iPhone and Android apps: Open Innovation with Swisscom Labs

I like my Android phone. And I like the different ones Appsthat are now available in the thousands in the market. By chance I was now up Swisscom Labs drew attention and so I took a look around the website. After all, I always like to try a few new ones Apps from and there seems Swisscom Labs but there is a lot to offer for iPhone and Android. A Swiss website for those with an affinity for technology with the option of being an early adopter of services and Apps to test and share experiences. A platform for users and developers alike to increase the added value and quality of the products in direct contact.

You don't have to be a Swisscom customer to be able to participate, because it is about the dialogue between innovative users and Swisscom and between the users themselves. The online platform Swisscom Labs offers space for developers and users who want to stay ahead. The website is pleasingly lean, clearly laid out and kept simple. So it looks pretty good and offers a lot of information about technology, telecommunications, the world of smartphones and the Internet. Also there is Apps to Android, iPhone, Windows Phone 7, other smartphones and much more. You can find out about new products from Swisscom and its partners, which are often in the beta stage. With this service, developers have a chance to present their work and to face the public and the discussion. Who one Apps or would like to place a product, this can simply be done by email. Swisscom Labs is therefore more than a marketing tool for startups or students and with this Web 2.0 approach it is quite attractive.

Browsing the site, one notices that it is operated with a great deal of enthusiasm and effort. Community building is promoted with competitions, campaigns (such as “Ask the CEO”) and various events. But more on that later, now let's ask ourselves the question: What is it that gives up? Swisscom Labs? A good question, because in addition to news, a forum and a community, as mentioned, there are also many interesting ones Apps required. I want all of this after the jump elaborate…

News
The news offers a good and interesting mix of topics that are geeky and show a wide variety of innovations. For example, Labs users can ask the Swisscom CEO, Carsten Schloter, in the form of comments. In an exclusive interview on the subject of innovation, he will answer Swisscom Labs' questions at the beginning of 2011. You will also find a sensational new work table, a data format that saves trees or the InnoAward, which can be awarded by the Labs users.

Apps
As mentioned, you can find it on the platform Apps from Swisscom and other providers for Android, iPhone, Windows Phone 7 and other smartphones. There are many Apps fully developed and published, others are in the beta stage. You can also publish your own developments, provided that they meet certain requirements. The application process is relatively simple: Send an email to labs@swisscom.com and if the test is positive, you will receive author rights for the website. With this platform for apps could Swisscom Labs are becoming a reference for local and national Swiss mobile applications, because they are unfortunately difficult to find in the Android Market because they get lost in the crowd.

Community
In addition to well-known features, the community also offers «community«, a kind of ranking system (similar to Yahoo Answers) that shows users, posts and activities. You can reach it by moving the cursor to the side edge and then clicking on the "Show Communitree" that appears. The more points, the stronger the presence on this tree, i.e. for certain actions there are points with which you can rise in the level hierarchy and achieve higher "credibility" and - depending on the number of points - invited to the "Labs Event". can be. The more points a posting or user has, the greater its representation in the community. By clicking on a user in the tree, apps, news and tests are shown which he has recently viewed or commented on. If I can be honest, I don't like this much because I don't want other users to be able to see who I'm in contact with or which articles I'm looking at.

Forum
Breathe life into a forum is difficult. From my point of view, Swisscom acted correctly and launched a single forum without subtopics. Depending on how the site develops, I suspect, other topics will gradually be added. I appreciate the friendly and polite tone that prevails in this forum. A pleasant contrast to other specialist platforms.

Conclusion
In and of itself, the page is kept simple. There are not much more than four navigation points (Home, News, Apps and Forum). The site is clear and clean, and the other users are interested and friendly. You can see very clearly that it is still under construction. This fact is to be rated positively, because the makers are very interested in opinions and feedback, which for example also about Facebook and thus the way the site can be shaped. Recommended for technology freaks and those who want to become one. A good approach by Swisscom developers, geeks and early adopters who will live from the fact that open innovation resp. the involvement of the user is consistently pursued and, above all, implemented.