Uncool Mobility

Online Social Networkers Consume More Media Content: ABI Research Survey - MarketWatch

Link: Online Social Networkers Consume More Media Content: ABI Research Survey - MarketWatch.

ABI has interesting research and a white paper confirming "that for most kinds of mobile content online social newtorkers consumer about twice as much as their non-networked peers".

Apple admits new MobileMe problem

Link: Apple admits new MobileMe problem.

What a disaster MobileMe has turned in to. Apple has announced a new problem, while still struggling to resolve existing sync problems.

I've yet to get my iPhone and PC to sync thru MobileMe and don't believe that Apple has resolved most of the "1%" of users who can't sync email, nor that this group is truly only 1%. It's amazing that Apple could first launch such a bug-ridden service, follow that up by not handholding users, and then continue having problems--and not communicating beyond one lame post--for another week.

Mobile Social Networking A Big Fat Failure So Far? - Mobile Blog - InformationWeek

Link: Mobile Social Networking A Big Fat Failure So Far? - Mobile Blog - InformationWeek.

This blog entry reports on a UK survey into mobile social networking and reports low usage. I'd point out that the comparison to email taking off is interesting as that only happened after integrated services, including client applications on the phone, appeared and were seamlessly tied to the device UI.

Will that be what it takes for social networking or can new use types leverage email as a transport mechanism to enable information sharing and consumption thru existing devices and services?

FORTUNE: Apple 2.0 Who is to blame for MobileMe? «

Link: FORTUNE: Apple 2.0 Who is to blame for MobileMe? «.

Ouch. This is the #1 headline I never want to see if I'm a product manager.

Apple’s MobileMe Is Far Too Flawed To Be Reliable | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

Link: Apple’s MobileMe Is Far Too Flawed To Be Reliable | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD.

MobileMe is turning into a real disaster. I still can't use the service after a week (PC running XP Pro syncing to updated/2.5G iPhone). Given how wonderful the app store and device update are I can't believe Apple let MobileMe out the door in this state.

Head of Microsoft’s Online Efforts Departs - NYTimes.com

Link: Head of Microsoft’s Online Efforts Departs - NYTimes.com.

Crazy news for Microsoft and a real blow to pulling an online strategy together. Kevin Johnson was not someone they could afford to lose right now. The failed Yahoo! merger continues to harm both companies...

First iPhone post

This is my first iPhone post and the typepad widget / app from Apple's app store is awesome. The abilities and integration of the iphone, iTunes, app store, and third party apps are truly amazing and in a category of their own.

However, I'm using them because mobileme crashed my pc while refusing to sync. For as good as everything else has been mobileme has been equally bad.

The Mobile Web: Its Not Just for Smartphones - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

Link: The Mobile Web: Its Not Just for Smartphones - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog.

I had noticed the AdMob report noted in this article. It claims mobile internet browsing is not concentrated on smartphones. If accurate I wonder if this is a reflection of the purchasing power of mobile web users in the US--more likely to be young and unwilling to spend $500 on a phone?

Whatever the case may be I do think we are seeing "smartphones" as a category becoming meaningless since these devices are seeing competition from non-smartphone devices. The combination of service integration, solution focus, and device optimization for those is proving more important than whether a device is a smartphone or not.

Email sync vendor Synchronica wins MEA distribution deal

Continued evidence that emerging markets in particular want a lower-cost option than RIM's BIS architecture: Synchronica announced they won a deal for ASP distribution with Emericon.

"Emircom, one of the top five UAE-headquartered IT / telecoms systems integrators, has offices across the MEA region in UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, and Pakistan and is one of the fastest growing systems integrators in the region. Emircom will offer a hosted mobile email and synchronization service to businesses and prosumers in these countries through its Managed Services arm, M/s Telelogic. "

Beyond the iPhone: NYT review of mobileme

The NYT has an in-depth review of MobileMe which is worth reading.

One of the key points for me was this line:

"MobileMe is the usual Apple value proposition: you might be able to find less expensive versions of its features online — various sync, backup and file-transfer sites — but none have the integration, polish and automation of Apple’s offering."