A Changing Mobile Eco System...

...and some Hmms & Ahas we want contribute

The mobile industry eco system can be described best as broken. How handsets are built is decided by the interests of the the manufacturers and operators, not the end consumers like you and me. Hardware has changed little for ten years. Software has not changed much either.

The effect: mobile usage is mostly about voice + sms. This status quo creates little innovation but gives the carriers the high revenue and you & me high bills for little value. Now let's imagine what a mobile gadget can be. Apple did when they created the first Iphone and shifted users’ perceptions in what a phone can do. Now mobile internet is on the rise, slowly shifting traffic from operators’ decks. The rise of off-deck traffic & social mobile networks is an indicator of that. With open platforms like Android & the iPhone entering the scene we hope the mobile eco system gets healthier, prices for customers drop, even more amazing apps get developed & we finally see the evolution of some wildly successful mobile startups.

But imagine what can a mobile gadget be. Apple did when they created the first Iphone and shifted users’ perceptions in what a phone can do. Now mobile internet is on the rise, slowly shifting traffic from operators’ decks. The rise of off-deck traffic & social mobile networks is an indicator of that. Now, with with open Android & the iPhone platforms entering the scene we hope the mobile eco system gets healthier, prices for customers drop, even more amazing apps get developed & we finally see the evolution of some wildly successful mobile startups. This number will only be considerable, though, if mobile advertising gains traction.

We at HmmAha hope to contribute in these developments by sharing some of our Hmms, Ahas and insights on Changes in the Mobile Eco System. Forthermore and in more detail, we

  • analyse

    processes, market, risk and opportunitities
  • train & tutor

    processes
  • develop

    contribute to your development efforts
  • champion

    the mobile startup scene in media (drop as a mail)

Why we had to make it:

The two of us, Daniel and Matthäus quarreled at the Munich BarCamp last November. Subsequently we learned that we are passionate in our arguments, yet we agree on a lot of issues & in particular how development should be done. You see some of our convictions and some ways how we deal with each other on these pages. We hope they are of value to you.

In the meantime Matthäus was consulting a mobile social network and saw some interesting developments. We decided to take a closer look at some of them and Matthäus moved to the Silicon Valley this March. In that time we joined the techblog Venturebeat as freelancers for Mobile. The short essay in the left corner is supposed to give you an idea what we have found, what is important to us & what we want to do about it.

Yet, some people need catchy two-liners. So, in two sentences, what is HmmAha about ? Simply put we believe that “the Valley” is taking over mobile and think this is a good idea. With our consulting we want to contribute to that.

A selection of our opinions:
Teaser Hmm

Mobile social networking service Xumii is getting carrier attention, and it hasn’t even launched

Xumii, a mobile service that lets you access feeds of activity from other social networks and services, is launching a private testing version (beta) next month. When I first looked at it, I was skeptical. I've already written that large, web-based social networks such as Mypace and Facebook have moved ...

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Teaser Aha

Google challenge winners give Android thumbs-up

Two weeks ago Google announced the first-round winners of its two-round Android Developer Challenge (ADC). The contest, which is promising a total of $10 million in prize money, is intended to entice developers to come up with exciting new applications for the company's mobile Internet platform, Android, which is clearly ...

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Teaser Hmm

Analysis: MySpace and Facebook challenge mobile-only social networks

Mobile life is blooming. Some 47 mobile social network companies have emerged globally, to help cater to our need to message and communicate while on the go. But what about the huge incumbents, like MySpace or Facebook? Will they thrive on the mobile web? Well, the 47 mobile-only networks will ...

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