If you haven’t seen this ad from Nokia yet, give it a shot. Super creative use of stop motion animation, utilizing the Nokia N8′s Cellscope Technology.

Love this stop motion video from SumoScience for Nokia’s N8 phone.  Not only is the video itself great, but I appreciate the end of the video where they make it easier to see “how” they did it.

(Sorry guys – too much to do and too little time.  And since I’m spending more time now posting on the Spring Creek Group blog, my guess is that I’ll be reposting some content that I write over there…such as this article.)

What Channel is Your Phone Turned To?

There was a time when you used your remote to change the channel.  Now more and more often, the remote and channel are the same device.

Pew Research released a report that claims 33 percent of cell phone owners now access news on their cell phones.  So we’ve finally figured out what the people who aren’t Facebooking or texting are doing with their phones – they’re reading the New York Times or Perez Hilton.

The Pew report discusses, “two significant technological trends that have influenced news consumption behavior: First, the advent of social media like social networking sites and blogs has helped the news become a social experience in fresh ways for consumers. People use their social networks and social networking technology to filter, assess and react to news. Second, the ascent of mobile connectivity via smart phones has turned news gathering and news awareness into an anytime, anywhere affair for a segment of avid news watchers.”

Younger cell phone owners are more likely to look for news on their phones than from Katie Couric. In fact, according to the report, about 43 percent of those under 50 said they are mobile news consumers.  And social media plays a big part, as more than 80 percent of respondents get or receive news via e-mailed links.  But as Breitbart points out in their analysis of the report, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  People’s #1 one concern is still the weather (72 percent), followed by current events (68 percent).

John Cook from Seattle’s own TechFlash found it worthwhile to mention that, “The authors of the study write that news has become omnipresent and people’s relationship to news is becoming portable, personalized and participatory.”

I think John is right when he focuses on the fact that news (and other information) is omnipresent.  The “news cycle,” so to speak, is no longer valid.  The classic product launch is a thing of the past.  Making a big splash with a marketing or ad campaign is not effective unless there is credibility in the claim, and you can prove that the message is sustainable over time.  There’s an effect in which every marketing action has an equal and opposite reaction.  The more you promise, the more upset the crowd will be if you don’t deliver.

So how is this affecting the way news is being delivered?

“In one way it’s uplifting that over 60 percent of people using their phones for news are logging on to check current events. That goes against the passive news consumer we’ve heard about in TV for years,” says Cale Ramaker, an anchor at WOFL-TV in Orlando.  “On the other hand it means all news outlets, in any median, need to refocus on not only delivering the news in multi-formats – but do it with an emphasis for the right now consumer.”

Cale’s point is valid.  We now have more sources of information, more editors of the information, but also more opportunities to make critical decisions on whether the information is tainted.  And seventy two percent of the survey’s respondents said that “most news sources today are biased in their coverage.” If the “objective” sources are biased, then the marketing sources are unbelievably easy to see through.

So at the end of the day, information continues to flow, and people can find it whenever and wherever they are.  In fact, even if a marketing team lands an article with Kara Swisher, we may not read it there.  We may get it via a friend’s Facebook post or Tweet while waiting for the bus.

I know – it still makes no sense.  And it still sounds dumb to say you “Tweeted” something.

But there are times when you have to admit things.  Like when you realized the DVD was replacing the VCR, that EVERYONE would eventually have a mobile phone, blogging was going to be here forever, and you would never again buy music that didn’t come as an .mp3.

Twitter has reached that stage.  It is here to stay.  It has enough users now that business models are being built around it, even while it doesn’t have one of its own.  And here’s the thing – it doesn’t need one.  Someone will buy it.  If you won’t listen to me, read the charts below – the ones that show 800% growth YoY.  So go get your Twitter account and stop resisting.  It’s free, it’s easy and it’s fun.  Quit making fun of it and use it.

Well, I finally succumbed to the pressure.

Since it launched, I’ve seen proud and cheerful owners of the iPhone gleefully show off thier little toy.  In bars, in meetings, in lines at Starbucks, they tauntingly stick it into your face, showing you all the magical things it can do.

I resisted.  

I stayed true to my core Blackberry.  I like the Blackberry.  It’s easy to use.  I don’t need real time stock ticket updates or the best way to walk from the Space Needle to Palace Kitchen.  I need a phone and text, and maybe some Internet.

Saturday, something snapped.  

Suddenly I realized that the phone had changed.  I knew it before, but I finally admitted to the analogy that we’re in the mobile version of the shift from VCR to DVD, and I still owned a VCR.  And there is no reason to buy another souped up VCR.  It is no longer an issue of iPhone vs Blackberry.  It’s become an issue of mobile devices in 2009 and beyond, vs mobile devices in 2008 and prior.  I knew all of this already, but some light piece of straw finally made that camel’s back break.  And the camel asked for an iPhone.

Now I’m simply a junior member of the cult.  I look for and will listen to the teachings of those original iPhone disciples.  And I have to admit to myself that I’m more than a little excited to play with all the toys and gimmicks.  

Now, I haven’t yet stood in line and condescendingly scoffed at those simple “iNots” walking around with their pedestrian devices.  But I’m sure one day, as I breeze through Google Maps or order a video before boarding a plane, I’ll have that smug look of a full fledged cult member.  

If you are an iPhone Davidian and have a favorite “must-have” application, please let me know.

Adotas brings us word that Barack Obama is bringing his presidential campaign to the coolest phone (and presumably most influential trendsetters) on the planet,  releasing an iPhone app that will enable supporters to easily reach out to friends and remind them to vote for their favorite candidate.

According ot the story, the app,  “Call Friends,” organizes the user’s phonebook by state and gives each contact a status (called or not called).  You can also use the app to find out where he stands on issues – and of course – enables people to donate to the campaign. 

I will tell you one thing.  I wouldn’t  trust a lot of politicians to run a company’s mail room, but if Obama doesn’t become President, he would certainly be a heck of a CMO.   

I was down at CTIA in San Francisco last week expecting to be wowed by tons in mobile innovations.  I really thought  I’d be furiously taking notes and have plenty to write about for weeks.  Sadly, I was forced not to publish the trip report I did write and had sent internally to the folks at Spring Creek Group, due to my overall  philosophy of only writing about innovations I like, not complaining about things I don’t get or won’t use.  I figure Techcrunch does enough criticizing for the entire blogosphere, so no reason to be one of the naysayers

So instead of a trip report from the Bay, here are 2 clever text messaging apps that I read about at PCWorld.com and now use fairly regularly

1) Google Calendar SMS Commands  - I use Google Calendar, as part of my slavery to Gootle Mail, Docs, Chat, Analytics and Ad Words.  Instead of having to sync my Blackberry every day, i can simply send a text to GVENT (48368) with the word “day” and I get a full schedule.  If I want tomorrow’s shcedule, I type “nday.”  I immediately receive a text back with my schedule.

2) Diet Watcher - If you’re watching calories, Diet.com can help you keep count. Text any major restaurant chain’s name and menu item to DIET1 (dial 34381) and they’ll send you back the nutrition stats: calories, fat, carbs, and protein.  In case you are curious, a McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger has 440 Calories (23g fat), while a Starbucks Grande Latte has 

Neither of these services are awe-inspiring, but if you want information quickly, they are pretty useful.  And really at the end of the day, “Useful, Easy and Free” beat slick marketing and $60 Million in Series C funding any day of the week.

Here’s an odd report that comes out of England.  Does it mean that pregnant women must add Cell Phones to the list of things they can’t use? Perhaps.  

In a nutshell, the suprised researchers found that cell phone usage while pregnant leads to hperactivity wwhen the kids are born.  Specific results:

• Mothers who did use the handsets were 54 per cent more likely to have children with behavioural problems
• The likelihood increased with the amount of potential exposure to the radiation.
• When the children also later used the phones they were, overall, 80 per cent more likely to suffer from difficulties with behaviour.
• They were 25 per cent more at risk from emotional problems.
• 34 per cent more likely to suffer from difficulties relating to their peers.
• 35 per cent more likely to be hyperactive.
• 49 per cent more prone to problems with conduct.

So if your kid is hyper – don’t blame them….it sounds like it’s your fault   Can’t wait to see the first lawsuit to come from this…. 

In the very early days of PC Casual games, you had to buy everything you wanted to try.  But once the internet hit, and you could try out demo versions of the games for free, the market absolutely exploded.

Well, I think we’ve finally reached that moment in Mobile Games, thanks to our friends at Movaya.  Here is their latest release:

The Movaya team is excited to announce the beta release of Movaya TryNBuy: the first off-deck, cross-carrier try-before-you-buy system for mobile game sales in the US.

Movaya TryNBuy is a patent pending licensing system that allows consumers to download games over-the-air to their mobile devices and try games on their handset. Upon purchase, the games are unlocked.

Try-before-you-buy was a major driver in the huge growth of casual games on the desktop and now Movaya is bringing this to the mobile marketplace.

Movaya TryNBuy is configurable on multiple levels including length of play, and number of plays.

Movaya TryNBuy is now available online at www.bustedthumbs.com and will be rolled out to Movaya’s publisher and merchant network over the coming weeks.

To get more information on Movaya TryNBuy, please visit our website.

For years, we have all been hearing how Mobile Video would soon breakthrough and become a major part of our media consumption habits.  And yet, for most of us, it’s rarely or ever something we use.  So the question is, "Why aren’t we adopting Mobile Video at the rates we’re expected to?"

Last night at dinner some friends and I surmised the following, and I wonder if you agree.  Mobile Video is a "Supply-Side" product.  Some of the most powerful brands and industries – Mobile Carriers, Broadcasters, Sports Leagues, Ad Agencies and Media Distributors – would absolutely love if we were never disconnected from highly visual mediums where ads can be placed, or content can be charged for.  There is a wealth, or excess supply, of content out there, and the only thing holding back their revenues is our ability to escape from that content.  So of course, they look at us and say, "When Andy leaves his Living Room, we need a way that he can keep watching TV." 

But very few of us look at our phone – which is our telecommunications device – and say, "Damn, it sucks that I can’t watch TV on this."  Now, I have a high DEMAND for a phone that I can take with me wherever I go.  I have similar high DEMAND for Text Messaging, a car that runs, laptops I can take anywhere, online services I can use to order anything, and hundreds of other things that I can’t make it through the week without.

But television on my phone? I don’t really demand that.  I understand it’s available.  I think it’s cool that it’s available.  But I can’t think of a reason that I would demand it be available.

And I think that is the crux of the mobile video problem.  The marketing campaigns are awesome.  The technology is cool.  I trust the people bringing it to me.  And I love the shows that are available.  But those are all supply issues.  Until there’s a demand scenario that makes sense for me, I think it will continue to languish. 

And so, as we head toward potential Web 2.0 bubbledom and a possible recession, I’m putting all companies into these two categories.  Which companies are trying to create their own market out of an excess supply of something, and which companies are providing products and services that fill an already establish demand? I think the demand side companies will survive whatever economic blip we run into.