Mobile Research

• Apple: since its release, the iPhone has set the bar for smartphone usability; its slightly thinner sibling, the iPod touch, is the definition of a sleek, modern Personal Digital Assistant (PDA); and the forthcoming iPad is one of the most anticipated products of all time. Simply put, Apple has a lot of swagger and momentum in the mobile space. But Apple runs a very closed environment that people either love or hate, and this creates opportunities for other more open platforms to shine. Also, while Apple has done very well in the consumer space, it has made fewer inroads into the enterprise, where RIM and Microsoft thrive.

• Research in Motion (RIM): the BlackBerry is one of the most impressive brands of our time. While RIM is often considered less marketing savvy than Apple, I would suggest that their marketing tactics have been every bit as effective as Apple's -- just different. Despite a barrage of criticism about the sexiness and usability of their products, RIM continues to grow and profit at an astounding rate. I personally questioned the usability of BlackBerry products compared to more elegant competitors like iPhone and Android, but I have come to appreciate them as solid, enterprise-worthy devices, and to see the company as a very savvy player in the mobile space. RIM has developed very deep roots with both wireless carriers and enterprise IT departments, as well as a powerful brand that is almost synonymous with thumb-typing on a mobile phone.

• Nokia: the Nokia/Symbian world is complicated. Having personally handled dozens of Nokia phones, I would summarize that their strength is in their diversity of offerings to multiple levels of the marketplace. This is also their weakness. With countless products, three current operating systems, and a solid-but-aging feel on much of their hardware, it is hard to believe that Nokia still outsells its nearest smartphone competitor at more than a 2-to-1 ratio. But while they are not as strong in North America, Nokia is a major player in Europe and downright dominant in many other regions of the world. It is hard to discount a company that produces over 1 million phones per day (yes, you read that correctly). With the incredible depth of carrier relationships and distribution channels which they have developed, Nokia's challenge now is to fill those channels with products that compete with their ever-growing range of competitors.

• Google: Google has garnered a lot of attention since announcing the open-source (and freely available) Android platform in 2007. By providing a smartphone operating system that is free and extensible, Android has garnered support from dozens of handset manufacturers including major players like Motorola and HTC. In contrast to Apple, Google's greatest strength (and weakness) is its openness. I am personally very impressed with most of the Android devices I have used, and as a consumer I have great optimism that Android will be a force to be reckoned with in mobile technology. But I also recognize that openness can lead to fragmentation, and I've heard a lot of grumbling from developers about the lack of standards on Android devices. As Microsoft learned when it allowed device manufacturers and wireless carriers to customize experiences based on its Windows Mobile platforms, I believe that the many emerging flavours of Android devices will make it difficult for developers to target. That said, I believe that Google's ability to integrate the mobile experience with all of their other web-based services will make it a formidable player in the mobile space, and I believe the fragmentation issue can be overcome as Google and other Android licensees learn to coexist.

• Windows Mobile: I recently spoke about the forthcoming Windows 7 Phone Series, so I won't repeat myself on the details. Suffice to say that I think Microsoft has re-entered the mobile race, and demonstrated that they are not planning to turn away from this increasingly important battlefield. Microsoft has learned a lot of lessons over more than a decade in mobile computing, and I believe their enterprise roots will serve them well as they re-assert themselves with a brand new mobile platform. What remains to be seen is whether Microsoft can garner enough consumer interest to unseat competitors in the mass market, or whether it will continue to play a more niche role as an enterprise solution.

• Mobile web browsers are improving in capability and usability, and are finally emerging as a lowest-common-denominator approach to mobile engagement. If you need to reach a lot of people in a relatively shallow way, e.g. to conduct a brief mobile survey about a product or experience, then a mobile browser may well be the way to go. Although mobile browsers are still fragmented, the emergence of mobile web technologies such as HTML 5, JavaScript, CSS and Adobe Flash are making it more viable to reach a wide mobile audience.

• Downloadable applications provide a richer user experience for applications such as diary studies and mobile panels, but they are typically harder to deploy to a broad range of users. Also dovetailing with Sean's recent post about quality over quantity, I would argue that in many cases a more select audience that is highly engaged is more valuable than a broad audience that is minimally engaged. It is these cases -- for example digital ethnography with alarms to trigger highly contextual questions at random times -- where mobile apps really shine.

1. Mobile devices are mobile - they move.  And because they move, the connection signal varies in strength, leading to lost or dropped connections, not to mention dead zones.    
   
2. Slow response time.  Wide area wireless connections suffer from high "latency" - the time it takes the device to send or receive data to the internet.  This does not include any delays in getting the data through the Internet, processed by the server and returned to the device.  It does not matter if the amount of data is 1 byte or 1MB; radio latency is the same regardless.  

1. Layout: applications can provide consistent look and feel across many devices.
    
2. Speed: Extremely responsive - no navigation delay.
    
3. Cost: Only uses internet connection when necessary.
    
4. Cost/Battery: Does not depend on having an internet connection to function.
    

In January, Palm took the world by storm by announcing both its new webOS and the Pre smartphone, which have been touted by many as setting a new bar for mobile phone functionality. Planned for release sometime this quarter, the Pre has leapfrogged Palm from a once-prized but aging provider of PDAs and smartphones, to an innovative leader with the coolest mobile device to hit the market since the iPhone. With a new team of superstars at the helm (many of whom came from Apple), Palm's recent announcements have impressed techies and investors alike.

But the question we have all been asking for the past couple of months is... what is the future of Palm OS applications like Entryware?

Today we heard the news we've been waiting for... that Palm OS applications will be supported on Pre devices. We had reason to believe that some form of Palm OS support would be available on webOS devices, but we've been in a bit of a holding pattern awaiting confirmation.

Palm devices have always been ideal for survey research, because Palm OS offers a simple, elegant interface that is consistent and easy to use.  Although Entryware software also runs very well on Windows devices, as long-time Palm fans we are thrilled to see that a whole new generation of Palm devices will continue to be turned into best-of-breed wireless survey systems.

Techneos is committed to ensuring customers a smooth transition from existing Palm devices to the next generation of webOS phones. In the meantime, existing Palm devices like the Centro, Treo and TX -- all of which are excellent tools for mobile research applications like face-to-face interviews, diary studies and mystery shopping -- should be available at bargain prices while Palm makes room for new inventory.

Good going Palm! We knew you had it in you...