mip's scan

Testing Done for the Torch and the Focus

I've been testing both the Blackberry Torch and the Samsung Focus over the past number of weeks.  I've nearly completed blog posts for each of them, but thought I'd put a short post out to set the context for these two devices; a high level introduction to what I've done. 

Being a long time iPhone user, I wanted to see how each of these devices worked for me.  On some days I carried just the Blackberry.  Other days I carried just the Windows Phone 7 Focus.  At other times, I carried all three on my belt (yes, I looked like Batman with his utility belt).  I really enjoyed going through the process of stress testing each of these phones through my normal working day and in my personal time.  I think that this is really the only way to get a sense of what works and what doesn't.  I tried hard to structure my thoughts in two categories:  1) how did the device fair on its own (no comparison to the iPhone or the other device) and 2) how did the device fair in comparison to other smartphone choices. 

The experience was an interesting one and I look forward to sharing them with you.  I will post my thoughts on the Focus early next week, then I will post my thoughts on the Torch in the latter half of next week.  Finally, I'll have a short video blog come out to talk about them both and show a little of the pros and cons to you.  If there are specifics you'd like to see, don't hesitate to drop me an email or post a comment.

Does Size Matter?

Ah, I thought my title might provoke some raised eyebrows.  It’s an important question don’t you think?  Does size matter?  Or perhaps more aptly put Is Bigger Better?  Now before I go too much further and this blog leads you astray in thinking that I’m talking about something more risqué than tech, let me put my question into context.  I’m talking about tablets (and shame on you for thinking otherwise).

The iPad, with it’s 9.7” screen is currently the market leader in a space that truly is in its infancy.  I think that 2011 will see many new entrants coming into the space, including RIM with their Playbook.  In attempt to not go head-to-head with the iPad, these vendors are trumpeting differentiating features, one of them being size.   The Playbook will come in with a 7” screen and everyone is wondering whether the smaller screen will hamper the device.  Is the larger screen really better suited for a tablet.

Well, as always on mip’s scan, I like to experience things first hand.  I decided to take the Galaxy Tab for a spin and assess it from a size perspective only.  I didn’t want to do a comparison of apps and the overall ecosystem, mainly because Apple has such a lead in this area that it wouldn’t be a fair comparison.  I wanted to see how the device's smaller form factor faired against the larger form factor of the iPad.

With that in mind I carried the device around with the intent of seeing how usable several things would be on a smaller screen: web browsing, ebook reading, newspaper reading and email.   Keep reading to see what I found.

Mobile Is Transforming Everything

I had the pleasure of presenting at an event last week here in Toronto.  My topic was Mobile Computing and Leveraging Cloud Services.  I thought I'd share some of my thoughts as it pertains to the acceleration of certain trends and the reasons behind the changes at hand. 

In my presentation, I talked about a variety of important/hot/emerging technology trends.  Those trends were:

• Mobile devices,
• Collaboration/Web 2.0/social media,
• Business intelligence,
• Virtualized servers, storage, and/or networks,
• Security related to wireless and mobile devices, and
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

As I introduced these items to the audience, despite mobile being the top one, I left that to the last.  The reason is that I feel that mobile devices are really bringing those other things together and heightening their relevance.  It is this new generation of mobile device, like the iPhone, like the Android platform, the iPad and other tablets that will soon follow, that is truly moving us to a new paradigm of leveraging computing technology.

A Lesson in "Starting From Scratch"

Why is it that great products that hold commanding market share can't hold onto that advantage over time?  We've seen it time and time again.  Take RIM and their Blackberry.  It was revolutionary.  It was a fantastic device that I carried for years and years.  It owned the market, but now has been under seige from the likes of Apple and Google.  With such a strong foundation, why is that RIM couldn't leapfrog Apple? 

The issue is being too wedded to the foundation you've created. 

There have been other cases of this as well.  Take Microsoft.  Windows dominated for years.  So what happened?  They tried too hard to continue re-using the same foundation in future versions and in other products.  They are still doing that as well!  Look at the response to the iPad.....its a tablet running Windows 7.  I know that letting go of something you've built can be hard, but the risk of not exploring that option is huge.  I've spoke about this before when Microsoft was struggling to evolve Windows.  It's not new. 

We can see examples of where starting with something entirely new can yield breakthrough products.  Take again Microsoft, this time with their xBox platform.  Sony was commanding the market with the PS2 at the time.  Microsoft could have built a platform based on Windows, but they didn't.  It took courage to pull together a team that could start from scratch.  What did it yield?  The xBox user interface was (and is) fantastic - it was different, it was effective, it was user centric.  It more than challenged Sony...it displaced them.

I believe that Microsoft is doing this again with their soon to be release smartphone.  They  could have evolved Windows Mobile...which has steadily been declining into irrelevance.  They opted not to do that.  They could have played the copycat game like Google and RIM and tried to create an iPhone-like interface.  Again, they opted not to do that.  Instead they've created an OS that is user/social/info-centric.   It is fresh and in my opinion it is a step in the right direction as smartphone users become more sophisticated and comfortable with the mobilization of their world. 

By ignoring the legacy foundations that an organization has, they can indeed create innovative breakthrough products and services.  Apple does this exceedingly well.  It's no secret that I am a big proponent of what Apple has built.  I do, however, offer a cautionary opinion along the thread of this post:  don't become obsessed with the foundation!  The iPhone was revolutionary.  It has reshaped an entire industry and introduced a whole new way of leveraging our phones.  The iPad has furthered that, virtually jump-starting the tablet market after years of that technology never really grabbing hold of the public mindshare.   The risk to Apple is that they too could fall into this trap where everything evolves the iOS foundation.  If they do this, they too will be leapfrogged.  It is inevitable. 

Blackberry, finding itself now behind with regard to the innovations of Apple, has taken a bold step with the Playbook.  This device is a gamble because it will leverage a whole new operating system.  RIM is starting from scratch with this device and in my opinion that is a good thing.  They won't be hindered by old paradigms and sacred cows - instead they can create a product that fits with the evolving users that they are targeting.  It will be interesting to see how the final product is.  Regardless of it's success or failure, however, it will be a success from the perspective that it is a departure from the legacy foundation.

It's hard to move toward the future, if your organization is always holding onto what it created in the past.  Take a risk, and start something from scratch.  I'm sure that you'll be surprised with where that approach can take you.

 

Initial Thoughts After Using My iPad

Well I got my iPad early yesterday morning and I've been using it now for the past 24 hours.  I've had several client meetings yesterday and had the opportunity to start putting the iPad through it's paces.  I will of course provide a more detailed review in a week's time - I don't think you can accurately comment on this device without really using it over a period of time.  The unit I got was the 64 GB WiFi unit; still not available in Canada but I had it brought up from the US.

I've capture a little video of myself below where I talk about a few initial observations.  Already I can tell you that this device will indeed change the consumption of content.  While I was conducting a GoToMeeting working session where the participants in the meeting where viewing my screen, I was referencing other documents off of my iPad.  I've got DropBox already installed and that basically gives me access to all my documents.  I was able to open a number of PDFs and Excel documents right on my iPad without the need to interrupt what I was viewing/sharing on my laptop.  It was an absolute joy to use.  What struck me the most about the iPad, besides the sheer elegance of the device itself, is how it seems to fade away while you are using it.  When looking at web pages, it really feels like you are holding that page and not some device showing you that page.  I felt the same way while viewing PDF documents.  The display and the feel of the device all make the consumption of content the front-and-centre aspect of what you are doing.  

In short, after a full day of use, I can say that the iPad doesn't replace the laptop or the iPhone, but it does indeed augment them.  People who rail against the iPad as not being up to the task of replacing a laptop have missed the point.  It is a unique device that fills a need that has been unanswered for some time.  I look forward to continuing to use my iPad and sharing my further thoughts on it as a business tool and a personal tool.

iMockUps for iPad

Here is another brilliant looking app I'm looking forward to putting to good use once I get my iPad (boy it is going to be a long April waiting for it).  

I've used numerous tools for developing wireframe mockups in the past. I was waiting to see if these types of tools would eventually become available for the iPad.  Check out the video demonstration below of iMockUp.  It looks tremendously promising.  

Kobo For the iPad

The stream of iPad apps that will be available has been trickling in all weekend long.  This morning I saw a video of one app that I'm looking forward to.  Kobo!  I'm already a huge Kobo fan on my iPhone.  It is an elegant little app that is a near-perfect eBook reader.  The video below demonstrates what this app will be like on the iPad and it looks fantastic!  I'm skeptical that the iBookstore will be available upon launch for us here in Canada - so I was eagerly awaiting to see if the Kobo reader would be updated with an iPad version.  Glad that it will be!

Give it a look for yourself.

Freshbooks

I'm always on the look out for valuable applications and tools that can be leveraged by businesses.  Cloud-based services really interest me and I think they are increasingly going to become the way of the future.  I believe that to be true for a number of reasons (that I've spoken of before), but today, I want to highlight one in particular:  mobility.  

The mobile trend is going to drive cloud-based services in a way we've never seen before.  The value of cloud-based tools is there without the mobile aspect, but it's obvious that as we become more and more untethered from our computers and laptops, light weight browser-based or internet-centric services are going to continue to make in-roads.

That brings me to the featured application for today's post: Freshbooks.  What is Freshbooks?  Well, from their website we read:

"Our mission is to deliver fast and simple invoicing and time tracking services that help you manage your business. We call these Unaccounting™ services and they will:

• Save you time
• Be easy to use
• Make you look professional (think Fortune 500)
• Let you manage your books without an accountant
• Secure, encrypt, and back up your data
• Be available 24/7 from anywhere with any computer"

I was intrigued when I came across this simple, elegant and effective offering. Of course, I thought of Quickbooks and that is what drew me to thinking about the cloud and mobility.  The traditional desktop app, like Quickbooks (or any other time tracking and invoicing tool), is stuck....stuck on the desktop computer or the laptop.  Freshbooks is free - it can come with me wherever I go.  In a short while, for example, the iPad will arrive, and guess what, users of Freshbooks can track time, manage invoices, send invoices from wherever they might be.  Don't believe me?  There is already a great companion app to Freshbooks for the iPhone called Minibooks.  It's that type of mobility that makes an already great service like Freshbooks even better.  

Of course, just existing in the cloud and having an iPhone app aren't enough.  The tool itself needs to be good; it has to allow you to work effectively.  Freshbooks is a winner here.  As I said before, the tool is simple to use but not lacking in features.  I've used other "time tracking" tools before that were web-based and they were awful.  Cumbersome, not intuitive and not something you'd let a client see.  Freshbooks is wonderful to use and elegant in the way it allows you to generate invoices for a client that get delivered by snail-mail or via email.  I did some testing by setting up sample projects and clients and tracked time and then generated invoices.  Invoices delivered via email allow the client to view them on a customized portal-like web page.  It was perfect.

If you are looking for a good time tracking and invoicing system, I'd strongly recommend looking at Freshbooks.  Check out their tour for more info.  Or sign-up for a trial account.  As for me, I look forward to continue some more usage testing on it, especially once I obtain my iPad so I can get a better sense of what it would be like to carry around such a cloud-based service with me on that type of device.

mipcast podcast - February 17th Weekly Update

 Here is the latest podcast in mp3 format.  It is the same audio content as what I posted over on the mipcast minus the enhanced items that are found in the one posted at the mipcast (by enhanced I mean pictures and links embedded right into the audio file).

Items of interest in today’s podcast are:

1. • mip’s using iPodcastudio software on his iPhone to record the podcast.  A full review will come tomorrow on how it worked out for this podcast
   

2. • some thoughts on blogging and the value of blogging
   

3. • some thoughts on what is taking shape in the mobile wireless space, specifically around SmartPhones.

Hope you enjoy it!  

Mipcast-february-17

The Potential For iPad Magazines

I came across a brief post and excellent video over at Wired.  I watched it, was excited and Twittered it.  Now, as the day has drawn on, the video demonstration of what their magazine will look like and how it will behave on the iPad has stayed with me.  A few times through my working day, I've paused and thought 'That is the magazine I want.'  The type of rich content that magazine will be able to deliver will be fantastic.  It will transcend the written word and begin to deliver a rich, robust experience.  

Even the types of advertisements will have the potential to deliver value and not simply behave as a marketing tool.  Rather than simply showing a product and building brand awareness or informing, ads will have the ability to provide value, to engage users and allow users to interact with the products/services they are advertising.  In a sense, the ad will cease to be an add.  It'll become content.  

You might think I'm simply drinking the Koolaid on this one.  You might think that if that type of transformation was going to happen, it would have happened on the web.  I say no.  It is something that could have happened on the web, but it didn't.  Publishers simply took print versions of their products and moved it to the web - for free.  Here, with the iPad, they have the chance to create new content-centric products that provide new value to the end consumer.  You might think I'm right out to to lunch on this.  I challenge you - watch the video and tell me you don't get goosebumps.  Tell me you wouldn't pay for that product that you see there?  

The iPad will transform consumption.  It is a content-consumption-centric device and the publishing industry is poised to capitalize on it.  Exciting times ahead!