In the Pocket maakt deel uit van één van de creatiefste steden ter wereld. Blijkbaar scoort onze stad verrassend hoog op gebied van creativiteit! Twee studies door Stad Gent kwamen met dit resultaat naar buiten. Het artikel kun je terugvinden op Het Nieuwsblad.be.

De eerste studie omvatte een meting van de creatieve hartslag van Gent door de internationaal befaamde stedenconsulent Charles Landry (de ‘Creative City Index’). Hier behaalde Gent 64,41%, de hoogste score van alle tot dusver geanalyseerde steden. Landry noemt Gent ‘a pocket sized metropolis’: een zeldzame combinatie van de intimiteit van een kleine stad en de openheid van een metropool.

De ligging van Gent, niet ver van Brussel (met een luchthaven), bij wegenknooppunten en een haven is een troef. ‘Gent gedraagt zich zoals een stad van 500.000 inwoners, met al die grote projecten zoals de Oude Dokken, The Loop, het Sint-Pietersstation’, zegt Landry.

De resultaten van de tweede studie bevestigen de creativiteit binnen Gent: de Gentse creatieve industrie blijkt diverse, bloeiende subsectoren te huisvesten. In totaal telt Gent namelijk meer dan vijfhonderd creatieve bedrijven die samen meer dan 6.000 mensen tewerkstellen.

In the Pocket behoort tot een van die bedrijven, en werd als schoolvoorbeeld getoond van hoe het wél moet:

“Bedrijven zoals In the Pocket en Netlash bewijzen dat Gent een goede voedingsbasis heeft om als kleine organisatie nationaal en internationaal uit te groeien tot een gerenommeerd bedrijf.” (Karel Van Keymeulen, Het Nieuwsblad)

We doen alvast onze uiterste best om ook in 2012 ons steentje bij te dragen aan de Gentse creativiteit!

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While In The Pocket is widely known for branded and media apps, we also develop mobile applications and websites for companies outside of the media industry. These usually cater to very specific niches and therefore rarely find the way to our blog.

We wanted to make an exception for our latest realisation for Barco as it is an app we are exceptionally proud of. Barco is of course well-known as one of Belgium’s crown jewels in the global high tech space and a world leader in display and visualization technologies.

Barco’s medical imaging department has a vision to make today’s operating rooms more efficient and more scalable by turning them into networked, digital operating rooms. Aside from medical tools, a modern operating room contains a plethora of displays and other high-tech assets to visualize and monitor the proceedings of the operation. Barco is working on integrating all these devices into one system, and is currently demonstrating the control of the system via an iPad app. Which is where we come in of course…

As Barco focuses on visualization technologies they went to look for a reliable mobile partner and found us. We designed and developed an iPad app that lets OR personnel (doctors, nurses, observers,…) manage the different assets in the room like lighting, camera’s, displays, etc… Think of it as a remote control; albeit a very advanced one. Doctors can take medical sources (for example X-ray pictures, MRI scans, endoscopies,…) and bring them up on a display of their choice with a mere flick of the finger. In a similar intuitive way it is possible to enlarge views, use the sources in picture-in picture or picture-and-picture in displays and even to manipulate a camera. Even cooler features are being worked on for a next release.

Last week Barco demonstrated an example setup of such a networked, digital OR at Medica, a large medical conference in Germany, where the demonstration was very well received. More conferences are being prepared and it is only a matter of time before the setup will be installed in actual OR’s.

Here is a video by Barco on their digital operating room system, dubbed Nexxis:

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Who wants a free VW Golf Convertible?

Together with Tribal DDB, In the Pocket created the Golf Story Game for D’Ieteren Belgium. It just launched and throughout the coming weeks this one game will have thousands of contestants. It’s a massive multiplayer game. Not virtual, but real. (MMIRLG?)

The basics are simple: download the VW Golf Story app (iPhone & Android) to take pictures of Golfs. A team of moderators will give you points. With these points you can unlock the final round, where you get a shot at winning the VW Golf Convertible. We know you already want the app, so why not just scan this QR-code? (or click it, if you’re reading this on a smartphone)

Good games have more than just one dynamic, so Tribal DDB and ITP went to the drawing board. We developed a carefully weighed, intricate and engaging set of game dynamics to make sure that everyone who joins the contest is pulled in quickly and kept there – if only for a while. Heavy players and people that really want the car will be playing for an hour or more a week, weeks in a row. Light players will play the game for maybe an half an hour in total. But everyone plays, everyone has fun.

The game asks for some commitment of the player. You don’t just gét the car. The more commitment, the more chance you’ll win.  We won’t go into detail as the app speaks for itself, but here’s a glimpse of the features:

*Earn points by photographing Golfs. When a moderator has reviewed your pic, you’ll get a push notification.

*Earn extra points by scanning the campaign images. The app has image recognition and will automatically detect a campaign image & grant points to the user.

*Unlock achievements. Pimped golfs, green golfs, oldtimer golfs: collect and ye shall unlock achievements (and earn more points).

*Weekly prizes: iPad anyone? Be the biggest collector of the week and its yours.

*It’s a social app: share achievements, share collected cars & monitor your friends’ progress.

We’ve made quite a few apps at ITP, but we’re particularly proud of this one. We built the app, the database, the API and the backend from scratch in just a few weeks, thanks to a major, coordinated team effort. The app works like clockwork, looks beautiful and is a true marketing innovation. It combines mobile, gaming, web & social, all wrapped into a brilliant bundle of code.

As this is a first in Belgium, we can’t wait for the results.

Let the games begin!

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In the Pocket has signed a deal with UGent to bring the University’s impressive D-Jogger technology to the smartphone. D-Jogger is music technology that syncs music to the pace at which a person is moving. Today, this software runs on pc’s in a laboratory. You can check out the research project on the IPEM website.

ITP will bring D-Jogger to the iPhone, creating a genuine innovation for jogging. Bring in your earplugs, open the D-Jogger app and start running. D-Jogger will use the iPhone’s accelerometer to calculate the rhythm at which you are moving. The app selects a song from your library that has a good match in BPM (beats per minute) and the song will start playing, perfectly in sync with every step you take. If you slow down or accelerate, D-Jogger will pitch the song to match that change of pace. If the change is too much for the song to sound natural, D-Jogger will select a new song with a better suited BPM.

D-Jogger eliminates the hassle of selecting the right songs when you’re running. Running out of sync with your music is demotivational. Running in sync, on the other hand, can really boost your running session. We’re building the ultimate app for jogging.

Keeping the world healthy and fit. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it ;)

The project was featured in “De Morgen” [Dutch]:

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Isn’t mobile supposed to be relevant?

As we received more and more requests from clients to create mobile games, we started digging into the issue. What’s the reach potential? What can we deliver for feasible budgets? How can we frame a mobile game in the general strategy of these clients?

In the Pocket has a reputation for creating relevant and functional apps. Yes, we made some fun apps too, but we always tell our clients: if you can provide your audience with a relevant service, you’re in for a big hit. Mobile is about utility and personal relevance. The here, the now, the me and the smartphone to tie those things together. Mobile games are not like that. Nobody really needs them. But, they have another great advantage, which we shouldn’t dismiss too easily. People love them! Did you know that 58% of the apps in the App Store are games (source: Distimo 2010)?

We’re not always trying to be organized, efficient and connected. Sometimes, we’re just passing the time. When we’re waiting for the bus, slouching in the couch or when our girlfriend is watching Sex and the City. At those moments, mobile games are the choice par excellence… And as it turns out, you don’t need Angry Birds-like budgets to create a game that’s good looking, fun and addictive.

Our first games!

For Duval Guillaume we created “Slurfbal”. A 3D game for De Lijn, that is completely integrated with their campaign. The game is available on Android, iPhone and iPod Touch. QR-codes in buses get the game to the users in the best of circumstances: exactly when and where they want them. Try the game here.

Currently in private beta, the Samsonite B-Lite Fresh game (for iPhone) is a very cool extension of an international campaign. The B-Lite Fresh is the lightest suitcase that Samsonite, the world’s leading luggage brand, ever created. In the game, you have to throw your suitcase as far as you can on the airport’s landing strip. This game is created in so-called 2,5D and has a good mix of skill based success and chance. To get people to download the game, prizes are awarded to the best 5 players every week. And again the QR-codes: Samsonite will be decorating all airports with them.

Some good advice from the geeks at ItP

1. Limit the scope of your first mobile game. Don’t think massive multiplayer 3D strategy with 40 levels and NFC-driven augmented reality. Think “fun”. People don’t necessarily enjoy the more complex games better.

2. Don’t just throw it in the App Store. No matter how fun the game is: if it is not backed with proper promotion, it will be buried in the thousands of other apps.

3. The game can be a platform. With user feedback, updates, design improvements, new levels and evolving game dynamics a game just keeps getting better. If the game is a success, retain the audience you gained with the first launch and then expand with updates.

4. A mobile game isn’t always the best choice. But don’t worry: we’ll be the first to tell you ;)

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Today, 17th of May 2011, In the Pocket turns 1! That’s one year of mobile creation with a great and ever expanding team of young mobile professionals.

With more than 30 projects delivered, for some pretty impressive clients, we have gathered a very nice portfolio when it comes to mobile development. Our website was accidentally launched by @pietel 365 days ago, and at that time we had no clear idea of what we were getting ourselves into. The mobile market was still pretty embryonic (actually it still is) and a “full service mobile agency” did not yet exist in Belgium.

It does now: In the Pocket can deal with the full scope of any mobile project for any kind of client or partner. That does not mean that we haven’t specialized. Very clearly, In the Pocket has gravitated towards three kinds of mobile apps and websites: branded, media and utility.

Mobile is becoming very important for brands, and we have had the opportunity to handle strategic projects for some great international brands Like AB-InBev, Samsonite and Kinepolis. Just recently, we have been deploying an iPhone app for Mars in several countries. The application allows you to meet the M&M’s characters and to vote for your favorite one.

Furthermore lots of media outlets have been experimenting with mobile over the last year. We have had stimulating talks and brainstorms with all major players in the “early days” when they all were looking for their way into mobile. Today, we are collaborating with Q-music BE and NL, MTV Networks Belgium, SBS Belgium and VRT on a number of very interesting projects. We can’t disclose all of them, but expect a great cooking app for iPhone and iPad from VRT, a cool web app to locate sunny terraces for VT4 and an app for iPhone and Android that will put Q-music in pole position when it comes to mobile radio consumption. This and more in the next couple of weeks. Yes, we are not playing Angry Birds all the time ;)

Last but not least we love utility apps because they get the best out of your smartphone. Utility apps can be useful, life-improving or even life-saving. They exploit the fact that your smartphone is always on, always connected and that it knows your location, your friends and can even get sensory input like audio, video and movement. We have developed several super handy and good looking utility apps for clients like Samsung, Peak Performance and BIVV. Also, together with Go-Mobile, we’re creating an application to help you find vacant parking spots. As a utility app, we would definitely classify this one as life-improving!

Concluding, we can say that we have very much enjoyed our first year of existence. The ride was hard, fast and thrilling. We’re looking forward to the next one with great thirst. Many thanks to all our clients, friends, followers and partners for supporting and trusting us. Also a word of admiration to the team, that has truly become a lean, mean mobile machine – capable of delivering on that extra bit of magic that we always promise our clients.

If you want to follow up on our releases, keep checking @itpocket on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

Meanwhile, we continue to grow. We have grown from 3 to 14 people in 1 year time. Our lovely office in the center of Ghent still has room for a couple of more mobile talents, so check out our Jobs section, if you think you have what it takes ;-)

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From some crazy ideas over a late-night beer to the first international project launches: 2010 was the year that In the Pocket came to existence. We launched 21^st of May, did some national projects during the summer and recently launched multinational and multiplatform applications for Samsonite and Peak Performance. In the Pocket seems to have matched the amazing growth rate of the mobile market.

And we can safely say that we don’t plan on slowing down in the coming months. Lots of exciting projects coming up and some big brands joining our client portfolio.  We’re a team of 12 people today and currently looking for mobile developers to join the ranks.

Up to the last week, 2010 has been a thrilling ride. To give you an idea, here is some noteworthy stuff from the last couple of days.

Our Music For Life application, built for iOS, Android and Bada, reached almost 25.000 downloads and overwhelmingly positive user reviews. The app generated hundreds of tweets, Facebook posts and paid messages and an immeasurable amount of user engagement.  Music For Life is one of Flander’s biggest mainstream happenings and probably the biggest charity event. We were happy to play a modest role.

We were featured in a nice article in “De Tijd” (link to article) about the mobile applications market. In the article we stated that it’s pretty easy to start making apps, but that it’s hard to make great apps. We stand by that statement. Having had some experience in the deployment of international apps, we believe that for ambitious projects and for reputable brands the backbone and expertise of a mobile agency is necessary.

One of those international projects is the ski- and snowboard app we developed for Peak Performance.  “Peak Performance Trail Maps” is a wonderful example of utility marketing – something we believe to be essential for branded applications. The app allows you to find your location on a map of the ski resort you are in and to check real-time weather reports. There are more cool features: click here to download the iPhone app.

A few days ago, the Netlash Trend Report was released. The report asks online professionals what trends are to be expected for the coming year. In the Pocket contributed with a few predictions. To summarize very briefly, here is what we think will catch the eye in 2011:

Data diet: people will want less information, but they will want it to be relevant.

The app amateur: cross compiling software lowers the threshold for app development. We will see a tsunami of apps.

The game layer: the smartphone will become the medium through which game dynamics are widely integrated with sales and marketing tactics.

The telephone call is the new fax: people will call less and use online communication tools more.

The TV check-in: from a social check-in to an interactive experience – TV programs are expanding to your smartphone/tablet.

AR comes to its senses: Augmented Reality has not yet proven that it is more than a gimmick. Time for contemplation.

Read the full report (in Dutch).

To conclude, plenty of apps and mobile websites are coming your way. We are currently working with Kinepolis and VRT on some very exciting releases for the coming months. Follow our tweets to stay posted.

See you next year!

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