HOOKED ON MOBILE

The iPhone is a wonderful device. I use it so much throughout the day that sometimes I feel like is an extension of myself. Sadly the batteries don’t last longer than 3 hrs. Apple has a few recommendations on how to make the most out of it (http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html). Not enough if you ask me.

A couple of days ago, a virtual friend (Miss Mobile) was twitting about about going out, but not before recharging her iPhone that she had been using throughout the day. I imagine the battery was almost dead for this heavy user who also happens to be on the road a lot…

I installed an TV from Telekom on my iPhone a few weeks ago. So far the only one watching the stuff is my 8 year old son. As it turned out, there are a couple of channels (like Cartoon Network) not available by our current cable provider. Honestly I installed the app just to test it, but I realized how handy it becomes on the train when I am embarking on long trips.

The only thing I can do with my iPhone in Prague is call and send SMS for an astronomical price. I mean really… Mobile operators are making a fortune for something that doesn’t really cost as much as they claim. 51 cents a minute is just plain stealing!

The UK-based ashortwalk has come up with a nice application called Mobiletide for those surfing and windsurfing fans. The application can calculate and display the state of the tide at just about any location around the world.

Groceries at the supermarket… 40 euros. Pay everything with you mobile phone… Priceless. Well OK not priceless, but certainly convenient.

Probably the toughest phone around, the S1 from Land rover. If Lara Croft, Rambo or Indiana Jones had a phone this would be it.

A few days ago I couldn’t help noticing a woman at Maximilianstrasse in Munich (the street with expensive fashion labels) using her mobile phone. The device was covered in pink leather, flashing a GUCCI logo on the back of it. My first reaction was: “Oh, GUCCI has also a phone just like PRADA… Of course!…” Later I realized it was just a leather case for a regular mobile phone. However, that kept me thinking about how we tend to turn simple electronic devices into symbols of status or simply customize them so tat they can somehow reflect our personalities.

Iranian citizens have turned to the use of non-traditional media (blogs, twitter, youtube…etc) to broadcast the truth to the world. The mobile phone has become an instrumental part for reporting events as citizens use it to take pictures and record videos that find their way to the internet in a matter of minutes.

Mobile Sports is the topic for the next event at Mobile Monday Munich chapter. If you are in Munich and want to attend just register at: http://www.mobile-monday.de/events/mobile-sports
should be interesting.

If you have a smartphone, video is certainly nothing new. Most smartphones offer the possibility to play local video or over the internet. The promise of faster connections seems to be around the corner, but we know already than in places like Japan (the mobile test bed of the world) superfast connections have made possible TV Channels on the mobile phones. It is not surprise that advertisers are eager to recycle their Ad spots and get them mobile, but that is not the answer for a medium that is so personal, intimate, contextual and with a high level of expectancy of relevant content. We’ve learned our lessons from the internet and we know that the 30 sec spot will not work.