This week we continue focusing on individuals and companies within the mobile marketing and advertising industries who represent thought leadership.  These companies and individuals play an important role in the mobile segment through one capacity or another, so if you’re interested in learning more about what makes the mobile marketing industry tick — besides being a dedicated reader of MMW — do yourself a favor and follow the industry insiders and thought leaders we’ve compiled below.  Also, if you’d like us to feature you and/or your company, please add a comment below.  We’ll review the type of resources you publish and consider you in future posts.

AlertU @alertuhq	Mobile Internet Content Coalition @theMICC_org	Appia @appia	Opera Software @opera
Msgme @msgmehq	mobileStorm @mobileStorm	Tatango @tatango	Waterfall Mobile @waterfallmobile

This particular study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.9 percent market share.  Coinciding with similar reports, Android took the lead among smartphone platforms with 31.2 percent market share, after only two short months in second place.  Not surprisingly, SMS remained the top mobile content in terms of overall usage for the three-month period with a 68.1 percent share.

Mobile browsers were used by 37 percent of subscribers, while those who used downloaded applications comprised 35.3 percent of the mobile audience — representing an increase of 1.6 percentage points.  Accessing social networking sites or blogs increased 1.1 percentage points, representing 25.3 percent of mobile subscribers, while playing games represented 23.7 percent of the mobile audience.  Interestingly, listening to music represented a solid 16.5 percent (up 1.1 percentage points over the previous period).

In terms of the mobile OS race, 65.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in January 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three-month period.  RIM ranked second behind Android, according to the study, with 30.4 percent market share, followed by Apple with 24.7 percent.  Microsoft (8.0 percent) and Palm (3.2 percent) rounded out the top five.

New FDA Rule For mHealth Apps Help Streamline The Approval Process

One of the many roadblocks developers face when innovating in the mHealth space is the approval process for clearing new applications with the FDA.

A new rule that was recently introduced, however, aims to streamline that process for certain applications.  The new “Medical Device Data Systems” (MDDS) rule now exempts a portion of smartphone apps and wireless peripherals from the FDA’s pre-review requirements.  Put simply, the new MDDS rule applies to medical devices or software that only collects, stores or transfers patient data.  An example being an app that collects weight or other vital signs from plug-in peripherals and forwards that data to physicians.

Read more here

Walgreens: 1M subscribe to prescription text alerts

After just four months of launching “Refill by Scan,” Walgreens have found that users of its smartphone application have embraced the feature which enables them to use the camera on their phone to scan the barcode printed on a prescription label to order a refill. Walgreens said half of all refill orders originating from a mobile device are now from Refill by Scan. The feature has been available to users of Walgreens’ iPhone and Android apps since November 2010.

Read more here

New Tablet announcing at CTIA, hints of medical applications

CTIA Vice President Rob Mesirow has hinted that a new Android tablet will be announced at the annual wireless trade show. And though he wouldn’t go into any detail as to who’s making it or what the specs are, Mesirow did go on to talk about how tablets in general are changing Heath care thanks to what he calls “M-health” and that M-health news at CTIA this year. And as if hinting to one spec, Mesirow went on to state that a 7″ tablet fits rather nicely in a lab coat.

Read more here

Some Developers of Mobile Health Apps Seeking FDA Review

Apple was also the leading device manufacturer on its network with a 24% increase month-over-month, while HTC claimed the number two spot.  HTC is quickly closing the gap with Apple for the top manufacturer spot, according to the report.  Other interesting stats include the Top Ten Country Rating, in which the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea and Japan claimed the top five positions.

Also interesting was that the increase in impression share of “Connected Devices” month-over-month contributed to the increase in Wi-Fi usage, which experienced a 21% increase month-over-month in January.  For full lists, stats, graphs and imagery, download the full report here.

ComScore estimates there’s now roughly 63M smartphone subscribers in the U.S., up 7.3 percent from the preceding three month period.  Of which, RIM still leads the pack with 31.6 percent of total subscribers, with Android in the number two spot at 28.7 percent and Apple at number 3 with an even 25 percent.  Microsoft and Palm round out the top five at 8.4 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.

The data shows 234M Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices in December, with Samsung ranking as the top device manufactuerer with 24.8 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers.  LG ranked second with 20.9 percent share, followed by Motorola (16.7 percent), RIM (8.5 percent) and Nokia (7.0 percent).  More interesting, however, is mobile content usage for December.

ComScore estimates 68 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 1.0 percentage points versus the prior three month period, while browsers were used by 36.4 percent of subscribers (up 1.3 percentage points).  Mobile browser usage came in second, with 36.4 percent of the mobile audience, followed by mobile app usage at a close 34.4 percent.

The top five verticals in Q4 2010 were telecommunications, retail & restaurants, entertainment, finance and automotive, with the latter showing an astonishing 623% growth year-over-year.  Equally impressive is growth posted by the retail & restaurants category and the entertainment vertical, with 572% and 274% year-over-year growth respectively.

In terms of campaign mix, Millennial is reporting that 49% of mobile campaigns were designed to drive consumers to a website, while 16% of campaigns were designed to drive app downloads.  In addition, 57% of campaigns used a “general broad reach,” while 43% targeted a specific audience.  Of the targeted campaigns, targeting by demographic was the most popular method.

The full report is available here.

Virtualization, EHR-Linked Devices, Mobile to Lead Healthcare IT in 2011

As we move into 2011, the Obama administration’s meaningful-use requirements governing health care IT and EHRs (electronic health records) will continue to influence how health care companies adopt technology to improve patient care.

In 2010, companies began to purchase EHR applications, but in the coming year health care companies will enter an adoption phase for EHR or EMR (electronic medical record) applications, predicts IDC in an upcoming report.  ”While purchasing and selection will continue for many providers, early adopters will begin to struggle with the challenges of implementation and adoption of EMRs in 2011,” wrote IDC analysts Judy Hanover and Lynne A. Dunbrack.

Read the rest here.

Three Key Questions for FDA mHealth Regulation

The mHealth Regulatory Coalition (MRC) recently released “A Call for Clarity: Open Questions on the Scope of FDA Regulation of mHealth,” which is a 60-page paper that focuses on two fundamental questions: (1) what mHealth hardware and software will FDA regulate and (2) if a product is regulated, to what degree? The Coalition tackles these questions because, quite simply, the answers are fundamental to the business planning process. Companies as well as investors need answers as soon as possible to continue innovation.

Read the rest here.

mHealth: Mobile Technology Bring Healthcare Home

Nativo Mira Esplugues has had knee replacement surgery.  Instead of having to go to the hospital on a daily basis for physiotherapy, he is doing it at home, using a remote monitoring terminal that works using mobile phone technology.  The technology has been developed by Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica.

An ageing – and expanding – population is presenting health care providers and governments with a budgetary crisis. In Europe around 7% of GDP is spent on healthcare, and in the US that figure rises to 15%.  Telecoms companies are also facing challenging times, with traditional markets reaching saturation, forcing them to explore other revenue streams. Vodafone, Orange, AT&T Wireless, Turkey’s Avea, and Japan’s NTT DoCoMo are all investing in mobile healthcare.

Read the rest here.

mHealth FDA Regulation Popular Theme of Digital Health Summit at CES

Mobile technology has changed the way we live our lives. Going beyond business productivity, mobile devices have become the preferred way for consumers to manage everything from their finances to personal health, with the latter being the fastest growing corner of the category.

The Digital Health Summit at the 2011 International CES will bring together well known mobile players and experts, to explore this as well as other mobile trends in digital health, including state of the wireless health industry, the future of connected wellness, and THE hot topic of the moment, the FDA’s regulation of mobile health (m-health).

Read the rest here.

How Smartphones Could Lead the Digital Healthcare Revolution

To start with, mHealth is bio-sensors we’ll wear. Nothing obvious, necessarily. These bio-sensors could be built into stuff you already wear — eye glasses, belt buckles, hats, watches, bras, clothing, shoes, jewelry, whatever.

These bio-sensors will constantly measure and track particular bio-medical conditions such as temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, weight, breathing, blood sugar, brain waves, et al, or perhaps a sensor surgically implanted, such as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). There also may be sensors to sense for dangerous conditions such as carbon monoxide or allergens.

Read the  rest here.

Millennial reports the U.S. mobile Web grew to 89M users in November, of which Millennial reaches 8 out of 10 users, or 76M total.  In terms of mobile advertising by vertical, the most surprising data in the report for this month was the massive growth seen in finance, retail and telecommunications.  The financial services category grew an astounding 802% year-over-year, while retail and restaurants grew an equally impressive 745%.  The telecommunications vertical grew by over 719% year-over-year.

In terms of engagement, Millennial reports that 39% of campaigns on its network drove to a custom landing page in November, with a number of retail brands creating custom landing pages for holiday promotions to drive additional foot traffic in-store.  Further illustrating this activity, Millennial also saw the post-click campaign action ‘Store Locator/View Map’ increase 18% month-over-month.

The targeting method “GEO” experienced the largest month-over-month growth of 9% and represented 39% of the Campaign Targeting Mix in November, according to the report.  Regional Retail Department stores with holiday promotions, Entertainment brands with international movie releases, and various Tourism boards promoting last-minute holiday travel specials leveraged this highly-effective method last month.

For a full breakdown, here on over to Millennial to download the full report.

The platform wars continue, as both iOS and Android each attracted 38 percent of all impressions during November, while RIM took third place with 19% and Windows Phone 7 tied with Symbian for fourth — each with just 2% of network impressions.  Smartphones continue to dominate, as Millennial reports they accounted for 58% of all impressions in November.

Focusing on smartphones applications, Millennial reports that Android dominated the platform mix (in terms of revenue generated) with a 54% share, while iOS trailed with 39%.  What’s most interesting is data on which platforms developers are most likely to support going into 2011.  According to a survey included in the report, Android tops the list there as well, with 29% of all respondents favoring it over others.  Windows Phone 7 and iPad tied for second place, each with 20% of respondents favoring them.

As always, there’s much more in the actual report, which can be downloaded here.

Focusing on Thanksgiving weekend in November, Mojiva found that Android users held the greatest share of activity on both the mobile Web and apps with 37% of total network share, while RIM users showed the highest engagement overall with a CTR of 0.75%.  The report, aptly named “The Mullet,” also shows devices running Symbian still have a strong presence internationally due to Nokia’s longstanding stronghold, however iPhone devices still lead — especially in highly-dense mobile communities like the US, UK and Canada.

While the iPhone OS remained dominant in the global market, based on the network’s mobile unique users, its market share still dropped 11 percentage points to 36%, while Symbian rose to 25% — up 4% from the previous month.  Android uniques fluctuate month over month, the company said, but was just 2 percentage points behind iOS in November.  In terms of creative, the report indicates rich media advertising has dramatically increased in the past few months.  ”Many agencies are embracing HTML5 and enhanced media creatives for both the mobile Web and applications,” the report said.

“Android’s growth has translated in both the U.S. and international markets. Additionally, we saw how Android and RIM were used during the shopping-specific Thanksgiving timeframe and how successful they were; a valuable insight for retailers considering or currently utilizing mobile advertising as part of their marketing mix.” said Mojiva, Inc’s CEO, Dave Gwozdz. “Mobile advertising will continue to evolve as new devices, new operating systems and new capabilities enter the market. We are keenly observing how the industry plays out as it will impact a marketer’s spend on this channel.”