Agora Media Group Innovation Blog

First Published on Appmarket.tv

It has been possible for a while now to download an iPhone app and using it as remote control for your TV. Examples include Apple TV themselves and Boxee.

These remotes are however slightly different to the remote control we know and love (or hate when it has slipped down the side of the sofa, or the kids have taken the batteries…because they needed them for one of their toys!). The Boxee iPhone app provides a ‘pointer’ mechanism, in that you can track your finger across the iPhone screen and it will direct the movement of a spot cursor on your TV. A nice gimmick you say and perhaps you are right, however one of the main reasons why these companies developed and launched these remote control apps is because it provided an easier way to input text into the search function or sign up function on the TV….have you every tried to type in a long phrase, or your email address using just the remote control…?!

Today, Comcast Labs announced their prototype for a new generation of remote control…the Xfinity remote.  It works on the iPad and any other IP enabled devices.

If you want to read the whole article, you can thanks to those great guys over at Interactive TV Today.

So why is this an exciting new development? I believe this could set the scene for a number of new developments in the connected home that will become the catalyst we have needed, to understand what the future holds for our 3 favorite buzz words right now – ConnectedTV, SocialTV and the 2 Screen experience…

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WOOHOO!

Our friends at Paladin Studios, who we worked with on Twinners in 2007-08, have just released their first iPhone game called Jimmy Pataya. Will we see it on the iPad next?

In this action-arcade title, players jump from an airplane to face an obstacle course called “The Grinder”. By tilting the iPhone side to side, players dodge objects at an increasingly fast pace. The goal is to get as far as possible and earn ample bragging rights!

Adrenaline

Last year Lonely Planet launched the Augmented Reality application called Lonely Planet Compass Guides.
Last Sunday -one day after the launch of the iPad- Lonely Planet has released an iPad application named Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences.

Two quotes by the the CEO Matt Goldberg (taken from Travolution):

“The iPad is a ground breaking device that gives us the flexibility to publish content in extraordinary ways we would never have thought possible a year ago,” said Matt Goldberg, Lonely Planet chief executive.

“We are delighted to offer an exciting new product for the launch of iPad and are experimenting restlessly with new technologies and platforms as we build on our strategy to become the world’s leading travel media and services provider.”

The application is inspired on their book with the same name, giving the user a digital experience of the top 1000 places.

(taken from Tnooz)

Once again, it’s interesting to see the innovation within the travel industry and how it’s applied in new business opportunities. The same article by Travolution mentions that the InterContinental Hotels Group is going to equip their concierge teams with iPads. The iPad is a great device in showing visuals to their guests in a new, innovative and portable way.

On Lonely Planet’s corporate level, it’s a decision which fits into their long-term goal. The diffusion of their information, and the easy usage and access will benefit retention amongst their target groups. When iPads become available with non-WiFi Internet connection, the application can be enhanced with User Generated Content on the spot.

If you have an iPad and a traveler, would you buy this application or not? If not, why?

Since last Saturday, plenty of media coverage is given to the release of the iPad.
I’ve read many articles on the applications for the iPad and on a more strategic marketing level, the impact of the iPad on the media devices, ubiquity and wireless industry.

Surprisingly, the CEO of Traffic4u showed his newly acquired iPad this morning, giving me a short but clear look at the device.
There’s a big difference in reading about a device and actually experiencing the device. This counts as well for the iPad.
At first sight it’s a wonderful device in lign with the Apple designs we all know.

The dimensions of the iPad were known to me, but I could not get a feeling if it’s useful, too big or not handy.
Having seen it, I must admit the dimensions are just fine. Not too big, but also not too small which possibly would give a kind of “smartphone” feeling.
Navigating through the iPad is just as with the iPhone, intuitive and nothing new with regard to this aspect.
What I did find suprising is the usage, presentations can easily be given via the iPad. Reading pages, not a problem.
Having a look at pictures, good screen quality and size. Games, awesome size screen to have a good gaming experience.

All in all, the first look at the iPad was very positive and eager to learn where the iPad, ancillary revenues, industry, media consumption and adoption will head to.

If you had the chance to see the iPad, what are your very first impressions?

Finally, yesterday was the day that the iPad became available in the US.
Much is written about the iPad and about its launch. Now that it is available, check out the video below for a well in-depth introduction of the device.

Already, 2300 applications are available for the device.
This article discusses eight Twitter apps for the brand new iPad.
The article by the Wall Street Journal shows screenshots of several apps.
Ubiquity, social media and applications reinforce each other, the market of applications will remain growing explosively if the iPad proves its value.
If this will happen, businesses need to (re)think there strategies when it comes to platforms, target groups and visibility.
Desktop applications won’t suffice anymore, those who react on the omnipresent needs, might well win battles.
The bigger question will be: to build or not to build?
When the iPhone was released, tailormade application development had a reserved character by many, with the release of the iPad -and most probably many more to come-, mobile as a strategy becomes central.
‘Mobile First’ – Google’s new Mantra is an announcement of what is coming and will happen in the mobile and wireless industry.

How do you see the mobile industry react and evolve the next coming year?

Various media and websites already referred to the rumor of a mobile ad platform, called iAd.
MediaPost announces that Apple is preparing a personalized mobile advertising system which could well be “the next big thing”.

Interesting are the release dates of both the iPad and iAd.
April 3rd is the official launch of the iPad, only for days later is the supposed launch of iAd.
This could well mean that there are -any kind of- ties between iAd, iPad and the iPhone.

A mobile advertising platform means serving location based ads, adding contextual relevancy to the ads, creating a second generation of proximity marketing.
In the same article by MediaPost, it points out that Google has won patents on technologies that serve dynamically ads based upon one’s location.

All that can be concluded from this is that the battle between Apple and Google is by far not over. It makes it only more interesting, competitiveness raises and accelerates innovation and developments which only benefits the users.

Let’s wait and see what happens next week. A counter-attack on Google’s AdMob acquisition and development is bound to come, a possible launch in close relation to the iPad makes it more impacting.

What do you think of a possible mobile ad platform by Apple?

Wow! That came out of left field -  unsuspected but… really – something that really makes sense when we consider TV Everywhere as a concept (at least for me!). If the iPad does get the traction that many are predicting (Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet computer hits US shelves on Saturday, April 3, 2010), and they do flog 10-20 million in 2010, the converging media landscape will really have a new player in terms of co-viewed TV and Social TV.

Personally, I have always had issues with watching video on mobile devices – not that I am blind, I can actually see well. But I just don’t enjoy the experience. Interactive TV on an iPad (24.3 cm × 19.0 cm × 1.3 cm) will certainly be more enjoyable and feasible for most consumers.

Will this be a one screen or two screen play? Or both?

“Part of the idea is that mobile devices are easier and more appealing to play with while watching TV than laptop or desktop computers — but the tablet will hit the sweet spot in between.” reports Ad Age, so let’s wait and see.

MTV Developing ‘Co-Viewing’ Apps for the iPad

Magazines and newspapers aren’t the only media eying big benefits upon the iPad’s arrival: TV is poised to use the device in new ways, including creating interactive, social apps designed to be used while watching live programming.

MTV Networks, for example, is developing a “co-browsing app meant to be used while watching live TV,” said one executive familiar with MTV’s iPad plans. “This means the iPad could be the appendage that makes interactive TV a reality.”

Kristin Frank, general manager of MTV and VH1 Digital, said MTV is focusing on two approaches to its apps, whether for mobile or the iPad: co-viewing apps that capture the social-media chatter around TV and awards shows and apps for video on the go. IPad apps for “Beavis and Butt-Head,” “MTV News” and “VH1 To Go” are all due in April, she said.

“Fifty-nine percent of people are multitasking when watching TV — that’s something we’ve always known,” said Ms. Frank, referring to recent Nielsen data quantifying a longstanding observation. “This is the next evolution.”

Mobile phone apps to run on the iPhone and Android devices remain MTV’s priority for 2010, Ms. Frank noted, but the iPad apps under construction are a reminder that TV is not about to sit the tablet out.

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