Xellular Identity - All About Mobile Content & Marketing

"Try to Look Natural... and Action!"

Video calling on the mobile phone, what anticipation!! “Wow video calling, how exciting!” “Which HS it’ll work on?”, “Which operators?”, “What capabilities…?”  Lately, everyone is buzzing on Video calling...

It’s great to be able to see people that you talk to. Thinking of all the possibilities, it really sounds great. Waking up to the sound of the phone ringing, answering with puffed eyes and saliva on the corner of your mouth… Beautiful sight! Or calling late to work, saying you’re just around the corner of the office when you’re really 20 miles away… Great surveillance system and the deployment is paid on behalf of the excited workers… 

We will need to direct ourselves before participating in a video call and check if our hair is combed (spikes are standing up, in my case :-)), if lipstick is well put and dark circles around the eyes are well covered – hey, this is a close up shot!

And if you’ll decide to keep your face off the video call (a new zit in the center of the forehead, or a swimming pool in the back instead of an office scenery), people would probably ask – what do they have to hide? If they didn’t have something to hide they would have showed themselves… not only we’re connected 24-7, we will be under the spotlight, standing on the big stage with even less privacy left…

What would be best is another visual means of communicating… Much more fun and much easier!

Carnival of Mobilists at Gotomobile

This week's Carnival of Mobilists is hosted at Kelly Goto’s Gotomobile. So follow the link to enjoy the best writing on mobile that the web has to offer for this week!

Express Yourself or Get Screened!

I don’t know if you remember, but long time ago, when the mobile was merely an infant, it just rang when someone called and we had to pick up in order to know who’s calling. Most of us probably had calling card or lots of change and didn’t own a mobile… what a days… Later on, the mobile evolved a bit and we could get a display of an entering call or a “missed call”.

Then, with more developed caller IDs we had an informative display of the caller’s identity. By signing up for the service, we could get this information, which was merely a phone number. Yet, we could customize it to better fit our needs as the receiver of calls.

Imagine yourself this (not PC) situation: an ex-boy\girlfriend (or other nagger) who keeps calling again and again… not nice but it happens. Besides asking him\her to stop calling and hope for the best, we could simply tag him\her with “don’t answer” or “I’m a jerk don’t answer” (I’m sure you can come up with more amusing tags to better rephrase that) so each time the nagger calls we won’t answer… For the same purpose, we could also choose a certain ringtone to all the naggers as a group.

The nagger, on his\her behalf, could only determine whether we can see his\her phone number or block the number (displayed as “private caller”) on our mobile screen. His\her ability to self express on our mobile is very limited and is very much depending on our mobile settings.

But what if the nagger isn’t really a nagger? If I’m feeling bad and I know that my mom\dad\both are in a meeting and can’t answer? With the next generation of caller ID’s, we can take advantage of the visual display to express more complex messages. With the multimedia user defined caller ID, I can have the ultimate ability to self express my personality and state of mind and reach far over the receiver’s mobile screen.

So if I’m feeling bad, my mom\dad\both could know it before taking that call, that otherwise wouldn’t have been answered. Instead of customizing my mobile phone, I’m self expressing on other’s mobile! I’m actually sending a visual message (or better said - communicating!) before even beginning the call. Think of all the possibilities... Next time you need to get answered - express yourself visually!

United Chargers of Mobile!

-What is the most annoying, most irritating, most frustrating thing when you are a part of the 24-7 connected techie community (think before answering, will ya’)?

-When battery dies and you’re stuck with a mobile that can only serve as a paperweight or as a mean for self defense.

The other day I left home in a rush and haven’t charged my mobile phone (happens to the best, right?). Trying to look for a Nokia charger, I found so many good people (with all kinds of mobiles) trying to help but no luck… even other Nokia guys that had a charger with them had the wrong kind of outlet (?!) That was so frustrating!! Why can’t mobile manufacturers make ONE charger for all their HS models? Here’s even a better concept for the mobile industry – a UNIVERSAL mobile charger. I’m willing to give up the royalties, just make it come true…

Gathering of Mobilists

Before you know it, life brings you back to the ol’ routine…

But before getting on with things here, I really have to say that having the opportunity to meet you all in person at the mobilist gathering in beautiful Barcelona was a great treat! Thank you for great conversations, which surely will keep going through blogging life. :)

2nd Update: Barcelona

After a few hours of feeling better, my husband encouraged me to take the flight.

Eventually, I'm taking the flight and will get to Barcelona as planned. So many crazy things can happen to you in 24 hours...

Thank you all and thank you Menash my love for all your love and help!

Update: Barcelona

I spent the entire night throwing up...  :'-(

I'm supposed to catch a flight to Barcelona in less than 24 hours and I'm not sure I'm capable of doing that. I really don't want to miss this event but how can I make it feeling so BAD?! It's like being sick with high fever on your birthday, isn't it? uuuuuuuuuuuuuuffffffffff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm still hoping to feel better so I'll see how it goes and update you.

your Xellular not-feeling-so-well Xen.

The Carnival of Mobilists no. 15

Hello friends,

Another week has passed, the weekend is peeking around the corner, and we're gathered here for the weekly round-up of the Carnival of Mobilists, the very best writing on mobile that the web has to offer. Before we start, I'll take the mike (testing…1…2…?) and remind you the thrills that are waiting for most of us next week:

• Stuart Mudie is organizing a Mobile Sunday Gathering, which will take place on Sunday (of course ;-)) the 12th of February, at the Café Schilling, c/ Ferrán 23. If you need more details or a map - check this wiki page.
• Rudy Dewaele and Kelly Goto are organizing a great cocktail party for the mobilists on Tuesday the 14th of February, at the old Riz Hotel. Using Rudy's own words: "the guests are an explosive mix of mobile bloggers, students, developers, journalists, pioneering mobile projects and industry leaders”. Wow! That’s going to be a hell of a night!! By now, the list is fully booked (I’m sorry for those who were late to join us). See you on Tuesday night. :)

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Now, we can begin with a lot of quality mobile writing for this week. Puff the cushion and sit comfortably, because you really want to enjoy all of these!

This week, there was a great deal of conversation about connectivity from various aspects. Stuart Mudie of Blethers, shares his extreme experience in being connected to the internet with only having a mobile phone. Stuart my friend, I hope the wind will keep being in your favour since you need internet connection to be able to read these lines! :)

From a political point of view, Emily Turrettini brings a top news-coverage to demonstrate how modern technology helps in turning a local incident into a global one, and how these technologies have been used to distribute a political message. While writing these lines a thought came up: is modern technology any different than "old" technology in bringing closer far communities? Hasn't that always been media's contribution to society?

Martin Sauter brings great examples of what combining web server embedded in a mobile phone, programming language and Wifi could contribute to our total mobility and accessibility.

Vanilla Gorilla a.k.a. The Pondering Primate describes the value of the physical world connection (which is the ability to read or scan machine readable identifier by a mobile computing device to the internet) and the obstacles which PWC is facing in its way to get adopted. As usual, he never reveals all his cards. But is he holding a full house?

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On to a different theme, Justin Oberman describes the revolution of the VoIP. In this battle field are the phone manufactures, the carriers, and even a Trojan horse! The consequences, according to Justin, will be the mobile VoIP as the future standard in the mobile industry.

Speaking of revolutions, another social change is taking place in the world of journalism. Smart Mobs bring a great news story about inmates journalists in the Italian prison. I think that all people are able to tell a story, why not inmates?

At the Mobile Enterprise Weblog, Daniel Tylor brings great guiding lines on how companies should secure mobile devices (laptops, mobiles etc…). Daniel thinks the first step is to determine the company's mobile policy. IMO, this is hardly done because it requires a lot of preliminary work, and most policy makers prefer to hit the road without doing hard things first. Maybe these guiding lines should start with obtaining important managing tools

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At Mobilejones, Debi reviews Shozu (what?), a mobile application that enables to upload pics directly from cameraphones to photo sharing websites, like Flickr and others (oh, ok). She brings Shozu as an example for a true consumer added-value service. With that kind of a worm embrace, I'm heading over to try it myself!

The Wap Review has a great tip for you as well. Next time you go on a holiday to a tropical sensation (or other sensation) and want to have a peace of mind regarding your returning flights, make sure you read the Wap Review's recommendation before you decide whether to take the mobile with you.

Ian Wood from the Digital Evangelist reviews a new Sony Ericsson mobile handset with some cool new features. Don't forget to click on the title to get a pic of the handset.

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There are millions of kids equipped with mobile phones around the world. How about leveraging these known facts into something useful, like education? Judy at the Golden Swamp has some ideas about the benefits of better mobile phone displays for education.

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My favorite post of the week was Oliver Starr's "Mobile 2.0 IS NOT Web 2.0" at MobHappy. Oliver distinguishes between Mobile Web 2.0 and Mobile 2.0 in the different interactions they have with the end users and their effects on society. Very mind opening!

Last one, I'm adding a little contribution of my own. With the latest surveys about mobile TV's apparent popularity among consumers, a few thoughts about watching live sports games (or other live broadcast) through the different screens in our lives (stadium screens, TV & mobile).

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Before closing this great event, I'm sure that upcoming gatherings in Barcelona will provoke your appetite to meet again. C. Enrique Ortiz invites all of us to Austin Texas to participate in two conferences: The Digital Convergence Initiative Mobile Content Festival on March 14th, 2006; and the SXSW on March 10-19th, 2006. For more details and submission deadlines check Enrique’s post. Mobilists, who’s going? Leave a comment so we’ll know! :)

BTW, have you noticed this beautiful special-made Carnival Klonie? Isn't she a real beauty? I want to thank a dear friend of mine, Oryan Ventura, for her great hard work and effort! Oryan, thank you so much!

It was a real pleasure to see how things are done at the offstage, like learning how to do the cutting-a-woman-in-half magic! See you on Tuesday holding a high glass with a little umbrella… :) 

Mobile Live Crowd

Think about this: from just about anywhere in the world you can watch the hoop at the moment a slam dunk has been made over your mobile screen! You can almost hoop yourself!

People are very fascinated by live broadcasts, live music concerts, and live sports games. The authenticity is what we find so appealing – knowing that what we’re watching is for real, it’s not an act of pretending and it’s happening right now as we speak!

Imagine yourselves the following situation: I bought sits for the latest most popular sports game - Super Bowl, NBA… you name it. Drove all the way to the stadium, wore my team’s shirt, bought soft drinks and hot dogs, and went to my seats. I actually did everything the way fans do. Eventually, I found myself staring on the huge screen to see only part of what’s going on in the court\ field (I’m 1.52m so believe me, it is hard even to see just the screen without people blocking my view...). Unfortunately, the same happens the at music concerts.

I feel like I paid a lot of money to be in the crowd, to be able to scream my lungs out (and to choose not to - ladies shouldn’t curse, right?) and see only a small fraction from the whole happening\ event. If you look deep enough, you could say that I didn’t really get the action in LIVE. Besides all the excitement of being part of the huge crowd and actually being there in *real flesh & blood*, it isn’t any different from watching a game at home. Both ways I end up watching at the screen. I know what you’ll say - that at the stadium we can feel as part of the big crowd… my answer to you is - that even at home, a homemade cheering crowd can be easily arranged. All you need is to gather a few friends, buy some drinks and a few bags of family size of Frito-Lays and send the girls to a night out. (Between us, sports aren’t my biggest interest, so I’ll go out with the girls… :-))

I’m having a thought here of a nice feature with some added value for the "homemade cheering crowd", so tell me what you think of it. How about recording the "homemade cheering crowd" through the mobile, and sending the audio\ visual\ both recording as an MMS message to the stadium's speakers\ big screens\ both and have the "homemade cheering crowd" be heard\ seen\ both over there, while they’re actually sitting on the couches in front of the TV, at home.

Well, either way, most of us end up watching the game through the screen. Either way the real action is mediated. So, my questions to you are: what’s the real difference between a live game and a taped game if both are seen through the glass? If we always get the action through the screen, would people care to watch TV on the mobile (in that case, the liveness would be to watch the action on the fly, rather than in real dimensions)?

Sunday Has Performed an Illegal Operation and Was Shut Down

All yesterday’s morning TypePad servers were down. Yes, I know, it happens all the time! TypePad people wrote that due to some maintenance work, scheduled for the night and early morning, the service won’t be available until 4 am and then the service should be restored… Well, you guessed it right: it never happened. It took them hours to get back. Not to mention the fact that the only way to communicate with them is by a help ticket, which was of course, disabled… so I couldn’t even contact the help desk and get accurate info regarding the situation. What was even worse was that they never updated their miserable TypePad Status Blog. I was so so so furious!

In addition, just to have a nice start for the week, my computer has been working slower than a short-distance-runner-with-a-broken-leg. After shutting down and restarting it like a gazillion times, I could open the web browser to find out that I couldn’t scroll down any window cause the vertical scroll bar decided to take a rest and to disappear from the face of the earth! No one could figure out what was wrong with the @#$%^!! thing.

Eventually I left the office and headed home to my beloved PC. And… surprise! The PC has recognized that a new Audio card was added (?!) and installing the driver caused the PC to enter an endless loop of Windows’ restarts. I just couldn’t take my anger anymore! At the end, I wrote these rants on a piece of paper! Can you believe it?!

Carnival of Mobilists at the Mobile Enterprise Weblog

This week's Carnival of Mobilists is hosted at Daniel Taylor’s Mobile Enterprise Weblog. So all you have to do is follow the link to enjoy the best writing on mobile of this week!

Hey Doll, Bratz is Calling

The other day I was reading Darla Mack's post on the new Bratz mobile phone. The makers of Bratz have joined forces with Ztar Mobile to launch a new MVNO targeting young girls. It’s a full-featured Sony-Ericsson T290 handset which has an exclusive Bratz content.

Bratz is a great example of how consumer brands have found a new way to distribute their branded merchandise through the most personal channel – the consumer’s mobile phone. This enables the consumer brands to have a close relationship with their customers. Not less significant, the brands gain customer’s loyalty as well - girls don’t change their mobile handset at the same tendency they change branded dresses, t-shirts or accessories. There is an added value for the operator as well; the operator gains diverse and unique content for its customers. This way, the operator positions itself as having high value for its end-users.

From consumer’s perspective, there is no difference between branded mobile and its unique content to other branded merchandise (clothes, gadgets, cars… you name it). Yet, whatever brands we own in real life we’ll probably want to have on the mobile as well. What some don’t realize is that the only reason to buy Diesel instead of an anonymous pair of jeans is to express our taste, lifestyle and personality. The hell with the price, bring me my Gucci to the mobile!! :) And, we don’t use only one accessory for that purpose; we build the message of “who we are” from the total look, which includes all the accessories available. For girls,  it is only natural to want to have the Bratz mobile, the Bratz T-shirt and the Bratz school bag as well. All together would make her girlfriends “wow” and want to be around her cause she has the coolest stuff ever.

So I’m sure that in the upcoming weeks, all parents and babysitters among us will get their chance to examine closely this new HS, to realize that the Bratz doll doesn’t have a nose and to memorize by heart Bratz’s names… Parents - watch out, or you’ll find yourself closing deals for early bed-time for a new Bratz mobile, and girls know how to play tough!  :)

Technorati Tags: Bratz, MVNO, self expression, brands, mobile content, Sony Ericsson