Not quite.

You see, although HTML5 is demonstrating it can deliver a superb level of design and interactivity, especially with the recent Youtube mobile site, HTML5 relies heavily on the hardware and their respective browsers. You see, HTML5 will not just work on any mobile browser. Go run the HTML5 test on your mobile browser and see what happens. iPhone users using Safari will probably see quite a high score, however should they be using Opera Mini, they will not be pleased with the result.

Once again, this is another example of the mobile industry working at different speeds, and trying to oust each other. If you think developing an HTML5 mobile site is going to resolve the financial issues associated with developing cross platform mobile apps, you are very wrong. HTML5 is, without a shadow of a doubt, going to make the ‘WAP v APP’ argument a helluva lot more complicated, but in the mean time, don’t be blinded by the hype. When browser quality improves across the board, and network speeds and coverage improves, HTML5 will be a genuine consideration. In the mean time, its just a taste of whats to come.

WAP v APP rolls on…for now.

Foursquare offers a more recent and relevant example of turning life into a game, but this latest concept takes the biscuit. Watch the video and get excited. I certainly did! If this isn’t an example of understanding a human beings inherent need for entertainment, anchored with incentivisation, to exploit what is a traditionally mundane activity, I don’t know what is!

It combines an iPhone, a remote control car, an on board microphone, a Virtual Reality headset, Wifi and an Arduino board to create a top driving experience for its user! Gavin is currently developing the project as his major for his degree in Interactive Media Production, and invited me along with his course mates to beta test in the University sports hall (which made the test even better with its slippery surface!).

He has two key objectives for the project:

• WiDrive’s primary objective is to allow a user to control a remote control car using a mobile device, currently this is an iPhone. The user is able to steer the car by tilting the phone using the iPhone’s accelerometer to measure the amount inertia being exerted at each axis of the iPhone. This is then translated to an integer value of which the car can respond to. This data is sent to a third party module on the car using a wireless socket connection, this module takes the place of the standard remote control receiver and sends a pulse width modulation signal to the car’s onboard servo which steers the car from the left to the right. This same method is used to increase and decrease the acceleration of the car.

• WiDrive’s secondary objective is one of immersion. A driver can be mentally transported into the car using a combination of an onboard wireless camera and a pair of video glasses. The aim of this is two fold. It allows the driver to drive out of line of sight and covertly into areas of interest. The second aim is to immerse the user within the driving experience offering something not currently found on the market today.

Having had a play with the it myself, I can say I have not experienced anything quite like it! Initially, I had a go without the headset, but found that I was a little heavy handed with the turning and speed. Once I had the headset on, I found that I was much more aware of the sensitivity of both the acceleration and of the turning.

After a bit of practice and getting comfortable, you become well immersed in the experience and despite crashing it twice (on one occasion the camera flew out like a passenger not wearing a seatbelt), it was still a hell of a lot of fun too!

Gavin Williams is an extremely talented developer on the Interactive Media Production Course at Bournemouth University, a course which continues to produce some truly brilliant design and development talent. I have an array of students I can recommend for placements, grad schemes and internships, so get in touch and I will try and put you in touch with some quality candidates.

In the meantime, check out the awesome video of WiDrive in action below, and pictures of the project in development in Flickr!!

WiDrive Open Beta from Gavin Williams on Vimeo.

I have rapidly established a reputation for ‘iPhone bashing’, which is nothing to do with not owning a suite of Apple Products or disliking Steve Job’s hair. Oh no. For those of you that are not aware, my main ‘beef’ is with brands who do not consider other platforms simply because its a) too hard, b) too expensive/not as cheap as iPhone or c) just want to tick a box that says ‘We have an iPhone app’.

There is a wealth and breadth of great (and some not so great) operating systems out there that can offer brilliant, rich and engaging experiences for their users, that despite having a substantially larger market share than Apple, continue to be overlooked. For a long time I have wanted to put together a presentation to demonstrate this very point, but Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review has pulled it out of the bag.

When it comes down to offering consumer utilities or CRM extensions, it is important to closely consider which platform to employ, but whether you should even consider the mobile web before apps! The iPhone is just 4% of the UK mobile handset share, so can you really justify spending a vast amount of your marketing budget on an app that might reach only 4% of your target audience (assuming your brand is a national brand with a fair reflection of the British population). The most likely scenario is that you cannot.

As mobile moves from ‘bit-part’ to mainstream, the importance of understanding this audience, their handsets and how they interact with brands via their mobile will be of the utmost importance. Mobile ‘strategists’ and planners will, like social media this year, start cropping up at agencies all over the world, and become an integral part of the planning and creative process. And this here, this is your first free piece of advice, condensed into a succinct yet effective presentation from Ewan. Enjoy.

p.s. still need more convincing? Martin Wilson and Tomi Ahonen can offer further support