The Mobile BeatA Walk on the Cultural Side of Mobile
‘Appy Holidays from Mobile Masters
December 23, 2011 by Terri White
Is it just me or is there something in the (virtual) air at Mobile Masters? I’ve just seen Dan Zeck go past in a Santa suit; Mark Watson is watching cartoons from the comfort of a wingback chair; Jason Wong is in the corner hanging tinsel on Amazon’s prospects; and Jeff Yee has already started on the sherry – with predictably hilarious results. In short, it’s Christmas time. Time to turn off the mobile for a few hours, and reflect.
Who am I kidding? You’re not going to turn it off! So since you won’t, I thought I’d put together a rundown of some of the best (and most frivolous) Christmas apps that you can use this holiday season. Enjoy!
Santa GPS 2.0 
Santa’s obviously a fan of Google Latitude – he’s taken the concept to new heights with this app which lets you track his progress across the globe on Christmas Eve. If the screenshots are anything to go by, it’s pretty well put together too. One for the kids and that pedantic scientist who worked out that the poor chap has to visit 1,398 homes a second if he’s going to complete his rounds in time.
Turkey Timer
Cooking the turkey. You’ve been dreading doing it again since Thanksgiving was over. Needlessly, as it turns out – because this app makes it as simple as ordering it pre-cooked from your grandmother. Enter the weight of the bird and it tells you how long you need to cook it for. Looks sleek too. Get it here.
Talking Santa
An app which makes you grateful for the human race. At least 80,000 of us have downloaded this gem for the purposes of hearing Santa Clause repeat whatever we say in an authentically bass-y manner. You can also throw snowballs at the big man and create and share 3D video animation greetings and Christmas cards. Probably available cross-platform (but I couldn’t be bothered to search for it on iTunes).
Christmas Countdown 2011
Advent calendars are great, aren’t they? Not just the counting-down part, the eating-the-chocolate-part too. So why wouldn’t you want a version for your phone which dispenses…music and an image of a Christmas Tree which gets bigger with every passing day (presumably it eventually consumers your phone and swallows the world, too). Still, it made us smile.
Doodle Jump Christmas Tie-in Version (bandwagon not included)
One of the most popular apps of all time has been given an opportunistic re-skin. Cha-ching! Link here.
Merry Christmas!
The Mobile Beat: Thank You, Steve Jobs. We’ll Miss You
October 6, 2011 by Terri White
I’m in London right now for Planet of the Apps Conference, which would not have been a conference in quite the same way, and maybe not at all, if it had not been for Steve Jobs and his extraordinary vision. He understood how humans should interact with technology and took something that was intimidating to most people and made it personal and accessible. He made it easy. And, of course, he made it beautiful.
With the iPod, iTouch, iPhone and now the iPad, he has put the world in our hands and in the process created new ecosystems and gave the market a boost so that companies like Antenna could realize our vision of using mobile technology to make sure that our customers – and our customers’ customers – are happy and love the apps and websites we create.
In addition to his tech legacy, his words live on to inspire us and remind us to be our best, most creative and true selves and not to settle for any less:
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
– Stanford commencement speech 2005
A friend said that he doesn’t think Steve will rest in peace – meaning that he’ll be working out how to make some dents in the universe. I quite liked that thought.
The Mobile Beat: Antenna Contributes to Development of 110 Stories Mobile App
September 8, 2011 by Terri White
Visit my office in Jersey City and you will immediately notice the best part about our location. (And it ain’t the deli downstairs.)
It is, of course, The View.
The view of Lower Manhattan from Jersey City today...
The spectacular stretch of the Lower Manhattan skyline lies just across the river – so close you can feel the gravitational pull of steel and stone; industry and majesty. For the last few years we have been marking the progress of 1 World Trade Center (the Freedom Tower), which has really accelerated over the past few months. Standing at only about half its intended height of 1,776 feet, the glass building already looks magnificent and ready to soar above it all.
But even with this symbol of American resilience rising, it is easy to look out and in your mind’s eye see the graceful silhouette of the twin towers as they stood before 9/11.
We all have our stories of that tragic day. On the 10th anniversary this weekend, we will pause to remember and honor the thousands of lives lost, the ordinary people who acted extraordinarily in the face of grave danger, the city we love, and, yes, the buildings themselves. An icon of modernity, an architectural exclamation point proclaiming the sheer power of the straight line against the sky.
Ten years ago, mobile technology was a nascent and emerging technology – think Motorola pagers and beepers. There wasn’t an app for this or that. Facebook was just a glimmer in 17-year-old Zuckerberg’s eyes. And the only thing twittering was the birds. So when a passionate New Yorker named Brian August had the idea to preserve the lost views of the World Trade Center back then, he could not have conceived how it would be possible today.
...and the reconstruction of the view from 110 Stories app.
Thankfully, Brian did not give up on his dream. From his rooftop in Brooklyn, he built wire models that outlined the towers against the sky – a humble rendering that was both a reflection of the past and a foreshadowing of what was to come. And when technology advanced, like it always does, Brian knew exactly what to do to take his dream from the rooftop and give it back to everyone of us who is a New Yorker at heart.
Which brings us to today.
The team at Antenna has been truly honored to be a part of the unique mobile app called 110 Stories that is available today on iPhone and Android devices. Actually it’s more of a mobile experience. The app uses augmented reality so that users pointing their phones at Ground Zero from within a 35-mile radius will see the iconic buildings superimposed on the skyline. It is still a humble line drawing – not a big 3-D graphic, and it beautifully and respectfully pays homage to those views we remember, from every angle and from unlimited locations around the city.
The Mobile Beat: Skype Picks Up GroupMe; WebOS Obsolete? Broadband with a Brew
August 22, 2011 by Terri White
Patrons of Heineken and BT Broadband can imbibe and browse thanks to free Internet access in some London pubs to the 'Heineken Hub.'
Today’s top news:
Skype buys GroupMe messaging app
Skype is buying GroupMe in a bid to break into the increasingly competitive mobile group messaging market. Earlier this year, the mobile app which makes it possible to share text messages, photos and locations privately with selected groups of people, won the ‘Breakout award’ at South By Southwest Interactive awards.
UK HP TouchPad tablet prices slashed as retailers look to shift stock
Retailers across the UK have begun discounting HP’s TouchPad tablet to shift stock following the announcement that HP is to concentrate its business around software and services. Amazon has already cut the price from £400 to £312, while Argos has reduced it to £349.99, as retailers look to offload stock after HP confirmed that it will not manufacture any more devices.
Networks, handset makers vie for mobile dominance
WebOS is all but dead, and died without apparently leaving a gap for its competitors to fill, but the bloodbath of mobile platforms isn’t over despite the clearing field. LiPS, LiMo, Moblin, Maemo and MeeGo are all dead or dying, while Symbian fights on like some jungle soldier who has not been told of the surrender. Access is still awaited, the Else handset having been killed off last year despite its slick video launch, so the field seems clear for a four-way battle between Apple, Google, Microsoft and RIM: though Bada and Brew are still lurking nearby.
Think HP is going to be able to license WebOS? Think again
Already there is plenty of talk about the possibility of HP licensing the WebOS operating system – used previously in Palm’s range of phones, and most recently in the TouchPad tablet (which, sold for $100, has done bumper business over the weekend in the US, we hear). According to a few hopeful people
both inside and outside HP, the idea is that some company somewhere has a hardware specification sitting there, into which it is just aching to pour someone else’s OS and software. So how likely is this? Not at all.
BT installs free Wi-Fi in London pubs
BT and Heineken have teamed up to offer BT Broadband customers Wi-Fi access in 100 London pubs
Drinkers in London will get free Wi-Fi access under a partnership between BT and Heineken to connect 100 of the capital’s independent pubs – if they are BT Broadband customers.
The Mobile Beat: Rate! Review! Vote! for MM on Forrester Groundswell
August 12, 2011 by Terri White
Mobile Masters has entered the Forrester Groundswell Awards, which honors the “excellent and effective use of social technologies to advance an organizational or corporate goal.”
Mobile Masters, revamped and relaunched in June, has produced some good numbers, including an increase in visits (72.83%), and an increase in page views (46.99%).
We encourage you to check out our entry, and rate us, give us some stars, or share.
As always, thanks!
Terri White
Terri is a founding member of Mobile Masters. People do the darndest things and as The Mobile Beat, it’s my job to tell you about them. Or make them up. I’m a nice girl from the Midwest who is fascinated by stories of people doing offbeat things, or offbeat technology being used in wonderful ways. I also like rock and roll, marketing in a modern world, NY Times crossword puzzles, all things British, and of course, cool mobile technology. Think of me as the love child of David Lynch and Mary Tyler Moore who is raised by her English nanny, a dead-ringer for Avenger Emma Peel. I am always on the lookout for stories – make my day - send them to me please! Follow me on Twitter @teresewhite
More Posts by Terri White
- ‘Appy Holidays from Mobile Masters
- The Mobile Beat: Thank You, Steve Jobs. We'll Miss You
- The Mobile Beat: Antenna Contributes to Development of 110 Stories Mobile App
- The Mobile Beat: Skype Picks Up GroupMe; WebOS Obsolete? Broadband with a Brew
- The Mobile Beat: Rate! Review! Vote! for MM on Forrester Groundswell
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