September 2004 saw a rash of media companies jump on the “We’re launching a Java portal too!!” bandwagon. This includes The Sun, MTV, GMTV (UK breakfast TV), Celador (Millionaire) and Endamol (Big Brother).
3 months later and things are curiously quiet on this front, with the exception of The Sun launching a new WAP portal, with nary a mention of anything to do with Java.
I did mention at the time that Java Portals might not be the Holy Grail you might expect – actually, “portal” is slightly misleading as it conjures up images of Yahoo on your phone, even though literally, it might be true that it’s a gateway to more content. We’re actually talking about an application (like a game) that you download and store on your phone. This app can then be updated from time to time with new content.
There are various problems with this approach, assuming you can make a case for the user to give away valuable storage space on their phone, in the first place. Firstly, Java is a bitch to develop for (sorry, Sun). This may change in the future, but configuring an application for all the different phones out there is a major headache – or a big opportunity if you an offer handset testing.
Secondly, there’s an awful lot of developers who don’t seem to have a clue about usability. Tom Hume writes:
I’ve just had a look at the advertising for Opera’s MyFone service (referenced in the article above), and from a consumer point of view it looks awful.
It’s a shop-front for ringtones and logos that sits on my phone. Err… why? How many consumers are out there right now wanting to browse a store of ringtones, but can’t be bothered to start up their WAP browser (usually 1-click from the idle screen of their phone these days)?
Anyhow, I downloaded the free trial, installed it (hmm… “untrusted” eh?) and gave it a whirl. First time I run it, it hangs. Second time I get through to a screen where I’m invited to give the app to a friend, and have the option of “exit” or “cancel”. I cancel and get a NullPointerException. Third time lucky I sit around for a bit (15 seconds – I timed it) and eventually get through to the main menu.
OK, let’s look at java games… puzzles… hmm, “footrix”, I wonder what this is. Click on “footrix” and I’m told that the handset needs to connect to the network. I can’t cancel this – I have to either OK it or exit the whole application. So I select an access point and go online, wait a while, and download my “free preview of footrix”.
Ah, the free preview is actually a picture – a shrunk version of the games splash screen, which doesn’t really help me make a purchase decision. I suspect most game purchasers won’t spend £4.50 on the basis of a pretty splash screen either.
According to Opera blurb, branded WAP sites “lack speed, ease of use and are generally considered unintuitive”. You could make a case for that being true… but at least the WAP experience is consistent between sites and integrated into handsets at a fundamental level. The MyFone experience is no faster than going onto your operator portal (13 seconds for me to get to Orange World, vs 15 seconds to start up MyFone), it’s frequently much less intuitive, doesn’t add any value to my mobile, and just feels like a cheap attempt to squeeze out cash.
Some of this is forgivable: building easy-to-use Java apps for the mass market is difficult, and certainly involves much more than just bashing out the code. But some of it seems like cynical cashing in on the intersection of the ringtone and Java portal bandwagons.
Not so easy, you see.
I do think there’s a place for Java applications on phones and maybe Big Media can crack it. But it’s going to be an expensive learning curve for them, with a dubious ROI. Far better methinks to tap into the established WAP user market with a well designed and easily navigable WAP site. Did you know that WAP now enjoys 1.1 billion page impressions a month? So much for the “WAP is crap” mantra of 2000.
I’m not writing Java off by any means. But unless you have very deep pockets, I’d hang fire on jumping on this particular “portal” bandwagon and wait for some significant improvements.
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