Geeks, BBQ food and a bouncy castle…

June 30, 2011 By 1 Comment

That headline makes more sense when I explain that the first ever Digital People in Peterborough Family BBQ takes place on Saturday. I’m still continually amazed that an off-the-cuff idea to see if any local people involved in mobile and websites fancied a couple of beers has grown into 40+ people in the local area signing up on the DPiP website, the Facebook page or following on Twitter.

Not only that but we’ve even expanded from the monthly pub gathering to include a curry night, and now an attempt to get all of us out into the sunshine and involve our families with a BBQ at Afro-Caribbean restaurant Embe. It’s somewhere I’ve heard good things about, so I’m looking forward to sampling the food – and not only are they providing the BBQ for £5 per adult, but they’ve also very kindly agreed to provide a bouncy castle for those of us bringing children!

How great is that!

Plus, having had a quick look at their menu, I’m already trying to work out when I might be able to come along again to try some of the dishes they have on offer…

We’ve already got 11 or 12 confirmed people, with families, coming along for something a bit different, so if you’re in the Peterborough area, and you’re at all interested or involved with any sort of digital business, consider yourself invited. You can be a blogger, marketeer, developer, systems admin, mobile app creator, collect retro consoles, or write online for a living. We’re all really friendly, and if you want to find out more about us in advance, just take a look at the website, Facebook or Twitter in advance!

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Augmented Reality needs to jump the shark

August 11, 2010 By 5 Comments

Augmented Reality is still the hot new technology which is getting a lot of people excited when it comes to smartphone applications, and there are lots of cool ways it is increasingly being used.

But the best applications are those which actually have a purpose – and for that to happen more often, Augmented Reality has to jump the shark, and soon. (Jumping the Shark defined).

Like most people, I was amazed when I first saw videos of augmented reality apps (and called Wikitude the best app for the G1). And I’ve been similarly impressed with a lot of cool examples ever since then.

But the best applications I’ve seen which I’d actually keep using? How about the US post service augmented reality app for sizing up the boxes I need for posting large items? That’s not to say they can’t also be beautiful, or location based etc – for instance, Museum of London’s AR App.

But these are few and far between – the majority of discussion about augmented reality at the moment seems to be focusing on the technology as the key point, rather than how it can be used.

How to make augmented reality work:

It’s about 18 months since Wikitude first came on the scene – still a relatively short time for new technology, but it’s about time we start taking a mature look at Augmented Reality projects and applications. And we need to raise the bar on what is deserving of our attention. Platforms like Layar allow any developer to create their own augmented reality layer, so just using AR isn’t impressive – doing something really useful or cool is!

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Live cross-platform mobile gaming arrives

July 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The idea of gaming with all your friends regardless of which console they use is fairly unusual, even today, but it’s already a reality in the mobile games market.

SGN launched plane combat game Skies of Glory on the iPhone last autumn, and now that the Android version has arrived today, owners of either OS can play against each other in real time. And you can either fight as mixed teams, or even have Apple owners taking on Android fans.

You’ll need to have Android 2.0 or higher, but the interesting thing is the open multiplayer platform framework which supports the different platforms, and also the range of wireless connectivity, including 3G and Wifi.

It’s a really cool and interesting move, and considering SGN and developers Revo Solutions have already come up with 18 million downloads on the iPhone and iPod Touch, it’s likely to be followed by more companies as mobile gaming continues to evolve.

Maybe the platform wars will finally come to an end if this becomes normal (mobile or console). Or at least the battles will go real-time online!

And why shouldn’t we interact regardless of platform. I can email a Mac user, call anyone on any make of handset, and see tweets, Facebook updates and location check-ins regardless of the technology I’m using. So why have consoles been so resolutely different?

Filed Under: mobile, Mobile Applications, Videogames Tagged With: , , , , , ,

HTML5 and a new mobile app from Absolute Radio

May 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Apple iPad is about to launch in the UK, and in preparation, Absolute Radio is now available in a HTML5 version for all you iPad and iPhone owners to be able to listen to all the audio and see all the videos.

And in case you’re wondering, that’s all the audio and video throughout the whole site – not just the first couple of pages.

HTML5 optimised Absolute Radio website

And that’s in addition to the release of the all new Baddiel & Skinner Football Kit App for iPhone and Android, with support from Sony-Ericsson for the Android version.

It’s got the Baddiel & Skinner Absolute Radio Podcasts, a pub locator, score prediction game, red and yellow cards, football soundboard, an illustrated guide for doing goal celebrations, and a football rattle when you shake your phone!

Baddiel & Skinner Football Kit App

This is the link for iTunes. And you can find it via your handset on Android. The great news is that it went straight into the Top 20 Paid Sports Apps on the UK iTunes store, and it’s currently floating around the Top Ten.

(Disclosure: I work for Absolute Radio as Digital Marketing Manager.)

And in case I forget, I’m out and about over the next couple of weeks, so feel free to grab me for a chat etc if you see me at:

Specialist Media Show, May 25th, Peterborough (Hosting a round table on mobile)

Open Mobile Summit, May 26th, London (Doing a quick 2 minute piece on our work on Nokia platforms at a couple of different times during the day in the Nokia lounge.)

M-Publishing, June 1, London (Hosting a round table on mobile publishing).

So come chat if you spot me…

Filed Under: mobile, Mobile Applications Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,