Posts Tagged ‘Android’

Guardian mobile site drives mores unique browsers & traffic than apps & tablets combined but where is the engagement?

Posted: May 17, 2012 in Digital Marketing, Industry News, Information communications technology, Internet, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Applications, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Technology, Online, Publishing, Publishing Industry, Tablets, Technology, Uncategorized, User Experience & Usability
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Deutsch: logo der tageszeitung the guardian

the guardian (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It has been some time since I first remember trying to sign The Guardian to the YOC media network, sometime in 2009.  From memory at the time, 4th Screen were selling around 1 million page views per month.  I have posted below the latest figures from their site**, that figure now stands at 6.2 million and generates more unique browsers and monthly page views than their iOS, Android and iOS tablet apps combined.  These figures are somewhat surprising but not because their mobile internet has the biggest pull,  rather that their mobile traffic has only 6 fold in 4 or so years and all their mobile channels are not generating significant page impressions.

I have always been an advocate for mobile internet and I do get and understand that having an app strategy for print and digital publishers makes perfect sense.  After all, I have personally been involved in building so many for clients as such, why wouldn’t I think this.  My bigger question is why is their mobile internet site and apps not generating higher levels of uniques or monthly page impressions?  We know they have an award winning app and their paid for model seemed to work and made them a small profit after development costs.

But… why is their mobile internet site generating far less monthly page impressions in ratio to their applications? And… are their applications generating enough impressions in ratio to the unique users?

Mobile Internet

Generating 6.2 million page impressions from 2.5 million unique browsers can be averaged out that for every one customer visiting the site once a month is only generating 2.5 page impressions per visit.  I am guessing that their customers are visiting more than once a month which would mean they are generating even less impressions per visit (just divide the impression number by the number of visits).  As you can see from these states it becomes somewhat disappointing and raises some concern.  Maybe I am interpreting unique browsers wrongly as unique users, but it sounds like the same thing to me.

The iphone app is a little better…

Again applying the same principle generating 1 million page impressions from 34,000 uniques can be averaged out that for every 1 customer using the app once a month is generating about 30 impressions per visit.  Like their mobile internet users the reality is they are visiting more than once a month and therefore the impressions they generate per visit are even less.

Lets look at the rest, again applying the same methodology…

iPad app

45,113 monthly uniques generating 3.45 million page impressions equates to 1 customer visiting once a month generating 75 page impressions per visit.

Android app

11,000 monthly uniques are generating 1.2 million page impressions equates to 1 customer visiting once a month generating 110 page impressions per visit.

What does this all mean?

Image representing Android as depicted in Crun...

In summary, it shows that their Android app is generating a much richer experience than their other channels.  Or maybe Android users are just more engaged than iOS users.  We have to be careful here as their mobile internet site will have traffic from all devices but overall the statistics suggest that most of their mobile site users are less engaged than their app users.

In my experience, working with print and digital publishers it is typical for a user to generate up to 10 impressions per visit but at an absolute minimum of visiting the site or apps 2 to 3 times a week.  This would mean you would have to divide those impressions (generated by the users) by approximately 12.  In doing that, the numbers would suggest that only their Android app and iPad app are delivering a rich experience where the user is most engaged generating 9 to 6 impressions per visit respectively.  The others fall well short of this and their mobile internet site alarmingly so.

m.guardian**

A dedicated mobile site giving users access to guardiannews.comcontent any time and from any device. It is optimised for mobile screen sizes and connection speeds.

Traffic:

2.5 million monthly unique browsers
6.2 million monthly page views

m.guardian is showing incredible growth and almost doubled its traffic over the course of 2011 – growth that is outstripping total growth of the mobile internet market (+25% yr on yr).

Users are accessing a broad range of content through m.guardian with the top five most visited sections being world news, football, sport, technology and Comment is free. Comment is free alone delivers over 250,000 page views per month – an indication that users are valuable opinion leaders.

iPhone app

An award winning iPhone app featuring video, live blogs and more that is available free to users in the US.

Traffic:

34,000 monthly unique browsers

1 million monthly page views

With steady growth in unique browsers of almost 50% over the last four months, the iPhone app is another strong performer in GNM’s mobile portfolio. What’s more, the proportion of heavy users is high at just over 50%. That, combined with a strong frequency metric for user behaviour, indicates a very loyal and engaged audience.

In addition to the regular news content, users have a strong preference for football, sport and business content.

iPad app

We launched our critically acclaimed iPad app in October 2011 and since then it has been downloaded more than 500,000 times (globally). With a clean, modern design and easy navigation the Guardian iPad app is immensely readable.

Traffic:

45,113 monthly unique browsers

3.45 million monthly page views

Android App

Free to download and available from the Android market worldwide it contains the latest news, sport, comment, reviews, videos, podcasts and picture galleries from the Guardian website.

Traffic:

11,000 monthly unique browsers

1.2 million monthly page views

The app delivers a globally minded audience of opinion leaders and the most popular sections include football, Comment is free and world news.

Furthermore, over one in three are heavy users and this has steadily increased over the last few months – an indication that user loyalty and engagement is growing.

SOURCE**: Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/advertising/mobile?newsfeed=true)

One tablet generates as many website visits as four smartphones

Posted: May 16, 2012 in Industry News, Information communications technology, Internet, Mediation Platforms, Mobile Internet, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Technology, Smartphones, Tablets, Technology, Wireless Technologies
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My Comments on the below:

It is becoming harder and harder to differentiate between a smartphone and tablet.  However, there are two distinctive behaviours that will not change.  Browsing the internet ‘at home’ and ‘on the go’.  There is a certain size tablet that will mainly stay at home for the internet browsing as described in the article such as an iPad or other earlier tablet devices. In parallel, the newer smaller devices such as Galaxy Note that blur the line between smartphone and tablet lean towards being a device that access information ‘on the go’ and equally ‘at home’.  The key difference is they are delivering a larger visual experience ‘on the go’ and a larger enough experience to access the internet ‘at home’ that could be considered richer than traditional smartphones.  Maybe we should call them internetphones :)

Posted By } David Moth

One tablet generates as many website visits as four smartphones, according to data from Adobe’s Digital Index Report.

By the end of Q1 2012 smartphones accounted for 6.1% of site visits compared to 4.3% on tablet.

However, smartphones only maintain a greater share of website visits due to the lower penetration rate of tablets.

The report highlights that from 2010 through to 2011 there were 5.3 times more smartphones shipped across North America and Western Europe compared to tablets.

Adobe predicts that at its current rate of growth tablet traffic will surpass smartphone traffic within 12 months.

Within a year of its launch in Q2 2010 the iPad accounted for 1% of total website visits, reaching 4.3% of total visits by the end of 2011.

In contrast, within the first two years of the iPhone market entry, smartphones accounted for 0.4% of total website visits, taking nearly three years to reach 1% of total visits.

If this trend continues then tablets will account for more than 10% of website visits in 2014.

But Adobe’s report isn’t the first piece of research to highlight the growing popularity of tablets.

A recent survey by InMobi and Mobext found that 69% of tablet owners make a purchase on their device every month.

This highlights the fact that e-tailers need to have a tablet strategy in place.

Our comprehensive blog post, ‘tablets: the opportunity for marketers‘, has a number of tips for how advertisers should seek to target tablet users.

However, we should also be careful not to overstate the importance of tablets, as despite similar levels of engagement PCs drive disproportionately more website visits than tablets.

Adobe’s report shows across North America and Western Europe there were six times more PCs shipped than tablets in between 2009 and 2011.

Yet in Q1 2012 PCs accounted for 19 times more website visits.

The reasons for this are fairly obvious – people use PCs all day at work, and most tablet owners will also use a PC for browsing at home.

Adobe report also appears to fail to take into account the millions of PCs in existence before 2009.

Finally, the data shows that tablet users are more likely to use their device to visit certain types of websites.

For example, consumers consider tablets and PCs to be nearly interchangeable for media consumption and for repeated interactions with financial service providers.

“This suggests that consumers consider tablets to be similar to PCs for visits that are repeated, routine, involve passive consumption of content, and so on.”

However, PC conversion rates are much higher than tablet for retail and travel sites, “suggesting that consumers prefer PCs for visits involving research, comparison of alternatives, and online purchasing.”

Adobe’s Digital Index Report presents findings from an analysis of 23bn visits made to more than 325 mobile and traditional brand websites from January to March of 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Via: http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/9880-one-tablet-generates-as-many-website-visits-as-four-smartphones?utm_medium=email&utm_source=daily_pulse

 

What’s Trending in 2012?

Posted: January 9, 2012 in Ad Industry, Digital Display Advertising, Digital Trends, Display advertising, Industry News, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Internet, Online, Online Advertising, Performance Advertising, Tablets
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Posted by } Alex Spencer

Image representing iPad as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

2011 was a year of rapid growth and change in the mobile advertising industry. It was the year that saw smartphones, Tablets and the mobile internet become mainstream among consumers, and that saw marketers and advertisers increase spend and begin prioritising mobile. 2012 looks set to be even more of a critical year in the development of the industry. From Adfonic’s own data and knowledge of the industry we predict that the following developments will become hot topics over the next 12 months.

Tablet boom
With the iPad being one of 2011′s most popular Christmas presents, and with the new Kindle Fire making tablets more affordable and accessible, we can expect to see tablet devices replacing lower-end laptops and notebooks over the course of 2012. It is not unrealistic to expect that Tablet ownership will more than double.

Rich media going mass market
Rich media is already emerging as a game-changer for the mobile advertising industry, as it offers the consumer a more engaging and interactive experience and facilitates superior branding opportunities for advertisers. Until now, rich media advertisements for mobile have, for the most part, been offered as a premium or niche service across a small number of high end mobile publishers. In 2012, mobile ad networks will be offering rich media on a global scale, giving advertisers access to millions of consumers and challenging budgets across other media channels.

Advertising spend shifting towards mobile
As smartphone penetration booms, consumer mobile usage will continue to increase and extend across new times of the day. For example, one of the most quoted use cases in 2011 has been consumer use of tablet or smartphone devices during TV commercials. Consumers are browsing mobile sites and using apps on their tablets and smartphones in place of TV commercial consumption, which suggests that the perception of mobile as primarily an extension of the PC internet will finally disappear. It is becoming increasingly clear that mobile operates as an alternative to the “fixed internet” for many people and this can no longer be ignored. Advertising budgets will increasingly follow the consumer over to mobile.

Phasing out of feature phones
Smartphones are now becoming more economically accessible to all consumer segments as a result of the large range of Android devices coupled with Apple’s pricing strategy for older phones. As the number of services and options begin to concentrate on tablet and smartphone platforms, advertisers and agencies will slowly phase out features phones from their plans.

Apple and UDIDs
During 2010 and 2011, much investment poured into app tracked campaigns enabling advertisers to deliver installed apps at low cost. A new common approach, superseding UDIDs, will become mainstream across agencies, advertisers, ad networks and other players in the ecosystem, as Apple plans to phase out access to the UDID on its mobile devices.

Mobile web versus applications 
During 2011, there were hints (driven predominantly by large industry players opting for HTML5 over a multi-app approach) of the mobile web challenging applications as the way forward for mobile internet usage. During 2012, we are likely to see this debate evolve with the potential for some major decisions by digital players to impact the market and force some rethinking.

Geo-location services 
There is likely to be more integration across marketing channels, platforms and other parties that will enable geo-location services and advertising to ramp up during 2012. Driven predominantly out of the US (where most geo-location business is currently concentrated) we are likely to see more demand for campaigns targeted to smaller areas (ring-fencing) with a view to driving footfall into retail stores, restaurants and other outlets.

Increasing use of mobile payments 
While this may not be the year that mobile payments become mainstream, many players will come together to make significant progress in piecing together the mobile commerce ecosystem. The success of Google Wallet last year will drive industry players forward in 2012, with major advertising events like the Olympics providing a springboard for new, exciting innovations around mobile commerce.

Facebook and mobile advertising
Facebook has been holding back on pushing mobile advertising aggressively. With close to 1bn users online, and over 300m users now accessing Facebook via their mobile, it provides a significant game-changer and possible milestone for the mobile advertising industry. However Facebook decides to execute on mobile advertising will, without a doubt, have a big impact on the digital industry in general.

Further progress on standards and privacy
With mobile advertising moving at such a fast pace in terms of innovation and market demand, there will be  increasing requirements for further standardisation (ad formats, for example, including rich media) and frameworks and policies driven by the trade bodies on privacy and data.

Via: http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/content/whats-trending-2012?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Google Ventures’ Rich Miner talks about the mobile revolution

Posted: September 13, 2011 in Industry News, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mobile Applications, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Technology, Technology, Venture Capitalism, Wireless Technologies
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Google Ventures announced recently that it is investing inAstrid, a task management app, and Crittercism, an SDK that helps provide customer support for mobile.

Google Ventures’ partner Rich Miner made the announcement during VentureBeat’s fourth annual MobileBeat conference. (We have a separate story withmore details on the Astrid investment.) We’ll be posting more on those companies throughout the day.

After the announcement, Miner answered the question on everyone’s mind: Where’s the Android fund? Kleiner Perkins has its Apple-focused iFund, but neither Google nor venture firms have anything similar for Android startups.

“I think the time has gone by,” said Miner. “It’s now all about mobile.”

The proof is in the pudding, er, funding: Astrid and Crittercism are both mobile companies.

Miner has a front seat to watch mobile phone market growth. He became a partner of Google Ventures after Android, the mobile platforms company he co-founded, was acquired six years ago. He has over 25 years of experience growing businesses with innovative communications and interface-intensive applications. During his early years at Google, he helped lead the development of the Android platform and ecosystem. Prior to Android, Rich was a Vice President at Orange, where he led R&D activities in North America and was an original principal at Orange Ventures when it was founded.

Miner recalled his early days at Google six years ago, when Android was “treated as a separate startup.” The company was self-funded when Google picked it up.

“It was Larry [Page, Google co-founder] who latched on first. He was our champion. He shared our strategic view,” said Miner. He says he was impressed that Page, his co-founder Sergey Brin and then-CEO-now-chairman Eric Schmidt understood the mobile industry. It was important for Android to have support and flexibility right from the start, and those ingredients are necessary today.

“There were skeptics about Android all the way through last year,” said Miner. “There has been a tipping point.”

That tipping point happened in the last six months, he explains. As a VC, Miner’s goal has always been to make money, and Apple’s App Store makes money. Up until last year he was recommending companies focus on iOS. Now, he says, Android is “on a rocket ship.”

Another hot topic: Where is Google going with Chrome?

Miner believes the line between Android and Chrome has been drawn: Android is for mobile, while Chrome is for desktop and laptop environments. The theme is that Google understands the open platform. Miner also believes native apps and HTML 5 both have their place. Android, however, supports both for the times you want or need to go offline.

Via: http://venturebeat.com/2011/07/12/google-ventures-rich-miner-on-the-mobile-revolution/

BOMBSHELL: Google Buying Handset Maker Motorola Mobility For $12.5 Billion

Posted: August 15, 2011 in Handset manufacturers, Industry News, Information communications technology, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Phones, Mobile Technology, Smartphones, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless Technologies
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Huge!

Google is buying handset maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in cash.

That’s a 61% premium.

Needless to say this is a gamechanger in the mobile world, as Google moves down the stack, and is no longer just an operating system provider meaning it competes directly with Apple as well as the various other handset makers who currently use Android.

What’s more, one of the biggest arguments in favor of Apple’s continued to dominance is that without a complete end-to-end “stack”, no other platform could compete with its integrated software/hardware setup.

Bear in mind that Google has over $35 billion in cash, so this answers one question about what they’ll do with it. The company still has tons more dry poweder.

Other handset makers, like RIMM and Nokia are both up pre-market on the news as the focus obviously turns to Microsoft: Is it now forced to buy one of them? Or does Microsoft benefit because the remaining handset makers (Samsung, etc.) now turn more towards Windows?

Another angle that will be scrutinized is MMI’s patent portfolio, and how that plays out.

That’s one of the key points made by Larry Page in his post on the subject:

We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to “protect competition and innovation in the open source software community” and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Appleand other companies.

Obviously lots to digest. Stay tuned with LIVE coverage all day at SAI.

Full press release below, and below that we’ve posted Larry Page’s Google blog post explaining the deal.

—————

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - News) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MMI - News) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”

Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, said, “We expect that this combination will enable us to break new ground for the Android ecosystem. However, our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community. We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

Webcast Information

Google and Motorola Mobility will hold a conference call with financial analysts to discuss this announcement today at 8:30am ET. The toll-free dial-in number for the call is 877-616-4476 (conference ID: 92149124). The call will also be webcast live at http://investor.shareholder.com/media/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=101369&CompanyID=ABEA-3VZHGF&e=1&mediaKey=A21887C59EBAAC12F1BCF4D43C080953. The webcast version of the conference call will be available through the same link following the conference call.

———————–

Supercharging Android: Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility

8/15/2011 04:35:00 AM

Since its launch in November 2007, Android has not only dramatically increased consumer choice but also improved the entire mobile experience for users. Today, more than 150 million Android devices have been activated worldwide—with over 550,000 devices now lit up every day—through a network of about 39 manufacturers and 231 carriers in 123 countries. Given Android’s phenomenal success, we are always looking for new ways to supercharge the Android ecosystem. That is why I am so excited today to announce that we have agreed to acquire Motorola.

Motorola has a history of over 80 years of innovation in communications technology and products, and in the development of intellectual property, which have helped drive the remarkable revolution in mobile computing we are all enjoying today. Its many industry milestones include the introduction of the world’s first portable cell phone nearly 30 years ago, and the StarTAC—the smallest and lightest phone on earth at time of launch. In 2007, Motorola was a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance that worked to make Android the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. I have loved my Motorola phones from the StarTAC era up to the current DROIDs.

In 2008, Motorola bet big on Android as the sole operating system across all of its smartphone devices. It was a smart bet and we’re thrilled at the success they’ve achieved so far. We believe that their mobile business is on an upward trajectory and poised for explosive growth.

Motorola is also a market leader in the home devices and video solutions business. With the transition to Internet Protocol, we are excited to work together with Motorola and the industry to support our partners and cooperate with them to accelerate innovation in this space.

Motorola’s total commitment to Android in mobile devices is one of many reasons that there is a natural fit between our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers everywhere.

This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences.

We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to “protect competition and innovation in the open source software community” and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.

The combination of Google and Motorola will not only supercharge Android, but will also enhance competition and offer consumers accelerating innovation, greater choice, and wonderful user experiences. I am confident that these great experiences will create huge value for shareholders.

I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.

Posted by Larry Page, CEO

Via: http://www.businessinsider.com/breaking-google-buying-motorola-mobility-for-125-billion-2011-8#ixzz1V6KELtUY

Millennial Media Acquires Mobile Data Startup Condaptive

Posted: May 25, 2011 in Display advertising, Industry News, Information communications technology, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mobile Ad Networks, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Technology, Technology
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Posted By ] Leena Rao

Mobile ad network Millennial Media is making a purchase today— mobile data startup Condaptive. Condaptive’s technology focuses on audience formation and development through the innovative analysis of location and data. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Condaptive takes a deep data dive on location-based, mobile data. It’s focus is not just on where their customers are, but also on who they are and what they need. The startup’s platform allows developers to build build location and context aware applications.

Millennial, which just raised $27.5 million in new funding, says that audience formation within mobile is an area of key value for both developers and advertisers. Condaptive’s technology will help the company’s advertisers and developers deliver more relevant mobile experiences for consumers.

The full Condaptive team will be integrated into Millennial Media’s Technology and Innovation Group; Condaptive Founder & CEO, Hemang Gadhia, will assume the position of Senior Vice President, Audience Intelligence for Millennial Media.

As one of the last (and largest) independent mobile ad networks, Millennial has been reportedlyconsidering an IPO in the near future. The mobile ad space is highly competitive and clearly, Millennial is using some of its cash to help boost its own offerings. Last year the company acquired analytics startup TapMetrics.

As the company told us earlier this year, Millennial tripled revenue in 2010 from 2009 and achieved profitability. According to IDC research published last December, Millennial Media was on target to make $35 million in U.S. mobile advertising revenue for 2009, so revenues could be well over $100 million.

Via: http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/25/millennial-media-acquires-mobile-data-startup-condaptive/

Google to show off mobile wallet for Android phone

Posted: May 25, 2011 in E-Commerce, Financial Services, Industry News, Information communications technology, M-Commerce, Mobile Applications, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Payment Solutions, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Technology, Technology
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Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...

Image via CrunchBase

Posted By ] Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

Google is set to introduce a mobile payments platform that will turn its Android smartphones into a digital wallet.

At an event in New York on Thursday, the tech giant is expected to show off the technology called near field communication or NFC.

The technology allows devices to ‘talk’ to one another wirelessly.

Consumers wave their phones in front of a reader at a checkout to pay for a purchase or to receive special offers.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the programme will initially be launched in New York and San Francisco before being extended more widely across the US.

Retailers who are said to be taking part include deparment store Macy’s, American Eagle Outfitters and Subway fast-food chain.

While Google has made no comment on the reports, it has sent out invites to the press asking them to attend an event at its New York offices where it will show off its “latest innovations”.

Mobile network operator Sprint is also expected to take part.

In January Google chairman Eric Schmidt wrote in a guest edition of the Harvard Business Review that mobile money is a key part of Google’s strategy for 2011.

“Phones, as we know, are used as banks in many poorer parts of the world—and modern technology means that their use as financial tools can go much further than that,” said Mr Schmidt.

Demand

Research firm Forrester has said it expects 40-50 million NFC equipped phones to be sold in 2011.

Apple is reportedly planning to include the technology in its upcoming iPhone 5 which is expected to be unveiled at its developer conference next month.

Microsoft is also said to be making plans to incorporate NFC in future Windows phones as is BlackBerry maker RIM.

Samsung and Visa have said they will facilitate mobile payments via NFC on smartphones during the summer Olympics in London next year.

“Google’s Nexus S device that it recently announced is the first Android powered device supporting NFC and we expect NFC is going to increasingly become a default feature of every smartphone that is sold over the next couple of years,” Charles Govlin, principal analysts at Forrester told BBC News.

Market researcher Gartner said with the total value of mobile transactions reaching $245 billion in 2014, demand for mobile wallet services will be huge.

But not everyone is convinced that contactless payments using a phone will replace cash.

“In my view, while I think it is clear that potentially these phone-based transactions will be widespread, it will happen slowly. One reason being that consumer behaviour changes very slowly,” said Mr Govlin.

“The big beneficiary here will be Google, a company that is all about information. The metadata involved in such transactions could allow Google to serve ads and make you a more valuable target for advertisers,” he added.

Last week the first NFC service was announced in the United Kingdom involving Orange and Barclaycard.

Mobile wallet services have been available in Japan for a number of years.

Watch: Rory Cellan-Jones demonstrates how it can work, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13540466

Via: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13540466

Vodafone wants governments to push demand for mobile internet

Posted: May 20, 2011 in Government and Public Sector, Industry News, Information communications technology, Internet, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Technology, Technology, Telecommunications
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Fibre optic strands

Image via Wikipedia

posted By ] Lawrence Latif

MOBILE OPERATOR Vodafone claims that investment in fibre optic networks is “expensive and unnecessary”.

Vodafone made the bold statement after funding a report that was co-authored by itself and the World Wide Web Foundation, which said that in emerging markets, such as India, mobile phones will become the primary devices to access the internet. The report also claimed that social notworking websites will be used to deliver local content to users.

Deployment of fibre optic networks, according to Vodafone, is a significant investment that is “unsustainable given the cost of deployment in rural areas“. Since Vodafone flogs wireless data services, there’s no surprise that the firm said greater emphasis should be placed on increasing content which in turn will cause demand for data services to increase and result in “increasing business opportunities”.

Vodafone’s survey looked at three Indian states to compare the feasibility of installing fibre compared to wireless networks. Its investigation found that installing fibre would be commercially viable in only three per cent of the districts whereas wireless networks were commercially viable in 98 per cent of the districts.

With Ofcom preparing for UK’s ’4G’ auction next year, Vodafone made an early bid to try to grease the wheels by applying pressure on regulators to make it easier for telecoms operators to get into the 4G game. It said, “Regulators should focus on consumer welfare when making spectrum available for service providers as the availability of spectrum will drive technology innovations and better coverage for the growing demand for mobile broadband services. Tapping spectrum as a source of short-term government revenue costs the economy billions more in lost economic value.”

It has long been known that high bandwidth wireless technologies such as WiMax would significantly lower the cost of delivering internet access in rural areas and in developing nations. However as Vodafone’s report points out, mobile operators have been bitten once already by bidding insane amounts of money to obtain 3G licenses and now they want to ensure that whatever money they do spend, they can recoup.

Vodafone’s report was never going to suggest increasing prices or lowering data usage caps, instead it did something more subversive, recommend governments promote greater dependence on data intensive web services.

It all makes you wonder who’s scratching who’s back.

Via: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2072507/vodafone-governments-push-demand-mobile-internet#ixzz1MtsM01gM

Shoes.com: 85pc of purchases come from mobile Web, not apps

Posted: May 11, 2011 in Digital Marketing, Digital Trends, E-Commerce, Industry News, Information communications technology, Internet, M-Commerce, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Applications, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Search, Mobile Technology, Multichannel Marketing, Online, Publishing, Publishing Industry, Retail, Search, Smartphones, Strategy and Planning, Technology, Telecommunications
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My Comments on the below:

I am a bit late finding this article but there you go.  I find the stats really interesting.  Despite the fact they offer shoes for all, I am guessing here that their main user base is made up of Women.  I can instantly relate to their experience.  If I look at my partner who since purchasing her an android phone (6 months ago), who by the way is a kind of techno-phoebe, has moved from a 0 to a 10 user of the mobile internet (0 being not at all and 10 being everyday more than once).  However, despite this amazing change of her use of phones not once has she been bothered by apps.  This is not because she is not aware or has not tried them but she is used to searching for content when she wants.  She finds it easy.  She already knows which sites she has interest in and what sites she would buy clothes/shoes and whatever other flavour.  It is interesting as her peers also share the same thought process, yet their male counterparts and very engrossed into both mobile internet & apps.  In fact the more I think about it especially apps that help them not have to think for themselves or games of course!  Anyhow, before I digress, this supports the experience shoes.com has described.  As women, being the main demographic (again this is an assumption) of shoes.com, they are comfortable and familiar with SEARCH (and aren’t we all, no matter our gender) hence making more purchases via the mobile site than apps.  Therefore, as long as the e-commerce site is mobile optimised and the URL re-directs are in place then their customers will happily discover and purchase via the mobile internet site (as we in the industry call m-commerce, a transaction made via the mobile device).

In the early adoption days of mobile internet we saw that many publisher, media owners and e-commerce sites were receiving anywhere up to 5% of their users online coming from a mobile device.  Whilst with one hand this was positive news, with the other it was bad. As the sites that were not optimised for mobile you can start to work out the potential loss of revenues and/or damage to the brand/media owner by delivering a poor user experience and/or no real payment flow.  Traditional publishers and media owners quickly woke up when they saw these stats.  However, the retail industry was very slow to react.  It wasn’t until Steve Jobs created the iPhone and apps that they retail sector started to take the space semi-seriously.  It is great to see now how retailers or e-commerce sites are starting to understand and experience this space better and as the article suggests ‘not just jumping on the app-bandwagon’.

Posted By ] Rimma Kats

Shoes.com's mobile site

SAN FRANCISCO – A Brown Shoes Co. exec at the Mobile Shopping Summit said that 85 percent of mobile purchases come from the shoes.com mobile site and not its applications, proving that retailers should focus on having a Web presence before jumping on the app bandwagon.

Panelists during the “Mobile Roadmap Part I: Key Evaluation Criteria For Developing Your Initial Mobile Platform – The Keys To Mobile Merchandizing” session discussed the challenges and success their companies face with mobile. The panel was moderated by Marci Troutman, CEO of Sitminis, Atlanta.

“We had a strong ecommerce platform,” said Pete Hogan, vice president of ecommerce at Brown Shoe Co., St. Louis. “We were seeing a lot of agencies contact us about mobile and there were few players in the game two years ago.

“Eighty-five percent of our mobile sales come from the mobile Web and not apps,” he said.

Future of mobile
According to Mr. Hogan, the company’s long-term mobile strategy will involve the use of HTML5 to provide a richer experience to consumers on their mobile devices.

For companies that are looking to develop mobile sites or apps, it is important to keep the consumer in mind and try to make the overall mobile commerce experience as seamless as possible.

“Think about your business and how many times people touch your business,” Mr. Hogan said. “If you’re Starbucks then it’s daily, if you’re McDonalds it’s weekly.

“If our customer is a registered customer, we wanted to make sure we auto filled their shipping information,” he said. “That’s where you help them save time.”

A majority of consumers who download applications to their mobile devices do not use most of them.

A mobile site is an ideal tool to capture that consumer at the point-of-sale, per the panelists.

However, companies wanting to enter the application space should make sure that their apps provide a different experience than the mobile site. A lot of the time, mobile apps are geared towards loyalists, pushing deals and alerts to them daily.

There needs to be an incentive for consumers to click on that app icon when they want to shop instead of going to the company’s mobile site.

The mobile site, on the other hand, is an access point for existing and potential customers and should be treated with that in mind.

Brown Shoe first developed a mobile site and then an iPhone application.

Currently, the company has three iPhone applications, three mobile-optimized sites and three Android apps.

According to Mr. Hogan, the company’s mobile site mimics its ecommerce site and now features personalized recommendations and ratings.

“We tried to add most of the bells and whistles,” Mr. Hogan said. “However, there are still a few missing things.

“Tracking is also important – we can see when customers are coming to our mobile properties,” he said. “The ROI is trackable.”

Mobile extension
Dale Monson, senior vice president of operations at The Sportsman’s Guide, said that the company is currently working on a second version of its mobile site.

Although the company has a mobile presence, Mr. Monson said that it has not invested in marketing efforts to promote its applications.

“When we launched our iPhone app, we wanted to make sure we were in the market,” Mr. Monson said. “The main challenge we had was a lot of items on our Web site and it’s difficult to push that into the mobile and have consumers shop easily.

“However, we have not had a good marketing program yet to push the downloads,” he said. “We have not invested in marketing efforts for our apps.”

Via: http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/2011/04/28/shoes-com-85pc-of-purchases-come-from-mobile-web-not-apps

Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily and Mobile Marketer. Reach her at rimma@mobilemarketer.com.

Accessing the mobile internet: which device is king?

Posted: May 10, 2011 in Digital Marketing, Industry News, Information communications technology, Internet, Mobile Internet, Mobile Platforms, Smartphones, Tablets, Technology
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Image representing Broadband Genie as depicted...

Image via CrunchBase

Posted By ] Marie-Paule Graham of Broadband Genie

The internet is omni-present and if you want to access much of the world, getting on the internet is the fastest way to do it. High street retail has been massively hit by the likes of Amazon and this trend is set to continue.

So, what’s the best platform for accessing the internet when not at home?

There are three: laptop; smartphone or tablet.

Dongles

Dongles are great for people who carry their laptops with them all day. For something just a little bigger than a USB stick, you get all the power of the internet on the move. Dongles also have Wi-Fi capabilities allowing you to drop into a wi-fi hotspot when you need to.

The best packages are determined by several factors: speed, download limits, coverage and price. if you’re a heavy user, contracts will give you faster speeds, larger download limits and a better price ong term. For infrequent users, Pay As You Go (PAYG) is lighter on the pocket, but the speed is slower.

The major plus of the dongle is that you can do everything you would expect to from an office or home connection while on the move; important for business users. All providers also offer a free laptop when you sign a 2-year contract.

Smartphone

Their great strength is the portable accessibility to the world at large. The device itself is a computer on which you can view attachments, a browser for email and general web surfing, a camera, a portable TV. Some models like the Sony Ericcson Xperia Play have been tailored specifically for gamers or the Nokia X6 for music lovers. Other models like the iPhone and HTC range do everything pretty well, allowing the user to define the device.

Using your smartphone, you can blog with text, images and video; broadcast your take on an event through your social media channels – the operation to kill Osama bin Laden was ‘live tweeted’ by an unsuspecting local who was woken by US helicopters at 1am. You can stream music, TV and live events; connect with industry peers, celebrities and friends; you can trade on the stock market; you can make e-commerce transaction. Recently, Vodafone announced an app that allows you to pay for taxis through your smartphone.

An activity as personal and private as internet banking is much easier to do in a public place with a smartphone than it would be in an internet cafe. Keeping your security codes private is much easier on a handheld device than on a large qwerty keyboard. Using your smartphone means banking can happen more at your convenience than ever before.

Smartphones are the beautiful toys at the centre of our personal worlds. They also have a darker side.

Google’s Android App Market is open, allowing anyone to create an app for sale. In March this year, Google removed 21 popular apps from its store after discovering they were malware masquerading as something fun or useful.

Apple were criticised recently after revelations that the company regularly tracks and stores iPhone and iPad users’ location data. Tracking is necessary for location based apps, but alarms were raised when it was revealed user’s caches held unencrypted data from 10 months ago. Apple have admitted the software is flawed and announced they will reduce the size of the cache, encrypt the actual data stored and block location gathering when the user switches the location services off. Google’s Android platform also does this, but the information is more secure. This hasn’t stopped lawsuits being filed in the U.S.

Apple have admitted failure on the part of technology creators to educate users on this issue.

Tablets

Tablet technology is evolving quickly, with names like Blackberry Playbook, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy TAB and Dell Streak all swimming in the wake of the iPad 2.

The big advantage of a tablet computer is the size, thickness – or lack of – and weight. User experience varies between brands with the Samsung tablet lying neatly in one hand at 7.1”, while the iPad 2 needs two hands for fully user enjoyment.

Some brands are allowing development of tablet-native apps and some not. Those who don’t are being caught out in the usability department.

3G models use the same network as dongles and Smartphone’s, and face the same issues with speed and coverage. The major upside for 3G users is the Data Plan: a 1 month rolling contract that offers a particular speed and download limit valid for 30 days. Some carriers are offering tablets on exactly the same 2-year deals they offer with laptops. However, with the speed of the markets evolution, the iPad released two years from now will probably have five times the capacity and capabilities of today’s latest release. Something to bear in mind before you sign on the dotted line.

About the author: Marie-Paule Graham writes on behalf of Broadband Genie and Mobile Phone Genie, the independent comparison websites for broadband and mobile phones.

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