Using smart phones as navigation tools is all the rage these days, what with a slew of applications available for the iPhone and Android platforms that utilize those devices' built-in GPS systems in determining users' real-time location.
One such service is from Waze, which in August released its iPhone app after being available on Android for several months. Waze's service is meant to help drivers figure out where they are and how best to get where they're going, all with the help of a large community of other motorists.
Waze gives users many different views of the road, including this one, in which users' avatars turn into a Pac-Man-type creature when going down previously undiscovered roads.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)Among the information that Waze provides are traffic flow, road reports, and warnings about where drivers might run into speed traps.
At DemoFall 09 in San Diego on Tuesday, Waze plans to unveil its latest steps forward, which include rolling out its service on every major smart phone platform (except BlackBerry) and offering, for the first time, voice prompts for directions.
That could be good news for users of, say, Symbian-based smart phones, in cities where AT&T service is spotty. And that's important because even in a city like San Francisco, using Waze on an iPhone--with AT&T as the only service provider--meant being subject to areas where there was a significant delay in information showing up on the screen.
Further, because the service will now be available on other platforms, it means that the overall amount of data available to drivers--via the crowdsourced nature of the system--will be broader. And, because users until now have had to occasionally look at their small screens to see where they need to go, the voice prompts may well mean an easier--and safer--way to get to a destination.
Waze's application begins as a standard turn-by-turn directions tool and also offers a slew of other features, many of which give drivers something fun to look out for as they make their way to wherever they're going.
"At the end of the day," said Di-Ann Eisnor, Waze's community geographer, Waze is "about a community of drivers helping to build this map."
The company is counting on one part being fun for drivers: seeing where anyone else who's using the system is.
That may be fun for a while, but the application is really about making for a better driving experience, and that will rely on a critical mass of users. Rolling out on Android and iPhone first was a good way to ensure a significant number of drivers, especially tech-savvy ones, had access to it right from the get-go. But only time will tell if the new platforms the service will be on will make a difference in producing that critical mass.
For CNET News' latest coverage from DemoFall 09, click here.
Asurion Mobile AddressBook lets Android users add new context to their traditional contacts list. The application was one of several for mobile devices on display at Demo 09.
(Credit: Asurion Mobile Applications)PALM DESERT, Calif.--Last September, at DemoFall, I wrote that the most obvious trend in evidence at the technology showcase confab was the prevalence of iPhone apps. It seemed that at least a couple of dozen of the 72 companies at that show were putting at least part of their product offering on Apple's hit device.
Here at Demo 09, I figured that that ratio would jump, or at least stay about the same. But everything is smaller this time around--just 39 companies are presenting, for example, and there are hundreds fewer attendees--and as far as I can tell, the iPhone is hardly the hot platform.
Still, there are a number of companies who have turned to the iPhone--or other mobile devices--as the basis of their offerings. And in fact, a number of them have been grouped together into an afternoon session called "iLove my iPhone." But despite that title, only a few of them actually had dedicated iPhone apps.
Nevertheless, the companies grouped into this session--Coveroo, Promptu Systems, HAM-IT, Asurion Mobile Applications, bluBuzz and Skout--have some pretty interesting technology and services going on. How many of them will last is certainly unknown, but that's no different than any other product category at Demo or elsewhere in the tech business.
Maybe the most interesting of these applications, Asurion Mobile AddressBook, isn't actually available (yet) for the iPhone. For now, it's only on Android. As an iPhone user, though, I can still appreciate Android apps, especially ones that are smart and provide some all-new functionality.
The Mobile AddressBook is a cool app that brings a lot of fresh context to the staid list of names and phone numbers with which all of us are so familiar. Now, Android users will be able to link directly to the Flickr photo sets, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds of those in their contact lists.
That's pretty cool--being able to go directly from the address book to, say, a friend's Flickr photos. But what's even better is that Asurion is making available an open API that will allow third-party developers to link other social tools to the contact list. That can be almost anything you can imagine. In addition, there will be what are called "smart contacts" for companies like airlines. So, you could have Southwest Airlines in your contact list, and click straight through from there to see upcoming itineraries or your account information.
Of course, Palm's Pre is built around much the same functionality--but as an Android app, and perhaps for iPhone later, this allows someone to get these features without having to dedicate themselves to Palm's new phone.
Another very interesting app on display is Skout, a social-dating service for a multitude of platforms, including the iPhone.
Skout requires users to sign up, but once they do, anyone using a compatible phone--the service requires GPS--will be able to see other members who are somewhere nearby. And for each person that pops up, you can see how far away they are and their profile and add them to a friends list.
Skout has an iPhone app that lets people flirt with any other user of the service that are nearby. It utilizes GPS to determine who is nearby, and has social networking features that combine well with more traditional dating service tools.
(Credit: Skout)Whether this will actually help anyone find love is unknown, but the idea is interesting. There have certainly been plenty of mobile social applications in the past--remember Dodgeball? But by making this an opt-in system and combining GPS, this quickly becomes perhaps the most advanced such app I've ever heard of.
The next notable iPhone app was Promptu Systems' ShoutOut, a voice-to SMS system for the platform. This is pretty simple--it does just what it sounds like: it converts spoken phrases to text, which can then be sent out as a text message.
You might ask why you'd want to use such a system, but then think about how often you might want to send someone a text message while driving, and how unsafe doing that can be. In this case, you could simply hold the iPhone up to your mouth, say what you want to say, and then have the ShoutOut technology convert your words to text, which you can edit if necessary, and then send off.
I wonder how popular this will be, but given how dangerous it is to text and drive, I'm hopeful that something like this will become popular, since there's very little chance that drivers are going to stop trying to communicate just because they're behind the wheel.
And, ShoutOut does the same voice to text translation for Twitter, meaning that you can send a tweet from your iPhone without having to type it in.
A much more physical modification of your mobile device is Coveroo's laser-etching service.
This is just what it sounds like: A system that allows you to have an image etched on to the back of your device, be it an iPhone, a BlackBerry, an iPod or one of dozens of others. The company has a collection of more than 200 licensed images--from, say, "The Simpsons"--and it can also work with any custom image sent to it.
I've written about laser-etching services before; as a consumer-facing business, this started with Adafruit Laser Services, a New York company that would etch any laptop, iPod, or cell phone. And in many ways, what Coveroo is doing is not that much different.
In addition to selling personalized cell phone covers, Coveroo will soon offer custom-engraved laptops, as well.
(Credit: Coveroo)But in some ways, it is. In particular, the licensed images gives Coveroo the ability to attract customers with very popular movie or TV show characters. In addition, the company is also hoping to license its technology to retailers in the hopes that places like Best Buy or mobile phone retailers will offer etching services to customers right when they're buying their devices.
Further, Coveroo is serving as a reseller of some devices, in the sense that customers can order a new phone, have it etched, and then sent to them.
At $10 to $50, this seems like an inexpensive (especially at the lower end) way to personalize a mobile device, or even protect it against theft.
A couple of mobile applications on display here at Demo I'm not so sure about are bluBuzz's Bluetooth advertising platform and HAM-IT's own customer and service provider matching service.
BluBuzz has built a system that allows companies to reach out to mobile device owners with instant offers--via Bluetooth. The idea is that for anyone who has signed up with the service, a special offer from a business is just a ping away. The location-aware technology can put out a signal that travels up to 1,000 feet. So, if, say, an ice-cream shop has a special flavor today, it can push out an ad to anyone in the area who has signed up for BluBuzz--who will then have the offer appear on their device.
It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure how many people will sign up. Further, I can imagine it being somewhat annoying to have offers popping up on my phone from time to time, though the company promises that it will be unintrusive. Still, I remain skeptical.
Lastly, HAM-IT has built a system that matches service providers with customers looking for specific kinds of services. It's mainly not a mobile application, but does have a mobile component that will allow someone on, say, an iPhone, to say they're looking for an accountant in Boston, and any accountants in that city who use HAM-IT will offer up their business.
This seems like a service that few people will use on their devices, and I can't really see it being successful. It may be better on the Web, but in focusing on the mobile side of things, this looks less than essential to me.
Update 6:08 p.m. PST: This story has been changed to add comment from Google, and to address streaming adult content on the iPhone.
LAS VEGAS--Apple might not want anything to do with it, but if one thing is clear, it's that porn on the iPhone is going to be huge.
While there don't seem to be any porn-related apps available for the iPhone, there is a plethora of adult entertainment available on the Web, and a growing amount of that content is being optimized for Apple's hit device.
At the Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) here Friday, I had a chance to talk to two executives from Digital Playground, one of the world's leading porn producers, about the latest technological advances their company, and their competitors, are implementing, and it seems that the iPhone is a very big piece of the puzzle.
AEE is being put on at the same time as the Consumer Electronics Show, and many at the adult show are looking to CES for new technology to adapt their content for.
One major goal for Digital Playground is to make as much of its content available on the iPhone as possible, said the company's founder and director, a man who goes by the name of Joone. Essentially, the idea is to make the device an extension of the Web, so that when people buy memberships, they can watch movies on their computer, or on their iPhone, without having to distinguish between the available content.
The front door of the iPhone-optimized Digital Playground Web site. The company is one of the leaders in making adult content available for the iPhone.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News)"We're trying to make it transparent," Joone said, "so that guy doesn't have to worry about whether to purchase something new, so he can say, 'I want to watch it on my iPhone, or I want to watch it on my computer.'"
Joone said these days the tools available to content producers make it extremely easy to port content produced originally for the Web to the iPhone. As a result, Digital Playground--and its competitors--are going to have to put much of their efforts in this area into figuring out how to give their customers the best possible, and simplest, user experience.
"Just click and watch," Joone said. "So it might not give the same kind of experience as on a computer, but you get to what you want pretty quickly."
To date, said Farley Cahen, Digital Playground's vice president of new media, the company has made about 300 full-length movies available for the iPhone, and that it has the first fully-optimized site for the platform.
What that means, he said, is that users can simply enter the normal Digital Playground URL into their iPhone instead of needing some special mobile URL. The site "sniffs" the device and automatically brings up the optimized site, Cahen explained.
"You can sort by performer, keyword, or movie title," Cahen said, "and over Wi-Fi, or 3G, it works really well."
Of course, Digital Playground isn't the only adult content producer making their movies available on the iPhone. A Google search for "iPhone porn" returns millions of results. But Digital Playground seems to be among the most committed to building an iPhone-optimized site suitable for large amounts of its content.
Down the line, he said, there are a series of advances coming to the company's iPhone library.
One, he said, is the ability to parse a movie by scene, since, as he said, "a lot of adult content is consumed in scenes, rather than full-length."
For now, the point is, someone watching a Digital Playground movie on the iPhone would need to either watch it straight through, or fast-forward to his or her desired point.
Another innovation, he said, would be social aspects, like ratings and the ability to see which clips have been viewed the most times.
And so, combined with the company's DVD offerings, as well as its traditional Web content, the growing availability of Digital Playground movies for the iPhone means it can "allow our consumer to access our content in the highest quality however, wherever, and whenever they want."
Cahen said that Digital Playground wants the ability to make an iPhone application, which would make it even easier for its users to access its content. But Apple has made it clear: No porn apps.
I asked him if Google's Android phone might offer an alternative, given that Google is far more hands-off about what kinds of apps it is allowing on its smartphone than Apple, though it does have restrictions on the applications available through its official Android Market.
Cahen suggested that while Android seems to present Digital Playground and other adult content producers the option to create applications, he said he is not yet sold on the platform.
"They're a ways off from actually competing with the iPhone" on functionality, he said. "The general features of the iPhone far outweigh the (Android) features."
A Google spokesperson said, "Android Market is not the only source for Android applications. Any Web site can post applications for download which can be installed via the Android browser. However, we have built the Market to ensure quality applications and security for the user, and we recommend safe downloads through this service.
For Digital Playground, making content available on mobile platforms isn't just altruism. In fact, Cahen said, the company has a tremendous conversion rate for people who visit its iPhone site.
As a result, the company is going to continue to work on new developments for the platform, and Cahen said the biggest innovation that it will have down the line is likely to be streaming porn.
However, some other producers, such as Pornhub, already offer streaming adult content.
For companies like Digital Playground, streaming may well be a holy grail. Cahen said he sees a huge demand for live streaming video of porn stars doing their business, even including their preparations for work.
EA will release three games, Tetris, Bejeweled, and Monopoly, for Google's Android platform. Here, a user shows off Pac-Man on an Android-powered phone.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)Electronic Arts announced Wednesday three games for Google's Android mobile phone platform.
The publisher said that Tetris will be available immediately and that two other games, the monster hit Bejeweled and Monopoly Here & Now, will be launched in November.
EA has already released at least five games for Apple's iPhone, including Tetris, Spore Origins, and Scrabble.
The move to bring games to Android is sure to be a boost for the platform, given EA's size and influence and the fact that on the iPhone, games have become some of the most popular apps of all. However, there's no way yet to tell how many people will download the games on Android. In addition, EA didn't say whether it was planning to charge for the titles.
The three games are being provided by EA Mobile.
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