Just when we though Orkut is pretty much dead, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) decided to release a dedicated mobile app for accessing the social network. The Java ME-based client will work on most feature phones, allowing users to keep up with their Orkut buddies while on the go.
Using the Orkut mobile app, users can:
Perform “basic Orkut operations” such as write/read scraps, update status, search for users, view/accept/deny friend requests, etc.
Take a photo on their phone and upload it right to their Orkut album.
Share photos with Orkut friends or SMS them to phone contacts not yet on Orkut.
Call or SMS Orkut friends or phone contacts without leaving the app.
View scraps, updates from friends, and photo albums in offline mode.
To put it in other words, Orkut mobile app will certainly help any remaining fans of the Google-owned social network stay in touch with their “Orkut activities.” To download the app, visit m.google.com/orkut on your phone and follow instructions provided on the screen…
According to recent research by Skyhook Wireless (the guys who work on Wi-Fi positioning systems), only 8% of location-based service developers will jump to the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre operating system, WebOS. The survey was conducted over 100 developers spread across six platforms: Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM), Java and iPhone. Here are the main findings from their study:
73% of respondents want exact location positioning. City or neighborhood-level targeting is not sufficient for most applications.
Applications are designed to be used in metro areas. Very few applications are designed for use in rural areas.
Quick location results are very important.
48% of respondents say location sets their app apart, or is a core component to their app. 46% say location increases app value, and would not have developed an app without location.
The majority of location-aware app developers will port to other platforms. These developers are most interested in the iPhone and Android. Despite Palm and Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s best efforts to lure developers with the Pre and Web OS and Nokia’s Ovi Store, very few developers intend to port to these platforms.
This is bad news for the Palm Pre, which isn’t even out yet (we’re thinking sometime this summer), and could be a serious blow to its app selection at launch. Symbian didn’t rank so hot either, getting only 9% of the developers votes. Why is WebOS such a poor choice for developers? Apparently accuracy and locking speed were big deciders, so perhaps Palm’s web-based programming language doesn’t support GPS properly on that front. To be fair, it’s still very early on to be calling a death-knell for Palm Pre LBS apps, but it is certainly a cause to worry. If you’re interested in a closer look the survey results, feel free to take a gander.
If you’re like many of us working types, you probably have at least two different phone numbers and voicemail inboxes to deal with. Some of you might even have two mobile phones on two distinct wireless accounts. So, to help the average Joe deal juggle all their phone lines, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is looking to turn its GrandCentral project into the voice-transcribing, free SMS text message sending, phone number managing service that they’re calling “Google Voice.” And, more importantly, Google Voice bridges the wireless-to-wireline divide with full-featured mobile webpages that offer the same level of functionality that Google Voice users will see on their desktop.
Thanks to a few screenshots discovered by Boy Genius, we now have a good idea of just how Google Voice will work on cellphones. The iPhone-optimized Google Voice homepage offers users access to Google Voice’s core functions – inbox (complete with transcribed voicemails and text messages), contacts, settings and buttons allowing users to make a “quick call” or send a free SMS text message. The default mobile-optimized page (below) looks just as capable, as evidenced by screenshots taken with a BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold.
Notice how the mobile-optimized Google Voice portals look just as functional as their desktop counterparts. We didn’t really expect any less from Google.
Google is seemingly determined to gain a big foothold in the mobile space. With web-based and natively-installed mobile offerings that have the potential to completely replace a wireless carrier’s core services, Google looks to be on their way to developing an all-encompassing mobile services platform.
Today, Google Voice and Android. Tomorrow, the (mobile) world.
Here’s a quick little reminder for BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) users with a heart-on for Clear Channel radio stations around the US. Clear Channel has launched iHeart Radio for BlackBerry devices, following the iHeartRadio iPhone application’s success in boosting Clear Channel’s listener-ship. Like the iPhone app, the iHeartRadio BlackBerry application streams radio broadcasts from 150 of Clear Channel’s radio stations – all over cellular data networks or WiFi networks.
The BlackBerry iHeartRadio application allows users to bookmark their favorite stations, tag songs and randomize radio streams. All music is broadcast in “high quality AAC.” The iHeartRadio BlackBerry application is currently only available on the BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Pearl. The BlackBerry Storm is listed as “Coming Soon.”
I was just looking over a post from Will the other day, in which he reported the clear dominance of the iPhone when it comes to mobile browsing/web traffic. You can’t deny that at all, the numbers are clear-cut… In fact, from last months’ AdMob report, the iPhone accounts for 51% of all US smartphone web traffic. Dominant.
However, one thing I wanted to touch on here is the rise of Android. Will did touch on this in his post, but I feel it’s worthy of note yet again Check out the chart below. Look at Android. 6.15%. No biggie, right? I beg to differ. Look who they’re hanging out with there. They’re less than a percentage point down on Windows Mobile, they’re tied with Symbian, and Java ME is surely in their sites. With the release of new Android-powered devices this year, I would not be surprised to see these numbers change quite a bit, and have Android up in the 2nd or 3rd spot by years’ end.
One more quick thing before I go… Check out Palm (NSDQ: PALM). At a measly 2.37%, watch that number. Once the Pre hits the shelves, we may see that number grow as well. I wouldn’t expect a HUGE jump, but still, expect it to move in a positive direction.
When it comes to using the mobile web, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone that denies the iPhone’s multi-touch web browsing experience as anything less than top-notch. The mobile world scurried to bring their own touchscreen competitors to market when the iPhone blew up the scene with its inaugural launch in 2007, but no other handset has since been able to come close to the iPhone’s Safari web browser in terms of user experience. And, the latest data on mobile web usage suggests that the iPhone has a commanding lead on its closest compeitors. Net Applications estimates that the iPhone (both the iPhone and iPhone 3G) accounts for a whopping 66.61% of all mobile web traffic!
Percentage of mobile web data by mobile phone platform (February 2009)
The news of the iPhone’s amazing mobile web market share comes on the heels of an AdMob report that had the iPhone OS being responsible for 51% of all US smartphone web traffic.
The iPhone OS, based on the Mac OS, still only accounts for less than 0.5% of the mobile operating systems that surf the mobile web. But, that hasn’t stopped the iconic touchscreen handset from pulling down over 9 times the mobile web data of its closest smartphone competition, Windows Mobile. With just 6.91% of web traffic being routed to Windows Mobile smartphones, it’s clear that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is quickly dominating the mobile browsing space.
Notably, the Android OS has earned itself a tied-position with the Symbian platform, both accounting for 6.15% of mobile web traffic. Despite Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s domination of the global mobile phone market with its Symbian-powered handsets, the Finns apparently failed to provide its users with the kind of desirable web surfing experience that has made the iPhone OS, nay the Android OS, so popular in such short time. The biggest take away here is that Android OS managed to secure the same mobile web usage volume that took Symbian years to secure.
Consider this. As the web becomes more tightly integrated into our daily lives (how many of you would go through withdrawal without access to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or IntoMobile for just a day?), the need for a truly usable and fast mobile web browser becomes every more important. Is it any wonder that the iPhone drives over 66% of all mobile web data?
But you can’t just be any, run-of-the-mill hacker.
In order to score one of the bigger prizes at the annual Pwn2Own 733t hacker competition in Vancouver, Canada, you’re going to have to prove your hacking fortitude by finding security exploits in the Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) and iPhone mobile operating systems.
With the flood of smartphones hitting the market these days, there’s a potential bonanza for nefarious mobile developers looking to hack your cellphone for their own gain. The iPhone has been targeted as a high-profile candidate for hackers looking to gain notoriety in hacking-circles, but other smartphone platforms are just as vulnerable to attack.
Pwn2Own is offering a whopping $10,000 prize to for each successful mobile phone exploit that is submitted and proven to work. Hackers will have to remotely dig their way into one of the mobile platforms mentioned above, using exploits based on “email, SMS text, website browsing and other general actions a normal user would take while using the device.” There is also a browser-exploit track at the competition, but it’s the mobile-related hackery that piques our interest.
Successful hackers will be allowed to keep the device that they hacked, including one year of cellular service. All successful security exploits will then be submitted to the appropriate vendor to help drive security advances and keep the general public just that much more secure from hackers.
If you think you have what it takes to hack your way into a mobile phone from afar, the Pwn2Own competition might be worth your time. Find out more here.
Opera Software just got stronger for two partnership.
First they announced a deal with Yahoo! to bring Opera Mini to more mobile phone users around the world. Under the agreement, Yahoo! will distribute Opera’s Java ME browser via Yahoo! Mobile and also as a standalone download from Yahoo!’s mobile web sites.
In the other news, the company signed an agreement with Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) to develop a custom-made version of Opera Mini, which will be available in Vodafone markets across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The browser is particularly appealing to customers in developing countries who are likely to experience the internet for the first time through a mobile phone. As a matter of fact, in early trials conducted by Vodafone Egypt, more than 400,000 customers downloaded the product in a month.
Great news for Opera and for those users who so far haven’t been able to try out Opera Mini and experience the full web on the palm (NSDQ: PALM) of their hand.
Sun has just announced a mobile version of its JavaFX platform. The new ‘JavaFX Mobile’ is built on JavaME, and will let developers easily create mobile applications. Plus, this new mobile release will allow developers to port existing apps to mobile platforms. Cool. Also noteworthy is JavaFX Mobile will allow developers to tie into native apps on the device itself, such as the camera, address book and more. Higher quality audio and video, plus richer graphics and animation are also promised in this release. Should be some solid apps that come out of this.
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE), LG, Orange, Sprint (NYSE: S) and more have all agreed to use this new platform to develop content on their devices. Should be lots of good news surrounding JavaFX Mobile in the days and months to come.
Sure, you could just wait until the end of your billing cycle to track down that all-important phone number that you scored at the club last night. But, if you need instant call-tracking, Skydeck is your answer. Skydeck’s real-time phone call and text message tracking service has just announced a bevy of new features that allows you to manage your phone calls online.
For $9.95 a month, Skydeck will post all your phone calls, SMS text messages (with full text body), voicemails, and contacts to their webpage. Skydeck operates in real-time and emulates your handset – so you’ll be able to search for new contacts, phone numbers, and even reply to messages as if you had the mobile phone in your hand. Skydeck will even transcribe your voicemails to text for those times when you just don’t want to listen to your voicemails.
Skydeck is compatible with Android and Blackberry (NSDQ: RIMM) handsets, and will soon be compatible with the Windows Mobile platform.
According to recent research by Skyhook Wireless (the guys who work on Wi-Fi positioning systems), only 8% of location-based service developers will jump to the Palm (
Check out the chart below. Look at Android. 6.15%. No biggie, right? I beg to differ. Look who they’re hanging out with there. They’re less than a percentage point down on Windows Mobile, they’re tied with Symbian, and Java ME is surely in their sites. With the release of new Android-powered devices this year, I would not be surprised to see these numbers change quite a bit, and have Android up in the 2nd or 3rd spot by years’ end.
But you can’t just be any, run-of-the-mill hacker.
Sun has just announced a mobile version of its JavaFX platform. The new ‘JavaFX Mobile’ is built on JavaME, and will let developers easily create mobile applications. Plus, this new mobile release will allow developers to port existing apps to mobile platforms. Cool. Also noteworthy is JavaFX Mobile will allow developers to tie into native apps on the device itself, such as the camera, address book and more. Higher quality audio and video, plus richer graphics and animation are also promised in this release. Should be some solid apps that come out of this.
