The Mobile Marketing Blog - TellMyCell

Horace Dediu On The fate Of Mobile Phone Brands

The always interesting ASYMCO blog has some great insights (with charts!) on the mobile phone industry. It's well known that Apple takes the lion's share of profits when it comes to mobile phones - but what about marketshare? More specifically, what can we learn by look at the past few years:

The violence with which new platforms have displaced incumbent mobile vendor fortunes continues to surprise.

• Nokia’s Symbian platform has gone from 47% share to 16% in three years
• Microsoft’s phone platforms have gone from 12% to 1%
• Other platforms have gone from 21% to zero
• Although far less dramatic, RIM’s decline from 17% to 12%  is causing acute pain and anxiety

This while entrants have grown share in spectacular fashion:

• Android from zero to 48% (A two year period)
• iOS from 2% to 19%
• Bada from zero to 4% (two quarters only)

Head over to ASYMCO for more charts and analysis.

What Will Android 3.0 Look Like?

The rapid development pace of the Android mobile OS shows no signs of letting up. Most Android phones are running some version of 2.x. But 3.0 is just around the corner:

Android 2.2, or "Froyo," may still be in the process of rolling out to users, but Google is already hard at work on "Gingerbread," the upcoming version of the mobile operating system that most expect to be numbered 3.0.

Not only is the Gingerbread software development kit widely rumored to be planned for release next week, but it looks like video chat will likely be among the new version's top-billed features.

"We support video chat today with Google Talk Video," said Andy Rubin, Google's vice president of engineering, in an interview last week. "It works on the desktop. Whether that can be repurposed and made appropriate for sipping bandwidth for mobile, it's an exercise that's under way."

Combined with the increasing incidence of front-facing cameras on Android devices, the evidence does seem to suggest that video calling could be on the way. That, in fact, could be one reason hardware makers working with Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor recently said that Gingerbread will "change the way we use our phones."

Head over to PC World to read more.

Getting Personal: Location-Based Text Messages

Thanks to a new program designed by Placecast and Location Labs, companies such as North Face can make their mobile messages more personal through location-based SMS messages. Smartphone users are not the only ones who have access to this program, users with standard telephones can use this as well, which means that potentially 180 million people in the United States have access to this. The North Face is the first retailer to use this program. They have created geo-fences around their stores and hiking areas which are popular among their customers. When a customer, who has opted in for their SMS messages, has entered a geo-fenced area, they will receive a message tailored to their whereabouts.

"If they're near a store, customers may receive a message about a new item in the store. But, if they're at Lake Tahoe, and they have noted that they are a biker, they might get a msg about a great biking trail. A different customer may receive a msg about a great swimming spot, based on their preferences," according to a representative from Placecast.

To read the entire article, click here.

To learn more about mobile marketing, visit TellMyCell.

New Trends Due To The Popularity Of The Mobile Phone

In recent polls, people have said that they would rather lose their wallets than their mobile phones. And now, with numerous smart phones on the market, people can do just about anything with the click of a few buttons. Here are some new growing trends due to the popularity of mobile phones.

1-Bargain Hunting: “Bargain hunting has become extremely popular with apps like RedLaser that allow users to scan product bar codes and discover its various prices at different retailers.”
2-Mobile Ticketing: “Mobile ticketing transactions are expected to exceed $100 billion world wide by 2012, according to a study released this month by Juniper Research.”
3-Marketing: “Text message marketing, where customers opt-in to receive news about deals or offer coupons, has been a widely adopted practice as it’s a direct way to engage with consumers that has a high likelihood of being read.”

Want to learn about more mobile trends? Read the entire article here.

To learn about mobile marketing, visit TellMyCell.

New Service Could Revolutionize The Way Indians Use Their Mobile Phones

Tens of millions of Indian mobile-phone users can gain access to the web by a new service developed by Hewlett-Packard's research division. This would give all of the people who are not fortunate enough to own computers the opportunity to search the internet.

“HP Labs' SiteOnMobile allows access to the internet using only SMS text messages and voice commands – potentially opening it to India's 600 million users of mostly low-end mobile phones. By issuing commands to so-called TaskLets – the servers of which are based in the cloud – users can perform tasks such as checking the status of an order, requesting a quotation or booking a doctor's appointment. "In countries like India and Africa, where as a business owner I have a website but the folks that have the PCs are the only ones that can access my website – now I can generate more business for myself with a bigger mobile market," adds a small business owner from India.

Read the entire article here.

JCPenney's New Marketing Technique

JCPenney is embracing new technological trends with their "New Look. New Year. Who Knew!" back-to-school campaign. They created an iPhone  application which allows teens to upload their own looks and to vote on their favorite outfits. For those teens without iPhones, they can opt to receive text messages which allows them to view the newest styles from the tip of their fingers.

“Through our mobile marketing initiatives, we able to reach teens where they are and provide them exciting, media-rich, interactive content that allows them to explore and discover the JCPenney brand,” said Kate Coultas, a spokeswoman at JCPenney

To learn more about this new marketing approach click here

Want to learn more about mobile marketing for retail? Visit TellMyCell

Are These The Features We'll See in iPhone OS 4.0?

Aside from the widely expected tablet, will Apple be dropping iPhone OS 4.0 at their big event on January 27th?

• Multi-touch gestures are being incorporated throughout the OS
• There will be a “few new ways” to run applications in the background.
• Plenty of UI changes were put in place to make using the OS more efficient.
• Sadly, the rumor indicates iPhone OS 4.0 will be iPhone 3G/3GS only. iPhone 1 owners, it’s time to retire your piece.
• “Brand new syncing” capabilities for the calendar/contacts system.

Head over to MobileCrunch for more.