dx3 in review: The start of something incredible

Two days, 3,469 Canadian Marketers and one remarkable event. That was this year’s Dx3. On January 25 and 26, the Toronto Metro Convention Centre was filled with tonnes of engaging conversations around Canada’s digital advertising, marketing and retail landscape.

Plastic Mobile was very proud to be a participant in the inaugural forum for Canadian digital innovation.

For me, some of the highlights included, Visa’s touchless payment transaction ice cream exhibit, which not only kept my team full of delicious ice cream, but also demonstrated to attendees the future of NFCs. Visa’s Derek Colfer gave a session on the future of NFC in the Canadian mobile industry, saying that it’s still going to take awhile for things to get going. He cautioned his audience to consider that it took nearly a decade to get the credit card chip and PIN rolled out in Canada, so we shouldn’t expect to see mobile payments rolling out in 2012. Nevertheless, the Visa booth allowed visitors to practice using NFC technology to get some ice cream. Pretty awesome.

Also, Doug Stephens, President of Retail Prophet Consulting, and Candice Faktor of ShopCatch began the second day of Dx3 with an interesting keynote on the retail space. Stephens was a man of the future, looking ahead into retail 20 years from now, whereas Faktor focused on present-day retail. Both speakers concurred that mobile has shaken up the retail industry unlike anything ever before seen.

Another exciting event was the startup “pitch-off” at the Intertainment Media Incubation Zone. Five contestants were given five minutes each to pitch their plan. The winner was the Toronto-based startup, Stylsize, who showcased their very cool online retail mobile solution with its advanced apparel-fitting technology.

Two interesting mobile-related myths that were actively debunked at the show were about group buying and broadcasting apps. There was a charge to make attendees better understand that the emphasis for group buying is not about “will I make a profit?”, rather customer acquisition. And that broadcasters are missing the mark by creating apps that just copy their TV experiences without adding value and making them “Mobile friendly.”

And of course Plastic Mobile was there, bringing the mobile-retail relationship to life with our interactive candy shop, which was the talk of the Dx3 highlight list.

After such a great forum this year, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2013.

…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!

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”.

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?”

Palm Pre has yet to release more information on their verison of the app store and the pricing model behind releasing Palm apps.

However, today they opened up to developers a preview of their Mojo SDK which can be accessed here. If you’ve got some time (approximately an hour) watch this O’Reilly Webcast with Mitch Allen, Palm’s Software CTO, about developing applications with their development kit. Also, they’ve got the first chapter of their webOS available for free. Enjoy.

The gang from Plastic Mobile Agency is heading from Toronto, Ontario over to  a warmer climate to the CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association) 2009 conference in the fabulous Las Vegas. We covered it from a high-level in our post here but the true coverage will commence once we’re on the ground. We plan to bring you live updates to our blog here and be the first to report the many exciting findings.

Some early rumors of what maybe releasing include:

1. Skype for the iPhone
2. BlackBerry App World
3. BlackBerry TV
4. HTC Maple
5. More info on Palm Pre pricing

Be sure to be tuned to both our blog and Twitter for updates as some of these rumors become reality.

Here are the events that we will make sure to cover:

1. Day one Keynote Sessions – We look forward to hearing from both Al Gore and Mike Lazaridis
2. Exhibit Floors on all days to see all the exciting showcase of products and technologies
3. NXT Stage Mobile Entertainment Festival
4. Date 2 Keynotes
5. eWEEK – Healthcare IT and Wireless
6. WIP – Mobile Jam Session – More info on the Jam session found here
7. Mobility means Business
8. Day 3 Keynotes
9. NFC / Mobile Payments

Stay tuned right here for live updates.

Its interesting to see that “Mobile Marketing Day” has gained the popularity to demand repeated series.

“The first Mobile Marketing Day [on Feb. 26] proved that there is a tremendous thirst for knowledge on mobile marketing and its role in generating brand awareness and leads,” said Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Mobile Marketer, New York.  As such the Direct Marketing Association has decided to continue the series on April 28, 2009.   “This upcoming event is part of a series of deeper dives into mobile” continued Mickey Alam Khan.  The event is being referred to as “Mobile Marketing for Agencies and Media Buyers”.

The event will be held in New York to discuss the marketing issues that surround today’s market place.  The event is of interest to media buyers, agencies and their brands.

We are more and more faced with brands today that are understanding that the more sophisticated handsets, data plans and customers are begging to expect fully integrated campaigns from companies and their brands.

The agenda is seen below and the content comes from Mobile Marketer.

Mobile Marketing for Agencies and Media Buyers
DMA Mobile Marketing Day
Sponsored by Napean (publisher of Mobile Marketer) and DMA Mobile Marketing Council
Date: Tuesday, April 28
Venue: Direct Marketing Association Seminar Center, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 13th floor, New York, NY 10036

Agenda of content and confirmed speakers

8 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Registration and light breakfast

8:45 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Welcome Address
The address will welcome delegates, give a brief background on DMA Mobile Marketing Day, the importance of mobile marketing in agencies’ multichannel plans for clients and what the delegates should get out of this daylong event.

Speaker:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Mobile Marketer

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Why Mobile Must be Included in a Multichannel Marketing Campaign
In today’s environment where almost all working-age consumers have mobile phones with anywhere from SMS texting to Internet capability, including the mobile channel is a must for multichannel marketing plans. Mobile’s unique quality is how it gives legs to other channels including retail, print, online, television, outdoor, radio, direct mail and insert media. Now is the time to develop integrated mobile ad campaigns and build opt-in mobile programs to lock in consumer loyalty in this new era of marketing.

Speakers:
Jonathan Shar, general manager and senior vice president, Time Inc.’s CNNMoney.com
Michael Bayle, senior director of global mobile advertising, Yahoo!
Thom Kennon, vice president of strategic planning, Wunderman
Richard Ting, executive creative director and vice president of mobile and emerging platforms, R/GA
Moderator:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Mobile Marketer

10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Essential Elements of Mobile Marketing
What is mobile marketing and how is it different from mobile advertising, what goes into a typical campaign – banner ad, SMS, mobile Web site, search, application and coupons – and which tactic is appropriate for the overall strategy. A quick rundown on the ABCs of mobile marketing.

Speakers:
Dean Macri, CEO of Cielo Mobile
Matthew Valleskey, marketing communications for mobile services, NeuStar
Michael J. Becker, executive vice president of business development, iLoop Mobile
Moderator:
Giselle Abramovich, associate editor, Mobile Marketer

11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
How to Create and Execute a Mobile Marketing Campaign
While mobile is not as complicated as commonly assumed, it does require special skill sets and understanding of the wireless carrier environment and the permission process. But it is easily added to existing CRM efforts or print, television, radio and outdoor campaigns. SMS texts, banner ads and coupons have proven effective in cross-channel marketing for marketers across categories.

Speakers:
Jordan Berman, vice president of media innovation, AT&T Ad Solutions
Michael Foschetti, managing director, Mobisix
Shira Simmonds, president, Ping Mobile
Moderator:
Dan Butcher, staff reporter, Mobile Marketer

11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Sponsored Lunch break

1 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Planning and Buying Media for Mobile
Fragmentation of media has made life difficult for media planners and buyers. On top of the number of cable channels and publisher Web sites, here comes mobile with its own ecosystem and quirks. As mobile buys become more commonplace, media planners and buyers will be expected to have skills to place ads on mobile Web sites as well as make decisions on SMS programs and other efforts for branding or lead generation.

Speakers:
Boris Fridman, CEO, Crisp Wireless
Patricia Clark, regional vice president of sales, 4Info
Eric Litman, chairman/CEO, Medialets
Moderator:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Mobile Marketer

2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Tracking and Measuring a Mobile Campaign’s Performance
The campaign’s out the door – did it work, did mobile consumers click through the banner ad, did they click to call, did they visit the landing page, did they opt into the SMS offer? These questions and many others are uppermost on the minds of agencies and media planners and buyers called to account for their media decisions. Tracking and measuring a mobile campaign’s effectiveness is key in these times when every media dollar is expected to stretch and ROI is an expectation.

Speakers:
Adam Kerr, vice president for North America, Bango
Manny Gonzalez, senior director of mobile technologies, Keynote Systems
Mack McKelvey, vice president of marketing, Millennial Media
Moderator:
Giselle Abramovich, associate editor, Mobile Marketer

3 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Building a Loyalty Program with Mobile
The mobile channel’s optimal use is as a CRM tool. SMS, available on 99 percent of all mobile phones, is the favored vehicle for brands seeking to add a mobile component to their mail and online loyalty programs. Consumers are increasingly gravitating to the use of SMS for offers, discounts, coupons and incentives. But the use of SMS must be tempered with the right double opt-in permissions.

Speakers:
Gregg Smith, CEO, Acuity Mobile
Josh Herman, global multichannel marketing innovation leader, Acxiom
Jeannette Kocsis, vice president of digital strategy and media, Harte-Hanks
Moderator:
Dan Butcher, staff reporter, Mobile Marketer

4 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Legal Do’s and Don’ts with Mobile Marketing Campaigns
In addition to best practices, there are several laws to keep in mind before deploying a mobile campaign. Regulations governing consumer outreach and database-building through mobile advertising and marketing differ from other channels. In fact, the laws are evolving with no little help from state attorneys general concerned about fair advertising practices. SMS, privacy policies, carrier regulations, mobile ads – all require thought before signing off.

Speakers:
Andrew B. Lustigman, principal attorney, The Lustigman Firm
Gonzalo Mon, attorney, Kelley Drye & Warren
Gary Schwartz, president, Impact Mobile
Moderator:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Mobile Marketer

5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Sponsored Networking Cocktail Hour
Delegates can network and mingle with speakers, moderators and sponsors