Posts tagged iPhone
Android crashes the smartphone party – will it push Apple out?
Dec 17th
Android is quickly gaining in the popularity stakes, but can it even come close to the success of Apple’s iPhone?
Consumer awareness of Google’s Android is growing rapidly, due in large part to the Verizon Droid ad campaign in the US.
Further, of those American consumers in the market for a smartphone, 17% are considering the purchase of an android-supported device in next three months, compared to 20% indicating they plan to purchase an iPhone.
Last week on UTalkMarketing, we revealed that the new Android handset is expected to become more popular than Apple’s iPhone, according to exclusive research from OneNewsPage.com.
Asked, ‘Will the new version of Android beat the iPhone?’, 77% of readers said yes, while just 23% disagreed.
The statistics show that despite Apple’s growing popularity, it might finally be losing its luster as new competition enters the market.
Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile, said, “With handsets on multiple carriers, from multiple manufacturers, and numerous Android device models expected to be in the U.S. market by January, the Android platform is rapidly shaking up the smartphone market.
“While the iPhone continues to set the bar with its App Store and passionate user base, and RIM remains the leader among the business set, Android is clearly gaining momentum among developers and consumers.”
Although Android’s share of the smartphone market is relatively small, it has quickly doubled in the past year to 3.5% in October 2009.
Understanding the mobile media behaviour of Android users highlights why operators and media companies might embrace the platform and fuel its growth.
An analysis of mobile media consumption on smartphones revealed that users of both Apple and Android-supported devices were more likely to engage with mobile media than an average smartphone user.
Users of the Apple iPhone were most likely to consume mobile media, with 94% of users doing so in September 2009, while 92% of Android device users, predominantly T-Mobile G1 users, engaged in mobile media activities – 12% higher than an average smartphone user.
Apple and Android users are equally likely to engage with news via their browser and nearly identical in their mobile application engagement, according to comScore.
Email was the only major activity in which iPhone users (87% were far more likely to participate than Android users (63%).
Overall, Android users will behave more like iPhone users than other smartphone users giving some hope to Google and its endeavor into the mobile market next year. However, it is more bad news for BalckBerry and Nokia, which have already suffered declines this year following the launch of Apple’s 3G iPhone.
The question now is, is there room in the market for all four devices, or will older player be squeezed out?
Google’s Android platform has continued to gain awareness and has sparked interest this week by announcing a Google handset in the testing phases, but to be rolled out next year.
In August 2009, just 22% of mobile users had heard of the Android, while in November 2009 this figure had reached 37%, largely prompted by an advertising push launched in September. The comScore study found that not only is general awareness increasing about Android, but intent to purchase an Android-supported device is also increasing among mobile phone users.
When mobile users were asked in November which phone they planned to buy in the next three months, 17% said they planned to purchase an Android-supported device compared to 20% of respondents who said they planned to purchase an iPhone.
Has the iPhone lost its lustre?
Technology is a fickle market these days. Consumers have little loyalty and a very ‘gadget’ driven, keen to try out new devices and technologies – out with the old and in with the new is the attitude. We want the latest, up-to-date, ‘wow’ technology and we’re even more willing to ‘give it a go’. And with a brand name such as Google behind it, it’s no surprise the Android is participating success.
However, 21% of consumers are still planning to purchase an iPhone in the next three months. Remember, Apple is untouchable. For 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.
Why do marketers get branded iPhone apps so wrong?
Dec 1st
With over with over 100,000 applications on the iTunes App Store, brands are left with the dilemma of how to get their offerings noticed.
So what’s the secret of becoming a hit? What’s the magic formula that will get you on someone’s phone and close to them 24/7?
According to a new report from Adweek.com, two factors come into play.
Firstly, it argues that brands operating in the digital space have the advantage over non-digital brands.
No great surprise there. Unsurprisingly they get the space, how it operates and the needs and wants of online users. Oh, and they already have a profile in the online sector.
The second is ‘Utility’ – offering something of value to customer.
Any marketer is faced with the challenge of persuading consumers that their product/service is something they can’t live without.
It’s no different in marketing apps. Bottom line is do some research and do it early. If the feed back is that what the app is offering is rubbish, it’s most likely rubbish.
But don’t simply our word for it.
According to VP of Business Development at Symsource, Tim Ocock, in a recent article on UTalkMarketing.com the three guiding priciples for any brand developing an app should be.
1. Make sure you understand the capabilities and limitations of the technology.
2. Do something that can only be done on mobile.
3. Build something useful, not a gimmick
Ahhh, ‘something useful’ as in a Utility then! Have we made our point?
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.
Orange looks to cash in on mobile internet with iPhone
Nov 3rd
The mobile internet has certainly been given a boost this year with the increasing popularity of Apple’s iPhone and the Android, now, French telecoms provider Orange is looking to further cash in on what has proved to be a natural progression for telcos – the mobile internet.
From next Tuesday (November 10), Orange will begin selling the iPhone, a long two years since its launch in the UK when the telco missed out on the lucrative contract when it went exclusively to O2.
The introduction of Apple’s handset is set to boost revenues at the UK third largest telco, which already boasts 4.7 million mobile internet subscribers.
Research from Juniper has revealed that the mobile internet ad spending could be well quadrupling from the current day £250 million to well over £1 billion by 2014.
An increase in mobile internet ad spend won’t not directly impact the revenues of the mobile network operators, but it is an indication of how lucrative the medium is going to be in the near future.
Last week, Orange reported a significant rise in its mobile internet customer base in its otherwise disappointing 2009 financial results.
It increased the number of mobile internet customers by almost two-thirds (64%) in the first nine months of 2009, compared to the same period last year – proving it can handle the ever increasing and demanding iPhone audience.
The network offers a range of mobile internet packages offering speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps which start from £4.89 a month.
In the build to its iPhone November 10 debut, Orange has launched a £4m outdoor and press advertising campaign to promote its 3G network, which it claims covers more than 93% of the population.
Orange has a strategy of looking to woo customers with its claim to have the best network based on third generation mobile technology, which enables reasonable web surfing on handsets.
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