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Google today released their “Go Mobile” service which will format websites for mobile devices.
Free for the first year, the service will then cost $9 per month. Customers have the option to view the mobile website created from their original website, then customize it as needed. This appears to be a viable solution for many small to medium-sized businesses who lack the time and resources to spend on creating a custom mobile website.
We ran across this release in a FORTUNE article, which also put together a great example video (see below) of how a small business can take advantage of this service.
No word yet as to why has this not been mentioned on the Google Mobile Blog.
Will you use Google’s “Go Mo” service? Let us know by posting a comment below.
The creative team at design consultancy BERG are on to something very big. Their fall announcement Little Printer has created somebuzz, and now that we are getting closer to a release date, many are imagining all the uses for this unmet need.
We now have all these smaller mobile devices, 140-character tweets, yet still print from giant printers on 8.5 x 11 inches of paper. Why? I cannot how many times I’ve used less than 20% of the 8.5 x 11 inch page on which I print. Why? All these questions, yet it never occurred to me that a small little printer would be so useful.
To get your creative ideas flowing, take a look at their video below.
Thank you BERG. We cannot wait to do big things with your Little Printer.
The Loop reported yesterday that Apple is announcing the release of the next generation iPad at an event in San Fransisco on March 7.
There are not a lot of details about the specific features of the newest version of the hottest tablet in the world, other than it is expected to have a Retina display, improved graphics, and a faster processor. It should be interesting to see the price breaks on the iPad 2, and how that impacts sales of the Amazon Kindle Fire.
Will you be waiting in line for the iPad 3? If so, email us your best pictures and you may win a coveted MobileMammoth t-shirt!
Words cannot express the gratitude that we at MobileMammoth have for the contributions that Steve Jobs made to the mobile industry. Yet his impacts went way beyond any single industry, or any single country. His impacts were felt worldwide, and they were as much cultural as they were technical.
I remember seeing Steve Jobs one afternoon near Palo Alto, as we were both parking at a jogging trail near Stanford known as ‘The Dish’ for the giant satellite dish which stood next to the trail. This was back in 2001 before the iPhone and just months before the first iPod came out. Yet I was still in awe because of what he had accomplished already.
Steve Jobs was indeed a visionary. He went against the grain. He turned industries on their heads.
For those who use our text messaging tool, it is currently unavailable while we incorporate new functionality, including additional security measures. Unfortunately, a few bad apples have abused it, and we cannot let that go on.
Please continue to check back here, or follow us on Twitter for updates.
While we’re at it, let us know what else you’d like to see in the tool, and thank you for your patience!
From the Outer Banks of North Carolina all the way up to New York City and the coastal New England cities, Hurricane Irene is set to cause serious damage to the entire East Coast. The Weather Channel offers multiple ways to stay updated on the latest hurricane developments from your mobile phone.
Remember, with possible power outages and landline issues, your cell phone might be the only communications device available during or after Hurricane Irene. See what options below might work best for you to stay informed.
Mobile Website:
The Weather Channel website will auto-detect for mobile browsers and will render the mobile version of its website.
Severe Weather Alerts by Text:
Choose from a number of alert options, including severe weather alerts, that apply to the zip code you enter. Access it here.
Subscribers to The Weather Channel Notify! service will receive alerts by phone when severe weather warnings are issued in their area. Note this is a PAID service.
QR codes (Quick Response codes) are 2-D images that provide immediate access to digital information or actions that are relevant to what the user is doing at that moment. When a user scans a QR code, typically using the camera on their smartphone, it can open a URL on their mobile browser, or initiate a text message, email, or IM from the phone itself.
Popular uses of QR codes include companies linking to their websites or specific landing pages, enabling a phone call to the customer service or sales departments, or to help market a text messaging (SMS) campaign.
Here at MobileMammoth, we posted this QR code on our home page which, when scanned, connects users to our online text messaging tool. That way they can send text messages from their mobile browser and avoid text overage fees from their wireless carrier.
Anyone can quickly generate a QR code for free at sites like myQR.co and Kaywa.
QR codes are seeing quite an uptick in use this year, and for good reason. We highly encourage companies and individuals to start using them now and experiment!
The normally bright folks at Twitter recently changed the terms of service for the Twitter API, and in the process dealt a blow to the many developers who’ve helped make it so successful. That is not good news for a platform that is celebrating its 5th birthday today.
The actual changes to the terms of service are highlighted in this excellent post by Matthew Somerville, and show a clear shift towards restricting the development of new apps that let users interact with the platform in different ways.
Clearly, Twitter is trying to gain control over the interactions with end users, and that by itself is completely understandable. They are looking for more ways to monetize, and who can blame them?
However, our opinion here at MobileMammoth is that they are deeply lacking in any creativity around how to go about that. Locking down the developer community, precisely the audience that has without question increased the value of Twitter at least threefold (the Twitter UI still sucks), is not bright. It is shortsighted at best, and could very well encourage the growth of other, more open, (better, faster, stronger) Twitter-like platforms. Folks are already suggesting them now.
Yesterday we wrote about the Softbank disaster message board, which helps find out the status of Softbank mobile phone users in Japan.
We we ran across a few other Japanese mobile phone service providers who have also created disaster message boards in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami. NTT Docomo, KDDI / au, EMOBILE, and WILLCOM, in addition to Softbank, have all created disaster message boards, many of which were made available prior to Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.
Japan Mobile Phone Operators Disaster Message Boards:
Again, it’s important to point out that just because someone has not posted a message, does not necessarily mean they are not safe. It only means they either are not aware or have not had a chance to post their status, and it would make sense that there are certainly many, many people in that category.
Do you know of any other resources that can help find out about the status of loved ones in Japan? Please share with your fellow readers in the comments below!
Trying to find out if a friend or family member is safe in Japan following the disastrous earthquake and tsunami? If they use a Softbank mobile phone and you know their mobile phone number, then this tool can help you.
To use the Softbank Disaster Message Board, simply enter the mobile phone number of the person you are trying to find out about, and it will tell you the message that person has posted, if any, to the message board. This is for any Softabk mobile phone users in Japan, and you must know their mobile number.
It is important to understand that if you do not see a message, that does NOT necessarily mean there is anything wrong — it only means that person has not posted their status on the Softabk Disaster Message Board.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with all those impacted by the recent devastation in Japan. If you know of other helpful tools like this, please add them in the comments below or send them directly to us here.
