Archive for August, 2009

App Usage: Android vs. iPhone

Monday, August 31st, 2009

A recent report from AdMob found that consumers who download apps onto Android handsets and those who download apps onto an iPhone behave similarly.

The biggest difference, the survey found, is that only 19 percent of Android users download apps, compared to 40 percent of iPod touch users and 50 percent of iPhone users.

“However,” the report said, “users who purchase paid apps on either platform exhibit similar downloading and spending habits, indicating the potential for paid apps on Android Market as it develops.”

The report further found that each month, Android and iPhone users download about 10 new apps, compared to the 18 apps that iPod touch users download. More than half of both users spend more than 30 minutes per day using apps.

In addition, more than 90 percent of Android and iPhone users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device. Users who regularly download paid apps spend an average of $9 on five paid downloads each month.

iPhone users still outrank others, representing 60 percent of America’s smartphone usage in AdMob’s network during July, followed by RIM at 13 percent and Android at 12 percent.

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The Mobile Population

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

The majority of mobile phone users are inseparable from their devices, taking their smartphones and traditional phones with them all the time.

This year, 91.4 percent of the U.S. population is a mobile phone subscriber. That number is expected to increase to 95.3 percent by 2011 and again to 96.7 percent by 2013, according to “Mobile Users and Usage: It’s Personal,” a new study by eMarketer.

“With mobile usage now pervasive, eMarketer believes that mobile will develop into a ubiquitous platform for messaging, social networking, entertainment and Web access,” eMarketer Senior Analyst Noah Elkin said.

The study found the mobile subscriber population is not uniform. According to ComScore, 53 percent of mobile phone subscribers are women, while 47 percent are men. However, there are more male subscribers in the 18 to 44-year-old age range. There also are variations in usage by age, income, ethnicity and device type.

Text messaging has surpassed voice calling as the most popular means of communication on mobile devices. Nielsen found that during Q1, the average American mobile phone subscriber sent or received 486 text messages per month, but only made 182 calls.

During that same time, those 13 to 17-years old sent and received more than three times as many texts on a monthly basis as those 18 to 24-years old, and more than 50 times as many texts as those 55 to 64-years old.

In addition to text messaging, mobile Internet usage also has been steadily increasing. eMarketer found this growth will continue during the next five years, with the number of mobile users accessing the Internet to rise from 73.7 million this year to 134.3 million in 2013.

The mobile Internet user population is about one-third the size of the population that uses wired Internet, and smartphones have helped to bridge the gap between mobile Web and desktops.

“Growing sophistication in users, devices and usage patterns will mean increased opportunities for marketers to connect with consumers, particularly among the growing population of smartphone users,” Elkin said. “Yet marketers must take seriously the highly personal relationship users have with their mobile devices, and respect the need for a value exchange.”

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RIM Outperforms Apple

Monday, August 17th, 2009

The top contender on this year’s list of Fortune‘s Fastest Growing Companies may surprise you.

Research in Motion was ranked number one on the list, with a three-year average earnings-per-share growth of 84 percent and revenue growth of 77 percent. Shares of RIM have a three-year annual total return of 45 percent.

Apple, which is three times the size of RIM in sales and market value, only came in at number 39 on the list. In fact, IDC recently reported that the bestselling smartphone in America so far this year by units is not the iPhone, but the BlackBerry Curve, which is made by RIM.

RIM has a 56 percent share of the $12 billion U.S. smartphone market. During the past 10 years, the company has sold about 65 million phones to its 28.5 million subscribers, increasing its stock market capitalization from $96 million to $42 billion.

Even though the BlackBerry was once considered a business tool, it has made large gains as a consumer product, and now appeals to many markets and age groups. During Q4 2008, 80 percent of the company’s new subscribers came from the non-business crowd, which could have something to do with the company launching its first television campaign targeting a mass audience at the same time.

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Smartphone Sales Increase 27 Percent

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Although the overall cellphone market declined during Q2, sales of smartphones continued to increase.

A new report from Gartner found that 286.1 million mobile phone units were sold during Q2, a 6.1 percent decrease from Q2 2008. However, more than 40 million smartphones were sold, a 27 percent increase from last year.

One of the reasons smartphones remain popular is that most people buying new phones want either a QWERTY keyboard or a touch-screen. But people are still buying new phones based on price, and the current state of the economy is making it a tough time to sell phones.

“The recession continued to suppress replacement sales in both mature and emerging markets,” the report stated. “The distribution channel has dealt with lower demand and financial pressure by using up 13.9 million units of existing stock before ordering more. Gartner expects the gap between sell-in to the channel and sell-through to customers will reduce in the second half of 2009 as the channel starts to restock.”

The report found that Nokia is the market leader throughout the globe, as it sells almost as many phones as its next four competitors combined. In the United States, however, Nokia faces tough competition from the popularity of the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android.

The report also touched on the Palm Pre, which only sold 205,000 units, despite the amount of media attention the new phone attracted. Palm currently ranks 10th in the smartphone market.

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kmart wins big w/ mobile campaign

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

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Microsoft to Team Up with Nokia

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Microsoft Corp is expected to announce today that it will team up with Nokia in order to feature its Office suite on several of the company’s mobile devices.

The two companies have often been considered rivals in the cellphone industry, with Nokia operating Symbian software instead of Windows Mobile. However, both companies could benefit from the partnership, as both are working hard to cope with increasingly competitive industries.

Nokia, which is the world’s largest cellphone maker, is struggling in the smartphone market against rivals such as the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android.

Many think the partnership is a direct shot at Google, which offers its own Office-similar suite of e-mail, writing, graphing and presenting tools online and mobile devices. Microsoft is set to release its latest version of Office next year, including an online version that will allow users to access Word, Excel and PowerPoint over the Internet.

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Siemens Recruiting with QR Codes

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Here is further proof that employers throughout the world are taking advantage of the power of mobile when it comes to recruiting.

Siemens

A recent copy of The Journalist, a German magazine, featured a recruiting ad from Siemens that included a QR code. Users who scan the barcode with their mobile phone are taken to an Internet site providing further information about the company and its positions.

QR codes are 2D bar codes that contain data. In order to read a QR code, a mobile phone user simply launches a reader on their device and takes a picture of the image. The software then triggers the appropriate response, which can include launching a URL in the phone’s browser or streaming a video or MP3.

While QR codes have mainly been used in Asia so far, they are beginning to gain more popularity throughout Europe and the United States.

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Mobile Subscriptions to Reach 4 Billion

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

If you’re in the job space and need more convincing that mobile is the way to go when it comes to recruiting candidates, listen to this.

A new report from Bitkom found that there will be more than 4 billion mobile phone subscriptions throughout the world by the end of this year. Although there are more than 4 billion handsets, the number only refers to the amount of in-use numbers or connections.

Bitkom, a German industry association, took its research figures from the Berlin-based Information Technology Observatory. If you take into consideration that the world’s population is currently estimated to be 6.8 billion, that means three out of every five people will have a mobile phone.

“The strongest growth in mobile phone usage now comes from emerging and developing countries,” Bitkom’s Friedrich Jousssen, who also heads mobile phone provider Vodafone‘s German operations, said.

For instance, in India alone, mobile phone usage is expected to increase by 32 percent this year to 457 million people. A 14 percent increase is anticipated in Brazil and a 12 percent increase is expected in China, bringing the number of people in that country using mobile phones to 684 million.

On the flip side, industrialized countries are seeing more modest growth rates.

The European Union already has more mobile phone contracts than citizens, causing the industry to focus on mobile internet provision via advanced UMTS technology, the fastest mobile-phone signal currently available. That technology is expected to grow by 36 percent to reach 172 million users in Europe, and could increase by 74 percent to reach 108 million American users.

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ChaCha Ranks High in Traffic

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

ChaCha has answered 150 million questions in only 18 months.

According to the recent Q1 Mobile Messaging Report from The Nielsen Company, ChaCha ranks within the SMS services with the most traffic, along with American Idol, Twitter and Facebook.

ChaCha is a free mobile answers service and is considered to be a main competitor to Google‘s SMS search offering. The site allows users to ask a question and get an answer in real time using a mobile phone. Users call 1-800-2ChaCha or text their questions to ChaCha (242242) and receive an answer within minutes.

Most recently, ChaCha received $4 million of a $5 million round of funding. Of that money, $2 million will be used to pay back a loan from Citigroup. In march, the company raised $12 million, which it planned to use to expand its sales activities and open an office in New York.

Susan Marshall, VP of marketing for ChaCha, said that during July, the company revied 1,043 job-related questions per day and 31,290 for the total month. She said people are looking for advice, opportunities and pay information. You can see some samples of questions on the site’s Careers and Employment section.

Some examples include:

QUESTION
What should my career be?

Answer
You should look for a career in green energy. Jobs are plentiful and they are in high demand. Thanks for using ChaCha tonight!

QUESTION
What will i do as my career?

Answer
If you’ve got the charisma of Barack Obama, you can be a career politician. Thanks for asking ChaCha!

QUESTION
What are some places hiring in Las Cruces, New Mexico 88005

Answer
Harris Corporation, Convergys, Allen Medical Group, and Sitel are all hiring in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Thanks for using ChaCha!

ChaCha employs a group of expert “Guides” to search and answer questions online. Guides are paid on a per-transaction basis and make anywhere from $3 to $9 per hour. The company also pays people 4 cents per transcription of a recording question to a text question.

“Hitting the 150 million answer mark changes the search dynamic,” ChaCha CEO Scott A. Jones told MarketWatch. “Our explosive progress reflects the way today’s very mobile consumers want to search and retrieve information – ChaCha is a huge win for both our customers and our advertisers.”

While ChaCha’s basic services are free, the company does offer paid versions for marketing campaigs. The company claims to drive engagement with your brand around a certain initiative. The service allows companies to buy certain categories and target ads to users who ask related questions.

ChaCha’s previous clients have included Best Buy, Cocal Cola, Palm, McDonalds and President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign.

The site currently has 5.5 million unique users and receives a new user every 5.4 seconds. Of those users, 52.1 percent are male, 47.9 percent are female, 49.3 percent are 18 to 24-years old, 34.7 percent are 12 to 17-years old and 44.7 percent do not have a Web-enabled phone.

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