Mobile is more than phones. These days, mobile is the portable device, player, screen that we carry with us and through which we manage and mediate our world. Increasingly, mobile - which can also be called the 4th screen (with Cinema as 1st, TV 2nd, PC as 3rd), is becoming the primary device for content, communication and entertainment - especially for the Internet savvy generation.

While PC remains the preferred screen for interaction in countries like Australia, UK and Europe and North America - there are key times when mobile is a preferred screen and also demographics for whom the dvice is much more real and important.

Mobile is ideal when you:

• are on the go and away from a larger (fixed) screen
• need an update right this instant
• want to kill some time and be entertained or distracted
• need to link your location to the information you are looking for
• are doing something that is more personally relevant to you (this is a personal device)

The Project Factory has some of Australia’s top expertise in mobile - in terms of development, planning and strategy. Jennifer Wilson, Project Factory Director, chairs AIMIA’s Mobile Industry Group. Some of the work that we’ve taken on to date includes:

• Developing the mobile strategy for Fairfax Digital. This included reviewing online and mobile sites; making recommendations as to next steps; looking at new products to be released; considering the sites design; recommending the balance between focussing on application development and getting great mobile Internet sites.
• Yellowglen Where RU?. This is an incredibly right iPhone application which allows you to keep track of your friends on a map, check out the facilities on specially created map (eg Flemington Racecourse for Melbourne Cup) and send them messages within the app. The application links to Facebook and both uses this as the friends set and also sends updates to Facebook.
• The Haplocks. A highly engaging and different look at global warming,  explored through animation, game and comedy. With a rascible character, Grogan Haplock, determined to destroy the planet as quickly as possible. We build a web and a mobile site which have a game look and feel, link to the video and link to the game - all in a visually rich interface.
• I Lost My Mobile at the Mall. For Random House, a QR code and SMS campaign which links Wendy Harmer’s new book to a mobile site letting you get the inside info on the book and read the first chapter of this engaging story. Not sure what a QR code is? Visit scanme.com.au for more info

We’ll be posting up some images from these projects over time.