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Home > Pipeline > 2007 > Autumn > Technology Spotlight
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Technology Spotlight: Behold, the Power of the Widget

The term "idle screen," referring to the initial home page of a mobile device, is really a misnomer since it plays such an active role in the overall mobile user experience. Today, the idle screen is a window to the vast array of content and services available to the subscriber. It can also act as a branded storefront for handset makers, operators and content providers, but we'll get to that a little later.

What's the Problem?
 
A few years ago, mobile operators suffered from a lack of compelling content. Today they are challenged with too much content and no easy way for their subscribers to discover it. With more choice than ever before, why do most subscribers resist using their phone for anything other than voice calls and text messaging? The answer lies in the user experience.

In theory, the walled garden approach (operator portals) has always been a smart alternative to forcing users to surf the open web on a mobile device. In practice, however, portals don't make it easy enough to find content. Even as handsets become faster and more capable of delivering rich content, users continue to be overwhelmed and discouraged by a poor navigation and discovery experience. If discovering content requires too many clicks and confusing sub-menus, they won't bother.

Search vs. Discovery
 
It should be noted here that discovering content isn't the same as searching for content. Operators that have sought to drive consumer engagement by boosting their mobile search capabilities haven't found clear success. Search is an extra step and users who search for content usually know what they're looking for. Discovering content is a more intuitive and immediate process, a process that must be linked to a superior interface.

So if a poor user experience stands in the way of consumer access to content and services, how can operators make the most of the small and limited real estate presented by the mobile screen and deliver simple and immediate experiences to mobile users?

Enter the Widget
 
Simple applications known as widgets have gained a strong foothold in the PC environment and may hold the key to solving the complex challenges of mobile usability, branding and content discovery.

Widgets can perform a range of functions across a wide variety of use scenarios. On a mobile device, widgets usually appear as small icons on the idle screen. They can also appear as complete applications (like a sports ticker). Subscribers use widgets to personalize their devices by raising popular services and content to the highest level -- the idle screen -- in the form of buttons or content modules.

The key to widgets' strength is the fact that they are relatively small, very simple, and perform specific functions. They can even include live information or media that the service provider pushes over a network either on demand, on an assigned schedule, or triggered by an event.

The immediate value of mobile widgets is in the simple way they solve content and service discovery for the end user. Widgets let the user discover, organize, and access the services and media they care about without the complexity and clutter of sophisticated navigation.

Widgets also play a key role in device UI branding and differentiation. Handset makers use widgets to create distinctive devices that can be easily customized for different market requirements. Operators use them to brand the user experience. And that is where the real beauty of widgets lies.

Oxymoron Alert: "Mass Customization"
 
Operators want branded products that provide consistency across their device and service portfolio but flexible enough to be personalized by the subscriber. Device makers need to produce competitive products in high volumes in order to be successful, but device customization is time consuming and expensive. Not surprisingly, users end up with a limited number of products that are designed and built to address the broadest possible customer base.

Thanks to widgets, user interface elements that are normally hard-coded in the device and difficult to change can be improved and easily modified. The flexibility of a widget-based product capitalizes on the common components and platforms of mass produced devices and adds the value of customization according to market segments and individual subscribers.

The Bottom Line
 
Widgets give operators the ability to deliver a differentiated service portfolio and tailor the experience to individual users while maximizing the economics of volume production. But widgets aren't a magic bullet. The challenge now is for mobile operators to extend the benefit of these lightweight apps into the mobile market to drive adoption of mobile data services and real customer engagement.

Openwave's approach to this challenge is an integrated client platform that shares a common framework and user interface across applications. The key elements include Openwave MIDAS (Mobile AJAX and Widgets), its mobile browser, and messaging applications that together create a flexible and rich service delivery and user experience environment.

To learn more about Openwave Mobile Widgets and their complete line of client products, contact your Openwave sales representative.

  



 
Index Autumn 2007
Introduction
Interview: John Boden, Openwave's SVP, Product Management
Me 2.0
Technology Spotlight: Behold, the Power of the Widget
Overtime: Ikholwa Home, Johannesburg, South Africa
 
 
 
 
 
If mobile operators and service providers want to sell more content, then they are going to have to remove the pain from the content discovery process and provide users with precisely what they want – perhaps even before they know they need it.

—Informa's Mobile Search & Content Discovery report
 
 
 
 
Openwave Mobile Widgets is a AJAX-based solution that enables compelling and highly relevant mobile widgets to be integrated directly into the idle screen of any device. 
 
 
 
 
 Openwave Mobile Widgets Datasheet 
Openwave Sells Mobile Phone Client Software Business To Purple Labs
 
Press Release - 06/30/2008 
Openwave Expands Client Product Portfolio with Key Product Introductions
 
Press Release - 02/12/2008 
 
 
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