So now that I have a target for the project, a ‘dream’ if you will, that I need to fulfill which is : a system where I can press one button and see a list of all the “cool things” going on in my local area.

I now need to think up a way to actually realize this. The first issue will be “how do I get the list of cool stuff into the system?” . That is definitely going to be the key to how this system will work, my options are : trawling existing sites to grab contents, asking users to input contents or writing my own contents.

The first idea, creating some sort of spider to find the information for me would be pretty straight forward technically speaking, but has a few drawbacks. Firstly I need the location information for the “cool stuff”, ie: I will need the longitude and latitude co-ordinates for each item I collect. I don’t think it would be possible to get this from a web page ( unless I do some reverse geocoding GPS lookup on the address details ). Secondly, I have no way of knowing if the “stuff” the crawler finds is really “cool stuff” or just “mediocre stuff”, as I have already stated I only want “cool stuff” on this site.

That reminds me, I have decided that this service is definitely going to be provided as a “site” for now. I have played with Brew and more recently with Android and that has given me some insight into what would be required to release this as an appli. It will be far simpler and will reach a much larger audience if I go with a regular web based system built with PHP or J2EE.

Back to the mechanics of finding the “cool stuff”. The second idea, using user generated content, even if it is a web2.0 cliché seems to be the best way to achieve what I want to do. I can get people ( hopefully ) to register the places they visit with the system and other people to rate them. This way I can find the stuff that is going on and also determine if its “cool” or not.

The third idea – providing the content myself will probably be required in the early stages regardless as I doubt I will be able to build a user base very quickly. However, I do not want to just create another “blog” with a GPS interface as I have enough difficulty keeping this one up-to-date.

So there we have it, my new project is going to be a “user recommendation system for location-based information”. Perfect!

Its been a while since I last posted and in that time I have been learning how valuable free time is for people working in the modern world, and in particular for people working in Tokyo. The amount of free time I have seems to be slipping away with each week that passes. The ironic thing is that when I do actually get some time to myself, time where I am free to do what ever I want to do, I can’t actually think of anything to do. Typical. Well this has been bugging me for a while and came up recently in a conversation I was having with a friend ( and colleague at my current job ). It seems I am not the only one who feels at a loose end. So I am wondering if this is a common feeling for foreigners in Japan, or perhaps it’s a general phenomenon that is felt all over the developed world.

I have also been toying around testing out the GPS functions on my cellphone and trying to build maps from scratch using vector data provided by the Japanese land ministry. I’ve tried using mapserver, mapnik and some great php scripts called provided by a guy called Mike Diplock ( but I have lost the reference to his site! ) and whilst I’ve learned a lot of interesting things about the vast world of GIS and information processing, I have to admit failure. Map rendering requires just too much horsepower ( and brain power ) and at the moment I do not have the facilities to put even the most basic of solutions together.

Yes I know that I could have bypassed all the pain and gone straight for a google maps or yahoo maps solution but that wasn’t the point. My problem is I like to tinker and solve ambitious challenges.

Anyway, I have given up trying to re-invent the wheel, there is no way I could provide maps with the performance or clarity of those rendered daily by google maps. Instead I have started thinking about how I can use this newly discovered world of GIS data with the GPS function of my phone to provide a useful service for my own pleasure and perhaps even for other people.

I am happy to say that today the idea finally came together. However, it is not entirely ground breaking or very ‘web 2.0’. It is still a good idea though ( or so I think ).

So what is this new project going to be then? Well I have come up with a way to help solve my “what to do with myself at the weekend” problem using the GPS function of my phone. Its really easy, really neat and goes something like this : If I ever find myself at a loose end, I pull out my phone, access my “insert_name_of_new_site_here” and press the big ‘send location’ button. Then I sit back and wait while the system gathers up a list of all the cool things that are going on near my current location. I can then browse through this selection and if I feel like it I can then pop over to the actual place where all the cool stuff is going on and check it out for myself.

Simple!

Well, that’s the theory anyway and I am willing to give it a shot. If only to give myself a pet-project to work on in the free time that I don’t have.

So tell me what you think by posting a comment - I have to moderate them at the moment because I’ve been receiving a huge amount of comments spam.

This image shown above is typical of the types of local search systems available at the moment, on both the 2G / 2.5G and 3G networks in Japan.

The level of detail has been enough to guide the user to the store or attraction of their desire so far, but now things are taking a massive leap now that the bandwidth of 3G is really being taken advantage of.

Check these images:

They show what is now available from your cell phone - real, street level satellite photographs of your surrounding area. Its amazing, this technology has just pounced onto the online world, with Google maps bringing the technology to the mainstream attention a whole host of smaller players are now investing in the feeds available and producing applications for the mobile world.

The services differ in the way they can pinpoint your location, from the simple cell triangulation that works with any phone, up to full GPS location depending on the capabilities of the handset. Surprisingly it was the 2.5G cell phones, the CDMA technology phones, which have the most handsets with GPS chipsets, the 3G phones are only now starting to arrive with the necessary chips.

So from now, with the high bandwidth from 3G paired with the accuracy of GPS positioning and the ready availability of satellite imagery, we are really going to see some action in the market. And with companies like Google and Yahoo rolling out their location based services the established players, like ‘goo navi’ , are going to have to fight hard to hold onto their market share.

NOKIA PRESS RELEASE August 30, 2005

Consumers also want to watch TV programs on their cell phone

Espoo, Finland - Results announced today from one of the world’s first commercial mobile TV pilots in Helsinki, Finland reveal the popularity and willingness to pay for mobile TV services, underlining the potential of this exciting new mobile application. 41% of pilot participants would be willing to purchase mobile TV services and half thought that a fixed monthly fee of 10 euros was a reasonable price to pay. Over half (58%) said that they believed broadcast mobile TV services would be popular.

Digita, Elisa, MTV, Channel Four Finland (Nelonen), Nokia, TeliaSonera Finland and YLE jointly conducted the pilot in Finland between March and June 2005 with 500 users accessing mobile TV using the Nokia 7710 smartphone and DVB-H technology.

Content is king
According to the pilot results, pilot participants not only wanted to watch familiar program offerings, but they would also welcome mobile TV content that is suitable for short and occasional viewing. Familiar programs available through national Finnish television channels proved to be the most popular followed by sports and news channels (CNN, BBC World, Euronews). The Ice Hockey World cup games, the San Marino and Monaco Formula One as well as the UEFA Champions League match between Liverpool and AC Milan were among the top 10 programs viewed during the pilot.

Viewing patterns
In general, mobile TV users spent approximately 20 minutes a day watching mobile TV, although more active users watched between 30 to 40 minutes per session. Participants also watched mobile TV at different times than traditional TV peak hours.

Mobile TV was most popular while traveling on public transport to relax or to keep up to date with the latest news although it also proved popular at home for entertainment and complementing participants’ main TV watching.

Pricing models
The potential commercial benefits of mobile TV are clearly evident from this pilot with 41% willing to pay for the service. Pilot members were charged a monthly fee of 4.90 euros although half of those that took part thought 10 euros per month was a reasonable price to pay. Overall, users preferred a fixed pricing model although many were also interested in a pay per view model - i.e. buying access for specific content such as a football match or racing competition.

The pilot results also reveal the key requirements from consumers in order to use mobile TV services:

- Easy and intuitive service usability
- Good technical functionality and reliability
- Content that is also suitable for short period viewing
- Mobile phone functions must not be compromised by the TV application

“The Helsinki pilot reinforces our belief that mobile broadcast TV is a significant opportunity,” said Richard Sharp, Vice President, Rich Media, Nokia. “The message for the industry is clear: for mobile TV services to succeed we need relevant and compelling content, easy-to-use technology and reasonable and simple pricing plans. With these elements in place, consumer demand for mobile TV will follow.”

DVB-H technology allows television channels to be distributed effectively to mobile devices. It provides the best user experience in the mobile environment with excellent, broadcast quality picture, reduced battery consumption and wide range of channels (up to 55 channel are possible).

Additional information:
Finland’s mobile TV project: www.finnishmobiletv.com

Today one of my collegues showed off a new i-appli that he had found. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the Japanese i-mode network, an i-appli is basically a java appi specifically created for DoCoMo phones.

Anyway, this new i-appli that has got everyone in the office excited is a really good ‘full browser’ called ’scope’ that lets you view real websites through your mobile phone. He showed me it in action and I must say I was impressed. With the 3G FOMA network the images and page content loaded up fast and looked sharp on the small screeen.

This has got me thinking about what this means for services like i-mode ?

Could it be that the in the future content for mobile sites will be no different from real sites? Will i-mode and WAP content become redundant?