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Mobile Game Changers

Posted on 18. Oct, 2009 by Antonella Stellacci in Mobile, Mobile Augmented Reality

It’s been a week dense of potentially game-changing facts for the mobile industry.

MOBILE AUGMENTED REALITY BECOMES MORE REAL

Until now, the development of mobile augmented reality apps for the Iphone has been hindered by Apple’s decision to keep the API for the analysis of live-streaming private.

The Game Changers: Visual Media Lab at Ben Gurion University and HIT Lab NZ.

The scientists from the two computer teams have released a software  that lets anyone perform on-the-fly analysis of live streaming video on the iPhone and they have made it public through AR specialist GamesAlFresco.

In the meantime, enjoy the debut of new mobile AR apps:

• Layar, now on the Iphone AppStore.
• Urbanspoon, which added an augmented reality view.
• Lodestone AR Compass, a browser for the outdoors, now available for the iPhone.

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SMARTPHONES WAR: THE DROID

A recent report from Canalys shows that Apple’s share of the US smartphone market in the second quarter was 23 percent, that’s a 16 percent jump from the same period a year-ago and representing an astounding 365 percent increase year to year.

The Game Changers: Google Android.

Google, Verizon and Motorola have joined forces against the Iphone monopoly. What’s been saluted as the anti-Iphone is a phone that will run on Android, have real multitasking capabilities, a real keyboard and use the Verizon network.

In the meantime, enjoy the first screenshots of Android 2.0. Boy Genius Report has an early build of Android 2.0 installed and offers a bunch of first looks.  The contact integration with Facebook and the unified Inbox suggest some similarities to the webOS Synergy feature of the Palm Pre. BGR also sees native Exchange integration. And a new Car Home shortcut gathers activities you’d likely do while driving — voice commands, getting directions and more.

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LOCATION-BASED SERVICES MEET PROXIMITY MARKETING

Proximity marketing done right is a tough nut to crack. Many have tried and failed.

The Game Changer: FourSquare

FourSquare is playfully showing to the world that proximity marketing can really do the magic: creating a service that has value for both the end-user and the advertisers/venues. The AdSense of 2010 is going to be mobile and location-driven. The keyword based advertising is not here to stay, as we know it.

According to TheNextWeb FourSquare will soon be available “everywhere”.

In the meantime, enjoy the video of  FourSquare founder checking with an Oyster card, showing the potential of the social game, when combined with RFID. Expect more to come in terms of proximity marketing via the mobile social game that is taking the world by storm.

FourTap – Checking in to Foursquare using an Oystercard from danw on Vimeo.

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MOBILE BROADCASTING
The plague of the mobile world is fragmentation. You can’t scale a business if you’re not open and if there is no standard.

The Game Changer: A standard!

Finally, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) unanimously agreed on the final mobile broadcast TV standard, the ATSC A/153 Mobile DTV Vestigial Side Band (VSB). In other words, you might “soon” be able to enjoy some mobile TV time.

Tags: Mobile News