AdTech London: Expectations for Augmented Reality apps

LONDON -I am psyched about attending AdTech next week in London –not only is the AdTech event franchise now a fixture around the globe when it comes to digital marketing, but it promises to offer a great blend of brands, publishers and agencies.

What do I expect from AdTech?

I expect to see some great examples of mobile marketing apps from big names and learn about success stories but hopefully also app flops, as these can reveal even more about what to do and not to do.

I also expect to hear about the challenges that ad agencies, app developers and brands have in providing innovative features like AR to end-users. Do they feel that users “get AR”? Is it the case that brands see AR as embedded in their mobile app experience or as a side feature of mobile?

Finally, I’m keen to find out what new channels publishers are looking to distribute their digital content through and what success they are having with AR in doing so.

At the forefront of the AR e-volution I've had a lot to do with the latest trends in AR and how this is expected to look in the future (it is not just about the wearables…)

I am hoping to help agencies at AdTech de-mystify AR –even though I am often surprised to hear people ask what the acronym “AR” stands for, most people are not familiar with the term. This is changing quickly, but separating the wheat from the chaff is still necessary to be able to reach out to a mass audience of mobile users.

AR can be easy for brands to implement. I’ll be sharing success stories from Ikea AR app (the no.1 most downloaded branded app in 2012) as well as other case studies . Each different but with common needs when it comes to image recognition and AR.

Any new technology needs to entice users by painting a picture of how they can be used. AR is no exception and I see many great use cases on a regular basis that I will be  sharing: from Museum Apps, Wine Apps, AR Maps through to Mobile Commerce apps (shoot and  add to wish list or shopping cart).

Last but not least, I’ll be demoing the speed and simplicity of image recognition and explaining why I believe it is the key gateway technology to a great AR experience within mobile apps.

Creating great AR Mobile App Campaigns -Part 2 (the Ikea 2014 AR app)

I briefly discuss the IKEA 2013 catalogue app in my last post -well, guess what? The 2014 IKEA app is out.

Consumers can place the catalogue on the floor of a room in their home, point at the catalogue with their smartphone or tablet and see how a selected sofa, area rug or other item would look in that particular spot in the room if purchased.  A great try-before-you-buy solution which makes every user part smart shopper, part interior decorator.

Integrating AR into an app can be fun and engaging, with features like 3D model creation and animation.  At its core, AR is about visualizing the environment through a combination of real environment and digital content anchored to reality. 

This is exactly the experience offered by IKEA’s AR app.  However, aside from being cool to use (and being a preventative tool for any buyer’s remorse), what is it about the app that makes it so special?  Well, it’s not just the AR aspect of the app, it’s what IKEA has done around it.

AR is not magic.  It can only do so much.  It alone cannot get the word out about an app, cannot make an app come flying on its own into your home, cannot make users download an app, cannot make an app successful.  Although IKEA is not the first furniture company to use AR in an app, it is the first one to have successfully done so.  IKEA took existing, familiar technology to develop a new experience for consumers that didn’t need to be explained, dissected or examined—just promoted—and therein lies the difference.  IKEA threw some consumer marketing muscle behind the app through videos and outreach to major online consumer media outlets, thereby generating that coveted buzzword:  buzz.

Companies need to think of the bigger picture when developing an app, incorporating not only the tech aspects but the promotional side of things too. Many brands spend large chunks of time and money on developing the app itself, only to fail to plan how it will be launched and marketed to consumers.  If a company’s app only has 100 downloads, that’s not a stellar return on investment but rather a hefty sum thrown out the window, and it’s probably a safe bet that the next app-building budget will be slashed as a result. 

 Neither existing brand awareness nor a brand’s coolness factor will guarantee app downloads without the use of marketing punch, and AR apps are no exception.

So this is the beauty of the IKEA app—and the lesson to take away here.  For a successful app, create a useful app—one with a purpose—but also create a promotional and marketing budget in parallel that will support it, draw in users and encourage app downloads.  Also, ask how such an app will help users and if AR is really the best way to go about doing it.  AR is cool, but it cannot do the heavy lifting alone.

How can agencies produce great Augmented Reality campaigns?

If you are an agency (creative, advertising, mobile or digital) and you are new to augmented reality (AR) it is not easy to decide how to convert a creative idea into a fully fledged AR app.

Where do you start? What AR components do you need? What are the ingredients for a great AR app, be it a game, a marketing app or a functional app? What would it cost and how long will it take? How do you measure the Return on Investment (ROI) for the app?

Here is are 4 pointers that you may find helpful:

1. AR DOES NOT NEED TO BE COMPLICATED

Yes, it's true. Mention AR and instinctively people conjure images of 3D objects flying out of a mobile screen with complex graphic animation. True, you could do this but...it is not always essential. Linking physical objects like a packet of cereals to a TV advert can be done easily and economically simply by using image recognition or tracking (tracking will allow you to view the video on top of the box instead of opening a new screen on your device).

2. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO CREATE A GREAT AR APP?

Here is the tricky part -there are several components you could require for an AR app depending on the complexity of what you're looking to do. Take the IKEA AR shop catalogue for 2013 for example. This catalogue has 43 individual images dotted throughout the printed edition that link to digital content. Some link to videos (if you don't have these, you will need to produce them), some link to web pages (virtual stores where you can purchase items) and others still link to 3D animated computer graphics.

The production of the AR app required:

-a Tracking SDK
-an Image Recognition SDK
-creative computer graphics content
-mobile app development
-an AR creator platform to link "virtual buttons" to actual actions within the mobile app

3. WHAT SHOULD THE APP DO?

This links to the first point..."keep it simple" is my advice. It is clear some use cases work better than others and that this varies according to who you are targeting. AR for retail and print works great. Augmenting a magazine, newspaper or catalogue offers clear, tangible benefits to the reader -you see new content that is helpful or entertaining. AR for retail apps makes sense since indoors, GPS doesn't work, so using physical objects or shop signs as pointers for the app to perform an action is a clever workaround. Scan the poster displayed in the shop window and see special offers, for example.

4. WHAT SHOULD AN AR APP COST AND TAKE TO ROLLOUT?

It depends but....simple AR apps can be developed for around $20-25,000 as a very general rule of thumb. Complex ones can easily cost $100,000+ (hence the keep it simple rule!). A marketing app will offer an intangible return in terms of brand awareness and brand loyalty. Other AR apps generate revenue and more than pay for themselves in terms of ROI: a museum app that acts as a guide (audio and video) and lets you scan the popular exhibits to get AR content when you want it, is often offered at a premium in app stores and can have a short payback period. 

Augmented Reality 2.0 - From AR 1.0 (Hype) to AR 2.0 (Mainstream)

BARCELONA -I recently presented an overview of Augmented Reality to an interested customer describing some examples of note-worthy AR campaigns and how cloud-based image recognition helps solve many requirements of AR campaigns.

In fact, I believe we are now in AR 2.0, whereby AR is coming into the mainstream (thanks also to Google Glass) underpinned by powerful smartphones and 4G networks. Brands are coming on board, since consumers increasingly demand (and expect!) the physical products of their favourite brands to have a digital life. 

This AR experience can vary from a simple video or photo overlay to more complicated (3D) animations, though the latter have more of a gimmicky effect. Making AR work for brands means keeping it simple and focusing on the quality of the experience. This is where image recognition becomes key, being the gateway technology for AR and opening the path to enhance the user´s view of the world. 

It is also time to throw away notions of QR codes on print and objects being scanned by a user (nothing wrong however with users with QR codes on their phone being scanned themselves, e.g. for a airplane boarding pass). Applying QR codes for  marketing use cases never made much sense and was used for lack of a better option. Consumers everywhere (except Asia perhaps) have given a resounding no to this technology.

You can see below a selection of slides from my presentation: 

Augmented World Expo 2013 : AWE Summary and Video

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Augmented World Expo has come and gone, and if there ever was a doubt about the resurgence of interest in AR in general, then the doubling in size of the key global showcase expo for AR is good evidence of this trend.

Big brands are sitting up to take notice of the AR scene -the combination of powerful devices and 4G connections mean that technological former limitations are gone. Augmented Reality works great on mobile, and it loads fast.

Consumers are also getting excited- Google Glass is all about taking AR into the mainstream..no wonder CNET is saying that "AR is the next big thing in tech" and that estimates are that AR will surpass1 billion users by 2020 (Tomi Ahonen, AWE13).

We are now firmly in AR 2.0...welcome.

AR works better with the power of the cloud -there are several reasons for this that I introduced at AWE together with Catchoom CTO Tomasz Adamek.

Check out the video of the talk here: 

Augmented World Expo (AWE) 2013 Santa Clara -Agenda overview and discounted tickets

Computing is changing inside out. The world is now the platform. ARE is now AWE. Welcome to the Augmented World!

Augmented World Expo (AWE), is the world’s largest gathering of designers, engineers and business leaders dedicated to solving real world problems in the Augmented World.

The way we experience the world will never be the same. We no longer interact with computers. We interact with the world. A set of emerging interrelated technologies such as augmented reality, gesture interaction, eyewear, wearables, smart things, cloud computing, big data, and 3D printing are completely changing the way we interact with people, places and things. These technologies create a digital layer that empowers humans to experience the world in a more advanced, engaging, and productive way.

Augmented World Expo will showcase the best in augmented experiences covering all aspects of life: health, education, emergency response, art, media and entertainment, retail, manufacturing, brand engagement, travel, automotive, and urban design. It will be the largest ever exposition to bring together technologies that will change our lives and the world.

In 2012, the third annual ARE event, over 600 buyers and builders of AR in entertainment, media, education, healthcare, government, tourism, automotive, sports and other vertical markets, united in the 2 day must-attend event in Silicon Valley.

Augmented Reality.ORG, the producer of AWE is proud to announce the maturing of an edgy conference about augmented reality into the world’s first expo about the augmented world.  If you loved ARE you are going to find Augmented World Expo the most important event of 2013.

AWE 2013 invites today’s technology leaders to learn, network, and share their expertise in technologies that change the way we interact with the world.  Presentations should cover a range of emerging technologies such as augmented reality, gesture interaction, eyewear, wearables, smart things, cloud computing, big data, and 3D printing. Presenters can choose from a set of topics and industries that address the latest trends, strategies and business growth opportunities of the augmented world.

AWE 2013 will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center, California, on June 4-5, 2013 and is expected to draw 1,000 attendees. In addition to the presentation tracks, AWE 2013 will include mind-blowing keynotes by industry leaders on the main stage including my own talk (together with Catchoom CTO Tomasz Adamek) on the Mobile-Cloud Continuum a.k.a. how to get the most out of the cloud from your mobile device.

With the proven track record and the tremendous momentum in the Augmented Reality industry and interrelated technologies, AWE 2013 will set a new record and expected to draw 1000 attendees that seek to leverage augmented reality into a productive, sustainable and entertaining new medium. AWE 2013 will spotlight inspiring keynotes by industry luminaries, and feature more than a 100 speakers from leading Augmented World companies in more than 30 hours. Organized into business, technology and production tracks, the conference program is designed to address topics such as:

• current augmented world market scope and what’s expected in the next 5 years
• latest augmented world innovations, engines and tools
• showcases and postmortems of landmark augmented world projects
• how to leverage AW to advance your brand, attract and keep your customers
• how to build successful campaigns and products that will delight users.

The exhibition floor will unite all the leading providers of Augmented World services and products, and offer a fantastic opportunity to witness demonstrations, speak with the architects of these experiences and network all participants in this exciting industry. Last year’s successful activities such as the ARt Gala, AR Start up launch pad, and The Auggies (best AR demo awards) will return to delight attendees. The new Augmented Future plenary session will feature ground breaking ideas that will change the augmented world.

You can get a discounted ticket here by using the following discount code AWE3CATCHOOM for a saving of $200 USD before May 17!

Lessons from GDC San Francisco -Game Developers Conference 2013 Wrap Up

SAN FRANCISCO - I had the privilege of joining a throng of 20,000 attendees at the GDC in San Francisco this March for one full week and it gave me an opportunity for a first "deep dive" into gaming. Despite having skirted around gaming in mobile before (on a conceptual level or looking at gamification of commercial apps), this was the first opportunity to see at first hand what was making the gaming world quiver with excitement.

Overall, I was surprised that it was not quite as wacky an event as some had led me to believe. Mobile gaming is big business today, a $6bn business to be precise, and there was more of a corporate flavour to GDC than I expected. The most interesting talks however (with the exception of the very cool Mars Rover simulator talk by the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab) were by the non-corporate game studios.

Supercell was a great example, with a brilliantly delivered and informative session on winning formulas developed for "Hay Day" and "Clash of Clans" games. A key lesson from this session was "don't release your game early". Other points from other sessions were to disguise the freemium nature of the game with lots of easy purchases, something King.com has taken to heart with their very successful CandyCrush saga. Tommy Palm from King gave an impressive talk and it was clear that Candy Crush has earned plenty of kudos amongst the gaming community.

One lesson I learnt for the future is how the (now separate) Game Connection event can be a much better forum to meet and do business with many of the companies at GDC. The problem with GDC is that, like many MMEs (Massive Multi-attendee Events), it is very dispersive and the seminars, while interesting, did not foster networking.

The gaming industry knows how to throw a good networking event, so a special shout out goes to GMIC and Kabam for organising some great post-GDC conference day events!

Mobile World Congress 2013 -Agenda of Side Events

BARCELONA -There is a staggering number of side events at the Mobile World Congress this year, and you can expect as much life outside the congress walls as within.

Some events I have signed up for to date are:

1. Innovation on the Fringe (part of the Mobile Fringe Festival) where startups will be demo-ing their wares in a fast pitch environment

2. Mobile Sunday Barcelona taking place at the Moritz Brewhouse, now in its 3rd edition and promising to be a great pre-event hangout for a very mixed crowd of delegates

3. TechCrunch Mobile Meetup on Wednesday 27th at the Telefonica Auditorium should feature a select group of local and international mobile startups

4. WipJam Party also on Wednesday at La Fianna Bar (expect this one to be heaving and definitely the place to be to connect with savvy developers)

5. MLove Party on Thursday 28th at Ocaña in Plaza Real (great venue, so promises to be a great party)

I'll keep this blog post up-to-date with news and links up until the MWC dates.

Mobile World Congress 2013 Agenda -MWC Plan & Expectations

BARCELONA- With the MWC only a few weeks away, the questions that are on the minds of those following the congress are:

-Who will be at the MWC?

-Who will not be there?

-What will be the buzz of the show this year?

This year I will be attending the congress for the fifth (or is it sixth?) time and the biggest insight I get of what is happening in mobile is to see the variations at the MWC year on year.

Last year, I summarised the show and stated how innovation was not top of the agenda. This year, I can see that expectations are pretty high about new device releases. These miss the point. MWC is NOT a gadget show. Until 3 years ago, it really was all about operators and infrastructure (and the penning of mega-size deals at the show). 

Then content became king, and what used to be a minnow within the mobile ecosystem came to have a voice. This year, developers and content owners really will rule the show -just one developer conference, WipJam, had over 3000 attendees registering. 

So, who will be at the MWC?

-Most big names you'd expect -Samsung is expected to have a giant stand again this year, Microsoft will be touting its wares prominently as well and ZTE and Huawei are expected to be present en masse as well.

Who will not be there?

-Blackberry is rumoured to not have a stand this year, Apple will be absent again and Google´s Eric Schmidt will not be there either (though presumably Android will still have a large exhibition space like last year).

What will be the buzz be?

-Overall tablets should draw more attention than smartphones (but this is not a gadget show!), Mozilla will launch its own Firefox OS and Windows 8 will get the corporate market excited if some good devices are on show (consumers may not drool over Windows 8 just yet due to the lack of appealing apps in Marketplace). 

Apart from all this, I am really hoping that cool apps and services will get lots of attention at the show by showcasing inspirational innovation -I'd like to see more about contextual search (visual search and voice search) and hybrid solutions (for example, car apps that connect, M2M style, to the car´s onboard computer).

RIP QR Codes –why code-based scanning will give way to image recognition for mobile apps

Two quicks facts to kick things off: QR Codes (Quick Response Codes) were not designed for mobile advertising. They were created by the automotive industry to track vehicles as they flowed through the logistics chain.

While a significant advance at the time (1994) because they improved the scanning effectiveness (compared to barcodes) and could hold 100 times more data, today QR codes draw mixed reactions from consumers and developers alike.

According to Comscore’s survey of December 2011, only 20% of Americans use QR codes (this drops to 12% in Spain). The bottom line is that QR codes are not practical for average consumers to use and they are not the best way  for advertisers to connect with their customers.

Ever tried scanning a QR Code? You will need both a steady hand and some trial and error in finding the best angle for scanning. You will also need to find a Code Scanner app and download it to your phone, as well as to know how to use it! The barriers are significant. Not to mention the fact that QR codes can be hacked for malicious purposes, as happened in Russia.

The new way of recognizing images within adverts (in posters, magazine ads or on packaged goods) is by Image Recognition. Catchoom (based in Spain) is leading the way in this, using a Cloud-based recognition system to achieve image matching in under 0.5 seconds. The user simply points their smartphone’s camera at the image (for example, a logo), Catchoom processes the information with its patented image recognition algorithms, and hey presto! In less than a second, you get a weblink, an image or a video appearing on the phone screen. Compared to QR Codes, the technology really kicks ass, because what are known as “false positives” are vastly reduced. This means, around 99% of users pointing at an image to be recognized will get a perfect match and see the information the publisher has created.

The future has arrived...RIP QR codes.

Augmented Reality –5 Reasons why AR will triumph in 2013 and beyond

According to the Chinese calendar, 2013 is the Year of the Snake, a year where “all things are possible”.

It should come as no surprise that 2013 is also tipped to be a big year for Augmented Reality (AR), where the range of possibilities for this technology should truly come to life. AR is already going beyond the traditional gimmicky gaming use cases and has started to transform how we consume printed media, interact with museum exhibits and advertise via smartphones and tablets.

Here are five reasons why AR will grow even more in 2013:

1. Smartphones’ processing power has increased dramatically, with quad core 1.5GHz+ processors becoming more commonplace and tipped to represent 15%-20% of the market in 2013

2. Growth of the market share of tablets (and the high degree of user engagement with them). There are an estimated 240m tablets in use (according to NPD DisplaySearch). AR works beautifully on tablets thanks to the large display area and will help to "cross-sell" AR to smartphones as well.

3.The majority of readers consume news and media content in digital format today but still enjoy interacting with printed news and magazines via their smartphone. The easiest way to do so today is through AR. Esquire magazine already tried this in 2009. Ikea Germany's 2013 catalogue allows readers to view 3D animations of furniture items and so bring flat-pack to life.

4.We have just only begun to scratch the surface of the possibilities for augmented reality-type innovations. From advertising to property management and the healthcare sector, the use cases for AR are infinite. In healthcare, for example, being able to recognize skin diseases by simply pointing the smartphone’s camera at the affected skin area would by itself save millions in public healthcare costs (not to mention, save lives).

5. Mobile gaming is huge. So huge in fact, that the traditional console-based gaming sector will soon be overtaken by mobile-based gaming. We are no longer talking gimmicks. We are talking of a USD 20bn$ industry. Augmented reality gaming is carving out a good chunk of this revenue –even Angry Birds has its own AR-based mobile game. More will follow.

NFC Payments Trial in London -some experiences

NFC is yet to become a mainstream technology option for payments, though interest remains high and, slowly but surely, an increasing number of points of sale are becoming NFC-compliant.

NFC chipmaker Gemalto recently conducted an NFC challenge, where they let loose two bloggers with a set of NFC challenges in London.

Here are their main conclusions/experiences:

• Contactless is taking off! Both bloggers were able to survive for whole days at a time using only NFC, which would have been impossible even a year ago.

• NFC has a strong urban bias: Contactless coffees and Coca-Colas are easy to come by in Central London, but the further from the city you get, the more difficult it is to use the technology. However, this is to be expected of any technology in its infancy.

• Some vendors need educating on contactless as much as their customers. Occasionally, staff in stores that accepted NFC weren’t even aware of it.

• There’s a real lack of signage around NFC. This means consumers may be missing out on the option to pay by contactless simply because they’re unaware their local sandwich shop accepts it, and a lot of people confuse the NFC logo with the symbol for WiFi.

• There’s a lot of enthusiasm for NFC out there – the bloggers  saw thousands of tweets and plenty of challenges and advice from the Twittersphere.

If you’re interested in reading more about the project you can do so over at the Gemalto Blog or check out the video over on Mobile Industry Review. And who knows – next year the Contactless Challenge could be coming to a city near you!

Mobile Offers for Retail & Restaurants -Infographic

Mobile is omnipresent. It also fits in very nicely with retailers and restaurants as a driver of footfall. Who hasn't booked a restaurant from their smartphone? Combine the practicality of making reservations "on-the-go" with benefiting from special promotions and discounts, and it is no wonder that apps like OpenTable, BookaTable and La Fourchette are taking the world by storm.

The Infographic below (courtesy of those good chaps at Milennial Media) gives some more facts around this. One key statistic is that over 60% of retails and restaurants brands are now using mobile location-based targeting for their campaigns. Food for thought...

Barcelona Mobile World Capital -the New silicon Valley of Europe?

BARCELONA -I recently gave an interview to Michael Tangeman from Media Mindshare and creator of the Barcelona Tech Talk blog about the up-and-coming tech scene in Barcelona, recently named Mobile World Capital by the GSMA (creators of the Mobile World Congress).

Here below is the full interview:

Barcelona has changed dramatically in recent years. What do you see as the key elements in that transformation?

There’s been a lot of improvement in Barcelona to facilitate the startup environment, a lot of support from public institutions and there’s now a fairly decent network of incubators on university campuses.

It’s also a good place to attract talent for a startup. When I interview people from outside, they already want to live and work in Barcelona. They’re attracted to the lifestyle here. It’s a more desirable location than other European cities. On that basis, I’d say if you were to choose where to set up a startup, Barcelona is the place.

Barcelona is now a major tech events hub. What kind of impact has that had on the tech scene here?

When I talk to people from elsewhere, they associate Barcelona most with Mobile World Congress. They know it’s based in Barcelona and is having a positive impact especially for the startup culture. More entrepreneurs are looking at Barcelona and increasingly startups are setting up here, especially mobile startups.

As head of Biz Dev for a global content publisher, you deal with developers of apps and content a lot … is there a strong and sizeable native developer talent pool here?

There’s a local talent shortage, but you’ll find good talent here if you look hard. One of the challenges is to get developers who speak good English. There’d be a big improvement if the school curriculum made English compulsory. At the university level, there are some good business schools and engineering programs, but there’s a long way to go to getting the overall educational infrastructure in place.

Barcelona is competing with other European cities as a tech and innovation hub … how does it stack up?

In terms of location, Barcelona is a great hub for European transport. We have the port and airport connections are great, but internationally we need to get better air connections to the U.S., that’s more challenging.

London, for example, has great energy and scale which Barcelona still doesn’t have. One of the things that could help change that would be more VC investors. Once we get local VC funds focused on mobile pure plays we’ll begin to see a rapid transformation.

Among VCs here, there’s still a perception that mobile is very risky. VC funds will invest in PC-based startups relatively easily — they’re more familiar, more comfortable with desktop-based technologies. But in London, as recently as 2008 they were also still wary of investing in mobile pure plays. That changed in London and it will change in Spain.

What’s lacking? What’s missing in the value chain or the tech culture here?

There are a lot of challenges. One is the bureaucracy, it’s very out-dated and there are still obstacles to creating an LLC, the process still tends to be very long. That’s why there’s this whole system of “gestores” in place, to deal with the bureaucracy.

The entire attitude to risk needs to change, as well. It’s a risk-averse culture and if you fail at something you can be branded as a failure. Entrepreneurs thrive on risk-taking and intelligent gambles and they need to know that when they fail they won’t be singled out as ‘black sheep’ for the rest of their lives.

In terms of talent, there’s a relatively low level of mobility of people, gaining experience by moving from one job to another or one city to another. People tend to stay put here. One way to change that might be for people to get experience in large companies outside of Spain and bring that knowledge and experience back here. But, getting them to return once they have that experience is another story …

How do you see Barcelona’s tech scene going forward, what kinds of changes do you see as necessary?

To help stimulate innovation and growth here, there’s a lot that could be done in terms of e-Government initiatives, digitalization of government services, an area in which local government seems to be hanging back. I’d like to see government take a leap straight to mobile — most people have smartphones and there’s a relatively high smartphone penetration here. So, it would make sense to focus on that area.

There’s also room for startups linked to industry verticals and e-government initiatives and incubator programs could help to stimulate that. There are extensive medical centers and infrastructure and large conferences associated with health care and medicine take place here. There’s a lot of health knowledge and there really is room for a health care incubator.

Another sector could be textiles and clothing, even room for a tourism and travel-related incubator – mobile is perfect for travel and tourism, the hospitality sector. Getting these industry sectors to understand how they can mobilize their services through mobile apps is the challenge. An e-government push to mobilize e-government services could lead the way and show how that can be done.

Mobile Payments -the mobile payments jackpot

Mobile Payments Today (web here) produced a great Infographic that summarizes nicely the current mobile payments ecosystem. From PayPal to Square, to iZettle, most of the current players are represented here. 

As I have covered in previous posts, this area of mobile is heating up and the stakes are very high. As Mobile Payments Today states "...the expectation is that a large percentage of the $6.2 trillion in credit card transactions is going to migrate to mobile".

Expect a new start-up to join the fray every week...

Responsive Design for Mobile-Tools, Techniques, Future Trends

(Guest post from Magnus Jern, CEO of Golden Gekko).

Next to the Mobile First philosophy (see previous article) Responsive Design (according to Wikipedia) also referred to as Liquid Design is probably the most talked about trend in mobile and web user experience design. The term was coined by Ethan Marcotte in 2010 and the principle is simply that you design one web site that adapts to any device using modern web development methods including CSS3 and image scaling.

Examples of Responsive Design

Although there are thousands of examples of web sites based on responsive design today there is only a limited number of big companies that have adopted it and usually more as an experience or only partially. The most mentioned being the Boston Globe which displays beautifully on devices ranging from a big screen TV to a Blackberry Curve. Other examples include Starbucks and Google News (partial). Ethan also has a list of other great sites here. To get a basic understanding of how it works simply open up one of these sites in a browser and reduce and increase the browser window and see how the page changes and try accessing it from your mobile. Then compare it to a traditional site such as NYTimes.com (the owner of Boston Globe).

So is responsive design a hype or solution?

Opinions vary. At the moment the main proponents of responsive design are web front-end developers as it puts them in a powerful position and potentially removes the need for separate sites and teams and they can claim to support all channels. On the other hand only a few major websites have fully embraced the methodology and some like Linkedin simply believe that it delivers a bad user experience for their users according to an article in Venture Beat. So what are the pros and cons?

Pros 

• Easier and quicker to manage one project and web site than multiple
• Reduces cost of development and maintenance by only maintaining one infrastructure and one team
• Typically will work automatically on new devices, e.g. tablet without customisation
• Simple technical solution to a common issue
• Could improve SEO as all traffic will be directed to one URL rather than multipe, e.g. www.website.com, m.website.com and touch.website.com
• No need for device recognition
• Read more pros in this article in Society of Digital Agencies

 Cons 

• Complex to plan and design which may actually lead to a higher cost and longer time to market than separate channel
• Data size of pages become very big for a mobile device both in terms of download time and memory used (see article about Mobile First)
• Rescaling for mobile devices typically generates very long pages requiring lots of scrolling which is a bad mobile user experience
• Difficult to generate revenue from ads Images are typically optimised for the device with the highest resolution
• Use cases for mobile and a PC web can be very different
• Most common denominator between browsers means you typically end up doing trade-offs to support all channels
• User interaction between different devices is very different on a touch screen device from a screen controlled by a mouse or remote control (TV)
• Requires the same amount of testing but needs to be done across a lot more devices every when you make an update.

So what’s lies ahead in the future?
The reason that most major companies have not embraced responsive design is that although it’s technically straight forward, it really complicates the layout of pages and information architecture a lot. Designers have to plan for most common denominator between different devices which will usually lead to a compromise. At the same time any website should be as responsive as possible without compromising the user experience for bigger screens. Both Amazon and Facebook are examples of partially responsive design that scales certain elements but not all. One of the reasons to separate mobile and web is also that the use cases are very different. If you are standing in a clothing store accessing their website then you are most likely to want to find out about something related to the customer touch points in the store such as price comparison, offers, where your size of a product is available, etc. If you are sitting at home browsing then you’re primary use case is more likely to be browsing through the products. I believe that the Mobile First methodology is a more important principle than Responsive Design as it forces you to focus on the core use cases and enhance over time.

 (Image courtesy of white-fire.co.uk)