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Untangling the Interweb...
Stephen Scott

Web Geek™, Senior Manager, Digital @RMIT, a social media maven, Google-aholic, simplicity, UX and customer experience advocate, and a bit of a Star Wars nut. Hit my Google + profile below for more info. Kthnxbai!

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'Bringing balance to the (Mobile) force'. Cheaper handsets skew smartphone sales to Android.

Media_httpimagessmhco_gcghc
via smh.com.au

Well, without saying I told you so, Android continues to grow, and develop at a rapid pace.
Again I use multiple devices so no iHating (well only really towards iTunes) but balance and choice are vital to growth. All to often in all walks of life, when absolute power is given to one, it corrupts and skews development for others.

Android commanded 48 per cent of the market compared to Apple's 43 per cent, according to NPD.

This is ushering in a new age of development, choice and innovation and is a major win for all us.

Told you so : P

Posted by Stephen Scott

2 Comments

          

Why Mobile Apps Must Die. Yes Really...

I use multiple mobile devices on Apple & Android, and believe really strongly in a fair and balanced approach for customer experience. Why? Because we have evolved (partially) from the design for one browser mentality, and why would we waste time going back to that awful closed thinking?

Mobile is at a huge evolutionary step, and in all aspects of life we have to deal with other fanboys such as the iMyopia possee. Depsite the huge growth of Android and the benefits of HTML 5. Both of which I do admit are more attractive because they are open to me, but in honesty, neither platforms are perfect.

Only web apps can bring the balance that is needed and ease the development issues for cross platforms, and dammit as a customer and being involved in mobile development, choice is bloody important!

Would you open a shoe shop and offer only one shoe, in one size?

I'm trying to bring the choice wherever I can, and from a work perspective was very proud that my team & I were able to offer this to our customers this year with RMIT University's first HTML5 mobile web app.

So where do we all go from here? Enter Scott Jenson, an ex Apple, and Google employee and mobile developer and strategist. A great talk and worth watching for his valuable and knowledgable insights in to the clutter of apps surrounding us, and I thnk only backs up what I and others have been saying which is...'choice'. Bring it!

Posted by Stephen Scott

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The Future of Mobile is Multi-Platform; Australia catching up to the Android invasion.

Media_httpwww3rdsense_jmaja
via 3rdsense.com

Android handsets now account for 30% of Australian smart phone sales to iPhone’s 40%. (IDC survey) So the divide is becoming less and less, and competition is a very good thing for consumers and customers. The screen shot above shows the dual options business are now taking as having iPhone only options, is beginning to offer a kind of 'older generation/not quite getting the mobile space' attitude.

Still, as I posted the other day, many businesses will choose to be i-Myopic for some time, but glad to see 'choice' finally becoming statistically a major factor.

Choice being a point I've stood firm on personally from my own preference, ( I see iTunes as a giant venus fly trap for consumers) but for some time also from a commercial perspective I wanted to ensure RMIT's brand was not able not fall in to the Apple only trap. (Or any other sole mobile vendor for that matter)

I wrote back in Aug 2009;

RMIT is keen to offer an experience that’s open to all, and not locked in to just one platform, device or provider.

Choice never goes out of fashion, and it still holds true today. So nice to see this article on the future of mobile being multi-platform which warms my mobile heart.

Posted by Stephen Scott

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Ignorance Is 'i-bliss'? Android's 42% Dominance Of The US Smart Phone Market...

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Image from nashvillescene.com

Despite Androids now 5.4% growth this quarter and now 42% dominance of the US smart phone market, (Apple 1% growth and 27% share of market) still many choose to remain deeply myopic in Europe and Australia to Androids viral growth.

Ignorance is 'i-bliss'?

Even ignoring those childish and bitter mobile patent wars from Apple & Microsoft towards...well, just about every mobile manufacturer, you can see why these two behemoths are trying to stop Google every.which.way.they.can.

I think this is the droid were looking for...

Read the com score report

Posted by Stephen Scott

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Are your Web site/app users S.T.U.P.I.D?

Media_httpboxesandarr_reffc

via boxesandarrows.com

A colleague shared an article on the excellent boxes and arrows site which I had not been on in years, and I then discovered another excellent article. Written by Stephen Turbek, he points out some obvious, but oh so easily missed key design items that all site and app designers need to remember.

Good point on the Apple iPhone ads that of course, also trained generations whilst it played, and gave the perception it was easy to use. A huge factor in the iPhones success.

Read this gem of an article now

 

Related posts

Posted by Stephen Scott

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RMIT University is refreshing, mobile and open...

Rmit_-_rmit_university

I rarely ever talk about my work here on this site, but we've undertaken some major work recently that I think is worth sharing.

It's been three years since we took a redesign at RMIT, and in this case, we've only taken a refresh rather than a full redesign so far. Simply put, most web sites these days are incredibly hard work to change. As businesses realise the importance of digital media, every step becomes more careful, more planned, more throrough and more and more stakeholders are involved. 

Talking with colleagues in the education and other sectors at several social media conferences recently, it's became clear that finally (finally!) over the last few years business have realised how crictical your brand and digital presence is across your site, partners sites, social and mobile. 

So with that in mind it was rewarding we could finaly make some of those changes recently. And with a successful site refresh done in recent weeks, a very successful mobile site for our Open Day today (see below), and an amazingly successful Open Day offline and online campiagn I'm very proud of all of the work we have done in the organisation. Only possible thanks to some very hard work, lots of debate and a large amount of people who have worked with us on all these projects and helped make them a reality. 

Now the really hard work begins : )

3wxdhtve4auy

 

Posted by Stephen Scott

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The things you do with your phone in 2011...

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via darthambiguous

15,000 respondents x 6 continents = oodles of fascinating data!

  • 78.6% use their web browser daily (I’m 100% - when possible {damn you Vodafone!}) 
  • Males like to watch online videos (well derrrrrr) 
  • 25-32 year olds use the phone as a map more than any other age group 
  • 88% of those surveyed have a Wi-Fi enabled handset 
  • South Americans love to share photos and videos 
  • 18-24 year olds mostly ignore podcasts (really?) 
  • Africans make more daily phone calls 
  • 80% of females text daily 
  • Europeans couldn’t be bothered with GPS or digital maps 
  • Audio books are not very popular with people over 50 - but they love their RSS feeds 
  • North Americans can’t get enough of music recognition programs 
  • 80% of Oceanians use social networks - where making a call is the 5th most popular feature (!) 
  • Asians love new apps and playing games 
  • 33-41 year olds send / receive the most email messages (again, derrrrr) 
  • It’s nice to know that lots of other smartphone users use their phone as a flashlight too!

Thank to my brother from another mother darth ambiguous for the share, who you should follow cos he's rather swish.

Posted by Stephen Scott

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The true cost of our techno lust. Your conscience is calling.

Media_httpwwwwiredcom_gjydd
via wired.com

Just received my new issue of Wired and Apple PR must be ecstatic with the cover, entitled '1 Million Workers. 90 Million iPhones. 17 Suicides. Who’s to Blame?'.

It digs up more on the well reported issue of suicides at the iPhone Shenzhen production plant in China. Wired reproduce Joel Johnson's excellent and pretty insightful piece from the mag fully here and well worth a read it is. If only to know the true cost of what we paid for...

Posted by Stephen Scott

2 Comments

          

FOX able to laugh at themselves in excellent Social Media parody

via mashable.com

For those that don't know USA national News channel Fox has overdosed this year on Social Media with tickers, tweets, FB posts and updates galore.

Only a matter of time before the parody started, and it's particularly good. The kinda really cool thing though is that this has been made BY a local fox station.

Always nice to see someone able to laugh at themselves, but I do hope those high above in Murdoch's empire have a sense of humour too.

I'm Stephen Scott, more news at 11. And now over to Tiffany for the weather...Tiffany?

Posted by Stephen Scott

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