Setting the scene
Figure 1 Increasing the base of mobile developers
Terminals are rapidly evolving in their ability to support Web technologies. The next couple of years will see the browser transition from an information retrieval tool to a
Web Runtime environment capable of supporting client-based Web apps such as Widgets.
By leveraging Web technologies, such an execution environment will be accessible to anyone with basic Web skills, lowering entry barriers and creating a new landscape for developing and deploying mobile applications.
This in turn will encourage the Internet players to cross the chasm from desktop to mobile and drive innovation in the mobile space at a pace that will see it catching up if not overtaking that of the fixed Internet over the next few years.
What is a Widget?
Put simply, a Widget is a small Web application that provides easy access to a specific part of the Web.
Widgets can be as simple as delivering a weather forecast, or as complex as enabling a user to quickly and easily monitor their status in an eBay auction and be notified via the home screen if they’ve been outbid (subject to platform capabilities).
As such, Widgets provide an easy method for users to supplement the functionality of their devices just as they customise with ringtones and wallpapers today.
Figure 2 Checking bus times ...
Benefits to users
From a user’s perspective, Widgets provide a number of benefits:
- Quick access to Web information used on a regular basis (faster than using a browser)
- Widgets are also more efficient since they only need to download the data that needs to be refreshed rather than a complete Web page as would be the case if browsing
- Widget (or Widget gallery) 1 or 2 clicks away
- Optimised UI (compared to navigating around a full Web page in a browser)
- Possibility of Widget notifications on the Home Screen
- Possibility of leveraging user data and context via device APIs to personalise Widget contents (e.g, Weather Widget providing forecast for actual location)
- Enables users to supplement the functionality of their devices just as they customise with ringtones and wallpapers today
- For those users not using the mobile Internet, the Widget approach provides a good way of delivering useful information without the user having to use a browser or even know they are accessing the Web
Proposition options
Figure 3 Widget accessed via Home Screen
Widgets can be presented to the user in a number of ways, the simplest being the Widget just being regarded as another application on the device (and hence located and invoked from the Applications folder, for example).
A more useful paradigm is one of a Widget Gallery whereby a collection of Widgets can be easily accessed through a single interface. As well as this making life easier for the user it also facilitates the concept of Widgets being represented by dynamic icons in the Gallery, the icons themselves providing a summary of the Widget status.
So with a Weather Widget the icon could show the weather for that current day whilst clicking on the icon opens the full Weather Widget providing a 5-day forecast.
Ideally such a Widget Gallery would be easily accessed through 1-click from the home screen, either by opening a tab (as shown above) or simply using one of the soft keys.
Future evolution
By leveraging device APIs on the terminal Widgets can also be contextualised - a weather Widget delivering a forecast based on the user's actual location.
Figure 4 Mashing up user data with Web information
In fact, given the range of device APIs available from the terminal (PIM data, photos, video, messaging, call handling etc.) and the breadth of information on the Web, the opportunities for developing Widgets are endless.
In time, Widget-like functionality is likely to become an integral part of the user interface of the mobile phone. For instance, weather forecasts and sports fixtures automatically populating the calendar (RSS & iCal), Flickr photos being linked through entries in the address book, and maps becoming a new way of viewing information.
A Web Runtime is essentially an evolution of the mobile browser that enables small applications to be deployed and executed locally leveraging the rendering and scripting capabilities of the browser
