Reading BW on Touch Devices and Location-Based

Again, on the "Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers" iFund. This time, active reading of the BusinessWeek article.

• Kleiner’s Pick for the Killer iPhone App - Annotated

  Altogether somewhat disappointing.

  tags: iPhone, iPod touch, iPhone SDK, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, venture capitalism, investments, software development, Touch devices, Apple, location-based, proximity, home-automation, iFund

  • location-based services may be "the biggest breakout opportunity."
    • We "all know" that location-based is the "Next Big Thing." I just wish there were more creative thinking involved. - post by enkerli
  • home automation application
    • The rest of the article is focused on Pelago and on location-based. Home automation is another "Next Big Thing" which has trouble taking off (apart from a few, specialized usages and camera surveillance). Again, don’t you wish we all went beyond the categories and into something radically new? - post by enkerli
  • Individual User Tracking
    • Ugh! Individualization: yes. Tracking? Not just a privacy issue!! - post by enkerli
  • To make money, Pelago hopes to
    • While it makes a lot of sense in terms of convincing VC, grand "monetization" plans are often where a good service loses opportunities. - post by enkerli
  • clean bathrooms
    • Actually, despite the disgust talking about this may provoke in some circles, this is an important and untapped need. - post by enkerli
  • If Apple CEO Steve Jobs is as impressed as Murphy
    • Sounds unlikely. - post by enkerli
  • feature Whrrl in his June 9 keynote
    • This one is pretty much a given. - post by enkerli
  • Pelago preloaded on the new iPhone
    • Somewhat unlikely. Apple and preloading third-party apps… They have thousands of other developers to take care of. And it doesn’t sound like preloading would be in Apple’s advantage. Besides, the AppStore should make it convenient enough for people to load new apps at any point, it sounds like a better idea to let Pelago enter the "level playing field." OTOH, Apple could introduce similar features, which they’re wont to do. I kind of like the zoo/museum/restaurant ideas. More creative/innovative than Pelago’s, IMHO. - post by enkerli

Funded Development for Touch Devices

• First Venture Capital Funded iPhone Apps: Whrrl, iControl - Mac Rumors

  tags: iPhone, iPod touch, iPhone SDK, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, venture capitalism, investments, software development, Touch devices, Apple, location-based, proximity, home-automation

  • Been waiting for more info about the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers VCing of software development for Apple’s Touch devices (through the so-called “iPhone SDK”). Their decision to throw so much money in the Touch devices pot sounded like a rather radical move, especially in this climate. But it was possibly a move to wake up a whole industry. Unsurprisingly, the first two products are associated with well-known “Next Big Thing” concepts: location-based recommendations and home automation. - post by enkerli

It’s quite possible that these two projects are more radically innovative than they sound at first blush but they do relate to well-known concepts. I personally have high hopes for location-based services but I wish these services were taken in new directions.