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A List – Augmented Reality And Venture Capital Funding

Investment in augmented reality development is one key to our industry’s success. So we thought we’d aggregate, and share a list of our industry’s “success stories”.  We’d like this list to not only be about the developers that are getting venture capital funding, but the large corporations that are validating the space by investing their resources/money towards AR as well.

As you can see, the space is starting to heat up.

We’ll try to update this list regularly, so please feel free to add anything I’m missing in the comments.

• Flutter Raises $1.4 Million For Gesture Recognition Tech (Link)
• 13th Lab raises $700,000 to build its ‘UI for reality’ (Link)
• Ditto Picks Up $3 Million From August Capital, Others For Its Virtual, 3D Eyeglasses Sales Site (Link)
• How To Attract Justin Timberlake: Here’s The Pitch Dekko Used To Snag The Celebrity Investor (Link)
• Total Immersion gets $5.5M to expand augmented reality (Link)
• Layar Augments Reality With $14M in New Funding (Link)
• Tonchidot Raises $12 Million Round B, Expands Augmented Reality/Social Gaming Platform SoLAR Globally (Link)
• EU backs ST-Ericsson to deliver augmented reality (Link)
• Google, Apple Making Augmented Reality Cool Amid CES (Link)
• Microsoft And TechStars Launch Kinect Accelerator For New Kinect-Based Startups (Link)
• Qualcomm opens submissions for its $200,000 Augmented Reality Developer Challenge (Link)
• Blippar raises seed funding from Qualcomm for mobile augmented reality technology (Link)
• Gamma III structures first round funding of Mobilizy GmbH (Makers of Wikitude) (Link)
• HP Acquires Control of Autonomy Corporation (Makers of Aurasma) (Link)
• Augmented Reality App Maker CrowdOptic Scores $500,000 In New Funding (Link)
• More funding news in Poland: augmented reality game ShootAR is backed by IIF (Link)
• 110 Stories: Augmented Reality Twin Towers iPhone App (Link)
• GoldRun Scores Funding for Mobile Discovery/AR App (Link)
• DARPA’s next-gen wearable display: augmented-reality, holographic sunglasses (Link)
• AR Developers Ogmento Raise $3.5M for Augmented Gaming Apps (Link)
• With $1.2M Of Seed Funding, A SoMoLo App For Augmented Reality Fans: Wallit (Link)

What’s New in Mobile Marketing – 03/31/10

• Foursquare’s Growth Not Slowing Down: 725,000 Users, 22 Million Checkins
• The iPad Needs The Web, but the Web Does Not Need the iPad
• With More Flash, Is Google About To Cut Off The HTML 5 Nose To Spite Apple’s Face?
• NPD: 51% Of Buyers Would Rather Have Netbook Over iPad
• Case Study: The Benefits And Pitfalls Of QR Codes
• Gowalla + Foursquare + Brightkite + Yelp + Google Maps = Checkin Mania
• Study: Mobile Web More Popular Than Reading
• 4 Reasons Why Marketers Scrambled to Get Their Apps on the iPad’s Launch
• Study: 80% Of SMS & MMS Users Report Dropped Texts
• How The iPhone Could End Up In Second Place
• No Flash On The iPad? No Problem. Brightcove Turns Videos Into HTML5
• Who Will Buy the iPad? [STATS]
• Yahoo’s Sketch-A-Search App for iPhone [VIDEO]
• Smartphones Projected to Overtake Feature Phones Next Year
• Apple’s iAd Could Bite a Chunk Out of Google’s Mobile Ad Business
• Augmented Reality Helps Consumers Find Local Shops
• Will The iPad Score App Store Gold Or Be A Developer Bust
• CTIA 2010 in Review: Top Trends in Mobile
• Some iPhone Video Apps Won’t Be Approved Unless They Can Adapt To AT&T’s Lousy Network
• Who Owns Mobile Strategy?
• In the App Economy, Does the Mobile Browser Matter?
• RingBack Tones – MMA Whitepaper
• AdMob: 70% Of iPhone Developers Switching To Android
• Mobile Milestone: Data Surpasses Voice Traffic
• How The Discovery Channel Makes Mobile Apps Pay
• Android Tablet Prototypes Support Flash [VIDEO]

What’s New in Mobile Marketing – 03/24/10

• mSpot’s Mobile Movie Streaming Service Expands To The Web
• Justin.tv Unveils Non-Broadcasting iPhone Application
• How the Tablet Will Change the World
• Some Crazy Postbellum Data From Foursquare And Gowalla (STATS)
• How the Fashion Industry Uses Location-Based Marketing
• You Can Now Gift iPhone Apps
• Flurry: iPhone Games Are A $500 Million Industry In The U.S. And Taking Share
• Average Price for iPhone Apps Keeps Falling
• DEMO: Google Still Advocating For Mobile Web Sites Over Apps
• MobiTV debuts offline storage features for mobile TV service
• VH1 “Smiles” on Mobile Marketing
• The iPad May Change Computing, Just Not Your Life
• Zillow Launches Android App To Browse Home Sales And Rental Listings On The Go
• iPhone vs Others: The Mobile OS Market
• Soon, There’ll Be More Mobile Web Users In China Than People In The United States
• Square Now Being Used For Mobile Payments At Political Fundraisers
• Apple Patents Reveal Plans for Mobile Social Networking App
• Android and Apple To Be The Big Winners In N America
• Don’t Let Your Website Ruin Your Magazine’s Tablet Edition
• Notifo Is A Simple Mobile Notifications Platform For Anything
• What Business Card? Just Scan My QR Code
• Chevy Adds QR Codes to Cars
• Has The Time For Mobile Marketing Sailed By?
• An ‘Unanswerable’ Question: Can The iPad Save Magazines?
• Check-In Fatigue. Or, Why I’m Rooting For An All-Out Location War.
• 5 Things You Need to Know About Location-Based Social Media
• Do Mobile Coupons Matter?
• Travelers Love the Mobile Web – But Most Don’t Use Travel Apps Yet
• Study: More Than Half Of Companies Are Primed For Mobile Advertising

The Real Reason That iPad and iPhone Won’t Have Flash

I used to hate Macs.  A work experience with a G3, that seemed to crash every ten minutes, turned me off to anything Apple for years.  Everything changed, though, when I got my first Intel based Mac in late 2008.  The user interface was flawless, the UNIX shell made it a cinch to do back-end tasks, and I never had to worry about the issues that plagued that old G3.  I haven’t bought a PC since (at least not without immediately wiping the hard drive with Linux) and I’m known around work as a hardcore Apple fanboy, but that might be changing really soon.

The vast majority of applications I write are for Flash (written in Flex).  I love the ease of Flash development and rarely have any issues with programs I write for it.  That’s why I’m particularly troubled with, what seems to be, Steve Jobs’ fevered desire to destroy the platform.  If you don’t know what I’m referring to, Jobs reportedly told a group of Apple employees that Adobe, the developers of Flash, are “lazy” and that the platform is “buggy.”

I call shenanigans.

There’s a common myth about Flash circulated by developers not familiar with the platform (also known as “my platform is better than your platform” developers).  They say that Flash causes most browser crashes when, in fact, it’s not Flash itself causing most of those crashes, but bad Flash coding by inexperienced developers.  To put that into perspective, I’ll pose a rhetorical question.  When an iPhone developer makes an app that crashes constantly or leaks so much memory that you have to restart the device, does anyone say that Apple should dump Objective C and Cocoa?

Since making the move to Flex, a while back, I haven’t gotten word of a single one of my applications ever causing a browser to crash.  This is after extensive use of these applications, not only by the public, but also by a quality assurance department as well.  Flash is a very stable platform when used correctly.

The iPad and Flash

Adobe has had a fully working version of Flash ready for all major mobile devices for a little while now.  Other mobile operating systems, like Android and Windows Mobile, are going to use it, so why not iPhone or iPad?  Steve Jobs, among others, would have you believe that it’s because the platform isn’t good enough for their devices, but that’s just a cheap cover-up.  The real reason is that it would take a massive chunk out of App Store profits.

If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch then you know that the majority of apps for those devices are – and I don’t say this lightly – complete crap.  The App Store is overrun with weekend projects by novice developers and rip-off products by companies re-skinning the same worthless app to get more 99-cent sales, and Apple is making a killing off of the suckers that buy them.  Don’t believe me?  Look at these screen caps from the App Store for latest releases in the Entertainment and Lifestyle categories, taken while I was writing this.

If Flash were allowed on these devices, almost all of those developers would opt to release their apps as “iPhone ready Flash,” raking in all the revenue from dozens of ads for enlargement pills and naked video chat, which they would surely cover the page in.  If Apple allowed Flash on iPad and iPhone, App Store profits would drop by a double-digit percentage practically overnight.

Why HTML5 won’t be a Flash killer

Because of this, Apple is publicly throwing their hat in the ring for HTML5, all while completely ignoring some of the glaring problems that come with it.  Mind you, HTML5 is a good advancement for the web, but it’s anything but a Flash killer, and here’s why:

1.  Video codecs aren’t free.  The reason that Flash works with all sorts of video codecs is because Adobe paid for them.  When that responsibility is moved to the browser, problems ensue, because not every browser supports all those codecs.  Mozilla has chosen Ogg, Apple is with h.264, since that’s what iTunes runs off of, and while Google is also currently with h.264, word is that they might be about to opt for a codec they just gained ownership of.  This means that not all HTML5 video players will work in all HTML5 capable browsers.  This is a huge headache for developers, since cross-browser is the name of the internet game.

2.  HTML5 can’t make the level of games that Flash can, or at least not with anything near the same ease of development.  Casual Flash gaming is a huge moneymaker, and no one is ready to drop it anytime soon.  Just for fun, ask just about any Flash game developer what he would think about dumping ActionScript to write a game in JavaScript and enjoy watching his head explode.

3.  Whatever HTML5 will do, Flash can already do it and then some.  As time goes on, and more functionality becomes available with HTML5, Adobe will, through their normal development cycle, give Flash more and more features that HTML5 won’t be able to compete with.  Two years from now, it might be that video players and simple rich internet applications are best done in HTML5, but, in order to do the latest things available, you’ll still need Flash.

4.  Flash has a dedicated user base.  99% of computers in the modernized world have Flash installed.  Safari and Chrome, which make up about 14% of total browser penetration, are the only browsers capable of running YouTube’s HTML5 video player.  Things might change for HTML5 penetration, but not soon.

The future of my Apple fanboy status

I’m struggling to remain an Apple fanboy, with their ridiculous practices regarding Flash and closed development.  The truth is, while I’m not happy with the direction their mobile division is going, I love OSX to death.  I guess, as a developer, I still admire the hard working people at Apple who, behind the scenes, actually do all the heavy lifting that results in great products.

On the other hand, Steve Jobs is starting to look less like an innovator to me and more like the delusional cult leader that so many Windows fanboys characterize him as – blindly saying that technologies that don’t conform to his wishes are buggy and that their developers are lazy.  I can’t help but think, at least for a while, that I won’t be drinking his special brand of Kool-Aid.

Oh, and he also reportedly trashed Google because they’re making competitive products.  When the Google Tablet mockup shows multitasking and multi-touch, the Chrome OS has open development, and the device will almost assuredly run Flash, it feels to me like nothing more than sour grapes.

Follow me on Twitter, @blakecallens

What’s New in Mobile Marketing – 1/6/2010

• Nexus One Cost Of Ownership With Data-Only Plan And VoIP
• AppMakr Aims To Make Everyone An App Maker
• Android And iPhone Users Are The Most Active Mobile Shoppers
• U.S. Mobile Web Usage Grew 110 % Last Year; Apple Dominates, Android #2
• Apple And Google Just Tag Teamed The U.S. Carriers
• Smartphone Usage Continues To Grow In U.S.(Forrester Research)
• Apple’s App Store: From 2 To 3 Billion Downloads In Just Over 3 Months
• iPhone Apps List 2010: 700+ Apps Reviewed By Category
• Do Developers Prefer Apples Or Androids?
• ChaCha Now #1 Mobile Search, Ahead Of Google
• Are You Ready For iEconomy?
• Can The Cloud Help Drive Mobile TV Adoption?

What’s New In Social Media – 12/10/09

• Gartner points to untapped potential in workplace social networks.
• Dell has posted $6.5 Million in sales thanks to Twitter.  Twitter has posted $0.0 Million in sales…
• Facebook hits 100 Million monthly uniques in the U.S.  That’s nearly 1 in 3 Americans.
• Remember Friendster?  They were to MySpace what MySpace is to Facebook.  Well, Friendster just sold for $10o Million.
• Cisco thinks vlogging is better than blogging.
• What Google’s real-time search means for businesses.
• How events can use social media.

What’s New in Mobile Marketing – 11/25/09

• iPhone Users Most Willing To Purchase Content
• Snapture iPhone App Adds Twitter And Facebook Sharing
• Ustream Launches Viewer App For Android
• 19% Of iPhone Users Are Watching On-Demand TV Content
• Google Helping SMB Owners With Mobile Coupons
• The Best Smartphones On Every Carrier
• Jack In The Box Drives Customer Interactions Via Mobile Social Network
• Apple And Android Now Make Up 75% Of U.S. Smartphone Web Traffic
• The Top 10 Mobile Applications Of 2012
• Millenial Releases October “SMART” Report.  Android is catching up…quickly…
• Brilliant Mobile Campaign Using Twitter, QR Codes, and Viral Marketing
• Interactive Beauty App Builds Brand Loyalty For Lancome
• iPhone You Can Drive My Car, If It’s A New Mercedes Anyway

What’s New in Mobile Marketing – 11/11/09

• Google Buys AdMob in Bid to Boost Mobile Ads
• Tips for making your mobile app a success
• Bump Goes Cross-Platform With New Android App; Upgrades iPhone Version Too
• Sparkz iPhone dock projector: Expensive and small
• Vimeo begins to play nice with iPhone, Android devices
• Cough into your cell phone, not your sleeve
• First worm to infect iPhone is on the loose
• Top-Grossing iPhone Apps: Doom, Red Alert Challenge Rock Band
• Android 2.0 Introduces Improvements for Mobile Video

What’s New in Mobile Marketing – 10/28/09

• Mobile Web Usage Keeps Growing, And Growing, And Growing…
• App Store Gets 100,000 Approved Apps. I hope brands realize that they’re cool ‘branded app’ has little chance of reaching consumers unless there’s a significant media/pr push behind it or controversy.
• SMART (Scorecard For Mobile Advertising Reach And Targeting) Update On US Mobile Market
• With Maps Navigation, Google Fires Another Shot At Carriers
• The iPhone’s Cool, But Android 2.0′s Convenience May Blow It Away
• Today Is Droid Day
• New NBA Game Time Monetizes Mobile Marketing
• iPhone Key In Mom’s Shopping Decisions
• iPhone “App-vertising:” A Niche Within A Niche. “iPhone has created a kind of irrationial hysteria among brand marketers…” <— Understatement of the year….
• Android App Tidal Wave Coming
• Real-Time Activity Streams Come To Loopt Mix For iPhone
• Droid Review – “You’re Gonna Love It”
• Android Users More Likely To Buy Apps Than iPhone Users
• VW Launches New Car Through iPhone Game
• Gen Y Choose Texting, Email Over SocNets

Another Great Use For Twitter, “Attend” A Conference Remotely

Anyone else a touch disappointed that you aren’t at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco?  You should check out the conference’s Twitter hashtag (#w2s). So many conferences have a hashtag these days, and it turns out that they are a great resource both for attendees, and people who couldn’t make it.  I’ve been keeping an eye on Web 2.0′s hashtag yesterday and today, and was able to get some pretty interesting information, and insights, in real time.  For example, here’s a link (from yesterday) to Mary Meeker’s presentation on Economic & Internet Trends (it contains some great data on the mobile space, and Apple’s dominance).

And this morning’s big news is the fact that Bing is integrating real time data from Twitter and Facebook into their site (your move Google).

In case you missed the link above to the conference hashtag, here’s another one: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=w2s.  Check it out and let me know what you think about “attending” a conference this way.  It’s obviously not the same as being there, but a pretty good “Plan B” in my opinion.

twitter.com/jack_benoff