The future of AR ~ Google Glasses

Jolla, the new kid on the block, secures carrier and chipset deal

Not so long ago I was blogging about the "reincarnation" of Nokia through Jolla, which now we hear that has secured a first carrier and chipset deal. Mobile Business Briefing is reporting that "Jolla, the Finnish start-up aiming to build phones based on Nokia’s former MeeGo OS, has struck a deal with Finland’s number-three mobile operator DNA, which has agreed to market Jolla smartphones based on its MeeGo-based ‘Sailfish’ platform in Finland."
Read more here: Jolla inks first carrier, chipset deals for Sailfish phones, Articles | Mobile Business Briefing:
'via Blog this'

Mobile banking and payment the French way

Last week I found myself queuing in a bank and while rolling my eyes around in search of visual distraction amongst the redundancy of impersonal banking promo, I noticed something resembling an iPhone. Getting closer, I realized it was a flyer advertising the institution' s mobile banking and payment services executed in ... an attention grabbing way.

So I decided to look into what are France's biggest banks doing in the area of mobile from a communications stand point. I went on their websites as any potential customer would do when informing him/herself about what's on offer and noted my first impressions, browsed around and here is what I have found:

BNP Paribas

• General Presentation: Streaming down from their on line banking strategy, BNP Paribas mobile banking and payment offer is well presented within a dedicated section of the website. It also features a partnership with the mobile operator Orange and offers for customers.
• Access: Accessing the mobile section is easy: click on the main website's navigation button ''Mobile''
• Service structure: The mobile service gathers under one ''catalogue'' application ''All my Apps'' the mobile banking and the mobile payment services, with supporting functionalities such as auto assistant  property damage declaration (via phone call), travel assistant, money transfer, NFC,etc. The partnership with Orange lets clients choose a new  package and a handset or a NFC sim card. If you choose to recycle your handset with love2recycle.fr, you get a discount applied to your new phone. You can choose your new handset without leaving the bank's website. 
• Multimedia: Presence of promo videos, however their soundtrack is a bit distracting from understanding the message, it is assumed that the target audience is the young and hip who can grasp tech savvy offers on the go. The iPhone look alike print flyer is attention grabbing but its cluttered with info and visuals.
• Con: My first impression was a bit confusing, it took some time to make sense of it all.
• Pro: Comprehensive offer under one umbrella with good user interface. For the mobile payments, integration with Orange and choice of package. Good presentation: what you see is what you get.

Societe Generale:

• General presentation: SG 's services have a dedicated  ''.mobi'' domain. It seemed to me that practicality was emphasized above fresh, hip packaging which might be a reflection of their target market for this particular service: a cautious, mature customer.
• Access: Not so easy if you don't know the .mobi address (which is accessible only from the phone) : societegenerale.mobi. The mobile service is buried within the website and it requires several click throughs. 
• Service structure: Standard mobile banking functionalities within a downloadable app. A currency converter is a welcomed addition to the basic bundle of your account, savings and expenses, etc.
• Multimedia: no distracting soundtrack, a simple, guided tour of the app which I think does its job well. 
• Con: It seemed too generic.
• Pro: Focused to the management of ones account/money. It also indicates the different ways of reaching the service: sms, store, QR, PC. Simple and clear. 

Credit Agricole

• General presentation: Mobile services labelled as'' My mobile Bank'' dedicated space. Friendly user experience yet simple and clear. 
• Access: Easy access through a navigation button on the homepage. 
• Service structure: Offer tailored to the banks main financial and insurance products. In the insurance category, the standalone app allows for taking pictures of the damage done to property and send the declaration via the app. However, unlike in BNP Paribas' s case, apps are individually downloadable (about 6 of them) as opposed to having them under a master-app roof, in one download. Also all of them are Paribas's branded, while CA mobile payment app KWIXO redirects to a 3rd party.
• Multimedia: Each app linked to a different location, whether app store or external 3rd party website, on which explanation is provided.
• Con: One app wasn't available; six individual downloads instead of merging all in one.
• Pro: Simplicity and the picture functionality in the property damage declaration app. 

Feature: NFC tour of Milan, Latest Videos | Mobile World Live

Take an NFC tour of Milan with Managing Editor of Mobile World Live, Justin Springham and get acquainted with how consumers use this up-and-coming technology.

BlackBerry 10 out on January 30

After touching upon BlackBerry's slum in my Innovation Needs To Lead Events blog, I am happy to hear that it is not over for RIM. GIGAOM reports that RIM prepares for comeback bid with Jan 30 launch for BlackBerry 10.  Here is an excerpt from RIM's CEO, Thorsten Heins:

“Our team has been working tirelessly to bring our customers innovative features combined with a best in class browser, a rich application ecosystem, and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities. All of this will be integrated into a user experience – the BlackBerry Flow – that is unlike any smartphone on the market today. Thanks to our strong partnerships with global carriers and a growing ecosystem of developers, we believe our customers will have the best experience possible with BlackBerry 10. We are looking forward to getting BlackBerry 10 in the hands of our customers around the world.”

It will be an uphill battle. Many of BlackBerry's devote followers were forced to switch to other brands such as iPhone and Samsung, even Nokia. I remember one of my friends, who at one time had defended the BlackBerry amidst everything that was going on, has already gone through iPhone 4 and 5 and I am sure will not think twice when a new one comes up for sale. It is time RIM sets on the path of nourishing a new community of devotees and win the ground back.

Mobile apps upending video game industry - Business - The Boston Globe

Mobile apps upending video game industry - Business - The Boston Globe:

Quote of the day(excerpt from Michael B. Farrell `s article ) : "Indeed, many of the area’s newest game makers are skipping the console side of the business entirely and focusing solely on games for the mobile market.

“We have all our eggs in this basket, and we think it’s the right basket at the right time,” said Dave Bisceglia, chief executive officer of The Tap Lab, a Cambridge developer that will release its new mobile game, ­Tiny Tycoons, later this year." 

'via Blog this'

What do you know about the gaming industry?

Mobile and gaming are converging more and more, here are some interesting stats to know:
  Source:www.esrb.org

All Hurricanes Since 1851 | Flickr

First, thumbs up for the job, second, I`d like to have this as a poster in my room:

Imagine the movie line:

-Hey, baby, wana`see all the hurricanes since 1851? ha ha...

Toutes les tailles | Hurricanes Since 1851 | Flickr : partage de photos !:

'via Blog this'