Augmented reality - real world value

We are doing some research on the future of the web, and one of the areas of interest is augmented reality. I've seen and played with some demos, but actually found two apps of real value to me over the next few days, when I'm in London:

Nearest Tube does just what it says - finds the nearest tube stations and identifies their locations 

When you load the app, holding it flat, all 13 lines of the London underground are displayed in coloured arrows. By tilting the phone upwards, you will see the nearest stations: what direction they are in relation to your location, how many kilometres and miles away they are and what tube lines they are on. If you continue to tilt the phone upwards, you will see stations further away, as stacked icons.

WorkSnug finds WiFi hotspots in London, and good places to work

The latest [augmented reality app] is one that [is very] helpful indeed, to anyone who's found themselves desperate for wi-fi and a coffee while on the road [in London]. Work Snug, an app being developed in conjunction with Plantronics, leads you to cozy workspaces, each of which have been rated on a list of qualities, from noise levels to seating to wi-fi.

Musings on the meaning of life

XKCD: What if I want to spend my life restlessly producing?

À propos the 'app phone'

David Pogue has a review today of Motorola's Droid which includes some discussion à propos how to categorize and name devices of this type.

Motorola Droid

He promotes the noun 'app phone' for them, attributing it to @mentalworkout.

[Cool app, BTW, for those who have fear of flying. I took the Virgin Atlantic flight to London earlier this week; if you're lucky enough to fly in Upper Class, it's such an extraordinarily soothing experience that you probably don't need the app.]

I really like 'app phone' , and suggest that we all adopt it for this class of devices:

• Apple's iPhone


• all current Android 'phones


• most modern BlackBerrys - post Curve


• Palm's Pre


• Nokia's N97 and N97 Mini running the latest version of Symbian

This post re-surfaced for me, however, one of the key topics that we have found ourselves debating frequently over the last many months; what is a 'smart phone', and what should we call it?

This is a common challenge in high-tech; how do you think about new phenomena? How do you build robust mental models? We believe that having the specialist expertise to do this, and the relevant experience of having done this, is one of the key things that differentiates Endeavour Partners.

First, what are the key criteria:

• downloadable applications - in which case do BREW and Java devices qualify?


• user interface, such as (responsive) touch screen or QWERTY+touch pad/trackball interface to allow easy navigation for the web and similar applications


• running multiple applications - which disqualifies the iPhone?


• great at browsing - typically with a full WebKit browser


• third party applications have to be available, affordable and accessible


• what about size - is there some constraint here, because otherwise a laptop could qualify?

And what about the additional capabilities that are now part of the competitive benchmark:

• fast graphics - for video, browsing and gaming


• accelerometers


• GPS - for location services


• WiFi

There are several specific devices or types of devices that illustrate this challenge, and the grey areas involved:

• older BlackBerrys with thumbwheels but without trackballs - great at e-mail web but suck at browsing


• the Nokia E71, a great (particularly when it launched) device handicapped by its click-pad for navigation (which on one occasion proved enormously frustrating as the cursor moved in clicks that circumnavigated a small target without ever being able to actually click on it, on a site that should have been designed with mobile devices in mind - Handango)

Nokia E71

• many of Nokia's myriad Symbian S60 devices that have 12-key keypads, lacking either a touch screen or a viable navigation method for browsing


• and what of the forthcoming Nokia N900 - is this a smartphone, or not?


• and given how unresponsive the touch screen on the N97 and N97 mini can be, and some of the usability challenges that remain with Symbian, do the N97 and N97 Mini qualify?


• almost all Windows Mobile devices, that lack a touch pad, requiring a stylus or arrow keys for what is enormously painful navigation (Sony Ericsson's Experia X1 is one of the few devices that overcomes this challenge)

On purely pragmatic grounds, and notwithstanding flame wars from some purists and Verizon's new advertising campaign, clearly any definition that excludes the iPhone on the technically focused grounds that it does not run multiple applications at once, except for some built-in apps such as Mail and Phone, does not make much sense. Although this may be an important consideration, it clearly does not deter users, and the ease of switching amongst applications mitigates this significantly.

The related question was what to call these things? We tried the term 'smart device', to emphasize the that the capabilities went way beyond making a call. Unfortunately that promotes confusion as it embraces some very devices that do not have 'phone capability at all.

So, let's endorse the term 'app phone' for these high end devices, and use the term 'smart phone' for the broader group of which these are a subset.

Taking augmented reality to a whole new level

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fl718QO_xQ&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

How angels see mobile

James Geshwiler of Common Angels just opened for Mobile Monday here (yes, on a Wednesday) in Boston. Perhaps most interesting was how he opened, with an overview of the landscape for entrepreneurial investments in this space:

• the focus has shifted from carriers to apps and devices


• connectivity has become a commodity

This perspective is particularly interesting because it's a good leading indicator of what sort of innovation by insurgents is going to be funded. To that extent, the perception of opportunity becomes reality.

Critically, it increasingly reflects an 'over the top' perspective, in which carriers face significant challenges in remaining relevant.