There is a fantastic post on the Union Square Ventures blog about innovation in the mobile space, particularly “native” apps. (Full Post)
The challenge for startups (and investors!) has been identifying opportunities that are “native” to the new platforms. By “native” we mean opportunities that simply did not exist previously and cannot exist without the phone.
The key point being that the mobile experience is different than the current web experience. Simply taking what has been done online and transferring it to smart phones, ignores the true innovation that can occur on in mobile.
Why is this happening now,
Carriers seem to have lost their role as gatekeepers for applications as smartphone sales are rapidly ramping and “app stores” or direct downloads are the new distribution models.
Any developer can now produce unique apps for mobile phones. Talk to anyone who was developing in the mobile space 5 years ago and you will hear the horror stories associated with dealing with carriers and getting on deck.
There are 5 key areas that USV addresses, as a starting point, for mobile differentiation: Location, Proximity, Touch, Audio Input and Video Input. Now that all of these have converged to be on one device it has created a new opportunity.
Location, proximity and touch are why we are so excited about the mobile space and the opportunities for UpNext. (If you are unfamiliar with what we do, take a look at the video below)
Location
Being a mapping application location is core to what we do. Whether that is locating you through the GPS locator or allowing users to quickly navigate the map, we want to make it easy to find your current or intended location.
Proximity
Once you know where you are or where you are going, it is important to see what’s around you. Keywords search, category search, community favorites, etc are all ways for users to see what is around them. We also display these search results to be highly correlated to the area you are looking on the map.
Touch
Our tap search (the ability to tap on buildings to see what’s there) is one of the most popular features on UpNext. It truly takes advantage of the innovative features of mobile phones while making the entire experience easier. You see us talking a lot about exploration and discovery, and we believe our tap search is the best method for seeing what’s around you.
Using a baseball analogy, we are in the 2nd inning of this new mobile game (maybe even earlier). It is early but the pace of innovation is quickly ramping up. Those who treat the mobile platform as something unique and build “native” apps will reap the rewards.
Would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
