Archive for December, 2009
Taryn Southern App Now Featuring Ustream
posted by Michael Arcand
If you’ve been following along with Mobile Roadie’s adventures, then you are probably already aware that we were the first to bring Ustream to a third party iPhone app with the announcement of the official LeWeb iPhone App. Since the app debuted earlier this month in Paris, over 5,000 people have downloaded the app and watched live Ustream videos from their phones.
We are now pleased to announce that Taryn Southern‘s iPhone app will also feature the ability for users to watch Ustream videos from within her app. This is sure to be a boon to Taryn’s already well-known status as one of the faces of new media. Her online videos include projects that she has written, produced and starred in, with success coming to the tune of over 50 million hits. She’s currently writing a half-hour comedy for MTV called Private High Musical, as well as starring in Comedy Central’s Senior Skip Day.
Her accolades are literally so numerous that I could not do them justice here. Let me just say that her endeavors are quite prolific and her successes have been nothing short of stunning. She has been nominated for numerous awards in the online and offline entertainment industry, including a Streamy Award; while winning the 2008 Spike TV Guy’s Choice Award.
If you are into the new media scene, or even if you’re just trying to keep tabs on who’s up-and-coming in the entertainment world, fans and newcomers alike will be wowed by the live streaming ability within Taryn Southern’s app. You can download the app here. Be sure and let us know what you think. Better yet, let Taryn know what you think. She’ll be delighted to hear from you.
Meet Version 2.1 of Mobile Roadie.
posted by brocksteadyMoRo customers just received a major performance and functionality update to their apps. Get ready for a faster, slicker app with tons of new features and tweaks. Here are some highlights:
Categorized Music Section
The music section is now organized with top level sorting based on album names, making it easier for users to navigate the music section.
Categorized Tweets
Tweets are now filtered between official tweets and mentions (# tags and @ replies), making it easier for viewers to find the content they’re looking for.
Revamped Music Player
Now you can tap the track title to go to the track detail view, and a new “close” button on the music player allows you to hide the player as normal. This should help make it easier for fans to go to, and buy, music.
The audio stream buffering was also enhanced, so playback should be smoother on both 3G and Edge networks.
Language localization support
Language localization support means that the system elements and the standard navigation will automatically translate depending on the user’s language setting on their device. Additionally, viral messages sent back to Facebook and Twitter will be translated as well. We’re currently supporting:
French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. More to come.
Enhanced Shows section
Integrated Google Maps: Link to a map within the Shows section will open up Google maps right there within the app.
Linkable Text: Our system automatically finds URLs and makes them links, that open in an in-app browser.
Buy tickets can point to a phone number: Tickets not available online? Simply enter a phone # and we’ll display with a call option in a pop up.
Upcoming and Past Shows are now divided by segment controls in the header.
Plus…
Load More button in News section and Fan Wall: We completely overhauled the News section, rewriting from the ground up to greatly increase the performance. This allows us to include a “load more” button to load archived content, thus keeping your fans engaged in your app.
Timestamps on all news items, tweets, and buzz.
Updates button (on the homepage) remains active if you leave the section, allowing you to return.
Clickable user profile images and names allow you to check out a users’ Facebook or Twitter profile.
Full RSS post in news view.
Login prompt appears when clicking “Like” or “Going.”
“Share via email” opens email message within app.
Shows thumbnail enlarges on tap.
Revised viral message phrasing on Facebook and Twitter.
Song will continue playing if a user goes into the song’s detail view.
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So that about wraps up the 2.1 update. We already have a long list of items for our next release, and would love to hear what you’d like to see from us. Feel free to leave comments if you have any suggestions, otherwise, search for Mobile Roadie in the iTunes App Store to check out our live apps!
Mobile Roadie Teams Up With Random House for Author Apps!
posted by Michael ArcandIn case last week’s announcement at the LeWeb conference in Paris wasn’t enough good new for you, then this week’s press release detailing the agreement between Random House and Mobile Roadie should really knock your socks off! If you had any doubt about MobileRoadie’s ability to secure a spot in the ever-growing apps marketplace, this should remove all doubt! Check out the press release below and then get in touch with us to see what we can do for YOU!
(Press Release)
RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHING GROUP AND MOBILE ROADIE
JOIN FORCES FOR AUTHOR iPHONE APPS
The Random House Publishing Group has collaborated with Mobile Roadie, the popular iPhone app creation platform, to launch new, free customized iPhone applications that will connect bestselling authors to their fans using mobile technology.
The Random House group will today launch individual iPhone applications for three of its bestselling authors—Steve Berry, Sophie Kinsella, and Karen Marie Moning–using an author-focused variation of Mobile Roadie’s popular application creator, which currently supports popular apps by musicians including Brad Paisley and Alice in Chains.
With this new application, fans will be able to preview books, access bonus content, interact with other fans, check upcoming author appearances, listen to audiobook clips, watch author videos and book trailers, and more.
“Mobile Roadie’s powerful and flexible technology offers a great opportunity for readers to access a world of content about their favorite authors instantaneously, wherever they are,” commented Matt Schwartz, Director of Digital Strategy for the Random House Publishing Group, who oversaw the execution of this project.
Michael Schneider, CEO of Mobile Roadie, said “Random House has given us an exciting opportunity to enter a new field, and we are very optimistic about the future of mobile apps, specifically as they relate to books and authors.”
Steve Berry, published by Ballantine Books, is the New York Times bestselling author of such novels as The Charlemagne Pursuit, and The Templar Legacy. His most recent book is the The Paris Vendetta, the latest book in his Cotton Malone series. His application is available on iTunes.
Sophie Kinsella, published by The Dial Press, is the New York Times bestselling author of the Shopaholic series as well as The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, and her most recent book, Twenties Girl. Her application is also available on iTunes.
Karen Marie Moning, published by Delacorte Press, is the New York Times bestselling author of the MacKayla Lane series, which includes Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, and the recently released Dreamfever. Her application is available on iTunes as well.
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The Random House Publishing Group is a division of Random House, Inc., the U.S. company of Random House, which is the trade book publishing division of Bertelsmann, AG, one of the world’s foremost media companies. The Random House Publishing Group is comprised of Ballantine Books, Bantam Dell, Delacorte, Del Rey, The Dial Press, Modern Library, One World, Presidio Press, Random House, Spiegel & Grau, Spectra, and Villard.
Mobile Roadie, based in Los Angeles, California, offers a technology solution that provides a quick and affordable way to create, submit, and manage mobile applications.
More info on TechCrunch
Do You Feel the Need for Speed?
posted by Michael Arcand
Do you feel the need for speed? Your potential customers do. Ask anyone who’s using a smart phone to access Internet applications and they will all tell you one thing: speed matters. In this day and age of instant gratification, if you can’t get someone’s attention instantly and provide what they are looking for, then you’re already out of the game. So what’s the big scoop, who’s got the fastest network?
According to Root Wireless, a company who is providing accurate and timely data on wireless network and consumer phone performance using their proprietary system, it is none other than AT&T. In an effort to eliminate the consumer’s reliance on the claims of the providers themselves, Root Wireless’ system provides data from an independent source outside of company politics and shill advertising.
Here’s how the data was mapped out. People equipped with smartphones from major carriers were given the Root Wireless app to collect the data. They went on the road to major cities across the U.S. on routes devised by engineers. Cities they tested included Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle, among others. The graphic below sort of explains how their system works. The bottom line is that overall network speed was faster with AT&T, which also exhibited a less chance of failure than Verizon.
So when you’re ready to push your mobile app out into the big, bad world of smart phones, who’s it going to be with? If you understand your customer’s need for speed, then you will be pushing for an iPhone app over other platforms. When that time comes (never a better time than now!), let Mobile Roadie hook you up with our services.
Video of Mobile Roadie at LeWeb
posted by adminIf you weren’t able to attend the LeWeb conference in Paris not only did you miss out on the delicious pastries and other delights, but you may have also missed our CEO Michael Schneider on stage demoing the official LeWeb iPhone app.
However thanks to the official streaming partner of LeWeb (and our new partner as well) Ustream, it was all captured in the below video. As you might imagine, the official app was a huge hit, even TechCrunch took note in this great blog post.
Introducing the LeWeb iPhone App
posted by adminWe are extremely excited to announce the release of the official LeWeb iPhone app by Mobile Roadie. This is our second event based app and we’ve found the platform works very well for this format. We can easily aggregate online content about the event (tweets, photos, blogs) while providing great on-site info like session times and speaker information.
Hey let’s face it, at most conferences you spend a lot of time on your phone. Even more so in the case of a good tech conference. During that time on the small screen you search, and you tweet, and maybe you scour for incriminating photos on Facebook from last night’s open bar. We do this sometimes to the point of running our phones completely out of juice. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, I’m just saying it’s going to be much easier to do now with the LeWeb iPhone app.
Of course if you can’t make it to Paris you can still enjoy the event with this app. Thanks to built in UStream support you can watch the entire show right from your iPhone. When I pitched this to Loic I asked him to think about thousands of people on buses, at work, or maybe sitting in a park watching his main stage live. Thankfully he’s European so it’s easy for him to imagine such wonderful things.
We hope you enjoy the app, you can get a preview with our video walk-through below or download it right now from the app store.
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