Pedestrian Map App, Lum...

All the major map apps like Google Maps, Bing Maps, and Mapquest have walking directions as a standard feature, but the folks at Lumatic don’t think they are good enough. It is creating mobile maps designed for pedestrians, cyclists, and people who use public transit. Originally a TechStars company called Omniar, serial entrepreneur Scott Rafer (MyBlogLog, Lookery, Mashery) joined as CEO a year ago. He recently raised a seed round of $800,000 from Joi Ito’s Neoteny Labs, 500 Startups, Chamath Palihapitiya, Allen Morgan, Ted Rheingold, and other angels. Lumatic has an Android app which works right now only in San Francisco. When it gives you directions, it chooses routes which are optimal for walking, cycling or public transport. As you walk through the streets, the app displays a street-view with photos and arrows pointing in the right direction. The app is built on top of Open Street Map , but the user experience is centered heavily on using photography, landmarks, and visual cues to help people navigate cities. Fighting Google Maps in this category is going to be a tough slog, but if the app can gain a following there plenty of money in local commerce and advertising to make it a worthwhile pursuit.

Facebook Tests Photo Vi...

Facebook is testing a new photo viewer layout that mounts engagement buttons and comments to the right rather than beneath images. See, Facebook doesn’t want you to just view comments, it wants you to start a conversation. Apparently the company doesn’t care about being accused of copying Google+, since the viewer’s layout is very similar to that of its competitor . The fact is that this is good design, though, so it makes sense for Facebook to integrate whether or not it has appeared elsewhere. Currently when Facebook users view photos, they see a big blank space on the right but can’t see the comments below with scrolling past the fold and away from the image. That makes users more likely to leave the photo viewer before engaging. The blank space is better filled with comments that lend context to a photo, as a small percentage of Facebook users are now seeing. Facebook hasn’t been shy about taking inspiration from other products. In the months since Google+ launched, Facebook has added features found in Google+, including an asymmetrical Subscribe option, video chat , enhanced  friend lists , and near-infinite post length . Facebook’s goal is the best user experience, and Google got a lot of that right. Google+ certainly wasn’t shy about using Facebook’s design as a starting point. Facebook employees have repeatedly assured me that product teams aren’t thinking about ad revenue when they design products. Still, convenient repercussion of the tested photo viewer design may be an increase in ad clicks. Rather than displaying ads beneath photos, the tested design shows them more prominently in the comments sidebar. Finding these types of synergies between business and user experience will be key to Facebook honoring the interests of its future investors. So why does this small change matter? First, encouraging conversation aligns with Facebook’s goal of driving connections between people, such as friends of a photo’s owner who might interact in its comment reel for the first time. Second, these comments drive notifications for all other commenters, which inspire more return visits and time on site. I bet the test will show increased engagement, and Facebook will implement some version of side-mounted comments. [Thanks to our anonymous tipster for the screenshots]

The User Experience in ...

With adoption of mobile purchasing on behalf of consumers continuing to rise in record numbers, the importance of a solid user experience has come into focus more than ever.  No longer can retailers simply cut and paste their existing ecommerce site and hope mobile users follow. Mobile has evolved into a fully independent channel that needs its own unique strategy that leverages its distinctive capabilities and personality, while also playing into a retailer’s overall cross-channel commerce strategy.  To do so, the user experience must be executed with precision. In looking at the user experience of mobile devices, it’s important to step back and understand the role mobile plays in the overall connection with retail brands.  While on the go, consumers use their phones to browse products, perform research through ratings and reviews, share items via social media, and, ultimately, purchase items in as little as 60 seconds in most cases.  Understanding these unique attributes helps you understand how to tailor your mobile presence for the benefit of both yourself and the consumer. A solid mobile commerce strategy can include everything from a mobile-optimized website, a native mobile application, and even methods for in-store mobile engagement.  Leveraging a mobile platform that includes these strategies and more can help retailers attract more visitors, generate more sales, leverage their marketing spend in brand new ways, gain insight into customer purchase decisions, and even heighten customer relations over the long term. It’s important to look at things from a consumer’s point of view.  From initial research all the way through to purchasing, consumers demand ease and a full-featured presence to be satisfied.  If any piece of the puzzle is missing, you risk losing customers to competitors who got it right the first time.  Everything from providing the ability to view rich product images and descriptions to product search, store locators, and even one-click checkout capabilities all translate to an end-to-end mobile commerce strategy that produces results. What works for one brand might not work for another, however, so it’s important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different mobile presences to identify what works best for your unique customer base.  For example, it’s through the mobile Web that consumers can initially interact with a retailer from a mobile device, as the mobile Web allows customers to benefit from a fast, easy-to-use interface for browsing, searching, and buying while on the go.  On the other hand, a retailer may choose to engage and transform the customer from occasional visitor to a loyal customer by having him or her download a mobile application for faster, more frequent, and higher value experiences. In the end, it’s important to understand that mobile users aren’t as forgiving as they are via the desktop and that the user experience of your mobile presence must be well planned and thoughtfully executed to ensure your success in other commerce channels that translate to the mobile channel as well.

RIM Denies BlackBerry 1...

I’ll admit to lobbing a few mortars at RIM (alright, maybe more than a few), but it looks like things may be even worse than expected. BGR reported earlier today that RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis lied about the the reason their first BlackBerry 10 devices would be delayed even later into 2012. Lazaridis said during RIM’s recent earnings call that they were waiting for a specific dual-core LTE chipset to be available before their new BlackBerrys would see the light of day in late 2012. It was a strange announcement, considering that RIM has never really fared well in the specs arms race, although they I don’t blame them for trying. What I do blame them for is dragging their feet when it comes to innovation, but that’s a story for another time. The chipset situation may have been a ruse, if BGR’s high-level source is to be believed. According to him, the real situation behind the delay is even more dire — the devices in question may not even exist yet. ”RIM is simply pushing this out as long as they can for one reason,” the source said. “They don’t have a working product yet.” It’s a serious accusation to level at RIM, and if it’s true, then they may have already sealed their own fate. Or did they? RIM has just now weighed in on these claims, and their response is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. When it comes to the notion that the company’s first new BlackBerrys are essentially vaporware, RIM flatly denied the rumor: “As explained on our earnings call, the broad engineering impact of this [chipset] decision and certain other factors significantly influenced the anticipated timing for the BlackBerry 10 devices. The anonymous claim suggesting otherwise is inaccurate and uninformed.” There we have it, straight from the horse’s mouth: it’s a parts problem. The release goes to say that the chipset in question is “required to deliver a world class user experience” and that “any suggestion to the contrary is simply false.” Of course, even if the claims were true, RIM wouldn’t broadcast the news of their failure to every media outlet with a pulse. They’d do — well, they’d do exactly what they’re doing now. They would deny everything, and (hopefully) get in gear behind closed doors to make sure none of this gloom-and-doom forecasting ends up being right. Ultimately, I doubt that either side is offering the entire truth. Information Week points out that the leak could be the work of a disgruntled RIM employee, and RIM’s PR team would do their best to manage a situation like this before it led to another crisis for an already-beleaguered company. Things inside RIM may be even worse than we know, but if they can succeed in delivering a user experience that’s worth waiting for, all of this he-said-they-said business will have been for nothing. Let’s just hope the longer wait pays off.

Toyota: The Fasted Pain...

Now this is pretty cool. This ‘making of’ video shows how Toyota have created a painted website that streams in real time. The site will be live until 26th November and you can interact with the site and see real time results. If you ‘Like’ or ‘Tweet’ you can see the site light up. Check Related Digital Buzz Posts: Toyota Innovations Website – Why Not? Campaign Ariel Fashion Shoot: Facebook Game Installation Nike Shout: Game Day Social Installation