I love it when I come away from a conference inspired of thinking about doing new things or doing things differently. This was definitely the case at The Big M mobile conference in Bath.
Two presentations made the point that the next generation of features on mobiles - called the experience platform by Paul Golding - will enable users to get things done easily and quickly on mobile handsets.The platform will sit on top of apps and make the whole user experience of getting things done a whole lot easier.
When I say 'things' it could be anything - a transaction, organising ourselves and others online, finding where a bus stops on its journey - the things we do on mobiles that currently are clunky or not even achievable - unless you are a tech wizard with lots of time on your hands.
This is the slide from Paul Golding's presentation that describes the shift to experience platforms. And below is a slide from Ewan Macleod which describes how such a platform would benefit the user.
This slide was one of many slides Ewan Macleod used in his presentation to describe how he would like to be able to use his mobile to give him a seemless experience. This slide shows what could happen when you pay for a meal at a business meeting in a hotel.
What he describes is an intuitive transaction that does all the things he requires it to - quick and easy. Currently this is a complex process that would require different systems to be talking to each other. But it is not an impossible ask. The phone links you to your bank, to the hotel systems, they talk to each other.
Powerful stuff from a user experience perspective and I guess this is why we might start to talk about 'experience' platforms. Using your mobile to intuitively and seemlessly and usefully do the things you need to do on the move.
So, while we are all still looking to develop apps it would be as well to think about the user context and what would really be helpful. Paul Golding went on to talk about some of the services that are emerging that will power these platforms so we are not far away from this becoming a reality.
It's an interesting area . . .