What can mobile/network operators do for you?
As a little bit of an off the wall question, I’m wondering what people would like to see mobile operators do for app developers.
Most of the time app developers don’t even need to really consider the mobile operator being used as they are simply carrying data and is transparent to the developer. Also tying your app down to an operator does in some ways restrict your reach to just those users on that network.
With that said, I’m starting to think beyond the apps we see today and I’m wondering what app developers would like to see mobile operators provide. I’m thinking of API’s or services that an app developer can make use of to either enhance their current app or enable to create a completely new type app using features provided by an operator.
This could be across games and utility apps. One possibility could be for an operator to provide some kind of aggregation service that allows app developers to retrieve information about other users of their app in real time. This could be for social networking or gaming or both together even.
It can be expensive to create the infrastructure necessary to manage this aggregation, so services provided by the operator may enable more developers to provide those kind of services.
Or how about mobile operators exposing their own services through APIs, actually allowing app developers to access network and blended functions. Many operators now provide multiple services, so being able to create an app that allows them to interact with those other services or those of their friends in new and unique ways plus crossing operator boundaries could be interesting. How about being able to access information on special deals available from an operators partners that are near to where the app user is currently located and the ability to retrieve a bar code from them that gives you a free coffee or reduced entry to an attraction?
I believe that mobile providers and in fact service providers in general are looking for ways to become more than just data carriers. Exposing and providing innovative services on their network and infrastructure could be a way towards this but I think that it will be the innovation of the app developer that will drive what is required from operators, be this through Apple devices or others such as Android and Blackberry.
Phew, that’s a lot of words :o) but I’m basically interested in what you think operators could do in terms of providing these types of services and what they could be? I’m sure this would never be free and operators will make charges, so my other question is, do people think there is even a business case for this?
Mike
9 Comments
Mike on June 23rd, 2010
Hi Benoit
That is a good point :)
A mobile/network operator is a company responsible for providing the actual mobile service such as Vidafone, T-Mobile, AT&T etc. They run the network that carries voice and data traffic for their mobile subscribers.
Hopefully that makes it a little clearer. The question may not be that appropriate for indie developers, but I was interested to see if there was an opinion at all.
Mike
Simon on June 24th, 2010
Nothing except provide me with a create service, for my brand new iPhone 4 – shameless way to say it I know, but i’m excited the new feature are just awesome… Went with Vodafone – 02 in the UK were a pain in the ass + no Q in the vodafone shope
rserranon on June 25th, 2010
What about presence services so the game can behave differently depending on the actual presence zone the user is
mike on June 27th, 2010
@Simon, congrats on getting your phone. I was not so lucky with my preorder and pickup from the Regent Street Apple store. The queue was just SOOOO big I didn’t even bother. I’ve not ordered on line and will have to wait for it to be delivered.
@rserranon, That is a good point and I think the presence could be an interesting idea. Imagine a FPS game where you actually have to track down your players in an area and get close enough to see them when playing, possibly using augmented reality features.
It could also be an opportunity for an operator to maybe provide partnerships with other retailers like coffee shops or music shops. They could maybe allow a persons location to alert them to special deals in nearby shops. Not sure how the revenue sharing would work, but it could be beneficial to both app developer and operator.
Mike
kingbombs on June 28th, 2010
@mike
I was approached by a company to consider making a game where you chase players down using the phones GPS. The problem was that the GPS was not quite accurate enough and they wanted it to be used in a small hall where everyone is in close proximity to each other and they wanted to see when two players bassicly touched or were within touching distance.
If the GPs could be improved a little more to be more accurate then this would be good and these types of games would be possible.
You could do something similar but played on a much larger scale where you only needed to get within a few feet to be able to ‘catch’ them. This would work as the phone is accurate to within a few feet.
Before the iPhone came along the mobile phone operators only allowed around 3mb (i think that was the number) to be transferred over the phone’s connection.
When the iPhone came along this got pushed to 10mb and i believe its around 20mb on 3G. I believe (for apps download size) anything above 20mb must be downloaded over your wireless connection.
A bigger push to keep increasing this would be good to see.
I am supprised the mobile operators have not jumped onto the games band wagon and created a ‘gaming centre’ where you could see your games on your phone and display game information to other friends on the network. But i believe they have missed their chance to do this now.
mike on June 29th, 2010
I do like the idea of location being used within a game. I remember from some time back that operators and game creators were trying to use location for games such as tag etc. I think that with augmented reality becoming more popular those types of games could really take off.
I do believe that operators are working on services they can provide to application developers which will help to take them from simple data providers to having more value. These are not just mobile device developers but also web developers amongst others. Things like allowing someone to make a phone call right from a web page using the operators network and supplying access to voicemail and IM services. Maybe even allowing developers to set up wallets with the operator that allow people to purchase from within applications and have the cost placed on their monthly bill. This could allow clever discounting to customers based on their mobile usage and other purchases.
They also look to be considering their own app stores, not just for games but for all kinds of apps that could use exposed services. They are certainly late to the table with this and are trying to catch up with the ‘over the top’ applications stores such as Apples App Store. These stores which require nothing other than connectivity from the operator are really challenging the traditional value seen by operators.
This is certainly going to be an interesting space over the coming few years.
Mike
Nick on July 5th, 2010
A way to track stolen iPhones/Pads etc would be good. Each device has a UID, so it would be necessary for providers to work with Apple to make sure that the UID is transmitted to the provider as a part of the connection sequence.
If Apple made it possible for the iTunes app on your computer to store and display the UIDs for each device that it is synchronising, (how many people know their devices UID), then a stolen device could be reported, and providers could even find out where the device was being used.
I know there are a number of apps that claim to help a user track a missing device, but they nearly all require the app to be running while the device is connected. The only one that doesn’t requires the user to register their device and then log on to a web site and send an email to the email address the device is using, in the hope that the thief will read it. If the thief has removed apps, or most likely, reset the device in order to remove all evidence of the rightful owner, then none of these methods will work.
I would certainly like to see something like this. My sister bought me a 32GB 3G iPad in New York. She sent it to me registered and insured, but by the sound of things it never got out of the post office she sent it from. Do Apple track device UIDs and serial numbers from the factory to the store?
Nick on July 5th, 2010
I know its off topic, I’m just really ticked. :-{
Benoit on June 22nd, 2010
I don’t know why there are no replies to this post, but it might be because I’m not the only one not to know what a “mobile/network operator” is?