MGN Interview with



MGN Interview with

 



Mobile Gadget News has caught Eric Carls
on, co-founder of ConnectedBits
for a few questions about his new venture with partner David Mitchell. Both Carl
and Dave were key architects of Microsoft's highly productive alliance with MIT.
They are now focused on connecting the mobile community with innovative
solutions.



MGN:
Can
you give a brief description of your background and what sparked you to start
Connected Bits?




Eric: 
Dave
and I left Microsoft Research to start Connected Bits, a software development
house specializing in connected applications for mobile devices. We believe the
rapid growth of smart, connected devices and Web services is creating amazing
new opportunities as well as significant challenges. For more information on our
backgrounds you can check out our soulless corporate bios


here.




MGN: 
What
made you decide to do a Weather 
information client first?

I really like the one button push to get the weather on my SmartPhone.




Eric: 

We
wanted to get our feet wet with a well-understood and widely-used application
domain that would demonstrate the potential of these new devices. We had
significant enterprise software experience but were new to developing mobile
apps, where the real art is providing a compelling solution within the
device’s limitations. We agonized over the user interaction model, the
location of every pixel, how to deal with intermittent connectivity, and how to
best serve up the data – but in the end we were very happy with the results.

 






MGN: 
The
MS based mobile market is currently segmented into the PocketPC type devices and
the SmartPhone devices. Are you trying to target one device or the other? 


Eric: 
It
seems like the line between the two is blurring more every day. We’re
targeting connected devices, and will support the popular form factors.







MGN: 
Do
you see specific information clients (e.g., Weather) becoming widespread among
the mobile community?



Eric:
We
do. The way people interact with mobile devices is very different than the
desktop. The interface limitations of the devices and the fragmented manner in
which mobile users interact with them favors applications that do one thing
really well.







MGN: 
Your
working on another application called
Bounce.
What is Bounce?






 

Eric:


In
addition to developing mobile solutions for our clients, we develop applications
to explore the possibilities of rich, connected, mobile applications. Bounce is an online community-based game designed to recreate the atmosphere of pub trivia
on devices from mobile phones to set-top-boxes.






MGN: 
Where
do you see technology convergence going with regards to computing and
communications?



Eric: 
For
years personal computing has centered on desktop computers, but as wireless
technology allows us to become un-tethered from our desktops we’re going to
expect our computing experience to travel with us. The key will be to make this
process as frictionless as possible as we move from device to device, and
location to location. A great example of a step in this direction is Apple’s
new AirPort Express technology. This inexpensive device makes it dirt-simple to
play my personalized music library on any stereo in my home. Of course, those
that don’t share my musical taste might not see that as such a good thing. wink.gif







MGN: 
What
type of mobile devices do you use and why?



Eric:


Our
work environment is virtual and very mobile. We utilize wireless notebooks and
smart phone devices and collaborate through, e-mail, instant messaging, and
Groove P2P shared workspaces. This allows us to recreate our working environment
regardless of geographic location. And of course, we never leave home without
our iPods.
 



 MGN thanks both Dave
Mitchell and Eric Carlson for the update on ConnectedBits. We really appreciate
your time. Your Weather client
is very handy and free to download from the site.