Posts tagged iPhone
Why ask the Doctor, when you can just ask your phone?
Aug 18th
Got the sniffles? Feeling under the weather? Never fear, there’s a new Doctor in the house.
With more smartphones in use, it’s hardly surprising that people are turning to mobile applications for actionable health-related information.
Seventy eight per cent of Stateside consumers have expressed an interest in using their their phones to diagnose and find cures for their ailments.
The new age of comms us seeing smartphone owners interacting with physicians via mobile and wireless monitoring for a variety of medical conditions.
Want even more proof? The mobile app for the iPhone from leading healthcare site WebMD had 1.6 million downloads in its first three months.
All in all it signals a new era, opening the door for health IT companies and healthcare providers.
But how should marketers in the health sector best approach mobile?
A new report, Mobile Health 2010 aims to provide some answers and advice on the topic. It’s been developed by Dr. Mary Cronin and provided as a resource by Renu Mobile. Best of all it’s free to download.
Highlights of best practice include:
Best Practice: Smartphone Health Apps
• Clarify the intended use and target user of the application to provide integration with relevant mobile heath resources and options to extend the value of the app.
• Design apps with a keen eye toward user safety and health care data security.
• Example: Healthagen’s iTriage App allows access to prescription information and a history of previous care for keeping track of multiple prescriptions and care providers for their family members.
Best Practice: Mobile Web Design
• Make it easy for mobile web users with smaller screens to navigate for site information and services by limiting large graphics and animations.
• Provide a prominent search box and provide search results in a quick review with clear descriptions of each link.
• Example: The Mayo Clinic is targeting all mobile consumers by developing mobile browser compatible web sites that highlight most-used resources.
So maybe the next time you reach for the Kleenex, maybe it should be for the phone instead…
Why businesses should not ignore the power of touch-screen web surfing
Jul 6th
Two thirds of UK businesses have no idea how their websites function on touch-screen devices such as the iPad and iPhone, according to a new LinkedIn poll.
Commissioned by user experience specialists Foresite, the poll reveals that of the 103 UK company directors who answered the survey, fewer than a third (32%) had tested if or how their websites worked on the devices.
Not only is it important to see how a company’s website appears and how the brand is represented, but businesses must know what ads on their site look like and make sure they are functioning.
With more than 3 million people across the globe holding onto an iPad already and with more than 1 million iPhone 4’s sold in the first few weeks, touch-screen devices are a market that is rapidly expanding and anyone who is online must keep up.
Last week, I was the lucky winner of a three month unlimited ‘buy one get one free’ pass to a particular brand of cinema complex. I immediately looked that cinema chain up on my iPad, which was on the coffee table (I didn’t want to walk to the study to get my laptop of course).
I typed in the cinema’s name and the website immediately popped up. A good start, but then I could not click on anything or navigate around the site. Instead of going to see a movie on Sunday (and spend a a couple of tenners at the candy bar) I didn’t know what was on so I decided to stay home and watch the Long Way Down on DVD.
I’ve had similar experiences with supermarket brands and banks – this is not good news for online business. Read the rest of this entry »
Apple debuts its iAds – but troubles remain
Jul 5th
Last week, without too much of a murmur, Apple released the very first iAd and thus its debut into the highly lucrative mobile advertising world. But it’s antenna issues could spell trouble for the famed tech giant.
iAds debuted on iOS 4-based devices on Thursday, with the first examples of Apple’s program enabling advertisers to present interactive ads directly within iOS apps.
The ads are embedded into iPhone applications, and when clicked, they appear as a window within the app. The ads have video and interactive components it hopes will combine the emotional punch of TV commercials with the engagement of the best internet pitches.
But while ads began to appear in some applications, not all of the iAd network has have gone live, according to Apple rumour network AppleInsider.
For example, some apps have a placeholder banner that reads “iAd,” but no advertisement is displayed and it cannot be selected. And some applications that others have found iAds in, such as “Mirror: for iPod and iPhone,” sometimes have a blank space.
Early sponsors Dove and Nissan reportedly paid $10 million in order to be among the first to advertise with the iAd service but Apple is apparently planning to charge companies close to $1 million by next
Apple shelled out for Quattro Wireless earlier this year so that it could own and control the way ads are served on its devices and have a say over how analytic data is reported.
Jobs said Apple started the program, which is native to the iOS software developer kit, to help developers make money on free applications in the App Store. Read the rest of this entry »
MARKETING NEWS BITES: Microsoft’s new launch, Apple’s streaming service and Nissan’s iPhone controlled car
May 14th
A round-up of news from around the web:
Microsoft has launched a redesigned MSN Mobile homepage, streamlining the portal’s design and providing such as one-click access to Bing, Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger. The mobile homepage is accessible on a variety of devices and browsers, including Safari on the iPhone and Android. eWeek
Apple is to launch an online music service that, for the first time, will allow customers to listen to tracks streamed over the internet. The move will see the tech giant take on existing music operations such as Spotify and We7. The Times
Nissan has revealed the world’s first vehicle to have its features controlled by a smartphone. The groundbreaking Nissan LEAF is fitted with a system where the air conditioning can be programmed using a mobile like the iPhone or HTC Desire. Daily Mail
And finally, Facebook is catching up to rivals Yahoo and Microsoft in selling display ads. In the first quarter, Facebook pulled ahead of Yahoo for the first time and delivered more banner ads to its US users than any other Web publisher. Overall, Facebook.com served 176.3 billion display ads on its website over the first three months of 2010, or 16.2% of the total. comScore
Six reasons why Steve Jobs hates Flash (and doesn’t need it)
May 3rd
Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, last week declared war on rival Adobe with a scathing attack on its Flash video programming technology. In an open letter he lists six reasons why Apple does not need Flash.
Jobs published a rare open letter branding Flash a failure on mobile devices. Meanwhile, Flash is the most widespread video player technology on the web used by many millions of sites for videos and games.
But here are his six reasons why Flash is a technology of the past:
- The programming foundation is full of software bugs. “Flash is the number one reason Macs crash,” he wrote.
Flash, says Jobs, drains battery life and does not work properly on touchscreen devices.
- Flash puts a third party between Apple and software developers. That means developers could take advantage of improvements from Apple only if Adobe chose to upgrade its own software.
- Other emerging programming standards such as HTML5, can perform many of the same tasks, and are catching on with software developers.
- Leading video and news websites have recoded some videos to make them viewable on the iPhone and iPad.
- “Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too).
Why Apple is winning the smartphone war while Nokia plays catch-up
Apr 30th
Smartphone owners of handset brands including Apple, BlackBerry and HTC are more likely to stick with the same brand when purchasing a new handset, according to new research from YouGov, but why are these devices so special?
Apple owners have the highest level of loyalty with 81% of users expected to buy the brand again. In contrast, LG, a traditional handset brand, comes bottom of the pile with only 10% of users saying that they would buy the brand again.
Remember back in the 90s, and even at the start of the millennium, when you swore you’d never use anything other than a Nokia because of its simplicity and easy usability? Now Nokia is being dubbed out of date.
Traditional mobile phone brands, such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG, do not fair well when it comes to loyalty and according to YouGov, and need to update their features in order to stay in the mobile handset game.
Russell Feldman, research manager in YouGov’s Technology and Telecoms team, says that the traditional phone brands have a battle on two fronts. “Firstly, the number of smartphone owners is growing at a very fast rate and the transitional gold rush to this new technology means traditional handset brands face tough competition from new and exciting brands. Read the rest of this entry »
MARKETING NEWS BITES: Apple’s 4G iPhone to launch June 7, RIM unveils BlackBerry 6 and Microsoft’s next generation Messenger
Apr 29th
A round up of news from around the web:
Apple is expected to formally debut its next-generation iPhone at a developers conference on June 7, the start of its five-day Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The annual event has become a stage for Apple to unveil software updates, particularly for iPhones that star in the company’s line-up of popular mobile gadgets. AFP
Research in Motion has unveiled the new features in BlackBerry 6, saying the update to the BlackBerry operating system will arrive in the next quarter. The new OS — described by RIM co-chief Mike Lazaridis as its “the biggest step forward” — was shown to an audience of BlackBerry partners, developers and users at the company’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium in Orlando, Florida. ZDNet
AOL is to sell its ICQ instant messaging service to Digital Sky Technologies, the Russian internet company, for $187.5m, or less than half the $400m it paid for ICQ in 1998. The disposal came as AOL yesterday reported a 58 per cent decline in first quarter net profit and a 23 per cent drop in revenue year-on-year. Financial Times
Microsoft has announced the next generation of Windows Live Messenger, promising better sharing and interactivity. The onus of the Messenger redux is very much about creating richer and more meaningful conversations through the service, adding things like social-network integration and better video and photo sharing. Tech Radar
New figures reveal that that 66.7% of US Internet users—147.5 million people—are watching video online each month. By 2014, that figure is forecast to rise to 77% of Internet users, or 193.1 million people. eMarketer
MARKETING NEWS BITES: Android and iPhone go head to head, Twitter’s phenomenal growth and Hulu’s UK ambitions canned
Apr 28th
A round up of news from around the web:
Challenges are mounting to Apple’s iPhone with rival handsets from Google and BlackBerry ready to hit the shops. The Nexus One, dubbed the “Google phone” before its launch, will be available through Vodafone from Friday and will be free on a £35-a-month two-year contract. The Times
Twitter usage exploded in 2009 with traffic growing from a few million unique monthly visitors early last year to over 20 million by June. However, traffic has since reached a plateau, but other usage metrics continue to show high levels of engagement in early 2010. Adweek
Google has threatened an Aussie web entrepreneur because it says the name of his project is too close to its own. The name of the website in question is Groggle - grog being slang for alcohol. Founder Cameron Collie says the site is designed to help users find the cheapest price of alcohol — or “grog” — in their suburb. ZDNet
Four US senators want Facebook to make it easier for its users to protect their privacy as the website develops new outlets to share personal information. The call for simpler privacy controls came in a letter that the senators planned to send to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg - they include Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo; Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska; and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. Stuff
Hulu’s plans to expand to the United Kingdom appear to have been abandoned, meaning the service will likely remain exclusive to the United States for the immediately foreseeable future. The Telegraph
Microsoft’s social phone – one for the kids?
Apr 13th
Microsoft has today launched its new Windows phone – the KIN. But the launch signals so much more than just another handset in the telecoms sector.
In a bid to pry away market share from leader Apple and its iPhone, and close second Google’s Android, Microsoft has come up with a different approach to its challenger handset. It’s going social.
Everybody knows that social media has changed the way we communicate, especially young people.
Kids are leading the world’s transition to digital media. Recent research from the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that (somewhat obviously) kids aren’t afraid of technology because they’ve grown up with it.
So if you want to get a sense of where the world’s media habits are headed, it makes sense to watch what kids are doing (more specifically, kids ages 8 to 18).
Microsoft knows this. It knows kids want their social lives on tap – at the touch of the button. And the KIN should capitalize on this.
And, it’s not about apps, it’s about connecting to existing networks.
According to Microsoft, the KIN is designed to be the ultimate social experience that blends the phone, online services and the PC with new experiences it calls the “Loop”, “Spot” and “Studio”. Read the rest of this entry »
New app brings show reels to the masses
Apr 8th
SohoSoHo, the advertising reels directory, has launched an iPhone app that will make it possible for directors, their reps and producers to showcase, download and access their work on the move.
The ChilliBean-managed company offers a direct marketing channel for subscribers to the world’s leading advertising agencies – showcasing their reels, bios and latest news.
The app allows subscribers can share new projects, talent and new signings, while the search function enables agencies and brands to simply and quickly find and view work from a wide range of creative talent.
Part of ChilliBean’s range of services for the creative industries, the app also gives users the opportunity to view and save the latest reels and industry news and also make direct contact with subscribers via their iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.
Daniel Hearn, Client Services Director of ChilliBean said: “We wanted to provide a service that would give our subscribers the platform to be able to view and access their reels anywhere. This industry is all about getting your work in front of the right people and at the right time – be it on the tube, at a market or major event, and with the SohoSoHo app, when an opportunity arises to show off their work, our users can now just reach into their pockets.”
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