Category Archives: Mobile

Could mobile be the mechanism by which Blockbuster finally makes its comeback? A new app has been announced by Blockbuster, which would take the movie rental service in an entirely new mobile direction. The app will run on Android and Windows mobile phones, with an emphasis on OnDemand programing and download options.

It’s the downloading capabilities that will set Blockbuster apart from the rest, as most other movie rental services don’t allow content downloading for on-demand movie rentals. Netflix, for instance, only offers streaming for its mobile apps. Other contenders such as DirecTV enable users to remotely interact with their satellite service, but the movie streaming is even less of an option for mobile devices.

On the other side of things, Blockbuster is still competing with the likes of Redbox, another physical kiosk that offers easy and cheap movie rentals on the fly. Though Redbox doesn’t have a digital presence (especially on the mobile front), it has become a threat to Blockbuster over the long term.

It is because of these other options that Blockbuster has needed to turn to technology in order to regain a foothold in the movie rental business. Always trying to one-up its competitors, Blockbuster’s Android and Windows mobile app will, for the most part, be a viable alternative to iTunes movie download rentals. Content will be DRM-protected, giving Android and Windows mobile users their own version of iTunes.

Being that kind of iTunes alternatives has its own downfall, however. The Blockbuster OnDemand app can’t run on Apple products, as it voilates Apple’s terms for saving movies on its devices. So while the Blockbuster OnDemand app will be available on Android devices (many of which are being manufactured by Motorolla) and the upcoming HTC Mini which is running Windows Mobile, Blockbuster can’t launch its app on the iPhone or the media-centric iPad, currently undergoing pre-sale orders.

According to ReadWriteWeb, Blockbuster may be working on an alternative app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. In that case, a streaming and downloadable option may be the way in which Blockbuster actually gets a leg up on the majority of its competitors. The presence of such apps further validates mobile platforms outside of Apple’s, and enables consumers to have a few more choices when it comes to the diverse media capabilities of non-iPhones.

There is no limit to the quantity of iPhone apps out there. From apps that make silly noises to apps that calculate your tip on a dinner out, the selection is almost limitless. A new app, Zoetica, launched today offers a solution for those interested in the nonprofit world (an interest of mine). The Zoetica iPhone app aggregated nonprofit tech and social change blog posts, making sure the content is at your fingertips at all times. Continuing with the nonprofit theme, the application is free of cost in the iTunes store.

What makes Zoetica different than other news aggregators is that Beth Kanter, Social Media and Nonprofit expert, hand selects the blog feeds that are ultimately aggregated into the app, ensuring the user will receive the most relevant information in the space. The app was created through a partnership with AppMakr and is in itself an example of the possible use of such a tool for a nonprofit. The service makes app development possible for groups with limited budgets and limited tech skills, something many nonprofits can use. AppMakr offers different price points that allow for almost any marketing budget to include an app in the plan.

For more information about the application as well as possible uses for nonprofits, please visit Beth Kanter’s blog

With the coming of the iPad, we’re sure to see a lot more wireless keyboard and mouse functionality. While development around such technology has been moving along for some time, we don’t yet have many good use cases for it. Nevertheless, a new interface option for a keypad comes ready-made–on your hand! Skinput has created an armband that projects a keypad onto your own skin, which can then be used as a keypad.

Interesting stuff, for sure, but it gets better. Skinput’s armband also has an acoustic sensor so it can further determine which buttons you intend on pushing based on the sound it makes when you touch your skin. It makes sense, particularly as things like heat sensors may have a tendency to vary too widely across different bodies. Sound, on the other hand, is something that can be used on small scales for such machines, despite our own inability to make heads or tails of a body tap on the forearm versus the palm.

As more touch-sensitive devices emerge, we’re going to see an increased amount of inclusion from different factors beyond just the touch itself. HTC made its touch-screen phones stand apart from the iPhone’s by incorporating heat sensors for fluidity and increased sensitivity towards a user’s intent.

Determining that intent is what Skinput and similar companies developing this type of technology is after. It makes for highly aware devices that can work in different scenarios, including a projected keypad on our own bodies. Finding different ways in which to incorporate touch-sensitive technology is a huge push towards ongoing mobile device development, especially as companies look to create the next revolutionary mobile phone.

As Apple has filed suit against HTC for patent infringement, it becomes even more important that device manufacturers look to new technology they can incorporate into upcoming products. Even as Apple has created standards around its sleek and innovative touch screen phone, there’s room for improvement. Yet those standards, which call for smaller devices and improved interactivity, are also helping to drive interest behind that desire for touch-technology.

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Developers of Apple iPhone apps have noticed something new on their end–an Explicit category for iPhone apps. While the new category isn’t available in the iTunes store yet, its presence on the developers side of things suggests that Apple is looking to modify its app store and the criteria that goes along with a given application being accepted into the iTunes App Store itself.

The discovery comes shortly after Apple banned an overtly sexual app that was created for the iPhone’s mobile app platform, despite it being no more explicit than other apps already accepted into the App Store. The app banning was the last straw for many developers that have been seeking clarification from Apple as to what can and cannot be incorporated into a particular iPhone app. With confusion rising around the criteria Apple uses to determine which apps make it through the approval process and which apps are rejected, Apple has been stirring the pot and having to deal with a lot of frustrated developers, more than two years after launching the iPhone.

Some had even hoped that the Explicit category would appear with the latest iPhone device release, tough that didn’t happen. It’s a step that many platforms used for media distribution are hesitant to make, for mobile platforms, on-demand television and film content, and user-generated content. Finding the best way to deal with new and budding platforms as well as the established concept of tiered distribution to fit everyone’s needs is something that has not sped along with the mainstream adoption of certain technology, at least not without being labeled as taboo.

What this particular situation does highlight, however, is the need for Apple to improve its relationships with its developers and end users. The addition of an explicit category could prove to be an acceptable answer for dealing with the plight of concerned parents as well as developers looking for answers.

This is also something other developers and platforms can learn from. Google’s Android platform is open source, meaning it’s a great deal easier to push an app through to the Android market in comparison to the iTunes App Store. The open source tactic has caused its own set of problems for Google, given the security breaches some apps have benefited from for certain banking apps. So it’s clear that an acceptable medium needs to be met. For the time being, we’ll just look forward to the Explicit category from Apple, which would come just in time for the iPad release.