Over the weekend I was pleased as punch when my EVO informed me that the upgrade to the latest Android OS–Android 2.2, also known by the wannabe-hip nickname Froyo–was available for the handset. I’ve been eager for the upgrade, mostly because of reports that Android 2.2 would allow smartphones to play Flash videos, the format of videos on Hulu. One more thing the EVO will do that the iPhone can’t, I cackled to myself.

Wah-wuh. I’d momentarily forgotten that Hulu’s inability to be played on phones is due mostly to content owners’ decision to make them unavailable on the mobile platform. My EVO still has full Flash capability, an improvement from the so-called “Flash Lite” support of earlier Android incarnations (not to mention Apple’s non-support of the format). But it was still a bummer not to be able to rewatch the Glee finale in bed during a bout of insomnia. And so for me, an enthusiastic mobile video and mobile Internet consumer, the new Android is about as much an improvement as the Malibu Stacy doll on The Simpsons getting a new hat.

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On the heels of Steve Jobs publishing his harsh criticism of Adobe and its Flash technology in general this morning, Greystripe CEO Michael Chang issued a response firing back at Jobs saying “open or not, Apple’s Flash ban creates huge issues for advertisers.”

The underlying message in Chang’s response is clear; nearly all ad creative is built using Flash, and Apple needs to face it.  ”Apple’s choice not to support Flash on its mobile devices creates huge roadblocks for advertisers,” Chang said in his response.  ”Today, it cannot be understated that almost 100% of agencies and their brand advertisers develop ad creatives in Flash using Adobe tools.”

He also criticizes Apple’s emphasis on HTML5, based on the fact that few development tools exist for creative purposes.  ”Currently, there are no comparable tools to create ads in HTML5, open or not, he continued.  ”This is partially an explanation as to why Apple/Quattro has opted to create the initial iAds, because no one else can, at least not in HTML5.”

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Ever since Apple’s iAd announcement yesterday, many have questioned whether the lack of Flash is going to dilute the effectiveness and long-term viability of the platform, and what it means for the future of mobile advertising on Apple’s devices.

One such person with a keen interest is Greystripe CEO Michael Chang, who yesterday released a response regarding his views on the whole situation.  Greystripe is an ad-network that utilizes Flash-based transcoding to bring the technology to Apple devices, and as such, was watching the iAd announcement very closely.

“True to Apple’s style, the company continues to improve their products and platforms based on consumer feedback.  We are thrilled with the iAd announcement, it’s a thumb’s up for mobile display and brand advertising,” explains Chang.  “Today Steve Jobs highlighted that mobile advertising is not all about search, that it needs to be interactive, elicit an emotional response and function within the app.  We agree 100% and have been doing this for over 18 months with our rich media iFlash ads.”

He then speaks of the difference between HTML5 and Flash for mobile display ads and the many questions left unanswered during the announcement.  “The in-game ad that Apple demoed today was almost exactly like Greystripe’s Alice in Wonderland interactive ad campaign.  The challenge that Apple faces is that they require HTML5, while almost all digital advertising is built in Flash,” Chang continues.  “Unfortunately Apple’s announcement today raised as many questions as it answered.”

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Today at Apple’s iPhone OS 4 announcement, there was the predictable and laughable lack of Flash inclusion once again for the fourth-gen OS.  Though Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform will be based on HTML5, where does it leave the rest of the ad-world who does use the seemingly ubiquitous technology?

After the event, during the Q&A portion, Steve Jobs was asked yet again about any future plans regarding Flash — even just in iAds — in which he promptly replied “no.”  It’s now clear that Apple will never use Flash, opting instead for a life of HTML5.  While I’m not saying there’s something wrong with HTML5 from an ad-unit point of view, it’s the simple fact that Flash is used in an astonishingly large amount of ad creative already in use from a brand’s inventory.

Now, when advertisers choose to adapt to the iAd platform for distribution, they’ll have to completely re-work their Flash-based ad-inventory instead of simply using the tried-and-true ad-units they already have.  What’s the solution?

I think with Apple’s long-term blockage of anything Flash, we’ll see an uprising of Flash-based transcoding to allow the same experiences Flash provides, but scaled to adapt to iPhones, iPod touches and iPads.  Greystripe has already made waves with its “iFlash” proprietary transcoding methods, and I think similar methods and fixes will be in the works very soon.  That is if Apple doesn’t block those moves as well, which is a strong possibility.

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I’ve always been intrigued with the concept of proximity marketing, but a perceived lack of interest in the U.S has made any news or advancements in the technology all but lost in the shuffle.  To me the concept provides a unique and inexpensive opportunity for marketers, but there has to be underlying factors prohibiting its advancement, but what are they?

With increased interest surrounding mobile marketing, it’s interesting that proximity marketing has been largely looked over, though both concepts are fundamentally different.  While there’s really no definition that exists which separates the two, the easiest way to distinguish proximity marketing from mobile marketing is simply the concept of localized content. Potential advertising audiences must enter a “localized” area such as a grocery store or a shopping center in order to receive the advertisement with proximity marketing, while mobile marketing doesn’t require such an attribute.

Education of marketers in the U.S is one prohibiting factor in my mind, with almost no news coming out regarding the technology, even though numerous companies exist on U.S soil that provide proximity marketing solutions.  Marketers are already bombarded with so-called new-age marketing channels, and adding one more to the mix will confuse the masses even more than they already are.  Still, proximity marketing offers something even mobile marketing in large part can’t provide; being extremely inexpensive and very easy to integrate.

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We here at MMW strive to answer any questions you may have or give guidance in pertinent segments of mobile technology, advertising and marketing to all who request it, but every now and then we receive emails from readers that are just too good not to share.  As such, I’d like to share a quick email we received recently with a simple plea for help from someone struggling with advanced mobile technology:  (anonymous) writes…

Dear MMW – I’ve been trying to recieve collect calls from my boyfriend in jail.. and it doesn’t go threw can u plz help me.. thanks a lot!

While we’re solid in our belief that we know the mobile industry inside and out, collect calling from jail cells seems to fall just outside our area of expertise.  While we appreciate this individual reaching out in her time of need, I can safely say for once that I simply don’t know the answer….

While we all understand the benefits of mobile marketing on a large-scale, why then does the concept of hyperlocal mobile marketing seem to always get lost in the mix?

I live in a small town, filled with small businesses and business-owners locked in to legacy ideals when it comes to marketing.  The thought of targeting customers via mobile devices is a concept that many scratch their heads about when planning their marketing strategy, and usually go back to old-time techniques when finally executing that strategy.

For those located outside the tech-savvy regions of the US, where mobile marketing is deemed the “frontier of marketing innovation,” the concept is still largely overlooked by those who can benefit the most from it – small businesses.  While there’s startups trying to bring the new-age ideals of mobile marketing to a hyperlocal level, it remains shrouded in obscurity for most SMB owners.

In large part, I think it all comes down to simplicity.  Cutting through the big words, various platforms and OSs, techniques and methods associated with mobile marketing, and instead focusing on the bottom line of using method X to achieve more sales/leads/etc should be emphasized on a hyperlocal level.  If SMBs get confused by the concepts, they’ll return to their so-called tried-and-true marketing methods, which may be easy to understand and implement, but not nearly as effective as a simple mobile strategy would have been.

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