Scouting Workshop: Report 2

"Mobile E-Content: Innovations from Europe"

 

Topic	"Mobile E-Content: Innovations from Europe"
Date	2.-4. May 2003	Participants	20
Organiser	MFG	Speaker	10
Venue	Stuttgart	Projects developed	no
Key Presentations	"Mobile Travel Guide", an award-winning product from the UMTS test centre in Saarbrücken "i-compose" (Dutyfarm, Magdeburg), a picture application of I-Mode which was nominated with the EUROPRIX 2002 support the management with 3G technologies (Worktogether, Düsseldorf) data security in a mobile working environment (Fraunhofer, Berlin)
IST Projects	-
Essential Outcome and Findings	This workshop discussed trends, challenges and opportunities of content on mobile platforms. In summary, the following observations came out of the workshop: (1)  Mobile applications are not about making the Internet mobile. This would cause far too many information and a clash of user habits with the Internet having been nurtured by a culture “everything for free”.   (2)  Whereas the strength of the stationary Internet as we have known it is media richness the mobile Internet offers location relevant data. (3)  As a result, location-based services will play a crucial role for mobile applications. With their user-centric character the mobile Internet offers a real added value.  (4)  Users expect to be able to make transactions with mobile devices. Exploring and surfing through an immense pile of information will still be left to the stationary Internet. (5)  With the Internet being a portal for discovery mobile platforms serve as portals for convenience. (6)  Mobile applications thus need to be much more user-centred, tailored and information prepared directly towards user’s needs. (7)  A central question thus guiding any mobile application has to be: What is the added value for the user? Where do mobile applications really make sense? (8)  A particularly sensitive issue for mobile Internet users is data security. The more information people pass on (in particular about their location) the more concerns they have about the data security. Hand in hand with this issue goes the appropriate payment method for mobile data transfer. (9)  UMTS is not necessary to develop mobile applications. A lot is already possible even without UMTS. So, the launch of UMTS is not going to be a revolution but an evolution. (10)  When information are well-prepared mobile devices like mobile phones are an excellent medium and likely to gain acceptance. Mobile phones have already achieved to be carried around similar to watches. If they one day make them obsolete there would be no doubt that mobile e-content has succeeded.
Recommendations	Recommended topics to be further developed and discussed   location based services: assessment of mobility and its special requirements and needs Prototypes of mobile travel guides so far work with special mobile terminals; the way ahead is to integrate different applications in one single mobile terminal. introduction of more mobile applications asks for a clear separation between roles and skills (network providers, application designers, content producers) Quality of content is more important than ever. It also should be tuned to be used on mobiles. Quality assets to be more deeply discussed

Search
File	Size	Author
Full Report	doc/78kB
SW_Analysis & Conclusions	pdf/135kB	Andrea Buchholz
SW_Workshop Program	pdf/142kB	fmx/03 catalogue
SW_Article in German about the mobile Internet based on the Scouting Workshop	pdf/269kB	Hans Dorsch on www.multimedia.de

 

Presentations (all in German)