IF all things go according to plan, up to 90 per cent of Facebook users will access the popular social-networking site via mobile devices, a senior company executive said.
But unlike Skype the company has no immediate plans for a "Facebook phone".
Co-developed with Chinese manufacturer Amoi, the Skype mobile phone was first launched locally on the 3 Mobile network.
The mobile space is high on its agenda and Facebook has other go-to-market strategies, according to Facebook Mobile director Henri Moissinac.
Over the past six months Facebook has doubled the number of users accessing the site from mobile devices to 16 million unique users a month.
However this was still a fraction of the 120 million active unique visitors who visit the website monthly, Mr Moissinac said.
"Eventually we would like to have between 80 and 90 per cent of our users as mobile users," he said. No timeframe was provided on when the target could be achieved.
The company realises that to succeed in the mobile arena, it will have to rely heavily on network operators and handset manufacturers.
"The speed of the network and speed at which handsets can process data are controlled by handset manufacturers and operators. So effectively they are the main drivers,” Mr Moissinac said.
"But people like us, we can speak to that, we can help. That's why our mobile engineering team is working with partners so we can effectively work on the handset, the speed of experience and also amount of data required to make that work.''
Facebook collaborated with handset developer INQ (pronounced ink) mobile, owned by telecommunications company Hutchison-Whampoa, to develop a Facebook client for its smartphone, INQ1.
The application can be accessed directly from the phone’s home screen as opposed to a mobile web browser.
INQ managing director Frank Meehan described the INQ1 is a smartphone for the masses.
"Android, iPhone, BlackBerry are really great, but they're all on high-end phones and all require very high end chips to run,'' Mr Meehan said. "The vendor market has forgotten its roots, which is to make communication better for everybody.''
INQ has similar applications for Microsoft Live Messenger, Skype, email, RSS feeds and widgets. It has an "online presence" contacts directory which displays Facebook friends' status and profile pictures.
The INQ1 is also available on Hutchison's 3 Mobile.
Friday, November 21, 2008
YouTube's Identity
YouTube gets chummy with MGM ... Circuit City goes belly up ... IBM pitches power line Internet plan ... bad guys hold prescription customer data for ransom ... CNN tries holo-trickery ... iPhone unseats Razr at the top, and more.
Now you can get your fix of "Bulletproof Monk" and "American Gladiators" -- all without leaving the comfort of YouTube . Yes, the king of user-generated, short-form video is now embracing the other kind: studio-generated, feature-length films.
Yes, this is the same YouTube that said long-form video was anathema to its business model. But I guess when the big MGM lion comes roaring, you make an exception. Some of the stuff that MGM will be contributing belongs on the who-cares list: dusty, old movies that never did well in the theaters or on DVD, such as the aforementioned "Bulletproof Monk." You'll also get to see episodes from the original late-'80s/early-'90s fixture "American Gladiators" -- the original, not that new copycat thing that's out there now.
In return, YouTube has promised to help out MGM a bit -- by employing video fingerprinting technology that identifies unauthorized copies of MGM's content, which it will promptly remove. Once again, you can only watch what the big lion says you can watch, and all is right in the world.
Now you can get your fix of "Bulletproof Monk" and "American Gladiators" -- all without leaving the comfort of YouTube . Yes, the king of user-generated, short-form video is now embracing the other kind: studio-generated, feature-length films.
Yes, this is the same YouTube that said long-form video was anathema to its business model. But I guess when the big MGM lion comes roaring, you make an exception. Some of the stuff that MGM will be contributing belongs on the who-cares list: dusty, old movies that never did well in the theaters or on DVD, such as the aforementioned "Bulletproof Monk." You'll also get to see episodes from the original late-'80s/early-'90s fixture "American Gladiators" -- the original, not that new copycat thing that's out there now.
In return, YouTube has promised to help out MGM a bit -- by employing video fingerprinting technology that identifies unauthorized copies of MGM's content, which it will promptly remove. Once again, you can only watch what the big lion says you can watch, and all is right in the world.
Google to iPhoners: Talk to the App
Google is gearing up to update its iPhone search app with voice commands. Unlike its existing GOOG-411 tool, the iPhone app will attempt to return results from just about any question one might think to ask, not just business locations and phone numbers.
A new feature for Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) iPhone search application that listens to spoken searches will be made available soon, according to the search company's iPhone application page.
At press time, the feature had not been rolled out through Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) online App Store, though The New York Times has reported it may come as early as Friday.
As it's currently available, Google's iPhone search app lets users type in search questions via the device's keyboard, and it delivers location-aware results. So users looking to find a local pizzeria can type in "pizza" and get the results mapped.
However, Google isn't just looking to help fill hungry iPhone user bellies. With the new feature, most any spoken question can return search results, making iPhone owners even faster masters of trivia. With the expected app, instead of tapping out "What is the speed of sound?" users can speak it. Typing will still be enabled, if the user prefers.
So what happens next? Is the iPhone powerful enough to translate trillions of human phrases?
As it turns out, the iPhone doesn't do the heavy lifting. It reportedly records the spoken phrase and uploads it to Google's servers, which then figure out the intent and generate the search -- incorporating location-specific information, too. (Hence the ability to offer up local pizzerias.)
The results are sent back to the iPhone and presented in an iPhone screen-friendly format.
A new feature for Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) iPhone search application that listens to spoken searches will be made available soon, according to the search company's iPhone application page.
At press time, the feature had not been rolled out through Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) online App Store, though The New York Times has reported it may come as early as Friday.
As it's currently available, Google's iPhone search app lets users type in search questions via the device's keyboard, and it delivers location-aware results. So users looking to find a local pizzeria can type in "pizza" and get the results mapped.
However, Google isn't just looking to help fill hungry iPhone user bellies. With the new feature, most any spoken question can return search results, making iPhone owners even faster masters of trivia. With the expected app, instead of tapping out "What is the speed of sound?" users can speak it. Typing will still be enabled, if the user prefers.
So what happens next? Is the iPhone powerful enough to translate trillions of human phrases?
As it turns out, the iPhone doesn't do the heavy lifting. It reportedly records the spoken phrase and uploads it to Google's servers, which then figure out the intent and generate the search -- incorporating location-specific information, too. (Hence the ability to offer up local pizzerias.)
The results are sent back to the iPhone and presented in an iPhone screen-friendly format.
Tax Day Is Over, but Internet Tax Threats Loom
As Americans stretched to pay the tax man this week, California Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Montebello) was working on the sly to institute a new digital tax. Such a move is not only short-sighted, but also could seriously harm the state's competitiveness.
It's no secret that the digital economy is a key driver of California's economic growth, so it is shocking that some political leaders seek to increase the regulatory and tax burden on the tech sector. In the short term, new taxes might help battle California's massive US$8 billion deficit, down from $16 billion through borrowing and accounting tricks. In the long term, however, the results would be disastrous.
Taxes do more than raise money; they also act as a disincentive for economic activity. For instance, so-called "sin" taxes on alcohol and cigarettes are meant to raise prices and decrease sales of the potentially harmful products. A similar effect would occur if Calderon's digital goods tax (AB 1956) was approved, and along with it would come multiple ripple effects.
It's no secret that the digital economy is a key driver of California's economic growth, so it is shocking that some political leaders seek to increase the regulatory and tax burden on the tech sector. In the short term, new taxes might help battle California's massive US$8 billion deficit, down from $16 billion through borrowing and accounting tricks. In the long term, however, the results would be disastrous.
Taxes do more than raise money; they also act as a disincentive for economic activity. For instance, so-called "sin" taxes on alcohol and cigarettes are meant to raise prices and decrease sales of the potentially harmful products. A similar effect would occur if Calderon's digital goods tax (AB 1956) was approved, and along with it would come multiple ripple effects.
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