Events: Next Media Nov 29-30, Design Exchange, Toronto

Plastic Mobile will be at the NextMedia event taking place in Toronto November 29-30. Our own VP Creative Christopher May will be speaking at the event on the topic “Bad Apps VS Killer Apps. Creating compelling mobile experiences”. Find out more about our Mobile Manifesto at the session.

Android vs iPhone vs BlackBerry – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Einstein!

Which one are you?

This month, Today’s Parent released the first iPhone application to be released by a Canadian parenting magazine brand.

The application is a gift finding tool that is meant to assist parents, friends and family find gifts for children of all ages. The application allows for browsing, searching, saving and sharing gifts through the iPhone and is a great way for Today’s Parent to exist in the mobile space though this is not their first entry into this channel. Today’s Parent also has a mobile optimized website that allows for easy browsing of their site.

Some of the interesting features that are found in the application include the “Shake” to unwrap the gifts on the main feature page and the “Scratch and Save” element in the promotional tab.  Their also seems to be a partnership in place with ToysRus, who is the retailer offering a coupon through the application.

You can download it on your iPhone and check it out on the  iTunes app store.

This application was created by Plastic Mobile and Rogers Digital Media.

For this holiday season, in-store purchases and e-commerce have found a fierce competitor in the form of a small gadget, that we all are addicted to, our mobile phones!

First, you had to go to them, then they came to you, on your desktop, and now, closer than ever, they are in your palm; retailers, anytime, anywhere!

All surveys show that 2010 will be the first holiday season where mobile shopping will make a huge impact on sales in US.  It’ll be a year to remember; a year to learn from, and it’ll be the year that changed the future of commerce.  Mobile shopping is going to make a big hit in commerce this holiday season, it’ll definitely became very important in Canada as it constantly adds value for consumers in their shopping practices.

Consumers today are being spoiled with push updates and information directly to their mobile devices.  The conveniences offered at the touch of their fingers is spreading faster than expected and now consumer expectations from retailers have gone up with the practice and freedom of buying products whenever and wherever they want. Mobile shopping is the next big thing.

Consumers who?

Consumers riding a bus, sitting in a waiting room, working in the office, or between classes at school, they all have two things in common; a mobile phone which is no longer just a communication device, and great expectations from retailers to respond to this fast growing new shopping channel, Mobile !  Same way that e-commerce changed holiday shopping for good, Mobile shopping will revolutionize the holiday shopping for ever.

More than half of US consumers are planning to use mobile devices for holiday shopping this year, according to Mobile Marketing Association and Luth Research’s survey. Retailers can now interact with consumers, in this case “ Mobile holiday shoppers” category, directly through their mobile phone at anytime. Sooner or later all retailers, both in Canada & US have to bring their brands to consumers’ palms in order to maintain their position in this competitive market.

Evolution of shopping

Each & everyday consumers use their mobile phones more and more for purchasing products; therefore, the number of “Mobile holiday shoppers” will increase and smart retailers should take advantage of this trend going into the 2010 holiday season. Especially with current economy, companies, which send out SMS’s that contain discounts, promotions, free shipping, and other forms of loyalty programs, will gain higher transaction rates that will lead to more revenues this year.

Consumers use their mobile devices to research, find out about new arrivals, discounts, and promotions, see the catalogs, and find out a store’s location. Not only is everything made easy for them via mobile shopping, but also it allows consumers to make more informed purchase decisions.

What the heck caused this high number of mobile transactions?

According to Deloitte’s 25th annual holiday survey, Shoppers 18-29 are going to form a significant portion of mobile usage this holiday season, with 37 percent planning to use their mobile phones during the shopping process.  “The devices become capable of even more functionality, mobile will become even more mainstream,” said Alison Paul, vice chairman and retail sector leader at Deloitte, New York.

Two major factors have driven this high number: adoption and sophistication. People adapt to Smartphones more & more with each new device introduced to the market.  Another important factor is the increase in sophistication and features on these smartphones that make mobile shopping less painless.

Make it a great experience!

• Push out gift ideas to the mobile users
• Simplify the shopping experience
• Have a one-click checkout process
• Allow for order tracking
• Remain consistent across channels in terms of promotions from online to mobile, and store to mobile device

Attention retailers!

1. In both delivery models for mobile commerce, mobile Web and mobile applications, product catalog, pricing, promotions and inventory must be consistent and updated in real-time due to selling volume.
2. Don’t just focus on revenue earned by mobile shopping this holiday; mobile medium has other capabilities too. It influences purchasing heavily through other channels such as in-store transactions. The key is how to inform consumers of stores locations, promotions, and discount’s.
3. As of this holiday season, the challenge for retailers both in US & Canada will be how to either embrace or try to hold off the mobile shopping trend.  Mobile shopping will become a common consumer practice and consumer practices once learned, become very hard to change. Retailers must ensure they provide their customers with the right experience right out of the door.
   

What now?

As it has been predicted by experts in US this year, mobile will be the break away channel to reach consumers for the holiday shopping season. As Canada always follows in the footsteps of the US, retailers better start planning & investing in a sound mobile strategy, since we are clearly headed in that direction. Retailers should look at mobile as a great new medium for their sales, advertising and marketing & ensure they benefit from early entrance into the arena.

It is essential to build a strong mobile strategy for 2011 because 2010 holiday season will be remembered as the turning point for consumer acceptance of mobile as a viable shopping outlet.

We don’t know if the OS is good enough to steal the thunder from iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, but it is definitely getting Microsoft back into the game.

Yesterday was the first day in North America that Windows Phone 7 went on sale. There are plenty of phones to choose from both in US & Canada.  In US,  AT&T offers Samsung Focus and T-Mobile offers HTC HD7; they are being sold for $199.99 with a two-year contract.
In Canada,TELUS, Rogers and Bell are all offering the new Windows Phone 7 supported devises.

TELUS is offering the following two devices, HTC 7 Surround & LG Optimus 7, at the following prices:

• HTC 7 Surround costs $99.99 with a three-year contract, $349.99 with a two-year contract, $399.99 with a one-year contract,  $499.99 with no contract.
• LG Optimus 7 costs $99.99 with a three-year contract, $399.99 with a two-year contract, $ 449.99 with a one-year contract, and $499.99 with no contract.

Bell is offering  LG Optimus Quantum, at the following prices:

• LG Optimus Quantum for $99.99 with a three-year contract, $399.95 with a two-year contract, $424.95 with a one-year contract, and $449.95 with no contract.

Rogers is offering  Samsun Focus, at the following prices

• Samsung Focus for $199.99 with a three-year contract, $499.99 with a two-year contract, $549.99 with a one-year contract, and $599.99 with no contract.

Windows phone 7 is a fresh software platform; yet, it is surprisingly fully completed. One of the great features of Windows Phone 7 is the personalization of home screen. Check out this Link for a recent post I did detailing a comparison of the newest smartphones. It allows users to add people, games, music, and videos directly to the front of their phone, instead of just configuring apps. Another good feature is that it allow users to see calendar appointments, e-mails, and message counts, from the lock screen; and from the home screen, they can even get more details before going into a single app. As for games, all games with Xbox Live support will have free demos, mirroring the policy of Xbox Live Arcade. Windows Users can log on to Xbox Live on the go.

Despite the great features it has, it misses couple of things at this point such as: Flash video, cut & paste, and multi-tasking for third party apps.

Here is good video that shows you some of the features and functionality of Windows Phone 7.
Microsoft’s big bet on its mobile comeback is definitely going to compete with iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, with its $100-500 million marketing campaign (all sorts of rumors out there on their marketing spend). However, the company will not only have to gain consumer’s vote in order to break through, but also it has to build up its developer community.  Currently, Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace has around 1,600 apps, compared with around 100,00 in the Android Market and over 250,000 in Apple’s App Store.

Greg Sullivan, Microsoft’s senior product manager for Windows Phone 7, told CNN “Our message is going to be clear: This is a phone that does stuff for you.” I guess we have to wait ant see  “if  and how it’ll do stuff for USERS”.

Location Based Mobile advertising is a form of advertising that targets consumers based on their geographic location and allows consumers to receive location- specific advertising on their mobile devices. The thought of knowing someone’s physical location is appealing to advertisers, but the more important thing is to understand the individual’s needs when creating a location based mobile ad.

In mobile marketing, it is important to clearly understand the context around someone’s location, and create ads based on not only where someone is, but also who he/she is.

What’s more important than a person’s location, is why he/she is there? What his/her needs are? Marketers must make sure that their offer contains real value for the customer and follow a strict opt-in policy that does not invade their privacy.

Value Added by Location Based Advertising
Imagine you are visiting New York City and are looking for a restaurant in a specific neighborhood. With the help of LBA, you can just use your mobile phone to connect to the dining related websites and browse according to your location and preferred cuisine, find out about promotions, discounts, and benefit from coupons.  LBA adds value for users in many ways since people almost always have their mobile phone with them and thus LBA provides marketers great reach to potential customers.

Location Based Advertising & Privacy Issues
Many people are concerned for their privacy and don’t want to be monitored without being aware of it; many are concerned about LBA and risks of being monitored, if they did not directly opt-in to receive it. Consumers can easily perceive LBA as a privacy invader or spam if done inappropriately. However, if marketer’s are up-front about their practices, give customers the option to opt-out through a simple termination process, assure them that their personal data would be safe and secure, and educate them of the benefits of LBA, people will be more accepting of them.

In today’s world, technology is moving so quickly, but laws about privacy have not yet caught up with this fast pace. People may choose to be anonymous; yet, in the mobile space, such a thing is not possible. Privacy means different things to different people; this is what advertisers need to base their work on in order to gain individual’s trust & run a successful location based mobile advertising.

So, what is privacy & what is privacy invasion?
Much of it is about common sense – giving users real choice and control over usage of their personal data. Respecting people’s privacy is allowing them to decide when, why and how their data may be used with simple, also to show them how LBA can assist them in their everyday life.

To respect people’s privacy, marketers should inform their consumers on how their information is being stored, secured, and used.  When establishing a sound LBA policy, not only consumer’s privacy & preferences should be taking care of, but also customers’ objective, goals, and emotions must be taken into account.
Location based mobile advertising, if abused, could damage the technology and its future in a very quick way.  Thus, for LBA to be successful it needs to be permission based, relevant, and timely.

Effective Location Based mobile advertising
If marketing messages are based solely on GPS coordinates, marketers sacrifice the true relevancy that the mobile medium can deliver.

Imagine two individuals, both on the same intersection; one visiting his/her grandchildren in the city for the first time & the other is a young business professional living right across the street. Although their physical location is identical, their needs and interests can vary greatly.

Therefore, it won’t be wise to send the same mobile ad to both of these individuals. So, for LBA to be effective, it should go beyond the notion of where someone is standing & get deep into individual’s needs & preferences to be able to add value for him/her; effective LBA allows customers to receive more relevant information, personalized message, and targeted offer.

Our takeaways
For marketers to gain customer’s trust, they need to take privacy matters very seriously.  They should handle customer’s data properly, confidentially, and securely & inform people of the benefits they’ll receive by sharing their data. People may be more willing to accept the risks of sharing their valuable personal data, if they can see the benefits they gain from it.
An effective Location based mobile advertising is one which respects individual privacy, gives customers control on how they receive ads, and is tailored & relevant to each individual’s needs.

Since the release of the Apple iPhone in 2007 the world of smartphones has changed dramatically. Apple, Google Android, RIM and Microsoft Phone have been competing for market share by advancing not only their OS and user interfaces but in general the overall usability of cell phones. Let’s have a brief look at what they are offering to the users now.

Mirosoft Phone 7
After an successful attempt with the launch of its past Microsoft Mobile OS, Microsoft came up with a new strategy and a new product to make up for what it did wrong the first time. Microsoft is re-entering the market with a totally new OS: “Windows Phone 7”.

With a totally new user interface the Windows Phone 7 OS Version 1.0, will become available to users on multiple phones November 8, 2010. Among those will be the Samsung Focus, LG Quantu, HTC HD7 & 7 Pro and the Dell Venue Pro.
Microsoft built Windows Phone 7 entirely from the ground up; to prevent significant delays in release, they were somehow forced to leave out features that we take for granted on smartphones nowadays. Yet, Microsoft has brought new elements to the Smartphone category, and as everything is a matter of individual preference, some may prefer these new features over any other Smartphone.
According to first hand-on impressions by industry specialists the Windows Phone 7 impresses. A real plus of the Windows Phone 7 is its customizable home screen, which allows users to customize their information as per their preferences in live tiles which contain widgets, applications and live information as per the user preferences. This is a completely new experience and extremely user friendly. Android uses live widgets and is customizable as well.
Some of the disadvantages of the Windows Phone 7 are that it does not allow third-party applications to run in the background and pauses them until you return to the application, which is a huge disadvantage; it disallows multi-tasking. Windows Phone 7 doesn’t have a Copy/ Paste functionality as we know it from other Microsoft Programs. Windows Phone 7 uses Microsoft Maps, which has many disadvantages, most notably the large global audience of the popular Google Maps. Windows Phone 7 does not support Adobe Flash or even Microsoft’s own Flash-competing technology, Silverlight which is a huge disappointment for both users and developers.

iPhone 4
The new iPhone 4 is a complete renovate of its predecessor (iPhone 3GS) in every aspect. Initially when released the phone came with some major problems, the biggest proclaim was the poorly placed antenna, which reduced reception and the proximity sensor problem which caused users huge problems. Both of these major issues were addressed and resolved by Apple.
The iPhone 4 is noticeably slimmer, slightly narrower and at about the same weight as its predecessor. It’s 960×640 pixel IPS display is a revolution and has brought the highest resolution to the industry.  Another great feature is the “Retina display” that improves the sharpness, clarity and visible detail of images. The real difference this will make is for people who’ll spend time reading on the iPhone.
The newest feature of the iOS 4 is the introduction of multi-tasking, which however is limited compared to other phones such as RIM or Android based models. Apple’s new proclaiming feature of multi-tasking, doesn’t exactly do true multitasking. In most cases Apple puts third party applications to sleep until the user reopens them, except in some critical applications such as VoIP or Navigation Systems or Background music.
Another major improvement is the upgrade of the camera from a 3 megapixel to a 5 megapixel one and the addition of LED falsh backlit sensor, as well as the augmented reality feature of the iPhone. The camera also allows shooting of High Definition movies at 720p with 30 frames / sec.
Another real beneficial addition is face time, which allows free video conferencing among iPhone and now as recently announced all Mac users.
Real disadvantages of the iPhone 4 are lack of expandable storage, improper multi-tasking, no Adobe Flash support, no WiFi Hotspot capability.

Android based phones
Google states that Android has been its best investment ever. Android brings all Google applications and gadgets from the Internet to the phone. Android’s home screen alike the Windows Phone 7 is totally customizable by the user through the use of customizable live widgets. Samsung Epic 4G, Samsung Galaxy S, Motorola Droid X and T-Mobile’s G2 are known to be the best hosts of Google’s Android OS.
Android-based Smartphones have most of the features the others have combined and therefore this platform delivers an excellent user experience.
The Android platform is the only platform that allows the use of Adobe Flash and it’s the only platform challenging RIM’s Blackberry multitasking capability.  Android-based phones can do multiple things in the background without being paused or shut down and they are the second after the iPhone to have augmented reality integrated in their OS. Another added value is the integration of Google™ and Facebook calendars with the OS Calendar. Google Talk brings Video Conferencing and Google TV and will add additional free TV service to the platform; Also, highly developed touch screen technologies, typing advances and further features make Android a real threat to all the competition.

A major disadvantage of Android based Smartphones is security issues and privacy. Just a few weeks ago,  it was unveiled that users of Android applications can easily be tracked, e.g. where did they go last? What did they buy last? Etc.

RIM’s all new Blackberry Torch
Canadian Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind Blackberry and the leading rival of the Apple iPhone in the past years, from the very beginning separated its market segmentation by focusing on high security encrypted business phones that merely focus on emailing and messaging features and almost ignoring Internet usability and other smart-phone features. The company always tends to be very conservative when it comes to newest technologies and does not want to put their device security at risk by doing too much of what they don’t know about.

With Apple launching the iPhone 4, RIM announced a new version of their current phone series, the Blackberry Torch 9800.  RIM had to bring out a mobile phone with similar technologies to meet client demands; as a result RIM launched the Blackberry Torch, and included a touch-screen display with an Apple like scrolling interface and other added benefits. The phone has a similar design of both the Blackberry Curve and Storm phones. However a key new feature is the new vertical slide-out keyboard.   As compared to the iPhone and the current crop of Android phones, the Blackberry’s Torch’s ability for dealing with music, photos and video is limited. The Torch’s 5-megapixel camera may be its best feature.  Another good new feature is the search ability of the mobile which is quite unique. For instance in the search link enter your friend’s name and all their pictures, emails, sms messages and relevant documents, facebook shortcut, etc. will show up in a list. Another key feature of the new torch is its integrated link between social media and news networks. At a touch of a finger you can switch between your email, facebook, twitter or RSS feeds basically staying in touch with all that is important to you parallel. This Blackberry device offers true multi tasking and all open applications fully operate in the background, even when you are not on them. Android based device are the only rival to this feature.

The biggest disadvantage of the Blackberry is definitely using the web browser; optimized sites can take up to 10 seconds to load, three times longer than on the iphone. Another major disadvantage is the complexity for developers to build applications, which leads to lesser applications for Blackberry users.  Perhaps on piece of advice would be to stop changing their screensizes…that would be a start.

The Blackberry Torch 9800 is not necessarily a better Blackberry, or a competitor to phones running more sophisticated touch operating systems like Apple iphone, but similar to previous Blackberry devices, it will continue to definitely satisfy business users.

What does all of this mean for the Smartphone market?
The competition is tight in the Smartphone market and each of the companies are coming up with new solutions and strategies to target users and increase their market share.

Microsoft’s first attempt to come back to the market has been fair with having been more user centric and allowing users to use what they want; however, to survive they have to advance further.
Android seems to be a strong and aggressive competitor to all; however, it is suspected that security issues will withhold many users from using Android.
RIM should also rethink some of its strategies and definitely work on the usability factor of “Mobility” as their phones have lost their edge in that category and are becoming “chatter-boxes”, quite sophisticated ones though.
It seems Apple is still leading the way and will be running to swallow market share by offering acceptable security, privacy, ease of use, elegance, creativity, and beauty in design.  Apple seems to be an expert when it comes to one of the most important factors of the future of Mobile Technologies: “Usability combined with simplicity”.  The question now becomes, “How long will this suffice, before the next breakthrough technology dominates the market?”