Entries tagged with “android” from Tools of Change for Publishing
O'Reilly Ebooks Now in Aldiko Online Catalog for Android
Andrew Savikas
November 2, 2009
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The iPhone gets a lot of the attention when it comes to smartphones, but signs point to Android playing a huge role in the growing smartphone market, with 20+ new devices by the end of this year worldwide (like the Motorola Droid). O'Reilly readers with an Android device can now browse and buy via the online catalog in the Aldiko ereader app.
Buying through Aldiko gets you the same DRM-free ebook bundle offered on oreilly.com (and there's even a 15% discount applied at checkout).
The catalog is implemented using a prototype of the OPDS spec, part of the BookServer architecture.
Customer Loyalty for Mobile Devices
Andrew Savikas
October 8, 2009
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Some of the most interesting data on trends in mobile development has been coming from Flurry, an app analytics company (developers insert little snippets of Flurry code in their apps to gather usage data).
They've plotted frequency of usage against app "retention" (what percentage of buyers returned to the app within 90 days of downloading it), and put each category of app into a corresponding quadrant:
They note that books fall squarely into the "use a lot for a short period of time" category, which is not unexpected:
In Quadrant II, we find categories like Books and Games, among the two largest app categories in both the App Store and Android Market. These application categories are characterized, on average, by intense usage over a finite period of time. Because games and books offer content that typically is consumed only once, the user usually moves on after reading a book or finishing a game.
They also draw some interesting conclusions on which categories are suitable for subscription vs. a la carte models.
Note this data comes from the set of apps using the Flurry software (they say more than 2,000), so is by no means a scientific sampling. Interesting reading nonetheless.
Video: Android meets Eink
Andrew Savikas
February 13, 2009
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Keeping with the "labs" theme for recent posts, via a tweet from George Walkley:
Lots of talk about devices at TOC - now just saw this, Android + e-ink http://vimeo.com/3162590 #toc
The guys at MOTO labs have hacked together a prototype showing Google's Android operating system running on an e-ink display:
Android Meets E Ink from MOTO Development Group on Vimeo.
Palm's webOS Represents Major Shift for Syncing and Data
Peter Brantley
January 12, 2009
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In an article covering the Palm Pre mobile device, Ars Technica makes a very important point about how devices utilize network connectivity, and what the assumptions are underlying their models of data storage and access:
Users just make changes to their data (contacts, calendar, mail, etc.), and Palm's webOS handles committing those changes to whatever canonical data source it is accessing in the cloud. And herein lies the most important difference between the webOS and Apple's iPhone OS: the iPhone was originally designed under the assumption that the canonical source of a user's data (contacts, calendar, music, tasks, etc.) is a Mac. Palm's webOS, in contrast, presumes that cloud-based services are the canonical source for your data (with the possible exception of media, which we don't know about yet) ...
Palm's webOS does not presume any sort of tether at all. The company has totally ditched the idea that you will use this phone in conjunction with a specific "main PC" that contains the canonical, authoritative repository of your data. Instead, webOS draws seamlessly on a variety of data services--not data repositories, but cloud-based services that actively feed the device both data and critical context.
This is a deep, fundamental break with both the iPhone and previous, repository-based smartphone usage models, and it's important enough that other smartphones are bound to follow.
Tagging the Real World through Barcode Apps
Mac Slocum
November 14, 2008
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Earlier this week, Peter Brantley noted an interesting barcode application for Android phones that connects the ISBN data on a physical book with Google Book Search listings. This merging of the physical and digital worlds isn't novel -- other companies offer similar applications -- but the discussion surrounding these apps tends to focus on retail threats and opportunities rather than broader uses.
Speaking as an unabashed content geek, I find the information curation possibilities from this digital-physical merge particularly interesting. The Web has provided an assortment of organization tools -- RSS feeds, readers, tags, categories, etc. -- that help me find and synthesize a vast amount of information. But the same can't be said for the real world. If something pops onto my radar while I'm sitting in front of the TV or shopping at a store, I need to open a browser (assuming I have a computer or phone), punch in the information and save it for later retrieval. This isn't an arduous task, but it lacks the elegance of scanning and tagging Web-based data.
My online efficiency increased exponentially a few years ago when I incorporated RSS feeds and readers into my daily routine. Instead of tediously visiting particular sites or running open-ended search queries, I could now gather useful sources in one application and sort that data into segments geared toward my own needs. Not to get too syrupy here, but it was an eye-opening experience that revealed a new depth to the Web. These barcode apps offer similar possibilities for seamlessly accessing the physical world's stored information. Armed with a cell phone and a data plan, those of us who are curation minded can expand the boundaries of discoverability into an untapped region.
Android Barcode App Connects to Google Book Search
Peter Brantley
November 12, 2008
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Google has released a nifty Android app that permits the scanning of a book's barcode, enabling the linkage with the corresponding work in Google Book Search. From E-Reads:
"Google has announced a book-text search tool called the Barcode Scanner that works with an Android-powered cellphone. According to Google Book Search engineer Jeff Breidenbach, when you download the software into your Android and point your phone camera at a book's barcode, "it will automatically zoom, focus and scan the ISBN - without you even needing to click the shutter...You'll then have the option to search the full text of the book on Google Book Search right away"
Connecting the Dots Between Google Book Search and Android
Peter Brantley
October 31, 2008
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Ed Nawotka of Beyond Hall 8 discusses the possibility that the Google Book Search settlement permits them to envision product delivery through Android-capable devices:
Perhaps most important of all is how this cements Google as the industry leader in the distribution of digital books. Sure, there's Amazon with its Kindle...and the Sony E-reader...each with hundreds of thousands of titles available. But what happens when Google links its open source Android operating system -- now powering cellphones -- to the Google Book Search? You will, quite literally, have a library in the palm of your hand.
Amazon and Google Challenging iTunes through Mobile
Mac Slocum
September 23, 2008
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T-Mobile's Android-based mobile phone will include a connection to Amazon's MP3 store. From Wired's Listening Post:
Owners of the device will be able to browse, search, preview and purchase music on the Amazon MP3 store using the phone's cellular connection. In order for purchased MP3s to download, the phone must be connected via Wi-Fi. (The mobile iTunes store, on the other hand, remains completely offline without WiFi.)
Mobile Frenzy Feeds Mobile Carriers
Peter Brantley
July 25, 2008
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During the "2018: Life on the Net" panel at the Fortune Brainstorm: Tech conference, Joichi Ito noted that money sometimes follows money in a not necessarily thoughtful manner. One example is in mobile, where the mobile frenzy is in actuality pumping very significant amounts of money into the carriers' pockets. It's an important point to remember. Here's the clip from Silicon Valley Watcher:
And here is some supporting food for thought from mocoNews:
Matt Murphy, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield Byers and head of their "iFund" investment pool for the iPhone, said early results from the App Store prove the potential growth opportunity. In just 10 days more applications were downloaded for the iPhone than what a carrier will typically see in a month from wallpaper and ringtone sales, he said.
A Google-Amazon Mobile Application?
Peter Brantley
May 15, 2008
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Android Scan, one of the winners from the Google Android Developer Challenge, uses cell phone cameras and barcode recognition to tap into Amazon's review database. From Silicon Valley Insider:
Scan barcodes on any book or CD when you’re in a store and your phone will pull up Amazon reviews and check local library listings to see if the book is in stock.
Why it's cool: Google’s been pushing mobile barcode scanning, so they might dig this app, too. We assume the developers have included their Amazon referral code in the app so they get a 5%+ commission on any purchases you make, too.
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