We’ve joined the Carnegie team! Find out more.
Alert Close close
Intelligence
Mobile Musings

Intelligence

Mobile Musings

Dec 01, 2010By Voltaire Santos Miran

I wanted to share a few links and stories about developments in the mobile world. I’m a huge geek for new toys and tools, and the mobile sector is advancing at a pace where there’s always something new and exciting happening. Here are a few stories that caught my eye over the past week, and please share any others you may have in the comments.

News

Mobile web use for college students is the new norm

We all know that the mobile sector is growing rapidly, but the rate of growth on campus by students is staggering. The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology by Shannon D. Smith and Judith Borreson Caruso for the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, showed that ownership of mobile web enabled devices within current college students has risen 11% from spring of 2009 to spring 2010, with 62.7% of all students owning such a device. Even more interesting, the study was completed just before the iPad was released, so expect that number to rise even more dramatically next year.

The study also reported that in 2009, less than half of students surveyed said they used their web enabled mobile device to access the internet weekly. A year later, over two-thirds of students now access the web via these devices at least once a week, with 42.6% accessing daily.

While none of these numbers should be surprising, the rate of growth that is being seen shows that the mobile web is no longer something to prepare for, but something that is here now. Click here to read more.

iOS devices now support TrueType Font embedding
The new iOS 4.2 upgrade came with a lot of fun, new, highly publicized features for iPhones and iPads. One that snuck under the radar, and will have a huge impact in the mobile web development community, is the support of True Type fonts within mobile Safari. TrueType fonts both have a better rendering quality on screen, and have a smaller file sizes compared to the SVG standard, which was the lone supported font standard previously. This will also offer designers greater levels of control in how their typography appears on the iOS mobile devices. Read more about this from Zeldman.com.

Android Wireless Sync
doubleTwist has just released an app to allow Android users to wirelessly sync their iTunes playlists, videos, and photos with their computers using only the wireless network. No wires involved. As an iPhone owner, this is a feature that fills me with envy. Click here for more information.

Spotlight

Hotseat from Purdue University
Branded as a micro-discussion platform, Hotseat was created as a tool to create a collaborative classroom environment, specifically targeting larger lecture halls. Leveraging browser based discussion with Facebook or Twitter updates, and accessible from computers or mobile devices, professors can curate conversation organically within their lessons, and students are also able to ask questions or provide feedback during class. The professor can pose questions for the students, and there is also a function that allows students to submit questions of their own to the professor and the class at large. Other students can then vote for that question, letting the professor know there is interest, or respond themselves. It creates a more open, collaborative approach to learning, and can allow for more interaction between the instructor and the students, especially in larger class settings.

The use of technology and social media to enhance the classroom learning experience always seems like something that would be easy to implement, but harnessing the power of the different tools has always presented a challenge. By creating a platform that uses existing social media outlets while creating worthwhile native applications, Hotseat has the potential to give instructors and students access to each other without distraction, within the flow of the class. Raising hands, your time is up.

Click here to learn more about Hotseat. And as a proud Purdue graduate, it’s even more exciting to see that this product was developed by Kyle Bowen, a teacher’s assistant I had for a number of classes years ago. Yep, I’m a homer, and I’m fine with that.

Design Tips

Designing for the retina display of the iPhone 4
Smashing Magazine has a nice overview on how to alter your design methods for the higher resolution screen of the new iPhone. While this is great for specific design criteria for one device, its true value is how it demonstrates a number of design habits that mobile developers should incorporate earlier than later. As mobile devices continue to evolve, having a design in place to support as many screen sizes, resolutions, and formats as possible is going to be a must, especially in a market which is constantly evolving. Read more at Smashing Magazine.

Review App
Piggybacking on the previous article, I have been using the Review App for my UI development. This is an app that provides a quick, painless way to transfer PSD and PNG files straight to your iPhone for review. An interface designers dream. Click here for more info: http://getreviewapp.com/

mStoner Mobile Webinar

If you’re interested in mobile use for your .edu site, be sure to join mStoner Creative Director Doug Gapinski and Susan Evans, director of creative services at the College of William & Mary, for a free session about exploring the trends and challenges associated with mobile delivery for education institutions today. Register today!


  • Voltaire Santos Miran EVP, Web Strategy I've developed and implemented communication strategies in education for more than 20 years now. I think my team at mStoner is the smartest, funniest, and coolest group of colleagues ever, and I can't imagine being anywhere else. Except Barcelona. Or Paris. Or Istanbul. To quote Isak Dinesen, "the cure for everything is salt ... tears, sweat, and the sea."