I think it is safe to say that Google Book Search finally has garnered enough data for it to be useful. what better example of their recent release of Embeddable Books?. This initiative from Google Book Search is part of the now clear future Google is paving for itself in the Digital Documents space. the interesting thing is they are doing it in a completely different way from those who dominate it right now like scribd and docstoc.
They are showing them as extension of two search verticals instead of jumping at it using Google Docs. the first vertical is of course Book Search. but the second one is the recently shown at TC50 Newspaper search. at first the business model behind them was not clear because more than likely there was not one to begin with. but the new Google Book Search shows that in terms of Books. using EBooks inside a Digital Document model which allows to widgetize the experience and make it portable is the way to do enhance E-commerce and marketing for regular books selling. this is of course not the only reason. PR, Academic leverage and data mining through Social Book Sites are some of the other good uses for it.
The final and most important is to be able to test an effective Digital Document Widget and then spread that to Google Docs. something that could happen any minute now thanks to the added pressure Adobe Share and Zoho Share among the other Digital Document space leaders like the already mentioned like Scribd and Docstoc.
Right now. the entry barrier is not low enough to use this new Google Book Search feature in a way everyone can use it. but anyone with curiosity and some really minor tinkering can set up a one of the embeddable books for a blog post. this may allow for Book Bloggers (people who blog about books or about something in a book) to archive a level of interactivity and didactic value previously inexistent too. so the tool can be used for good right away.
If you want to use it now. you can generate the JavaScript code needed for one of the Google book search embeddable book viewer by going to this page:
http://code.google.com/apis/books/docs/preview-wizard.html
It is not guaranteed to work. but it is the easiest way to get them right now.
Book Search everywhere with new partnerships and tools via Google Book Search Blog
Ok, Samsung has gone completely crazy and overboard with TouchWIZ. as if it was not enough with the announcement of their new Photo Centric, 8mp camera and TouchWIZ phone. they are now announcing the second version of the Samsung Anycall Haptic. a phone that i wrote about just a little over 6 months ago as it was the second to sport TouchWIZ.
The frame of the phone seems to share half of the Omnia look and half of the Pixon look. the Anycall is multimedia centric and it comes with Digital Mobile TV, 4gb or 16gb SSD options and improvements in multi touch, haptics and responsiveness compared to the first Anycall Haptic. but that is not all. it comes fully packed with Samsung TouchWIZ Widgets. it carries 50 TouchWIZ Widgets from the let go. that is quite a selection. does that means that those are all the TouchWIZ Widget available considering that the Pixon comes with 18 by default?. that is the question left unanswered right now. but 50 widgets should suffice to anyone for the first months. given the pace they got. a new Omnia Software Update should not be far away. i will of course keep you posted.
via Telecoms Korea
Technorati Tags: samsung, samsung anycall, samsung anycall haptic 2, anycall haptic 2, haptic 2, samsung haptic 2, samsung touchWIZ, touchWIZ widgets, samsung widgets, mobile widgets, UI widgetization, UX widgetization
The pace of the Mobile Industry is blazing fast now in Korea. just last week i posted about the LG Renoir KC910 and wondered how Samsung would respond to it and its 8mb pixels camera and such. it results they already had a response in the plans with the M8800 known as PIXON.
While it may not responds in a Spec vs Spec way it does look to blow away the LG Renoir on two areas: The Camera and The Widgets.
Mobile Review have a extensive review of the device and in one part of it talk about the Widgets in the Device and claim almost 20. i personally counted 18 from the screens they show and the list they make of them. so i will go with 18.
   
they also mention that you can load TouchWIZ Widgets from a Samsung website. i wonder if that also work in the WM6.1 +TouchWIZ Omnia or just for Samsung OS +TouchWIZ phones. i had never seen the mention of a samsung TouchWIZ widgets website anywhere else before.
So, if you want to have a look at the phone. check the review. a good choice if you are interested in a 8mp camera phone.
Review of GSM/UMTS-handset Samsung PIXON M8800 via Mobile.Review
Technorati Tags: samsung, samsung m8800, samsung m8800 Pixon, samsung pixon, m8800 pixon, pixon, m8800, samsung widgets, samsung TouchWIZ, TouchWIZ UI, TouchWIZ widgets, mobile widgets, UI, UX widgetization
Yes. it is one of those cases felt inclined to put a long self explanatory titles. the deal is that T-Mobile and Opera have united to bring up a iPhone like Non-iPhone Widgetized Spring Board (or launchpad if you will) that will bring you notifications from websites, and can show you in a icon based grid your favorite websites once you click in one. this will combine with a widgetized website from where you will be able to add more widgets (icons) too in order to enhance the experience:
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T-Mobile makes mobile surfing easier, faster and more convenient
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Direct access to your most important and personal Internet services with one click on your mobile-phone display
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Active widgets provide automatic notification of new information on personal Internet sites if required
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Strategic partnership between T-Mobile and Opera for the creation of an open, standardized platform
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web’n'walk widgets expected to be available by the end of the year
web’n'walk is becoming even more intuitive, bringing users even closer to the World Wide Web. In future, you will be able to access your personal favorite sites more easily and quickly than ever from your mobile phone by simply selecting the corresponding widget, an active icon, from the standard display. The most important information from your chosen site is then shown – whether eBay, Amazon, Quelle, MyVideo.de, MySpace, Bild, billiger.de and various Yahoo! Services, such as Yahoo! oneSearch and Yahoo! Weather, or other popular Internet sites. In addition, in case of important information on a personalized Internet site, such as the arrival of an eBay notification, the widget indicates the new status, with users able to respond directly. You are thus informed of bids in online auctions or new news items as they occur, even on the move.
T-Mobile entered into a partnership with browser pioneer Opera Software ASA to develop the "Widget Internet".
"T-Mobile ushered in a new era as the first global telecommunications operator to provide its customers with a complete mobile Web experience. Together with Opera, T-Mobile launched the pan-European success story called web’n'walk, enabling people to use all their favorite Web sites on nearly any device," says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Opera Software. "Today, T-Mobile takes another industry-defining step forward. In web’n'walk 4.0, the mobile phone comes alive with widgets that deliver personalized services direct from the home screen, giving people more powerful tools to take full advantage of the mobile Web experience."
"T-Mobile is striving towards offering its customers the best Internet experience at any time and in any place. To this end, we have introduced the iPhone into our markets in cooperation with Apple and are working on a new operating system, Android, in cooperation with Google, as a member of the Open Handset Alliance. The new web’n'walk is enabling us to push ahead with this strategy and introduce a new level of Internet quality to our other terminal devices and operating systems as well," explained Rainer Deutschmann, Senior Vice President Mobile Internet, T-Mobile International AG. "We invite the industry to support the development and spread of this open, standards-based platform for the benefit of users and application developers."
Large selection of widgets
The web’n'walk widgets can be quickly and easily set up according to personal preferences for mobile surfing. In order to enable this, T-Mobile is providing a gallery, initially with approximately 40 widgets for popular websites. It will soon be possible for other users and providers to create additional widgets via an open platform. These widgets will then be available to all web’n'walk widget users, regardless of which handset they use.
As was already possible with the Apple iPhone, T-Mobile customers can now put their preferred widgets on their mobile phone display with just a few clicks using web’n'walk. This provides them with an overview of their favorite services at all times upon request and enables them to access these services quickly. The familiar, personalizable web’n'walk homepage with the intelligent Yahoo! oneSearch function continues to be available for additional Internet use. The search is tailored to the specific requirements of mobile users and can also be set up as a widget.
The web’n'walk widgets thus complement the browser-based web’n'walk homepage, which T-Mobile updates on a continual basis. T-Mobile plans to launch the web’n'walk widgets by the end of the year, initially for touch-screen smartphones such as the MDA compact IV and MDA Vario IV.
The press release is almost a perfect example on how to say a lot without revealing much of substance. but the points are covered and you can expect this to have 40 widgets at first and to bring more UI and UX Widgetization to your mobile all thanks to Opera and T-Mobile. in the end that is not a bad thing. so be it.
T-Mobile introduces widgets in next-generation mobile Web experience via Opera
Flash Support is something that Windows Mobile users have enjoyed even if by forcing it for some time now. the “even if by forcing it” part involves serious tinkering from the user unless they are willing to buy the new Opera Mobile in order to enjoy good support for it. even with good support. that only meant being able to see flash 8 and low end Flash 9 video and games. this don`t allows you to be able to enjoy high end flash 9 or Flex 3.0 apps yet. (unless you are running SkyFire of course but that is not via the device). good flash is meant to happen sooner than later if you believe what JkOnTheRun are reporting from Adobe:
“During the current Mobilize panel, we’re hearing from Gary Kovacs, the VP and General Manager of Adobe. He knows how important it is these days for Flash support in the browser and says that we will see Flash in an upcoming Windows Mobile browser for sure. Native flash support has been bounced around for years, but it sounds like it’s coming to fruition sooner rather than later.”
While that may sound vague. i can actually state that flash should indeed coming to Windows Mobile users. just with a catch. it comes in to ways. one from a better way to install the Flash Plugin from Adobe to those using WM5 and WM6. and one that should come to those using WM6.1 or with what looks to be a one of a kind update for WM users. there will be a update for WM 6.1 users that will bring a new IE browser(IEM) for Windows Mobile 6.1 and that should come with the new Flash. why?. because if memory serves me right. Microsoft has already officially licensed Flash for WM from Adobe. so there is a 90% chance i am right on that second part.
This of course means that now all Flash Widgets will work while browsing in a WM device. but it will still requires you to have either a good device or only be running the browser since Flash will still be resource hungry.
via jkOnTheRun
Skyfire is a Mobile Browser that takes the Opera Mini model and runs with it to provide full Multimedia and RIA Web support for Mobiles. this means that the Browsing is Server based. this way you can enjoy of a fast experience without you having to worry about the power of your device. right now it is out for Windows Mobile (5,6 and 6.1) and Nokia S60 phones. the best experience is of course for Windows Mobile because the platform is more flexible to develop in.
Skyfire previously noted that if you had it running. you could then saw the Beijing Olympics. that is because when i mean it got multimedia support is because they mean it. you can run video players in web pages, Flash,Flex, Java and of course Silverlight. this means you can not only enjoy of all kind of video. but it also means you can run all kind of web applications and widgets too.
You can now download and use it if you are in the USA. there is no word when it will be out for more countries but i wish they do release it for outside of the USA. it would make sense that it can get supported everywhere. even if it means that it will not be free to use. but that is still just speculation.
SkyFire
Derek wrote about MadKast over a year ago, shortly after i joined Widgets Lab. then he implemented it here in the blog and ended up ditching it because of integration problems. back then. the differences with ShareThis were not really significant as they are now. ShareThis now offers support for more services and got better integration. this allowed ShareThis to surpass all the competing Link Sharing Widgets and gained them serious financial backing.
Madkast was the one option that at the time that looked to be the widget that would be able to compete with ShareThis. this of course never happened because madKast glacial development pace compared to ShareThis. but that not means they didn`t had interesting tech and the right ideas. ShareThis seems to think so because they are now acquiring them. something that validates the approach madKast had. the reason for ShareThis to buy them out is because they don`t want to take any chances and solidify their first place in Link Sharing. a must because of the funds they have so far raised.
The competition in this space is also hard. ShareThis continues to compete with AddThis, AddToAny and the relatively newcomer Tell-A-Friend among other lesser known solutions like Addit and iBegin Share. Tell-A-Friend is the more likely to be able to compete with ShareThis from a tech and implementation point of view if it evolves fast. AddThis is just second to ShareThis and they continue to grow fast. by acquiring madKast. ShareThis ensure their winning position against their competition. no matter if their competitors do manage to evolve fast or not. all thanks to the complemented tech and developing team refresh they will get from madKast.
The only thing i hope so. is that this means we will see ShareThis improving their implementation and ease of use in the same way some of the competing widgets have done. my preferred executions continue to be Ibegin share and Tell-A-Friend.
I did tried out iBegin Share and found it to be superior in some ways to ShareThis. but their slow development pace and lack of proper support for Internet Explorer made me ditch them in favor of ShareThis. after some time using ShareThis and having tried all the other widgets. it is easy to understand why they are a success. it resumes to development pace, browser support and good analytics. it will be interesting to see what the next versions of ShareThis will be like with the added value of madKast.
madKast
ShareThis
via TC
The second commentosphere wars heats up with a plot twist. IntenseDebate. an alternative comment system for blogs that competes with Disqus, SezWho and JS-KIT got acquired by Automattic. the company behind Wordpress, Buddypress and Akismet. the argument behind the acquisition was pinpointed to the similar backend Wordpress and IntenseDebate got according to Matt Mullenweg.
While there is no doubt that it is true. i am also sure that the other main reason had to be the price. Intensedebate had no chance to catching up to Disqus and JS-KIT that are now in a competition war with one another. JS-KIT maintains the lead followed by a Disqus that counts with good founding and a good team along some pretty high profile blogs using their software. I.D being acquired by Automattic changes everything for Disqus and is a serious threat in the short term for them. but more to Disqus than to JS-KIT. this is because Disqus main focus up to now is Wordpress. JS-KIT supports pretty much everything and were more interested in Blogger.com and Blog Networks because that is where the big numbers are. this sudden move proves them right. IntenseDebate will find its way into Wordpress from version 2.7 and on. there is no news right now that indicates how the level of integration and support will vary or if it will vary from the features they got now. but it is some serious bad news for Disqus and SezWho in the Wordpress front because users will not have a reason to change the default comment system for other.
Wordpress 2.7 is the stepping stone that paves way to 3.0. a version that is said will be the slayer of Six Apart and will aim to dethrone Blogger.com. quite high goals but a radical change for the comment system is a great selling point to gain more adepts. this move will be also dangerous in the long run if it finally manages that Blogger.com and the other main Blog Platforms finally update their pretty outdates comment systems. that to this day remains to be Blogger.com weakest point.
This also leaves SezWho in a odd spot. i wish someone will recognize the opportunity and acquires them next. that could be anybody. from Google to Six Apart or maybe Disqus or JS-KIT.
Overall a great thing. Default Blog Comment Systems are seriously lacking and they have been that way for years. this move by Wordpress should shake things up for the greater good.
IntenseDebate
via TC
Pixsy is a video search engine that up till now it only offered video search widgets that would show you results and then direct you to the page playing the video. not anymore. they now have a new release called Pixsy Video Search Playback that will allow you to have a Video Search Widget that can play the video too without going anywhere. there are other services that allow that but they are mostly aggregators and not search engine. the difference is that pixsy index video content from everywhere and then make the video load for you to play. this saves you several steps and makes things faster and easier.
There is only one catch. you have to ask pixsy directly for it and more than likely it will only be for big blogs or content sites that make sense to them. if you qualify. opt for it.
Pixsy
Clearspring is one of the leading Widget startups. so the perception of what is a widget to the public is very important to them. Justin Thorp wrote a white paper on it called “What’s a Widget and Why is it Important?” that pretty much resumed what the title implies from the past up to today. it is a good quick read for reassurance of the concepts of a widget up to now in a traditional way.
What’s a Widget and Why Is it Important? (PDF) Direct Download Link
Favtape is a service that has been talked about everywhere lately. many tout it as “Like Muxtape but better” or “Music Revolution”, etc, etc. while that kind of hype is of course too carried away and irresponsible. it would say that Favtape is one of best service around. it is not just based of from Muxtape. it is riffing Last.fm and Radio.Blog.Log too. it is pretty much like a mashup of things from those 3 services. the site is from muxtape. the discovery is from last.fm and the widget playlist sharing comes from Radio.Blog.Log. you get the idea. not that it is a bad thing. for the contrary. it is a brilliant implementation. Revisionism as it best.
The last part is what should be interesting to those reading Widgets Lab of course. so lets jump to that part. Favtape allows you to generate a automatic playlist from a search, from a year or by your own tailoring, etc. once you have generated a playlist. you get a “share” option link.
Once you click it you launch a window with the instantly operable and shareable music playlist widget generated from favtape.
The progression on being able to generate a automatic flash music widget is not the evolved thing. the fact it took me less than minute and that it comes widget a High Spread Sharing module to redistribute the widget/playlist is where progress is seen. in this case it is is using gigya wildfire.
That extreme easiness is what makes Favtape so good and the thing why people are getting nuts about it right now. there is only one single thing i don`t like. the flash widget generated used the XSPF Web Music Player code for a easy implementation i guess. it is a good widget because it is really light and straightforward. but its look is SOOOO UGLY AND DATED. it was ugly and dated back when it was launched. but now it truly looks like something that came out of 1999. it really needs a reskinning. i hope it can get a new skin because it truly needs it. beyond that. i think Favtape is the best and fastest “no frills” option to get a full song streaming music widget everywhere without any effort and in less than one minute (no account needed) for free.that kind of convenience and low entry barrier is hard to beat even if there are more robust and better services out there.
Favtape
Tell-a-Friend is at first glance just like other Bookmark and social link sharing blog widgets around. such conclusion would come from the fact it is looks just like one and because it indeed is for link sharing. the difference is its current focus. they have direct communication approach instead of just indirect one. you can send a link to your IM contacts in masse as a online or offline message. send a e-mail to specific contacts. you can also do it for blogs, social networks. but that is done in a way that is more common of others link sharing. the other nice thing about this widget is that it launches a lightbox so your users never leave your blog while sharing the link.
Tell-a-Friend at this very moment is more of a companion to other services like addtoany or addthis. a good example is Tell-a-Friend own blog where they have put their widget along with the AddThis widget.
You can see that given the services and approaches they cover. you pretty much only need these two to enable your visitors to share the links. the widget also works and look very much alike to others so when you hover it will show you the options.
Unlike with other services. they have opted for a all in one place space without tabs. but that show the categorization of services you can use. once you choose a option, a lightbox loads and then shows you the services in tabs. and proceeds to let you send the link using the service of your choice, to the contacts you have chosen. all without you leaving the page you saw the link in.
Very simple and well executed. right now you will need to use in tandem with a social bookmarking link sharing widget as a way to cover all the options possible. but if tell-a-friend ramps up the number of supported services and offer analytics. they could easily compete with ShareThis as a viable second option to it. recommended.
Tell-a-Friend
via TC
Almost Two months ago. iLike Launched a Ad Platform and announced Full Song Play. back then they also hinted at a Developer Platform. last week it launched. the combination of those 3 factors will ensure that iLike Widgets and Widget-apps will match up against the competition and it also means that iLike thinks they have a shot of making iLike the best option for Legal Music Streaming for web apps and widgets.
Saying they will archive it is still hard to say. but even if they don`t. this means more music widgets and music widget updates that use integrate iLike something certain.
iLike Music Platform
via TC
Wallop as a Social Network was the premier example of the Pros and Cons of having a Purely Flash Based Social Network. there have been many. all of them have failed. Wallop was the best executed from the bunch. Many are calling it out as a failure but i digress. how can something be a failure if it never truly launched?. Wallop didn’t`t had a problem to project itself into being sustainable or attractive enough for it to survive. it just happened that since it was backed a Microsoft Research project. it may just have been that. a research project. I had a account in it. it was a great idea but the cons of having everything in Flash outweighed the pros.
For me it just came too early. RIA based Social Networks were just a thought when it launched and even today. they have not materialized yet. but with the arrival of Flex, JavaFX and of course Silverlight. it is not a far fetched idea to say this model could be revisited and succeed in the not far feature. i am sure that if Wallop has started development as a Silverlight 1.0 +ASP.NET. Microsoft would had continued the project.
RIA Social Network are definitely something we should see in the future. the same for the current Social Networks pushing as hard as they can with they way they were build. Facebook made its very big design revamp that after 4 years finally makes it the start of a Social Web Application as it has been taunting for the last 2 years. MySpace is trying out more API`s, more Social Graph data sharing and elements for it to be more connected to the desktop and on Mobiles. so i think that it one of the things we will see in 2009.
Wallop most distinctive trait was that it had a platform for Flash Widget-App developers in a very Facebook like way. just that wallop did it first. even if in a very very limited way. it looks like that part of wallop has thrived on and Wallop is now a Flash Widget-App Startup that offers Social Network Widgets for Facebook and Bebo.
The Two Flash Widgets they offer are based on two styles of greeting cards. interesting end for what was once a completely different kind of project.
Wallop
via TC
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