The Effective Mobile Marketing Awards (aka the EMMAs) Ceremony takes place tonight at Vinopolis in London. It  is the Awards Programme for the mobile marketing business that recognises the effectiveness of mobile marketing campaigns, applications, sites and other activities in the mobile channel on a global basis. It’s only right that they should provide the very best mobile experience for their readers.

The Mobile Marketing mobile website is built by bemoko. Its interface gives you access to all the latest news, campaigns, analysis and interviews from the world of mobile while you’re on the go.

One day many of the apps you see now in the app-stores will be available as cross platform web apps supported by all devices with user experience and performance comparable to that of the native application. bemoko are making this happen.

So what is new in HTML5?

… and how is that going to elevate the web experience for the end-user?

HTML5 brings a wealth of enhancements that can elevate the standard and experience of web applications. Functions include:

1. Video and audio support
2. Canvas for enhanced graphics
3. Geolocation API
4. Local data storage
5. Context menus
6. Drag & drop
7. Data grids – structured editable data sets
8. New semantic elements, e.g. <section> and <article>

Offline and Synching Data

A key benefit of native applications (desktop or mobile) is the ability to interact with the application whilst you are offline. The HTML5 offline support allows web applications to achieve this. Google have demonstrated their support for the HTML5 offline support by announcing that they are no longer supporting Google Gears – an early solution for for offline web access – and are backing the HTML5 offline APIs and along with strong support from the major browsers is an indication that this API will mature and become an essential foundation for the web.

Offline storage will be an essential ingredient of any web application that requests information from a user and delivers essential information that a user would want to access anywhere, anytime. For example when a user fills in a forms, or edits some data it is an important aspect of the user experience that the information entered is not lost and causing frustration. With HTML5 changes can be stored locally in the browser and synced with the main server when a connection is re-estabilished. Information applications – such as travel guides – also provide much more value if you can access information quickly and reliably, even if you are in the tube, on a plane, or in a foreign country on an expensive data plan.

Native Media Support

HTML5 brings native media support to the browsers. There has been much fragmentation in the format of video and audio that is required for web delivery. Historically this also came with a lack of control for how the media will be displayed (e.g. embedding in a page) and the requirement for extra plugins. This makes it more costly for service providers to deliver media and makes media experiences less than seamless for the end user. By standardising the media support within a web environment this fragmentation can be brought under control, making video deliverable easily accessible to all and make experience more pleasurable for the user.

There is still the ongoing battle between the Ogg and H.264 video codecs – with H.264 bringing improved video delivery, but in a propriety format. With strong and passionate arguments on either side. H.264 is looking like it will be the victor, but only time will really tell. (blog update : see update below on video support why this is not so certain). Standardisation brings with it significant performance benefits with device manufactures bringing standard video codec processing into hardware instead of software which can lead to over twice as much battery life.

Geolocation API

The Geolocation API already brings with it the possibility for the user to share their location. By design, this is a user choice on a site-by-site basis – choosing to share their location when they feel they’ll benefit and when they trust the service provider. This opens web sites up to the opportunity of location base services, such as finding people or places near by, combined with mapping services this can all help to create a more pleasurable experience with a service provider – saving time and shoe wear.

Canvas, drawing and graphics

The canvas features of HTML5 bring enhanced control over dynamic graphics, providing the opportunity to add a new dimension and interactivity to web sites. This provides a foundation for the popular javascript languages, for example jQuery and Prototype, to deliver ease-of-use tools bringing this creative power to even the novice web designer. It will however take some time (if at all) before the HTML5 canvas functions reaches the capabilities of Flash. Even with Apple’s objections to Flash, Flash will still provide much value to the web experience for some time to come.

HTML5 Apps vs Native Apps

Will HTML5 apps become more like desktops apps? In some respects they will surpass them – the idea of storage of your data in a secure cloud that that is accessible everywhere, backed up for you, accessible across multiple platforms and with an application that is always kept up to date for you will in many cases make the idea of a local installed piece of software seem quite limited. HTML5 will become the defacto standard for delivering cross-platfrom applications. The dedication to HTML5 by the large players, including Google, Apple and Microsoft , is a great example of the big players aligning and demonstrating the importance of getting HTML5 right.

HTML5 mobile apps

All-in-all, life will be become more exciting for the web developer. HTML5 is relevant for web developers today. Although HTML5 is still in draft, many features of HTML5 – such as geolocation and offline support – are already available in leading major browsers. This is especially true for recent mobiles such as the iPhone and Android platforms which all benefit from the improved user experience that HTML5 can bring.

How does this impact cross platform delivery though? Even as HTML5 matures different platforms will need variations on the UI. For example a TV user interface will always be different to a touch screen user interface. The challenge is also made more apparent when you consider that there’ll always be evolution in web capabilities. It’s natural for manufacturers and consumers to demand innovation and continue to push the boundaries.

bemokoLive cracks this problem elegantly and allows you to control the user experience across multiple channels efficiently – delivering to the recent innovations, the standard majority and lagging legacy environments – all from the same source.

Try bemoko now – download here and be up and running in a few minutes.

Further Reading

If you want to read more about why HTML5 is changing the game take a look at the following articles from the industry experts:

• “Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple’s mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins” Apple (Steve Jobs) – Thoughts on Flash
• “The new crop of HTML5 web browsers are capable of some pretty amazing things, and several of our engineers decided to take some 20% time to see how far we could push them. The result? An HTML5 port of Id’s Quake II game engine!” Google Web Toolkit blog – Look ma, no plugin!
• “The future of the web is HTML5. Microsoft is deeply engaged in the HTML5 process with the W3C. HTML5 will be very important in advancing rich, interactive web applications and site design. The HTML5 specification describes video support without specifying a particular video format. We think H.264 is an excellent format. In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video only.” Microsoft blogs – HTML5 Video
• “But making iPhone apps means going through Apple’s lengthy approval process and dealing with some hardcore development. There’s a way round this, though, by offering something via a mobile browser using HTML5.” NMA

blog update – 2nd May 2010 : video, H.264, Ogg and VP8 support

The article Behind the open codec FUD attack make’s the case that Mozilla is unlikely to adopt H.264 since it cannot afford the $5million license fee. Google’s VP8 format may provide the compromise solution.

Essentially we use a library called XStream. Those of you familiar with .NET may have used the XmlSerializer which uses a very similar technique.

The crux of this example is essentially

…. load the XStream library and XPP dependency with the @Grab annotation. This technique allows you to bring in any old Java library into your bemoko stack.

1
2

@Grab(group='com.thoughtworks.xstream', module='xstream', version='1.3')
@Grab(group='xpp3', module='xpp3_min', version='1.1.3.4.O')

then define a file object which will be where we store our serialised XML file

1
2

@Lazy objectXmlFile = 
  new File("${Bemoko.config.tmp.directory}/example-xstream-object.xml")

This @Lazy annotation here means we only create this property when it is needed.

We can then write the XML file with

1
2
3

objectXmlFile.withOutputStream { out ->
   new XStream().toXML(group, out)
}

where group is our object we want to serialise to XML. We can then read the object back again from XML with:

1
2
3

objectXmlFile.withInputStream { input ->
  return new XStream().fromXML(input)
}

Pretty simple hey! I challenge anyone to achieve that with less code . See the full working example here along with link to download the source to save your fingers the typing.

… would the first radio shows simply have been recordings off the TV?

Before the days of video recorders I used to sit and record the television with the new shiny mic onto cheap D90s I’d bought from the market. The novelty soon wore off and none of my friends seemed that interested in my recordings.

We’ve grown accustomed to see TV and radio as two very different media channels. In particular we don’t consider the radio as a lesser medium even though from a simple point of view it’s just a constrained TV. I love the radio – in fact I spend more time listening to the radio than I do watching the TV. Why? Not because I think there’s better content on the radio, and not because I think it’s physically better than the TV – more because it fits comfortably into my way of life and my context.

I work quite a bit – and I learnt pretty early on that I can’t work whilst watching the TV. Took me a while to realise that and I still experiment with it, but basically if I’m front of a TV I don’t get any work done. However the radio fits my mood – I can put on some back ground music, or even talk programs, to give me inspiration. It doesn’t tear my attention away and in some respects can enhance my work environment.

I do quite a bit of DIY, housework – my old paint splattered radio follows me around. I’m often amazed at how long a couple of AA batteries power the damn thing, even though I leave it on too much. It falls off tables, sit’s in damp rooms … it’s so simple and portable and it goes on broadcasting for me.

I can safely say I’ve never tried to watch a TV and drive. Don’t think I’ll ever give that a go, but I obviously do listen to the radio in the car. When good programs are on I don’t even mind sitting in traffic as it gives me a little time to think and relax … as long as it’s not too much traffic.

Radio production has learnt from the strengths of the audio only medium. You can in fact do things you can’t do on a TV, perhaps because of the limited budgets but perhaps because you can create an experience not possible when you’re distracted by the images. It reminds me of the classic line in Educating Rita when, in response to “Suggest how you would resolve the staging difficulties inherent in a production of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt” , … she simply replied … “Do it on the radio. ”

So where does this sit with mobile …

As we start to explore the opportunities with mobile, we’ll start to exploit the true value in an always on, context aware, portable communication channel. We’re starting to see it already. Rummble provide an excellent location based personalised recommendation service. facebook is being accessed regularly from mobile devices by over a quarter of it’s users to keep in touch with their community.

I see the next few years as pretty exciting, as we grab this mobile medium and let it power people’s lives. It’s why I’m spending a good bit of time at bemoko refining the way that we take everything we’ve learnt and created in the web world to power the mobile enabled web; taking the unique benefits of mobile to create experiences we only dreamed of before.

In 2008 users really took to using mobile to access and interact with information using the web. According to Nielsen, the mobile web in US added on average 13% more reach over home PC traffic for leading web sites. Even celebrities are taking to it, with Stephen Fry saying “the great thing about Twitter is you can use it on your mobile phone. You just send things”. Now that it easy for content to be provided whenever and wherever, the boundaries between the content provider and the consumer are being blurred – the mobile phone is a crucial factor that is making this happen. People want to interact with these services and they are turning to services that provide a decent mobile experience. Even turning away from services that are not mobile-ready.

The usage of smartphones increased massively through 2008 with the audience for smartphones “increasing from 3.7 million to 5.7 million mobile subscribers”. Now why do we see that as important? “Only 24% of feature phone users browsed or downloaded from the Internet in July 2008 compared to 56% of smartphone users”. A Smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced capabilities beyond that of a typical mobile and it allows users to receive rich experience from applications on their phone, whether that be mobile web applications or downloaded applications.  Turning this the other way around – it allows service providers to take control and deliver an experience to the user that compliments their digital and non-digital marketing campaign. No more need to compromise.

The mobile market is fertile and users are hungry for good user experiences. We are transitioning from the point where mobile is about used by 10-20% of the UK population, to a point where it is an integral part of your digital marketing campaign. With demand for users to interact with the community and the brand increasing and the user wanting to interact through the channel of their choice, there will be time in the near future that, without a mobile channel, you can easily get left behind.

• View news articles from feeds I find interesting. I can see the next 10 headlines on the radar and drill down when I need to. I am even getting to the point where I prefer reading these headlines on my mobile as opposed to on my mac. I know I have the luxury of screen size of the E61i, but whether I’m sitting back on my sofa or waiting in line, I can quickly get my news fix.
• Mark articles as interesting and share them. I even share them with this blog (see in the sidebar of the homepage of this blog).
• Filter news based on my mood. I’m either looking at whatever (I’ve got loads of time and am just browsing), feeds I really rate (I’m just quickly make sure I’m not missing out on happenings), mobile related (Let’s find out what the buzz is) or obscure feeds (let’s check through some of the more offbeat news)

So I’ve got into the stage of configuring my feeds and reading trends at my mac and reading the news on my mobile, playing each medium to it’s strengths.

It’s not all rosey though. Some feeds provide lots of content, but others just provide a sentence relying on a click through to the main site. The click through experience is appalling, whether or not I go through google’s own transcoder. Most sites are not mobile ready and just take too long to load and the google transcoding UX is hit or miss as to whether the content I want is on the initial page of the transcoding. At least google give me the choice of which one I prefer – I’ve opted for the transcoded version (for the time-being), but to be honest I don’t click through often, since the experience is typically poor. Also, if the feed doesn’t provide a decent amount of content, then I’m starting to remove them from my reader. I actual would encourage feed providers to include with a decent body of content with the ad (text or image) embedded. I don’t mind seeing the add in the middle of content that I’m enjoying reading. As a service provider myself this does throw up some challenges for analytics .

I took a quick look at the iPhone AJAX UI which gives you an idea of UIs we may all head towards. It was only partially compatible with my E61i though. Furthermore we can only move towards such UIs if it ready does improve the UX – i.e. not slow and not unnecessary eye-candy that distracts from my primary ask – I want to read relevant news.

Good work Google & thanks.

A few reoccurring themes emerge:

• Paper prototypes are very effective.  Nothing beats rapidly knocking up diagrams and notes with just paper and pen.  Sitting in a meeting staring at a screen as another person grapples with some particular tool, capturing everyone’s feedback, is not an ideal situation.  Personally, I think much more creatively with a pen in my hand.  Whack the paper prototypes on the wall and encourage your team to add scribbles and post it notes as required – over coffee or after a heated lunch time debate.   Yes, it’ll eventually end up in your favourite drawing tool, such as OmniGraffle or Visio, but, if you hold out until the paper prototypes are refined, you’ll end up having more focused lightweight documentation and not have so much personal attachment to ideas and thoughts that you’ve discarded along the way.
• Think about personas and not just abstract concepts such as UML actors.   A persona is a fictitious character which brings a particular user type to life.  Encourage everyone, involved in the solution development process, to put themselves in the shoes of the user.  Give the persona a name, provide a photo of them, describe what they like to see at the cinema and describe what they had for lunch last Sunday.
• Listen to the user.  Treat the user with respect and pay attention to what they’re saying.  OmniGroup, FileMaker, 37signals and (to jump sector) FirstDirect, naming just a few, are all doing well in this front.  Run user sessions that let the user provide natural feedback, without having words put in their mouth and without putting them under pressure.   That said, don’t be constrained by just the input from your users.   A service provider has the opportunity to show flare and create experiences that users would flock to.  It is within inspirational teams that new radical ideas emerge.  As Henry Ford said – “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse”.
• Don’t led technology drive the UX.  Yes you need to be aware of feasibility and be real, and you will have iterations in which a UX is adjusted according to technological constraints, but the UX must stay primarily focused on what is right for the user.   I’ve seen projects, for example, where the UI is driven from the content model or where the project’s treated as a technological show case.  Resist all temptations to let the technology lead.  Technology enables.

The mobile device is so user focused.  You know your user – location, direct billing – and the interface limitations are such that your UX mistakes are amplified.  The mass market has not yet started using the mobile web, snubbing it as fiddly and ineffective.  If you want food for though enjoy the debate following ReadWriteWeb’s mobile web baiting “Is the Mobile Web Dead?” blog.  These complaints, although justifiable, are more often than not based on the constraints of the mobile, cost confusion and the limited services that are available.   This situation provides a great opportunity for the industry.  When we can tear down the constraints and when we can apply the appropriate attention to the user experience, the uses will come flooding.

Moving from coding in BASIC to machine language made a massive improvement to performance, but you could feel you were stretching the kit to its limits for relatively basic games.

I remember going to arcades and marvelling at the graphics and power of dedicated games machines, it seemed almost impossible to imagine being able to play games of that quality at home.

Now, of course, you can play the old arcade games in a browser window on pretty much any standard PC. There seems no difference between arcade machines now and games platforms like the PS3.

Putting the games onto a mobile platform seems to limit you to the equivalent of Spectrum games against the arcade machines again. Try playing Call of Duty 2 on the Sony Ericsson K800i – you are moving stick men around a 2D landscape with limited sound and graphics. Whilst even the ability to do this on what is, essentially, a low powered computer is impressive, todays games will require a large increase in power.

Screensize is another obvious limitation – I’ve attempted Lemmings on the K800i as well, but it is not well suited for small screens and small keyboards – a lot of the game revolves around timing and getting the cursor over the minute lemming at the right time and pressing the right key is definitely an art. The new generation of larger screen devices will no doubt help in this area (Lemmings would be good with the touchscreen devices!)

The phone does open up one avenue not available to most PC gamers though; and this is Wii style motion sensitivity. The phone is ideally suited to this form of control (although you may get some odd looks whilst playing the games).

So, it’s still early days for mobile games, but unlike when I was programming on my Spectrum, I have no doubt we will soon have PlayStation quality games to play on the train home. It may make commuting almost enjoyable.

Even though the device navigation could do with a little bit of tidy up, it’s a nice clean web AJAXy UI and very promising for what will come beyond v1. I really like that it’s recording the source of the information and highlighting when their is a conflict between two sources. Take a look at the iPhone entry to see some conflicts between what WURFL thinks it is and what .mobi device team think it is. I spotted a few other points, e.g. the SE T610, where conflicts between the UA Prof and WURFL were identified – as we know the UA Prof value isn’t always to be trusted. This’ll really help with quality control and give you a level of confidence of accuracy. It does beg in my mind the relationship between WURFL and .mobi on this, as Luca Passani announced a month or so ago that the WURFL DB web-based interface was released and took great pride in inviting knowledgeable sources to join in with the maintenance of the WURFL DB. If anyone can comment on the .mobi / WURFL relationship then please do.

It also ties in well with Volantis heading towards open source, with the Volantis Database letting the “Users of the Community edition have open access to a key subset of data”. I can’t comment on which device database is the most accurate or most complete, but I’d guess that .mobi will have picked up quite a bit of momentum at this point. I’ll have to wait until I get some real hands on experience of DeviceAtlas to make a further judgement.

APIs look nice an simple. Take your pick of language – Java, .NET, PHP, Ruby or Python. Device DB provided using JSON. Licensing model seems reasonably well priced – $299/server/year (daily updates), $149/server/year (weekly updates), $99/server/year (monthly updates) and god bless ‘em developer license is free.

The devil will be in the detail – but I look forward to get my hands into it.