Strategic guide for bringing

content to mobile devices

How marketers can navigate the increasingly murky
waters of mobile platforms, devices and services

Read On.
Read On.
About this whitepaper

The results and advice in Strategic

guide for bringing content to mo-
bile devices are based on research con-
ducted prior to creating the product road-
map for mobile content delivery at Zmags.

The content is protected by copyright and

cannot be duplicated without permission
from Zmags Inc, 320 Congress Street, Bos-
ton MA 02210, USA.

The author or any other advisors distribut-

ing this guide can under no circumstances
be held responsible for any damage or
business impact from taking advice from
this whitepaper.

To contact the author directly, please email

Theis Sondergaard, Senior Product
Manager at [email protected]

Published June 2010 – all rights reserved.

Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Contents Read On.

Read On.

Executive Summary 4

The New Shape of Online Content Delivery 5 Read On.

Repurpose Your Content – Rethink Your Concept 7

The Lay of the Land 8

Data Matters, Not Devices 10

Build it and They Will Come? 12

Complexity 13

Apps vs. Browsers 14

Tablets – the Expansion of Mobile 17

The Future of Flash and HTML5 18

Flash is Everywhere - Except Mobile 18

Adobe is Moving On 19

What is HTML5? 20

HTML5 and Mobile Users 22

HTML5 is Not a Full-Fledged Alternative to Flash 22

Conclusion 23

References 24

About Zmags 24

3
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Executive Summary

Executive Summary

This whitepaper will give you an overview Focus on iPhone and Android for
of the rapidly changing mobile arena, and now – create a Webkit optimized experi-
provide insights and inspiration regarding ence without using Flash
how to address the growing mobile mar-
ket. Make sure your normal website has
a workable mobile version without Flash
Key points: – this is the entry point for most of your
mobile audience
The mobile arena is messy and com-
plex, and it’s not getting better any time Flash is not dead – but on mobile
soon. It will increase in complexity and devices you need to ignore it for now
continue to change rapidly
HTML5 is the future of the web –
There’s no magic solution – it will but not quite the present. Use it for video
take effort to bring your content to a mo- playback on mobile devices
bile audience if you want the full effect of
reaching your audience on the move Cover the mobile browser first, then
consider apps if your need for advanced
Don’t get bogged down in technol- interactivity is high
ogy – focus first and foremost on your
content and your product offerings Zmags mobile solution – we walk
the talk. It’s browser-based and optimized
Repurpose, re-think. Respect the size for Apple and Android devices
of the screen, the nature of the device and
the mindset of your audience Happy reading!

4
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
The New Shape of Online Content Delivery Read On.

Read On.

Read On.

The New Shape of Online Content Delivery

Remember the good ol’ days of 2003? De- Sure, the web standards were dictated
livering online content was a simple choice by Microsoft and the browser was slow
of optimizing for either Internet Explorer and buggy – but the upside was that you
5 or 6. Combined, these two versions of could reach pretty much everyone online
Internet Explorer had a whopping market as long as you made sure your content
share of 95%. If someone asked for Safari looked great on a 17-inch monitor con-
compatibility, you would suppress a laugh trolled by Windows, Internet Explorer and
and give a polite answer. And all data-traf- Flash in an 800x600 resolution.
fic was going to desktop or laptop comput-
ers. Mobile devices were used for calling Then came the avalanche. The inevitable
other people while online content lived on backlash for Microsoft on the browser
the computer. market, the rise of Google, the resurrection

5
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
The New Shape of Online Content Delivery

of Apple, the introduction of smartphones,

the iPhone revolution – we could go on.
From a viewpoint of diversity, choice and
innovation, the past seven years have been
absolutely magnificent. From the view-
point of someone just wanting to get his
content online in the best possible way, it’s
been horrendous.

The really bad news? It’s not going to get

any easier any time soon. It will get even
more complex. We’ll have lots of losers
in this race for innovation. And we’ll have
several winners, not just one.

Mobile data traffic is projected to grow

40x over the next five years, and you could
write a book on all the new devices that
have been released in the past year, and
those that will be released in the near fu-
ture. Consumers are going mobile, and ev-
ery hardware and software company in the
world is fighting for a piece of the action.
By December 2009, mobile data-traffic was
bigger than voice-traffic.

6
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Repurpose Your Content – Rethink Your Concept Read On.

Read On.

Repurpose Your Content –

Rethink Your Concept

First of all – forget technology. If you are

serious about “going mobile”, the real key Read On.
to success is to take both your audience
and the medium seriously.

The mindset of a user on the move is dif- For Zmags customers, it’s all about tak-
ferent from the guys sitting in front of a ing publications to mobile devices, be it
screen. Quick access to wanted informa- product catalogs, weekly flyers, brochures,
tion takes the top spot over interactivity monthly magazines and so on. It’s a start-
and laid back entertainment. The nature of ing point to take the existing publication
the device – a small screen, typically with as is online to mobile devices, and our mo-
touch capabilities – forms a natural frame bile product supports this – but it’s only a
around what content is useful and how starting point. If you really want to reach
you can present it. your audience, you must repurpose your
content for the situation. It’s simple stuff,
Forget about taking your existing product like cleaning up the pages and increasing
mobile in replica. Figure out what part of the font size. But it means making difficult
your product, service or message is useful choices regarding what content and what
for the audience on the move and services are even relevant to
hone in on it. the mobile user.

7
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
The Lay of the Land

The Lay of the Land

Navigating the mobile world is about

knowing your devices, what operating
systems and browsers they use, and what
these combined elements provide in terms
of opportunities and limitations.

A number of operating systems for smart-

phones are currently fighting for market
share:

Source: NPD Group

8
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
The Lay of the Land Read On.

Read On.

The graph on the opposite page is for the

US market. It’s important to understand Read On.
that there’s a huge difference between the
US and world markets, especially Europe,
when looking at these market share num-
bers. Worldwide, the numbers look like
this:

Suddenly, when looking at the world and

not just the US, Symbian is the biggest
player out there, not Blackberry, Android
or iPhone.

Source: Gartner

9
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Data Matters, Not Devices

Data Matters, Not Devices

If you look at the graphs on the previous where the actual data traffic goes, and it
pages, it’s tempting to conclude that Sym- actually simplifies the geographical chal-
bian and Blackberry devices should be the lenge for companies aiming at both US
main target when publishing content for and European markets.
mobile devices, depending on whether or
not you’re in the US. However, the picture Smartphone OS market share, based on
looks dramatically different if you look at data-traffic:

Source: Admob (Now Google)

10
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Data Matters, Not Devices Read On.

Read On.

Now it becomes clear that Android and

iPhone OS are the big players in US and Read On.
Europe. Combining these two puts you
close to 86% market-share in Western
Europe and 81% in the US. And, consider-
ing the growth of the Android OS market-
share shown in Figure 1, this choice makes
even more sense:

Projecting these numbers is always dan-

gerous. But from the current movements,
Android is on the rise, iPhone is stable and
the rest are fighting to get a solid grip in
the market. WebOS may perform an inter-
esting comeback after the HP acquisition,
and Windows Mobile 7 has high ambi-
tions as well.

11
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Build it and They Will Come?

Build it and They Will Come?

This can quickly turn into a “chicken and

the egg” discussion. Is data-use lacking on
some devices because consumers don’t
want it, or is it simply because the right
services are not there?

There’s no doubt that there’s a self-enforc-

ing mechanism going on right now—for ex-
ample, this whitepaper is encouraging you
to focus on specific platforms due to their
current size. However, there’s little doubt
that the nature of iPhone OS and Android
devices—with touch screens, extensive app
stores and capable browsers—have capti-
vated their audiences and proven that web-
browsing and app-use is not just possible,
but close to addictive on these devices.

12
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Complexity Read On.

Read On.

Complexity

The complexity of navigating the mobile More on this in the chapter “Apps vs.
market doesn’t end at figuring out what Browsers”. Read On.
operating system to aim for. A number of
important factors drive what kind of ser- Browser capabilities
vices and products you can bring to the Even though web standards are, by now,
mobile market: mature, they are also still evolving. And
in order to benefit from phone-specific
Screen size capabilities, many browsers have special
Obviously, the screen size of any device capabilities that are outside the standards.
dictates how information can be presented As an example, take into consideration the
in the best way. Digital delivery needs to Webkit framework used in Apple and An-
take into account the entire array from droid phones (and others). It has specific
40-inch desktop displays to 3-inch smart- methods for detecting the popular swipe
phone screens. Until recently, a “mobile and pinch gestures along with screen rota-
solution” would go far if optimized for the tion. If taking advantage of these methods,
3-4 inch display, but with the introduction you will get a great experience on those
of the iPad and its competitors, the span phones – but need a fallback option for
has increased from 3 to 10 inches. other phones.

Navigation The complexity will increase in the years

Touch- or button-navigation has a huge to come. In the past years, the speed of
impact on how digital content is and can innovation has been overwhelming, and it
be consumed on smartphones. will continue unabashed. Since the ex-
pected lifetime of a smartphone is short,
Specific hardware capabilities the manufacturers are not afraid to launch
An example: location awareness. An iPad features that are unique to a particular
3G can be location aware – the iPad can’t. phone – and thus unsupported by the rest
of the market.
OS and OS version
If considering building apps, these will not
only need to be operating system specific,
but sometimes even OS version specific.

13
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Apps vs. Browsers

Apps vs. Browsers

Apps are extremely popular both with revolution that you could install applica-
consumers and content creators, but not tions on your phone – smartphones had
all app stores are created equal. been able to do that for years – but the
quick and easy access to the market was an
Apple’s App Store was the first to create instant hit.
the category for smartphones. Interesting-
ly, it wasn’t launched until a year after the Apple’s App Store now features more than
first iPhone hit the stores, but it quickly 140,000 apps – at number two, the An-
proved how apps created a new platform droid store only has approximately 30,000.
dimension for the up until then relatively Blackberry and Nokia Ovi are around
self-contained smartphones. It wasn’t a 5-6,000 each, while Palm and Windows fin-
ish last in the race. As for growth, it’s again
Apple and Android that take the prize.

When delivering content to a modern

smartphone, you basically have two op-
tions: create an app or live in the browser
with a more traditional web-content offer.

Here are some key aspects to consider

when evaluating the two options:

Apps can do things browsers

can’t!
It’s important to stress that apps can do
wonderful things, and provided you have
the right product or content, they can be
a great investment. With apps, you can do
great things in terms of navigation as well
as look and feel.

14
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Apps vs. Browsers Read On.

Read On.

it, enter password, wait for download, wait

for install – and you’re off. Now, thisRead
canOn.
be a speedy process, depending on how
tech-savvy your customer is. But no mat-
ter how you look at it, clicking a link on a
website is a much simpler process.

Browser-based mobile view-

ers are a better match across
platforms
Unfortunately, developing apps is a plat-
App interaction is hard to get form-specific game. They only work on
right specific devices. Today, the map is relative-
A recent usability study by Jacob Nielsen ly easy to chart with iPhone OS, Android
highlighted just how hard it is to make OS, WebOS, Symbian, Windows Mobile
intuitive navigation on the iPad. This is and RIM OS. But other operating systems
not due to lack of ideas or options, but are on the way, with even more fragmenta-
simply because the touch devices are so tion to come.
new to the general public that conventions
are non-existing. Users simply don’t know To make matters worse, Android presents
where they can click and what they are a particular challenge. By now, it’s frag-
supposed to do. Make sure your app inter- mented so heavily into versions, that mak-
face is simple and straight-forward – don’t ing an app compatible with all versions
get lost in fancy ideas. requires a lot of work. As an example, the
official Twitter app for Android only works
A browser-based solution has on 1/3 of Android devices.
a lower entry barrier than an app
The browser is preinstalled on the smart- Browsers also come in different flavors.
phone; your app is not. To get to the app, But the protocols, formats and web stan-
several steps must be taken: go to the app dards provide a mature framework to
store, search for the app you want (you develop within.
need to know the name beforehand), click

15
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Apps vs. Browsers

App stores are walled gardens Make sure your normal web-
Apple’s unpredictable and dimly-lit poli- site has a workable mobile version
cies on what content is allowed and what without Flash
is not allowed highlights a major problem Your website is the entry point for most
for app developers: you are not in control of your mobile audience – make sure they
of your distribution. You are subject to an have a good experience
approval process which is, at best, slow
and strict, and at worst, unpredictable and Links are important
censoring. Not so in the browser. It sounds almost archaic in this web 3.0
world to be talking about the importance
of hyperlinks. But none the less, this ba-
There’s a general sense that if you can get sic element of the web is still what ties it
the user to download and install an app, all together. Sharing interesting content
you’ve really engaged with him, and you among friends is key. It’s an often over-
can maintain an ongoing relationship. looked fact that mobile apps provide no
global system for sharing content outside
Don’t bet on this to be true, no matter themselves or for deep-linking. With apps,
what. Apps are plentiful, and you will still you’ve left the sharing to those already in
be fighting for attention. the know who have the app installed.

Those who don’t – the ones that you are

most interested in reaching – face the high
entry barrier discussed earlier, before they
can get in on the fun.

16
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Tablets – the Expansion of Mobile Read On.

Read On.

Tablets – the Expansion of Mobile

With the rise of tablets and e-readers,

“mobile” is no longer equal to just “smart- Read On.
phones”. The iPad has opened up a new
flank in the fight for mobile users, and
a multitude of more or less comparable
devices have already arrived or have been
announced.

This widens the complexity even further,

with the possibility of operating systems The operating systems likely to
like Windows 7, Chrome OS and WebOS dominate this market may be dif-
to be considered as well when discussing ferent from the Smartphone OS’s
mobile strategies. As long as the iPad is the go-to device on
this market, you will have it relatively easy.
Tablets need to be considered separately, They are both based on the iPhone OS,
mainly due to two aspects: albeit with minor modifications, and Apple
has done a good job of iPhone/iPad com-
The device and user mindset is patibility. Apps can be ported, and browser
radically different from the smart- behavior is identical.
phone scenario
A tablet user can be a mobile user, but will However, this is not a permanent situa-
rarely be in the same mindset. It will often tion. It’s likely that we’ll see an increas-
be a laid back situation, casual browsing, ing amount of tablet computers reaching
entertainment, and not the same focus on considerable market share, based on either
quick accessible on-the-spot information. Windows 7, WebOS, Chrome OS and
Also, the device has a much larger screen, others. When this happens, the world will
begging for color, life and detail. once again become even more complex.

17
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
The Future of Flash and HTML5

The Future of Flash and HTML5 Flash is Everywhere – Except Mobile

You can’t read five articles about mobile Prior to the mobile data revolution – led
platforms without six of them being about by Apple’s iPhone since 2007 – Flash was
Flash and HTML5. a safe bet when creating cool, interactive,
rich content that would be accessible “ev-
It’s the million dollar question: is Flash dy- erywhere”. Flash is still available on more
ing? Is HTML5 taking over? And what is than 99% of computers and still a safe bet
HTML5 anyway? when making non-mobile content.

Let’s shed some light on the situation.

18
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
Flash is Everywhere - Except Mobile Read On.

Read On.

Adobe is Moving On

However, for mobile content, three major Adobe, the company behind Flash, is do-
obstacles have appeared: ing what it can to increase support for Read On.
Flash on mobile devices, but it’s an uphill
Apple is not supporting Flash on battle and the inclusion in Android comes
neither iPhone nor iPad. While this was very late. Adobe has been smart about
originally seen as a potentially temporary their product strategy, though: they are
situation, it’s recently become abundantly not hinging everything on Flash, rather
clear that Apple will NOT include support they are publicly expressing their support
for Flash on their mobile devices any time for HTML5 and have announced their
soon. We are tempted to add EVER. dedication to developing the best produc-
tion tools for this standard, just like they
Until June 2010, no other smart- today provide the best production tools for
phones were able to run Flash either, due Flash. This does not mean that Adobe is
to the heavy resource consumption. With leaving Flash dead in the water – they will
the recent release of Android 2.2, code- continue to push for mobile inclusion, and
name Froyo, support for Flash has been they are the first to point out that Flash is
included. However, as the previous chapter still the most widely used content platform
on Android fragmentation pointed out, for interactive, rich content for everything
this doesn’t mean that Flash content will non-mobile.
be playable by the majority of Android
devices out there any time soon.

Existing Flash content was de-

signed for keyboard and mouse input, not
touch-screen devices, and for much larger
screens than the smartphones offer. Thus,
the vast majority of flash content out there
will not work as intended on smartphones.

19
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
What is HTML5?

What is HTML5?

After all this talk about Flash, it’s time to You can use HTML5 specific tags on your
take a look at the supposed adversary, website today – they’ll just be ignored if ac-
HTML5. What is it, and how can it be use- cessed with a browser that doesn’t support
ful? them.

HTML5 is the upcoming and latest revi-

sion of the HTML standard. The HTML5
specification is currently only a draft in
progress, but the draft specifications have
been adopted by a number of browser ven-
dors. Technically, HTML5 is an extension
of HMTL4 with some modifications to
existing tags, but primarily with additions
of new functionality.

Today’s browser support of the draft is

partial at best. The major browsers differ
in their (partial) implementation of the
draft. As an example, here’s an overview
of how different browser versions support
the popular HTML5 <video> tag, enabling
the browser to play back video without the
use of third party extensions:

Source: Webmonkey

20
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
What is HTML5? Read On.

Read On.

As you can see, HTML5 support is current- Looking ahead, there’s no doubt that
ly missing from Internet Explorer, which HTML5 will mature into a final and Readdocu-
On.
has a market share of 60% on non-mobile mented standard, that all latest versions of
devices. Only the upcoming IE9 will have all browsers will support it, and that it will
partial support for the HTML5 standards be a cornerstone for online content.
as currently drafted.
HTML5 is the future of the web – but
What gives HTML5 momentum and suc- not the present. When looking broadly
cess – apart from the absence of Flash on at the market, it’s still way too early to
smartphones – is the fact that the entire bet on HTML5 as the only way to go. A
browser community has rallied around the huge number of users will not be able to
standard as “the future of the web”. This see your content, if you base it solely on
was clearly demonstrated at the recent HTML5 – you will need solid fallback
Google IO 2010 conference: solutions. For mobile users, however, the
situation is dramatically different.

Source: Google I/O 2010

21
Strategic guide for bringing content to mobile devices
HTML5 and Mobile Users

HTML5 and Mobile Users HTML5 is Not a Full-Fledged Alter-

native to Flash
As displayed above, HTML5 is not a ”mo-
bile standard”, but because of the wide Even if HTML5 was fully approved and
use of Safari and Chrome-based brows- adopted by all browsers, it’s important to
ers (which both support HTML5 through stress that HTML5 wouldn’t be capable
the Webkit framework) on the popular of doing all the things Flash is able to do
smartphone devices based on iPhone OS today. Consider HTML5 as a useful sup-
and Android, and because Flash (until very plement that raises the bar considerably
recently) was unavailable on any smart- for what kind of advanced user interaction
phones, the Flash versus HTML5 debacle you can do in a browser without the need
has had a prominent position when dis- for third party plug-ins like Flash. But in
cussing mobile strategies. Selected use of its current draft, it still has a way to go to
HTML5 has grown immensely in actual reach the bar set by Flash.
use on mobile devices. Simple video play-
back has been the ”killer application” for So, what does this all mean? It means that
HTML5. as long as you’re in the browser of a mo-
bile device, there are limitations to how
fancy you can make your service.

22
Profitable Magazine Publishing - Conclusion
Read On.

Read On.

Conclusion

Summarizing the points made in this

whitepaper: Focus on iPhone and Android Read
for On.
now – create a Webkit optimized experi-
The mobile arena is messy and com- ence without using Flash
plex, and it’s not getting better any time
soon. It will increase in complexity and Make sure your normal website has
continue to change rapidly a workable mobile version without Flash
– this is the entry point for most of your
There’s no magic solution – it will mobile audience
take effort to bring your content to a mo-
bile audience if you want the full effect of Flash is not dead – but on mobile
reaching your audience on the move devices you need to ignore it for now

Don’t get bogged down in technol- HTML5 is the future of the web –
ogy – focus first and foremost on your but not quite the present. Use it for video
content and your product offerings playback on mobile devices

Repurpose, re-think. Respect the size Cover the mobile browser first, then
of the screen, the nature of the device and consider apps if your need for advanced
the mindset of your audience interactivity is high

23
Profitable Magazine Publishing - Acknowledgements

Sources:

http://www.businessoffashion.com/2010/04/fashion-2-0-why-

brands-should-focus-on-mobile-web-not-mobile-apps.html

http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/30/mobile-data-traffic-rise-40-fold/

http://www.juniperresearch.com/shop/products/whitepaper/pdf/

Mobilising,%20Socialising,%20Monetising!%20-%20S.pdf

http://www.webmonkey.com/2010/05/where-on-the-web-is-html5

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/ipad.html

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/26/100426fa_fact_

auletta

http://technologizer.com/2010/05/23/android-fragmentation/

http://www.examiner.com/x-38819-Dallas-Web-20-

Examiner~y2010m3d30-Mobile-data-traffic-to-rapidly-increase-

within-5-years-Will-cost-to-consumers-follow

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/05/29/the-age-of-the-mobile-

mash-up/

http://gizmodo.com/5199933/giz-explains-all-the-smartphone-

mobile-app-stores

http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/02/25/report-app-stores-

compared-store-growth/