Mobile World Congress 2012

We are excited to be attending the Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona.  As well as soaking in the joys of the beautiful setting, we are looking forward to seeing some great exhibitions and sharing ideas with attendees.

Scribble: are a digital agency based in Brighton.  We enjoy seeking out innovative solutions for our clients and for our own endeavours in the world of apps.   Some of our main interests include creating cross-platform solutions that integrate apps, web and social media, 3D graphics, augmented reality and social media integration.

We love augmented reality and are really excited about what the industry will have to offer in the coming years, so it is nice to see that the conference will be enhanced by a number of augmented reality experiences to show people about the conference and to guide people to different areas.

The conference will host a pretty comprehensive list of players in the mobile world and will include keynotes from Facebook, Google, eBay, GMA, Visa and many many more.  As well as major keynote speakers and exhibitions, the conference has ‘App Planet’ a large section dedicated to mobile apps, where developers, operators, manufacturers and service providers will be exhibiting and sharing knowledge.

This year’s conference will be split up into a number of different ‘zones’, all related to different aspects of the mobile world, here’s what we are most excited about:

Cloud technology has been taking off over the last few years, and with demand for mobile services surging and 4G networks just around the corner, cloud technology is set to become an essential technology in the mobile world, so we will be taking a great interest in the exhibitors on the “Cloud Pavillion”.

We’ll also be checking out m-Commerce developments in the “Mobile Money Pavillion” – the coming years will see many big changes in this area as mobile banking, NFC and the like start to take off.

The “mPowered Brands Zone” will be dedicated to mobile marketing, and we will be interested to see how companies are making use of mobile technology to spread the word about their brands.

We love to share ideas, so please get in touch with us if you’d like to meet up at the conference, we look forward to seeing you there!

If you’d like to meet up at the conference, drop us a line at hello@scribbleuk.com and keep up to date with our tweets @scribbledigital

Check back here soon for our report of the conference!

Technology on the move in 2012

2012 will see technology continue to become more mobile, whilst web and social media will integrate further into our lives and the devices around us.

Increased processing power for smartphones and tablets will see mobile devices moving closer to fully-fledged computers and super lightweight and portable laptops will make computers more mobile.  Cloud storage and sevice-based software will continue to grow, making less reliance on local storage, and allowing content to be easily shared and viewed across multiple devices.  Social media platforms will be introducing more apps to broaden their experiences and engage us for longer, and ‘clickstreaming’ will allow users to constantly log their activities, creating a seamless web narrative, while web and social media platforms will be spilling over into smart TVs and the upcoming next generation consoles.

SocialMedia

Predicitions are that social media adoption will begin to slow and level out in 2012.  The buzz word for social media in 2012 is “engagement”.  Instead of harvesting more users, social media platforms will be looking for new ways to keep their users interested for longer, with platforms like Spotify and Twitter introducing apps to broaden their service.  Meanwhile, Facebook will extend it’s reach to more rich media such as newspapers and video channels, with the aim of keeping people on the site for more of their web-browsing time.

Nokia Windows Phone

Microsoft have had little success so far with Windows Phone.  Perhaps this is because the Microsoft brand association is not particularly sexy.  But we like Windows Phone, with it’s colourful box menu, reminiscent of the Xbox live interface, it’s a refreshing change from the iPhone-style rows of icons.  Having joined forces with Nokia, many are predicting that 2012 will be an important year for Windows Phone.

 Ultrabooks

Netbooks received a lot of criticism when they were introduced due to the heavy sacrifices made to performance, memory and screen-size in order to make them portable and affordable.  Whilst sounding good in theory, for many, this was not an acceptable trade-off, a point that Steve Jobs emphasised when he announced the first iPad.

Intel has put a huge amount of effort into developing a laptop which retains portability as the focus, but without the sacrifice in performance, coining the term ‘Ultrabook’.  Intel are not alone in this category, with other PC makers producing thin lightweight models.  Apple clearly see that the future of computing is in portability and mobility, with their entry level range of Macbooks being replaced with the Macbook Air, arguably the first ‘Ultrabook’.

Storage

One of the key space-saving measures for these devices is the removal of the optical drive.  This comes as the industry continues to move towards digital distribution.  Digital stores such as Steam, Xbox Live, PSN, the Apple AppStore will become more dominant for software distribution, and Microsoft will release their own app store with Windows 8.  Cloud storage and services, and streaming media will also take the burden away from local storage.

iPad 3

Many competitors have jumped into the tablet market, notably Samsung and Amazon, bringing some choice and variety to the category.  But Apple still remain ahead by some distance, the iPad being the most desired.  The iPad3 will be announced this year.  Apple are fairly good at guarding the secrets of their products before they are released, but some of the most popular speculations include a higher resolution ‘retina’ display, possibly that runs right to the edge of the device (ie, there is no border around the edge of the screen), more powerful processor and greater graphics capabilities.

 Augmented Reality

Faster processors, graphics capabilities and better cameras in smartphones means that we can expect to see even more exciting augmented reality apps on mobile devices.  As more developers are being attracted to the technology, we will start to see more exciting and practical applications, such as virtually trying on clothes or makeup.  Here at Scribble,  we love to hear about new AR developments, and we can’t wait to try them outfor ourselves!

2012 is going to be an exciting year of Scribble, as web and social media evolve and spread onto more devices and platforms and as digital technology becomes increasingly mobile…. watch this space!

There are now so many different platforms that a business needs to manage in order to maximise connectivity with their audience, for example: web, TV, advertising, social media, smartphones, tablets, PC, the list goes on.  Managing the content across all of these channels is no easy task, but big brands are realising the importance of an approach that exploits the advantages of each platform.

This approach means that rather than treating each channel individually, with content mirrored across numerous platforms, a ‘big picture’ solution is created, with each platform or device playing a part.  Smartphones are increasingly used for search on-the-go, to enable people to find general or location based information, such as Subway’s use of QR codes and ‘geo-fencing’ to deliver vouchers and offers to consumers when near or close to Subway branches; whereas people will still usually prefer to make actual purchases on a computer.

The popularity of social media and mobile communications has made it more important than ever for brands to be able to react quickly, and to create a two-way relationship with their audience.  Linking to social media allows brands to manage their exposure and interact with customers, and allow customers to express and share their own views.  Big brands are taking a cross-platform approach to revolutionize customer service: ASOS, BT, Tesco and Vodaphone use Twitter and Facebook to interact with consumers, taking pressure away from notoriously irritating phone support.

But it’s not just about having the widest reach; a good cross-platform solution is about using resources efficiently.  At Scribble, we are seeing brands making the jump into the world of apps that want to streamline their approach – consolidating their content across apps, web and social media.  This means that these platforms do not need to be managed individually, saving precious time and resources.

Scribble are always looking for new ways to integrate platforms and create streamlined solutions, whether it is using new technologies or creating effective strategies for managing resources.

Since the launch of the iPad in April 2010 we have seen Apple create a whole new industry for tablet devices.  Android has been hot on their heels with many of their partner manufacturers releasing tablet devices such as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab but how close are Android getting to denting Apple’s dominance?

A research report published by market research company Strategy Analytics, has found that Android’s momentum is not limited to mobile devices but is also showing big gains in the tablet market.

According to the research during Q.4 2010, 22% of the 10 million tablet devices that where shipped ran on Android.  Overall the market grew by 120% sequentially with Apple maintaining it’s leading position with 75% of global market share.  While Apple is still the dominant maker of tablets, it’s market share has slipped from 95% during Q.3 2010, in part due to the rising competition in the market.

But how much competition really is there?  At the moment it would suggest not much with HP abandoning their TouchPad and Apple keeping Samsung’s Galaxy tab out of Europe through court case and patent infringements.

Recent reports show that manufacturers may have been a bit hasty in thinking that last years surge of interest in Android tablets would continue and have the problem of an abundance of stock, forced to dramatically drop prices to get consumers to even think about looking away from an iPad.

So, should Steve Jobs be worried? Not at the moment.

If you are looking to develop an iPad app, get in touch.  We offer a bespoke development service for iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry devices.

1. Dropbox

We couldn’t live without Dropbox in the Scribble office.  For sharing and viewing files on the move it doesn’t get much better.  Available on iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry so none of us miss out.

Download

2. Display Pad

An iPad app which allows the iPad to become a second monitor.  An indespensible tool for our designer Matt giving him extra screen real estate and the ability to see how his designs will work on the iPad screen straight from Photoshop.

Download

3. DesignScene

If you’re like us and are constantly looking for inspiration then you’ll love this app.  The app brings in a feed of images from a myriad relevant sources, from art to architecture, illustration to fashion, photography to typography.  Perfect for getting your creative juices flowing.

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4. Radio Soulwax

This app has been keeping us entertained at home and in the office since its release.  From the epic mixes to the inspirational videos, the whole concept is first class and we all can’t wait to see what the Belgian brothers have in store for their next album.

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