GottaQuirk Interviews Allan Kent: iPhones, Mobile Web and Creativity
Allan Kent, head of AtPlay, the digital arm of Saatchi & Saatchi South Africa, is interviewed by Katharina Scholtz of GottaQuirk on the iPhone 3G, mobile Web and online creativity.
When Allan Kent roamed into our office a short while ago, and started playing darts with Tim, I pounced on him to organise an interview.
He’s currently the head of AtPlay, the digital division of Saatchi & Saatchi, and has been described as a trans-media storyteller and creative genius. He’s a quirky guy, who kindly offered to carve his email address into my arm with a dart when I asked him for the interview. He’s also really not as scary as that makes him sound.
Being so experienced in mobile marketing, an area that’s increasingly important and filled with potential, we thought it would be valuable to ask him a few questions about that and the release of the iPhone 2.0, as well as his experience with @Play. Enjoy!
Are you a stand in line all night, beat people away from the counter iPhone enthusiast? If so, why?I thought I might be, but after the delirium that accompanies a Steve Jobs announcement cleared, and I came to my senses, I doubt that I will be getting an iPhone.
Is the iPhone 3G really a revolution?Here’s a great sitting on the fence answer: yes and no. The problem that I have with the iPhone is that the underlying technology is not all that cutting edge. 2MP camera and 3G are a bit dated now. GPS is nice, but I wonder how it will work here - without a decent data set the routing would be a bit of a bust. I don’t know what data set they have though, so it might be just fine. What Apple always seem to get right though, and I guess this is why people will stand in line to buy the thing, is the interface. I have an iPod Touch and the interface is slick.
What phone(s) do you have currently, what apps have you installed on your phone and what are the top 3 most used?Too embarrassing. I have an LG Chocolate. It seemed like a cool phone when I got it 2 years ago but now I can’t wait to get rid of it. I did get one of those HTC things but I hated the phone interface on it, so it’s lying in a drawer somewhere. Phones need to be able to make calls, which is another reason I am skeptical about the iPhone. First and foremost the phone functionality needs to be easy to get it - don’t make me work to use a device for the purpose it was intended.
I only have 2 apps installed on my phone, simply because nothing else will work on it. Mxit, which I never really use any more and Opera Mini, the only way to browse the web on your mobile. Unless you have Safari on the iPhone of course.
Read the full interview ‘Allan Kent on the iPhone 3G, the Mobile Web and Online Creativity’ at GottaQuirk.
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