Carnival of the Mobilists

The COM #235 is up at Tam Hanna’s newest site, belonging to Tamoggemon Limited. The line-up includes:

• A look at human-centric design and why it is a business imperative (via Little Springs Design)
• An in-depth interview (via mobiThinking) with the WC3 about mobile apps, mobile Web and the boundaries between them
• Must-read stats and observations that provide insights on the U.S: mobile data market (via Chetan Sharma)
• TheFonecast.com brings us look at the week’s mobile industry headlines, from high-level departures to mobile payments. The podcast also includes an interview with Anthony Erwin, founder of mobile dating and social networking company StreetSpark.
• MSearchGroove goes to the source to find out why and how we must market to millennials.

Finally, Tam’s own submission shares a disturbing experience it had with Handango and Palm Gear that developers would do well to read (and hopefully avoid!)

READ COM #235 HERE

The COM #234 is up over at The Fonecast.com, where Mark Bridge is master of ceremonies. From battery-life indicators (and the proper design for portable devices), to the implications of the recent ban on Blackberry devices in certain countries, to a sober look at app store growth predictions, it’s a balanced mix of must-read posts.

READ COM #234 HERE

Carl Martin hosts his first COM over at Mobsessed. COM #233 covers a wide range of topics and our thanks to Carl for giving us a straight-forward summary of what matters most in mobile. From mobile awards (and important deadlines if you want to submit), to a look at winners and losers in the smartphone market, to Foursquare dos and don’ts, its all covered in this week’s COM.

READ COM#233 HERE

The COM #232 is up over at Little Springs Design, where Steven Hoober hosts it on his new-look site! From permission-based mobile marketing (and the benefits to all stakeholders), to an analysis of the HipLogic – Carphone Warehouse partnership, to a no-holds barred discussion of the reasons why Nokia might be looking for a new CEO, you can find it all here.

READ COM #232 HERE

Steve Litchfield hosts COM #230 at The Phones Show. From Steve’s own well-founded reasons “why touchscreen phones suck (!),” to a comprehensive analysis of U.S. mobile stats that matter, to a valuable “report card” for developers to consider as they consider the risks associated with developing apps, it’s all here. So read on and join the conversation.

READ COM #229 HERE

The COM #229 is up over at Communities Dominate Brands, where host Tomi Ahonen reviews “death & destruction and resurrection” that marked the week in mobile. From Microsoft’s move to pull the plug on Kin, to Symbian Guru’s decision to call it a day (ending the final blog post with pleas for Nokia and Symbian to change dramatically and rapidly), to a must-read guide of mobile agencies worldwide, it’s all covered at the COM. So read on and find out.

READ COM #229 HERE

The Carnival is up (again) at my own MSearchGroove with a selection of solid posts that ask some tough questions and offer some insightful answers.

This week’s line-up:

• Tam Hanna conducts an interview with Resco, a Slovakian company sharply focused on Windows Mobile 7. What’s the view of WM7? What is the likely take-up among enterprise users? Is the timing of the release good for business (literally)? Lots of key questions, so read on and find out.
• Tomi Ahonen provides us a masterpiece of math and logic. His post recounts the key stats we need to know to understand just how much money the Apple App store has made and argues that the numbers spell disaster for developers who hope to make real money selling their apps.
• Steve Litchfield over at allaboutsymbian.com points out that booksmarks may be the best way to get Web content on your smartphone.
• Kudos to Stasys Bielinis over at UnwiredView.com for his keen observations and conclusions from the Droid X launch. What has happened to Motorola’s Android smartphone strategy? Could it be that Google has learned to innovate at Internet speed?
• Taking a similar stance, Sachendra Yadav tracks the evolution of the Android operating system as it takes up the charge to beat back Apple. Consolidating and defining the UI layers in the Android OS is the best solution. But how will handset makers differentiate?
• Steven Hoober over at Little Spring Designs blog walks us through a detailed discussion focused (no pun intended!) on images, resolutions and new approaches that get good images to display even better on a mobile screen.
• Terence Eden provides us a textbook example of bad mobile advertising (badvertising) using the example of an Apple app advert shown on an Android device.
• Volker Hirsch over at Volker on Mobile connects the dots in recent comments by carrier representative to conclude that the classic 50/50 rev share model may be on the way out.
• An emotional plea from Antoine RJ Wright for change in the U.S. mobile market. It may not be everyone’s taste in posts, but there’s no arguing that many customer feel locked in a market that is high on carrier control and low on carrier innovation…
• And finally, my own submission: an update on mobile charity and a look at a successful cancer awareness campaign using barcodes to get the message out.

That’s a wrap for this week. Next week our host is Tomi Ahonen at Communities Dominate Brands.

READ COM #228 HERE

Today is an outreach to the community to get involved with hosting and fill in some of the white spots in our calendar. I will be sending out individual emails and I also encourage each of you to recruit a ‘mobilist’ to join our Carnival moving forward. Another topic high on the agenda is ways to make COTM more interactive and valuable to you. I will be reaching out to some of you individually for your good ideas.Finally, Twitter is working really well to spread the word and today the Carnival posts will be up to date.

MSearchGroove steps up to the plate to host this week – but it would be great to see some new names and faces. Please review the calendar and pick a date to make your debut!

Meantime, this week’s Carnival (posted here) features:

• Smartphone stats and controversial conclusions from Tomi Ahonen over at Communities Dominate Brands.
• Ajit Jaokar gives invaluable insights (with a nod to Sun Tzu) into why Apple is no longer the one to watch.
• In the run up to an exciting event — Mobile Future Forward (September 8th) — Chetan Sharma gives us the opportunity to download a worthwhile white paper that outlines the themes/ trends impacting mobile at all levels. Reminder: Registration for Chetan’s event is open – and the Early Bird offer expires June 30^th.
• Mark Bridge over at Fonecast showcases a podcast with Hans Eriksson of mobile video streaming service Bambuser, which lets you share streaming video in real-time and even add chat.
• Alfred DeRose over at Tego Interactive looks at how text messaging has influenced voting intent and perception in the world (specifically, the U.S.) and walks us through a campaign (combining Web, social media and mobile) his team developed for a Slovakian political party. Why can a well-integrated multi-channel campaign influence voter’s perceptions and participation? Read on and find out…
• Participation of another kind is the focus of a post from C. Enrique Ortiz over at About Mobility. He reflects on some of his recent work and insights about the rampant spread of mobile broadband that cause him to wonder if developers (or operators) will have to carry the burden of app support. He also wants OUR input on these questions, which is why he asks us all to participate in a simple survey. Fill it out & make your voice heard!

This week’s Carnival of the Mobilists comes to us from Antoine RJ Wright’s blog, offering us thoughts on faith and all things mobile.

The long and illustrious list of bloggers and contributions (which covers two weeks work of the best in mobile blogging) includes:

• A recap of the 4th mobile breakfast series event and some of the key takeaways from Chetan Sharma. Another post in from Chetan focuses on his renowned mobile research tracking the exponential growth of mobile data and the opportunities it presents.
• A podcast (via Fonecast) with Ben Whitaker of Masabi on the topic of mobile ticketing and innovation.
• A summary post from Indigo102 recounting the recent M-PUBLISHING event and analyzing the future of mobile publishing
• A roundup of exciting stats and facts that marked the recent Mobile Marketing Association Forum in NYC via Tomi Ahonen at Communities Dominate Brands. Tomi was also the global keynote. In another submission Tomi treats us to an analysis of the new iPhone 4.
• A light-hearted, no-holds-barred podcast series with Tomi Ahonen launches on MSearchGroove (Text, drugs, rock-n-roll!)
• Welcome insights for human-centric mobile design from Volker on Mobile.
• Little Springs Design looks at paper, printing and the fundamentals around mobiles and the iPad.
• A view of UI design and UI learning from AntoineRJWright.
• Ajit Jaokar over at Open Gardens Blog examines the move to tiered pricing models and the pressure on carriers to be transparent.
• Comments from TamsS60 reflect on AT&T’s new offer: insurance on iPhone devices.
• JK on the Run delves into HP’s comments and strategy around webOS.

Read COM #226 HERE