Mobile Applications for Fighting Crime, Reporting Potholes and Birdwatching

Several years ago I consulted with a company in The Netherlands on a city government project to enable all city workers to instantly become the eyes and ears of the police during emergencies. It worked like this - an alert would be sent to all city workers that had government issued phones and were located in a certain geographic area. This alert would ask them to look for a specific car, person or suspicious activity.

This project was clever, efficient but also a little creepy. If the police are chasing a bad guy through the city, then asking for all city workers within a certain area to keep their eyes and ears open is efficient, since it is in all of our best interests to stop bad guys, but in the wrong hands creepy. From a resource utilization, a great idea. This project was an early example of location based services (LBS). If your phone is in this particular zone, keep your eyes open for this bad guy.

This summer Microsoft acquired EveryBlock, a company that feeds local crime and health inspection information to news organizations. With GPS enabled phones, crimes can be reported that are instantly shown on maps and available for the public to see. Instead of just using city employees you are turning the entire populace, at least those with smartphones, into your eyes and ears.

Mobile technologies with integrated GPS are helping the public to be even more involved in the management and priorities of local government as this NPR article describes. The Citizens Connect iPhone app is part of the Boston Mayor's strategy for working closer with citizen's to help manage the city. The program is called Citizens Connect. The Citizens Connect iPhone app is targeted at enlisting Boston residents and visitors to gather information about the physical state of the city (See photo above about pothole reporting).

I am very impressed with these applications and their utility. I consulted on another project where a non-profit organization was taking inventory, using smartphones, of trash and abandoned vehicles in particular neighborhoods. This information was then synchronized into a database and clean-up efforts were organized based upon this information.

Another interesting application that I read about yesterday is called Birdseye. This is an iPhone application for birdwatchers, but it is not just a static reference application. It uses the integrated GPS features of the iPhone to identify the location of bird sightings. This information gets uploaded to Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology and its massive eBird database of bird sightings. This information is then distributed to all subscribed members of the eBird email distribution list. Beware of reporting a rare bird in your backyard. In minutes you may have hundreds of strange people in safari attire and binoculars elbowing their way onto your property.

From a mobile technology standpoint, many of these iPhone applications are similar. They involve mobile data collection with integrated GPS coordinates that are uploaded to a publicly available Internet based application that distributes this information to subscribed members and the collected data is shown on a map.

Have you seen other clever applications? Please share them by adding them to the comments below.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Barcode Scanners on Every Smartphone

This is an interesting develop for smartphones. Sophisticated barcode scanning software built into the digital cameras so a quick photo of a barcode takes you immediately to a mobile website rich in content, coupons, rebates and other product information related to the scanned product. Read below:

Today NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. (OTC BB: NEOM), the global leader in mobile barcode scanning solutions, announced that Sony Ericsson has selected NeoMedia as its strategic 2D barcode partner. Sony Ericsson will begin shipping phones pre-loaded with NeoMedia's NeoReader barcode scanning application globally in the 1st half of 2010. The NeoReader will be pre-installed across all Sony Ericsson platforms.

"Sony Ericsson is very happy to work with NeoMedia as our global provider of barcode scanning solutions. We see great potential in the 2D barcode market and support NeoMedia's strategy to promote and drive the open 2D barcode standards. We are looking forward to working with NeoMedia to explore all the potential the technology enables," stated Robert Westin, Business Development Manager, with Sony Ericsson.

Iain McCready, CEO of NeoMedia Technologies commented, "The marketplace is ready for 2D barcodes - retailers and brands are already experimenting with them, and the technology has long been validated. The challenge is in creating a scalable pool of mobile users capable of scanning barcodes. This partnership with Sony Ericsson will make mobile barcode scanning a simple, out-of-the-box experience for consumers."

McCready continued, "NeoMedia's vision has been to create an open and interoperable 2D barcode ecosystem which would provide a consistent and reliable consumer experience worldwide. This agreement with Sony Ericsson is another important step towards making this vision a reality and is part of NeoMedia's ongoing strategy to accelerate adoption through relationships with manufacturers, operators and brands alike."

The NeoReader transforms camera phones into mobile barcode scanners [1] which provide easy access to mobile content via 2D barcodes. The simple "one click" action makes the mobile internet much more accessible for mobile users. By scanning 2D barcodes via the phone's camera, users avoid typing in long URLs and navigating cumbersome mobile menus.

The NeoReader is a universal barcode scanning application that reads all standard 1D and 2D barcode symbologies - QR, Data Matrix, Aztec, UPC and EAN - so users won't need multiple barcode readers.

About NeoMedia Technologies:

NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: NEOM) is the global leader in mobile barcode scanning solutions. Our technology allows mobile devices with cameras [2] to read 1D and 2D barcodes and provide "one click" access to mobile content. Combining this technology with advanced analytics and reporting capabilities revolutionizes the way advertisers market to mobile consumers.

NeoMedia provides the infrastructure to make 2D camera barcode scanning and its associated commerce easy, universal, and reliable - worldwide.

The company's mobile phone technology, NeoReader, reads and transmits data from 1D and 2D barcodes to its intended destination. Our Code Management and Code Clearinghouse platforms create, connect, record, and transmit the transactions embedded in the 1D and 2D barcodes, like web-URLs, text messages (SMS), and telephone [3] calls, ubiquitously and reliably.

My analysis is that product packaging and newspaper ads will start including barcodes that are in addition to the product barcode. They will be designed to activate an automatic Internet query for additional product information. These automatic Internet queries will also show coupons, rebates, discounts, etc. A quick scan with your smartphone and you will instantly have additional information including the nearest location, based upon your smartphone's GPS coordinates, that sells that product all provided by SaaS vendors that use companies like Midphase hosting to host their services and provide the look-up and product information.

We can use your imagination from here, but this is an interesting development for smartphones and mobile marketing. It is an automated marketing and sales workflow that is activated by the scanning of a barcode on a smartphone.

Can you think of additional uses for this feature? I look forward to your comments.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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ClickSoftware Enters the MEAP (Mobile Enterprise Application Platform) Market

I have wondered for some time how companies like ClickSoftware deal with all the requests for customization from their clients. Inspections, asset management, custom database applications all require custom mobile applictions. This announcement last week from ClickSoftware seems to have answered that question.

ClickSoftware now has back-office and mobile field services software, an SAP partnership and a MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform). They are doing things right.

BURLINGTON, Massachusetts, November 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (NasdaqGS: CKSW), the leading provider of workforce management and service optimization solutions, is today launching the ClickSoftware Mobility Suite that will allow companies to seamlessly extend the power of enterprise systems to employees via their mobile devices, whilst also sharing with back-end systems the critical information on activities that they complete in the field. The mobility suite is available as a standalone product but it can also be easily extended, if required, to include other parts of ClickSoftware's ServiceOptimization Suite.

ClickSoftware has combined years of mobile application experience with the latest functional and technical developments to create a step change in mobile enterprise applications. The Mobility Suite has been designed to enable system administrators to easily configure the system to comply with any business requirement without requiring expensive coding or programming skills. Visual configuration tools make it simple to turn business requirements into simple processes and mobile workflows. All can be deployed and maintained remotely, significantly reducing the total cost of ownership.

Paper can be eliminated, business processes shortened and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) tracked with electronic capture of data through forms, barcodes, RFID, and cameras. Real time location monitoring also provides visibility of mobile operations, allowing organizations to see where resources are, what they are doing, and spot and resolve connection problems.

All this information, in combination with the latest mobile technology, gives rise to some exciting possibilities across all business functions. Accurate expected time of arrival notifications (triggered as a result of real-time activities and location) can be automatically sent via SMS to customers. This means that the end client can plan their day around more important commitments, rather than waiting for hours at home for the engineer to arrive.

ClickSoftware's Mobility Suite totally breaks down the walls that have traditionally existed between the back-office, the field and the customers. This communication revolution is enabled through:

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Microsoft's Ray Ozzie on Mobile Applications and the iPhone

Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's Chief Software Architect recently commented in an interview with CNET, "Yes, iPhone has a lot of momentum, unquestionably. But I think the phenomenon we're in right now is the app phone. And if you look at the depth of apps that are on these phones, they're not very deep. It's not like Office or AutoCAD, where there are just thousands of man years that have gone into developing these apps. They're relatively thin apps that are companions to some service."

Ozzie may be right in that the novelty of cute mobile applications may wear off as powerful mobile clients that work with SaaS (software as a service) back-office and ERP applications catch up. Rather than have all these thin client applications that are OS (operating system) specific, simple mobile applications may retreat to the mobile web browser so they can more easily port from one OS to another, and thick clients will run on powerful and full functional operating systems that are used on laptops and PCs today.

It will be interesting to watch.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobile Strategist, Sales, Marketing and Business Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Smartphone Market Trends and Analysis

Lenovo, a PC maker for the Chinese market, is buying back their mobile handset unit, for twice the price that they sold it for in 2008. Why? Lenovo said the acquisition "signals that Lenovo is gearing up its efforts in the burgeoning mobile Internet market." Lenovo Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing said they view the mobile Internet as a key growth area..."

Wall Street Journal reported in Monday's Edition (November 30, 2009) that Dell, Acer, Asustek Computer and HP have all launched handsets to diversify their product offerings.

What is my analysis? Lenovo sold their handset unit in 2008. Less than 2 years later they buy it back as they believe it represents a key growth area, and they buy it back just as the other large PC makers are launching their own new mobile handsets (smartphones) products to attack the growing mobile Internet market. This signals that PC manufacturers see smartphones as both a competitor to PCs and the future of mobile computing.

I believe that Internet enabled smartphones will be competing more and more with PC sales. As Google, Microsoft, Salesforce.com and other companies make more applications available on the Internet in hosted and SaaS (software as a service) models, there is less need to have a desktop PC loaded with large applications waiting for you back at the office. The notion that all things should be mobile has passed the tipping point.

This is also a wake up call for software companies. Smartphone access to back-office applications goes from being a novelty to a requirement. This means software vendors must quickly enable hosted and SaaS versions of their applications to be accessible via the Internet. It means there MUST be mobile application support for smartphones.

As I noted in an article yesterday, even mobile projectors can now be part of your smartphone. As these improve, they even may remove another reason to carry a laptop. Mobile broadband, high powered smartphones, social networking and SaaS models for software all work together to make the smartphone the preferred computing device of the present and the future.

What this trend should tell mobile software application developers is prepare yourself. There is going to be a huge and rapid transition from early adopters of mobile applications, to mainstream users. Everyone is going to want their ERPs and business applications available on smartphones and someone needs to be developing them.

MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms) that can mobilize many different back-office applications will benefit if they can develop a successful business model that is appealing to software developers and their customers.

I look forward to your comments. If you would like to discuss any of these trends and my analysis please email.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobile Strategist, Sales, Marketing and Business Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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