Abrams Research Blog

What do one-third of Stanford iPhone users have in common? No, it’s not their type A personalities; they’ve all expressed fear of becoming addicted to their iPhones. Not such a surprise, considering the iPhone supplies access to the three things undergraduates need most: music, phone and CampusFood.com. So for those unlucky Stanfordians the following will be exciting and terrifying à la fois: Apple may decide to try its hand at location-based services. That’s right, as of last week, Apple is seeking a patent for a proprietary social mobile network tool, aptly (or unfortunately—how over the iMotif are you?) named, “iGroups”. read more »

Oh, Apple App Store. So beautiful, so hated by your peers. Who wouldn’t envy your seamless integration with multiple devices, inviting interface, and free applications? But it’s understandable—everyone loves to secretly (or not so secretly) hate the person at the top, especially if they actually deserve to be there.

Which is why it’s not surprising that the rest of the mobile applications world has schemed to cook up a new plan of attack. That’s right, 24 mobile giants will be teaming up to form the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), an alliance to create a global marketplace for non-Apple users.

At this point, it’s possible that one half of your brain may be screaming “Too many cooks in the kitchen!” while the other stands frozen in terrified awe. Could U.S. carriers and device manufacturers such as Verizon, Sprint and AT&T and Samsung, as well as international partners like Orange, Vodafone and state-owned (I repeat, state-owned) China Mobile possibly agree on a single mobile applications platform? Not to mention, an applications marketplace where developers will have to adjust for countless devices, carriers and operating systems?  If possible, the collaboration could result in one of the most profitable undertakings ever.  But could a union whose members are intrinsically programmed to destroy one another truly last? Many think not. read more »

Imagine this: two girls age 10 and 12 became trapped in a storm drain in Australia, and used a cell phone to update their Facebook status and alert their friends and family to their predicament.

It should be noted that cell phones also have features for dialing the police.

Social networking is more popular than email, nowadays, and mobile devices have adapted to bring social media into the realm of instant contact. We rely on social networking and the age of the instant as our new modes of communication. It is not merely that social networking features exist in mobile devices, but people are using them more and more their default mode of communication (even in emergency situations!)

Mobile devices are adapting their technology to accommodate users’ need for social media connectivity. Mobile devices are modeling their social media integration after social media programs such as TweetDeck, and all of the new applications that are coming out for mobile devices further fuel the need for instant information. Starbucks has created an app that allows users to order their coffee from their mobile device, pay through the same device, and locate the nearest store to pick it up from. Users do not even have to wait in line anymore. Everything is about ease of use and instantaneous access.

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Counterpoint:

Do you know what I love about the internet? It’s the entertainment and humor it provides for me and millions of other people. Internet memes are as popular as ever, Youtube never seems to stop having cute videos of cats, and there’s always an endless supply of Chuck Norris jokes that never get old. So when the iPhone app ‘AMP UP Before you score’ made its way onto my phone, do you know what I did? I laughed and then laughed some more after using it.

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Point:

While it is no where near as offensive as “Baby shaker” or “Booty call” (rejected by apple for their inappropriate content) Pepsi’s “AMP UP Before You Score” iPhone app is, from a female perspective, degrading. The idea that you could divide women into 24 distinct categories and provide information that will allow men to “score” with them after a 4-5 category “brief” on their interests/lingo/and behavior suggests that women fit into cookie-cutter models and can be easily broken down with the ability to throw out a couple buzzwords, take them to a vegetarian restaurant, or know where the nearest country club is. Not only is the division into categories offensive, but one of the categories is TWINS! The “Foreign Exchange Student” category even includes a link to information on citizenship to “help her stay in the US.” She might not even WANT to stay here, so you may end up insulting her even more than if she knew you were using this app to try to get into her pants. In addition, the app allows our up-standing gentlemen to press a tab labeled “brag” and add the categorized girl to his “Brag list,” with her name, date of hook-up, and comments about it. You can keep a tally of how many girls in each category you have hooked up with. This is your little black book not only mobile, but complicit. You can even send your “brag list” to your buddies via Facebook, Twitter, and Email. Locker room conversations eliminated completely.

So ladies, the next time you’re out on a Saturday night, and a guy tries to talk to you while looking at his iPhone, check to make sure he’s not using this app, because anyone who would USE this application is dumber than the application itself.

Gentlemen, let’s move on.

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I’m watching mostly-naked women jumping on trampolines. At this point, you’re probably thinking one of two things:

A. Damn, that’s hottt

B. Oh great, just what the world needs — more undernourished naked girls flaunting their “assets”

But despite your fascination/revulsion at my initial statement, I should point out that I’m not actually hanging out at some fetish party.  No, I’m merely browsing Apple’s app store.  Yes, somehow the moral guardians at Apple have let a few questionable creations into their store.

And so, today, my esteemed colleagues Lindsay and Tanvir are going to debate the merits of those raunchy iPhone apps that are either brilliant and hilarious, or useless and misogynistic.   You decide.