At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, Adobe took the wrapper off a real for-real version of their desktop Flash player designed (and hopefully optimized) for mobile devices like the iPhone. Well, technically they took the wrappers off the wrappers, since Flash Mobile won’t ship until the end of 2009 on its current schedule, and it won’t support the iPhone even then, only Windows Phone 6.5 (are we allowed to call it WinPho now?), Google Android, Palm Pre, and Nokia. Even these implementations are likely to only ship in 2010.
And the iPhone version? According to Anup Murarka, director of partner development and technology (via Macworld):
“We’ve made a lot of progress, but there is still a lot of engineering work to be done. [...] We’re working with Apple on what we have. We’re committed to make the Flash plug-in work on the iPhone.”
Analysts aren’t so sure, citing lack of low-level system access on the iPhone (and BlackBerry) as limitations, as well as Apple’s preference for their own QuickTime technology.
So, if no news is good news, not much news must be… what exactly then?
I must admit, I have been using the much talked of Twitter, which you have most likely either never heard of, or are sick of hearing about. For those who haven't heard about it, it's a "micro-blogging service", which allows you to make 140 character updates or less to your page, and follow your friends' Twitter pages.
There have been many music making and recording apps made for the iPhone, and since that ground has been covered, many developers are starting to create more specific pieces of software that specialise in certain musical areas. MobileMix ($3.99, App Store) is such an app, and focuses on creating tracks from overlaying loops of recordings.
This short video shows how I try to digest Twitter, RSS feeds and my Friendfeed 'River' on one of my screens, when I am in my office (ok... not too often, really;). Juggling this ocean takes some practice... but I am getting there.
We are now at the point where there are lots and lots of games for the iPhone, most of them taking the form of miniscule games that could easily be small flash games on the web. Obviously games with higher production values and longer playtimes get a lot more attention, but there is a certain joy to these 99 cent mini games that allow for quick bites of playtime.
I recently posted to let you know that everyone’s favorite jailbreak-gone-legit podcatching app for the iPhone - RSS Player - was going to be bringing out a couple new versions, one free and one 99 cent version, to go alongside the full version of the program.
The free version - ‘RSS Player Test Drive‘ - is now out in the App Store. This version limits you to using two feeds, so you can get a feel for the app before moving up to the $0.99 (green icon) version (which caps you at 7 feeds) or the full program.
Now is as good a time as any to try out the new Test Drive version - as the full version of the app is also currently offered at a special Valentine’s rate of 50% off - $1.99.
Rollo & Grady Interview // Gerd Leonhard - Los Angeles Music Blog - Good read. Here are some of the best snippets:
R&G: Can the labels regain the trust of “people formerly known as consumers?” Gerd: They may not be able to, and this is the
Number One problem. I think it’s a very tough road. The only chance
they have – and that goes for everyone, not just the majors, but also
the indies – is to drastically open up, put their cards on the table
and start doing business like everybody else. This means being
transparent, sharing, putting deals on the table and making them
public. They need to create real value rather than pretend to do so.
R&G: You’ve talked about how the record industry should adopt Twitter. Can you elaborate? Gerd:Twitter is a mechanism of micro
communication, like RSS feeds. Therefore, it becomes something that is
completely owned by the people who are doing it, rather than by the
people who are making or receiving it. It’s a completely viable
mechanism that is cost-neutral, at least to us. It becomes a very
powerful mechanism for peer response and viral connections. That is the
principle of what music is all about. It’s word of mouth, connecting,
forwarding and sharing. A musical version of Twitter would be a
goldmine. It already exists to some degree in blip.fm,
but the music industry should use that mechanism to broadcast directly
to fans. They’re starting to do that, but the problem is that many
music companies perceive their primary mission as gatekeeper for the
artists rather than getting the music out. That is a big problem today,
when you’re in an economy where everybody wants a snack before buying a
sandwich.
R&G: What other technologies do you think are necessary for the do-it-yourself artists and managers of the new music world? Gerd: Widgets and syndication have made YouTube the
world’s leader in video. 60% of videos are not played on YouTube.com
but on blogs and other people’s sites. Music has completely overlooked
that very powerful tool. That is this whole idea of syndication –
getting people to transmit music to each other and then reaping the
attention on the other end.
R&G: Are you saying they need to recognize any revenue stream they can generate from their content? Sell CDs, subscriptions, etc.? Gerd: The flat rate is the next CD. Its simple
mathematics. If you charge or indirectly earn one dollar from each user
of a network, that dollar can be ad-supported. It can be supported by
bundling, so the user won’t feel it, so to speak. If you look at the
total number of people who are active on digital networks, which is
somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 ½ billion people, they’re not all
going to pay a dollar because they’re in different countries. But the
money that comes in from such a flat rate is humongous.
You'll need to restart your system after installing the security update -- but we recommend you do so, this stuff looks important!
Thanks Vivek!
Postscript: Brian Mastenbrook, who discovered the Safari RSS vulnerability has posted a blog entry detailing how he discovered the problem, why he issued a warning and how long it ultimately took Apple to respond (6 months!). It's good reading and a good discourse on how our favorite company handles security threats and how they might want to improve.
Over the course of the next 5-6 years, the importance of getting Air-Play on terrestrial i.e. traditional, programmed radio will drastically decline, as people are switching to the Internet (and by extension, to each other) as the #1 way of sourcing music programs. We will see a drastic increase in fragmentation as people will do anything from carefully customizing each track in their lists to just listen to 'what's on' - and there will be 100s of permutations in between. From total engagement to total passive consumption, there will be offers covering each - and they will all be connected.
Because of the strong uptake in next generation mobile devices (fka cell phones), the explosive proliferation of social networks and the drastic increase in wireless broadband capabilities at ever decreasing costs (yes, not yet - but give it another 18 months) we will see people use their mobile devices as prime instruments of listening to radio-like music programs - there will be hundreds of radio/music apps available via the various app stores that each device maker AND operator will offer; some paid, most feels-like-free, some sponsored.
The other point is that as the car becomes fully connected and always-online people will shift their music consumption to Net-based offerings while on the road, as well (in addition to the already stiff in-car competition from iPods etc) - this will be a very very very serious challenge to traditional Radio (and TV) broadcasters. Local news, traffic, sports etc will be programmable to interlace with your Internet-based stations - the best of both worlds? Talk about Change!
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