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Tablets and mobile devices are constantly giving us new and exciting ways to connect with our other services and content. As well as giving us portable Internet access and computing power, our mobile devices also offer another valuable portable asset – the screen. Smartphones now have bigger and brighter screens than ever, and the growing popularity of tablet computers mean that more and more of us are carrying around large portable displays.

Many app developers see this as a great opportunity to extend media from other screens, such as our televisions or computer, onto our mobile devices. This can take a number of different forms: remote screen devices which actively stream content from a television or computer to a mobile device, or act as an additional monitor for a computer; content based apps, that allow us to watch media across multiple devices and pick up on one where we left on the other, such as Apple TV’s new iPhone integration; remote apps which allow the device to act as a remote for a TV or computer; or companion apps, that enhance the viewing experience with synchronised additional content or interactivity.

Entertainment brands are seeking this kind of ‘broadcast interactivity’; to better engage their audiences, and augment the television experience. One common approach to this is the ‘check-in’ which allows viewers to use a companion app to register when they are watching a broadcast program. This can then be tied to incentives such as exclusive content, or linked to social networks so viewers can see who of their friends or contacts are sharing the experience. MTV’s recent cross-platform app for the MTV Video Music Awards took this to a new level, allowing users to choose between live streaming camera angles as well as access to exclusive content and the ability to share clips via social networks.

As well as offering better, seamless access to entertainment content, additional screen space can be a great asset for tech-savvy developers. Remote screen apps such as DisplayPad, available on iOS and Android devices, and iScreen, allow a mobile or tablet to be used as an additional screen for a PC or Mac, connecting via WIFI. As well as offering extra valuable screen space, this can be a useful tool for previewing how content will look on the device itself.

Many of these kind of apps are already considered ‘must-have’, but there is undoubtedly more to come: Samsung has recently announced a challenge to developers, with a top prize of $100,000. Samsung want developers to create apps that connect with their own Samsung Smart TV range.

Expect to see content and interactivity flow more and more freely between the screens in your digital world in the years and months to come!

I’m sure you all will have come across or at least heard about Augemented Reality (AR) over the last year.  If not, Augmented Reality, popularised recently by mobile devices adds layers of graphics, sound and information over the natural world.  For today’s blog post we thought we would have a look at some of the best examples of Augmented Reality we have seen and speculate at where it could be heading over the next year.

First up, AR games. A product called AR Sports which will be used on tickets for the Rugby World Cup 2011.  Point your phone at the AR tag on your ticket and the app will fire up a game which lays a virtual rugby pitch over the ticket on users’ phone screens. Players can then pick a country and are challenged to ‘kick’ goal conversions using their smartphone interface, with points contributing to the country’s leader board score. A nice way to keep you entertained before the match and during half time.

We feel the use of Augmented Reality with physical products has the most benefits for consumers at this time.  High resolution scans of products can then be accurately recreated in to a 3D model and viewed using an AR tag.  This can then be put on websites, packaging and in stores. A clever use of this is the ‘Lego Digital Box’ where you can see how the Lego model will look when finished in full animated 3D.

So this is what is going on now.  What will we be doing with Augmented Reality in a few years time? It looks like it won’t be limited to phones and computers but incorporated in to more and more devices furthering the link between the physical and digital.

Augmented Reality windscreens and passenger windows will offer information and entertainment on car journeys, linking the car to its surroundings.

AR contact lenses are most definitely the coolest idea we have seen. Imagine walking down the street with information flickering up about your surroundings, Terminator style.

So we hope this blog post has got your juices flowing with some of the possibilities of Augmented Reality.  Scribble offer a variety of Augmented Reality and 3D scanning services.  For more info follow the link or get in touch!

Its time for our Short List an end of the week collection of links and news that has kept us entertained and interested over the last 7 days.

First up, we have seen a new service called App.net, a suite of tools mobile developers can use to create an attractive, social media-optimized and SEO-friendly web presence — including landing pages, third-party integrations and download widgets — for their applications.  Available for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, WP 7 and Html 5 apps and with a clean, simple style it looks like a great solution for developers to get a presence on the web for the apps.

Yesterday was the start of Brighton’s Digital Festival.  Today is the world famous dConstruct conference where leading thinkers from the fields of interaction design, mobile design and ubiquitous computing to explore how we can bridge the gap between physical and digital product design.  Unfortunately we missed out on getting tickets but are looking forward to reading updates throughout the conference.

Want to know some of the latest mobile market stats then look no further.  Our blog post this week will fill you in on the current state of the smartphone market, who’s number 1 and who’s losing out.

Finally, it been keeping our heads nodding in the office all week.  If you love a bit of funk, check out the data transmission podcast from the Italian collective RESET! perfect for a Friday afternoon.

Have a good one x

You may have seen them already on Mashable or Techcrunch this morning but we thought we would share some of the latest smartphone stats from comScore.

Although specifically for the US they do provide some interesting info on how the smartphone market has been changing over the summer period.  No surprises that Google’s Android platform is striding out in first position with 41.8% market share (up from 36.4% in April), while Apple is #2 with 27% market share (up from 26%).

With those companies making increases someone has to be losing market share and they would be RIM, Microsoft and Nokia.  RIM’s BlackBerry was the big loser, as its piece of the smartphone market dropped from 25.7% to 21.7% in just three months. Microsoft also experienced a drop from 6.7% to 5.7%. Nokia’s Symbian OS, which is on its way to retirement, dropped from 2.3% to 1.9%.

What will the next 3 months bring?  I wouldn’t expect any dramatic changes to the order of the top 3 spots even with Nokia starting to support Windows Phone 7. When Google announced it’s acquisition of Motorola a couple of weeks back RIM and Nokia’s stock prices increased slightly with speculation of a takeover from Microsoft. That’s the only way we see anyone taking the top spot from Android or if there mass abandonment from Android’s manufacturing partners if the merger between Google and Motorola goes horribly wrong.  Both seem unlikely at this stage but you never know….

Hello again, it’s the Friday before a bank holiday so after a hard week i’m sure you are all as excited as we are. To get you through the Friday, take a look through our Short List, some fun links we’ve found on our searches through out the week.

As will have heard Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO from Apple.  The true definition of an innovator, it really will be the end of an an era.  You may have seen it already but there is a great interview he did with Playboy back when he was 29.  It’s a fascinating read to see what he was saying back then become a reality now.  There are a few link but the best one we found is on Gizmodo.

We wrote a blog post on it yesterday.  Our MD David Mitchell is running the Kosice Marathon in 36 days! for the Legacy Project.  Donations would be welcome, please follow the link here to do so. https://www.charitygiving.co.uk/slovak 

Its Notting Hill Carnival this weekend! For the first time in 30 years Scribble Client Norman Jay won’t be there with his Good Times Soundsystem but fear not catch him at Orange Rooms Carnival in Southampton tonight.

For all of you attending Reading or Leeds Festival this weekend check out the Android app for stage times and everything else you need to plan your festival.  Don’t forget your waterproofs, looks like it’s going to be a wet one…..

Have a good one, see you on Tuesday x