Sparksheet’s Q&A with Melody Adhami at Dx3 Canada

Its been a full 3 weeks since Dx3 Canada wrapped up and the buzz around the event still remains. Although we miss all the excitement from participating, we’ve been thrilled to see all the takeaways from Canada’s first ever digital trade show.

One such takeaway? Custom mobile solutions are serving as a channel of engagement and communication between brands and their customers.

Watch Sparksheet, an award-winning multiplatform magazine, as they question Melody Adhami president and COO of Plastic Mobile, at Dx3 on the direction and successes of mobile commerce.

This week RIM announced that CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis will step down from their positions, though they will maintain majority of their shares and stay on as board members.

Thorsten Heins will take on the daunting role as RIM’s new CEO. In spite of seriously declining share prices, Heins has signalled that he will largely stay the course set by Balsillie and Lazaridis.

In a Star interview, Heins notes that RIM is still a solid financial performer and that it is the number one smartphone in many countries outside of the US. He goes on to say the their problem isn’t technology, it is in their communications and that is where they need to focus their efforts. “The perception just doesn’t match the reality,” Heins told the Star. “We’ve got $1.5 billion in the bank, and virtually no debt. We’ve also got a 75 million subscriber base.”

Regardless of this assurance, shares dropped even further after the announcement of the RIM pioneers’ resignation. Ugh. Sorry RIM, we can’t help but think the future looks grim.

What do you think? Will Heins be able to pull RIM out of its US despair? Tweet us with your thoughts @plasticmobile.

…as well as about 750 other execs, media personnel and tech enthusiasts, but, whatever.

At 7:30 this morning, this odd pastiche of professionals piled into the SONY Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, ON, to hear Duncan Stewart, Director of Technology, Media and Telecommunications, entertain and educate about Deloitt’e annual #TMTPredictions.

The tech arm of the professional services giant put together some very interesting facts and advice on what’s in store for our evolving industry in 2012. Among the most interesting prophecies were:

• continued growth of the ever-surprising TV
• the advent of data caps in many leading countries (i.e. the death of unlimited ISP deals. Le sigh.)
• the metamorphosis of our smartphones and tablets to “little PVRs”; and
• the immediate future of NFCs (hint: it’s not what you think).

One mobile prediction that really stood out was the hypothesis that the purchase of tablets would continue to increase, but that it would be less by new buyers and more concentrated by a secondary tablet in the home – apparently we’re not very good at sharing with our families.

Likewise, while the creation of apps continues to surge, Duncan Stewart pointed out that a great number of them are not unique - meaning that, while a number of new apps are being developed, so are existing apps being expanded to cover other operating systems. So, an app that was made last year for iOS, may this year be added to the Android and Microsoft markets.

According to Duncan Stewart, developing a mandate (like we have here at Plastic, not to brag, but we’re just saying) to develop cross-platform apps as often as possible, or as often as makes sense for our partners, will be crucial to increasing efficiencies in the future, and staying competitive in the mobile game.

The Plastic Mobile elves are working hard to create a real treat for anyone attending Dx3′s showroom floor. The Plastic Mobile booth is shaping up to be a one-stop-shop for a peak into how mobile really works – more specifically, how it can work for brands in the rapidly evolving world of commerce.

While we are certainly not about to divulge our top-secret booth plan (that’s classified intel), we are happy to give you a little something to nibble on while you wait in bated-breath suspense for January 25th and 26th to arrive so you can burst through the doors of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and hurry to see what Plastic’s got in store. The tidbit? Don’t sugar coat your mobile initiatives – quality is key to ensuring the best user experience and repeat usage. Stay tuned for more info on Plastic’s presence at Dx3. Are you getting excited? Tweet us @plasticmobile and tell us what you’re most looking forward to.

Also, take advantage of our exclusive Plastic Mobile Dx3 giveaway!

Every Friday, Plastic Mobile brings you a video blog that answers some of the burning questions surrounding mobile, e-commerce, the future of retail and other exciting mobile topics. Watch the “Queen of Apps,” Melody Adhami, and other industry experts, squeeze their answers into “60 Mobile Seconds” (or, close enough, anyway).

In the News

Just some of the people who think we’re pretty cool (thank you!).

Bloomberg

Market Wire

Yahoo! Finance

Canadian Business Opportunities

Euro Investor

Lou Dubois at Inc.com wrote a great article on whether your business is in need of a mobile application, or not. He digs deeper into the mobile space, questioning whether an application is useful for all business. Showcasing our very own Pizza Pizza app and lots of excerpts from our Queen Melody Adhami, this article is an excellent resource for anyone that has thought about an application for their business. Everyone’s needs are different, and we understand that. Applications need to be tailored to the business objectives and consumer needs. Lou lays out a series of useful questions to ask yourself before going down the route of a mobile app.

You can read the full article here.