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At the Asian Network Mela on August 12th 2007 we launched a bluetooth sharing application for mobiles called Collect and Share, using technology that was created by a company called .

It’s a simple concept, a person is able to download and install the application on their phone and to start with they have this screen with some pieces of content that they can view, things like audio and video:

To unlock more content that person then has to share their unlocked assets with someone else using bluetooth.

Typically an app like this is distributed at an event via a bluetooth hub that searches for phones that have Bluetooth switched on and sends a message asking the owner of the mobile if they want to receive the application. The good thing is that your friend doesn’t need to have the Collect and Share app installed to receive content from your phone.

Three types of content are available, video, for example Dj Kayper scratching, audio such as a 30 second Bobby Friction mix and images of the various Asian Network presenters all of which come embedded within the app. The screenshot on the left is how we originally envisioned the interface to work when viewing video and the one on the right is the final implementation:

To keep the file size down we had to make a few compromises, so no full screen video unfortunately, the bitrate for audio had to be kept to a minimum and technical constraints also resulted in not having prompts like the progress bar. Constraints aside the Collect and Share as a concept has lots of potential. Cost is often an issue that puts people off downloading files onto their phones and so this provides an easy way to distribute content.

In terms of the design we tried to be playful, so instead of the usual system pop-ups you get when searching for devices and sending stuff it all happens in the app with the appropriate look and feel.

To get people started we created a prompt to introduce the idea of view and sending content:

This example is when you search and send content to someone:

We initially had a game like interface in mind, something along the lines of the very addictive game for the DS . However this couldn’t be implemented as Future Platforms gave us a grid structure we had to adhere to (although its still something I’d like to explore at another time). For fans of the Lyriscist Lounge albums it by sheer coincidence that the look and feel bears a small similarity to the album cover of the second volume:

Creating small, simple experiences like this is also a really good complement to an event. It gives you something to do while you’re waiting in a queue, you get something special to keep on your phone and something to share with your friends. The social aspect of collect and share is that bit that excites me the most. There are a few products around such as the that enables you to be alerted of other Sensor users nearby, exchange messages and view user profiles. A recent project from a team of researchers at Bath University have created a facebook tool called . It’s an app that scans for other phones and lets you know if the people you bump into regularly on the street are also using Cityware and if you want to add them to your facebook account. There are lots more projects in this area that I could mention such as and that introduce unique ways to create social networks with other people out on the street but that’s for another post. Although Collect and Share does not enable you to create and track social networks like the projects I’ve just mentioned, the hands on pass it on element is inspiring to see in action. Having observed friends using it, the comment that was mentioned the most was that it takes you back to swapping stickers in the playground. It’s always nice to be transported back to you’re youth I think! Hopefully the Collect and Share application is an experiment we can build on in the future as the technology gets better. I’ve posted links to the application below, so that you can have a play and feel free to leave any thoughts you might have.

The following java files will only work on the specific Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones I've listed below:

Nokia 6280, 6233 phones: Download file

Nokia N70, N72, N91, 6630, 6680: Download file

Nokia N73 phones: Download file

Sony Ericsson K750i, W800i, W810, K610i: Download file

Sony Ericsson W550, W600, Z550: Download file

Sony Ericsson K800, W850, W880, T650, W900: Download file