that across the board, supporting web based applications is the most cost effective manner for interacting with your customers.
The more fragmentation that occurs, as this year will show, the higher your cost of support will be.
Back to the Device Database
A device database, which can be purchased from various sources, captures useful attributes about all devices, past and present. These attributes can be used to define the user experience based on a device’s capabilities. Small screen and only a keyboard? Your application should adapt and present an optimized experience. Large screen and motion detection? Your application can provide a much richer and more enjoyable user experience. What’s important is that your application changes based on potentially a handful of device attributes that you deem important, such as screen size, input methods, bandwidth, and etc. Doing this will allow you to look at a device as being abstract, not as an iPhone, Android, or Blackberry. With this you can create categories based on similar attributes of any devices and present an optimized user experience.
A Proposed Strategy
- Don’t think in terms of having separate web and mobile strategies, develop a device strategy.
- Get back to supporting broad standards, such as HTML or HTML5.
- Identify and group valuable device attributes (screen size, inputs, etc.) on which you will create your various user experiences.
- Purchase a device database or service.
- Sit your web application down and teach it to adapt to any device it will interact with.
I know this is over simplified, but I believe it is necessary to reduce the increasing cost of supporting every new device and platform created in the next few years.
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Tags: 2011 Trends, Development, Device Database, Ed Dekema, HTML5, Mobile Devices, Mobile Dog, Mobile Web, Mobility - General
