Posts tagged mobile
Forget the iPhone and Google phone, Skinput is coming. And you already own the handset.
Mar 5th
It is widely accepted that mobile phone users have graduated from simple voice and text handsets and hence we have smartphones almost taking over the world. But as you may well know, everything is just a trend until something better comes along. Enter the Skinput.
Chris Harrison an American university student, with help from Microsoft’s research lab, has created a system that allows people to use their own hands and arms as touchscreens by detecting the various ultralow-frequency sounds produced when tapping different parts of the skin.
Skinput uses microchip-sized “pico” projectors to allow for interactive elements rendered on the user’s forearm and hand.
An armband houses the projector along with an array of sensors which collect the signals generated by the skin taps and then calculates which part of the display you want to activate.
The result is an always available, naturally portable body interface. The acoustic detector can detect five skin locations below the elbow with an accuracy of 95.5%, which corresponds to a sufficient versatility for many mobile applications, according to the researchers. Does this mean that users will have the potential to become walking billboards?
It good news for those who always want to stay connected. According to a Tellabs survey conducted by The Nielsen Company, two-thirds of mobile users around the globe are interested in “smart” services that would feed them information based on personal preferences, location, time of day and social setting.
Location-based mobile advertising enters a new era
Feb 25th
Location-based mobile advertising. There’s been a lot of talk, but not a lot of action with only a few brands taking advantage of the tool to drive footfall into their stores.
But if a new experiment from North Face takes off we could see a significant uplift in the practice.
The outdoor apparel retailer is to send mobile users text messages whenever users are near a store – the first time the brand has targeted customers depending on their physical location.
The tech involves ‘geo-fencing’, which draws a virtual perimeter around a particular location, and is being managed by Placecast, a location-based mobile ad company in San Francisco.
In urban areas, the fences are up to half a mile around stores, and in suburban areas they are up to a mile around stores. When a mobile user enters the geo-fenced area they receive a text message is sent - but only if they have opted in to receive messages.
Placecast uses the phone’s GPS signal and location data provided by carriers to companies to determine the location of users.
For now, according to the New York Times, the North Face will send texts about promotions, like a free water bottle with a purchase, and new arrivals, because the company’s gear is heavily seasonal.
A text message might say, for example, “TNF: The new spring running apparel has hit the stores! Check it out @ TNF Downtown Seattle.”
But as things develop, the retailer plans to eventually send branded texts when people arrive at a hiking trail or mountain to alert them about weather conditions or logistics for a ski competition.
According to Forrester Research advertisers are projected to spend $561 million on mobile this year and $1.3 billion by 2014. And location-based marketing will play a major role.
North Face’s experiment has set a new benchmark for mobile advertisers and others brands are jumping on board with five more companies working with Placecast on similar campaigns.
Our lives may never be the same again. So next time you leave a gig and receive a message from a local restaurant, you’ll know why.
Windows Phone 7 – in detail
Feb 15th
Following reports yesterday that Microsoft was to launch a challenger to the smartphone market currently dominated by Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Andriod and RIM’s Blackberry, the tech giant has unveiled the details of its closely kept mobile secret.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft showed off Windows Phone 7 for the first time. The handset will pull together content from social networking sites and other web services on a scale unseen on competing platforms and will most likely pose a serious threat to its competitors RIM, Apple and Google.
Why?
It’s flashy and new and has been designed with the user in mind, making all those things we use our mobile for more accessible, easier to use and to navigate.
Previous Windows Mobile versions were scrapped to make way for a completely new design that integrates Microsoft’s Zune music player and the Xbox Live gaming service.
The tech giant is ready to hit the smartphone market big time and has already secured partners including Samsung, HTC, HP, Sony Ericsson, Dell, LG and Toshiba.
At the Windows Phone 7 unveiling, Joe Belfiore, VP for Microsoft’s Windows Phone division, said the explosion of applications and web services available on mobile phones meant devices had become far too complex claiming that that phones had started to resemble PCs but “a phone’s just not a PC – it’s a smaller, more intimate device”.
Microsoft wanted a smart design that would separate applications and bring together some of the key things that are most important to people.
It’s five key hubs, that feature on a completely new interface with a ‘start’ page based around live ‘tiles’ representing the most common tasks include people, pictures, office, music + video and games.
The ‘people’ tile is all of a users contacts from Outlook, social networking sites and web mail services – pulled together with thumbnail images into one interface. People the user has recently communicated with rise to the top and for each contact the phone can display their recent activity on various social networking sites.
Under the ‘pictures’ tile is all of the users photos taken with the phone, synced from a PC or uploaded to social networking sites. Photos uploaded by friends to their social media profiles can also be accessed.
The Office’ tile is pretty self-explanatory, it allows users to view and edit documents or make voice, text and picture notes.
Every Windows Phone 7 will essentially be a Zune music player, with users able to sync music and videos using PC software similar to iTunes under the ‘music + video’ tile. Third-party music and video applications such as Pandora are also integrated.
Lastly, finally finding a way to take Xbox to the next level, under the ‘games’ tile users will be able to play games against other Xbox Live users.
Microsoft has said a key priority with the new operating system was maintaining consistency in design. Each Windows Phone 7 device will have three buttons on the front - Start, Search and Back. The tile menu interface will also be virtually the same on all handsets.
The built-in calendar pulls together appointments from both web-based personal calendars and from Microsoft Exchange, while addresses and phone numbers are automatically hyperlinked. Clicking on an address brings it up on Bing Maps.
The maps feature is interesting, and will be a major competitor to Google Maps. By simply typing “sushi” into the search function – which is of course powered by Bing – the user is shown all of the sushi restaurants in the immediate area plotted on a map. From that screen the user can get directions, ring a restaurant or read reviews.
The web browser is based around the same code as the desktop Internet Explorer, and there is full support for multi-touch gestures such as pinching to zoom. But just like the iPhone, Adobe Flash support won’t be present at launch.
So that’s it. It all looks pretty simple to use, and smart too. But one burning question remains: what about apps?
With the actual launch to consumers still so far away, Microsoft said it would reveal more details about the applications that will be available on the platform at its Remix conference later this year.
Android vs the iPhone - who wins?
Jan 25th
Google’s Android is proving more popular than Apple’s iPhone. Here’s why.
Android is winning in the popularity stakes over its rival iPhone, according to a new report from mobile entertainment site Myxer.
According to the report, Android has pulled far ahead of the iPhone in terms of traffic. Visits from users on the Android operating system grew almost 350% from December 2008 to December 2009, compared to iPhone visits which grew 170%.
But which phone will win customers over in the end?
Both the iPhone and the Android platform are designed for easy internet browsing but the Android wins out here. According to new data from Nielsen and compiled by eMarketer, owners of Android phones are the most likely to use their device’s internet functionality. Ninety-two percent of Android users say they take utilize their phone’s web connection, compared to 88% of iPhone owners.
If Android owners are slightly more web-enabled, iPhone fans are slightly more social. As recent comScore data demonstrates, iPhone users come out on top when it comes to most advanced social-oriented phone activities - everything from sharing photos to spending time on social networks and blogs.
And to the most important point for marketers, apps. You’d expect to see iPhone owners using and downloading apps more often than Android users given the 100,000 options at their fingertips. But Android owners come out just ahead in the relative realm of application usage: 76% of them say they utilize apps, according to Nielsen, while 74% of iPhone owners say they make use of their mobile programs.
The two smartphone platforms are neck-in-neck when it comes to using most of the so-called “advanced functions” - and practically every other mobile phone system is struggling to keep up.
How m-commerce is changing the retail landscape for marketers
Jan 12th
More and more consumers are looking for bargains and discounts on the go, but have brands caught up?
Retailers can expect 2010 to be another year of struggle, according to a new report from Ovum, but the uptake of technologies such as smartphones has given retailers new hope in reaching and engaging consumers on the go.
New data from Compete has also fueled hopes that 2010 will be the year that m-commerce finally takes off.
Nearly two-fifths of smartphone owners say they have purchased something non-mobile over their mobile phone in the past six months, though many still say they are frustrated with mobile site functionality. And the top shopping-related smartphone activities are still research-based.
More than one-half of smartphone users checked out product descriptions, and many looks for reviews, coupons or better prices. About one-third even bought the item on the mobile channel after seeing it in a store.
Usage of m-commerce features among smartphone users is higher than among all mobile subscribers.
And while retailers will still be looking at how to cut costs, the focus for many in 2010 will be customer engagement and relationships – loyalty is now more important than ever.
The Ovum report, 2010 Trends to Watch: Retail Technology, suggests that retailers should invest in CRM technology in 2010 to build stronger relationships with their customers.
But e-commerce lacks the efficiency in delivery and returns that would provide the same experience as an in-store visit. Therefore, this, along with social networking and mobile phone purchases are two large focuses for the future for retailers. Some retailers and brands have already seen success with these channels including Sccope.
Sccope, the consumer shopping assistant, has launched an iPhone App that brings a combination of prices from the UK’s top 100 retailers (including Amazon, Comet and John Lewis); a bar code scanner to check the best price while shopping, comprehensive product search, and stock and price drop alerts. Sccope updates it prices daily from an independent database provided by NetPrice.
As brands continue to evaluate which mobile opportunities to undertake, it is important to think about how m-commerce can either enhance an existing business or create an entirely new way to interact with consumers.
Retail is an obvious fit for the “enhancement” category simply by extending into the mobile environment. While some brands have left any transaction potential out of their current apps, others, including the likes of Amazon and Pizza Hut (which we’ve written about here before), have embraced it smartly, and created additional value for their customers.
The real strategy behind Google’s mobile venture
Jan 6th
There’s more to Google’s mobile strategy than just the handset, retail.
Well it’s official, the Google Nexus One is here and it’s here to take on Apple. But what does this new smartphone mean for mobile phone market?
Google said at yesterday’s launch that the Nexus One is only the first Google phone of many, with one store to sell them all – the Google Store.
The idea of the Google phone store is simple. Buy the handset you want, then shop for the price plan you want, from the carrier you want.
That’s right, soon they’ll be no more wars over distribution as there was for, say the iPhone (which went to O2 in the UK).
However, the current Nexus One is so far only to be available through T-Mobile. But Google hopes to expand its online phone store by selling more phones, from Google and other companies, each with a choice of operators. It’s a noble ambition, to really shake things up, to put some fear into the entrenched industry players – and of course, one step closer to total world domination – if an online store succeeds then it will take control of distribution away from the mobile operators.
It is interesting that Google has been getting more involved in shaping the user experience on Android handsets. But the real story is in the distribution. The new phone is really intended to draw traffic to a new online Google phone store. It will be tested first in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore, but eventually extend to many more countries and cover multiple handsets and service plans from many different operators.
Google is getting into retail with the chance that it can nudge more phone purchases online, and can use this both to extend the reach of Android faster while at the same time neutralising one of Apple’s key differentiators - the real-world Apple stores.
Google may or may not be right about people’s willingness to buy phones without touching them first (the Nexus One is only available online) but it doesn’t seem a big risk to take, and it could be one way to outflank the iPhone – or at least give Apple something else to worry about.
One further advantage of bringing people to a Google store is the chance to integrate a phone purchase with Google Checkout giving Google a credit card number and a relationship with a phone customer – useful things for the future as it tries to build a market around its online application store.
Countering the iPhone is an overriding priority for much of the mobile world right now. Vodafone needs an answer to the iPhone in Europe, and the buzz around Nexus suggests this is the closest thing yet. Microsoft’s execution in mobile software has been floundering, and Google is the best alternative to Apple right now.
iPhone apps boost mCommerce shopping experience
Dec 4th
Big things are predicted for mCommerce. eBay’s recent ‘Deals’ app was launched on the back of predictions that by the end of this year it expects more than $500 million in merchandise to be purchased via eBay mobile.
Launched just a year ago, the eBay iPhone app has been downloaded more than five million times – making it one of the most popular iPhone apps.
The company also claims a purchase is made every two seconds via eBay mobile and that users from over 165 countries visit the eBay mobile website and use the iPhone application.
For mCommerce to be a success it’s all down to apps being easy for consumers to use and them then working cleverly to make lives easier.
Which is why a new one has caught our eye that uses high tech to make the most of an old tech device – the barcode.
‘StripeyLines’ allows shoppers to swipe the barcode on goods they are considering for a price comparison and then saves these goods and profiles as a wish list on the StripeyLines website for later research and evaluation.
It’s already got the backing of Iceland and Tesco through its TJAM initiative., with more retailers set to jump on board.
So in the run-up to Christmas or during sale events it could be used to allow visitors to affiliated retail stores to touch and feel products while on the shop floor then use their iPhone to scan the barcode of their desired products and collect them later at a “customer collection point”, or scan them and add them to online wish lists.
Alternatively, in-store, or later over a coffee, shoppers can review what they’ve scanned to make an informed decision and perform further research before purchasing the items from their iPhone or desktop PC.
Scanned barcodes can be used to gain access to generic images and details via either the retailer’s adapted version of their catalogue or through look-up search engines such as Amazon, eBay, iTunes and Google.
Shoppers can choose to carry out a number of different actions on a scanned item including the ability to search for the item on Tesco.com and then add it to their online Tesco’s Grocery account shopping basket.
It opens up a world of additional possibilities. What if having scanned a product the user plans to eat or drink, the application could update how much the nutritional value of that product contributes to their daily allowance and calculates the number of calories they have remaining? Such a development is already in planning.
Retailer specific barcodes (the shorter 8 digit barcodes found on own brands) are being added to the StripeyLines search as retailers make them available. The first retailer to provide this data is Iceland Foods with data also being made available from Tesco.
The flip side are the advantages for retailers who don’t want to developing their own iPhone application.
The StripeyLines app enables them to develop simple plug-ins that are beamed to shoppers’ iPhones and highlight certain lines and promotions when related items are scanned.
It allows them to integrate their stores with a product show room on an iPhone where shoppers can ‘touch and feel’ items and use capture/scan technology to deliver enhanced product data, access the website, create wish lists, receive recommendations, and cross sell suggestions - limited only by the retailer’s vision.
Following the launch in July 2007, sales of the iPhone and iPod Touch had reached 43 million units globally in 81 countries by April 2009, with over 35,000 applications hosted in the Apple store. Recently 30,000 iPhones were sold in the UK on the Orange network on the first day of sale, according to the operator.
“iPhone users are early adopters, technology savvy and are eager to embrace new lifestyle options and services,” explained Paul Tough, CTO of Portaltech, the company which has developed StripeyLines.
If it takes off, the StripeyLines iPhone app has the potential to change the face of shopping for consumers, making it possible for retailers to deliver enhanced mobile shopping services in store to implement a true multichannel strategy with minimal development and investment.
“As it’s a plug-in extension to their existing web technology, retailers don’t have to learn about a new technology and they can update and disseminate information in a true multi-channel environment, enabling them to merge the online and in-store experience so it is seamless and convenient, added Tough.
Display advertising makes a comeback with new Google backing
Nov 24th
Google is investing in new technology that will tailor make display ads for individual users
Google’s rivals have struggled to compete against the search king when it comes to the search advertising marketing.
The giant has relentlessly implemented new technologies to ensure the effectiveness of its search advertising over the years to ensure its position as market leader – and it still commands a massive 65% share.
It has added weight to this with a stream of improvements each quarter designed to boost the monetisation of search results, increasing the click-through rate and ROI for advertisers, as well as Google’s own profits.
It is now on the war path of display advertising, as today’s news that it has bought Teracent, a private company whose technology is used to customise and target display ads, suggests.
Google’s acquisition is a warning to search rival Yahoo that the pace of innovation in the digital advertising market is picking up – post GFC.
Internet advertising is now worth £1.75 billion a year in the UK, which display advertising accounting for 18.1% (or £316.5m).
Most ad targeting on the internet tries to select the best advert to send to a particular user after making an estimate of things like his or her tastes, age and location. Teracent aims to go one better and has developed technology that designs what it thinks will be the best version of an ad to send to each individual user.
Advertisers who use the service basically hand over a collection of advertising elements to Teracent, which then combines and recombines them to reach what it believes will be the optimum result.
Its algorithms rely on machine learning: the more versions of an advert that are shown, the better it understands which will work best in each set of circumstances.
Targeted advertising is again rearing its head. It’s been touted by marketers as the next generation in marketing for years. The mobile advertising platform has given the idea further weight, but as far as we can see, no one has quite mastered individually ‘targeted’ advertising yet.
Will this new Google acquisition be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between consumers and ads?
It certainly sounds like it could change the way we see display advertising, but response rates are low (0.25% ) and that most consumers simply ignore display ads or are immune to them.
Could display advertising make a comeback if it has the backing of such a giant as Google?
We’d love to know what you think…
80% of apps are unsuccessful, but Pizza Hut’s made it $1m in sales
Nov 5th
With Apple’s App Store now holding over 100,000 apps, one would figure that only a few would enjoy success.
Only five applications are on half of all iPhones/iPod Touch devices and a staggering 80% of apps never get any sort of popularity.
The 1000th ranked app, which is the top 1%, is installed on “only” 1.76% of iPhones/ iPod touches. If there are 50 million devices out there, that is almost a million installations so that is still significant.
So, the chances of a brand making a successful, engaging and above all else useful iPhone app is slim. However, there are a number who have got this new form of marketing spot on.
Take for example Pizza Hut’s app. After being live in the App Store for three months it surpassed $1 million in pizza sales and has been downloaded almost one million times.
The app is featured icon in the iTunes Lifestyle Category, and allows customers to order their pizza, pasta and wings from Pizza Hut while on the go.
From an income standpoint, iPhone customers tend to be more affluent, and they’re in the tech-savvy 18-34-year-old demographic skewing slightly male that we tend to go after online, according to Bernard Acoca, senior director of digital marketing at Pizza Hut.
He adds that the fast food chain has always saw a steady level of growth with its mobile business via its WAP site, but it wasn’t the explosive level of growth now seen with the iPhone app.
IPhone applications capture consumers’ imagination in a way that WAP sites simply can’t do. The goal of launching the iPhone application was to provide a convenient way for Pizza Hut customers to order from its franchisee locations (the brand has 34,000 restaurants, delivery-carry out units and kiosks in 100 countries).
As for incentive to download and continue using the app, each time a user orders using the application they get 20 percent off their entire order. The app was also featured in a recent TV campaign for the brand.
Following its huge success with the iPhone, Pizza Hut is now in discussions to expand to other smartphone platforms such as RIM’s BlackBerry, Google’s Android devices and the Palm Pre.
Acoca said that in terms of the mobile side of the business, over the next three to five years, more and more online transactions are going to migrate to smartphone usage.
Rather than consumers simply migrating from calling in or visiting the PC Web site, Pizza Hut believes that the iPhone application is driving sales it may not have closed otherwise.
He said if consumers have taken the time to download an app, they perceive it as valuable, because it’s taking up coveted real estate.
A relatively simple idea and some staggering results considering a mid-level iPhone app can cost just $50,000.
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