This past weekend I had a conversation via Twitter with Square co-founder Tristan O’Tierney. Through several tweets, O’Tierney explained that his company (which gives iPhone and Android users the ability to swipe credit cards on their devices) saw webOS as a flawed system, showing no true signs of success.

“We’re still playing wait and see with webOS. Not many signs it will be successful yet.”

My goal was to advise O’Tierney, as I do many other app developers, that Palm has tools in place to save on development time and port apps to an additional audience, requiring a smaller financial investment. The Return on Investment (ROI) on an already-developed iPhone app is much lower because porting it to webOS does not require a complete rebuild.

O’Tierney then explained how webOS had a significantly smaller user base, then ended the conversation with this:

“Like SJ says: pick the winners early, save yourself a lot of trouble in the future.”

The statement is nothing new. Many startups and currently-successful founders and CEOs utter these words to the masses, especially to investors. However, such a statement is often used to excuse companies who are ignoring millions of other potential customers.

In 2007, when the iPhone was first announced, Blackberries and Treos were the big players. What would O’Tierney have done then? Would he have abandoned the most popular devices in order to focus on one that cost way more in terms of production and to the users themselves? Would he have abandoned those devices – that had very loyal user bases – and jumped in with both feet to concentrate solely on the iPhone?

Focusing on iPhone development first tends to make sense for any company wanting to hit the ground running. It has, by far, the largest pay-for-app user base, and is widely used by key business folk. Next in line is Android, and, after that, it’s pretty much a free-for-all depending on which developer you talk to. These companies, though, are missing the bigger picture when it comes to building a solid business plan.

The goal for companies seeking the broadest audience shouldn’t be developing for only the “big” platforms, but for all possible OS devices. Why? Because “little guys” matter, sometimes even more.

Square, for example, could be missing out on some rather large clients – ones that could account for a decent percentage of transaction fees. After all, replacing portable, yet expensive, machines with smartphones is very appealing to companies who sell products and services at conferences and conventions. It’s also appealing to locally owned restaurants that deliver.

There’s more, though. Companies like Square needn’t be ignorant of potential competitors. I advised O’Tierney that there’s already competition in the works. The thought that every Square-using iPhone toter would stay with them simply isn’t logical when other services may offer better integration with existing bank accounts, and better reporting methods. The fact Square hasn’t infiltrated the same platforms as, say, Foursquare, Gowalla and even Oprah mobile makes the argument to bring in additional, competing services more compelling.

Cornering every smartphone with a service doesn’t guarantee others won’t enter the arena, but it can lessen the impact if you have loyal customers across all platforms.

Another myth about picking the “winners”, as O’Tierney said, is that there’s no guarantee they won’t be the big fish tomorrow. Argue all you want that nothing can outperform the iPhone, but no one can predict the future. In fact, Square, like any other company, was formed despite a huge risk that users – despite any surveys or studies – would even want to swipe cards on their devices, or that they’d trust Square, an unknown, with their money. So, Square took a risk, and in turn, asked users to take a risk. But when it comes to welcoming in a smaller number of risk takers? That’s a whole other story.

I love Square’s core business model, and would love to see it cater to every possible user. Unfortunately, like many other companies, their current success has made them think the rest of us don’t really matter.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/09/08.
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Post tags: mobile apps, smartphone, Technology, webOS

Remember Everything. That’s Evernote’s motto… but, is it really? This company seems to have forgotten what it takes to “grow”.

Evernote is a cloud service that allows users to keep track of many things – such as notes, ideas and outlines. It syncs with computers and smartphones via software.

The Evernote service launched in 2008 and took more than a year to reach a million users. They were once “nobodies”. This month they reached a 4 million user-base. (see report)

Evernote Corporation claims its service works with every device – for smartphones that’s primarily done via installed apps. However, earlier this week webOSroundup reported Evernote’s plans to cease development for webOS.

“We’d love to see the WebOS platform succeed at HP, but our resources are limited, so the WebOS client is currently on the “back burner” while we wait to see what happens with the platform.” – Dave Engberg, Evernote

In short, Evernote isn’t interested in catering to a smaller user base, and that includes fixing bugs in an actively-served app from Palm’s catalog.

It’s not that webOS users themselves are being totally ignored. Yesterday webOSroundup ran another article, whereas an Evernote employee said he was passing the complaint to the CEO, who would converse with management. Which… makes me wonder…

How big or small is this company? From the emails, there are at least two regular employees (or reps), a CEO and management team. Perhaps not a goliath, but certainly larger than the majority of app developers. By ignoring user-bases Evernote is telling us the company is either short-staffed or doesn’t want to spend the money on an outside developer.

The way I see it, if Evernote bails out of webOS just to sit, and wait, and see… well, then the webOS community doesn’t need the service. It’s that simple. Hey, there are plenty of competing services and it’s no secret that more stellar cloud services are being developed. If Evernote wants let its competition grab a bigger piece of the pie, that’s Evernote’s business. If the company’s not willing to take the risk on a great platform – that definitely has potential – why should users take the risk on its cloud services?

While this may make sense to companies vying only for the largest group of potential users, Evernote shouldn’t ignore smaller groups, comprised of truly dedicated users who tend to be more vocal with their support of a product. To ignore those users is to forget from whence Evernote came.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/08/26.
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Post tags: cloud computing, mobile apps, smartphone, webOS

Last week I talked about how users of “other” smartphones need to stand their ground and tell companies what they want, rather than letting companies dictate how we’re going to function based on the devices we use. This latest endeavor by the electronics & music mogul provides yet another example: companies will reward us, but only if we use devices of their choosing. Why? After all, Foursquare is already available across nearly every smartphone platform in the US. Does it need better authenticity? Sure, but it doesn’t exclude the webOS and Blackberry users.

I will note that the Foursquare app for webOS was developed by folks completely independent of the Foursquare company. The app is free, though developers gladly accept donations.

Users of "other" smartphones consistently miss out on entertainment, apps and now, store rewards.

Shopkick is just one of many apps companies are using to market and reward customers, with most of those also being available only to users of specific devices. While some app developers say it’s only going to take some time to develop for all devices, some have no plans to do so. This means users of “other” devices can’t participate, or independent developers will need to step up to the plate, in hopes the users (rather than the service company) will help fund their efforts.

I donated to the developers of the webOS Foursquare app. This means I paid money to use a service, while users of other devices gained access entirely free.

I know the arguments, which center around companies developing for the most widely used platform first. However, Apple has the strictest guidelines for app development. Porting apps to other devices should be easier, and shouldn’t take a year (which many have). I also blame participating companies (Macy’s, American Eagle Outfitters and Sports Authority have also signed on with shopkick). After all, shopkick relies on them as much as they rely on shopkick. These companies could simply say, “We’re game, but not until you make it accessible to users of all smartphones”. Instead, they’ve opted to let shopkick rule the timeline.

I have to wonder if there’s something going on behind-the-scenes that hasn’t yet been leaked. Have Apple and Google been striking deals with app developers and corporations in order to secure more sales of their own devices? Are company giants trying to tell the rest of us we’re idiots if we’re not following the masses? Or, are the powers-that-be ignorant of the fact that you gain profits and loyalty by catering to the most people possible?

Whatever it is, I’m not buying into it. I’ll simply say, “No thanks, Best Buy, et al”. If I can’t gain rewards because I’m running a Palm, then I’ll just take my business to someone else – someone who isn’t trying to bully me by putting restrictions on the devices and applications I run.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/08/19.
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Post tags: android, iphone, location apps, marketing, mobile apps, smartphone, webOS

This week a federal judge granted class action status to a lawsuit against Apple and AT&T. The suit claims AT&T “locked” iPhone users into a five-year contract with the carrier, despite having only signed a standard two-year carrier contract. It also claims Apple “locks” it’s devices, restricting which apps owners can actually install on iPhones. The term “monopoly” is used. (Source: Mashable)

While I can certainly relate and understand iPhone owners’ complaints about Apple and AT&T as companies, a class action about contracts and non-open source devices isn’t worthy of my tax dollars. My reasoning is based on already existing, acceptable, business practices throughout the country.

Most cell carriers have offered exclusive models of devices, and not all carriers get every device (Verizon never got the Nexus One, despite plans that it would). Some Android devices can only be found on single carriers.

Apple’s control over the app catalog system is nothing new. Was the fact they run it via iTunes not a dead giveaway that they control the content?

The iPhone has been locked (though it has been jail broken) since day one, and this, also, wasn’t a secret.

And no one is forcing iPhone users to stay with AT&T. It’s their choice to continue using the iPhone with carrier service. You can use plenty of features (just not calling or texting) without being connected to AT&T’s network.

Now, a few non-device related examples:

• NFL Sunday Ticket. You want it? You have to subscribe to DIRECTV. It’s exclusive.
• OnStar is a GM service. For a few years it was offered additionally, yet exclusively, through Verizon.
• There are still exclusive programming methods and feature sets exclusive to both Windows and Mac. And there always will be.

My point is, exclusive agreements aren’t new. In fact, we lock ourselves into them (either by necessity or choice) every day. My contract with DIRECTTV is up next month, but I won’t be moving to Dish. My husband loves the Sunday Ticket. Do I feel “locked”? Sure, but it’s our choice to use the service in order to reap the benefits we want.

I had considered the iPhone (Palm’s webOS wasn’t out yet), but nothing was convincing enough for me to leave my current carrier (that, and my husband refused to let me get a phone we couldn’t insure at the time). Most of my iPhone-toting colleagues did switch carriers – hesitantly – and affirm that if the iPhone ever expands beyond the reach of AT&T, they’ll switch.

From what I can tell, the issue on the contract is really with AT&T’s service. But is there a monopoly here? I don’t see it. If there is, then thousands of other companies are to blame as well.

I’ll leave you with something TO complain about:

In 2006 we purchased a new Mac (latest and greatest) and the HD version of Final Cut Pro. Months later, Apple began shipping Macs with the Intel chipset. We would have liked to upgrade to the next version of Final Cut but found that upgrading OSX wouldn’t cut it. Nope, we’d have to be another new Mac. So this Mac – advertised as a machine built to long outlast any PC (and cost more than twice as much) – soon became a dinosaur because upgrading software itself would require purchasing all new hardware.

And, a question:

At what point do we weigh what a company has done to us against what they’ve done for us, and decide if we should actually be supporting them? I don’t know about you, but if I felt duped this badly by any company, I wouldn’t just be wanting to switch carriers, I’d be switching devices.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/07/13.
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Post tags: Apple, AT&T, iphone, mobile apps, smartphone, Technology

Native apps are those that run directly on the device, rather than via a web browser or other web-based application. For example, if you download a Twitter client to run on your phone, that is a native application.

We faced this years ago – back when desktop software was proprietary to the operating system (OS) you were running. In the beginning, you could only run Photoshop on a Mac and Microsoft Word only ran on PC. With the ability to run dual operating systems we now have the best of both worlds, without requiring every developer rework software to run on different types of systems.

With smartphones, though, we’re limited. I use webOS (I own a Palm Pre Plus) which means I can’t run applications developed for the iPhone or Android devices.

Mobile web apps could allow any device to connect and use the application. By utilizing HTML5, JavaScript and a few other goodies, developers can reach a much broader audience and features can be added more quickly. It also means all fixes and updates are done on-the-fly, so users don’t even have to manually check for software updates.

Still, part of the attraction of doing things on a mobile device is actually working “on the device.”

A document writer, for example, runs differently natively than it does as a mobile web application. On the web, everything you do – from starting a document, applying formatting, to saving the file, relies on a connection. And not just your connection (Wi-Fi or through a 3G or 4G network), but also jumping through all the hops it takes to connect to the server itself. Natively, though, everything could be done more quickly, with only saves and application updates requiring a connection. Plus, if a connection is non-existent, a native app could also save the work to the device itself, even if in a format that requires a server connection in order to be packaged for sharing with others.

Another issue is the OS itself. Each OS has its own set of features – many of which users have become reliant upon. For me, it’s the touch commands, card swiping and Universal Search (which allows me to just start typing anything on my device and the appropriate contact, app or file is returned). You can’t offer the search feature on my smartphone unless you also write information to my device that takes advantage of webOS.

Are mobile web apps the wave of the future? Possibly, but from my standpoint, there are several hurdles to clear first – like connection speeds (we need ‘em higher), local saves (for backups) and education (developers will still need to understand some elements of each OS). That, and, developers will need to listen even more to users in order to gain the competitive edge.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/07/12.
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Post tags: mobile apps, Technology, usability, webOS

Palm has extended its half-price app promotion to July 23rd. If you missed initial announcements, this means you can shop the official App Catalog and save about 50% on paid-for apps. No worries, developers still pocket the full amount (Palm makes up the difference).

If you’re like me – frugal from a business sense – then you may be clutching your money tight, vying to decide just which apps to buy.

Here’s my top ten list, in no particular order. Note that I’ve purposefully left out common apps like Twitter clients and calculators, as well as games.

1. 

   Myles reminds me to enter the ending mileage.

   Notes. Integrate pictures, audio and video with memos (notes). This app comes in handy while price shopping, documenting events and building comparison lists. Notes can be sent as emails, secured via PIN and prompt alerts. Cost: $5.00 $2.50 – Details/Download

2. Myles. Ever get caught on April 15th trying to figure out how many business miles you drove? Need to turn in mileage expense reports? Enter: Myles. This handy app is not only much more fun than tracking it all on paper, but it actually reminds you to enter ending mileage. Just key in the beginning odometer reading and choose when you want to be reminded (like in 30 minutes). No more forgetting to close out the books, because Myles supports both audible and visual alerts. At your leisure, you can export data in CSV for Google Docs format. Cost: $1.00 $.62 – Details/Download
3. Mileage Monitor Plus. Wonder just how good the MPG is for your car? This app will tell you that, and more. Mileage Monitor Plus supports multiple vehicles and gives breakdowns on MPG, cost per 100 miles and even reminds you when it’s time to change the oil. No more excuses for ignoring preventative maintenance. Cost: $2.00 $1.00 – Details/Download
4. Crosswords. You call it a game. I call it a brain massager/stimulator/maintainer. While the light version gives you plenty of puzzles to combat, the full version of Crosswords offers a slew of features, including filtering of the delivery system. Puzzles themselves are free, so who can beat an app that boasts indefinite “thinking” tools for the cost of a single magazine? Certainly, not I! Cost: $10.00 $5.00 – Details/Download
5. Shopping List. Use it for home and business. Shopping List lets you departmentalize (by store or category) everything you need to buy. But it’s also a real time saver because purchased items go into a “have” list which you can easily move back to the “need” list whenever necessary. That means you only have to enter “milk” or “copy paper” once, then just check or uncheck the box. No more scratchpads, no more hunting around for the list and no more forgotten items. This, of course, makes my husband happy, too. Cost: $2.00 $1.00 – Details/Download
6. AuctionMate Pro. If you use eBay, even sporadically, this app will streamline it all for you. Manage questions, place bids and watches… even use “Buy it Now” right from your webOS device. Just think, you’re in a meeting and the boss says you need to find some used lighting equipment for a photo shoot. By meeting’s end, your job is done. AuctionMate Pro also helps you with that midnight sniping (from bed). Cost: $3.00 $1.50 – Details/Download
7. FlashCards. Forget about those huge, clunky index cards. FlashCards takes it all to a whole new level, beyond children and students. Since anyone can create sets and distribute them, chances are there’s something already available and of interest for nearly everyone. Can’t find a set to test yourself? Create one. Cost: $5.00 $2.50 – Details/Download
8. 

   Starring articles for later reading is a plus for me.

   NewsRoom. If you’re not using your webOS device to read news feeds, you’re missing out. Get everything you need to know right at your fingertips by subscribing to RSS feeds – I’m talking tech, business, stock sites, and yes, a little entertainment. There are plenty of apps that handle RSS feeds well, but I like the layout and flow of NewsRoom. My only request? I’d love to upsize the text. Cost: $5.00 $2.50 – Details/Download

9. Done! I have to mention this app because of its feature set. I don’t work in the cloud when it comes to client data (and my tasks definitely include that), but for those who aren’t concerned (or use cryptic anagrams, etc.), Done! will give you what you need. It syncs with Toodledo, and the developer is constantly updating the app. Done! sports fully-categorized lists, audible and visual alerts, and more. Cost: $3.23 $1.62 – Details/Download
10. Poster for WordPress. If you manage a WordPress blog (or several), Poster for WordPress is a must. Using the WordPress API (you have to enable XML-RPC), Poster lets you write, edit and publish posts. You can fully manage comments (edit, reply, delete, etc.) as well as edit posts for category and tag assignments. A key benefit to using the app is making corrections after you’ve left the office or powered down the computer. Can you do all this using the webOS built-in web browser? Sure. But why would you want to spend all that time? Poster’s response time is quite good, so there’s no more excuses for being too busy to respond to a reader. Cost $2.00 $1.00 – Details/Download

Regular cost of all 10 apps: $38.23. Total cost through July 23rd: $19.24

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/07/11.
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Post tags: mobile apps, palm, webOS