Blogin arkisto: Mobile 2.0

Golfgamebook.com

We are extremely happy to announce that we have been working for several months on a very exciting project that brings real-time scoring and social media features to golf. Now the system is live, the iPhone app can be found at the App Store, and golf season is just starting.

Below you’ll find the formal announcement:

Exove has played a central role in Golfgamebook.com concept and visual design, and technical implementation onto Linux, Apache, PHP and MySQL technology platform.

The site concept and layout was designed by Union together with Exove and Free Drop Innovations. The emphasis was on bringing the social features of golf, typically discussed mainly in the clubhouses or privately, to larger audience in the Internet. These features were supported by a number of typical social media features fit to the golf environment – such as online friends, discussions, and sharing golf game results.

The service was built on ExoveIgniter, a framework based on CodeIgniter offering a versatile set of social media features. The system was built in a modular fashion that allows easy extensibility and fast upgrades. Based on the concept and visual designs, Exove implemented the required HTML code and integrated it into the system as Smarty templates.

The most important features of the system are live connections to scorecard appliances, including also an iPhone client developed by Qvik, full features social media services, integrations to key external services, and fluid user experience with strong branding.

The implementation project delivered a turnkey solution for the client in a multi-vendor environment.

The co-founders of Free Drop Innovations Kalle Väinölä and Mikko Manerus describe the result of the development project as follows: “GameBook is unique within golf’s marketplace as the only product that provides real-time electronic scoring for individuals as well as golf clubs. The scope and timetable of required server side development and web-services were extremely challenging, so we knew we have to pick the right partner in order to reach our ambitious goals. Exove did not only succeed in execution, but they also acted as a true partner throughout the project.”

Mikko Rantanen, CEO of Free Drop Innovations, continues: “We set the standard for our web presence and on-line community very high as we knew that in international golf marketplace only the best products and services prevail. The end result speaks for itself and further distances GameBook from its competition. We are in particular extremely proud of our web-based community, the GameBook Clubhouse. It provides players opportunity to connect with one another through a sophisticated and innovative community platform.”

If you are a golfer, please check www.golfgamebook.com and register. The best game just got better.

Seminaariesityksiä: Luuri 2009 ja Web-Oriented Architecture

Olen (Janne Kalliola siis) käynyt puhumassa parissa seminaarissa alkukevään aikana. Tieturin Luuri 2009 -tilaisuudessa puhuin web 2.0 -toimintamallien ilmestymisestä mobiililaitteisiin ja tämän ilmiön takana olevista suuremmista murroskohdista.

Sytyke ry:n kevätseminaarissa “Web-Oriented Architecture” kävin tänään puhumassa web-palvelujen API:en suunnittelusta ja toteutuksesta.

Web 2.0 Incubation

We have been working with several web 2.0 and mobile 2.0 services for our clients during the past year. The projects have varied from complete turn-key solutions to taking care of only technical implementation of the system. Besides design and development, we have also helped our customers to assess their business plans and roadmaps with regards to way of working on the Internet, advertising revenue, and understanding their customers.

The client list is interesting and surprisingly diverse; there seems to be on-going innovation in several areas in Finland:

• Blyk provides free mobile service funded by advertising in the UK.
• One Did It is a community oriented service to help people live ecologically sustainable lives.
• 123play.com provides free mobile games with advertisements.
• Hyvälääkäri.fi allows people to provide and get information about good doctors and thus gain better treatment.
• Vuosikerta.fi is a shared biography writing service designed for baby boomers generation in Finland.

There are some interesting things still under the hood, hopefully we can share them later with you.

For these systems, we have provided the following services:

• Concept development and user experience design.
• Visual design.
• Software architecture and database design.
• Software development, including XHTML.
• Quality assurance.
• Deployment, training and support.

If these lists looked compelling for your business, please get in touch with us. We are more than happy to help you.

Innovation is alive and well in Finland

Despite (or due to) the hard times in financials, web related innovative companies are alive and kicking here in Finland.

During this year and especially this autumn, we have helped a number of companies to jumpstart their business by helping them to conceptualise their offer, designing user experience, and implementing the needed systems to actually run the show.

Besides readymade and on-going projects, we are working with a number of other startups that have good and grand ideas for services that will shake certain segments or niches on the markets.

There is happening a lot also outside of Exove, too. Finnish startup scene has been pretty lively for the past year or so.

This all is due to the fact that implementing a web based business has become really cost-effective compared to the old ways of doing software business.

If you are pondering on an idea, consider also discussing with us. Let’s talk.

Blyk has now over 100K members

Blyk, the new mobile network for 16 – 24s that’s funded by advertising, has now more than 100,000 members in the UK. They started from zero in last autumn, and have grown faster than media and analysts foresaw.

Read Blyk’s own announcement in their blog.

Exove has provided Blyk a set of systems to help them to make this member growth to happen.

TV ja Internet-yhteisöt

Perinteisesti yksin tai perhepiirissä seurattaviin medioihin, eli käytännössä televisioon ja radioon, voidaan tietyissä tapauksissa yhdistää Internet-palvelu rikastuttamaan käyttökokemusta.

Hyvä esimerkki tällaisesta toiminnasta oli viime viikonlopun Euroviisujen aikainen Jaiku.comin Euroviisu-kanava, jolla televisiosta viisuja seuranneet ihmiset pystyivät jakamaan omia tuntemuksiaan ja kokemuksiaan show’sta.

Normaaliin television katseluun verrattuna Jaiku-kanavallinen katselu oli huomattavasti interaktiivisempi kokemus ja samalla päätyi olemaan osa kansainvälistä viisufanijoukkoa — osallistujia oli useista Euroopan maista.

Vastaavanlainen yhteisöllinen keskustelukanava voisi toimia esimerkiksi tv-sarjojen yhteydessä. Tällöin sarjan fanit pystyisivät jakamaan kokemuksiaan sarjasta ja neuvomaan toisiaan juonikiemuroissa.

Mikä olisi ensimmäinen rohkea tv-kanava kokeilemaan tällaista?

ITViikko: Mobiili 2.0 pirstoo netin

Sain luvan julkaista viime viikon torstaina julkaistun artikkelin Mobiili 2.0:sta.

Alkuperäinen artikkeli on julkaistu 15.2. ja sen kirjoittaja on Kari Kemppainen. Kiitos Kari luvasta julkaista juttu myös täällä.

Lue koko artikkeli »

Mobile 2.0

Torstaina ilmestyneessä ITViikossa on koko aukeaman artikkeli mobile 2.0:sta ja siinä haastatellaan allekirjoittanutta langattoman viestinnän ja web 2.0 -periaatteiden yhdentymisestä.

Artikkeli kannattaa ehdottomasti lukea, jos tuntee mielenkiintoa web 2.0:a tai langatonta viestintää kohtaan. Tulevaisuus on mitä suuremmissa määrin mielenkiintoinen.

Valitettavasti artikkeli ei ole ilmestynyt ITViikon muuten niin ansiokkaassa webbipalvelussa, joten lukijoiden täytyy joko hankkia lehti käsiinsä tai lukea se digilehtenä. Jälkimmäisessä tapauksessa huomatkaa, että lukuoikeus pitää ostaa ennen ensi torstaita (22.2.), koska sen jälkeen pääsee lukemaan jo seuraavaa lehteä.

Kannattaa myös tutustua artikkelissa mainittuihin palveluihin: jaiku.com ja www.widsets.com.