At Ublip we’re always thinking about ways to bring our technology to a Web 2.0 world. One example of this is our Share Where product that has been adopted by several universities and non-profits. Share Where allows publishers to easily share the location of a mobile asset with consumers. One request we get time and time again is the ability to support mobile phones. We do provide limited support for mobile phones using Google’s static maps API, but in some cases it’s not as useful as a mobile client.

Let me introduce you to LightPole. Lightpole allows consumers to subscribe to “channels” and access realtime information about restaurants, shows, history and much more based on their current location. There are a lot of companies trying to solve this problem, which there is a definite demand for. So I fired up my LightPole account and within minutes we were tracking the Tufts Joey from one of our mobile phones here in the office. Since I can’t easily provide a screenshot of LightPole running on our phone I’ll provide a screen of the web app:

This was easily done by plugging in our GeoRSS feed and letting LightPole do the rest of the work. There are many different applications where providing realtime GeoRSS feeds to end users can provide tremendous value. Here are a few I can think of:

- Knowing where the city bus is
- Knowing where the pizza guy is
- Knowing where the air conditioning guy is (do I really need to wait around the house from 12-6?)
- Knowing where the shuttle is because I’m about to miss my plane

What if everything had a GeoRSS feed and I could use LightPole to “see” it on my mobile phone? I’ve stated on several occasions (to the point of being a broken record) that getting data from remote devices is not an easy task and that’s why we created our .

The Ublip Foundation is not a non-profit organization, but the name just seemed to stick as we worked frantically to get the product released. A definition of Foundation goes something like:

The basis on which a thing stands, is founded, or is supported.

That about sums up what we’re working hard to do in the location and M2M space. The process of starting with an idea, identifying a device, configuring/programming the device, writing a gateway to talk to the device over UDP/SMS/TCP/SMTP, creating the database schema, and building the Web application is a complex process. There are so many moving parts and areas of expertise needed to create an end-to-end solution.

What we’ve tried to do is create an architecture built on our infrastructure, that makes it easy to jumpstart your application development. We call it the Foundation. Check it out and feel free to contact us if you’re interested in learning more. We should have the ordering process released VERY soon.

I just wanted to share an initiative that we’re working on here at Ublip. We believe there’s a shortage of information and collaboration in the M2M space. There are a lot of hardware manufacturers and wireless carriers releasing independent discussion groups, but they’re mainly centered around promoting/supporting named company’s product. We’re proposing something different. There are so many different moving parts in creating an end-to-end working solution and we’re trying to capture these conversations at M2MForums.com. If you have expertise in hardware, software, wireless networks, or the business side of M2M, then we believe M2MForums is the place for you. Some good discussions are already taking place and please feel free to join our growing community.

As I see it, the leading M2M equipment manufacturers are fighting for market share by chosing one of two device design philosophies. A few are even trying to place their bets on both. Ultimately, the market will decide their fate. The question is whether the market wants “closed” devices with predefined, though configurable, functionality or whether it wants “open” devices with the flexibility to be programmed for a specific application.

In the M2M world today, there are “closed” devices that are configurable, but not programmable, and some that are “open” devices that can be programmed. The largest volume of devices seem to be the “closed” type, but they exist to satisfy several very specific business needs — examples include sub-prime car loans, teen tracking, and various specialized security applications.

When I talk to people who have application ideas, they are very creative about how to use the existing “closed” devices to help them solve a business problem, but often the “closed” device can only get them to the starting gate. So much of their “wish list” requires special features that can’t be justified in a general-purpose device. However, if the specialization can be defined in terms of software and not additional hardware, suddenly the “open” device options become much more attractive.

The tradeoffs are pretty straightforward. “Closed” devices benefit from larger production runs leading to lower costs per unit. With larger numbers come more tested scenarios leading potentially to greater stability and robustness. “Open” devices currently sell fewer numbers, have higher costs, and have been tested less. BUT they also can acheive a wider range of functionality and address a larger number of business solutions.

If “closed” devices are winning on price, volume, and robustness, “open” devices could surge forward by continuing price reductions and the availablity of effective over-the-air programming (OTAP) options, leading to the potential for even greater volume and the hardening through real field use.

Which will win this time? There are serious contenders in both camps. I’m not picking winners here (yet) and am holding off (for now) naming “front runners.” But I’m enjoying watching the battle. Stay tuned…

Here at ublip, we are fans of Agile Software Development. Although we don’t follow any particular flavor to the letter, we definitely like to work in short iterations with a usable product at the end of each one. Shortly after releasing our Ublip Foundation product it occurred to how perfectly suited this product was for agile development.

When you order a Ublip Foundation Instance and at least one device, you get an end-to-end functioning application on day one. We provide you with all of the source code for the web application. What better starting point is there for the first iteration in an agile project? Usually the first iteration or two of projects that involve as many separate components as an M2M application are difficult because it is so hard to achieve end-to-end functionality without a lot of mocking up or an unusually long iteration in which case you tend to lose a lot of the value of the agile development methodology. But with Ublip Foundation, those problems are gone. The application is not exactly what you want, but it is already working; device, network, carrier, webapp, everything. And it is easily customized in small development iterations to get it to where you want it to be.

If you can’t or don’t want to do the development yourself, Ublip Professional Services is there to do it for you. We can do customizations in small chunks, usually 1 week of work at a time. At the end of each iteration, you get a functioning application and you have no commitment to do any more work. You can even decide to switch to an outside development team if you like. We will, of course, work with you to estimate the total size of the project. And we will do a fixed price contract for everything if that’s how you want it, but we really believe that the iterative approach reduces risk for both sides since it is easy to make adjustments for whatever reason.