Guidelines for U.S. Mobile Marketers
The Mobile Marketing Association has released the latest version of its U.S. Consumer Best Practices Guidelines for Cross-carrier mobile content services.
Add comment July 2nd, 2009
The WSJ may soon charge for mobile content
The Wall Street Journal may soon charge for subscriptions for mobile phone readers. With the latest iPhone software update, Apple started offering new billing options that may appeal to publishers. Previously, companies only had the option to charge once for an application, but now they can charge for subscriptions.
Add comment July 2nd, 2009
Are old-school coupons the best mobile marketing tactic?
As more commerce is conducted on phones, marketers are experimenting with the best ways to reach consumers. Steve Smith likes good old coupons, and thinks that “few traditional marketing formats map so well to the phone. Instead of clipping, storing and remembering to carry these paper savings certificates, a mobile device makes it so much easier to locate the right discount and use it on the spot.”
Add comment June 30th, 2009
Nvidia’s chipset may debut later this year, will bring near-desktop power to mobile
The outstanding power and lower battery consumption could prove to be a huge driver of greater smartphone penetration and mobile web usage.
Add comment June 30th, 2009
Demand for seamless mobile web access drives desire for broadband cloud
Consumers increasingly want web access everywhere - but how can it happen with the existing wide variety of networks? This is “driving the technology world to try to figure out how to build the equivalent of a bandwidth cloud composed of a variety of available networks, from cellular to Wi-Fi and WiMAX,” says Stacy Higginbottom at GigaOm. Speakers at a recent Portable Computer and Communications Association meeting described how this problem is being addressed by various services and software companies. Barbara Nelson, CTO of iPass, discusses the challenges here:http://gigaom.com/2009/06/24/biggest-barriers-to-seamless-mobile-connectivity/
Add comment June 30th, 2009
Mobile Services Market Will Grow Despite Economy
According to a study by ABI Research, even under the worst recovery scenarios, mobile services revenues will continue to grow at a nearly 1.2% annual clip through 2014, a 0.5% loss over pre-crisis conditions.
“A long economic recovery places pressures on mobile operators to compete on price, particularly with undifferentiated voice services,” ABI Research Practice Director Dan Shey said. “Mobile data services allow operators to counter that pressure. However, each region is different. Operators should create strategies that lead customers to maintain ‘nice-to-have’ data services or encourage addition of more utilitarian ones.”
Economically, North America has been hit hardest. But mobile data services growth will exceed 8% through 2014 even in the worst recovery scenario and will shield mobile services revenues against growing voice pricing pressures, according to ABI Research.
While stimulus packages are helping power the Asia Pacific region through the financial crisis and limiting unemployment loss, regional operators derive a large portion of their data revenues from content downloads. These products would be the first casualties of an extended recession, particularly with APAC’s substantial prepay base, the ABI study notes. However, operators can mitigate the impacts of the depressed conditions through appropriate messaging and offer management.
“Mobile operators need to stress the utility of mobile services and pursue appropriate services personalization initiatives that allow customers to buy and use services in ways that best suit their needs,” Shey said. “Business customers also should be a target segment as businesses consider mobile a way to lower costs and increase competitiveness.”
ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of emerging trends in global connectivity.
Add comment June 26th, 2009
Mobile payment madness grips North America
With fresh venture capital flowing to mobile payment enablers and signs of a viable cashless marketplace developing, will US wireless carriers soon commandeer the person-to-person payment space?
Add comment June 26th, 2009
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