Filed under: Mobile
Engadget has an interview with Sky Dayton, CEO of Helio.
Up to about a year ago, I would have been over the moon about what they’re trying to do. I had this nasty habit of visiting KDDI and NTT DoCoMo’s product pages weekly. Of course, it was pure torture, since there were no networks to support Japanese phones here. Helio would have been a dream come true.
Nowadays I visit those pages a lot less frequently, and each time I do, I realize that the rest of the world is quickly catching up. Some could say we are almost totally caught up now. Not only are we getting phones that are quite similar in features, but our networks to drive the next-gen apps I’ve been lusting over are coming to maturity as well.
Case and point: I had a Nokia N90 last year – the flagship N-Series phone. It had a screen with a resolution on par with my PSP (!!!), 3G support, and an awesome camera. Sure it wasn’t as sexy as most asian phones, but the specs were there.
What are the main differentiators between US and asian mobile phone capabilities now? Here’s my take:
Screen Information Density
Look at these screenshots:
The Japanese (for one) LOVE information density. In the US, clarity and sparseness reign supreme – and if too much information is presented in an interface, it’s considered bad design and not user-friendly. But in print, TV, magazines… all over… the Japanese overload themselves with information. For me, as a power-user – I’m totally onboard with it. The middle screenshot above is my holy grail. I want blindingly small text packed in like Sallarymen on the Yamanote line at rush hour.
The N90 lets you use an ultra small font in the browser. You can’t shrink the whole UI unfortunately, but the user experience with the browser was getting close to that holy grail of screen information density. Here’s some screenshots I took browsing Engadget and using Google Local Mobile:
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That Google shot still makes me drool. However, the rest of the built-in applications (like Email – grrrrrr) and the main interface were restricted to huge text:
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But even with those shortcomings, at least the people who want to pack the information in are getting some consideration.
Now I’m back to a 320×240 Windows Mobile screen. Even though some think it’s the bee’s knees, coming down off that 352×416 monster is a bummer.
Asia remains a step ahead in the resolution department, however. Mobile VGA is here - but this time I don’t think it will be too long before we see it as well.
Real-World Integration
QR codes and RFID are going strong in asia. DoCoMo’s FeliCa is a drop-dead success, and all sorts of real-world items can be purchased by merely swiping your cell phone. LBS is also in full swing – being integrated into many applications.
These services tie the internet to your real life through your mobile device, creating a personal relationship between you and information. In turn, they bind you to your device – making your phone as necessary as your keys and wallet. Here in the US, that kind of attachment gets a negative spin, with terms like “crackberry” showing the disdain people have for relying on their devices so much.
This leads us to the next point:
Ubiquity and Consumer Education
A much higher percentage of people in asia know how to use technology and want to integrate it into their lives. Part of the reason is the high density of urban commuters – the captive audience for mobile devices. But whatever the cause, the result is a very educated consumer base that are not afraid to try and adopt new services that would be beyond the complexity/usefullness ratio threshold of westerners.
Where americans reject or reluctantly accept increasing attachment to their mobile devices, asians embrace it. This leads to more sophisticated (and complex) applications that actually have a chance of gaining foothold with the population. Software developers can take bigger risks and have a large chance at reward. This makes for a great sandbox for new mobile applications.
So where were we? Oh yeah – Helio.
Helio can bring the last 10% of client-side hardware improvements to the US. But that’s not going to be their stamp on our market (if they make one).
Their ace is that they can bootstrap the mobile device attachment in young adults and teenagers with their MySpace deal. If they are able to draw a percentage of MySpace’s user base to their mobile devices, it might be the compelling first application that gets the next generation hooked – ready to embrace and try new, more sophisticated applications.
Will MySpace be to mobile data services what American Idol was to SMS? All I can say is that MySpace has the best shot at it of any service I can think of. Though it and the other announcements Helio has made are not enough to bring me, the Gen-X mobile power-user to their service – the mobile software developer in me wants them to succeed in bootstrapping the public so that I can have a better sandbox to play in.
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