U.S. Government in Your Pocket: White House Launches iPhone App

...Before the Mobile Website!

The White House announced the release of a new White House iPhone app via a late-night blog post on WhiteHouse.gov. Included in the mobile application are features like news items, photos, blog posts, videos, and even live video streaming. That's right - live video. According to White House blogger Dave Cole, the app lets users watch public events like speeches and press briefings in real time using their mobile device. Next week's State of the Union address by President Obama will kick off this effort, delivering live video of the speech to anyone running the free application on their Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.

The White House App

This downloadable mobile application (iTunes link) is the first of its kind to be released by the current administration... that is, unless you count the Obama campaign's iPhone application, which offered mobilized access to campaign news, media and events prior to the election. The Obama administration is notable for the way it's embraced technology, using everything from YouTube for weekly "fireside chats" to wikis for recruiting purposes. They even licensed the transition site Change.gov using Creative Commons, which allowed a company called Cerado the ability to translate the site into a Web-based iPhone application.

What's most interesting about this new mobile effort is the fact that the iPhone application was launched prior to the mobile-ready version of WhiteHouse.gov's website. While that effort is "coming soon," says the blog post, it won't be available in time for Obama's next presidential address, and there are no details as to whether or not it will offer any sort of video features, much less live streaming.

Of course it's important that the government's efforts aren't iPhone-only, but it's clear that the Apple platform is an important part of the administration's efforts to reach its constituents - especially the young, tech-savvy mobile users who some say helped Obama win the election.

Mobile Web's Explosive Growth

Also of interest: The White House states that mobile Web use has grown over 100% in the last year in the U.S., and higher worldwide. That's putting it mildly. Over the past year, we've heard from numerous companies and analyst firms regarding the explosive growth of the mobile web. For example, in spring of 2009, Opera reported a 157% increase in usage of their Opera Mini web browser and a 319% increase in year-over-year data traffic. AdMob released a report in October revealing a 19% increase year-over-year in iPhone/iPod Touch data traffic alone, and last month, analyst firm IDC predicted over a billion mobile web users by 2010. Ignoring the mobile masses at this point would be a mistake and it's clear that the White House understands that. Notes the blog post: "this is just the first step for WhiteHouse.gov's mobile platform."

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/us_government_in_your_pocket_white_house_launches_iphone_app.php

Proof of Concept Brings Flash to the iPhone

Developer Tobias Schneider has created an interesting proof-of-concept Flash runtime that allows Flash to work on the iPhone. The project, a JavaScript with SVG called "Gordon," allows Flash files embedded in HTML to be viewed within the iPhone's web browser Safari. Although this workaround to Apple's restriction of Flash content on their ever-popular mobile device is a bit cumbersome and impractical for real-world use, it's a geeky and fun project for developers who want to run Flash on the iPhone...just so they can say that they did so.

The Gordon project involves a JavaScript library which parses a SWF and renders SWF1 tags. "It's in the spirit of the previous 'SVG in SWF' work from Helen Triolo, Claus Wahlers, Brad Neuberg and others," writes Adobe's John Dowdell on his personal blog. Gordon renders "one file format in a runtime designed for a different file format," he says.

In layman's terms, this workaround lets Safari display Flash content...some Flash content...on the iPhone. But the process of enabling it to work requires quite a few modifications to the original Flash file. And while the concept is intriguing, anyone who actually bothered to use this on a live website would probably get criticized by users for killing the iPhone's user's battery - the script is a major CPU hog.

For obvious reasons, Adobe can't officially sanction the project as a way to sneak Flash onto the iPhone where it's currently prevented from running per Apple's restrictions. However, they said applaud the interest and enthusiasm shown by their developer community and that this demonstration "shows the potential of what users want to be able to experience on the iPhone." Still, they warn that the Gordon project "represents just a limited subset of what the Flash Player can do," mentioning specifically that without the necessary codec support, you would not be able to playback videos. For example, you would not be able to playback FLV videos encoded using the On2 VP6 codec. You also might not be able to play back F4V content either, unless the H.264 encoded video could somehow be extracted and then played back in QuickTime on the iPhone outside of the application or website.

Whether or not Apple plans to ever lets a proper version of Flash run on the iPhone is still unknown. At one time, we heard that Adobe was working on an iPhone-only version of Flash, but as of yet nothing has surfaced in that regard. Abode's current solution to the problem is a new release of their Flash Professional CS5 software which lets developers export their files as iPhone apps.

In the meantime, Flash developers interested in checking out the Gordon technology can view the demos hosted here or the source code here on github.

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/proof_of_concept_brings_flash_to_iphone.php

Android Grew 350% in 2009

While we recently reported that Google's Nexus One had a slow start coming out of the gate, the Android operating system, which is spread across a number of devices, is not having the same issues. A report by Myxer, a mobile entertainment company with over 30 million members, says that visits to its mobile site by Android users grew 350% in 2009, strongly outpacing the iPhone, which grew 170% during the same period.

While iPhone is shown to have grown from 3% to 4%, Android has jumped from 5% to 12%. In the fourth quarter of 2009, Myxer delivered seven times as much content to Android phones than iPhones.

When the report looks a little deeper into its numbers, it not only finds that the number of Android phones visiting the site have grown, but the number of phones running Android have too. During the fourth quarter alone, the number of Android devices doubled.

We think we can see this as more solid evidence that Android is going to offer some solid competition in the field of mobile OS.

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/android_grew_350_in_2009.php

Motorola focusing exclusively on Android in 2010

In business, it's a simple strategy - when you find a winning formula, you run with it.  After being on the brink of bankruptcy, it's safe to say that Motorola has finally found success in the Android OS.  In a conversation with Spiros Nikolakopoulos, vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific and International Distribution for Motorola’s Mobile Devices business, CNET Asia was able to obtain more information about the company's plans:

“There will be between 20 and 30 smartphones globally and, at this moment, all of them will run Android. Naturally, not all will be available everywhere as it depends on the company’s partnership with the various telco operators in each country. For non-smartphone models, they will run either Brew or the Motorola’s own operating system.”

With Windows 7 expected at some point this year, it's entirely possible that Motorola will forego a relationship with Microsoft and Windows Mobile 7.  As a Windows-centric blog, wmpoweruser thinks that Motorola is driving itself into oblivion, which I couldn't disagree with more.  It's evident that the Windows strategy hasn't worked for them over the past few years (think Motorola Q here), and the focus on Windows Mobile and their proprietary UI put them in the position they're in now.  I'm not saying focus solely on Android, but given the immense popularity of Android at the moment, Motorola couldn't be making a better move.

What say you?  Agree with me, or are you in the Windows Mobile camp?

 

http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/blog/motorola-focusing-exclusively-on-android-in-2010.aspx

WinMo7: All-new Windows Mobile and Project Pink phones coming soon?

Not to be outdone by all of that iPhone tomfoolery cluttering up the rumor mills, Windows Mobile kicked up some dust today with a few juicy bits of leak/rumor info of its own. We've got Windows Mobile 7, we've got Project Pink (remember that one?) and we've got flagship devices from HTC and LG. Wowsers.

First up is word that WinMo 7 is going to be a major overhaul that looks, feels, and acts very little like the Windows Mobiles of today and yesteryear. While contradictory information is flying around - as it should be in the rumor mill - best I can tell it looks like WM 7 will come in two distinct flavors, neither of which will run very many legacy WinMo apps. I'm not sure how I feel about that last bit, nor how thousands of WM 6 owners will feel if their current software libraries in fact won't run on the new OS, but such is life in the techno fast lane.

According to various sources, tipsters and NinjaConnects (or whatever the kids call them these days), WM 7 will be made available in "Media" and "Business" editions. As John Biggs put it, "Microsoft is about to get all Apple up in this piece," with WM 7, and I'm guessing that means the Media version, which will look, feel and act like a Zune HD with some phone stuff thrown in there for good measure. The Business version will be super stripped down - that is, sanded and primed and ready for HTC Sense and other OEM customizations to be applied.

WMExperts - by way of Engadget - have gotten all wacky and specific in taking going beyond the dual-platform rumors into hardware specifics. Specifically (see what I did there?), they're saying that the Biz Edition will require higher baseline-specs while Media Edition will focus on HD media and networked services integration like Xbox Live and those social sites everyone from John Mayer to Gilbert Arenas can't shut up about. To wit, WMExperts published some specs for two mythological - I mean, rumored - WM 7 Media Edition devices:

LG Apollo

• GSM/EV-DO/HSDPA world phone
• 1.3 GHz Qualcomm processor
• 3.8", 1280 x 720 WXGA (HD) AMOLED display
• 10 MP camera with 720p HD video capture

HTC Obsession

• GSM/HSDPA 
• 1 GHz Qualcomm processor
• 3.7" AMOLED display
• 5MP camera with 720p HD video capture

As Paul Miller at Engadget said, "Some of those specs are admittedly suspect, like the WXGA resolution on the Apollo and that seemingly 10 megapixel sensor, but we want to believe." Word. Amen. Indeed.

Then there's Project Pink, the Zune Phone/Sidekick thingy that I'd all but forgotten about in the past nine months. According to some analyst quoted on some Walt Mossberg-blessed blog, Microsoft is gearing up to pull a Google and launch their own mobile phone as soon as MWC or CTIA of this year. MWC is in, what, four weeks? That's soon! Said analyst said the Microsoft Phone will be ... wait for it ... "Zune-like," and feature a 5MP camera, 720p HD video capabilities, and support for subscription-based music services. Kind of like, you know, every other mid-to-high end phone out there.  Well, like everything except iPhone 3GS and its decidedly SD imaging features.

Hey, wait, did you just notice what I just noticed? Windows Mobile Seven Media Edition and Project Pink sound kinda the same? And the "Microsoft Phone" and the HTC Obsession sound kinda the same, too! So either one is the other and the other is the one, or MIcrosoft's gearing up to confuse the bejeezus out of everybody by releasing two new versions of WM 7 and a Zune Phone, with two of those three flavors tasting an awful lot alike.

Hmm ... A totally revamped Windows Mobile 7 sounds like a good thing. A consumer-friendly, media-centric version of WM 7 alongside of a business-centric version made to be skinned by non-MSFT phone makers also sounds like a good thing. But that business about legacy WinMo apps not being compatible with the new platform sounds like a very, very bad thing. For as much as I'm not really a Windows Mobile fan (I see you nodding your head, saying, "No kidding, Noah") I am a fan of competition and consumer choice amongst high-quality offerings in the mobile marketplace.

And so I leave you with a few more quoted words, again from Mr. Biggs, which I really hope don't wind up ringing true:

As for developers, they're kind of pissed. As far as we can tell they're not quite sure they want to take the steps necessary to move over to the new platform. This is a Hail Mary pass and could mean huge changes in the WinMo ecosystem.

Ruh-roh. Say it ain't so, Steve Ballmer. Without developers in tow, you've got nothing. And as awesome as Zune kinda sorta really is, ditching the enterprise for a full-on consumer media WinMo play would be risky business.

 

http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/blog/winmo7-all-new-windows-mobile-and-project-pink-coming-soon.aspx

January 27: Rumors swirl around iPhone OS 4 and Apple tablet

The Apple rumor mill moves like clockwork. First you get the constant stream of rumors all year long. Then you get spikes in rumor traffic leading up to the usual times on the calendar: January (post-CES / ex-MacWorld), Spring (WWDC), Summer (iPhone refresh), and Back to School (iPod event). And then, in the week that always falls between Apple announcing a media event and the event actually happening, the rumor mill goes bezerk.

Yesterday, Apple announced a press gathering for next Wednesday morning in San Francisco. Ergo, today the rumor mill has switched into overdrive.  The latest? We've got rumors about the Apple Tablet, iPhone OS 4.0, and even Apple's iLife multimedia creation suite, which currently only runs on Mac OS X for computers, not iPhones.

BGR says they've got iPhone OS 4.0 intel from one of their "trusty Apple connects," who must be Mr. Blurrycam's silent partner. Notably, BGR says to look out for the following in the next generation of Apple's mobile platform:

• iPhone OS 4.0 will only run on the 3G and 3GS models, which makes sense to me (sorry original iPhone owners). The update will be the much-needed dramatic overhaul that I've been waiting for, and according to BGR's sources it will “put [Apple] ahead in the smartphone market because it will make [iPhones] more like full-fledged computers.”
• The OS refresh will include "Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient"
• Everyone at Apple is "really excited" about iPhone OS 4.0

Important new features will include improved multitasking (backgrounding of apps), improved syncing of calendars and contacts, system-wide multi-touch gesture support. That last bit of info jibes with earlier reports that the OS 4.0 will power iPhone, iPod Touch, and the new "iTablet," though the tablet may run a slightly modified version of the OS.

All Things Digital has been focusing on the content aspects of the tablet launch, which could prove incredibly important to the magazine and newspaper industries (something us hardware junkies may be overlooking in our gadgetlust). According to today's MediaMemo post:

• Look for the New York Times to join Steve Jobs at the Apple event next Wed. That means some kind of newspaper content being delivered via the iTunes Store
• Look for some kind of E-Reader content coming to iTunes, as well. There's been lots of buzz in the past few days about publishing giant HarperCollins holding negotiations with Apple as of late
• Don't expect any big music labels in the house next week. The Apple tablet may well play music (it'd better), but beyond iTunes LP support, the device doesn't look to offer anything new in the music content arena. Music videos? Sure. But not music itself.

I've got some thoughts on iTablet and the future of magazines and newspapers that I'll pull together in a separate post. For now, let's leave it at this: Something's coming from Apple next Wednesday, and it's going to involve content and content delivery methods as well as hardware. Whatever it is, we'll keep you informed right here on the Dog.

And, oh yeah, there are also reports that Apple will launch iLife 2010 at next week's event.  iLife is Apple's multimedia software suite for creating and managing music, photos and video. While the software is currently only available for use on Mac OS X laptop and desktop computers, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility for Apple to include some media creation/editing software on the tablet computer. Then again, it would also make sense to position the tablet as simpler and lower cost than Apple's MacBook/MacBook Pro line of full-fledged notebook computers, thus keeping iLife off of iTablet.

What say you? iPhone OS 4.0 - are you excited? Are you expecting another Apple phone revolution, or merely some evolutionary steps aimed at keeping pace with Android and WebOS, the current pace-setters in the modern smartphone arena? Sound off in the comments!

 

http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/blog/january-27-rumors-swirl-around-iphone-os-4-and-apple-tablet.aspx

The Google Nexus Two is the Motorola Shadow?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHYpv8QlX2U