Kirin is an innovative, open-source solution for developing cross platform apps. We’ve been developing Kirin in-house since 2011 and are applying its benefits in our work for clients. Here we summarise recent activity with Kirin.
Kirin has been used to develop pioneering cross-platform apps for Glastonbury Festival with Orange and most recently the Domino’s Pizza apps on iOS and imminent Windows Phone 8 app we’re currently developing.
Our app for Glastonbury Festival was developed using Kirin and won the 2011 BT Best Music App.
Kirin’s principles allows us to encapsulate an app’s business logic into a well-tested, reusable library that can be used directly on all the platforms we want to target. This task is non-trivial because of the different languages used on each platform: Java for Android, Objective-C for iOS and C# for Windows Phone. However, each platform also provides a web browser environment in which Javascript code can be run. The usual solution to this problem is a framework such as Cordova (previously known as Phonegap) or Appcelerator.
But this approach has limitations, as Future Platforms Head of Mobile, Douglas Hoskins explains: “Many developers see HTML5 as an easy route to creating cross-platform applications. However, for all but the most basic apps, we have found HTML-based interfaces to be limiting. The user experience provided won’t be as smooth and slick as native, and they can in fact be harder to develop because the UI components can be difficult to customise, and you can’t use native UI development tools.”
Kirin is different; top-quality user interfaces can still be created using the platforms’ regular development tools, while all non-UI code is shared. “Like Cordova, Kirin provides access to native services such as networking, location and data persistence. So all logic not directly affecting the UI can be packaged into a robust, tested reusable library that can be relied upon for all ports of your app.”
We’ve also been researching new development techniques for making this process more efficient. “The shared code ultimately needs to end up as Javascript; this means that we can also use any language which can be compiled to Javascript. Our preferred approach is to develop shared code in Java and compile to Javascript using Google Web Toolkit. “This allows use of the high-quality, mature tools available for Java development. It also allows native use of the Java code on Android.
In fact, the Android development process using Kirin and GWT is fairly close to what it would be normally.”
If you spent most of this winter in front of the TV with your laptop, tablet or phone in hand you wouldn’t be alone. You’d be surprised at how big ‘Second Screen’ is these days. Hint: it’s massive.
Second Screen
Second Screen is one of the growing interests in the digital industry for good reason. It unites online and offline, mobile and non-mobile and can enhance entertainment on the bigger TV screen by providing extra information and content on a smaller screen in truly multi-tasking millennial behaviour. The 2013 human being is after all a highly evolved species when it comes to consuming as much digital content as possible these days.
So, what are the stats?
Well. More than two-thirds (that’s between 75% – 85% to be slightly more exact) of TV viewers say they use devices while watching TV. The now-common sight of your flatmate chatting on Skype while watching a nature documentary or your spouse researching your next holiday while Eastenders blinks on the screen means this isn’t news to most of us. Performing largely unrelated tasks in front of TV screen is fast-becoming the norm the country over (about apparently – the most common Second Screen multitasking activity we do according to Neilson’s April 2012 study). However when the content of both screens is linked somehow, now that is when Second Screen becomes really rather interesting to the digital world.
Picture the scene; shopping for ingredients to cook a recipe online whilst inspired by watching Nigella, or tweeting about competition favourites whilst watching X Factor. Even the once time worn ‘Question Time’ format has received a new lease of life via its ‘Twitter Panelist’ addition giving the nation a voice from their sofas.
When the use of two screens results in a transaction, of either a monetary or social kind, then the potential for Second Screen is quite inspiring to people like us. Although think about it; performing something via a Second Screen that is related to content on the 1st isn’t likely to take up the entire Second Screen experience because of the nature of online behaviour, with users often flitting from various tasks. For example while a fifth of us are chatting about the shows we’re watching on social media its unlikely we’re on social media for this sole purpose – (between 42% and 48% are using Social Media on S.Ss, for both related and unrelated use). Similarly interaction with polls and voting scored well with survey respondents.
Those performing tasks on their Second Screen that relate to the first screen (i.e. the TV) is said to be around the 40-50% mark while around 30-45% of us are engaging with adverts while looking at products on our Second Screen. In July 2012 an eDigital/IMRG survey of 2000 people in the UK showed that 80% of smartphone, 81% of tablet and 73% of laptop owners use their device in front of the TV, with an impressive segment of these admitting to use these devices to browse products they’ve seen in adverts or shows. In a similar survey by Red Bee Media and Decipher, also of 2000 Britons, showed that 86% of tablet and smartphone owners use their device while watching TV although, as reported in the Guardian, “although only one fifth have used a “synchronous companion app” (e.g. a Zeebox-style app) to do it.”
Google’s investigation into Second Screen is apparently ‘one of the most widely quoted studies into multi-screen habits’ stating that a healthy 77% of us now compliment TV watching with another screen. Although with the opportunities that Second Screen user behavior offers us Google offered a warning too, that ultimately it means a distribution of attention. We are no longer devoting all ourselves to watching shows. We are in a divided state of “simultaneous usage” or “connected viewing”:
So after assessing where second-screen behaviour is currently, what are our thoughts on how this can create exciting opportunities for the digital world to explore with clients.
We are speaking to a number of our clients about how understanding S.S could benefit their digital strategy, because we think there are a great deal more opportunities for S.S going forward, but these will do for now. We can’t, after all, give all our clever ideas away now can we?
If you’re interested in finding out more about what we do, get in touch with adam@vexeddigital.com
January’s a tough month. Post festive holidays, bad weather, empty pockets…but before you crawl up in a ball and bemoan the state of the world – read this! We’ve rounded up a few lovely examples of web-based campaigns and projects that are doing great things for the world while promoting better lives and new opportunities for people, young and old. Sure to warm even the coldest of winter hearts.
The Amazings (Startup)
Heart Warming Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥
The retired and elderly community not only have the most time and the most experience but also benefit from meeting new people, interacting with the young and reminding themselves of their life’s achievements and skills. All-round genius idea, with a whole lotta heart:
The Amazings is a truly heart-warming digitally empowered community project, which aims to revitalize society’s appreciation of its elders. By crowdsourcing the retired and elderly community’s wealth of knowledge and skills The Amazings facilitates workshops where skills can be passed on to paying participants. Over to the A team to state their mission;
“The Amazings was born out of a single, simple idea. Society has always learned from its elders. But somewhere along the way we have lost that connection between generations – which means losing rich, valuable, and rare skills. We’re on a mission to fix this.”
Classes held by skilled and creative elders include gardening, baking, writing, massage, dance, yoga, and life skills, for example ‘How to buy and sell on the property market’.
The Amazings initiative was created by Sidekick Studios, who have created a series of start-ups aiming to ‘solve problems that matter.’ Their ‘Buddy’ app provides a digital support system and diary for those undertaking therapy and follows trends towards health support to take advantage of digital’s ‘anytime, anywhere’ capacities. Similar to our project with Maggie’s Cancer Online communities and centres it shows how the convenience and immediacy of online digital can very much offer human, helpful support to those who need it when and where it suits them, with the privacy not available in public health centres. Buddy works by users texting a mood diary, with analysis tools, goal setting and therapy session planner to make the most out of a course of therapy and aid times between sessions.
Another Sidekick project worth a mention is the League of Meals, which takes older chefs up for training those in cooking more resourcefully, with less waste and crowd sourced recipes.
Technology Will Save Us (Organisation)
Heart Warming Rating: ♥ ♥
TWSU is clever, creative and has its heart firmly in the right place:
TWSU is a web-based project aiming to educate and encourage people to understand, create, improve or fix technology rather than just consume it. Fuelled by the notion that technology can empower people and society is shifting towards a more inventive, resourceful phase TWSU believes that more people should add technology to their skills. Collaborative work on then creating new technological services and products are then the order of the day for the web platform…
“We see an opportunity to ‘pre–skill’ people around these modern technologies and see what new services and products we can create together.” Also key to the business is the notion that old school, offline activities actually enrich our understanding of technology and encourage people as a whole to live more sustainably, creatively and consciously;
“Whether it be learning how to sew, garden, build furniture or bake bread – the desire to produce, invent, make and fix things is re-emerging in London. There are also skills we have never actually learnt about, which are key to understanding many of the modern technologies we take for granted.”
Bright Eyes is one of the company’s projects. Bright Eyes is a kit containing a pair of LED glasses designed to inspire people to learn programming. Read about how it works here.
If… (Campaign)
Heart Warming Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Although the issued of global hunger is a well publicised one, its urgency hasn’t lessened. By assembling an A-team of global campaigners for equality and using smart digital clout the If… campaign has the potential to kick some serious butt on the world stage. Consider your heart warmed:
Our very own new MD Adam Croxen worked briefly on the If… campaign tackling the issue of world hunger, which launched last week. The ‘If’ campaign brings together 100 NGOs and faith groups such as Oxfam, Christian Aid and Save The Children, to lobby the Prime Minister ahead of Britain’s presidency over the G8. Going for the figurative jugular the campaign targets ‘land grabs, tax avoidance and the lack of transparency over investments in poor countries’ as major causes for hunger in the world. The campaign is trying to raise awareness, encourage engagement and then hopefully achieve real participation of supporters of the cause by using social media integration as a lobbying tool.
Adam says; ‘what this campaign brought home for me was how digital, as such a powerful tool, can really have a global impact for good when leveraged skillfully. If digital can change minds and save lives that’s truly inspiring.’
The Everyday Sexism Project (Campaign)
http://www.everydaysexism.com/
Heartwarming rating: ♥ ♥
Not exactly heart warming stories, but necessary to fight everyday instances of sexism against both men and women. What warms the heart, is people supporting each other via digital channels, bridging geographical and social gaps across the world:
Everyday Sexism is a web and social media campaign that aims to catalogue, call out and tackle sexist behaviour by amplifying every day cases of sexism via the web. Started on Twitter by Laura Bates, E.S has garnered huge attention and contributions from around the world. E.S is currently nominated for a Shorty social media award.
Reason Digital (Creative Agency)
Heartwarming rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Call me anti-establishment but Reason’s tagline ‘Because making rich people a little richer isn’t any fun’ warmed my heart to the core:
Reason are a social enterprise ‘supporting people to use digital media for social good’ do some wonderful creative work for various charities, such as their campaigns with British Heart Foundation and promotion of ethical shopping with Co-operatives.
So there you have it. The world doesn’t look so gloomy after all; as January 2013 comes to a close Digital is empowering, inspiring, educating, engaging and bringing together people for good. Lets hope digital projects with good hearts snowball.
Have any more examples of digital making a difference that you’d like to share with us? Tweet @futureplatforms
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We recently offices and migrated closer to the heart of London. We are now based in 101 New Cavendish Street in a fresh and funky office we are sharing with our creative digital friends, Dare.
Come up and see us sometime. Our new address is:
101 New Cavendish Street, W1W 6XH
All our numbers and email addresses have stayed the same so can get in touch with us through the regular channels.
We’re looking forward to a new year of inspiration, innovation and growth.
The De Vere Group is one the UK’s most prestigious hospitality brands, offering impeccable service, refreshingly different venues and hotels with a modern British flavour. Covering De Vere Hotels, Venues and VILLAGE resorts, the group comprises of 65 locations throughout the UK.
Supporting Greater Brand Autonomy
De Vere Group
De Vere’s website originally showcased all the company’s offerings and sub-brands on one website, driven on a common platform. However, as De Vere’s online channel evolved it became clear that this approach was no longer adequate to reflect the growing diversity of the brands within the De Vere portfolio, which included exclusive luxury retreats, golf courses, spas, business hotels – including meeting and conference facilities, and more family oriented experiences at the groups resorts.
Developing Distinct Brand Identities Online
De Vere worked with technology partner, Vexed Digital, to implement a multi-million pound upgrade to the company’s online identity. Key to this was creating multiple brand sites that represented each distinct sub brand but to achieve this in an efficient way through shared components that would enable increased e-commerce functionality – making more services accessible online than before – and cross-selling between brands. Vexed decided to develop four brand sites:
Devere.co.uk
Alongside the brand sites for Hotels, Village, Venues, Meeting Rooms and Lodges was the umbrella site – devere.co.uk – a Website that would help direct users into the sub brand sites.
Vexed were happy to continue to use Magnolia as it had proved effective, popular with end users, and powerful to extend. Additionally, it would be simple to create all the sub brand sites within a single Magnolia instance.
Creating a Virtual Presence for De Vere
Key to the upgrade was the ability to deliver virtually any service online and to fulfil De Vere’s ambition that their guests would be able to book the widest range of services possible online. That could mean booking champagne with a room, or dinner with golf, or accommodation with a conference. The key was to build dedicated booking engines for services that could be re-skinned to match each brand site but make it possible for site visitors to draw on the entirety of the group’s services from any single site.
Google Maps integration
As a Java based system, Magnolia made it easy for Vexed to work with third-party booking software to develop and integrate dedicated booking engines for specific services such as rooms, dining, events and golf.
Alongside bookings, specific features such as Google Maps and travel information were also implemented across each of the sites.
Overarching all brand sites, was a new facility – My De Vere – that would allow visitors to register and manage all their bookings.
Vexed implemented quickly, with the brand sites created over a six month period between October 2011 and spring 2012.
Driving Business Performance
In the first months since the new site was launched, the new strategy is already delivering real business value.
That has increased site visits for all sites – for example, visits to the hotel site increased by 20%. Overall visits increased significantly. Creating dedicated sites for each brand has been seen to increase bookings while improving cross sell Each brand site – hotels brand traffic increased 20%. Revenues have increased accordingly.
For those of you who enjoy the odd getaway for business or pleasure you may have noticed a trend emerging in the hotel industry. Technology, once relegated to the bell on check-in and TV in your room is now a major draw for today’s world-weary traveler. Smart hotels are offering a string of modern technologies in their rooms these days, while a group of capsule hotels have sprung up, who are big on economy and aim to create spaces for sleep even in the most hectic of environments…
Ushuaia, Ibiza
In the heart of the clubbing capital lies the Ushuaia, described as the ‘tech mecca club tropicana for the 21st century’. So what’s so high-tech about this Balearic boardinghouse? For a start it is the world’s first cashless hotel; where you can pay for anything with your fingerprint. Yes your fingerprint, aka the PayTouch system, “which uses biometric scanners to confirm your identity linked to your credit card.”
All rooms come with the latest technology as well as a swimming pool with underwater speakers, special DJ-equipped suites and soundproof VIP party ‘boxes’ for the height in hedonistic hotel-chic.
Eccleston Square, London
Described as “Historical on the outside yet timeless on the inside” South West London’s Eccleston Square Hotel is uber modern in its offering for guests. The hotel boasts NeoPlasma TVs, Immersive Surround Sound, iPod docking, 3D movies and an iPad 2 for browsing and fast room service ordering in every room. Although its not pushing the boundaries of how a hotel operates it certainly is embracing how technology can enhance the travelling experience, and create a major selling point for high-end travellers.
Citizen M
Welcoming the ‘Mobile citizens of the world’ which, according to CitizenM includes ‘the suits, weekenders, explorers, affair-havers and fashion-grabbers” this innovative brand of hotel has been leading the way in a group of hotels changing the rules in the hotel insutry. CitizenM has also built more technologically advanced versions of their hotels with Phillips, where rooms could be managed, maintained, heated and controlled remotely via internet connections.
Z Hotels
Describes itself as the “uber-modern” hotel for the uber modern “urbanite” and is making a name for itself as a slick, smart chain of places to stay around the world that doesn’t stretch the budget too. Much like CitizanM Z Hotels aims to capitalize on offering mod-cons while attracting a new breed of budget traveler and clever design and technology, such as smart TVs for web browsing and ingenious storage to maximize the ‘cosy’ sized rooms, features in every room.
Yotel
Off the back of the Yo! Sushi empire Yotel offers a fresh alternative to the stuffy airport stays of yesterday. One of a breed of ‘capsule hotels’ which is economical with space and clever on design Yotel rooms offer big entertainment, even if the walls are small, with flat screen smart TVs and wifi the basic.
Qbic
Continuing the trend for low-cost hotels that still look high concept and slick in design is Qbic, a ‘cheap chic and no frills’ alternative to the traditional hotel and has the futuristic design to match its progressive business model.
Snoozecube / Sleepbox
With such similar names and concepts its easy to lump these two space-economical concept capsule hotels in the same, erm, box. Or cube. Both offer affordable, well designed, tiny areas for privacy and a few ZZZs when away from home or stuck in the airport and follow a trend for private sleeping areas within busy urban environments that are adaptable to suit various needs.
Yesterday evening Sergio Falletti was one of the speakers at Momo Athens, all talking around the theme of cross-screen applications, aka 2nd screen.
His presentation was on live participation: the way digital can bring people together around an event. It’s not the only use case for 2nd screen applications, but it is an old favourite of mine.
The presentation featured some Future Platforms works, from the Ghost Detector to Roulette Cricket and the 2011 Glastonbury apps, mixed with milestones like Big Brother, Smule’s Sonic Lighter, Million Pound Drop, the F1 companion app and Zeebox.
A few key points:
1) Consoles, mobile and web TV boxes will drive the first wave of innovation
2) Fragmentation is a distraction – there’s no denying it, but strong propositions can already shine through
3) Participation needs events – producers, brands and OS/OEMs can join broadcasters in reaching audiences over IP TV
4) Switching from passive viewing to participation is still too cumbersome – in fact participation may only really take off once most people use apps, be it specific titles or generic TV guides, to select and view broadcast content
5) New live participation formats will make you feel like you are part of something bigger, in the company of like-minded people, but still values as an individual
Sofia Svanteson from Ocean Observations talked about their service design work with telecoms and other organisations. Eurosport, for their sins, were an example of siloed digital channels.
Sergio says “the most interesting message in her presentation was that a bad customer experience is not just the result of poor design, but also of the organisation’s failure to think through the necessary changes in the ‘back office’.”
Andreas Constantinou, from Vision Mobile, then gave the kind of market review you would expect from one of the people behind the Mobile Industry Atlas. I liked his OS vs Screens grid Cross-screen_gridand agree that mobile companion apps remain the stronger cross-screen opportunity at present.
The evening didn’t stop there, like at most Momo’s. It was followed by calls for local startups to engage in awards and incubators, and by talks about Webinos, a cross-platform application framework, partly based on node.js, that’s worth keeping an eye on: it’s an open-source project, has very credible partners already involved, and some early results to show. As a widget-based runtime, it cannot however get into the App Store, and its ability to elegantly handle UI across devices remains to be seen.
We are delighted to announce we are seeking a permanent member of our team for our London office to work on an innovative and respected mobile project for one of our most high-profile clients.
We are looking for a Team Lead Mobile Developer to oversee the cross-platform work we have in store for our client, which is done in-house in our Notting Hill offices.
Substantial career enrichment, with cross-platform development, training and the satisfaction of seeing your work ‘out there’ regularly for a client that is well respected for its digital innovation.
Role Overview:
This project needs a superstar Team Lead developer who’s hungry to further their knowledge of cross platform and multi-platform development for a high-profile client who makes things happen! The Domino’s Mobile Team Lead is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the mobile development team for our client Domino’s Pizza, whose mobile work regularly wins high praise from users and critics alike and has won awards for it’s innovation. The role is in-house at our London offices in Notting Hill Gate. Additionally we have an innovative in-house cross-platform development framework we use for cross-platform development and are looking for someone who would relish the chance to contribute to its development, and offer ideas to shape it going forward.
Skills & Experience:
You’ll be expert in at least one of iOS, Android or Windows Phone 7. You should be delivery-focused and able to demonstrate apps you’ve contributed to on the respective app stores. Strong Java skills and a knowledge of JavaScript. An interest in techniques for producing portable cross-platform code. An attention to detail in all aspects of the development process; whether it’s making your app perform robustly when offline, or ensuring the UI is pixel-perfect. Good knowledge of mobile and web based technologies and techniques Good written and verbal skills Fluent in English Enthusiasm for technology The ability and desire to learn quickly, and pick up new modes of development Flexible and open to shaping innovative frameworks Interest and knowledge of as many mobile platforms as possible
Benefits
We’re a small agency with a relaxed, community spirit and with plenty of opportunity to enhance your skillset and learn a lot. This particular project is an exciting challenge and is a high profile project that has won several awards and gained a lot of publicity. Seize this chance to make your mark and enrich your mobile development skills. Send your CV to careers@vexeddigital.com with ‘Team Lead Mobile Developer’ in the subject line. We look forward to hearing from you.
