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.

Over the weekend  Andy Abramson received his new iPod Touch 4 in the mail. Apple’s New iPod touch Part One-VoIP on the iPod – VoIP Watch. What he’s yet to reveal is his experience with FaceTime – Apple’s new video call solution which I’ve written a series of posts on. We had our FaceTime call yesterday and I learned a few things.

1. iPhone 4 Upgrades Required: I had to upgrade my iPhone4 to iOS4.1 to enable FaceTime calls with the new iPodTouch4. When Andy tried to connect with me he received a message that I hadn’t yet upgraded to 4.1. Upgrading came at some cost to me. Loss of my jailbreak and SIM unlock, use of my iPhone4 as a hotspot using MiFi and FaceTime calls over 3G using My3G. Still, the incentive remains for the jailbreak community and I expect a new solution before long. An iPod Touch user needs an iPhone4 user’s phone number to currently contact them.
2. Email not Phone Numbers: As we knew the iPod Touch comes without a phone number.  And you can add multiple emails. See picture below. Right now this same functionality is not available in the iPhone4. Although you can add email ID’s to Game center so I imagine they will merge in time. This article explains in more detail. This highlights the need for a basic presence system and further ID management. Eg which profiles do I want to make available and to whom? This is the future for CallerID. It’s also the step necessary to make FaceTime available on almost any device; there are already plenty of rumors that it will overlay iChat and come to Windows etc.

3. Access Manager Future: FaceTime become more useful when “email-numbers” come to the iPhone4 . Emails equate to different profiles and Apple just becomes your identity manager for escalating conversations. Location-based escalations will take on new meaning. Here Apple’s been really smart – they’ve borrowed both email and phone numbers and without adding another ID layer are simply moving towards offering an “access management” solution for any profile. I’m waiting for “myprofilemanager”.
4. ADD SMS to the iPod: I added and experimented with an SMS app on my iPhone4. “TextFree” (and others) provides you with another number to receive SMS’s on. So the quickest free way to give your new iPod Touch a phone number (SMS only) is adopt one of these APPs. Free unlimited Text in the US etc. Probably not perfect although my quick tests suggested it worked quite well. TextFree supports notifications – so all you need is your iPod Touch in a WiFi zone. Or as Andy noted in our conversation… Just use your iPod Touch with a MiFi mobile hotspot and do all your FaceTime and texting for free over 3G. That’s the future and it’s one where the carrier has zero control over your number, minutes or even SMS.
5. What next? There are many opportunities. Eg auto create a contact list of FaceTime users. Add some “available indicator”. Create a parallel SMS channel (it’s already there – Apple’s notification server” we just don’t see it like that. Add in FaceTime notifications to the messaging stream and make that more manageable!.

The rollout of FaceTime is currently the most interesting and aggressive VoIP project anywhere. FaceTime is “Apple’s Startup”. Later next year, expect profiles and developer opportunities re CallerID’s while your “dating site” etc works in the background. This will mean a change to notifications. Notifications will add in Call options – it will become the communications manager. While Apple didn’t get Facebook to sync with their new GameCenter. I’m sure it will come. In fact FaceTime may also revolutionize the “mobile news” stealing Skype’s thunder when integrated with Twitter. If I was Apple I’d be working on both of these. When @stuarthenshall becomes +stuarthenshall I accept or decline a FaceTime call. Or *stuarthenshall for an “unlisted” call request via Twitter. New API’s will make this type of thing simple.

This story isn’t all told yet – more random thoughts:
The iPod Touch is becoming the “multi-faceted phone”. In some experiments people have put the same email account into two iPod touches. Like Skype, both ring and only one can be answered. I wrote about why that sort of thing was brilliant when Skype launched vs IM clients that always logged you out. This capability will only become even more interesting. So we’re moving towards a point where, when FaceTime rings your mobile, it will also ring your desktop, iPad, iPod etc. Any device you want. Finally we are “names” not numbers!

The iPodTouch4 as the home phone or even a work phone becomes better and better. (See my post FaceTime and the Enterprise). You can already turn your GoogleVoice account into a home number (for free). You can also use TextFree or the equivalent for free SMS calls. Note Calls to your TextFree number result in a notification and the number that called. Add Skype too. Let all this stuff run in the background and keep it in a dock! Otherwise the battery may not last very long. All you need is WiFi and you can route anything to it. Thus the MiFi hotspot challenge for the carriers and cable providers. When wifi anywhere is good enough the user takes control.

Where Facetime may shine is when AirPlay emerges if it works to stream FaceTime over AppleTV. Will that be in the iOS4.2 announcement?

Summary:
When Apple made your mobile phone number into ‘FaceTime’, it created its own value stream out of the carriers’ most important asset. Now Apple is offering to enable your email accounts to do the same thing. Next they let developers do it for any social networking site and connect them up to FaceTime. On the behavioral side – this puts Skype and GTalkVideo into a mobile format where they simply aren’t today. Mobile video calling even limited to WiFi beats the desktop for all short Video sessions. FaceTime is from a consumer perspective “cross platform” with only one device required to manage multiple identities.

In October 2007 I wrote Why VoIP Innovation Died with Skype In it I wrote: “Skype has four possible plays which it failed to capitalize on 1)Directory, 2)SIP & Identity, 3)API 4)Presence” Apple has all these elements in play. Apple will remain the facilitator if they expect to be really successful. Apple’s prize is all the social networks and directories coming to FaceTime first. Match, Craigslist etc. Few guesses Apple will first open it to developers and then open it more broadly to Android, Nokia etc. WHY? Because “call” and “video” interruptions are the most intrusive and valuable escalations that happen on a mobile. When Apple knows I call a car dealer Apple has the ad engine capability to make real money. Add in location. Many variations are possible. FaceTime needs to go everywhere and infect every handset and desktop. Most importantly…. Apple has no urgency on monetizing this direction. It’s not IM and it’s not a phone number. Today it’s just the evolutionary step that is next.

I wrote other clues too. “Communications is Fragmenting. Oct 2008. I see FaceTime following that brief. I also wrote “Blogging Lifestreams and My Personal Cloud” Jan 2010 where I made reference to “Unlike yesterday… conversations that matter lie outside your buddylist or following list.”  F2F hasn’t died and FaceTime is likely to bring it closer and to a geo-location near you. Add in Qik like broadcast capabilities or watching games in action and it could go a whole lot further.

I’m reading the NYTimes article on Apple’s app store and for anyone that reads me there’s no surprises in it. So lets think more broadly about the real implications and the strategic options. How is the app store evolution challenging Apple or what options is it creating for it? Then what might it mean for you, your mobile aspirations, or retail focus? Is Amazon threatened? eBay? Craigslist? Nokia? RIM? Android? This is not a prediction – its just meant to broaden the conversation.

App Store Is a Game Changer for Apple and Cellphone Industry – NYTimes.com

“There’s never been anything like this experience for mobile software,” Mr. Smith says of the App Store boom. “This is the future of digital distribution for everything: software, games, entertainment, all kinds of content.”

For example…

• iStore: At what point does the iTunes store (when to rename it the Apple Store? or iStore?) become even more like Amazon? When books are added? When magazines? What about all the contracts for services. Can Avis, Hertz etc be far behind ZipCar? What’s the cost saving for getting rid of the counters. What about airlines? Obviously there’s a real intersection between cost savings, a unique app and whether or not it is free. It may still be along time before Expedia can check me in on a Continental flight.
• iListings: If Apple behaves more like Amazon, should it just enable third party stores within the store? Would this type of approach not help to eliminate the developer issues re approval? That could also take the store into other territory that becomes interesting. Eg. Amazon isn’t local it is global. However the iStore is potentially local for all sorts of local services. I’ve called them mobile social classifieds when talking about twitter in this regard. The “persistence” factor is not a strength on twitter, however new listings by local is huge. How does Apple harness this opportunity? Simple add another “app” like contacts. Now it’s classifieds – apply a fee structure and reputation system to it. Many of the elements already exist.
• iTrade: As Apple drives the iStore harder it becomes my store, my trading point. Again unlike Amazon with the data in the palm of my hand the iStore must help me trade my information, my location, and my desires. So far Apple is acting like a traditional online store. The opportunity is to bring us into it. When Apple thinks about “core applications” like iTunes, contacts, notification server, they now need to think about my personal trading capability. They also need to think about sending money. I have an iTunes account. You have an iTunes account. It should be easy to send money. In fact Apple long term should think about creating its own currency and providing dividends to users that trade their info on the iStore network.
• iAccess: Now for the iStore to work for me Apple must give me more control over my data and be very transparent about it. It must help me with notifications as a replacement for traditional call signaling. It must help me broker my access and provide the filters that I’ll require.

Perhaps it all sounds a little far-fetched. The momentum behind Apple, and the touch screen is huge and yet there remain many risks. I read recent data that Samsung sold 40 million touch devices last year. For Apple to win they must accelerate sales of the iPhone/iPodTouch around the world (can’t do it at current prices points). So what opportunities exist to accelerate “commerce” around the iPhone?

Ten Year Strategy? iMoney: There’s easy a 10 year strategic vision in putting these components into play. Developers are proving why every company needs a mobile and app strategy. Apple’s strategic preference will not lead it automatically to becoming a trading network where the devices are reduced to the importance of a Fedex delivery driver’s handheld. Go into an Apple store and get your latest checkout on an iPodTouch (slightly augmented) and it becomes easy to see Apple can put a cash register in everyone’s hands.

I think that’s strategic. That’s the difference between thinking about mobile money and mobile wallets and “ringing up business”.  It may also be a fact like that which makes iPhones “cheap” in the emerging markets. It may be the banks that are happy to subsidize the “cash registers” of the future where the receipt is just an SMS and the receipts are all owned by the individuals. So as new users come on to the iStore they already have a trade-able history.

Four Apple APPS for your iPhone: When one puts a hat on like this.. the RIM stores, the Android, Ovi, etc stores just don’t seem to cut it. So… let’s close with four “APPLE APPS” that could really change the current thinking.

1. Cash Register. Let anyone one ring up and collect money for goods or services anywhere. (proof is already in the Apple stores) SMS receipts to any number or iTunes name. More … when does Home Depot or Sainsbury’s let you use it to check out when in their store? Gosh customer pays for the register…
2. Mobile Social Classified (these also appear in the store and new local listings.) Simple format. It’s already proven.. uses Twitter/Craigslist like functionality with photo, video attachments etc. Most are free. Money is in the cash register. Jobs and cash for work.
3. My iStore Balance. This also has a reputation element. However it lets me send money, receive money etc. It may also help me manage multiple identities. Eg let me make payments using a TwitterID. (needs an improved definition!)
4. Feedback. Take the feedback function out of the store and enable a broader form of feedback. Whether product, service, place, content, etc.. this feedback become a “bookmarking” system much like we use Del.icio.us. It’s a great place to capture my interest on problems I’m having or things I need fixing. This is important for tying back to third-party suppliers.. all those cash register services etc. It’s also perfectly appropriate as “context before a call request directed at any large company.

Making these transactions more transparent is important to further building trust in the iStore as my trading place. Once we can aggregate or pay for some of our services via our iStore we can also aggregate our demand. And that is real power.

Apple, put the store in the hands of the user – the iStore!

The initial connectivity issues have now long gone away. WWDC for those that might not know is Apple’s world wide developer conference. It has pulled a very global audience and like me, 60% have never attended before. I’ve met some fantastic people here. The Apple staff are outstanding.

Many have asked me why I’m here? I’m not a developer although may now write / create a small app or two. I’m there because I wanted to know first hand how far we can push the boundaries of the mobile social space and how quickly. I also wanted a deeper understanding of how to manage development efforts / expectations and the toolset available to developers.

I’m coming away with both and more.

I talked with an ex Nokia and Windows Mobile game developer tonight. It is currently game over in that regard. Game developers are a key group here.

I’d reflect and do a few things differently. I would have liked more show ‘n tell sessions with real app examples. Eg the stories I’d also like more are around marketing and business nous in the apps / iPhone streams. I also think many lab sessions were over-subscribed. The planning will have to start now for next year and cater to 10000 people or take the show on the road. It may well be both. The demand is clear.

It’s the stories that really motivate developers. Last night we were treated to a surprise when the founder of Anusen.com presented her games at the Silicon Valley iPhone Developer Meetup run monthly by Tim Burks.

Anusen is a new little educational software company that got a lot to be proud of. I think it is a classic immigrants story. Founders come to Silicon Valley. Do well. Have beautiful young daughter and then launch iPhone software development company. That might be the cryptic story. The human story was more fascinating when told last night. It’s also a lesson for those thinking about complex solutions that simplicity, the type that a four year old can grasp, may get you into business faster.

Anu shared her games. Games that emerged from being a mother and motivated by a child’s interest in making learning fun and simple. We were shown six games that Anusen has developed over the last six months. These include Word Magic (listed as #9 in the iTunes store today), Math Magic, Match Magic etc. They are nice elegant apps that are designed for a child. I love the “sticker” reward approach, it appears very appropriate. Touch and choose the answer. What could be simpler.

The human side. She designs them and does the graphics. Her husband (X) turns it into an app and their 4 year old daughter “tests” the software. Perhaps the cutest part of the demo was hearing their four year old provide the voice over commentary “awesome”, “try again” etc. Perhaps they will redefine the definition of family business. Few youngsters will be able to say they joined and got started at 4.

In my view there’s enough of a start here that they could develop it into quite a nice business. Right now the number of Mum’s with iPhones and Touchs with 4 year olds is still a small number. Yet that’s going to keep growing.

I saw a few lessons in this example.

• It paid to have some good graphics and they’ve used the “touch” capability very effectively in a simple way.
• The core model or engine that drives these games is the same. I can infer the same or a similar voice package. (Multi-language???)
• The approach has been quick to roll out and could segment an interesting position in the burgeoning educational software area.

Some general comments I didn’t hear but remain useful.

• Updates. Many reviewers want more words. I imagine other apps in this series are similar. Still flash card like apps are what they are. The value is incredible compared with buying a real set of flash cards!
• It struck me that again these products are under-marketed. The company is in an enviable position with six products now targeting this market. Yet the apps don’t cross-market. They don’t talk education or send the adult to a special page or a blog or forum to contribute.
• I still know very little about the iPhone educational software for kids. It feels like the potential for fertile ground.
• The iTunes store remains a problem for a product like this. Lucky for them they have a top 9 product in Word Magic. Yet selling the portfolio should be a priority. There is no recommendation by age or for who section.

I’m also seeing more opportunities:

• Like many iPhone apps there’s little external marketing. The basic product elements have done well. Although the product branding is minimal.  What I don’t see on Anusen.com is any blog, any forum for parents or even other options that could create a bigger and larger community around these games. Think leapfrog!
• There’s no SEO optimization to getting the games listings visible in Google searches. I’m not trying to be negative. This is a typical challenge for developers. In this case we have more than normal. Great graphics, a signature if you will. I can also understand that the “marketing” budget didn’t exist. It was a project first – for fun – and is only now becoming a business. However, the social tools that could exist and could promote these kids games are missing.We had a good example last night in a “Linkify” talk/review.
• There no PR component and as a special interest / “family turns to iPhone development” is frankly a nice story. There’s also an opportunity with educational sites.

I’m increasingly concluding that there is a real market for “marketers” to partner with iPhone app developers. Yes in the product innovation but also in the marketing… just getting the word out. Creating opportunities and insight for the team. It seems there is little money in them to begin with. The only way is to factor a % as part of a relationship and help these small businesses prosper. The elements for many of these are the same for all. They  need sales and exposure. They need simple promo and product and release plans. They need blogs and social media strategies. Where’s the YouTube on this product?  Most can continue to be executed by the developers. They also need access to partnerships, input on listings and connections to other developers. There’s real opportunity for cooperation and ranging items. I’d bet Anusen knows more about 4-5 year old games than most if not all in the iTunes store. Add to this bus dev opportunities and potential partnering. I bet there’s a little girl that could be the spokesperson…

These games aren’t making enough yet. They could also get blitzed by a player with bigger pockets or they could be bought out by a player with big pockets. As always this depends on the motivations. In this case the product is now well beyond just being a game.

I came away impressed. Having also seen Ge Wang and listened to him talk about sonic music, Smule and the Ocarina  at eComm I’d say there is some good learning there for Anusen. Talk to the child development people at Stanford. Find a way to brand your company! Etc.

Last night at the Silicon Valley iPhone Developers Meetup we had another great session. As always you don’t always get what you think. It’s the new perspectives that help. So when the guy from Oracle stood up to present I was a little like “why Oracle?”.  When the Linkshare presentation happened at the end most of the audience was all ears. I personally got a kick out of the Anusen kid’s game presentation and will write up a separate post. I think overall the group ended up doing a little thinking about art. I’ve separately recommended to Tim a couple of possible presenters for next time.

Oracle:
Oracle provided an Enterprise view to a group that largely seems to be busy with consumer concepts. While simple the app had to deal with a specific set of hurdles which included security, update procedures, lack of an app store etc. Where and when will users synch! He also made excellent points on using web approaches and the usual lack of API’s on internal networks.

oratweet

The app appeared to be a simple directory. See this post here In fact it contains links to each persons reports, their key data and the ability use the Oratweet program. Distribution to date has been word of mouth and the demand keeps growing.

Learning. If you didn’t know it the enterprise is going to present some real opportunities. Note Oracle didn’t use the Apple VPN solution, rather they use their own. Security is a key issue. Frankly there is lots more that can be done and it’s likely this is the first stage. It seems the Blackberry users are envious and there are no plans currently to provide a solution for it.

Linkshare:
The last presentation was on Linkshare. We were shown the game Spore. Within this game are links to other games by the same manufacturer. The view is a coverflow like view.  The result is when I buy a game via that link I get paid 5% of the game value. The payment or commission paid via Linkshare. This is referral income just like you were running the Amazon store. That’s pretty cool and I expect to see a lot of variations appearing on this theme. See this for Apple details.

Neal Goldstein also presenting on his upcoming book “iPhone Development for Dummies“. We got plenty of the MVC model view controller insight. There will be some helpful first time coding examples in the book. Expected release in late April I believe. I wonder if there will be a Kindle version?

We also had someone from the fine arts side add their thoughts for using original art. It’s great to see this sort of fusion being presented.

Overall the opportunity to get iPhone / Touch app development right has never been greater. The growing number of devices (approx 50 million I think) means we will see many new forms of professionalism merging with the initial developers. There are new models for successful iPhone developments coming. The best models will reward the developer and broaden the business development base and focus.

I still leave these meetings with a view that there is a real lack of marketing nous with many and today I believe they are starting to recognize it. You can no longer dump an app in the iTunes store and expect success. That would be a miracle. The time has come where one must be much more sophisticated. The launch planning also needs to move back to almost the gestation period…. or even be part of the discussion. Many apps don’t take that long to create. Learning how to market them after the fact is too late! It’s then disappointing to see them fail launch effectively or find an effective market.

After three visits I believe that many in the group need marketing support. I’m less sure about how many are open to it early.