Startup Life
Technology. Startups. Venture Capital. My Life.
Posts tagged blackberry
The Future iPhone
Jul 9th
It seems Apple has been on a patenting frenzy, and it may be sheding some light on what the next-gen Apple iPhones are going to look and feel like.
In a couple of recent articles by FierceMobile, they discuss a new series of patents recently filed by Apple: object ID and enhanced messaging and haptics and fingerprint IDs. Sounds pretty bad, right?
In any case, here is some more detail on what this could mean:
Object Identification Tools — Your iPhone could determine a user’s present surroundings and offer contextual information via RFID reader or camera. [LINK: US Patent Application 20090175499]
Improved Messaging — “Objectionable content filtering” on children’s text messages, message delivery notifications (ensuring messages got delivered, such as the functionality seen in BlackBerry Messager Messaging), and saving text that was sent to prevent re-entry of text. [LINKS: US Patent Application 2009017750, 20090176517]
Haptics Feedback Technology — Touch-based input components can use, for example, a grid of piezoelectric actuators to provide vibrational feedback to a user, while the user scrolls around a click wheel, slides across a trackpad, or touches a multi-touch display screen. Cool!! [LINK: US Patent Application 20090167704]
Fingerprint ID Safeguard — Besides the obvious login and authentication features, Apple discusses the possibility of using specific input signatures (or fingerprints) to launch specific commands or functions. Apple also alludes to designing a device with multiple fingerprint sensors to allow for advanced multi-touch, multi-fingerprint functionality. [LINK: US Patent Application 20090169070]
Lookin snazzy Apple. Looking forward to what’s around the corner.
Lessons from a BlackBerry App Developer
Jun 30th
I just finished reading a very interesting article/story written by Marcus Watkins, who is the creator of PodTrapper. The article discusses his experiences and lessons learned in developing, pricing, marketing and selling his first mobile application on the BlackBerry platform. It was published June 22, 2009; so it’s still recent and very relevant.
Here is an overview of what it covers (taken from the article):
Introduction
BlackBerry Platform
Development
– Look and Feel
– It’s the Network
– Background Apps/Memory
Pricing the App
DRM
Selling the App (Retailers)
– Handango
– Direct
– MobiHand
– BlackBerry App World
Initial Sales
Marketing
Sales Post-App World
Dealing [or not] with other companies
My Customers
Conclusion
Topic Outline
For all those BlackBerry developers out there. I hope you have had the chance to check out the App Store and apply for distribution through it’s channel; it can be extremely valuable. If you want to learn more about it, check out my blog post on the BlackBerry Partners Fund Blog called “The Next Wave: Mobile Applications and the BlackBerry Application Storefront,” which discusses some specifics about developing for BlackBerry App World.
Some BlackBerry developers (and outside observers) have recognized that there are some kinks in the process of getting onto BlackBerry App World. Kevin Talbot, co-manager of the BlackBerry Partners Fund, identifies some key issues plaguing BlackBerry App World and invites developers and others to comment and add their thoughts about what RIM can do to fix App World.
If you have just submitted an application, or are planning on developing an application soon, make sure to apply for the 2009 BlackBerry Partners Fund Developer Challenge.
Happy developing!
USSD: Lost in the Crowd?
Jun 4th
All day long I am surrounded by BlackBerry and iPhone apps and business models. After listening to an intriguing talk by Nathan Eagle, a Professor at MIT, I started to think about how a single application can be developed to reach everyone in developing countries (a much larger proportion of mobile phone users than those in developed countries). Nathan mentioned that some applications in developing countries use USSD protocol as opposed to SMS or data-rich applications. I wanted to learn more.
Here are some of my findings:
USSD (“Unstructured Supplementary Services Data”) is a mature core mobile-network technology similar to Telnet; it is session-based. In fact, it is as old as GSM technology — and guess what — it works on EVERY GSM-based handset from a Nokia 1100 to a BlackBerry Bold.
Mobile software developers are constantly trying to find a way to write (code) once and reach many (different handset models). USSD can work for some application types, but not all. USSD will not offer feature-rich capabilities, but it can send and receive data through sessions (no data is saved on the device), allow for navigable menus, and it can interact with billing accounts on-file with wireless carriers.
After doing some research, it seems as though this technology is predominantly being exploited in developing countries, where there have been some very creative uses of USSD applications.
Here are some of the many uses this technology can provide (at a much cheaper cost than SMS messaging — a huge consideration for communication in developing countries):
- Mobile banking and payments
- Point-of-sale banking (using your mobile prepaid account as the source of payment)
- One-time password request notifications
- Weather services
- Menu-based navigation of corporate or city services
- Advertising
- Voice Chat
- Roaming
As it stands, USSD technology is being underused primarily due to a lack of available applications and content providers, a lack of understanding, and a lack of motivation at the operator level. Only recently, Bharti and Vodafone have productized this medium by launching USSD portals; largely however, this technology is under-developed and under-utilized.
Comments on a LinkedIN thread about USSD showed the following benefits of USSD technology (post from Gaurav Sarin):
1) Handset agnostic – 99% compatibility of active handsets
2) Easy Surfing – browser based experience for customers
3) Free content discovery for customers – since most operators do not generate CDRs of USSD sessions
4) Real Time session with the server – faster & more secure than SMS
5) Higher reliability as compared to SMS – SMS has a 70 -80% successful delivery rate
What are your thoughts on USSD?
Financing Opportunities for Canadian Start-ups
Apr 27th
I want to draw your attention to a blog post that I wrote on the BlackBerry Partners Fund website a few months ago. In times of recession, when cash is tight and purchase orders are scarce, understanding how and where to receive financing becomes of paramount important.
For additional details, please refer to the full article.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Apply for IRAP funding (provided by the NRC)
- Apply for SR+ED tax claims through the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Incentive Program
- Funding Source: The Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF). Through investment of up to $500K, the IAF helps launch high potential technology ventures.
- Funding Source: MaRS Discover District has a number of services that can help entrepreneurs. They have funding from the Ministry of Research and Innovation for business projects and investments of up to $500,000 in seed capital.
- Ontario Centre of Excellence for Communications (OCE) and Information Technology helps startups by co-investing in the research and development of leading-edge, industrially relevant, technologies through partnerships at universities, and moving the results into the marketplace, through existing companies or new, spin-off enterprises.
If you are a mobile start up, please feel free to apply for Jump Start Financing at the BlackBerry Partners Fund, which can invest up to $500K USD into innovative start ups.