Battle Over the Idle Screen

Mobile Monday, 2008-11-03

Battle Over the Idle Screen – by Ossi Urchs


Whether you want to call it the „Idle Screen“ or the „Mobile Desktop“, the „Startup Screen“ or the „Fourth Screen“ is entirely up to you. But the phenomenon is clear – and it’s huge. It’s about nothing less than the virtual „real estate“ on your mobile that really counts: The screen you see and use whenever you turn your attention to your mobile phone. And whatever „lives“ on that screen besides your usual clock, some sort of network- and battery-information is sure to receivie your attention right there. Without you, the user, doing anything but looking at the screen.

Sure enough all players on the mobile marketplace, from operators to handset-makers, from application- to service-providers, would just love to grab at least a nice chunk of that screen for their own business (-model) and offerings. The big question remaining: What would the user not only accept but like to see on this most personal of all their screens? And sure enough Mobile Monday managed to have representatives of the powers to be on your mobile desktop on our panel.

Opening the round of speakers was Lars-Christian Weiswange, Director D-A-Ch at handset-maker HTC who only recently brought the world the first available version of a mobile phone running Google’s open Android OS, called the „G1“ and distributed by T-Mobile. Of course he managed to throw in some ideas on the G1, but he mainly talked about the „Idle Screen“ as the „Ideal Screen“ – ideally suited for many applications for all your possible needs. Even more so when they make use of a „Dynamic User Interface“, or simply put: animated widgets like HTC introduced them for the G1 first with many other handsets like the infamous „Touch Diamond“ to follow.

Next was Graham Thomas, head of T-Mobile’s „Handset Mobile Internet“ division where he is concerned with the development of innovative propositions for the Mobile Carrier’s clients. He showed how Apple’s iPhone, the first handset that made use of internet-based widgets on it’s „home-screen“ drove mobile internet-usage to a never expected high. Now T-Mobile is ready to use this proven advantage not only on the G1 and other Android driven phones but across all devices and platforms as integral part of their „Web’n Walk“ offerings. And boy did they make sure they have the right partners to make great offerings for even the most sceptic user: ranging from Yahooo to Amazon, from the BBC to the German tabloid Bild and from Facebook to MySpace.

Bastian Lehmann, VP Advertising at AditOn was the last panelist to take center stage Monday night – introducing a new and innovative service that provides the user with highly personalized content from news to games to choose from, which are escorted by the accordingly targeted ads. AditOn’s revenue sharing business model will sure appeal to mobile operators. Whether users will not only tolerate but go for hat kind of new services remains to be seen.

This year’s last Mobile Monday in Dusseldorf was as usual concluded by an intense round of networking and discussions over a beer or two.

Make sure to check back at the Mobile Monday Website for the next years upcoming dates and subjects.