Written by Rudy De Waele of m-trends.org and edited by Richard MacManus. This kicks off a mini-series of posts on the topic of Mobile 2.0, which we will explore on R/WW this week.
On the eve of Le Web 3 in Paris - and one month after the Web 2.0 Summit concluded - it seems like an appropriate
time to explore the world of the mobile Web, a.k.a. mobile 2.0. There has been a lot of
discussion lately on this topic, a good deal of it inspired by the mobile 2.0 event - a one-day event held on 6
November 2006, organized by Daniel Appelquist and
Mike Rowehl.
In the closing session
about carriers and operators at the Under The Radar:
Mobility Conference on 16 November 2006, I heard an Executive Director from Verizon
Wireless using the term "Mobile 2.0". Also Orange (France Telecom) is sponsoring one of
the biggest web 2.0 related conferences in Europe, Le Web
3 in Paris. The fact that carriers/operators are now linking their brand name to web
2.0/mobile 2.0 related content and conferences, shows that progress is being made. Web
2.0 inspired projects going mobile and/or mobile 2.0 projects have been considered as
things to avoid for carriers/operators up till now, since they are disruptive to their
current business models.
So does this mean, with the carriers/operators entering the space now, that mobile 2.0 is finally taking off?
Definitely in Europe. What the Web 2.0 Summit completely ignored is being picked up by Le Web 3 conference organizer Loïc Le Meur, who is including a panel on Mobility 2.0. It's being run by Charlie Schick from Nokia and Marko Ahtisaari from Blyk (the 1st pan-European free mobile operator). Another panel features Jyri Engeström from Jaiku.com and Felix Petersen from Plazes.
It's absolutely necessary
that more connections are made between the players in the web 2.0 sphere (a.k.a. next
generation web apps & services) and what some Mobilists are calling mobile 2.0. What
we mean by 'mobile 2.0' is another (r)evolution, already started, that will dramatically
change the web and the mobility landscape that we currently know. The idea is that the
mobile web will become the dominant access method in many countries of the world, with
devices that become more hybrid and networks that become more powerful - everywhere in
the next decade to come.
The rapid penetration of Wireless Broadband Access (WBA) technologies such as 3G/UMTS, the migration of traditional telecom networks to internet technology, the availability of affordable and functional Wi-Fi and dual mode Wi-Fi/mobile phones... will all boost VoIP over broadband internet and ultimately blur the distinction between fixed and mobile services, since both become wireless and IP based.
I often ask myself the question of whether it'll be easier for web 2.0 apps to go mobile, or easier to create a mobile-specific web app or a service that can be easily connected with a web service? The answer is of course that both have a good chance to become even more important aspects of tomorrow's Web than they are now. Why? Well Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, put it very well in a Financial Times article in May this year (subscription only):
"Mobile phones are cheaper than PCs, there are three times more of them, growing at twice the speed, and they increasingly have Internet access. What is more, the World Bank estimates that more than two-thirds of the world's population lives within range of a mobile phone network. Mobile is going to be the next big Internet phenomenon. It holds the key to greater access for everyone - with all the benefits that entails."
Increasingly we assume
that our PC is always connected, however the mobile device cannot yet guarantee such
'always on' connectivity - because the mobile network doesn't work the same way. This
might be one of the few hurdles left to overcome for mobile 2.0 apps and services going
mass market.
Non-carrier projects like Google Wi-Fi and FON aim to make cities completely Wi-Fi accessible. From personal experience I can tell you that people are going to use these alternative options to connect to the internet, once it's available on their mobile devices.
Mobilist blogger Enrique C. Ortiz sees another hindrance (and I think he's right): the lack of open standards and tools to build your own mobile 2.0 applications. He says:
"Web 2.0 is based on user intelligence instead of technologies, i.e. by giving users smart tools that enable them to apply human semantics to information provided, you get a more intelligent web. This can only be done in a massive (thus useful) way with open standards and protocols that are inclusive and inviting to everyone. Now, as I see it, this 'open-source' story is an aspect seriously lacking from mobile platforms."
Carriers/operators need to cover their investments and so they want to be compensated by any 3rd party using their network. This is fair enough, but the fact is that operators are losing more and more control over mobile devices - because these devices can communicate with other devices over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wimax, NFC, etc. That is, more options are becoming available for mobile users to access the web over networks other than the closed networks of the operators.
Another important thing
happening is that handset manufacturers like Nokia, Motorola and Sony-Ericsson (to name
the most important) are getting the company of new players like Apple (iPod), Microsoft
(Zune) and other device companies, which are entering the mobility space and connecting
the physical and the virtual worlds through the mobile. Not forgetting Google's possible
strategy of offering free
phones.
If you have had the opportunity to experience the latest Nokia NSeries phones, you have gotten close to understanding what mobile 2.0 is all about. It's about connecting your phone through Wi-Fi networks to browse the latest innovative, mobile accessible web 2.0 services. For example downloading your favourite podcasts, reading your RSS feeds, doing a one-click image upload to Flickr (nicely tagged with ShoZu), consulting the location map while on the road, tagging your streamed video's, etc.
There's definitely a lot of movement around on the mobile start-up front. Besides Yahoo with Flickr and Google with YouTube going mobile, there are some very interesting start-up companies resolutely going mobile. Many of them are building easy-to-use mobile web apps and services. Here's a starter for ten to check out (too many to link to, but just google them!):
In fact please add your name/project to the list here in the comments, so someone can start categorizing them ;-)
I'm not sure who coined the term 'mobile 2.0' first, but loads of discussions and conversations have been going on for a while now (see links below). To me, the shift happened at a Mobile Music event in London in November 2005. I presented a couple of slides trying to explain what I thought was happening at that point: a Fixed Internet Mobile and Network Convergence, combined with the coming of Hybrid Phones (Nokia no longer calls them phones!), combined with ability to access web 2.0 services.
At that point Tim O'Reilly
had just released his article defining
web 2.0 and Ajit Jaokar was about to write his
first definitions on mobile 2.0, which later resulted in his book Mobile Web 2.0 - which explored the
more in-depth relations between web 2.0 and mobile 2.0 related apps and services. His
blog and book are both recommended reading for anyone interested in this topic.
[Ed: later this week we'll feature an extract from Ajit's book here on
Read/WriteWeb]
Here are some essential components of what mobile 2.0 is about:
1) Openness: open standards, open-source development and open access - creating more options for the user, not enclosing them in the walled gardens currently (still) used by operators.
2) The context of accessing the network and associated web services needs to be a positive user experience. For example for mobile search, the context includes: browser type, different device functionalities, security issues, display on a small screen, how to insert ads, etc. Associated with this is the usability experience of the devices, applications and services - and other components. For a more detailed analysis of context and the mobile web, see this article I wrote for gotomobile.
3) Affordable pricing to use the network to access content and services.
4) More user choice in the ways to communicate and share experiences with others (social interaction)
5) Intelligent 'aware' applications and devices that know where you are; location 'aware' applications seamlessly integrated.
6) New business opportunities coming to market, which may or may not connect to operators networks; think RSS feeds, alerts to SMS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Entertainment download zones and access spots, Podcasting to your mobile, Streaming Videocall to TV, Moblogging, Video blogging and media sharing applications, Click to Call (a phone number tagged into a mobile web or WAP page), Mobile Search, and last but not least VoIP tools & services.
Also worth noting that one-click access to the (mobile) web is essential to deploy easy-to-access online services. In this area there has been a lot of movement, with companies proposing solutions using QR codes, image recognition and augmented reality applications in mobile.
To conclude, check this nice mobile 2.0 definition from Daniel Appelquist:
"Mobile 2.0 is not "the Future." it is services that already exist all around us. These services are maturing at an amazing rate and what they are doing is effectively knitting together Web 2.0 with the mobile platform to create something new: a new class of services that leverage mobility but are as easy to use and ubiquitous as the Web is today. These services point the way forward for the mobile data industry."
It took the internet a couple of years after 1994 to reach its maturity on the technology side, not to forget the business side of things. I believe the time has come for another exciting period, the Mobile Web. Some carriers/operators are finally starting to act - how about you?
Written for Read/WriteWeb by Rudy De Waele of m-trends.org.
Google's Big Idea by Russell Buckley
Mobile
web 2.0: Web 2.0 and its impact on the mobility and digital convergence by Ajit
Jaokar
Mobile 2.0 IS NOT
Web 2.0 by Oliver Starr at MobHappy
About
context and the mobile web by Rudy De Waele at gotomobile.com
What is "Mobile
2.0" (Beta) by Dan Appelquist
Daniel Appelquist on Mobile 2.0, and views on a different kind of Mobile 2.0 by C.
Enrique Ortiz
the mobile designer
by Kelly Goto
My Mobile
2.0 Manifesto by Fabrizio Capobianco
10
Things I Learned at Mobile 2.0 by Brian Fling
Carnival of the Mobilists - a group of bloggers, writing
weekly on mobility
Additional images: Opera, 3 Mobile, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Understanding Mobile 2.0.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2899
Rudy De Waele of m-trends.org has written a very comprehensive article on Mobile 2.0 which is now featured on Read/WriteWeb. Lot's of information about Mobile 2.0 is already out there in the web and this article combines and summarizes the current disc... Read More
My first read this morning was a link to Understanding Mobile 2.0 from DeWaele of m-trends.org. So, what is Mobile 2.0? This quote from Daniel Appelquist seems to sum it up nicely.Mobile 2.0 is not the Future. it is services Read More
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among all of the hype surrounding web 2.0 and now even web 3.0 readwriteweb is posting an article on mobile 2.0: understanding mobile 2.0. the articles initial proof that there is something like mobile 2.0 is that: The fact that carriers/operators are... Read More
We kicked off our stay in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley with the Mobile 2.0 event organized by the folks that normally organize the Mobile Monday here in the Bay Area. There were around 300 people attending, the location was great as was the lun... Read More
Written by Rudy De Waele from m-trends.org, and edited by Richard MacManus. We are entering an era of broadband being available anywhere, on any device - and this will happen all 'over IP' (Internet Protocol). So we are looking at... Read More
Comments
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While Mobile 2.0 may be occurring across the pond, there is still a lot to be done here in the states where the carriers control their bandwidth with an iron fist.
Posted by: Stefan Constantinescu | December 11, 2006 3:19 AM>>Recommended mobile 2.0 reading
Very nice links for mobile 2.0. Thanks.
Posted by: Abhishek Sharma | December 11, 2006 5:47 AMPlease add 5o9 Inc to the list (http://www.5o9inc.com)
Thanks,
Peter
Posted by: Peter Cranstone | December 11, 2006 6:45 AMNot sure if you'd classify one guy with an idea working at night and funding out of his own pocket a startup but if you do, you can add http://wampad.com to your list.
In my opinion mobile web browser standards are "essential components" for the mobile web of mobile 2.0. For the 5th component I hope by seamlessly integrated you mean reusable data for other applications to use and transmit with options to protect user privacy. Personally i'd like to see mobile browsers be able to transmit gps data via http headers either for every request or via a challenge/resposne transaction between the server and browser. Opera is doing a great job with their mini browser.
I also think that login and authorization is something that needs to be looked at more. I'm not really sure what to do about it but my banks requirement to have mixed case letters with at least one number and a symbol is going to be really hard to do on a phone if they create a mobile website.
Posted by: Shawn McCollum | December 11, 2006 7:49 AMI have to agree with Stefan. US Proviers are very controlling when it comes to certain things like bandwidth and unlimited net. Maybe Verizon is at the top of the Mobile 2.0 game but that doesn't deny the fact that the US providers seem to be trying their best to not allow users to utilize some of the services thats available via mobile manufacturers or mobile start-ups. Especially Cingular.
Posted by: Darla Mack | December 11, 2006 8:27 AMhttp://www.mobivity.com
Web services are a big part of Web 2.0. Mobivity put's an SMS front end on any content. Send a keyword into a shortcode, and get back a mashup response from any web service.
Posted by: Greg Harris | December 11, 2006 8:55 AMGreat writeup and very informative. I've started looking at the mobile space myself as its a natural tie in for our product. You've given me some great resources.
Thanks
Posted by: John Milan | December 11, 2006 10:18 AMdid you miss dodgeball.com alltogether, or leave it off the list intentionally?
Posted by: narnia | December 11, 2006 11:03 AMWiMax is a start in the right direction. Rather than buying a connection for a specific device (i.e. BlackBerry or a cellular phone), you could pay a single monthly fee and have connectivity across ALL devices that are configured for WiMax. Wait, wouldn't that be called "the internet"? Yep... Just needs to be extended to mobile devices efficiently.
Secondly, I want access to my individual data like Mp3's and documents, not just web applications. Web applications are cool and have a certain wow-factor, but I'd much rather use Windows Mobile Word and edit the document directly or Windows Mobile Media to listen to my Mp3's (or my cellular phones media player).
Posted by: Robert Dewey | December 11, 2006 11:18 AMnarnia, thanks for mentioning dodgeball. Nothing was left off the list intentionally.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | December 11, 2006 11:35 AMExcellent post and great refernce... thank you!
At NewsGator we see mobile devices as a great vehicle for consuming RSS feeds and extending the Web/desktop RSS experience. We currently have a Windows Mobile offering and a J2ME offering in beta. Check 'em out!
Posted by: Kevin Cawley | December 11, 2006 12:56 PMMocoSpace - http://www.mocospace.com
another Mobile Web 2.0 company for the list
Posted by: Jared | December 11, 2006 1:08 PMA topic close to my heart as the co-author of "mobile web 2.0" the book. The more debate on this topic the better and I am looking forward to it moving from technology terminology to what the users care about on this site.
Web 2.0 along with Enterprise 2.0, CRM 2.0, Mobile 2.0 ..... are good as they provide a framework, however, debate apart it is now about execution of the ideas to see what the user can create at the point of inspiration and consume where, when, how they like. Let the debate begin.
Posted by: tony fish | December 11, 2006 1:24 PMMobi is in its infancy. Watch as this industry grows, try a search at MobiOnly.com Mobi Only returns only those results that comply with the .mobi initiative...
Posted by: mobily enthused | December 11, 2006 2:00 PMMobile checking account balance tracking with a focus on usability:
http://www.bankarama.com
Posted by: Jason Thane | December 11, 2006 2:07 PMHysterical... I must have missed Mobile 1.0.
Posted by: Pete | December 11, 2006 3:50 PMGenerally, "1.0" versions aren't labeled as such. For example, most people referred to "Windows 1.0" as just "Windows", with the next major release being called "2.0" and "3.0" (or 3.1).
What's REALLY funny is the thought that web-based applications will take over the world ;-)
Posted by: Robert Dewey | December 11, 2006 5:47 PMCheck out WaveMarket - www.wavemarket.com - Location Based Services is a key component of "Mobile 2.0".
Posted by: Wave Locate | December 11, 2006 10:08 PMwww.crickee.com
Posted by: Laurent VERMOT-GAUCHY | December 12, 2006 12:05 AMFree texting from your Mobile and your PC.
Don't be hysterical if you missed Crickee 1.0, Crickee 2.0 has been launched out last week ;-)
Drop me a Crickee, I'm in LeWeb3 today: +336 866 667 59
Crickeely, LVG
Thanks all for your comments.
To Narnia, nothing intentially indeed, I just showed some examples that got my attention recently, the list is long of course and never-ending. FYI: I wrote about Dodgeball and other Mobile Social Software companies before in this article I wrote last year on MoSoSo + Wi-Fi at http://m-trends.org/2005/11/mososo-wi-fi.html
Mike Rowehl has added his favourite mobile 2.0 companies at this post here http://www.thisismobility.com/blog/?p=252
Keep the conversation going, we'll post more updates on mobile 2.0 here.
Posted by: Rudy De Waele | December 12, 2006 1:16 AMhttp://mob5.com
for the list... Posted by: Torbjorn Jacobsson | December 12, 2006 2:56 AMDear Rudy and Richard,
At Kaywa we do Mobile 2.0 (Moblogging, Mobile Blogs, SMS Alerts) since 2003 (http://www.kaywa.com)
See Bleublog for example: http://www.bleublog.ch
New Services:
Posted by: Roger | December 12, 2006 4:36 AMhttp://reader.kaywa.com (QR Codes and Datamatrix Reader)
http://feed2mobile.kaywa.com - Get a QR Code, a mobile version with RSS
http://billing.smi.ch/z039 (Mobile Payment with Postfinance)
More services are coming soon...
Talking about Mobile 2.0 today is like talking about Web 1.0 in the 1990s... However I agree with many statements above... but the internet really only developed a Web 1.0 hype when PCs, modems and access became a commodity and mass phenomenon. We are getting closer to a relevant smart phone market share and unlimited data plans, but we are not there it. Therefore I do not think we can call SMS or regular wireless phone talks mobile 1.0 - do you?
Posted by: Bjoern | December 12, 2006 6:48 AMPlease add Mobizines to the list -
www.mobizines.com
c/o
Refresh Mobile - Forum Nokia PRO Developer of the Year 2006
Posted by: Jay | December 12, 2006 8:11 AMHi,
Posted by: Florent | December 12, 2006 9:02 AMTo add to the list, a real widgets experience on mobile will soon be available from mobidgets, http://Mobidgets.com, a product from french start-up mobease ;)
Another mobile 2.0 company: Mobispine
Posted by: Joacim Boivie | December 13, 2006 5:34 AMI think, neither the web nor Ajax, as often stated, will be the predominant mobile 2.0 technologies within the next 24 months, thus I believe mobile 2.0 will be much more different from web 2.0 in the form that mobile 2.0 means mainly production and sharing and web 2.0 consumption.
As saying so you need suitable technologies for this usecase and these are the camera (for photo/video), bluetooth, microphone, SMS and some others, that are not available via standard web or ajax today.
I guess from the technical perspective, the real successfull application within the mobile 2.0 space will be based on Symbian or J2ME or Flash and it will be a mobile social web smart client application with internet access or in short form: MSAWIA :-)
Posted by: Olli | December 13, 2006 1:40 PMAnother one for the list :
http://www.scroon.com
Videos/pictures sharing plateform on both web and mobile for european Telcos/media/ISPS/Portals companies.
Posted by: Stephane | December 14, 2006 8:58 AMUndoubtedly, Mobile 2.0 is the next technology wave that will hit the web and the internet and transform the way we access web. But, the pain in developing websites for desktops opertaing on different platforms with different browsers is very well known for all web designers. As mobile web is going to rock, designing for mobile devices is not that easy. There are hundreds of different phones available to access internet. Eventhough XHTML mobile profile is supported by major phone vendors, still there are lot of inconsistencies among the existing phones. W3C's mobile web initiative helps us in standardizing mobile web, but still what I feel is, big internet co's should come together to form a group to discuss about open standards and make mobile web a pleasant experience. We should really learn from the dektop browser inconsistancies that we are facing from a decade and make sure we will not repeat them in mobile web.
Posted by: Chandra | December 15, 2006 7:14 AMWish you all a happy and profitable mobile 2.0
Rudy,
It looks like we're on the same page. Back in November, I wrote a piece on " rel="nofollow">Mobile being Web 3.0.
The biggest obstacle (in the US at least) is openness from the carriers. Wireless Carriers have no concept of net neutrality and it currently doesnt really exist in the US wireless market.
Posted by: Daniel R | December 18, 2006 1:16 AMApologies for the error on the links, please see my Mobile 2.0/Web 3.0 Post here:
Posted by: Daniel R | December 18, 2006 1:17 AMhttp://www.emergence-media.com/2006/11/mobile-media-web-30-omg-did-i-just-say-that/
I would like to add an article of Tomi Ahonen, one of my favourite blog reads on mobility issues. Read his take on "What happens when majority access web via mobile phone". Absolute must read! -
http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2006/04/what_happens_wh.html
Cheers. Rudy.
Posted by: Rudy De Waele | December 19, 2006 4:49 PMknmz4bpbl102shel detox detox
Posted by: detox | December 17, 2007 11:01 PM