Posts Tagged ‘App store’

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
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0
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)

Square Launches iPad Point-Of-Sale Service (over a million transactions in May)

Posted: May 24, 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, Tablets, Technology, Wireless Technologies
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

Posted By ] Thomas Claburn

At press event in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, mobile commerce company Square launched two new mobile applications designed to make mobile commerce easier and more accessible than ever before.

Square Register is an iPad app–available for download today–that facilitates retail checkout, sales tracking, and customer communication. Square Register allows merchants to use an iPad instead of a cash register or credit card terminal.

“We think that this obsoletes credit terminals and cash registers,” said Square CEO Jack Dorsey at the press event. “Those are a thing of the past.”

A consumer-oriented app for both iPhone and Android users called Card Case complements the Square Register merchant app. Card Case stores virtual merchant-branded information cards thatenable and promote local commerce. Think of Card Case as a virtual wallet populated with virtual credit cards, each associated with a particular vendor.

Dorsey likens these information cards to opening a tab at bar: They provide an easy way to return to the seller and charge another item. In essence, these cards combine loyalty cards with a local commerce angle.

For merchants, Dorsey’s value proposition goes beyond reducing the friction of commerce. The Square system provides immediate access to useful business metrics.

“It gives you data,” said Dorsey. “Every single merchant that uses the Square Register has Google-style analytics for everything they do. They can easily answer the question, ‘How many cappuccinos did I sell today?’”

The cost to merchants is a 2.75% transaction fee for swiped credit cards or 3.5% + 15 for credit card numbers entered manually.

Square Register and Card Case include: access to a location-based Directory, which provides merchants with a way to publish information about their business that Card Case users can discover; a Menu feature, for publishing menus, items, and specials to customers; and Tabs, a one-click payment mechanism.

IDC analyst Aaron McPherson expressed skepticism that Square’s system will be widely adopted because it requires both the merchant and consumer to have the right software installed. “It’s a closed system where both the merchant and consumer have to get involved,” he said. “But to the extent this can work purely in software using the mobile network as a communication channel, Square has an advantage.”

McPherson said he hoped Square would work to integrate its system with a PC-based point-of-sale system. “The iPad as a tablet is very hard to secure,” he said. “People might just rip them off counters.”

Square was founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, one of three co-founders of Twitter, and Jim McKelvey. The company launched its free, portable credit card reader for the iPhone and Android phones in early 2010. To date, the company says it has delivered 500,000 of credit card readers, resulting in over a million transactions in May. Based on current usage, the company projects $1 billion in annualized gross payment volume.

Businesses that wish to participate in Card Case can apply online; there are presently 50 authorized Square merchants in Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington, DC where consumers can have their Card Case accounts activated. An Android version of Card Case is expected to be available shortly.

Via: http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/229625404

Vodafone reverses 360 strategy – cloud not devices

Posted: July 27, 2010 in Industry News, Information communications technology, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Applications, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Phones, Mobile Technology, Smartphones, Technology, Telecommunications
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Posted By CAROLINE GABRIEL. Published: 27 July, 2010

One of the biggest dilemmas facing operators, as they seek to keep their brands foremost in users’ minds despite the sparkle of Android and Apple, is where they can best achieve this. Should they take on Nokia in branding the devices, create their own user interface to rival HTC Sense – or, and perhaps more realistically, draw their power from the capabilities of their networks and servers? Some carriers are admitting defeat at the smartphone end and looking to attract customers and new revenues by harnessing network features like location, and the growing importance of the mobile cloud.

Vodafone seems to be going in this direction with a rethink of its 360 web services strategy, launched last year but delivering mixed results so far. The cellco now plans to give up on own-branded handsets for 360, reports Total Telecom, and focus instead on expanding the mobile back-up and other cloud services under the brand.

Although own-brand cellphones remain important at the low end, Vodafone will look to entice handset vendors to preload 360 services on their devices, rather than competing with them. It has already released a version of the 360 store for Android, as well as its launch operating system, LiMO – a Linux-based OS that is heavily driven by the operators, but has not achieved the market weight of its Google backed alternative. And it has even said it would like to see 360 apps on the iPhone.

True to its new approach, the carrier is to halt development of its second generation 360-branded smartphone, the LiMO-based H2 from Samsung. The existing two 360 handsets, M1 and H1, are also from Samsung, although the services are supported across a wide variety of non-cellco phones too, numbering about 100 models and five platforms.

“From now on we will be focusing all efforts on expanding the range of handsets and platforms that support Vodafone 360 and in developing and enhancing the suite of Vodafone 360 services,” said the operator in a statement to Total Telecom. “Consequently there will be no further development of bespoke Vodafone 360 handsets, and activity on the H2 ceases with immediate effect.”

The change of heart is a blow for LiMO, whose selling point is the way it supports carrier brands and business models. Outside its Japanese stronghold, Vodafone 360 had been its flagship alliance and Verizon Wireless was expected to launch a similar service with LiMO devices later in 2010.

URL Link:

http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2010/07/27/vodafone-reverses-360-strategy-cloud-devices.htm

How Google is actually holding Android back

Posted: July 7, 2010 in Industry News, Information communications technology, Mobile Applications, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Phones, Mobile Technology, Smartphones, Technology, Telecommunications
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

My Comments on the below:

I think the lack of the trusted iTunes model is a big deterrent too.  Being able to seamlessly sync your movies, videos, music and apps through one trusted billing model such as iTunes is what is missing with Googles Android Marketplace. I believe Android would really dominate the smartphone market up and beyond the rest.  This too would keep developers happy and continue the growth of content being created for users of the platform.

Posted on 06 July 2010 by by Chris Stobie at RCRW Unplugged

It would seem that the word “Android” pops up everywhere nowadays. It’s the in word when it comes to anything mobile related, a true challenger to the iPhone throne as king of the smartphone heap, so it is perhaps a little surprising that its creator, Google, seems to have been unwittingly holding it back from even greater glory.

Two years ago Android was but a pipe dream on the mobile horizon, with most people writing it off as simply another attempt by a big company to cash in on the burgeoning growth of the smartphone market, with little chance of it gaining much traction.

In those two short years, however, Google’s Android platform has gained traction and then some, performing a feat nobody really thought possible; taking on and in some cases actually overtaking the phenomenon that is Apple’s iPhone.

It has certainly not been an easy road for Google’s OS, however and there are still numerous issues like platform fragmentation -where phone manufacturers get sloppy and don’t keep their phones up to date with the latest versions of Android – for example. To be fair, Google seems to come out with a new version of the operating system every few weeks, much to the chagrain of developers and handset makers alike.

While platform fragmentation has been catching all the headlines, however, what is really holding Android back is the Android Marketplace.

Sure, the Android Marketplace sports thousands of new apps being added daily and has seen phenomenal growth, but Google’s app platform faces a significant problem, namely the lack of international support for Google checkout, an important part of the app submitting process.

Of course we’re all aware by now of the nonsense rules and regulations imposed by Apple on its iPhone developers, with apps seemingly rejected simply because the wind is blowing from the East the day it is reviewed for approval. We’re also all aware of just how open and supposedly developer friendly the Android marketplace is, but as it turns out, that’s not entirely an accurate perception.

If you’re a developer living in, say, Australia and you want to submit a paid app to the marketplace? Well, tough luck, because you can’t!

Unless you live in Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, the U.S. or the U.K. - the only countries which actually support Google Checkout to sell applications on Android Market -

then you are a developer out of luck. Developers in other countries can only submit their apps as free applications, which certainly doesn’t spur motivation.

Indeed, developers world-over are getting rather fed up with this approach which seems to be either neglecting them or forcing them to either give away their foreign work for free. Many have decided not to bother with Android at all, a great loss for the platform.

While Apple may have its issues, at least the Cupertino firm ensures its developers across the globe can submit their work and set a price for it, which seems more fair to content makers……

Read more at URL Link:

http://unplugged.rcrwireless.com/index.php/20100706/app-corner/1826/how-google-is-actually-holding-android-back/

Nokia Loses Battle for Apps as IPhone, Android Snare Developers

Posted: June 14, 2010 in Industry News, Information communications technology, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Applications, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Phones, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Technology, Smartphones, Technology, Telecommunications
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

My Comment:

What many people overlook here is the iTunes model.  Asides for the obvious differences in platform development and handset capabilities, even if Nokia get up to speed they do not have iTunes (it is not just about the developer).  So as a user of this demographic, the choice of a phone that comes with iTunes is much more powerful than one without.  Therefore, this compliments apps as the model roles on into the app store and people already understand the payment process.  They already have all their music and movies synced with the account.  They do not have to start buying a load of music again to load on to a new device from the Ovi store, which is by far sub-standard to iTunes.  When the app hysteria settles and the focus shifts elsewhere, this will leave Ovi store with a very uncertain future, and a hefty investment bill from trying to play catch up.  This too also stands for other platforms including Google’s Android, although their demographic to-date is mainly made up of geeky males that just love gadgetry (not a bad move).

Posted By ] Diana ben-Aaron June 13, 2010, 6:26 PM EDT

June 14 (Bloomberg) — As Nokia Oyj prepares to introduce its latest flagship smartphone, developer Jan Ole Suhr says he knows why the brains behind addictive applications are shunning the Finnish company.

“It’s difficult for small developers to invest in the smartphone segment of Nokia when nobody knows its future,” said Suhr, creator of Twitter application “Gravity,” which was showcased by Nokia when it opened its Ovi applications store last year. “The new shiny things aren’t available and there’s only the old-fashioned stuff, where it takes a lot of work to make the software look good.”

Nokia’s 41 percent share of the smartphone market, the fastest-growing piece of the mobile-phone industry, has failed to make it the platform of choice for software writers. It is instead at the bottom of the pile, behind Apple Inc.’s iPhone and devices based on Google Inc.’s Android.

Developers of games, music, videos, media and other apps want to see if the N8, Nokia’s first device running the Symbian 3 system for touchscreen phones, delivers on promises of improved look and feel, an easier interface and operability across devices — in short, if it’s more like an iPhone. For many, the device scheduled to be released in the third quarter has been too slow in the making and may still disappoint.

“Symbian needs a more competitive platform to attract users, early adopters who are the sort of people who download lots of apps,” said Gartner Inc. analyst Nick Jones. “We may have to wait until Symbian 4 to get a really compelling Symbian device, so that the ecosystem may not start to achieve its full potential until 2011.”

‘No Visibility’

The world’s largest mobile-phone maker’s failure to lure apps developers, whose products help sell iPhones and Android devices, adds to the perception that its devices are behind the times. With Apple last week unveiling iPhone 4, with a video- chat feature, and Android devices chalking up sales, the Espoo, Finland-based Nokia risks not being able to recoup lost ground.

Nokia may post lower-than-expected second-quarter profit because of a weak product range and falling prices, Macquarie Group Ltd. analysts said last week. There’s “no visibility on the N8, continued heavy competition in handsets and softening demand,” Phil Cusick and colleagues wrote in a June 9 report.

Chief Executive Officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in April he expects sales of handsets and associated services to be between 6.7 billion euros and 7.2 billion euros in the second quarter. He cut the company’s full-year margin forecast, citing the slow development of the N8.

Apple Effect

Nokia shares have plummeted 51 percent since Apple opened its App Store on July 11, 2008. Its market value has shrunk to 29 billion euros from 203 billion euros in 1999, when it was Europe’s most-valuable company.

Nokia, which doesn’t disclose its catalog size, says it has 1.7 million downloads a day of apps including QuickOffice, Skype Internet calling service, Shazam music identifier, Spotify music, Snake games and Lonely Planet travel guides. The company’s secrecy about the number of apps is “probably because it’s still rather small,” said Gartner’s Jones.

Its offerings lag behind Apple’s App Store, which has more than 225,000 apps. Android has more than 70,000, according to Androlib.com, which tracks the platform’s apps.

More than 5 billion programs have been downloaded from its store, Apple says. IPhone users spend more on apps than people with Android devices, who in turn spend more than users of Nokia handsets, developers say. That drives software efforts.

‘Six of Six’

Nokia opened the Ovi Store to offer developers a channel to the 68 million people a year who buy its smartphones. Developers spoiled by iPhone tools say they found Nokia’s software and storefront clunky. Many are turning to Android and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry.

“The Ovi Store doesn’t have any traction in the U.S.,” said Ken Willner, CEO of Zumobi Inc. in Seattle “They’re probably number six of six,” behind Apple, Google, Palm Inc., RIM and Microsoft Corp.

Willner’s company, whose applications present media content such as MSNBC and Parenting magazine on iPhones, chose Android- run devices as its second platform, bypassing Nokia.

“Large numbers of developers see Nokia as less relevant for distributing apps,” said Martin Garner, a London-based analyst at CCS Insight. “They prefer to work with software that has obvious growth momentum in the market.”

Shrinking Share

The market share of Symbian, Nokia’s main smartphone operating system, fell to 44.3 percent in the first quarter from 48.8 percent a year ago, according to Gartner. Although mostly on Nokia phones, Symbian is also used by Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Ericsson. iPhone’s share rose to 15.4 percent from 10.5 percent, while Android soared to 9.6 percent from 1.6 percent.

Nokia says its new line of smartphones with Symbian 3 and Symbian 4 improves the user interface and carries a new version of tools for developers, making cross-device development easier.

“You’ll see a big improvement in terms of the store experience with the introduction of the N8, as well as with subsequent devices,” said George Linardos, the Nokia vice president who runs the Ovi Store. He cautioned that there won’t be any “immaculate moment” when the store is perfect. “I look at this as the first innings of a very, very long game.”

Switching to Android

Many developers don’t want to wait, and say they can’t take the risk of developing for a yet-to-be-perfected platform. Even long-time Nokia software authors are looking elsewhere.

Take Alan Masarek, chief executive officer of Quickoffice Inc. in Plano, Texas. Nokia helped his 150-person company become one of the biggest independent mobile apps developers with its stripped-down word processor and spreadsheet running on more than 240 million mobile devices worldwide.

About 1 1/2 years ago Masarek, whose software is preloaded on all Nokia Symbian devices, began working on Android phones.

“That in hindsight has proven to be a good move,” he said. “The numbers on Android are very ascendant right now. We’re on all these devices that just started shipping in meaningful volumes the last two quarters.”

Android-based smartphones threaten to top the iPhone in 2013 in market share, according to Framingham, Massachusetts- based IDC. Shipments of Android devices may reach 68 million that year, making it the second-most popular operating system after Symbian, according to IDC.

For Quickoffice, Apple and Android now each account for about 30 percent of shipments against 40 percent on Symbian.

‘No Comparison’

Some developers are shunning Symbian entirely so far.

“Development on Symbian has historically been difficult and Google and Apple leapfrogged Nokia in terms of developer friendliness in the past two years,” said Phil Libin, chief executive officer of Mountain View, Calif.-based Evernote Corp. “There’s no comparison.”

His 30-person company’s main product is a note-taking application that runs on desktop computers, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Palm’s WebOS and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile — all except Nokia’s Symbian.

Apple has a system in place that makes selling and buying apps easy and painless, said Joseph Darling, a long-time Nokia user in Sydney, Australia, who opted to develop his ParkWatch parking monitor application for Apple.

“They have a payment system that was already popular for music and video,” he said. “That takes you from browsing to buying in a couple of clicks. They’ve brought that entire community over into apps. It’s hard for others to duplicate.”

Gravity’s Suhr, who lives in Berlin, is one of the few developers to have worked on mastering the Nokia system, supporting himself by writing apps for it since 2002.

His application, which lets users read and write Twitter messages on phones, was touted by Nokia at the launch of its N97 smartphone last year. Suhr says Gravity is “almost the only application that makes a Nokia device look like an iPhone.”

“It should have been very easy to create Gravity-like applications to cover other functions,” he says. “And then I bet the whole reception of the platform and the phone would have been very different.”

–Editors: Vidya Root, Heather Harris

URl Link: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-13/nokia-loses-battle-for-apps-as-iphone-android-snare-developers.html

Is Apple really this dumb?

Posted: June 11, 2010 in Information communications technology, Internet, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Industry News, Multichannel Marketing, Smartphones, Technology
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

Posted 10 June 2010 09:07am by Patricio Robles

Apple’s rise to the top of the tech world has been marked just as much by controversy as it has by success in the mobile market. The company’s desire for control has made it a target for critics, and potentially for regulators.

Apple attracted the spotlight when it implemented new rules that essentially killed Adobe’s iPhone/iPad ambitions by making it clear that apps developed using Adobe’s Packager for iPhone tool contained in the newest version Flash Professional would not make it into the App Store. And its dislike for Flash was made abundantly clear when the iPad was unveiled, sans Flash support.

Despite the fact that Apple did receive criticism for its position vis-à-vis Flash, Flash isn’t the easiest victim to sympathize with given how unpopular it is in many camps.

But the new Apple policy announced on Monday may be the most problematic yet. This policy deals with Section 3.3.9 of Apple’s developer agreement, which now reads:

You and Your Applications may not collect, use, or disclose to any third party, user or device data without prior user consent, and then only under the following conditions:

- The collection, use or disclosure is necessary in order to provide a service or function that is directly relevant to the use of the Application. For example, without Apple’s prior written consent, You may not use third party analytics software in Your Application to collect and send device data to a third party for aggregation, processing, or analysis.

- The collection, use or disclosure is for the purpose of serving advertising to Your Application; is provided to an independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads (for example, an advertising service provider owned by or affiliated with a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems or development environments other than Apple would not qualify as independent); and the disclosure is limited to UDID, user location data, and other data specifically designated by Apple as available for advertising purposes.

The implication of this language is quite obvious: if you’re an iPhone/iPad developer, you cannot monetize your apps using Google-owned mobile advertising network, AdMob.

Unless Apple has a change of heart, AdMob and parent Google join Adobe as the latest companies to be expelled from the Apple ecosystem by emperor decree. AdMob/Google and Adobe are, of course, not small businesses, and they’re arguably some of Apple’s most capable competitors. Which begs the question: is Apple really this dumb?

While there’s a strong argument to be made that Apple should have the right to set the terms developers have to abide by if they want to develop for the iPhone and iPad, Apple isn’t creating much plausible deniability here. It is clearly trying to keep specific companies from playing a part in its ecosystem. Even for those of us who think Apple should be allowed to make bad strategic decisions (and eventually pay the price for them), there can be little doubt that Apple is serving up a juicy steak for hungry antitrust regulators, as my colleague wrote in her post yesterday.

Given Apple’s ‘gloves off‘ approach to keeping its competitors from participating in the iPhone/iPad economy, it seems that government action is a ‘when, not if‘ matter. Apple’s behavior, whether legal or not, meets the established definition of ‘anticompetitive‘, as established by bureacrats, and regulators must certainly recognize that if they don’t take action to reign it in, many of the arguments they’ve made over the years in other antitrust cases will look downright hypocritical and incredulous.

Clearly, Apple doesn’t think it can become the next Microsoft. Perhaps it’s the result of pure arrogance, or maybe naivety. Or perhaps it’s a result of the fact that Apple has played the role of underdog for so long. Whatever the case, Steve Jobs is on the brink of becoming the next Bill Gates — something he probably won’t relish.

It didn’t have to be this way. While Apple would have always faced a certain level of scrutiny given its high-profile position in the mobile market, it has enough power and influence within its ecosystem to allow companies like Adobe and Google to compete while still maintaining significant advantages that would have made the ‘competition‘ academic in nature. In short, Apple could have permitted companies like Adobe and Google to have a go at it, but still kept the control it has today.

Interestingly, by competing smarter, Apple probably would have been able to keep regulators at bay. Not only would the company be better off for it, consumers would bebetter off for it too.

URL Link:

http://econsultancy.com/blog/6060-is-apple-really-this-dumb?utm_medium=email&utm_source=topic

Mobile commerce: should you have a site or an app?

Posted: February 28, 2010 in Customer Relationship Marketing, Digital Marketing, Display advertising, E-Commerce, Industry News, Information communications technology, Location Based Services, M-Commerce, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Search, Mobile Technology, Retail, Sms, SMS Advertising, SMS Marketing, Telecommunications, Trade Associations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

My Comments on the below article:

M-commerce is a natural progression for retailers to extend their existing e-commerce operations.  I also have the viewpoint that m-commerce will leapfrog e-commerce in less established markets. After all mobile internet has done this in countries like India, China, Korea (to name a few) so why not m-commerce? Retailers have been traditionally slow in taking up mobile as a marketing/sales channel.  It was no different in the early fixed internet days. However, with players like Google and Apple moving into the market, I do believe Retailers are being forced to wake up and realise the true potential of this device.  Whilst they are behind other sectors in mobile adoption, it is not too late for them to get involved.

Unfortunately, we have already seen retailers start to embrace mobile with the wrong strategy and are making the mistakes that others are savvy too. We are seeing retailers jump on the app bandwagon without considering the mobile internet first, this is a classic mistake to make.

Mobile Internet is at the heart of Mobile Marketing campaigns. The key to this is to remember mobile works best when integrated into traditional media whatever the format.  Mobile applications are just one element to utilise as a marketing channel. At present only iphone applications are offering the rich levels brands would expect and the experience consumers would hope for. The others are some way behind.  There is limited reach, as in the UK iphone has only **17% handset penetration (much less Globally) with Blackberry slightly higher on **20% and Nokia still dominating with a huge **39%  (**Smart phone penetration).

In order to maximise the success of any campaign you need to reach the targeted masses; which means you need to consider all platforms and formats whether it is an application, mobile internet site or simple SMS communications or mobile vouchers (to name but a few). This always comes back to the key metrics in determining the success of any campaign:

Reach, Targeting, Engagement, Viral-ability and Transactional…..

Does it have reach?  Is it targeted? Is it engaging?  Is it viral? Can you make a sale?

The higher it scores in these areas then the closer you are to running a successful mobile marketing campaign that has delivered recognised measured tangible results.

The iPhone apps and other apps can be an added benefit to a customer base and must be considered.  Starting with the mobile internet will enable reach of a much wider audience and they can run trageted ad campaigns on mobile internet sites which will produce much better ROI than simply trying to drive traffic to download their iPhone app (which is not measurable and excluding to the masses if  integrated into traditional media). Only recently I published a press release on my blog from the IAB who conducted research with Nationwide showing  that using mobile and online advertising in combination can significantly increase brand awareness and purchase consideration:

http://wp.me/pxxzu-6R

I have been working in mobile with some of the worlds leading brands since early 2003 across many sectors.  Mobile is a powerful communications channel whether it is engendering loyalty, acquiring customers or retaining customers. It delivers in all these areas across all mobile formats.

Tweet this

Posted By, 26 February 2010 10:30am, Graham Charlton @ Econsultancy

One trend I’ve noticed lately is that the few UK retailers that have launched mobile commerce services have opted to do this via mobile apps rather than a mobile website. Both Next and Net-A-Porter have the app, but not the mobile site.

Is there an argument for producing an app rather than a mobile site? Or should retailers be looking to reach as many customers as possible with a mobile site? Or should they have both?

I’ve listed some of the arguments for and against…

Why have a mobile commerce app?

Since smartphones, and the iPhone in particular, currently dominate the mobile internet, there is an argument that an app is more likely to appeal to them.

Smartphone users are more affluent. Therefore, apps will appeal to an audience with more disposable income.

Better functionality. Smartphone features like GPS and the compass on the 3GS means that retailers can offer a richer experience, with location based services, augmented reality, or the photo function on the Amazon iPhone app.

Greater visibility. The popularity of App Store as a model for distributing apps means that retailers can get some good exposure for their apps. For example, the recently releasedNext iPhone app currently sits at number two in the Top 25 free apps list, which should guarantee plenty of downloads.

Your customers have smartphones. If you have a significant proportion of mobile visitors using Android phones and iPhones, then an app may be the best way to appeal to them.

Why have an m-commerce website?

Greater reach. An app restricts the number of customers you can appeal to.

Appeal to mobile searchers. Apps need to be downloaded in advance. If customers don’t have your app, they can’t buy from you, but if you have a mobile-optimised site, they can search and find it on their browsers.

No third party approval required. If you want an app, you’ll need to wait for approval before release and before you make adjustments. Having a mobile site means you are unrestrained in your site design and can push out updates and changes whenever you want.

No need to design multiple apps. Eventually other phones will eat into iPhone market share more and more, meaning that you may have to develop apps for several handsets. You can avoid this with a mobile site.

The browser-based mobile market is the future. According to recent Taptu research, the browser-based mobile web market will grow much faster than the app market, so a mobile site will be necessary long term.

—-

For a retailer looking for the largest possible audience for its products and services, the best starting point may be a website optimised for all mobiles, as this allows you to reach the widest possible audience. You allow people to stumble upon your site via a mobile search engine.

If a healthy percentage of visitors to your mobile site are using iPhones, Android Handsets or others, then there is a case for developing a dedicated mobile app to improve the experience for these customers.

Or, to cover all bases, why not have a mobile site AND app? This is what eBay, Amazon, Best Buy and others all do, and it seems to be working for them.

URL Link:

http://econsultancy.com/blog/5481-mobile-commerce-should-you-have-a-site-or-an-app#blog_comment_22997

In Wake of Quattro Deal, CEO Jobs Looks to Make Mobile Ads ‘Suck’ Less

Posted: February 11, 2010 in Display advertising, Information communications technology, Location Based Services, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Internet
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
1

Posted By, by Kunur Patel

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — With the iPhone, Apple changed the face of mobile devices. Can it do the same for mobile advertising?

CEO Steve Jobs is reported to have said, “Mobile ads suck,” and in the wake of its purchase of mobile ad network Quattro, all signs point to Apple exerting its considerable clout on the mobile web to make the ads, well, better. “Static banners aren’t very Apple,” said Krishna Subramanian, co-founder of mobile ad exchange Mobclix.

But one question is reverberating around the industry: Will Apple use its dominance to squeeze out other so-called premium ad providers?

Taking control
Last week Apple showed it won’t be shy about setting new standards. In a blog post, the company warned developers that it will reject apps that serve users location-targeted ads. “If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user’s location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store,” the post said.

Tweet this

Location-based ads are often the most attractive for advertisers looking to drive foot traffic into stores. “If I’m looking at my phone, I want to see an ad for the restaurant around the corner, not for something without context,” said Michael Becker, Mobile Marketing Association’s managing director, North America. “Situational relevance for mobile users — and for marketers — is essential.”

Apple claims the controversial post was only intended to protect user experience. Regardless, to some, this move looks like a preview of what Apple has planned for its new ad network. It has been building out a global sales team, and Quattro CEO Andy Miller is Apple’s first VP-mobile advertising, reporting directly to Mr. Jobs. It’s the first time Apple has been in the ad business, and this move indicates how seriously the Cupertino, Calif.-based company takes it.

“Clearly, Apple is going to do everything it can to redefine mobile advertising,” said Eric Litman, chairman-CEO of ad network Medialets, who also said he sees merit in Apple’s defense of users in its location-based ad restriction. “Obviously they’re going to want to leverage unique capabilities of their device as an advantage to them and not their competitors.”

Restricting competition?
How would that happen? Since all applications must go through a stringent approval process before hitting the App Store, Apple could reject apps with non-Quattro ad network code. But restricting outside ad networks would also mean cutting into developers’ profits, because many already partner with multiple networks to monetize their apps.

It is also likely that Apple will integrate Quattro into its software development kit, giving developers a default ad network that’s built into the app toolbox. With an already embedded ad network, developers would have an automatic revenue stream on approved apps, and would then have to contract networks beyond, or instead of, Quattro.

The iPhone claims about 25% U.S. smartphone market share as of December, according to ComScore. An Apple spokeswoman declined to speak directly about plans for Quattro or Apple’s position on mobile advertising.

Apple has cast the deal as a way to make money for the developers whose apps have made the iPhone popular. Right now, Apple reaps 30% from music and paid app downloads and, like the existing mobile ad network model, could take a fee for passing ad sales on to developers.

Redefining mobile ads
Developers could also stand to benefit from Apple meddling in mobile ad formats — better ads could mean better results, happier clients and, eventually, more money. With Apple’s characteristic design and usability expertise, it could reinvigorate the ad category so mobile doesn’t get stuck in the same banner doldrums as its interactive predecessor, online advertising.

“There’s no doubt that Apple will add functionality around advertising,” said Mike Sanford, president-CEO FlipSide 5, a developer whose apps, including Touch Hockey, have been downloaded 26 million times.

Mr. Sanford said the current purchasing experience on iPhones is clunky. But with a mobile ad network backed up to the phone’s operating system and the almighty iTunes, Apple could work some of those kinks could out. Imagine ads that click-to-buy to iTunes, a purchase platform consumers already use and trust with their credit card information.

“People might be hesitant to tap credit card information into their phone,” said Mobclix co-founder Sunil Verma, citing the ESPN’s app. “But they’re already used to buying games on iTunes.”

URL Link: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=142036

Location-Based Advertising Dead on the iPhone?

Posted: February 6, 2010 in Information communications technology, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Internet, Smartphones, Technology, Trade Associations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
3

Author: Leslie Grandy
Published: February 05, 2010 at 10:19 pm

The process of getting an application approved through the iPhone App Review team and into the App Store can be a mysterious one for application developers. Many complain the app review process takes too long, the rules for acceptance are vague, and the reasons for rejection are too subjective. Apple does produce guidelines for submissions, which highlight best practices, tips, and rules to help developers successfully navigate the review process.

Earlier this week, Apple added a new tip about the use of location services for developers looking to get apps approved for the iPhone. According to the App Review team, the iPhone Core Location Framework, the programming interface that enables developers to “deliver information based on their location, such as local weather, nearby restaurants, ATMs, and other location-based information,” is not to be used primarily for targeted local advertising.

Tweet this

The wording in the Apple post continues to secure Apple’s position as content editor, and not just technical reviewer, in the App Store approval process. “If you build your application using Core Location, make sure your app first asks users for permission before you use their location to provide targeted information,” the tip suggests. “Once granted, the information you provide must be beneficial.”

iPhone

What will qualify as “beneficial”? Apple goes on to clarify, “If your app uses this information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on user’s location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store.”

This comes as important news to the mobile marketing community, although the insight was buried in a series of notes aimed at helping developers. For many advertisers who wish to use mobile applications to engage with customers, mobile location data provides invaluable targeting information.

It’s a delicate balance of providing value versus being invasive, says Pat Binkley, VP of Engineering at mobile developer, Zumobi. Zumobi produces iPhone applications for partners and then monetizes the content with advertising. Binkley goes on, “I think in the case of applications that do not have a local component, you have to balance the perception of invasion of privacy and disrupting the user’s experience for the sole purpose of delivering local advertising to them.”

Apple’s recent purchase of Quattro Wireless, a leading advertising network and mobile marketing platform, has fueled industry pundits’ and software developers’ concerns about the intent and impact of this recent tip posted on the iPhone Dev Center. On Twitter, one software developer, @Oliverbo,  summed it up this way, “That spells trouble: Apple: Core Location Off-Limits for Serving Location-Targeted Ads http://bit.ly/dtNzcC /cc @feedly.” Some, likeAppleInsider, believe that through the Quattro platform Apple intends to restrain others from using a feature it plans to keep wholly to itself. Industry analyst Greg Sterling, also known as@gsterling pondered, “Is Apple Hoarding LBS Advertising?”

A December 2009 report published by Quattro Wireless, in partnership with DM2Pro, highlighted the importance of targeting capability to advertisers. When advertisers were asked what they considered the most important criteria for choosing an ad network, the ability to target segments of consumers was listed first.

Advertisers and agencies have been trying to monetize the emerging mobile application marketplace but have yet to broadly embrace one particular revenue generation platform. One digital marketing executive, Holly Brown, SVP of IPG’s MRM Seattle office, expressed concern that Apple is attempting to micro-manage the mobile advertising eco-system. “At a time when it’s more important than ever to engage consumers with relevant value, and to build monetization strategies for application developers, Apple seems to be interfering with the natural evolution of the market created between consumers, developers and brands (advertisers).”

Research

Location targeting is not only a tool to help small regional businesses, like dry cleaners and cafes, promote services, but it also aids in the discovery of national products available locally. Location-based applications often enable national brands to target local promotions at a store level and can help customers find their favorite franchise or store nearby prompting them to visit with a coupon or in-store offer.

Because they add a layer of relevancy to the ad content, advertisements based on location can be more productive for advertisers. Brian Wilson, VP of Marketing at application developer Point Inside, which develops iPhone indoor interactive mobile mapping applications for navigating malls and airports, is supportive of the Apple position. “From our perspective, Apple’s notice only serves to reinforce the value that Point Inside is providing and the methods we’re using to provide it.”

URL Link:

http://technorati.com/business/advertising/article/location-based-advertising-dead-on-the/

Older Entries