Tomorrow night will be the premier of their new show "Penn and Teller Tell a Lie" on the Discovery Channel at 10:00pm eastern.  I’m sure it will be awesome.  The preview that I saw has flamethrowers and all kinds of coolness.  The idea is that they put forward 7 pretty unlikely scenarios, one of which is a lie.  The others while hard to believe are true.  The challenge for the viewer is to figure out which one of the bunch is the fake.

As you can see from the app screenshot above, the first episode involves steering a plane with its doors instead of the rudders.  The concept of the show is that they take The iphone app allow you to vote real time while watching the show. 

I had been indirectly involved in the text messaging for American Idol, and I have always wondered why more interactive TV has not been more widely adopted.  I guess American Idol wasn’t successful enough. People talk about "engagement", but tend to actually just broadcast. 

All of it has got my attention.  I’m really looking forward to watching it tomorrow.

Later on, I kind of lost the HTML plot a bit.  I remember getting some warnings on a couple of my websites that I was failing some type of strict compliance, but frankly it wasn’t really that big of a deal.  Like a lot of standards, there was a pretty fair amount of wiggle room for interpretation of the HTML standards.  You needed to test all of your code against different browsers.  It was an economic decision to decide how much time and resources to invest in different browser platforms.

From what I was gathering from the Apple HTML5 buzz, it was definitely worth poking into.  I have been active with mobile platforms which have presented an increasingly fragmented bunch of display options.  Tablets have only made that an even bigger challenge.  It is becoming increasingly clear that the line between web applications and native device applications is getting increasingly blurry. 

HTML5 is intended to bring the web standards up to date and provide a framework for dealing with these issues.  It provides viewpoints as a means of supporting multiple devices.  It addresses video and local databases for offline storage. 

I was intrigued when O’Reilly published HTML5 Mobile Web Development, a video series on HTML5 targeted at web professionals.  My hope was that a tutorial video would address some of the problems in trying to learn from books and provide more dynamic examples.  I really liked the content being presented, such as real life examples of how to structure pages, create a twitter app, add geolocation, and creating databases.

In practice, the videos didn’t quite work out as well as I had hoped.  I found some of the same challenges as I did when I took some pre-recorded graduate classes.  I found that even though Jake Carter was clearly an expert and had structured his ideas well, I had a really hard time keeping focused.  I have come to expect five minute “bite sized” chunks of information, which provide me with the ability to skip over the sections that I understand and go straight to the parts that I don’t.  I frankly don’t have the patience to sit still through hours of video. 

The series would really benefit from even some rudimentary interactivity such as putting a section at the front end describing what the learning objectives for each section were with a test at the end to see whether you had mastered the material or not. 

When videos are structured that way, I can start by reading the objectives, then take the test to find out whether or not I actually needed to watch the entire video.  That was much the same approach that I used with college text books.  If I knew the material and could pass the test at the end, I didn’t watch.  The fact was, I could figure out which of the 12 hours of video that I needed to watch, and which I didn’t.

I like the fact that O’Reilly is pushing the envelope, but found that this format just didn’t work for me. 

It reminded me of an evening many years ago, when I was attending the NAB show and was invited to see the fabulous Susan Anton and the Rockettes with Martin Noar. 

We went to the show, hoping to sell them an in-ear monitoring rig.  They had other plans, which involved us giving them one for free.  Before we understood what was up, we were put into the seats set aside for “royalty” right dead front, dead center.  We were then subject to a full court press designed to wow us.  The only thing that I really remember was a version of “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing”, which was pretty much a self evident truth.

Much of the this year’s CES show for me was related to the mobile telecom industry becoming more involved in media and entertainment. Lots of excitement around this space, new revenue streams, etc.  All I can say was that this truck brought me back some memories of what I’ve been missing.

I would recommend Mobile Design and Development to any business that uses internet technology and plans to be around for a while.  This book does a good job of laying out the facts to back that up. Brian Fling’s book does an excellent job of laying out the different design elements that need to be adopted over the next few years.

The Big Picture

There are already more mobile devices connected to the internet than desktop and laptop computers combined.  Mobile devices also add cameras, location awareness, and other new capabilities to the mix.  This book provides the background and context needed in order to help avoid making short sighted decisions. 

The book is written for web designers, information architects, and other internet professionals.  It provides background on what makes the mobile web different from the traditional internet.  It then focuses on developing a mobile strategy.  I can wholeheartedly support a few of the rules provided here.  It’s hard to argue with: Focus on Context,  Goals, and Needs; You Can’t Support Everything; Don’t Convert, Create; Keep It Simple. 

Brian covers different design options that need to be considered in order to execute your strategy.  There are chapters on types of mobile applications, information architecture, and user interface. 

The remaining chapters focus on some practical advice for putting these ideas into practice.  I have already found myself referring to the chapter on mobile web development.

I recommend the book to anyone that is involved in internet technology and needs to start getting up to speed on mobility.  It is not written with the programmer in mind, rather for the person that needs to understand the impact of mobile devices on their business.  I believe that the biggest value in the book is in providing a framework for planning your mobile web strategy. 

Mobile Design and Development

Here are the apps on my home page right now. While I have seen a few “Top 25” and “Top 10” app lists, listing the Top 16 made the most sense to me, as that’s what fits on my home page.  While at any given time I may be experimenting around with a half dozen new apps, these are the applications that I use regularly.  I keep the experimental ones on a separate page.  I don’t root my phone.  I work with lots of sharp people that do that, but I rely on this phone to do my job.  Neither Verizon nor my company IT desk really have much patience for support calls that start out with “I have been playing around with the underlying OS…”

Core Communications – 1. Phone,  2. Touchdown, 3. Gmail, 4. Google Voice 5. Messaging, 6. Skype

At its heart, sales is depends upon communicating with people.  I need to be as responsive as possible, in the way that each person likes.  Some like email, some prefer texts, some really only want you to leave voice mail.   I think that three of these apps deserve a bit more information. 

I am on the Verizon network, and they have a special arrangement with Skype so that Skype calls are treated as on network.  I use Skype for the folks that I work with in Europe.

7. Touchdown is a really good exchange client for Android. It costs around $20.  Outlook is nerve center of my scheduling and contact management systems.  Salesforce.com pulls data from it, I use Plaxo to sync my different contact bases to it, and so on.  Touchdown does everything that I would expect, it pops up alarms, keeps the calendar, and handles email.  It works for me, as I am really only looking for a mobile client to keep a pulse on what’s going on.  I’m not sure it would work if it was my only system.

I find smartphones frustrating if you have to do much real work. I prefer to use a full computer for all of the real backoffice work.  I update my opportunities and everything back home, but by keeping everything in Outlook, I make it easy to process my backlog in one go.  

 8. Google Voice has become an important utility for me.  If you aren’t familiar with it, it acts like a combination of call routing and voicemail with online access.  With Google Voice, you get a phone number assigned, which then can be used to ring any and all other lines that you want.  For example, you could give that number to someone, then have it forward to both your desk and cell phone, so that it acts like a “find me, follow me” service.  I use it a bit differently.  I have my calls routed so that my desk phone rings 4 times, then forwards to my cell phone.  It then goes to Google voice (acting as voicemail) immediately.  I do it that way, because if I’m on the phone at my home office, I can see who is calling when it forwards to my cell.  That setup works for me whether I’m in my home office or on the road.  The nice thing is that Google Voice attempts to transcribe the voicemail and shows it to you visually.  The phone signals that a voice mail has arrived, and the text is displayed briefly.  You can then call up the voicemail either through gmail or the Google voice app.  In most cases, just seeing the caller and text is enough for the time.  It also has the benefit of making voice mails easy to forward. 

9. Navigation has been a real savings in time and money, simple as that.  Most rental car companies charge $15 a day.  It is also pretty easy to get twisted up, make a wrong turn on the interstate and spend at least 15 minutes getting lost the first time that you go anywhere.  I typically have a hard copy of directions as part of my Tripit package (more on that below), but the Google Navigator works well.  I have recently started using voice, and so far, it has worked perfectly. 

10. Settings isn’t really an app, but I use it a lot.  Settings is where you switch “airport mode” on and off.  You also go there to tether, manage bluetooth, wi-fi, and other networks, and lots of different things.  It gives you the ability to backup settings offline. I changed the settings so that the button on top hangs up phone calls.  I think that is an accessibility setting. 

I use 11.PDA Net to turn my Droid into a wireless modem when I am stuck for connectivity.  Too often, the connectivity at hotels is either problematic or expensive.  PDA net works pretty well, even with VPNs.  You also need to install a utility on your PC so that it can treat your phone like a modem.  That’s something that you need to have taken care of before you actually need it. 

The main time I end up using it is when I see in Touchdown that I have an updated presentation or contract that I need to get onto my laptop, but don’t have any other access.  I fire up PDA net, download the mail into Outlook, then get on with it.

12. Tripit.com is all about managing travel stuff, although I rarely use the mobile client.  The Tripit.com service is pretty idiot proof, in that you forward an itinerary from your corporate travel to a mailbox (plans@tripit.com).  It then breaks it down into components and saves it online.  

Tripit creates a printable itinerary that includes driving instructions, all of the information about flights, car rentals, and so on.  The Tripit service then acts like an update and reminder service.  It sends me an email or text message if my flight has been delayed.  It also provides some social features so that your trip can be posted on Facebook or LinkedIn.  It isn’t as contrived as it sounds. It effectively becomes an automatic notice for friends and family. We created a Tripit group for our team at work so that we can easily compare notes on itineraries and travel plans.  Tripit becomes a nice little travel process prompter.  It sends out a reminder email 24 hours before flight time reminding that you can check in online, then sends status alerts based upon your instructions.

 As you can see , the mobile client keeps the itinerary details, and if you click on the directions, it will open up and provide a navigation option.  It’s pretty slick all around. 

You can see an example of what a Tripit posting looks like on Facebook.  It will post a notice before the trip saying something like “Don is planning a trip to Chicago” and show the date range.  Like anything else, if you use the standard templates, it looks kind of mechanical.  If you take the time to upload a relevant picture and add some real details, it starts to become more useful. 

I also use 13. Foursquare for similar purposes.  I absolutely like the idea of being in control of when I make my location public. That said, I’m not always sure that I get quite enough value out of Foursquare.  I am using it, because I kind of get the potential, but I wouldn’t pay money for it.  (After I wrote this post, they really cheesed me off by automatically posting a “You Won a “You voted” badge” onto Facebook and Twitter.  I found it a real violation of my privacy. I decide who and when I tell people that I voted.  Major violation! I’m checking out Whrrl.)

The 14. camera and 15. Facebook app are my other two mainstay applications.  I always try to take pictures while I’m with customers.  I’ve gotten some great pictures that way.  The easiest thing to do right now is to send the pictures to Facebook via MMS or email.  You can see the picture from my hotel room in Chicago.  The Droid camera is fine for this kind of thing.  I think that the folks over at Foursquare should think really hard about how they can add the ability for me to create these kinds of messages from a checkin.  As with Tripit, the ability to change the picture and add my own text is all of the difference in the world.  My latest everyday camera has GPS built in.  It seems to me that being able to pick an image is part of the whole “check-in” concept.  It lets me tell people where I am and share it a bit more.  If you compare the picture from my hotel room to the map that was included with the Cheesecake factory checkin, you can kind of sense the opportunity.  The restaurant was really very rich visually, the map doesn’t tell the story. 

The final “must have” travel app is the 16. clock.  It has become my daily alarm clock.  I never call down for wake-up calls anymore.  I also use it for some meetings with people that just don’t seem to have any time boundaries.  When I have a meeting with someone that runs fast and loose with time, I try to remember to set an alarm for 5 minutes before my hard stop.  I warn them that I have a hard stop at the end, then when it goes off, they understand that I need to cut things off and they don’t take it personally. 

These seem to cover the bases for me.  I am always looking for other great tools, but these are my mainstays.  I am looking for a better contact system than comes with the phone, but haven’t found it yet.  

I would love to see comments on what works for you.

I use Skype most often for international communications.  It works and is easy to use.  I find Skype to be a bit ahead of its competition with new features.  They do a good job of presenting a simple interface that you can use for voice, IM, or video conferencing.  In Enterprise technology we call it UC, which stands for Unified Communications.  Skype does that, and it does it pretty well. It has presence, so that you can see when people are available. If they aren’t, you can leave messages that the person will get later.

I used Skype while my son was travelling across Europe last summer.  He was  staying in different hostels in different countries and was “playing it by ear”.  Skype allowed him to stay in touch.  As a parent, it was a joy to see his face and let him see everyone (even the dogs) at home. 

Here is how I understand the partnership.  Skype calls will be carried over the Verizon Wireless voice network, not the data network.  That makes sense to me.  The Verizon Wireless network is already optimized for voice service.   The calls will be converted over to Skype VoIP when they leave the Verizon Wireless network in order to travel across the public internet. So now, if you are talking to someone on Skype, they don’t count as minutes on your Verizon Wireless plan. If you want to jump off the Skype network, you can use Skype Out to call international phones at their rates.

The Skype application will be available to the BlackBerry Storm 9530, Storm2 9550, Curve 8530, Curve 8330, and BlackBerry 8830 World Edition; and the Motorola Droid and Devour; and the HTC Eris.

Industry reaction to the announcement has been interesting.  Quite a few people have focused on the “changing of the guard” from wireless to VoIP.  Others have focused on telco vs. internet types of competition.  Still others focused on who got the better end of the deal.  Given that all of these dynamics were at work, what was most interesting to me was the fact that Skype and Verizon were able to successfully negotiate an agreement that added value to their consumers and to each other.  It isn’t easy.

I look at the Verizon Wireless / Skype partnership as basically adding their networks to each other’s to create a more powerful network for all of their users. Given today’s technical, business, and regulatory environments, both companies should be recognized for taking a step forward for their users.

Chetan Sharma notes that the average industry percentage contribution of data to overall ARPU is now 27 percent, with the U.S. market likely to close in on the 30 percent mark in 2009. Overall ARPU decreased by $0.23 as sverage voice ARPU declined by $0.45 and average data ARPU grew by $0.68. Sprint led in data ARPU with $15.50, followed by Verizon at $14.96. In terms of percentage contribution, Verizon is tops at 29.28 percent, followed by AT&T at 28.74 percent.

As of the end of the second quarter, 65 percent of all U.S. subscribers now use some form of data services. Messaging volume grew 15 percent in Q2, and messaging revenue increased 11 percent over Q1.Subscribers now average nearly 540 messages per month, which translates to close to one message per hour per subscriber. Non-messaging services continue to represent between 50 percent and 65 percent of U.S. operator data revenues.

“Given the strong growth in data revenues shown by the top carriers and the increase in service revenues overall, the worst is over for the U.S. mobile industry,” Sharma writes. “In summary, the recession has been all but a tiny blip in its growth trend and the U.S. mobile market has weathered the downward spiral in economy better than its counterparts in other developed nations.”

For more on the Chetan Sharma report:
- read this release

Related articles:
U.S. mobile data revenues grow to $34 billion in Q2
Forecast: Data revenues growing to $347B by 2013
Mobile data now 20% of worldwide operator revenues

WIP jam sessions include “unpanels” where the goal for facilitators is to ask the right questions and kick off a really good dialog.  With that in mind, I’d like to help get the dialog started here and ask for some help in coming up with some good questions. 

The July 28th conference has sold out, but you can register for a webcast.

For more on MusicID:
- read this release

Related articles:
Sony acquiring Gracenote for $260 million
Gracenote debuts mobile music platform

As the US’ largest wireless network services provider, Verizon joins Vodafone, China Mobile, and SoftBank, representing Europe, China, and Japan respectively.  “This partnership will enable four of the world’s leading mobile operators to pool their combined expertise, innovation and scale for the gain of customers across the globe,” said JIL Chairman Masayoshi Son. “As well as driving innovation in the mobile developer world, this initiative is set to empower consumers by giving them access to a range of easy-to-use and compelling Web applications that will enable them to get even more benefits from their handsets.”

Mobile computing has the potential to quickly outpace traditional computing platforms.  This will only happen if mobile computing can deal with the challenges that come along with fragmentation.  There are at least nine pretty strong smart phone manufacturers.  They include Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, RIM, Apple, HTC, and Palm. We then add another tier for the leading Mobile Operating Systems (OS).  They are Symbian, Apple, LiMO, RIM, Microsoft, Palm, and Android.  Add to that 8 or 9 mobile browsers, different customer languages, and service provider networks, and the fragmentation challenge for developers starts to become obvious. 

JIL widgets offer developers a application layer that can sit across these different device/OS/browser/network combinations in order to isolate the applications function and user interface from the specific handset.  This widget layer should benefit developers, service providers, and end-users alike.  Developers should benefit from a consistent platform standard and extremely large market.  End users will benefit from applications that look and feel the way that you would expect them to even on different devices and networks.

The JIL website is pretty thin on details as of this writing, but there is talk of launching in the second half of 2009.  Your guess would be as good as mine, but I would expect them to start with SDKs to support Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Android out of the box.  Symbian will give them the lion’s share of the existing OS market.  Windows and Android bring with them already existing developer communities that have been working with widgets (and gears) for some time now.