S60 Open to new features

Couldn't help laughing when I saw this fantastic thing. This is a microwave oven with a FM radio. It is a convergence product, isn't it?

Maybe what people really want from the much-hyped convergence is everyday items that really cross the boundaries of conventional product development thinking. The owner of this oven was very delighted when he found the product. The designers of the product have understood what kind of usage patterns there are in many kitches. People listen to radio while cooking or eating. So, let's offer them a radio in a space-saving way!

New technology leads to new innovations and application concepts. When the technologies mature and become commonly available, users can reap the benefits and enjoy the new services and experiences.

One of the things I personally look forward to is the continuation of the location-based services boom. As the writings on the wall suggest, device manufacturers are taking steps toward increasing the focus of location services - perhaps the time of having integrated GPS/Galileo-capable devices from major manufacturers is sooner than we think!

New technology brings new concepts and killer applications. With something as revolutionary as location data, there are plenty of innovative applications out there, waiting to be discovered.

Example. Being an enthustiastic photographer, I just love the idea of combining digital photos with geotagging (basically, adding location metadata to the image - technically quite simple). So, a few years from now, when look on my collection of thousands (and thousands) of unorganized digital images, I can smile and enter queries such as: "Organize the images according to the city where the picture was taken" or even "show me all the pics I've taken in Europe, excluding that awful trip to Manchester in 2002". So simple, so effective.

What could the next mobile big hit be?

So Americans like pizza…is it so bad?! A recent article describes the information-seeking habits of Americans via their mobiles. It seems that Americans of all ages have been busy (locating pizza places) with their mobiles, calling the 411 directory for assistance. From a user experience standpoint, this makes sense: a quick phone call results in useful, needed results. Users want specific information, they know where and how to get it, and voila! It is done.

I know I may sound repetitive but am I missing something? Is there an alternative to a mobile phone call to the 411 directory, which produces immediate and useful results? Could users send an SMS to a 411 number and receive similar (and fast) information? In a day and age when we don’t necessarily want to waste the time talking to another person (like an operator, or our mothers if the 411 call does not produce results), there ought to be an alternative. Perhaps the problem for users is that most alternatives are too slow, e.g. Internet access via one’s mobile device, or not informative enough.

I was on my paternity leave during the last 30 days and I have to say that it was a refreshing experience. Because of our family situation, I took care of all the shopping. From this experience, totally new needs emerged that I hadn't recognized before. It’s the same old story; you have to go far before you can see the most obvious things close to you.

Anyway, the story goes like this: My wife gave me different kinds of shopping lists and I went to the market and started to collect all the items on the list. And every time - just imagine how frustrating it was - when I ended up close to the checkout area, I had to go back because the next item on the list was located somewhere close to the entrance. After this happened several times, I started to wonder why there weren't any suitable solutions to solve my problem. Was there any possibility that someone has created an application that would arrange your shopping list (sent by SMS for example) into right order, according to a market's floor plan? This could have been a big help to me, and probably some other people too! And guess what, I couldn’t find any solutions. So is this something that has to be created or just a good example of my hopeless situation?...don’t ask this from my wife…

So what’s the thing? This all reminded me about one point that's been so obvious but has been off the agenda for a while: In the hands of an experienced expert, real life could work as a wonderful source of innovation. The truth is out there, just go and harness it!

I was in Vienna this weekend, riding public transportation, and observed something that I haven’t seen yet in Helsinki…young kids are listening to music from their mobile devices and they are sharing the experience with their friends. Here’s the problem for me: they are listening to it in public spaces and I don’t necessarily want to listen to their music--especially if it’s competing with others talking on their mobiles or listening to their music (even with earphones, you can still hear “something”).

I know this problem is elsewhere in other European cities, e.g. London, and there have been public responses to this (and, in turn, some new rules that “prohibit” these behaviors). But it forced me to think about this: there are users who would like to share their music with their friends; they want to do this anywhere, anytime and, most likely, with no restrictions. My guess is that this doesn’t stop with music--users will want to share anything and everything (e.g. pictures, MMSs, video clips etc). So, the bottom line is that there is an obvious need yet to be met…how can/will/have developers respond(ed) to this need?

For me developing user experience is much about developing ideas - by myself, with a group of people, with an end-user and so on. I really think that ideas are pretty worthless without excellent execution but then again, good execution without an excellent idea will vanish like a smoke.

So there will be that ultimate day when you will feel completely idealess. And the schedule is pressing heavily. So how to generate ideas? The answer: it's not easy. I just saw this nice entry how to start Idea Mining by using Blogs and wanted to share it with all of you. Dorai gives us a couple of simple things to do:

- Identify the experts (this is easy to do in any specific area)
- Subscribe or track their blogs
- Track the blogs they read (these are called blog rolls)
- Find product managers who blog (in areas of interest to you)
- Find product reviewer's blogs
- Track comments on blogs (For example, when Don Box blogged about Teaching his kids to program he received hundreds of comment)

Sometimes I have a feeling that bloggers are losers but this definitely gives us some hope;) See, some of the bloggers really are gold mines and somehow they just have time to spread the word and be excellent resources for all of us. Especially if one is developing something. But it's not just "take", it's more "give'n'take". You can feed bloggers' minds by commenting on stuff they've written and see how they react...you never know, one day you might be authoring your own blog.

Do you know any blogs that are devoted solely to generating new ideas?