Rough notes on the mobile internet

One of the developments we've been looking at a lot recently is the growth of the 'mobile internet/mobile web'.

As an enthusiastic iPhone user I want to attribute this growth to Apple but suspect it's mainly:

• mobile phone operators offering reasonably-priced (?) flat rate deals with unlimited internet access;
  
  
• said mobile phone operators advertising the benefits of being able to access favourite sites ;

• the proliferation of handsets and mobile browsers that give users access to a web that looks recognisably web-like (and not a horribly adulterated version). I think the iPhone set a standard that others still have to beat - there's no 'iPhone 'killer' yet although Samsung and LG are gaining ground - unlike Nokia and Blackberry.

Related to this I guess is the growth of the 'mobile app'. Here Apple's influence is again dominant with Microsoft and Nokia opening their own applications store. The apps I use on my iPhone for Facebook and Google are great - I wish we had something like it for our VLE.

The Facebook phone - affordances and technological determinism again

A bit more on emerging technologies and social practices mutually informing their respective development. This is going to get a bit ragged and random ... I may have to return and edit.

We know how significant usage of both mobile phones and social networking sites are, well lots of the mobile phone manufacturers and networks are plugging phones that offer easy access to SNSs (see UK advertising campaign from 2008):

There's also a forthcoming 'Facebook phone' that will offer much cheaper access:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/nov/13/telecoms-facebook

Finally, the SNSs too have been active developing apps - the best being the Facebook app for the iPhone.

Anyway, all this is to make the point that technology doesn't remain static; it's developing in response to new social trends (e.g. popularity of SNSs, desire for permanent networked connectivity, constant 'intimate co-presence' facilitated by SNSs etc.) - trends which it plays a role in developing in turn.

Existing technologies such as mobile phones received a makeover to support the growing popularity of networked practices - e.g. smart phones developed a capacity for web access, email and other data services, still and video camera for shots that can be uploaded and shared.

So, camera-equipped smart phones which make it easy to upload pictures to sites like Facebook or Flickr might be said to be responding to existing - although still newish - practices but also create new social media behaviours of their own.

iPhones - reply to Jody

I was interested to read of Jody's enthusiasm for the iPhone and mobile learning (which I share).

I'm currently sitting by the Thames, taking a break from my walk to work and writing this post to my blog using my iPhone and an application called iBlogger. There are lots of other ways of doing this - using notes and email for example.

I like this ability to record the here and now (with text, voice, image) to share or to come back to later to re-edit.

BTW, the Shelfari site looks great.

Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]