I came across an interesting study today that claims Blackberry users are wishing for other smartphones in large numbers- particularly the iPhone and Google’s Nexus One.

While, like most studies, the data should be taken with a grain of salt, the study indicates that roughly 40 percent of BlackBerry users would rather have an Apple iPhone, while one-third are eying Google’s Nexus One as their next smartphone purchase, according to the study released by Crowd Science.

While this seems to show a large dissatisfaction with Blackberry by its users, it’s likely due to the fact many business users forced into using Blackberries for enterprise use would rather have a more consumer-friendly iPhone or Android device.  The sample used in this survey may be slightly skewed- however, the results are interesting.

Beyond this, the study also found that users of the Nexus One rivaled iPhone users in terms of brand loyalty, with both groups registered at 90 percent for those who plan to continue with their current brand when it comes to their next phone purchase.  On the other end of the spectrum, however, only 32 percent of BlackBerry users plan to continue with their smartphones upon their next purchase.

“These results show that the restlessness of Blackberry users with their current brand hasn’t just been driven by the allure of [the] iPhone,” says Crowd Science CEO John Martin.  ”The figures show deep dissatisfaction with BlackBerry that goes beyond simple jealousy of the attractive iPhone user interface.”

Share This

I’ve always had a keen interest in Skyhook Wireless.  The company has been building a massive database of location information since its founding over 7 years ago.  Dubbed “XPS,” its location gathering technology combines GPS, cell tower triangulation and Wi-Fi positioning to create the “first true hybrid positioning system.”

With location being the hottest topic at the moment in the mobile realm, Skyhook’s technology has never been more relevant.  To put its hat into the ring, the company today announced the launch of SpotRank, a firehose of sorts to allow developers to tap into its wealth of location information.

SpotRank data is based around hundreds of millions of anonymous location lookups processed daily through Skyhook’s core hybrid positioning system.  Since Skyhook has been used on numerous devices around the world (including every iPhone) for location-based services, the platform powers positioning requests on tens of millions of devices and applications around the world.  Skyhook continually mines this data to create detailed behavioral intelligence profiles for over half a billion 100 meter “spots” around the world.

While companies like Gowalla and Foursquare rely on “check-ins” to accrue location-data, Skyhook’s system works far different in that it logs data everytime a device needs location for anything, creating a valuable resource for developers never before available until the launch of SpotRank.

Read the rest

Share This

At the annual Apple shareholder’s meeting yesterday, CEO Steve Jobs reiterated again the fact that Apple is a mobile device company focused on small acquisitions to grow its businesses using the nearly $26 billion pile of cash its sitting on.  Through its acquisition history and future plans, its clear that Apple wants to own every piece of  each “mobile device” they offer, especially the iPhone.

At the shareholder’s meeting, Jobs expressed his continued interest in acquiring companies based on their talent and technology, not by their perceived market position, meaning the company will go after small startups that offer highly focused technology, or highly skilled and knowledgeable founders.  The company wants to acquire startups that can help bolster certain aspects of its products- a perfect example being the low-key acquisition of a mapping startup a while back to help Apple develop its own in-house mapping solution.

It’s clear the company wants to own every aspect of the devices they offer, and they’re already on the right track.  With the iPhone, the company directly handles the hardware,  software, the mobile commerce and music aspects via iTunes, mobile application distribution via its App store, and soon its own mapping solution, effectively locking out all third-parties and positioning itself to keep the iPhone (and all its revenue streams) all to itself.

Read the rest

Share This

QderoPateo, a unique startup that generated some buzz with its focus on “Articulated Naturality,” has launched a bluetooth proximity marketing solution and the beginning of its “Bluetooth Advertising Network.”  The announcement, sent in a press release yesterday, comes after I mention a complete lack of interest in proximity marketing in the recent past.

The proximity marketing solution, dubbed “Blu-Pons,” is focused on malls and shopping centers and uses distinct calls-to-action to encourage roaming consumers to turn their Bluetooth on and make themselves discoverable.  Once they do so, the Blu-Pon system implicitly asks for permission to push a coupon to the user, and if they accept, the coupon is transmitted.

Upon acceptance, the coupon is downloaded and stored on the user’s phone to be presented and redeemed at the participating retailer during purchase.  Later this year, the company plans to add the ability to redeem “Blu-Bucks” at retailers, providing a unique retention tool to keep customers coming back for more.

In addition, the company will soon launch an online advertising portal at blu-pons.com to enable advertisers to purchase and manage Blu-Pon campaigns online- with complete reporting that can even be emailed directly to the campaign manager for easy ROI measurement.

While the solution is not unlike several others on the market around the world, QderoPateo has taken things a bit farther in terms of campaign management and access, reporting and the concept of creating a “network” between hotspots.  Still, the prohibiting factors of the bluetooth marketing concept is still present.  Since this implementation is US-based, it will be interesting to see how consumers respond, and how retailers embrace the new concept.

Share This

A new report published yesterday by the UN indicates that 67% of the world’s population, or two-thirds total, are mobile subscribers- far outweighing Online access.

67% of the world’s population represents around 4.6B people, up from only 1B in 2002, indicating staggering continued growth.  In developing nations, however, the uptake is even more substantial with 57% of the total population in these nations being mobile subscribers, even though other technologies are scarce.

To compile the report, the UN tallied mobile phone, land-line telephone and internet usage in 159 countries, which ranged from the most advanced European nations to the least developed nations in sub-Saharan Africa.  The report also found that Internet use has grown, but at a much slower pace.  It’s no secret that mobile devices are replacing computers in many parts of the world, and that a large majority of Web usage is attributed to mobile.

Read the rest

Share This

BIA/Kelsey published its US Local Media Annual Forecast (2009-2014) today detailing some interesting findings and predictions when it comes to local marketing and advertising in the US.  The overall message being that spending is increasingly being focused towards local advertising, as well as a continued shift towards digital media and primarily mobile.

Generally speaking, BIA/Kelsey predicts the US local advertising market to reach $144.9 billion in 2014, representing a modest compound annual growth rate of 2.2 percent from 2009.  A closer look at the forecast period reveals, following a significant contraction in 2009, local media spending is expected to be slow through 2011, with meaningful recovery beginning in 2012.  The group also forecasts spending on traditional media to decline from $115 billion in 2009 to $108.2 billion in 2014.  During the same period, however, spending on online/interactive/mobile media is projected to grow from $15.2 billion to $36.7 billion.

The interesting take-away from the forecast is the revelation that 55 percent of all ad spending is with local media, defined as “spending by small and medium-sized businesses and national advertisers or regional advertisers making local buys.”  In 2009, total U.S. ad spending was $235.6 billion.  Of that, the group estimates $130.2 billion was spent on local ad buys, with $105.4 billion attributed to national advertising.

This is interesting because as the shift to digital/interactive marketing mediums continues, so too does the interest in local advertising, likely fueled by much better targeting and relevancy potential over older, legacy forms of marketing.  This is a prime example of why mobile is increasingly becoming the channel of choice for forward-thinking brands wanting to get more bang for their buck.

Share This

The “Mobile Entertainment Forum” (MEF) is a trade group that represents leading companies throughout the entire mobile entertainment value chain, and publishes a “Business Confidence Index” (BCI) to analyse revenue and business trends in the $36bn mobile entertainment industry.  As such, the group has released its latest BCI in which it predicts a 24% growth for mobile media and entertainment.

In Q3 2009, the MEF posted strong optimism with a 33% growth estimate, but has readjusted their estimates after taking into account the global recession and changes in the mobile ecosystem.  ”Since its launch in January 2009, the BCI has underlined the industry’s ability to weather the storm of the recession and leverage the new opportunities presented by the proliferation of smartphones and digital economy business models. With the global economic recovery underway, the first aggregate results of the Annual BCI point to a toughened industry which has readjusted growth predictions from 33% growth in Q2, down to 24%.”

The growth of mobile media relies heavily on the evolution of the supporting value chain, and the MEF has found that the proliferation of smartphones, the growing trend of mobile apps to distribute mobile content and other key aspects are driving the growth estimates they predict.  Respondents now expect the value chain that develops, sells and delivers applications to account for 21% of revenue streams for the next quarter and the majority expect this to be incremental revenue.  Considering applications stores only came about 18 months ago, this is a significant development, showing consumers’ willingness to embrace and consume mobile content.

Read the rest

Share This