Consumer Corner : mobile, iphone

US Claims Top Spot in Mobile Browsing, Purchasing

Mike Phillips — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:26:00 GMT

Mobile analytics provdier Bango reports that the US has overtaken the UK as the top mobile browsing and buying country in the world. It's not hard to imagine that the growing number of mobile subscribers, mobile Web capable devices and mobile-optimized websites have much to do with the surge.

“With 245 million subscribers, it was only a matter of time before the US became the number 1 country in the world for mobile web browsing,” said Anil Malhotra, SVP of Marketing at Bango. “When it comes to payments though, the US is accelerating faster than any other country and now accounts for 57% of payments worldwide.”

This is good news for both online retailers with mobile capabilities, but also for app developers and publishers who charge for subscriptions and exclusive content.

This also points to the need to have a mobile-ready version of your website. Advanced devices like the iPhone and G1 do offer a way for users to view your regular site on a mobile, but there is still a need for custom mobile pages. Not only do advanced mobile devices have limited screen space, but some cannot properly render certain elements of many webistes, like Flash. And there are plenty of users who do not have an iPhone or G1, but can still get on the mobile Web and might want to access your site or products.

Apple Owns the Mobile Web

Mike Phillips — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:59:00 GMT

No surprise really, but the latest data from AdMob (the leading mobile advertising marketplace) shows that Apple is crushing the competition in the mobile Web space in the U.S. What is a surprise, however, is that the iPod touch is a big part of it. Mobile Web requests from the iPod touch grew from 18 million in July '08, to a whopping 292 million in December '08.

Keep in mind that this data is exclusive to sites that run AdMob ads. It's also slanted to smart phones. (The chart below is exclusive to smart phones.) That said, it's still a good picture of how the mobile Web is being accessed, as far as it concerns you. Why? Because chances are, unless you run a very popular sports, news or weather website, mobile Web users are most likely to access your site through a smart phone, where pages can be displayed near their original form. Users are more likely to surf the Web on a phone and system that can handle it. It should also be noted that the iPhone and iPod touch got an early jump start, so as more phones become 3G capable, and more touch-screens are released, the numbers might change. For now it's still safe to say that Apple will represent a huge part of the market.

AdMob also announced a new Download Tracking service, that will monitor App Store conversion rates for developers. A very nice tool to see from where on the Web your app downloads are originating.

Mobile Advertising En Masse Begins, Thanks to Google

Mike Phillips — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:52:00 GMT

The mobile online advertising revolution has begun. Google announced they are displaying AdWords text and image ads on results pages through their mobile portal. The ads will appear on iPhones, G1s and other mobile devices with full HTML browsing capabilities.

Advertisers will now have the option to include their regular AdWords ads in mobile results, without the need to reformat anything. The ads do have character limits, however. Conveniently, the mobile ads also come with separate performance reporting.

For advertisers, this means that you can now run ads targeted specifically at the mobile consumer. That's good news. But if you want to create a specific, mobile call-to-action you must ensure your pages render properly through a mobile device. That can be a bit more challenging. However, in your account you can make sure all ads point to a desktop landing page.

That brings up another interesting note. As an AdWords advertiser, you are automatically enrolled to display your ads on iPhones, G1s and other devices. Some may want to opt out of this - the mobile space (and the mobile surfer) might not be the best avenue for your advertising spend. You will need to change the setting in your account to opt out.

In the grand scheme of things, everything points to a mobile advertising revolution - forcing advertisers and businesses to think beyond the desktop, ready or not.

Optimize Your Site for iPhone in Seconds

Mike Phillips — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:10:00 GMT

With iPhones flying off shelves around the globe, can you afford to not have your site optimized? Check out Intersquash.com. Enter your website's RSS feed, name it and click a button. That's it. You can also add a 57x57 thumbnail image - good if your website visitors want to add your site to their iPhone home screen.

The results are effective, but not elegant. It seems that this is best suited for those sites with frequently updated content. If your site is fairly static, or changes or new blog posts are written only periodically, this may not be for you. The fact is, the iPhone is pretty good at rendering just about any website in its entirety. The problem for users is the need to zoom in and scroll when there is a lot of content - which Intersquash helps solve. Check out Intersquash.com for more info and a brief demo.

Early Look: Top 10 Android Apps

Mike Phillips — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:05:00 GMT

T-Mobile released the G1 mobile phone to the public this week, the first true competitor to the iPhone. And what makes the G1 a legitimate threat is Google's Android operating system, complete with apps, just like the iPhone. But Android apps will play a significant role in attempting to dethrone the iPhone - mostly because its open source, developers will face less scrutiny and easier acceptance for app creations, and because Android apps will eventually work across more networks, and more phones. So, let's take a peek at some of the early apps, ranked somewhat loosely in popularity according to Website Magazine's Peter Prestipino's shiny new G1. The numbers are current as of this writing. (If the apps below are not linked, it's because the Android website is not displaying them, but they are available through the G1 itself.)

ShopSavvy: 10,000-50,000 downloads, 538 ratings (4.5/5 stars). Scan barcodes with your camera and find the best prices on the Internet, and at nearby stores. We recently wrote a review about a similar, non-Android application, with mixed results. My guess is that the Android app is much more capable.
The Weather Channel: 10,000-50,000 downloads, 432 ratings (4.5/5 stars). No surprise here, and the name pretty much sums it up.
MySpace Mobile: 10,000-50,000 downloads, 348 ratings (3.5/5 stars). Again, the name says it all. What's interesting is that this is the lowest rated (by stars) app on the list. It's unclear whether that's because of its functionality, or the G1's audience.
WikiMobile Encyclopedia: 10,000-50,000 downloads, 125 ratings (4/5 stars). Over two million articles, including images. "Faster and uses just a fraction of the network data vs. the Android browser."
T-Mobile HotSpot: 10,000-50,000 downloads, 146 ratings (4/5 stars). Automatically determines when you are in a T-Mobile WiFi hotspot, enabling the user to connect that way instead of the 3G network, saving battery power. Theoretically, would also allow a connection to Skype, saving on minutes.
Accuweather: 5,000-10,000 downloads, 205 ratings (4/5 stars). Not much information on this one yet, but one forum I read found that this app was "way better than The Weather Channel app." Accuweather app includes a live Doppler radar map, also according to the forum.
Compare Everywhere: 5,000-10,000 downloads, 205 ratings (4/5 stars). Similar to ShopSavvy - scan barcodes, find out if you're getting a good deal. Includes reviews, shopping lists and wish lists. The personal favorite of Website Magazine's editor - and his wife's.
Pro Football Live: 5,000-10,000 downloads, 119 ratings (4/5 stars). A football fan site, with live updates and scoring, news, photos and a personalized home page.
Translate: 5,000-10,000 downloads, 81 ratings (4/5 stars). Language translator - type in a word or phrase and get the translation in the language you select. Supports 150 language pairs.
PicSay: 5,000-10,000 downloads, 126 ratings (4.5/5 stars). An on-the-fly photo editor. Distort images, add shading and effects, speech bubbles and props to your photos, then share them with friends via email, your blog or online phot sharing sites.

Keep in mind that these are actual applications, and not games. However, many of these applications have more ratings than games and just as many downloads (at least as far as we can tell from the less than precise download numbers.) It's interesting to note that two on this list are shopping services. It perhaps indicates that the G1 audience is a little more business- or consumer-oriented than the iPhone - also indicated by the low rating of the MySpace app. It might also be a sign that mobile e-commerce is going to heat up, now that consumers are armed with more viable tools.

Of course, it's early and we will have to wait for some time to find some real answers. Stay tune.

Comparison Shopping from Your Mobile

Mike Phillips — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:33:00 GMT

Did you ever get the feeling while shopping that you might not be getting the best deal? Pongr is an application that can make sure you do. There are a few ways to use the service. The first, and easiest is to take a photo of the product and send the photo via MMS to SHOPP (74677). The second is to send a text message with the product's UPC code or the product name or title to SHOPP (74677). The third is to send an email with the UPC code to ping@pongr.com.

In all cases you will get a return message with a list of the best prices and websites for the item that Pongr can find. The most reliable method is using the UPC code. Text messages will work, but because of limits on characters, you may not get every result they find.

There is an iPhone app, a Facebook app and coming soon, a Blackberry and Android app. You can sign up for an account, but it's not necessary.

Does it work? Yes, and no. I first tested the UPC by sending an email from my Blackberry to ping@pongr.com with the code for "The Chicago Manual of Style." I got back an email within about 20 seconds:

The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers
$33.99 at Half.com
http://pongr.com/m/3402XXXX (The X's are added by me because the link was pointing to a page in which my account and email came up.)

The Half.com link takes you to the website, with no particular product listed. The second link takes you to a page with more prices and links to the actual product pages. Next, I took a photo and tried to send it via MMS to 74677. It didn't work. Then I tried sending the photo via email to ping@pongr.com. While I did get the same result as above, the first seven results were completely unrelated. Finally, I sent a text message "The Chicago Manual of Style." I was surprised to get a result from Amazon, for $31.19. Then, after clicking the link, my mobile browser took me to an Amazon page that was for "Manual of Style: Containing Typographical Rules Governing the Publications of the University of Chicago Press together with Specimens of Types Used at the University of Chicago Press, 1927 Edition." Close (they are both published by The University of Chicago Press) but no cigar.

Clearly, there are some kinks to be worked out - the site is in beta. But it looks promising. I'm guessing that the apps will work nicely. Either way, Pongr works fast (important if you're shopping in a store) and it did bring back a result that was about $20 less than what I paid for the book.

2D Barcode Creator and App for the iPhone

Mike Phillips — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:20:00 GMT

ScanLife now has a 2D barcode app at the iTunes store available for download. If you're not familiar, 2D barcodes can be used for a variety of purposes. When you take a photo with an enabled mobile device, the barcode (ScanLife's version is called EZcodes) can direct you to a URL, send a text message (promotional offers, etc.), place a phone call, send an email, schedule an appointment in your calendar and more.

For those who do not own an iPhone, you can download the EZcode app for your device at the ScanLife website, where you can find a list of supported phones. While the app will read other codes other than ScanLife's EZcodes, they focus on their own. According to an email from David Javitch, VP of Marketing for Scanby, Inc., the EZcode is easier for lower-end phones to read (greater accessibility), EZcodes can be smaller than others (as small as 1/2 inch) and, "In the early stages, consistency will be fairly important for adoption, and you will see in the next few months that will play a factor in North America and Western Europe." 2D barcodes have become quite popular in the Asian overseas market, and will soon start making its mark in the United States.

On the ScanLife website, you can also create your own 2D barcodes to direct people to your blog or website, or to send promotional material to users. Check out ours below. You must first download the app to your phone - either through the iTunes App Store, ScanLife website or by texting "scan" to 43588. After snapping the photo, you will be asked if you want to launch your browser (after about 45-60 seconds.) If you experience any problems, you might need to back out and try again. Focus is a big factor - try either backing the phone away or bringing it closer for the best resolution.

iPhone Coming to Best Buy

Mike Phillips — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:57:00 GMT

According to reputable media outlets, including CNN.com, Best Buy will start selling 3G iPhones on September 7 in 970 of its stores. The decision by Apple was facilitated by the two companies' long-standing relationship and Best Buy's effort to upgrade its systems to allow for activation in the stores. Best Buy Mobile (a joint venture with CarPhone Warehouse Group) resells phone service on behalf of carriers, and already accounts for 3.6% of the cell phone market share. Expect that number to rise by the end of Q4.