Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

Minnov8 Gang 40: Jobs, iPhone, Pre & Cory

By

ernie-burnsAnother spirited discussion about Steve Jobs and his liver transplant, the iPhone 3Gs, Palm Pre, Cory Doctorow and much more.

This Week’s Show Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson (Graeme Thickins is off today).

m8-spacer

The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 39:38 — 23.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

m8-spacer

Discussed during the show notes:


Minnov8 Gang Podcast 39: A Conversation with Codemorphic

By

codemorphic-iphone2The Gang has a great discussion with Bill Heyman, co-founder of Codemorphic, a rock-solid iPhone development shop (based in Eden Prairie) with significant application credibility through their creation of over a dozen apps such as:

  • Public Radio Tuner (#2 in iTunes store, 2M+ downloads, iTunes link)
  • Cisco/Linksys Media Hub Control
  • Blausen Medical (high resolution medical imagery/videos, iTunes link)
  • Smarter Agent Real Estate*
  • Bacardi*

*Shipping this week.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson.

m8-spacer

The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:05:33 — 38.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

m8-spacer

Discussed during the show notes:

Whip It Out: Your Smartphone Extends Your Mind

By

smartphones

Competition in the mobile phone space is heating up and the smartphone — a mobile phone with computer-like functionality — coupled with ever faster wireless network speeds are changing the way we access news, information, connections with our friends and family, and so much more.

A quick story illustrates one amusing (though not to my wife) use of my iPhone when I first got it. We were at a dinner party when the conversation came around to a particular song, but no one could recall who sang it. As the conversation continued I quickly used the web browser to Google the song name and roughly 30 seconds later blurted out, “Woody Guthrie!”

“Yes!,” everyone cried out simultaneously. “How did you know that,” one woman asked and I whipped out my iPhone to show how I’d quickly and almost instantly found the answer and we then had an interesting conversation about how the world was shifting toward one where we all could have instant access just like that.

A few years ago smartphones were few in number and came from manufacturer’s like Palm (e.g., Treo) and Nokia — and devices powered by Windows Mobile — were robust but somewhat limited in functionality and required an (arguably) geeky nature to use fully. The Blackberry device by Research in Motion (RIM) was a more limited one as far as applications go, but its external keyboard (to many the most important feature) and easy access to email (which was “pushed” to the device automatically) made it the perfect communication appliance for daily business use.

When Apple demonstrated and delivered the game-changing iPhone in June of 2007, its surprising ease of use and simple way to manipulate applications (e.g., pinching and zooming in on a photo or webpage) made a device like this easily accessible to the masses. Because of quick sales of the iPhone and a developer kit to build applications, Apple quickly saw a huge array of applications delivered on the device (more than 25,000 to date). Because of the simplicity of the device and the base of applications already available, sales accelerated to the now installed base of 21.2 million units and the announcement Monday, June 8th of a third generation model (and the second generation lower price point of $99) has caused most observers to see those numbers doubling within a year or so.  …  [Read More…]

Just Eat It!

By

justeatit-articleMinnesota innovation aficionados need look no further than the University of Minnesota campus.  A small group of students, lead by Parag Shah, are balancing curriculum with the hunger pangs to invent, create, and deploy.  The sum of their team is Mxapp LLC, a mobile marketing company that offers targeted, proximity-based advertising to restaurants, gastronomes, and the epicurious.

Their first application, known as LUNCHBOX, is in the process of being rolled off their platform.  LUNCHBOX offers the ability to view, rate and share menu items… all with the tap of a finger (among other features and benefits that are still confidential).  The application is designed to bridge the gap between restaurants and mobile consumers.  LUNCHBOX will inherit mobile ordering capabilities, thus eliminating the need for smartphone users to stand in line at a restaurant.

The Mxapp team visited my offices back several weeks ago and previously I’d worked with Geoff Dutton, one of the Mxapp partners. It comes as no surprise that these guys are poised to take a bite out of consumer migration to smartphones.  Rather than just slap some nifty app together, they have thoughtfully designed their launch for concurrent release on iPhone®, BlackBerry®, and Android®.  In addition, they have been out pounding the pavement — talking with both consumers and restaurateurs– to more intimately understand the needs of users.

Like so many innovators full of conviction but starving for resources, the Mxapp team is seeking to overcome constraints with a daily diet of courage.  Their marketing budget is relegated to word-of-mouth. So, if you want to know what’s good to eat in the neighborhood, open up your LUNCHBOX and find out.  Mxapp is hoping you’ll join their beta program today.

Minnov8 Gang Podcast – Episode 7

By

We were absolutely delighted this week to have three very special guests who joined the Gang for a discussion about ‘net and web innovation in Minnesota:

– Katharine Grayson: Staff Writer for the Twin Cities Business Journal. Katharine covers the internet and web technology beat for the paper, but she’s also expanded into other technologies (e.g., MSP solar array funding, biotech) giving her unique perspectives.

– Julio Ojeda-Zapata: Reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, blogger, and author (his new book, “Twitter Means Business: How Microblogging Can Help or Hurt Your Company” will be on bookshelves soon). Julio can be reached at jojeda@pioneerpress.com. Get more of his perspective on personal tech at twincities.com/techtestdrive and yourtechweblog.com. You can also follow him at twitter.com/jojeda.

– Jon Gordon: Future Tense, a show which you’ve undoubtedly heard broadcast during Minnesota Public Radio’s Morning Edition program. The show is both produced and hosted by Jon Gordon, a Minnesota Public Radio reporter based in Silicon Valley. Follow Jon at twitter.com/jongordon.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins, Phil Wilson

m8-spacer

The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:41 — 37.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

m8-spacer

Show Notes:

+ Julio’s post on Minnesota Public Radio’s new, free iPhone app (get it here) done by Codemorphic

+ Discussion on broadband where Minnesota’s Ultra High Speed Broadband task force came up (latest minutes are here in this PDF) and Jon mentioned a show he’d done (here) and his interview with a cybersecurity firm called Packet Clearing House.

+ As you listen, you may notice at times the audio is a bit “hot” and I apologize for that — there’s a bit more distortion than normal and I couldn’t minimize it enough in post-production. We tried a new, high quality ‘bridge’ recording platform (HiDefConferencing) — instead of using a single Gang-member hosted Skype conference call — and while it allowed our guests to easily call in with a combination of Skype, landlines or mobile phones, it was more challenging to control levels. I’ll have it figured out by next time.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:41 — 37.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

CodeMorphic Is One of the First In Line with iPhone Apps

By

It’s almost the end of the week and, being a site centered on tech and innovation, I believe we have been remiss in not including a picture of a 3G iPhone and a story having something to do with it. Well…when the iPhone AppStore opens in July, Minnesota startup CodeMorphic is all set with native applications for iPhones of all kinds.

Longtime friends Damon Allison and Bill Heyman launched the company in early March, coincidentally around the time as the Apple iPhone SDK release. There is a sense of serendipity about how they landed in the first group of iPhone developers among the two but they believe their focus and quality coding was the key to being noticed and landing at the front of the line. They feel their singular focus on just building native applications for the iPhone, and not moving into other mobile platforms, will prove to be the best business model.

Heyman noted there is tremendous opportunity for application development in the enterprise market. “There will be great growth in developing internal corporate applications.” Areas like work flow, communication are clearly opportunities.  Heyman continues “Right now that’s an area dominated by Blackberry so we see more needs for those types of applications for iPhone.” The consumer is the other opportunity. “Consumer focused applications that promote the brand, for example if General Mills were to target a younger consumer, where the iPhone or iPod Touch are really popular, they could develop an application or game that is tailored to them.”…  [Read More…]