Mobile Computing — Connected World Media

How Not To Do Business By AT&T

June 2, 2010 By David Jacobs

They’re one of the worlds largest and richest companies, and they have no idea about the most fundamental principles of business. Oh they think they know; it’s on their wall somewhere, buried in some mission statement or company goals. Plenty of lip service is given to it as it usual in large companies, but AT&T continues to treat their customers like dirt.

The latest and perhaps most shocking example is the story of Giorgio Galante, an AT&T customer who wrote emails to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson in part to complain about several aspects of his AT&T experience. After the second email in as many weeks, Giorgio received a phone call from AT&T’s “Executive Response Team” thanking him for his feedback and at the same time warning Giorgio if he continued to email the CEO he would be served with a cease and disist letter. Threatening your customer with legal action because he tries to communicate with an officer of the company is so shockingly dumb I am at a loss for words. Is that what they teach you at B School?

It’s not the first time, however, AT&T has acted in such a way. As they were being barraged by complaints about the poor network service AT&T said it was the customers who were using too much data and they would have to look into doing something about that. Yes, our service stinks and it’s your fault mr. customer, so I will have to find a way to penalize you for that. And in fact, AT&T has now found that way, this week announcing dramatic changes to their data plans for smart phones like the iPhone. Unlimited access is gone and customers now much choose between two data plans, both with data limits and charges for going over the limits.

How does AT&T get away with this nonsense? Because they have the iPhone, the most popular cell phone in the world and you cannot buy it from anyone else. Apple may have signed a pact with the devil on this one and like it or not, there is some blowback that Apple suffers from all this as well.

I believe something needs to change drastically in the mobile world. We can no longer allow companies to sign us up for long term (2 year) contracts and then treat us so poorly. Since all the mobile companies seem to be in league with each other on most of these egregious practices, it’s going to take some kind of government action to step in and fight for the American consumer.

In the end, I don’t know what AT&T is thinking on this one. Is Giorgio Galante a pest? Unnecessarily filling up an important CEO’s email with trivial complaints? I don’t care if he is a nusense . He’s a customer, he has a right to be a nusense. He deserves to be treated with respect. He deserves an answer to his questions, not a threat of legal action.

Filed Under: Blog, Marketing, Mobile Computing Tagged With: apple, att, Customer service, iphone, Randall Stephenson, Smartphone

Kids and Ease of Use in Technology

April 4, 2010 By David Jacobs

Any parent with kids probably realizes this, but kids are incredibly savvy with technology. They have no fear or preconceptions about anything, so they are willing to jump in and try anything. It’s one of the things that’s so beautiful about kids, before they get tarnished by the world.

I learn so much from watching my kids work with technology. I learn about the future. Having kids is like living with your own personal crystal ball. I also learn a great deal about user interface and ease of use in tech products. My daughter, when she was just nine, picked up my iPhone and knew just what to do with it, no instruction needed. That’s when I knew it was a most amazingly built device. I think every technology company should have kids employed in their labs to do their user testing. If the 5 year old can master it, you’re ready to ship.

Tyler Gray realized the same thing and put it further to test with his iPad and his 5 year old son Cash. I’ve included the video in this post, and here also is a link to the original Fast Company article.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Technology Tagged With: apple, iPad, iphone, Technology, Usability, User interface

Comic Books and the iPad

February 5, 2010 By David Jacobs

I’ve been saying this for awhile now, comic books on the Apple iPad are a massive opportunity. The large color screen is perfect for this kind of content. I would even argue that it’s a big strategic advantage the iPad has over the Amazon Kindle. The Kindle is the perfect device for black and white books with it’s superior e-ink display but when it comes to content like comics or color magazines, the iPad can do things the Kindle can only dream of. As a comic book lover, I’m pretty excited about the possibility of comics on the iPad and I would seriously consider getting one if for no other reason than to read comics.

There are indications now that Amazon may try to make a new Kindle with color and multi-touch technology, bringing it much closer to an iPad. I think it’s very dangerous for Amazon to rush headlong into a competition with Apple on their own turf. Maybe the smart play is to remain the dominant player in black and white e-ink technology and let Apple have the rest. Amazon’s strength has always been traditional black and white books, not magazines or comics. Here’s an even smarter play, make a full iPad version of the Kindle reader. Amazon needs to remember their focus, they are a bookstore not a hardware manufacturer. By making a great Kindle reader for the iPad, they stand to sell more books from their online bookstore, even possibly cutting into Apple’s store.

2010 will be THE year of the tablet computer as Sony has also said they want to enter this market. No doubt there will be others. 2010 could also be THE year traditional publishing makes the turn to digital distribution. People have been predicting the death of traditional publishing for years now. These new tablet machines go a long way to bringing that prediction to pass.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Technology Tagged With: Amazon Kindle, amazon.com, apple, Comics, E Ink, iPad, Publishing, Sony

Operation Chokehold Seeks To Punish AT&T

December 17, 2009 By David Jacobs

A World of Hurt

AT&T has been in hot water with their customers lately. Spotty network coverage in critical areas like San Francisco and New York have customers angry. Add to that comments made by AT&T CEO of mobility last week that blamed customers and their heavy data usage for the problem and things are just getting worse.

Dan Lyons of Newsweek who writes as “Fake Steve Jobs” wrote a blog post positing that if iPhone users all used data heavy apps at the same time on a particular day it would choke the AT&T network as punishment for their poor service and lack of respect for customers. Dan may have written the post with tongue in cheek but some of his readers think it’s a great idea and it’s been gaining steam across the Internet.

Teachable Moment

Parents often call this a teachable moment, and if this plan goes off it certainly will be.

Lesson 1: You cannot hide from your customers anymore. All of your faults will be exposed and spread widely among friends and foes. The opportunity is in your reaction and response.

Lesson 2: Be very careful what you say because customers are listening and your words will be amplified and once again spread widely. AT&T’s implication that they may penalize customers for heavy data usage went over like a lead balloon and was the spark for this latest outrage.

Lesson 3: Never, ever blame your customers for your problems. Payback’s a bitch so they say and your customers have many ways to hurt you now. A nasty letter to the editor is the least of your problems.

Filed Under: Blog, Marketing, Mobile Computing Tagged With: att, Dan Lyons, Fake Steve Jobs, Flash Mob, iphone, Operation Chokehold

Digital Books and Digital Music: Parallel Futures?

December 15, 2009 By David Jacobs

Amazon.com has scored it’s first big win in securing exclusive electronic rights to publish Stephen Covey’s popular business title 7 Habits of Highly Successful People on the Amazon Kindle. As ebook competition heats up among the Kindle, Barnes and Nobel Nook and others, these companies will seek more exclusive deals with popular authors to gain an advantage for their platform.

I think the really important news, however, is Stephen Covey experimenting with self publishing his own titles, at least the electronic versions. Reportedly the royalty split is more favorable and I’m sure there are other aspects Covey gets more control over with self publishing. The music industry is already going through this right now as many artists are seeing less and less value in the traditional record company. Artists can record, produce, distribute and market their songs all on their own and keep more of the profit and control. Now we can see the first steps of this happening in the publishing world. Stephen Covey is a big name and a best seller. If he can show success with this model, others will likely follow.

It’s not as likely this self publishing senario will flow over into traditional paper bound books as there are real costs there for printing and distribution, unlike electronic books. In fact, Covey says he has no intention at this time of changing his paper book publishing setup. Popular podcast book author Scott Sigler, though, is running a very interesting self publishing experiment with his hardbound book called The Rookie. The Rookie is not the typical horror novel Scott is famous for and as such his publisher Crown Books was not interested in putting the book out. So Sigler started taking pre-orders for the book online, utilizing his lage fan base and social network marketing. Sigler was diligent, making this an exclusive limited print run at a specific price that insured everything was paid for. With some luck, Scott may make a small profit as well.

Self publishing isn’t just for blogs anymore, the whole book industry is about to go through a major disruption in the next several years. More book readers will be released. Tablet computers that may display full color magazines are likely and more. If publishing is to survive they will need to figure out how to utilize this new technology for themselves. If they grip to hard holding onto the old models, they will suffer the same fate as the music industry.

Filed Under: Blog, Marketing, Mobile Computing Tagged With: 7 Habits, amazon.com, eBooks, Kindle, Scott Sigler, Stephen Covey, The Rookie

Apple, Verizon, LTE and the iPhone

October 2, 2009 By David Jacobs

File part of this story firmly in the rumor category, but it does give us an interesting look at the future of mobile communications. Currently the world is split between two main wireless cellular technologies; GSM, used by AT&T and T-Mobile among others and CDMA, primarily used by Sprint and Verizon. It looks like the next generation of technology beyond the current 3G, the so-called 4G technology will be LTE or Long Term Evolution. LTE is being rolled out currently by Verizon and has acceptance from AT&T, T-Mobile and most other vendors. For the first time ever, we may be on a single standard.

Part of the problem with the iPhone is that it is a GSM technology phone, so it will not currently work with Verizon or Sprint. Apple would have to develop a new handset altogether. If the new generation iPhone is LTE, however, this would open up a world of possibilities as it would be technologically compatible with most vendors. I think at this point we may see the ending of the long standing exclusive arrangement with Apple and AT&T. And if Apple ships the phone before AT&T can roll out it’s LTE network, AT&T stands to loose a great deal of customers. AT&T has been running at least a year behind Verizon technologically for the past several years, so I see a dark future for AT&T. AT&T’s customer satisfaction has also been plummeting lately due to their inability to handle the iPhone as it is today.

Bottom line: Apple and its’s customers stand to be big winners and AT&T stands to be a big looser unless AT&T can latch onto another phone that knocks the iPhone out of the box.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing Tagged With: apple, att, iphone, LTE, Verizon

YouTube and Apple: Together We'll Take Over The World

July 1, 2009 By David Jacobs

Well the online video world at least. The latest statistics on the new iPhone 3GS and YouTube are staggering. The iPhone has a history of taking something that has been around for awhile on other mobile phones and blasting it into the mainstream. Browsing the web was nothing new on a mobile phone when the iPhone was launched, but Apple took it to such a level and made it so easy and fun to do, mobile web traffic has exploded since. Now it’s happening with video. Nokia phones especially have always been great for taking video, but it has taken the new iPhone 3GS with it’s built in video capabilities to make it massively popular. Again, Apple takes mobile video to the next level by allowing simple on phone editing and super simple distribution to YouTube. I’ve always thought mobile video was going to be the next big thing and it looks like the new iPhone is going to confirm that thought.

What does it mean for your business? All this new video is going to drive more people to YouTube to watch. It will solidify YouTube’s dominance in the online video world. If you are doing any kind of video for your company and you do not have a YouTube channel yet, you are passing up a massive opportunity. You simply cannot afford not to be on YouTube. You should also be watching and monitoring YouYube for videos about your company or your industry. What are people saying, what are they thinking? This is the best market research/customer opinion lab you have ever had. You may not like all the content, but you had better pay attention and be ready to respond and engage.

What kind of opportunities are you giving your customers, your raving fans to share their videos? Maybe you should share the best YouTube videos on your main website. What other ways can you encourage people to create good video content about your company? These are the kinds of things you should be brainstorming with your social media consultant. Don’t have one? You might want to give me a call, I’m happy to help.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Video Tagged With: apple, google, iPhone 3GS, online video, youtube

Google Android is Coming

April 23, 2008 By David Jacobs

According to reports T-Mobile will be first out of the gate with mobile phones based on the new Google Android specification. I am excited to see what becomes of this and I hope Android phones are sucessful. We need more competition in the mobile market when it comes to software. Palm has been left for dead and Nokia is not a player outside of Europe. The iphone has been the only real breath of fresh air in the market in years.

Although many will play it off as such, I don’t see Android as competition as much for the iPhone as it is for Microsoft and Windows Mobile. Google is taking the Microsoft approach, not focusing on hardware at all, but providing a software platform upon which many phones can be built. Apple’s iPhone is a unique experience unto itself and I think it will continue to stand apart. The pressure is really going to be on for Microsoft to make Windows Mobile more compelling.

What all this means in general is that the mobile market will continue to accelerate and companies had better start thinking about how mobile fits into their plans. Already I am disappointed that my bank Washington Mutual has no mobile access to their online banking. Customers will soon factor mobile access into their buying decisions when looking at things like online banking and bill payment.

Synchronization features will also be an important part of any new product or service. Ideally I want my data synced between my desktop, mobile and Internet. Evernote is a new note taking program that I am loving and it does a masterful job of synchronization. All they need now is a better iPhone client.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Technology Tagged With: android, google, microsoft, mobile phone, windows mobile

Me and My iPhone

December 30, 2007 By David Jacobs

The iPhone still gets attention when you carry one in public and someone recently asked me “is it really that good?” I had to say, you know what, it actually is. After all the hype, pomp and circumstance, the iPhone does deliver on most of its promises on a day to day basis.

As a phone it works quite well and there are so many small things in the interface and the way things work that really make a difference. It’s the best cell phone I have ever owned, hands down.

As a mobile Internet device, again, the best I have ever used, no question. The ability to view full web pages and the way the multi-touch works is stunning. The lack of Flash support, however, is really bugging me. I’m watching more video online now and I would love to be able to do so with the iPhone. This is the single biggest drawback for me of the iPhone. The pokey EDGE network isn’t as bad as you might think, but the additional of real 3G speed in 2008 will be a very welcome addition.

As an iPod, where the iPhone really shines is in video. Having the beautiful clear widescreen is great. As cool as multi-touch is, for music, I actually prefer the old scroll wheel on the iPod Classic. The wheel is ingenious and can be used without even looking at it. I can pause, play and change tracks just by the tactile feel of the wheel. With the iPhone, there is no tactile feedback, so this is not possible. It’s a trade-off obviously for the multi-touch, but as a pure iPod, I still love the scroll wheel.

Basic productivity is fair on the device. The lack of the syncing of notes and the failure to include a todo function at all are very surprising. I have no problems with the virtual keyboard and can type quite quickly and accurately on it. It was a cause of great consternation when it was introduced but for me it’s a non issue.

Overall, I love my iPhone and wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s one of the best pieces of technology I have ever owned. After years of little or no innovation in the mobile market, Apple has set the bar high for everyone else and it will be a great thing for consumers that competitors will have to start chasing them. I think we’re going to see a whole new renaissance in the mobile space in 2008, leading to an even more connected world.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Technology Tagged With: mobilecomputing iphone productivity

Web Development in the iPhone'ed Mobile World

December 13, 2007 By David Jacobs

With great fanfare, Steve Jobs told the world the one of the biggest innovations of the iphone was bringing the “real” internet to a mobile device for the first time. No more junior, stripped down websites, with the iPhone you can view entire original websites as they were intended to be viewed.

Because the iPhone did not ship with the ability to run third party native applications, Jobs boldly told the development community they should build web 2.0 applications that would be just as good as native applications. Than Apple release development guidelines detailing how developers could build custom web applications formatted perfectly for the iPhone.

Thousands of web applications have sprung up for the iPhone, many of them very useful and well done. But these are custom applications that only run on the iPhone. What about the rest of the mobile market? What ever happened to the “real” internet? The point that you didn’t need to develop any kind of special or stripped down version of a site just to view it on a mobile phone? Apple has fallen into its own bear trap. I’m not complaining too much, being an iPhone user myself, but the rest of the mobile world is getting a little bit of a rip off with more development time being put into iphone specific web applications.

If you’re a business and you are looking to make some noise in the mobile market, should you create an iPhone custom web app? Probably, especially if you believe your target customer is likely to own an iPhone, but don’t forget about the rest of the mobile universe. It’s still a great deal bigger than the iPhone market, at least for now.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Technology, Web 2.0 Tagged With: apple, iphone, mobile, webdevelopment

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