My del.icio.us links and notes.

• Our Google+ Conundrum by John Battelle | exactly the conundrum I see. – has google + and their definition of search corrupted what we really want as results. my experience is google is less useful.

I’ve been selling iPhones as each new generation comes along. In December I upgraded to an Apple unlocked iPhone 4S. So I had a spare iPhone 4 32GB to sell. I thought about taking it to India, as I’ve gotten good money on my old ones in the past. Yet in the end I decided to put it on Craigslist. Generally they were priced around $350 for one with box and all original accessories. I priced mine at $325 hoping to get rid of it quickly. Which I did.

Of note. All the calls I got were from people with friends overseas, or for someone not in the US. I stated in my Craigslist add that my iPhone was running iOS 5.01 with the latest modem firmware etc. To my knowledge you can jailbreak it today although unlocking is difficult to impossible. I tried, for the technically minded, I have SHSH blobs recorded and should have been able to revert to earlier iOS 4 software and then one of the unlocks. After a few hours of playing around – it just wasn’t worth it.

Some potential buyers know all the right questions. Some apparently didn’t. I don’t know what the plan was for the final buyer that collected my phone. It was sold AT&T locked without SIM. I got the impression it was going to the middle east. They didn’t ask me about what I know about jailbreaks or unlocks and after so many calls I stopped providing advice. My guess is they have someone that can do it and that’s the difference between someone that does a little messing around on the web hunting for solutions and someone who’s making a living out of repurposing these devices.

How do I see the economics. I bought three iPhone 4′s on the first day of it’s original release. It cost with subsidy about $250 each. I’ve run mine for 18 months approx. My contracts on all accounts clear at the end of February. I don’t really want to renew. I needed an unlocked phone for travel. I typically carry an Android – Samsung Galaxy S for that purpose. However, I always found I was just using it as a hotspot to keep on using the iPhone. So I may as well slip a sim in the iPhone. The new iPhone 4s wasn’t cheap. From Apple (the only real unlocked ones) it cost $811. So my outlay is now 811 – 325 or $486.

Now my guess is… when the next iPhone arrives I will get about the same value – around $500 for this “factory unlocked” phone. So other than my interest (nothing) and tie up of capital, I get the latest iPhone 4S experience for almost nothing, little risk and no additional carrier lock-in. We could look further forward. Then new iPhone 5? will require another out of pocket. $300 plus although that’s similar to what AT&T will charge me subsidized while locking me in for years.

Trading in and trading up has been common practice in many other countries around the world. In watching prices over the last few years in India traditionally Nokia phones provided this type of resale. Today I’m sure that is iPhone and one of the reasons is… even the 3GS is still being sold.

I’m pleased with the choice I made. I know this is a luxury item. I also wanted this upgrade more than an iPad2 or upgrading my 2008 15inch MacBook Pro. Those I can make do with. The 4S – it is the thing that is bringing new experiences and behaviors. That’s much more important to me.

On the other hand… I should really be getting a lower rate from AT&T on my plan as they are no longer providing a subsidy.

I’m sure I saw a comment or fact the other day on how mobile is impacting and changing the way we purchase services. I think the example was movies. The data point reminded me to write up why mobile will quickly (it is already for some users) become the dominant medium for interacting and buying services, booking restaurants, going to the movies, airlines, and why it is already changing shopping etc.

You may have remembered sitting in the kitchen a few years ago and talking about movies. Which one will we see? You then went off to the PC/Desktop to confirm what you had seen in the paper, the times and to try and secure a few seats. You may have been using Fandango or anther service. You’d print out the details after and be ready to go later. It took a few minutes and eliminated the risk of not getting a seat.

Now contrast it with the mobile experience. The mobile comes out and the conversation almost seamlessly moves to times and movies. There’s no need to move, find a PC or boot it up. Fandango is launched, it already knows your location, and provides details on all the theaters around. Various listings of movies appear. It is easy to share the “trailer” and collectively make a choice. This little act is an example of where the mobile creates a better conversation, saves time, and is more responsive – re environment, task at hand, and easy to use than the PC. Which means the mobile has an inbuilt conversion potential vs the PC that accelerates the adoption of online services. Add to that the pervasive nature of mobiles and their always on capability and we have a tsunami in the making.

This shift is effectively a one time deal. Assuming you once booked a movie on a PC, once you have booked one on your smartphone using an App like Fandango, you will probably never go back. As for breaking movies… unless you are a real buff it easier to find the trailers on the phone than on the PC when you don’t know what to search for. There are plenty of apps for that.

What’s my point?

• Mobile Apps are creating new conversational moments and exchanges that require or present opportunities for more responsive services.
• The PC is no longer the main delivery vehicle or mechanism for these services
• The “when I’m out” use case may now be the most important – spur of the moment.
• Easy to use, simplicity is in. Simplify! Simplify some more.
• Get a strategy for getting your APP on smart phones. Then keep it relevant.
• Occasional use is ok.

Really none of this is really new. The reason for making the point today is my perception that we have hit a tipping point, and the result will redefine many services over the next few years.

Dear Apple,

I’m really impressed with the latest iPhone 4S video camera. It’s close to passing my on the move motorcycle torture test. Yet fails at the most basic level. In video mode it won’t let my bluetooth headset act as the mic and so all opportunity for live narration is lost and so is much of my interest and joy.

Now I want you to think about the 100′s (even thousands) of adventure tourers out there on big BMW bikes. Some of them are wearing Hero Cam’s on their helmets to capture the action. Yet all around everything from Zumo’s to cameras is being replaced by a trusty smartphone mounted to the dash. You can find the Ram Mount I use here although I still have to reposition it so using the iPhone in landscape mode will be high enough to capture the street ahead.

When on the bike I wear an Sena SMH-10 bluetooth headset. You would like the design. Simple controls, easy to use on the move. I’ve now mastered using Siri for music, and making calls etc. without touching my phone. Where we have problems is when the video is used. I can’t use the bluetooth mic. This is also true with programs like Skype. (I will admit to running FaceTime over 3G on an earlier iPhone 4 and that worked well to broadcast live video of the road ahead. When will I get this again? Scary? Then perhaps the uStream adventurer would be a possibility).

While motorcycling may be dangerous, and using headsets may even be illegal in some places, the point here is you have a camera with great stabilization, and opportunity to use it in so many more ways… if only videographers could connect it to a bluetooth mic. In the video below I am traveling approximately 60mph on a rural road north of Napa. It proof rather than a best practice video. All we can hear is the purr of the bike and wind noise from the iPhone microphone.

So in the next iteration of iOS please process a simple little update. Make the camera work with a bluetooth headset. Even better, let Siri turn the video camera on and off and choose the camera front and back. It would also be nice if other developers could start integrating their apps with bluetooth too.

You may wonder why I even bother writing this. Simply, I’m getting tired of some of the restrictions. See also my post on iOS Safari and Photo Uploads. I’ve really taken photography on board with the 4S. It’s actually possible to get reasonable pictures now. That’s an incentive to think about all the things I could be taking. I’d love to be capturing the backroads of California and a commentary. I have other ideas for wearable devices too. Eg Looxcie Video Camera which while interesting doesn’t have the camera definition of the 4s. And you can see a series on how I could use re ethnography.

Ah well. Progress is never as fast as we want it. However, I’m not asking for complexity here. I’m asking for something very simple to be activated. We both know it is a minor software tweak. I think it is time for you to accelerate your feature roll-outs.

Regards

A somewhat frustrated and mostly loyal user in the Bay Area

Time to consider a place I shop at least once a week and ask “Why isn’t there a Safeway App for that?” That’s right there’s been no real advance in Supermarket shopping in ages. Well a some stores have tried self-checkout (I’ve seen it more in Britain). Most have some form of loyalty program. Gee I get discounts for keying in my number. Then if I don’t have a number the clerk keys one in anyways. Then that rash of stupid printed coupons when I’m leaving. Where’s the trash?

Now how perhaps should this all work?

• Well Siri does a good job on my shopping list. So lobby for adding Siri access to my Safeway app. Let other members in the family also add to that list. Make sure that when anyone goes into Safeway… they get the family desires list!. Activate that list when they go inside the shop or perhaps are nearby.
• Incent me to turn on my Safeway App or link to my reminders so that I get a location based notification when I enter the store. This should have my list, special deal options, and have you forgotten based on my passed history and recent monthly purchase behavior.
• Make it easy for me to scan my cart as I pick up stuff. Eliminate my waiting in line to get out. Let me bag as I go. Random scan me when I go out from time to time. Offer up things like easy to read nutrition or label details as I scan things. (too hard to read too many labels… make them phone friendly summaries.
• Consider new type of price offers. Eg you bought 12 last year. Buy 10 now and pick them up when you want…. In other words. Introduce some pre-ordering opportunities to increase Safeway’s buying efficiencies. Eg confirm a buy in the future.
• Keep things like a running total of spend. Provide opportunities to save money or improve my budgeting and meal planning. Consider opportunities to let the app speak to me. Help me with recipes there and then. Help me with meal ideas. Make the Safeway brand really work for me.
• Enable me to order “hot food” for quick pick-up. Let the app notify you when I am within x minutes of pickup. Move the register to my phone again!
• Provide me with details on how I shop and what I buy.
• Let me make requests? Eg that special marmalade, or mustard. Offer my request to others like me. Poll us… to see what we can buy or what can be sent for special pickup. Let me request things I see in other stores. Let me scan those items and submit.
• Then there are those last minute deals. Eg dated product or what soon will be. Do I want to rush on over? Some will. Butchery discounts etc.

WordPress isn’t just for “Blogging”. WordPress enables the ethnographer to capture a whole new world of information. At Convo we use WordPress for all sorts of things. It’s used for our Website, used for client blographies, for capturing notes, engaging participants etc. Till now, I’ve not been a big mobile WordPress fan. The app always seemed a little clunky. Yet for quick recording of on the job notes and a picture it’s great. It can also allow on the go approvals and updates when working with respondents.

Blogs enable you to categorize your activities. Tag too. With the wordpress app you can also add location dimensions. I’ve believed for years that blogs are underestimated as a reporting too. Eg Field Sales or Visit Reports. However, it was frankly impractical when limited to the laptop. Similarly, lack of pictures or video meant that capture to curation lost the immediacy and became a chore to do. Today, the mobile is making that simpler. Creating the record where you are and in the moment could never be easier. Creating a Post as an Event – makes it easier to follow-through. Using some of the other Ethnographer Tools I’ve mentioned can then be quickly integrated into that post after the event.

I’m making it one of my “new year’s resolutions” to move my blogging to my iPhone. I want to write or dictate more blogs while on the move. Siri will make that easier. Photo’s will help to bring it alive too. I feel a key element in making recording more effective is to think about the event and the recording tools that may be used as part of the set-up. Start simple and see how you go.

How to get started? If you have never had a blog before go to WordPress and create one. Use it as a test site to begin. Download the appropriate WordPress app. They exist for iPhone, Android, etc. Create some posts. You can aways delete them later.

My del.icio.us links and notes.

• Why Best Buy is Going out of Business…Gradually | Totally Agree! – I've had the same experiences over the last few years with Best Buy. I once used to shop there (about 5 years ago) and almost never do now.

  As an ex-retailer who has lived through a similar experience to what's outlined here, the problems are clear and obvious. The fixes are more complex and this retailer will probably never have the time to catch up. It may simple be "one more Christmas" for Best Buy. That will make or break it.

  There's another retailer out there that is dying more slowly. Sears! Sears could still be rebuilt and has a little more time and the category reasons to go are stronger. By contrast, Best Buy has a huge ranging problem. From DVD's to Games, etc. What they must do… is bring me back into the home/lifestyle I want / seek. We need intelligent suggestions, and the aging population also needs to feel a passion for upgrading when they can easily postpone. Best Buy brought us music – they should still… they bring us movies and video… it is the how it done.

• Facebook Poses a Far Greater Threat to the Web than Apple | More EVIL? #watchingbrief – Just to share that I am worried about all of them… Facebook, Google+, Apple, even Twitter.

  Some commentary is biased… others is long winded. We may end up in Silos although that is not new. Can we get out of Facebook? Or Google+?

  It's going to be harder to break from these networks… using the frameworks that have been so successful in building them. The opportunity still exists because mobile is exploding, and LTE is coming. That could mix things up further…. I still want to own my own data… I don't want to be forced into artificial timelines which will increasingly market lies about me.

• Google+ Is Going To Mess Up The Internet | Google’s is Doing EVIL? #watchingbrief – "I've been a happy Google customer product for a long time, because Google tools used to enhance the Internet. But as Google ships "the Google part" of its new Google+ identity, it's breaking the Web it once helped build. I can't take it anymore."
• In 2012: Skype is boring @evanwolff sums it up in Skype Journal – Skype was fun in 2003 to 2005 as Phil notes. What surprises me is that with the depth of passion that users have shown for it – there isn't the inventiveness and innovation around it anymore. There are so many things that could be done. When Skype launched it really changed the world. If I had a wish for Skype circa 2012 it would be reinvent the mobile space with Tango and Microsoft. They have the loyal users and still have the best audio codec. Video is ok. It is all the other things that Skype could do. It's time to start trying new stuff… not all of it will stick. A starting point would be a agile biweekly launch program. I don't see it as all that hard to sketch out.

Do you feel a little exposed shopping and scanning the merchandise? I still do. On Monday I went shopping with my son for basketball shoes. Sports Authority was pretty well shopped over. We’d find a shoe only in the wrong color or size. Before long I had my ShopSavvy App out and was scanning potential boxes. Two questions in mind. Will this show me what I am looking for? Can I get it cheaper somewhere else, or even can I get it close by as it is out of stock here. In the end we purchased on the day from Footlocker. However, if after that store we still had the wrong color we’d have gone online. I had it scanned!

In the lead up to Christmas, retailers were complaining about people like me. Window shopping, and then ordering via Amazon. I made three purchases this way and saved over $50. That’s good enough to cement the behavior. I may be prepared to buy on the spot for convenience or instant gratification, yet in this case it really didn’t matter. It was going under the tree. Even better I got my savings after paying Amazon to wrap them too. Yes I was that lazy this year!

There’s some problems with this whole scanning process. The “scanner” feels a little obvious. Actually I’ve been asked in BestBuy. I told them. Sorry, am checking to see if this is a reasonable price point. It wasn’t and I showed the clerk the comparison. He said he couldn’t match it. And I left the store. Yet like me… many more people are becoming confident that scanning products this year is appropriate. The newspaper articles suggest it is becoming common place. Perhaps a stretch.

How does a retailer protect themselves? Best go to own label/brand. Secure unique stocks that aren’t available elsewhere. They would be smart to encourage scanning too. If I’m in BestBuy I should be downloading their App if I don’t already have it. It should have a scanner on it. It should also enable scanning in other stores – anywhere. Amazon did this over the Christmas period. Amazon PriceCheck got howls from other retailers. More importantly, for Amazon it is providing an important competitive database. Personally I prefer ShopSavvy as it provide other options in the area and online too, which may or may not better than Amazon.

Where could this take us?

• Benefits to us scanning as we shop. (for retailer, for a potential group of buyers) To a personal shopper? To purchasing? To planning?
• New Shopping behaviors. Substitutes, knockoffs, changes in buying cycles and deal and promotion behaviors. (Eg Scan the real thing – identified – fits – get a knock-off). Example. I shop on Black Friday. Will a scan provide promised delivery at the same or a lower price in the future? What if I scan products in WholeFoods and share with Safeway? Will Safeway do home delivery on them? How would the same help “Trader Joe’s”?
• Time to rethink your Promo’s and Coupons. Even loyalty programs. I shop Safeway weekly. I don’t have a Safeway app. What that should look like is a story in itself. Same for Trader Joe’s. Perhaps another post.

I’ve been reviewing my app usage and writing about some of the ones I use. I’ve come to the conclusion that many apps are now out of date and ready for the scrap heap. Flipboard really pushed me to reflect and consider – what makes an app obsolete? What may happen in 2012? How are apps changing and what should you do about it?

• Does your app get to the point fast enough?
• Is it really just web pages in an App wrapper?
• How complicated is the initial sign-on and first use?
• Do I need instructions? Why?
• How many buttons do you have? Small or large? Are they unique re design?
• Have you optimized the touch experience? swipes, refreshes,
• Is there another app out there that is simpler, more elegant and does much the same thing?
• Can you use it with one finger or a thumb?
• Sometime in 2012 – How will it work with Siri?
• What can you tell me about where I am now or whom I will be interacting with. (Eg Staff on board?)

I’ve used a picture of the United/Continental App. This app actually works pretty well. However, look at the home screen. This is ugly, it has duplication and isn’t using the phone all that effectively. Example – why do I even need airport maps when I’m not in or very near an airport? Check-in and reservation are duplications. My Account and Sign-out are effective duplications. My initial screen should be “book flight” as currently I have no open reservations. It shows my status and miles balance and yet this doesn’t take me anywhere. I could image a much nice app… where swipes take you to info e.g. left to map, center is booking or current flight, right is frequent flyer card or active checked in reservation. Scrolling up on any screen could provide additional info. Maps could interchange with shopping at the airport, center screen enable a flip through reservations, or old reservations, and on the right swipe, under my virtual card, mileage plus details. Now I’d have an app that I could be used rushing through the airport.

I’m thinking there needs to be an App 2.0 manifesto out there. Something that really changes the benchmark. Something that establishes the table stakes for even launching an effective app. The days where Apps could suck in a web page or provide a wrapper are over.

App 2.o – Please add to the suggestions:

General Interaction

• Are Socially Enabled – Never initially on initial sign-on – rather optionally through sharable actions.
• Are Finger Friendly – Work with the ole thumb swipe. If I can’t use your app with my thumb then maybe it is too hard. That includes, less clicks, make it easy to return home, and give a feel to the app that is tactile, responsive, in touch with the user.
• Enable Discovery – The joy in may apps comes through the joy of swiping and finding something new. Just don’t make so many levels no one knows where they are.
• Are graphically rewarding – clear, concise. Importantly can be read by those whose sight is failing, or in poor light, works on dim battery saving screen etc.
• Have easy access to notification, location, privacy data and policies in simple english.
• Don’t try the hard selling. Don’t stumble or load slowly. Don’t force unwanted ads after an action.

Optimizing the App in the Tool

• Uses features that exist in the phone or can be augmented. Example the camera, email, twitter updates, flight routes, map locations. Almost every service related app could use the camera.
• Understands that I use other social tools on the phone and have linked them to this app. Thus helping me with the social context. (e.g. re United. Why can’t I see potential friends that may also be traveling. Eg share that I am in an airport. Temporary. Or help tweet a flight route, or engage me in the airport more appropriately.
• Enable quick and responsive customer service. (The United App doesn’t recognize my Platinum status when it comes to presenting numbers to call!) Mobile calls should also have or enable more context. Eg a text/message before the call and a ring back guarantee.
• Capture Feedback and Suggestions. My phone knows when I leave the plane. United knows when I land. What about that feedback notification? Stores the same.
• Get in the Flow. What about my baggage? Why do I have to look at sign boards. Why can’t I have a notification? Then seems obvious that if I booked with United and got a rental car than when I land I get the above and a notification to pop open my Avis app and get straight into my car. Map coordinates for Motion X? to my hotel? etc.
• Become part of a portfolio – Eg a travel portfolio, a finance portfolio, a shopping experience etc.

Fix the Backend:

• Simplify and reduce the number of steps to get anything done.
• Consider responses in milliseconds and on the move.
• Allow me to cache important data – for when I don’t have a connection or lack a data plan.
• Help me with HotSpots – anywhere and everywhere access.

Ask the Customer / User:

• Was that easier, faster, better?
• Watch what they do.
• See what they don’t.
• Encourage a stream of info off the app – then learn from it!

I’m creating this post using air dictate a new application which allows you to use Siri on your Mac. Let’s just say it works fine. Many years ago when I first started working I used a Dictaphone . Now I just feel rusty. What amazes me is this app seems to work more effectively than Dragon Dictate which it is based 0n. I’ve never had success with Dragon on a Mac or Windows PC before. This post illustrates that it’s possible to use your iPhone to dictate on your Mac using Air Dictate.

I’m going to be using this a lot more often. I have a suspicion that dictating can also improve how I communicate and form sentences. All good practice and it may save me time.

A little history on dictation

As 2011 closes it is becoming more obvious that Siri really changed the perspective on how we communicate and use smart phones. Siri is beta for a reason. It doesn’t always work and you still have to learn to work with it. This is a post covering a few of my own observations and what really excites me about Siri 1.0.

My Apple unlocked iPhone 4s finally arrived a few weeks ago. I’d convinced myself to purchase it for Siri first and foremost, and the camera. From my posts on Ethnographers mobile tools… you can see I am excited about the camera. AirPlay Screen mirroring – perhaps not quite there. It works sometimes with Hulu over my AppleTV and other times it doesn’t. Games? Perhaps if others want to watch. May be useful in some other cases. Other aspects of the 4S. Battery life appears to be down (not as good! BAD!), although the phone does appear more responsive. I’m still to find out how things like iMessage work when I change SIM’s on my travels. Now to Siri:

• Siri is cool on the Motorcycle!: I use a Sena SMH-10 bluetooth headset. Siri is mostly accurate although I must be in a coverage zone. No 3G… no Siri. However, accessing songs, or by an artist is now easy…. I can just call them up. That works at home too over AirPlay. Gloves are not longer a nuisance.
• Siri needs some training: I had to add relationships to my contacts so I could call my daughter. Siri just doesn’t get how I pronounce her name. That’s true for other names too. So making calls is risky and part training yourself until you know she gets it right each time. However, Siri doesn’t recognize “daughter” only child. This seems stupid to me. If I say call my daughter… Siri produces both my son and daughter as a choice. Obviously more work with contacts and I can create nicknames or other relationships. However, talking to Siri doesn’t always seem to establish these relationships. Siri also doesn’t’ seem to remember how I pronounce a name.
• Siri is a Brilliant Text Message Typist: Perhaps the most brilliant aspect is Siri types accurate text messages out of the box. Or frequently enough that if you speak clearly. For me this is Siri’s stroke of genius. Identifying that voice is ready for short messages and then people may want to learn how to do something longer. Dictation remains a different skill and while I’ve tried it with Siri I don’t feel proficient although I want to be.
• Siri’s Party Tricks: Well yes Siri can tell you the weather or the price of Apple and execute a search quickly for you. Again speak clearly! Fact is the more you use it this way…. the more effective it seems to become. Tasks, and reminders. I’m increasing their use. Siri lacks obvious controls. Like WiFi on, location off, notifications on or off etc.

What Excites me about Siri for 2012:

I will be disappointed if developers don’t get to integrate their apps with Siri come June 2012 when the next round of developer tools are usually released. Siri needs an API. There are obvious candidates for Siri enhancement. Even at the first level. Open App is a quicker way to find it or move from one to another when you have many available. I’d expect the right API to kick off a huge number of new opportunities. What happens when Siri can also become a “Customer Service” rep by querying a database, or getting you the right service person quicker. Fonolo integration anyone? VoIP clients are obvious integration opportunities. Similarly I want to Tweet and while Twitter is integrated it’s not connected to Siri. I may also want voice updates and notifications etc. I see some real advantages of connecting Siri to company databases. Eg I want product service or manual information. As the data may be more precise there is less room for error. I suspect this will also build up search capabilities and enable more relevant answers to be returned. The manufacturer has nothing on that, however on the Web I find… what if Siri becomes a meta-mediary across all the best search engines too?

One of my favorite questions is “What’s your XXXX strategy?”. Well it seems obvious. To your “What’s your mobile strategy?”, now add “What’s your Siri strategy?”. Why? Simple. Both these are forcing you to look at how you interact with customers / users. In my opinion, an increasingly radical re-look is required. It’s time to get to the point quicker with your customers. Mobile response times are expected to be quicker and the user is less forgiving than when on a PC.

Time to complain about Apple’s highly restrictive iOS Safari policy. Here’s my example – you be the judge.

I am visiting a website on my mobile. It has a form that asks for a photo. However the choose photo file button is shaded out. Why? Because iOS Safari doesn’t allow you to upload files / photo’s form your iPhone. It also doesn’t allow you to download files although that’s not the issue I’d like resolving right now.

Is there any reason good enough to make me worried about uploading files and particularly photos off my iPhone without having an App for that installed? At one time, web apps that run in the browser were going to be the future. Today many apps are really just browser based in a simple wrapper (e.g. like PhoneGap) that makes them iPhone apps. That gets you a photo upload function for example. However, is that really necessary? Doesn’t it add complication for something simple when we don’t need it?

Now my simple forms apps that requires a photo was created using Gravity Forms. It runs on WordPress and is delivered in a nice iPhone / mobile format using WPTouchPro a wordpress plug-in. It works perfectly on my Samsung Galaxy (Android) and I’ve seen it working just fine on a Blackberry too. In fact on Android I can upload other things… like voice memos, and more. Now while I could come up with some additional customization and perhaps even a prettier APP – I’m talking about a quick mobile research project that doesn’t involve thousands of people. Apple’s policy is limiting flexibility and restricting what I can do with my simple app. I think it is stupid.

Now there are some APPs for the iPhone that have been built that aim to get around this problem. AurigmaUp is one example. Picup is another. You can also find source code for designing your own if you look. The first two apps are capable of launching from your iOS Safari browser form uploading your photo and returning to your form. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to make that work. The developers/providers of both these apps are unwilling to help. Similarly, the Gravity Forms crowd isn’t interested. Neither is the WPTouchPro developers. To an extent I get it. Leaving your form in the iOS Safari browser, opening an APP and returning to the original browser window is sort of broken. It’s a fudge in any language.

For me, it is a time waste. It makes a prototyping opportunity more difficult. Yes I may want to create a full app later for many reasons. However, for today I’ve wasted too much time. I don’t have a decent explanation or understanding of why I shouldn’t be able to upload photos in your mobile browser to a form I have created. This seems like a simple thing to fix. It doesn’t create holes that I can see. It doesn’t or shouldn’t open up the download anything I want via the browser which I sort of get and yet is very restrictive too. I understand although I may not agree that limiting downloads re movies and music is not in the best interests of the platform. Yet you have no problem letting me save an image I’ve found on the web. So why Why WHY can’t I upload one?

Now this is one experimental product I’m hoping to make use of… rather than just having it sitting here. Here’s the problem. You are running a small group interview. Typically the camera or cameras are set up facing in one direction. Usually to capture most of the group, and typically not the moderator. However, the camera is never really looking at anyone. Yes you and I know why they don’t like being on the camera. Now many of you will have been in a Theatre in the round – a 360 degree view. Each way you turn, you see what’s happening. Or you may have wondered how they take those car chase movies. I think in the old days it was 9 cameras mounted on the roof of a moving vehicle. Now today… imagine you could do that with your iPhone!

Yes 360 degree video. Say hello to Dot.

Watch your videos on your iPhone 4 / 4S by swiping your screen to virtually spin around, or switch modes and view them in panoramic widescreen. Looker allows you to instantly share your 360° world with friends and family (via facebook, twitter, or kogeto.com) right from the palm of your hand.

Yes, now imagine Dot / iPhone in the middle of a group session. On playback you can focus in on who’s talking and move around the group at will. Well that’s my theory at least so far. I just got it and began testing. Examples of tests I’ve run… putting it in the middle of a table and walking around it. The focus was surprisingly good and the definition ok in an indoor environment. As a device it could be placed relatively discretely. You simply place the iPhone screen down… so have something flat to put it on. Unfortunately, it isn’t going to work with a tripod…. so perhaps under a few books might be best.

At $79 this is not your bargain basement test and it has a few challenges with using it. First up, it’s a screen down app. So after setting it up (alignment is easy in the looker app) you press record… and hold it flat. Well record is hard to see. Be nice if Apple would let them use the speaker button as the camera start and stop. The next problem you have.. is duration. It’s limited to 3 minutes. I contacted Kogeto the makers and they assured me that the next iPhone app update for Looker will have that worked into it. I certainly hope so… for otherwise I’m not going to get a lot of use out of this. See what others are doing with it at Dotspots. I suspect it could be a little like the modern reinvention of the fisheye lens. I’m still thinking about where to mount it on my Motorcycle. Yet the problem is activating it as the record button will be hidden under any mount. Even better if I could just say… “Siri launch looker and record”. Apple are you listening? I really need Siri to be smarter now!

Another in this Ethnographer’s Mobile Tools series… making your SmartPhone your best friend in the field… and how to do the job a little better. You have probably used your smart phone to take pictures of the odd flip chart or to capture and remember a document type. Yet later when you look at them… they are off center, they aren’t straight and really need an edit before you pop them into something else.

Here’s an app DocScan I’ve been testing for making that simpler. I still click the photos on the run – however, I’m finding DocScan a great way to go back edit and get the twist out and make those documents appear to lie flat. That said this isn’t the best App I’ve ever seen and the cropping feature is ok but a little fussy with my big fingers. Still to do the same task otherwise I’d be uploading the photo to iPhoto, cropping and then tilting and that still won’t give the same result. I can’t do this edit in the basic iPhone crop and tilt function either. This app also give the opportunity to add a few simple notations…

Make your own choice on whether or not you need the pro version at $1.99. This enables some more output options re jpegs and pdf’s.

So, just think about next time you see some documents… how even some quick snaps can later be adjusted to lie flatter and look like what they were. Eg newspapers, magazines, picture on a wall etc. No need to worry about standing quite so straight on. Save yourself some time and click. You can use it for old family photos too…

Another in a series…. identifying useful mobile tools we can use on the job that help us share better later. Most of us have used our mobile video function at some time. Yet when it comes to editing, telling a story around it or representing it in a way that keys in on a critical point, the video is too fast, the background voice is lousy, or too fast for the point we want to make. What you really want to do is break the video down, slow it down into individual steps, perhaps even put simple notations on that video and concurrently put your own short voice over on it. Fact is, what might have been two seconds needs to become 10 or 12 seconds. What others miss everyday…. you saw…. and can now share with others.

What’s the secret? A neat little app by TechSmith who have been capturing video on PC screens for years. (ever use Jing?). It’s called Coach’s Eye. They say: “Whether you’re working on a golf swing, football drill, soccer kick, or yoga posture…Coach’s Eye delivers “ah-ha” moments that elevate athletes from good to great.”. Well yes… and that focus is rather limiting. It does a fantastic job for working out those sporting type swings. That may be the big audience I don’t know. What I know… is works well capturing an interaction with a screen, how someone lifts a pan, or brushes a horse or any number of things we do everyday. How do you explain how to froth the milk correctly for a cappuccino? How do you capture an expert in action. This app will let you do that. It will also let you edit other videos that you have taken on your iPhone. In my view it is quick and easy.

This is one of those apps that is a down and dirty quick tool. It can get some video out. It can target what you are looking at and create an impactful… rough cut. These are great for “coaching” not necessarily for broadcast TV. They fit with my approach on how you get data in the hands of others… in way that will make a point without overdoing the production values. In other words… quick shares for small teams.

Anything I’d like fixed?

I like what this app does… and it is simple enough to work out. I’m less excited about the graphics and the in my view heavy handed use of color. It’s a slick app, the graphics make it feel a little rough around the edges.