The First Joomo Demo

As we sat amongst our hacks/hackers peers and colleagues from the publishing world, we were giddy with anticipation to do a live demo our new platform Joomo. Joomo is an automated platform that enables anyone to create high-quality custom native mobile applications across all mobile devices. With a web-based studio you can create, edit, track and customize every aspect of your app, all for free.

When our host, Phillip Smith, told the audience that Plastic Mobile is going to build an application in the duration of our 8 minute presentation time slot, there were many skeptical faces in the crowd. Now I’m not going to toot the Joomo horn, and write about how unbelievably easy to use it is, or the incredibly engaging user experience, or how it’s simply visually stunning. And I’m certainly not going to get into the whole native back end discussion and the genius behind that, rather I’m just going to let you witness how Melody and Sep delivered as promised, and built an app for ’29 Secrets’ in approximately 5 minutes.

Warning: The quality of the video is not Oscar-worthy, but then again that’s usually how it is when something rare and awesome happens and we spontaneously try to capture it. Think of UFO videos-never great.

In 1997 Steve Jobs launched the ‘Think Different” campaign, and set out to change
the world. To state that in the last 14 years he has accomplished just that would be
precisely accurate.

As a leader and a visionary with exemplary passion and dedication he has set the
example for, not only the tech industry as it strives to serve society, but everyone
who has an idea and dares to be different…to think different. He had mastered user
experience before there was a term to describe it.

I’m not interested in recapping his accomplishments and successes as this is not an
obituary, but I can claim with confidence that if you’re reading this-and you can be
anybody- you already have had the experience of the very thing that Steve Jobs set
out to do. You have already experienced the soul of Apple and whether you care to
admit it or not, it changed your world and probably your life.

To put this man on a pedestal would be antagonistic to his idiosyncratic nature,
at the end of the day he’s only human but one that values greatness. That is the message that he has  infused into the
heart of Apple.

April 4, 2011 — Pizza Pizza and Plastic Mobile Delivered a One of a Kind Pizza Ordering iPhone App.

Plastic Mobile has joined Pizza Pizza, Canada’s leading pizza chain, as their mobile agency to help build and launch an iPhone application to make ordering and delivering pizza both convenient and fast. This free app is available for all iPhone models, the iPod Touch, and the iPad. The app will let users build the pizza of their dreams; a half order of ham & pineapple and the other half Italian sausage, extra mushrooms, no cheese, and easy on the sauce? Looking to order a gluten-free pizza? Pay through your application or when it arrives. It all can be done with the Pizza Pizza iPhone App.

This innovative application will fundamentally change the ordering experience, making it fast, visual and convenient for the customer. By using location-based services (LBS) to locate the nearest Pizza Pizza restaurant, as well as allowing users to simply pay within the application, the app provides a seamless experience.

The application, delivered by Pizza Pizza and Plastic Mobile, can be downloaded from the App Store on iTunes. For more information on this app visit http://www.pizzapizza.ca/mobile.

Check out our news release here.

Imagine how convenient it’ll be to make payments at restaurants or stores with your iPhone or iPad! Imagine how great it’ll be to have a fast checkout process and not have to wait in line. According to Bloomberg’s report, Apple’s next iPhone and iPad are expected to have NFC technology.

NFC technology (near field communication) that is gaining popularity, allows various forms of data transfer between the iPhone and other NFC capable devices. NFC technology receives and sends out information at distances up to 4 inches. This means iPhone and iPad users will soon be able to make payments using NFC.

The key to this is iTunes, or better say the payment system within iTunes that is already in use by millions and millions of people around the world. By entering the payment service market, Apple has a massive opportunity. By including NFC into its iPhone and iPad, Apple could use its existing iTunes accounts and give consumers an alternative to traditional financial services by Visa, MasterCard and PayPal.

Right now, Apple has launched a prototype for the payment services by allowing smaller businesses to scan NFC-enabled devices.  Upcoming versions of the AT&T iPhone and iPad 2 are expected to have the technology enabled and the technology is anticipated to be available by mid 2011.

If Apple can nail NFC and tie it directly into their iTunes payment system, it could change everything. This can be an evolution of the payment system within iTunes.

This could be the greatest tactic they’ve ever pulled. Is it possible that Apple and iTunes will replace Visa and Mastercard? From our perspective, it seems unlikely that they will go that far due to the complications and the financial burden associated with giving consumers credit.  But I guess we will never know how far they will go and we will just have to wait and see!

While consumers’ expectations of smartphones are rising everyday, the mobile industry hasn’t educated consumers about the limitations of mobile devices and this has led to idealistic expectations of mobile phones and mobile ads. A part of their unrealistic expectations is that smartphones can do just about anything and everything for them.

Before the Smartphone’s boom, most cell phone owners were satisfied with only clear voice calls, fast texting, and simple games. But times have changed and consumers have great expectations from their mobile devices; they want the best smartphones at the lowest possible prices. They demand more features, better performance, the coolest apps, and indirectly the best mobile ads.

The competition in mobile OS market is intense and bloody! Everywhere you go, you see Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Symbian devotees trying to make their friends switch or upgrade; marketers and advertisers are adding mobile to their strategy; manufacturers and app developers fight for increased market presence; wireless carriers try their best to attract more customers, and basically everyone in the mobile industry is fighting for more profit, higher market share, or stronger presence.

As a result of this hype, today more than ever before, mobile advertising is up swinging. Mobile advertising campaigns have become the key to making money with mobile marketing. This means that the opportunities for making money are endless, but the question is how can you turn mobile ad campaigns into successful mobile marketing that puts money in your pocket?

How to best turn mobile ads to dollars?

Cell phone adoption rates, especially smartphone adoption rate are rising everyday, so is the importance of mobile advertising; therefore, marketers should keep in mind the necessary qualities in creating successful mobile ads.

Marketers should also bring into consideration that many consumers are still less than thrilled about ads on this very personal device. In order to increase the usefulness of the channel, mobile marketers must cater the features and formats of their mobile ads to their consumer’s preferences. Meaning that they should understand not only do consumers expect mobile ads to inform, but also they expect the mobile ad to provide relevant information tailored to their preferences.

According to a survey from Yahoo! and Nielsen Company, being informative was the most important quality of mobile ads for a wide variety of products and services. Relevancy was a relatively close second in most categories. Respondents cared relatively little about the graphical and multimedia elements of the ads. This contrasts with research on iPad advertising, which has shown that tablet users pay more attention to the look and feel of the ads and care more about the colors.

According to the InsightExpress “Digital Consumer Portrait” published in 2010, the heaviest mobile users generally did not find mobile banners annoying, while full-page ads were seen less favorably.

Based on the research that has been done on mobile ad campaigns and our expertise in this arena, we recommend marketers to focus on relevant information for their mobile ad. A smartphone user’s satisfaction of mobile ads will only improve if the mobile industry releases flawless, informative, relevant mobile ads that truly offer excellent value and choice for the user.

As mobile ads are getting millions of clicks and eyeballs, it’s important to create an ad that meets users expectation. Time on a mobile ad with a brand is a great deal for a retailer; it is a very intimate experience exploring a brand on such a personal device; isn’t it?

Starbucks launched mobile payment services across its 6,800 company-operated U.S. stores; customers with certain mobile devices can now buy their coffee with the wave of their smartphone.

Starbucks Card Mobile is a free app that enables iPhone and BlackBerry users to fund in-store purchases via their smartphones. Customers who’ve downloaded the free Starbucks Card Mobile App can now pay for their order by holding their handset in front of a countertop scanner and processing the app’s on-screen barcode. Here is a video of Starbucks’s Card Mobile: http://bcove.me/24g1mkmb

In addition to mobile payment capabilities, the Starbucks Card Mobile App enables customers to manage their Starbucks Card account, check their current balance, reload their account with any major credit card, view their My Starbucks Rewards status and locate nearby Starbucks locations.

According to Starbucks, more than a third of its U.S. customers own smartphones. Within this segment, about three quarters have either iPhone or BlackBerry devices. Starbucks said it is developing a similar service for Android devices but does not know when that will be available.

This mobile payment program is only available in U.S. Starbucks locations at the moment. But that’s still a lot of places to pick up a latte with a smartphone!

Happy Birthday to the Mac!

Apple introduced the very first Macintosh on January 24, 1984, beginning an era that is still going strong 27 years later. Steve Jobs introduced the Apple Macintosh on January 24, 1984 and received wild applause from the crowd of 3,000 people. It was originally introduced simply as the Apple Macintosh and was re-branded as the Macintosh 128K when its big brother, the Macintosh 512K, was introduced in September 1984.

Apple has evolved it’s business beyond the Macintosh computers and has revolutioned the music and mobile industries with the introduction of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. In the latest earnings release, apple revealed that their new iPad device has sold close to $15M.

The iPad is definitely a hit based on the reports & iPhone sales are coming in ahead of estimates. In addition to these, Apple’s App Store has just posted its 10 billionth download, just two and half years after the store opened in July 2008.

Up to this point, consumers have largely driven Apple’s iPhone & iPad growth, and these technologies are said to be creeping into corporate world.

For those that want to relive a piece of history, here is the demo of the first Apple Macintosh by Steve Jobs. Demo of the first Mac computer by Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder and chief executive of Apple Company hasn’t exactly been in the best shape for a while now. Mr. Jobs, 55, who recovered from pancreatic cancer after surgery in 2004, has not appeared at public events since October. He appears considerably skinnier these days & now he’s taking time out.

Steve Jobs sent out an e-mail message to all Apple employees saying that he is taking “a medical leave of absence”, so that he can focus on his health. He says that he will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company; only, he’ll do it from home. This is the third time he is taking a step back in less than a decade. Whether Steve Jobs returns or not, he will definitely be hard to replace; it was because of him & his extremely talented team that the company succeeded over the past years.

Steve Jobs’s perseverance, management style, innovative qualities, creativity, outlook on design, charisma, and overall business “know how” can’t simply be replaced. His unique & great qualities have made him the technological guru of his time and of technology today.

Steve Jobs kept the development of products like the iPhone 4 and iPad on track, increased Macintosh computers sales and improved Apple’s financial performance during an economic downturn; his performance has always been a heavy dose of reassurance for the investors. He succeeded many negotiating grounds because of the strength of his personality. The persuading & negotiating role that he has is very important, as Apple seeks to become a bigger power in media distribution. It would be hard for anyone in the industry to have a comparable level of influence as Steve Jobs does.

Of course no one expects Apple to suffer in the short term, as the company has a long product cycle. But we don’t know what will happen over the long term if Mr. Jobs does not return. The problem here isn’t the operations of Apple and their ability to keep doing what they’ve been doing; the problem here is that Steve Jobs’ inspiration is irreplaceable. With all his unique characteristics and talents, and the breakthrough innovation he introduced to Apple, we are not sure if anyone can fill his shoes.

He changed many lives for the better. We hope he’s back on his feet soon and returns to work at Apple.

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

Which one are you?

On October 20, 2010 Apple held an event called “Back to the Mac” at which Steve Jobs, Apple CEO revealed the upcoming Mac technologies.

This event boldly showcased Apples focus on mobile technology; revealing their move to unify their mobile offerings with their Macs. The newest sensation was the hijacking of the AppStore for the Mac, which was a bold confession of just how important iPhone applications have been in Apple’s success of grabbing larger shares of the Smartphone markets. Bringing FaceTime, the VideoConferencing capability from the iPhone and iPad to the Mac was just another affirmation of the power of their mobile technology in Apple’s overall success; which in essence is turning into their strategy.

Further proof of mobile playing even a larger part of Apple’s marketing strategy was revealed by the introduction of Apple’s next generation MacBooks, the all new MacBook Air, inspired by the iPad (“MacBook meets the iPad”). MacBook Air is simply a more sophisticated version of the iPad, sleek and neat, with more computing talent but naturally slightly less mobile.

The product lineup, features in the new operating system and the Mac AppStore all seem to point to a direction that has mobile focused at its core. Just two years ago many believed that Apple had no right entering the very saturated phone (device manufacturer) market and today the iPhone technology is helping pave the path for their core Mac business.