Archive for August, 2008
August 26, 2008
How does Mark Jacobstein do it, you ask?
You’re not alone - those of us at iSkoot often ask ourselves the very same question, particularly as our indomitable CEO marches in and out of the office with suitcase in one hand and laptop in the other (for the 3rd time this week, no less).
But still, amidst the flurry that comes with spearheading a mobile start-up in the Valley, Mark’s penciled in time to pen some insight for “Wireless Week.”
In his most recent contribution, a piece entitled “Mobile Phones are Very Un-PC,” Mark dismantles the common misconception that mobile phones work like pocket-sized computers.
Examining the multi-task capacity of a PC versus your average mobile handset, Mark points out “Even those of us who use our PCs for little more than e-mail, IM, Web browsing and iPod docking take for granted that we can open multiple browser windows on top of two half-composed e-mails and three Word documents all while listening to iTunes and chatting on AIM. Try that on your phone.”
Mark also reminds that in terms of basic resources - from screen resolution to data transfer speed - it’s an apple and orange comparison:
“Screen size and resolution limits are brutal; after all, the Q in QVGA means we’re working with a quarter the real estate we had on PCs in the early 1990s. And even QWERTY phones, let alone the more typical 12-key devices make triple-tapping your way into your favorite Web service sheer agony. Factor in the current speed of data transfer, even through those shiny 3G pipes, and you can induce flashbacks to the dark days of dial-up. At least until your battery runs out.”
Beyond the obvious hardware constraints still are the fundamental differences in the way a user interacts with a service depending on whether he is using a PC or a mobile handset. Mark illustrates:
“[F]iltering content to bring a user their most essential information, while useful on a PC, is absolutely critical in mobile, with its limited real estate and even more limited “discover” capabilities….To give a nod to loopt [a mobile social network that uses location-based services to let users map where their friends are], seeing your friends’ locations when you’re all on your PCs is probably unnecessary, since PCs don’t move around much. Seeing the location of their handsets, on the other hand, is profoundly powerful.”
With the frenzy of mobile development happening in recent years, particularly hot on the trail of the latest iPhone release, Mark expects that we’ll see soon enough whether developers really get the PC-mobile distinction. An appreciation for these finer details is, as Mark puts it, “critical not just for success, but for survival.”
Posted in: Management Team, New Things, Releases, iSkoot Appearances | No Comments
Tags: Mark Jacobstein, Wireless Week
August 19, 2008
Friends of iSkoot, it’s time to rally.
Mark Jacobstein is in the running for a speaking gig at the undeniably cool 2009 South by Southwest Interactive Festival. SXSW Interactive celebrates the creativity and passion behind the coolest new media technologies, drawing the “Brightest Minds in Emerging Technology” to Austin, TX for an inspired five-day knowledge swap.
Mark has the opportunity to share his insights on how to really–properly–bring indispensable web services like IM and social networks into the mobile world.
How will he seal the deal? You get to vote for him! Click the yellow button below to show your support:
What do you do?
1. Just fill in and verify your info
2. Find Mark Jacobstein in Mobile/Wireless section of the panel list
3. Give that man 5 Stars!
The polls close next Fri, Aug 29. Every vote counts, so cast yours today!
Thanks, gang. 
Posted in: Management Team, New Things, iSkoot Appearances | No Comments
Tags: Mark Jacobstein, SXSW Interactive Festival
August 13, 2008
The ball is rolling, people.
While the phenomenon that is “Voice over IP” has been around for ages, it’s really only found a happy home in the non-technophile vernacular in the past 5 or 6 years. Our friends over at Skype put VoIP center stage with the launch of their PC-calling software back in ‘03 - a service so fabulously handy and easy to use that (as of this summer) more than 309 million registered users have gotten on the Skype train worldwide. Michelle Robart, an editor at TMCnet, suspects that even still, the large majority of VoIP usage happens in the hands of businesses and fresh-faced, early adopter types. Indicating as much in her recent piece, “VoIP for Baby Boomers and Generation Y,” Robart endeavors to rally the broadband-compatible 55+ demographic to join in on the fun by offering some essential knowledge around the options for and advantages of a VoIP-ified lifestyle.
And oh, how far the VoIP conversation has come. Where 5 years ago the average reader was liable to identify the word “skype” as a typo, these days the first order of business seems to be “So how do I get this PC-calling goodness on my cell phone?” Michelle Robart is all over that one:
“Use your cell phone to make Skype calls with iSkoot. You can still take advantage of the free or discounted calls with Skype, but you don’t need to be sitting at your computer to make them.”
Truer words… Because let’s face it: You don’t need to be sitting in front of your computer. We’re coming in fast and hard on the days of Web 3.0’s “ubiquitous connectivity” and putting the communication revolution where it really belongs - on mobile.
Posted in: The Word on Mobile VoIP, Uncategorized | No Comments
Tags: iSkoot for Skype, Skype, TMCnet
August 5, 2008
iSkoot is San Jose-bound! We’ll be at Digital Hollywood’s summer session, Building Blocks 2008, tomorrow, Aug 6, to present our perspective on delivering web services to mobile.
The Panel: “Reinventing the Mobile Device and Mobile Network - Integrating the Full PC Experience into a Personal Communications Device”
The Time: 2:15 PM - 3:30 PM
The Place: Marriott San Jose Hotel, 301 South Market St., San Jose, California
The iSkoot Representative: Mark Jacobstein was poised for action, but (as start-up CEOs tend to do) he’s had to zip off last minute to conduct business in far-away corners of the globe. iSkoot’s Senior Director of Marketing, Mr. Jake Martin will sit on the panel in his place.
Digital Hollywood’s Building Blocks session focuses on “The Platforms That Transform the Industry.” As part of The Mobile 2.0 - Personalized Platform segment, Jake will join panelists from Palm, Intel, Symbian, and more to discuss the evolution of mobile as it integrates communication with web services and entertainment-on-the-go. The panel will be moderated by Rick Doherty, co-founder and Director of The Envisioneering Group.
Hope to see you there!
Posted in: Management Team, iSkoot Appearances | No Comments
Tags: Building Blocks, Digital Hollywood, Jake Martin
