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A La Mobile Launches first Android Prototype

USA Today is reporting that A La Mobile, based in San Ramon, Calif., a start-up dedicated to Linux-based "open" systems for mobile devices, has unveiled a suite of apps based on Google's Android in a move the company says proves the open OS can deliver on its promise of making it easier for consumers to get access to all sorts of applications.

According to the pub, A La Mobile installed its applications on a smartphone from HTC. They include: a Google browser, phone dialer for making voice calls, audio player, Google maps, camera, games, calendar, contacts manager, calculator and notes. A La Mobile plans to pitch this prototype — to handset makers.

It's all fine and well. But until developers nail down Android, it's doubtful handset manufacturers will go for it. And though carriers such as T-Mobile and Sprint are part of the so-called Android coalition, it's unclear whether other carriers will follow suit. Many strip out the Yahoo platform standard on some phones. They could just as soon unplug Android as well.

Read more here.

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Shirts With Mobile Phones (Just Talk Into The Collar)

Forget Izod. Think iPod when you're buying that next shirt.

Stuff is reporting on just how high-tech clothing is getting - including suits that power your iPod, and mobile phones built into clothes (just talk into the collar), intelligent fabrics that conduct electricity (talk about "power suit"), change shape to fit the wearer, and more.

The pub looks at a handful of exist smart clothes that are changing the way way wear - and use - clothing, including:

Auto-fit clothing: Electronics giant Philips has developed a way to change the size and shape of clothing so that it fits the wearer perfectly. The fabric is woven with so-called "muscle wires" that are made up of shape-memory alloys that expand to just the right size when a current is passed through them. Once the electricity is removed, they remain exactly the right size.

Hug Shirt: Nominated by Time as one of the best inventions of last year, the Hug Shirt enables the wearer to send "virtual hugs" to loved ones from across the street or across the globe, simply by using their mobile phone. When a friend sends you a virtual hug, your mobile phone notifies the shirt wirelessly, via Bluetooth. The fully washable shirt then re-creates that person's distinctive cuddle, replicating his or her warmth, pressure, duration and even heartbeat.

iPod suit: Earlier this year, British retail giant Marks & Spencer became the first retailer to sell the iPod suit. The suit - a collaboration between British smart-fabric specialist Eleksen and innovative tailors Bagir - features Eleksen's smart-fabric, touchpad technology that transforms the lapel into a five-button electronic control panel. The pad is then attached to a cable that runs beneath the lining of the jacket and plugs into the iPod, which has its own inside pocket. The lapels even have loops to hold and hide the earphones. The suit retails for about $350.

Solar bikini: New Yorker Andrew Schneider is the brains behind the solar bikini that charges your iPod while you sunbathe. The bikini is covered with 40 flexible photovoltaic (solar) cells that feed into a USB connection that can plug straight into your iPod. Schneider says two hours of sunbaking is enough to charge an iPod shuffle. And, for the guys, Schneider is also developing solar-panel shorts, which, with the extra sun-capturing area, will be capable of generating enough power to chill a beer.

3rd Space vest: The 3rd Space vest is embedded with pneumatic cells that allow computer gamers to physically feel game events such as getting hit, stabbed, or punched.
The technology was designed by a US surgeon as a way to give medical exams via the internet to those in isolated communities with limited access to medical services. The medical version is used to poke and press patients' bodies remotely and get feedback on what they are feeling.

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Time Names iPhone 'Invention of The Year'

And I didn't even know Time made such designations.

That's next? "Exercise Regimen of the Year"? "Hairdo of the Year"?

At any rate, the magazine that once named the Ayatollah Khomeini "Man of the Year" has indeed named Apple's iPhone as the "Invention of the Year."

It's number one reason for the designation? "The iPhone is pretty."

Well duh. Of course it's the invention of the year.

Maybe it's time we didn't refer to Time as a news weekly anymore.

Actually, my favorite thing about this is when I clicked on the story at Time.com, the ad banner at the top is for BlackBerry. RIM should not be pleased.

Ready all about it here.

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Apple Cuts Cost of iPhone, Introduces Wi-Fi iPod - and Starbucks Deal

There's a lot of buzz over Apple's announcements yesterday regarding the iPhone and iPod.

The company slashed the cost of its 8-gig iPhone by $200 to $399 (ah, the pointless "does this mean iPhone sales are stalling" vs. "we just want to expand the market" debate). And it introduced the Wi-Fi enabled iPod Touch, which works a lot like the iPhone, minus the phone part. The device enables you to download songs from iTunes wirelessly via Wi-Fi networks.

Apparently you can use the device in Starbucks, too. Hear a song you like being played at Starbucks, tap on the screen to download the song from iTunes. And don't forget the new iPod Nano, which now has a bigger screen and video capabilities.

There's no word yet if the new capabilities will revive talks between Apple and NBC over selling its TV shows on iTunes; the current arrangement will end soon, and NBC says it'd rather go to some other service so it can charge more per show.

Personally, I don't care about most of this, except the iPhone part. I hope it's all a ruse to introduce the second generation iPhone (ie, more memory, faster network, few glitches) in early 2008 at the device's new, lower price point.

Now that'd be something to phone home about.

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Study: Video Kills The MP3 Star

...Or something like that.

A new study from In-Stat reports that video enabled portable media players will outsell audio-only models by 2009.

According to the research firm, increased broadband penetration, declining price points, and a growing catalog of audio and video content mean sales for MP3 players and portable media players (PMPs) will remain strong over the next five years.

Here's where it gets interesting: The primary reason people buy these devices is for audio playback - only 11% say it's for video. And shipments of audio-only players combined will top 275 million units by 2011, up from 182 million in 2006.

But as the cost of incorporating video gets cheaper, the added value means video-enabled PMPs will out pace the sales of audio-only devices by the end of next year.

The popularity of Apple's iPhone will no doubt play a role. Not that it will dominate the market, but because more people will see the benefits of having a video-and-audio PMP. And, of course, adding in some mobile phone capabilities will be next on the list for the next wave of these very personal devices.

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New Version of Yahoo Mail Integrates Email, SMS

Just seems like a multi-modal, mobile-to-Web (and back) kind of day. News Market is reporting that Yahoo has unveiled a new version of its popular mail service, Yahoo! Mail, that enables users in the U.S., Canada, India and the Philippines can send messages to a mobile phone number directly from their email account, and receive text messages from mobile phone users. Heck, once IM is added to the mix, maybe Yahoo can get cracking on telepathy.

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Garmin Adds Hotel Prices, 3D Maps to Mobile Phone Navigation Service

Garmin Mobile's got it going on.

A unit of Garmin International, Garmin Mobile turns cell phones into personal navigational devices - including GPS navigation, real-time traffic info, local weather forecasts, fuel prices, and more, for travel in cars, in taxis, on bikes and on foot. Today, the company said it will ad hotel information and discounted room rates.

"From the smallest inns to the world’s largest resorts, Garmin Mobile customers can use their phone to search and access information for over 70,000 hotels. Hotel information is provided by Hotels.com and includes the hotel’s discounted room rate, ranking, description, amenities and location. Once a customer selects a hotel on the phone, they can immediately call Hotels.com who makes the reservation at the reduced room rates," the company says in a statement.

Additionally, Garmin Mobile is also now offering 3D mapping in GPS navigation, enabling a user to choose between a 3D map representation that displays an uncluttered view of the road ahead or the more traditional “birds eye” view.

Sounds really cool. And with these and other forms of mobile content expected to generate $35 billion by 2011 - look for other brands to get in on the action.   

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The Do-It-Yourself MVNO: You, Too, Can Sell Branded Mobile Phone Service

If everyone from Amnesty International to National Geographic can become MVNOs, why can't you?

On the heels of new services like Mobivity, which allows anyone to easily set up a mobile marketing campaign, Fierce just ran a piece on how Symbian co-founder Juha Christensen has launched his own "mobile virtual network enabler" (or MVNE) - called Sonopia (I have no idea if that's pronounced Sono PEE-a or Son Ope ia) - which is designed to help any individual or organization set up their own "mobile virtual network operator" or MVNO.

Free. Within 15 minutes.

Sure would have saved ESPN some money.

"The idea, really, is to try and re-democratize the mobile carrier space by enabling anyone to become one: organizations, families or even individuals with an idea for an audience," Christensen told FierceWireless. "We're taking the old idea of an MVNO and making the entry barrier so low, that anyone can launch."

I don't remember when the mobile carrier space was ever democratic in the first place, but you get his idea. You sign up, create your branded "Sonopia," and your "members" can connect with others who share your interests, share photos, contribute mobile blogs and access exclusive content. A percentage of the mobile bill goes to your organization.

A visit to the Sonopia site didn't make it easily clear how it all works, but Fierce says it's all piggybacking on the Verizon network, and the press release shines some more light on the solution.

I'm assuming that since your branded "Sonopia" will run on the Verizon network that calls to customer service will go to Verizon. The Sonopia site seems to mention jobs in the Ukraine, so we got scared for a moment. Turns out they're mostly engineering jobs.

At any rate, sounds like an absolutely great idea - especially for non-profits hoping to generate revenues by providing such a branded mobile service. Think Planned Parenthood and Amnesty, which, I believe, use a different solution.

We'll definitely keep our eyes out for what's next with Sonopia.

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Sirius To Beam Kids TV To Chrysler Cars

Sirius is serious about putting a new spin on the term "mobile TV."

USA Today is reporting that the satellite radio service is working with Chrysler to beam kids' TV shows into rear entertainment systems in 2008 Chrysler minivans, SUVs and full-size cars.

The systems will play live TV in the rear screen, and then mirror to a screen in the front seat whenever the car is in "park."

The systems will cost $470 and include one free year of service. After that, subscribers will pay $7 per month for the TV service in addition to $12.95 for Sirius radio.

I'd say this was a threat to OnStar, if not for the fact that OnStar is a major backer of XM Satellite Radio, which is in talks to merge with Sirius, making it moot.

In BRANDING UNBOUND the book, I interview OnStar president Chuck Huber, who posits that the future of in-car services will include full interactivity that will allow the consumer to interact with, and transact with, the commercial messages they hear on satellite radio and TV.

This all assumes anyone cares. It's not like a lot of people are clamoring for backseat TV  - or satellite radio, for that matter.

Amid all the merger talk, Sirius and XM lost a combined $1.8 billion last year, according to the pub. Personally, I think it's just a matter of finding the right price and programming that'll make satellite radio/TV compelling.

But still, you have to wonder what Chrysler will do should all those backseat screens suddenly go black.

Reinventing Goodby Silverstein: The Derek Robson Interview (Pt. 1)

Call it “How Goodby Got Its Groove Back.”

As I reported early last year, legendary ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners – increasingly finding itself less relevant in an emerging, transmedia world of user-generated content, mobile, Internet video and more – set an ambitious goal to completely revamp itself for the digital age.

“Our goal is to be unrecognizable 12 months from now,” creative director Jamie Barrett told ADWEEK at the time.

The idea: transform the agency from one known primarily for eye-popping television spots into a bad ass, multiplatform marketing machine.

The effort has clearly paid off.

Over the last year, Goodby has seen revenues leap 20% to $102 million while transforming itself for the future.

Just a year earlier, 80% of the 23-year-old agency’s revenues came from traditional advertising campaigns (and less that 20% coming from digital initiatives). Today, it’s 50/50.

And a team once vexed by what it called “Crispin Envy” for all the attention Crispin Porter+Bogusky was getting for its groundbreaking digital initiatives, found its own footing – and then some - with blockbuster interactive work for the likes of HP's Personal Systems Group, HD DVD Consortium, and Comcast.

Indeed, so remarkable has the transformation been that ADWEEK named the resurgent Goodby as its U.S. Agency of The Year.

And while many have driven this transformation, no one has received more credit as a catalyst for change than Derek Robson, 40, who Goodby recruited from Bartle Bogle Hegarty in London.

As the agency’s new managing partner, Robson immediately began implementing some strategic changes that have helped the agency retool, reconfigure and recalibrate itself for an amazing new era. He broadened the agency’s definition of “creative talent” to include more interactive capabilities – including a new in-house digital animation department. And, perhaps most interesting of all, he combined media and planning under one department.

I recently caught up with Robson for a GEN WOW interview to get his perspective on his approach to fostering transformation, and his advice to marketers and agencies hoping to do the same.

PART 1: Agent Provocateur (Approx 9.25 min.)

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