Tag Archives: wireless technology

IAB Survey: Rapid rise in mobile budgets shown in 300 US companies

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The latest survey conducted by Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has indicated some mobile marketing issues of highest concern to marketers, which cover the issue on consumer privacy (40%), device operating system fragmentation (39%), and lack of standardized metrics (31%). The study on “Marketer Perspectives on Mobile Advertising” featuring 300 companies in the US revealed that marketers are generally happy with results achieved by mobile marketing across the range of key objectives:  the majority of respondents were reasonably satisfied with mobile advertising’s ability to deliver on increased engagement (59%), increased brand awareness (58%), customer relationship marketing (57%), and sales drive (54%).

Some important benefits are pinpointed in the study to have caused the success of mobile devices as an arising medium of engaging consumers. These include the appealing elements of mobile as an advertising medium, the high potential for engagement and personalization, and the opportunities to better align the messages to targeted audiences.

The survey also revealed the companies’ goals of adding the mobile medium on their advertising budgets. Some marketers embraced mobile advertising as part of their digital advertising strategy and full integration with other media (31%) while other 21% doesn’t prefer a full integration to other mobile media. Some companies (14%) use the mobile ad more ad hoc basis while 35% in experimental stage.

In allocating for budgets, 28% of featured companies said their current mobile advertising spend is from $50-$150,000 per annum with 7% allocating in excess of $300,000 per annum.  The study also revealed 55% of respondent companies at lower end of budget spectrum spending of $50,000 per year.

The survey also revealed some very significant factors in terms of increasing on mobile ad spend, budget allocation, mounting brand awareness, mobile advertising strategy, geographic focus, top priority mobile device, the increasing interest on tablets, the continued patronage on low end mobile devices, and satisfactory levels with agency partners. Read more

Does Google have a chance of knocking iPhone from its perch?

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The iPhone and Blackberry are reported to dominating the Smartphone sales charts. According to the Canalys research firm, iPhone currently hits about 14 percent of the Smartphone sales and Blackberry about 21 percent. The Android, on other hand, has only 3 percent. Arguably, it doesn’t sound bad since the Android was just launched; more than a year when first iPhone hit the world market.

Analysts see that it seems unlikely that Google’s mobile market share will grow as quickly as the iPhone’s. In the Canalys report, the iPhone usage has shot up by more than 600 percent of last year.

So, does Google really have a chance of knocking the iPhone from its perch? Read more

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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Batteries set to become $60 billion industry by ’13

So far in 2009, battery companies have received over $600 million in venture capital funding, compared with $478 million garnered for 2008, according to research analyst Lux Research. The investment isn’t without reason. In a report released Tuesday, Lux predicted that the energy storage market will grow to become a $60 billion industry by 2013.

Facebook Usernames: 50+ Million Claimed and Counting

In a post entitled “Designing the Facebook username land rush,” Facebook’s Srinivas Narayanan reveals the number while explaining the difficulties of building a system capable of handling 200,000 signups in 3 minutes and planning for contingencies (aka the so-called “nuclear option”). These are subjects we actually discussed with Facebook’s Jared Morgenstern and Guy Rom at Facebook headquarters the night of the launch.

All About iPhone In China/Asia, Interview with iPhonAsia

iPhone is so attractive and Asia holds such a huge mobile market. In Japan, iPhone is getting quite popular; nobody knows the exact date yet but we know it is stepping closer to China; it is not very clear about iPhone in South Korea, but at least they are in talk for a long time; and it is already rocking HongKong and Singapore. Recently, we had a great pleasure of interviewing with Dan Butterfield, managing editor of iPhonAsia.

Mobile money roundup: banking, finance and payments in mobile

Here’s a round-up of some of the mobile money stories that have been of interest to us this morning. We’ve got pieces from America, Asia, Africa and India. iPhone check feature: The USAA is a smaller bank in America, serving mostly military personnel. But it has just launched a very interesting product – an iPhone application that allows you to deposit your check through your iPhone. You take a snap of the front and a snap of the back, hit send, and it deposits with USAA. Cambodian mobile banking: Cambodian mobile service provider Smart Mobile and WING have launched a mobile money service. It allows Smart customers to send and receive cash, and make payments, via top-up cards.

Worldwide phone sales drop 6 percent — but smartphones shoot up 27 percent

Low-cost Nokias will probably ensure Nokia’s dominance of the non-smartphone market for another year. But the low end is no longer the place to be. A new report from Gartner says worldwide sales in the second quarter of 2009 dropped six percent from Q2 2008. But phones classified by Gartner as smartphones shot up 27 percent. Many people buying new phones, says the report, want either a QWERTY keyboard or a touchscreen. Still more, though, are buying on price.

Federal Communications Commission seeks answers over Apple rejection of Google Voice app

The Federal Communications Commission late Friday afternoon dashed off three letters to Apple Inc., AT&T Inc. and Google Inc. over Apple’s reported rejection of the Google Voice application for the iPhone. The letters seek detailed information on why Apple is said to have rejected Google Voice and pulled previously approved third-party applications from its App Store (see story). They also want an insight into Apple partner AT&T’s role in the rejection of the Google Voice app, which would offer voiceover IP telecommunications services that directly undercut the carrier’s voice offerings.

Base campaign strategy on target audience’s mobile habits: Forrester

Mobile marketing is gaining momentum even in a down economy, according to a study by Forrester Research. One in four interactive marketers in the United States is currently using mobile and nearly half of these (47 percent) will increase mobile spending this year.

U.S. mobile adoption catching up to Asia, Europe: Study

The United States may be closing in on Asia and Europe in mobile technology adoption, according to a study by Mobtext. The reported boost in consumer adoption of mobile technology means that marketers are approaching the prime time for mobile marketing opportunities. The study found that SMS, MMS, location-based marketing, mobile Web and branded content are the major components of growth in the mobile marketing space.

Entrust, Clickatell partner to enhance mobile security

Entrust Inc. has signed a deal with Clickatell to expand its ability to send one-time-passcodes (OTP) to mobile devices via SMS. Oftern referred to as soft tokens, the partnership for OTPs expands the options available to customers using the Entrust IdentityGuard authentication platform.

Merchants turn to iPhone app to reach tourists

For some local merchants, downtown business development is going mobile. Mobilefringe along with the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area (B.I.A.) is launching the Mobile Yonge iPhone application on their m3 platform. The Mobile Yonge application will have the ability to show promotions and events that will appeal to both visitors and residents of the popular Toronto area.

Mobile gaming market to reach $18B by 2014: Study

Due to the growing number of wireless subscribers in emerging markets, the mobile gaming market is predicted to reach $18 billion by 2014, according to a study by Pyramid Research. The predicted $18 billion in growth represents a 16.6 percent growth rate according to Pyramid’s study titled, “Mobile Gaming in Emerging Markets: Five Year Forecast and Impact Analysis.” The study takes the growth of emerging markets and puts it into context with the mobile gaming industry as a whole.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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Rumor Mill: BlackBerry Storm 2 slated for June

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Storm 2 is going to be launched by Verizon Wireless in June, according to a rumor on the website BlackBerryOS.com.

Asia-Pacific leads mobile marketing and advertising

The Asia-Pacific region leads the world in mobile marketing and advertising, and accelerating growth will see nearly $7.7 billion (and more than $16 billion globally) spent there in 2011, according to a new report.

South Korea Offers A Peek At Mobile Future

What would the mobile future look like? The Nytimes.com takes a look at the widespread appeal of all things mobile in South Korea, where the population, particularly those in their twenties, use their phone for nearly everything.

ABI: Stimulus Bill to Boost Adoption of Wireless Technology

The $6.8 billion slated for wireless communication upgrades and deployments in the next two years will benefit vendors and increase wireless technologies’ penetration into new industries, says a report from ABI Research.

India’s Bharti Airtel Renews Merger Talks with MTN

India‘s Bharti Airtel Ltd. and South Africa’s MTN Group Ltd. have renewed merger talks, possibly opening the way for the creation of an emerging markets mobile phone giant with $20 billion in combined revenues, the companies said in statements Monday.

Report: HTC to Sell Android Phone in China

The new HTC phone is a version of the company’s Magic model, unveiled in February, that has been customized to incorporate software from China Mobile.

Samsung Recalls Jitterbug Phones on 911 Issue

The recall involves models SPH-a110 and SPH-a120 with standard keypads and version BB14 software sold after March 1, 2008. No other Samsung wireless phones or software versions are included in this recall, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Businesses call for shift to low-carbon economy

A group of business executives on Tuesday issued a call for action on energy policy, arguing the cost of moving to cleaner energy technologies in the next decade will avert costs from climate change.

Facebook Gets $200 Mil. Infusion

Facebook has received a $200 million investment infusion from the European firm Digital Sky Technologies, placing the company’s value at $10 billion, said Facebook officials.

Mobile banking users to number 53 million by 2013

Mobile banking adoption will increase from 10 million active users in 2009 to more than 53 million active users in 2013–a compound annual growth rate of 51.8 percent–according to a new forecast

Analyzing the Australian Media & Advertising Industry

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Analyzing the Australian Media & Advertising Industry” report to their offering. In the advertising scenario, there is a global recession, and it is forecasted that Australia will have a soft 2009, after two strong years of performance. According to market researcher Aegis Media, the advertising industry in Australia will increase 1.7% in 2009.

Mobile Consumers Prepared to Support Green Initiatives

The results of a recent consumer survey conducted in North America by ABI Research suggest that nearly half of those mobile consumers surveyed are somewhat likely or very likely to be influenced by suppliers� green credentials when purchasing services or devices.

Are iPhones Good for Advertising?

It appears that the Apple iPhone, one of the hottest gadgets from one of the most cutting-edge companies in the world, may kick mobile advertising up a notch. According to Brightkite, Inc. and Gfk NOP, iPhone users are more likely to recall mobile ads than non-iPhone users.

Microsoft Aims Big Guns at Google, Asks Consumers to Rethink Search

Microsoft has used attack ads to go after Apple, and now it has Google in its sights. The software giant is set to launch an $80 million to $100 million campaign for Bing, the search engine it hopes will help it grab a bigger slice of the online ad market.