Telephia 3G UK Report, Q2 2006 (PDF)

Twenty-seven percent of U.K. 3G mobile subscribers download full track music on their mobile phones. The latest research from Telephia’s Q2 2006 3G U.K. Report shows that full track music download penetration is more than 11 percentage points higher among 3G subscribers, as compared to non-3G subscribers at 16 percent. On average, 3G subscribers in the U.K. download 4.1 music tracks per month and spend an average of 8.3 hours per month listening to full track music on their mobile phones. The study shows many 3G subscribers prefer to use their PC for storage and transfer of music to their mobile phone, revealing that the PC remains an essential part of the music experience.

Method for Downloading Full Track Music to Mobile Phones (U.K.)

Download Method	3G Subscribers	Non-3G Subscribers
From a computer, ripped from home music collection	44%	49%
From a computer, downloaded from a peer-to- peer site	19%	12%
From a computer, downloaded from a paid website	14%	14%
Over the air from an operator's site	10%	5%
Over the air from a non-operator's site	4%	11%

Source: Telephia 3G U.K. Report, Q2 2006

See Ajit's thoughts.

Via 3G Subscribers Download Average of 4 Music Tracks Per Month

What is Mobile Web 2.0?

Thus, the characteristics(distinguishing principles) of mobile Web 2.0 are:

a) Harnessing collective intelligence through restricted devices i.e. a two way flow where people carrying devices become reporters rather than mere consumers
b) Driven by the web backbone – but not necessarily based on the web protocols end to end
c) Use of the PC as a local cache/configuration mechanism where the service will be selected and configured

Another way to look at this idea is to consider what is NOT mobile Web 2.0. ‘Broadcast’ content generated by the media industry which users are passively expected to consume: is not mobile Web 2.0. That includes most ringtones, most games, movie clips etc. Anything which does not have a user generated component.

This definition seems mostly applicable for western countries, I see however a different approach in most asian or african countries.

PS: Ajit, if you read this. Thank you for the two books. I am still reading. I very much like Tomi's book.

After the N93 from Nokia, the new ASUS V80 also comes with a QR Code scanner and Barcode decoding software.

Taipei, Taiwan; July 21, 2006 – ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (ASUS) today introduced the V80 slim camera handset, which delivers 2M-pixel resolution, auto focus and 10cm close-up functions.

[...] QR Code is already widely implemented in the most technologically advanced countries such as Japan and South Korea. The V80 adopted this new innovation by incorporating the QR Code scanner and barcode decoding software.

QR Codes, which are barcode representations of website addresses, phone numbers or any information, will be included on advertisements, product packaging brochures or posters. Simply scan the code and the V80 mobile phone will automatically connect to the appropriate websites for fast online access and convenient information download.

Promotional see also: For other phones, we suggest the Kaywa Reader. Right now the Series 60 phones are out;)

An idea to follow: Ewan's Copying down? Just use QR

QR Codes could be used to transmit whole sets of resources for homework tasks, by displaying this on the projector at the end of the lesson and getting students to snap it. When they get home, they gain access to that particular tranche of the del.icio.us page, for example, where all their resources lie.

How Americans use their cell phones

Heard of first on Intro to Digital Age

A recent PEW research study on technology and media use in the U.S. described cell phones as “the communications swiss army knife;).” [...] With the younger demographic growing up using mobile phones and all their capabilities, it appears use will to continue to grow and expand. I recently read an article stating cell phones have had the most impact on the world in the last 25 years than any other technology.

Also worth a look, even if not directly related. Although as the internet goes mobile more and more, this will accelerate this change even more:
The New Media Ecology and how it will Affect Work and Learning
The Internet’s Growing Role in Life’s Major Moments

Lars from Wirelesswatch Japan left me a comment on an earlier post. I want to respond here, why I think QR Codes are by far superiour to any other existing code.

Today I am biased, as we also have the Kaywa Reader, but before starting this new venture we did an extensive research on all codes in usage today, ColorZip being one of then.

So in regard to ColorZip I want to mention the following points.

• Print for newspapers is still mainly a black and white business. Also you have to deal with paper color (not pure white) and with printing quality. QR Code with it's good error correction (up to 30%) is therefore an ideal code for this use case.
• Printers: In households, printers are still mainly black and white. If you want that people can easily print out QR codes for non-commercial purposes, ColorZip doesn't make sense. So for DYI-culture QR Code is the way to go.
• ColorZip and most other proprietary codes have not separated the creation of the code, the software and the server in between. This has some advantages, but it has definitely more drawbacks. You rely on one single company for everything.
• ColorZip and most other proprietary codes always need a translation server in-between, QR doesn't necessarily. Stuff like SMS, telephone numbers and text etc. happen purely on the phone itself without any server transaction.
• ColorZip like most of the codes used with mobile phones are not standardised yet. QR however is an ISO, AIM, JIS standard. Also Denso Wave is very open about its usage. This will pay out in the long run.
• ColorZip is not widely distributed yet. QR is, not only in Japan, but in Taiwan and China as well.
• Color matters, but is also a dangerous field. We use color too though, but only (some experiments notwithstanding) on background and code colors so that the QR Code integrates well in a already existing designs (see example). We are still experimenting though. The combination of color and forms is a bit more problematic. The ColorZip codes I have seen so far did not really enthuse me. However it could well be that there is some improvements I didn't see yet.

Geo Tracing

GeoTracing is a software platform for creating multimedial geo-applications. These applications have in common that they allow you to tell your multimedial story about your movement through the landscape, whether on foot, skates, by bike or other means. View for example the TraceLand application.

See also:
GeoTracing Whitepaper