A Store is Comming to a Phone Near You!

New term MAS: Mobile Application Store. Interesting article in Vision Mobile.

Here is a list of some of the MAS or efforts that plan to add MAS to their developer offerings:

• Apples iPhone AppStore is up and running with payment through Apple iTunes and developers get 70% cut.
  
• Google has a Market for Android where they now allow payment and promise 70% cut to developers. You choose the Payment Processor. Here is the Developer Distribution Agreement. Articles on Market in Rethink Wireless: Google to let paid-for apps into Andorid Marked, Android Market officially opens
  
• RIM is planning Blackberry Application Storefront to open in March and will use PayPal to process payments. It promises 80% cut for developers.
  
• Microsoft is planning an application store for Windows Mobil called SkyMarket. This is done in conjunction with upgrade to WM 6.
• Palm has created a Software Store that also deliver to Windows Mobile devices.
• O2 in the UK has a store named Litmus with a developer community. At present it seems to be web only but there are (probably) plans for an on-device version.
  
• T-Mobile plans a devPartner Community Store in 2009. At present it is just a developer community.
• Nokia Download! has exited for some time (since 2006) but not taken off... Why is shortly discussed in the article mentioned at the top.
• GetJar is a MAS, and rather successfull, but does not have an on-device store front.
• Handango offers InHand, an on-device storefront which features ratings, recommended and best seller apps. InHand can be freely downloaded from the Handango site and in some cases comes pre-loaded on handsets.
• mPortal offers a white label client-server product that combines an on-device storefront, application provisioning, aggregation of 3rd party application catalogs and integration with operator billing. Also known for having powered Disney Mobile’s on-device portal.
  
• Adobe is working on AppZone - or... Found little on the net and somebody else owns appzone.com...
  

Who is next to announce a store? And maybe I forgot some?

Apple also has MobileMe, that allows smartphone users to back-up, restore, sync and share data. Microsoft is planning something similar called Skybox and an Exchange version called Skyline. What are the others planning? Rethink Wireless on Microsoft to joins software store race. Are there others in the same game?

Google the phone company

I've written a short piece about Google the Phone Company.   Bjørn

What we have been waiting for: Skype mobile

From Rethink Wireless editorial today:

The lite client brings the full functionality of the VoIP application to Android and Java phones, but uses the voice network to connect to an internet server and complete the call, and the data network for presence applications. Meanwhile, the MID implementation is a first step towards a platform suited to Wi-Fi, WiMAX, 3G and LTE, said Skype.

Finally Skype moved to the mobile platform!

Who needs Television to view sports?

At http://www.myp2p.eu/ you find links to all kinds of sports that are shown on Web-TV.

If you are looking for e.g. a match with Arsenal that you can't see unless you pay for a sports channel from your cable TV operator, you will find it here. Maybe its sent from an Arabic channel - but who cares. You see the goals anyway!

And while your watching you chat with your friends with MSN, GTalk or something. You just have to make sure you watch the same channel so you get the events at the same time. You would not like to watch togeather with someone who gets to view the goal 30 seconds before you do...

New Android MID - like Android version of iPod touch

Links:

GiiNii's Movit Mini WiFi Android tablet hands-on
Hands On Giinii Movit Mini: The Android Tablet

A built-in mic and front-facing camera lend themselves to out-of-the-box Skype support, there's also Bluetooth and a built-in speaker.

Sadly, there's only 256MB of internal storage, but there's an microSD slot for expansion.

Price guess around $150.

GiiNii link - they sell cameras, picture frames, HDTV - California and China based.

- Bjørn og Else

The future of TV

I've written a short piece about the future of TV. My point of view is that TV is gradually becoming a part of the internet (and vice versa) both technically and culturally, the blog entry explores this issue a little bit. - Bjørn

Has OpenID lost its mojo?

I've written a short piece on OpenID titled "Has OpenID lost its mojo?" The short answer is "no, but there are certainly some issues to be adressed" the longer answer is the blog entry itself ;)