Spending using mobiles hits £581m

The Smartphone, Apps and the increased availability to the internet via 3G and Wi-Fi have contributed to a £581m mobile spend. Purchasing Groceries is the main contributor towards the total figure, with travel tickets and clothing in a close second and third.

The main reason for this increasing spend via mobiles from the research is purely because of convenience, 78% of the sample stated that they like shopping on the move either during their commute to work or on the high street itself.

This spend is set to increase again in the near future because of the interest in tablet computers and net book sales. These devises are not considered as mainstream internet devices but they will be in 2012, and boosting mobile spends.

Going into the numbers more specifically, the results show that £908 is spent online on groceries per year. Travel tickets are at £675 and Clothes at £565. You may expect travel tickets be in the top three but perhaps not clothing and groceries.

Tesco is the dominate supermarket reaping the rewards from the mobile users requiring their groceries. Tesco has an app for the iPhone, Android, Nokia, and Windows Phone7. This app is a transactional app that Asda, Morrison’s and Sainsbury’s don’t have.

This then highlights that fact that the online and the mobile audience are making further steps into the mobile market, and importantly using their Smartphone’s and mobile devices for more every day activities.

Not having an App that includes a checkout facility will be vital as we discover new online habits.

Google’s Android mobile operating system assists Intel

Intel is the largest computer chip manufacturer and it has decided to run Google’s Android software on its tablet computers. The operating system that will be installed is called Honeycombe and Google state that it is specifically for tablet computers, originating from its very successful mobile version.

Intel has also confirmed that many of their processor chips will also be included into many Smartphone’s. This market has in the past not been a core business area as it has struggled behind its competitors including AMD.

Intel’s first quarter revenues are up by 29% – which is all down to the connections with Google, Windows, and Nokia. This is despite the slight erratic supply from Japan since the recent earthquake and tsunami.

Mr Otellini is the chief executive at Intel and he said: “results in the first quarter are outstanding. If the pace continues we will be looking at a 20% growth.”

Research shows that there is an increasing demand for computer chips to be installed into our PCs, tables and Smartphone’s. This will have a profound effect on the computer chip business.

Many top manufacturers (Dell, HP, and Samsung) had to halt their production of computers in the first quarter while the Intel chips landed at their production buildings.

The Smartphone – what can we expect in 2011?

If you have a Smartphone, ask yourselves this question – would things in your world be the same without the apps, email, MMS, and the internet on the move?

Smartphone’s are expected to be more popular than ever in 2011 and take a bit more market share. According to the International Data Corporation that tracks technology and its sales, they believe that 450 million Smartphone’s will be shipped in 2011. That is a big leap compared to the 303 million on 2010. This increased distribution then puts the Smartphone on course for a 50% growth assuming that they are all bought.

This is an intense market, including Google, Apple, Sony Ericson and Microsoft pushing their handsets into the market and trying to out promote each other during their new product announcements. It is that intense that Apple has sued HTC (that made the Google Phone) and Nokia have sued Apple, twice! One being because Apple copied their patents on their OS software.

Recently in the news – there has been more chatter about establishing more Wi-Fi points and the national replacement of copper wire for fibre optic cable, providing a more complete and quicker internet service. These changes just add more reasons to buy a Smartphone.

Within one battle there are several more. If the Smartphone market does use and need the 450 million units, which OS platform will you choose? Perhaps the Apple OS is what you prefer, Google Android or Windows OS. So there is a battle for OS software as well as manufacturers of the handsets.

There is also the possibility of partnerships to gain an advantage in the marketing place – such as Microsoft and Nokia. The first Nokia devices running Windows OS, not the Symbian, are due to appear in 2012.

If you don’t have a Smartphone – you will be missing a lot!

Sony Ericsson Release the Xperia Playstation

Just when we thought that we had seen it all, Sony Ericsson have launched the Xperia ‘Playstation’ Smartphone. Yes! That’s right.

Breaking that down a bit more, the handset is an Xperia play and is the first Android phone that will support Playstation games.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia ‘Playstation’ phone was revealed in Barcelona and is expected to go on sale in the UK in April. It will be available on T-mobile, Orange, Vodafone and O2.

The Xperia ‘Playstation’ Smartphone will have a 4 inch touch screen and a 5 MP camera, but the better aspect to the handset is that a full Playstation controller layout slides out under the touch screen.

Sony Ericsson is trying to crack into the Smartphone market that has got some big players including Apple, HTC, Samsung and Blackberry.

It is also the first phone that will access game downloads from the Playstation Suite. Titles include Assassin’s Creed, FIFA 10 and Need for Speed. Sony Ericsson have not released any information about cost for the handset or the game downloads.

The disadvantage that the Xperia ‘Playstation’ Smartphone will have is that there are hundreds of games available for Smartphone’s already.

Angry Birds watch out!

Will Mobile Advertisers Dominate your Phone?

You might think that your personal mobile phone is free from advertising, because it’s your phone. Unfortunately, that might not be the case. Advertising experts believe that the personal mobile is the future market, and your mobile is liable to be flooded with marketing messages.

Looking back, 2010 was a breakthrough year for mobile advertising. Now in 2011, the mobile advertising has grown dramatically. You may recall receiving text messages to your mobile from your network, informing you of new tariffs and special deals.  This type of marketing is likely to increase but not just from your network provider. The new messages that will appear will be more localised, messages sent from shops, bars and restaurants that are nearby to the handset.

You may be asking – Who is running this operation? Well, no real surprise, Google. That is already taking its massive share of search, maps and established PPC campaigns to link this into the new mobile platform.

So, with Google maps being the main navigation tool on Smartphone’s and the huge search potential, this localised SMS/MMS marketing can begin and grow. Let’s check out the possibilities, you have been shopping on the high street in the morning and its getting nearer to lunchtime, you then receive a message on your mobile that tells you that a local restaurant that you are near to is offering 10% off your total bill when dining with them today. Would this message annoy you – or would you see this as a benefit?

The message is only fired to handsets that are in a local area, with other controllable components.

There is present mobile advertising within many mobile phone apps, most of which are free so ad revenue is vital otherwise the apps won’t be free. So, the advertising medium on the mobile is already there if you have not noticed, but is being tweaked slightly. The App market is now a $15bn business with $2bn contribution from advertising. App developers include advertiser’s logos and messages within their apps to make money and also to offer the app free of charge.

Display advertising is already very popular on the web.  How about a full screen advert on your mobile, perhaps with audio as well? Imagine that landing on your mobile.

There could also be the scenario that the Smartphone is less popular, and the increased sales to consumers are hindered because of marketing messages that annoy the users.  There could be a trend that moves away from a Smartphone, and back to a handset that is just a phone.

The mobile industry still has a load of development and testing to do before it is proven that this new market works. A UK survey from a mobile marketing agency showed that 14% of its sample said that they had never clicked on a mobile ad and 32% said that they hate them. The skill in this game will be all about location and timing, receiving information to your mobile that you want and need.  eBay activity and Facebook comments are well received otherwise apps for both eBay and Facebook would not have been so popular. Random marketing messages that are not related to where you are, what you need or are looking for will not be effective as a marketing campaign.

Mobile Friendly Website + Mobile Search Spend = SALES

Online businesses will have to consider mobile search advertising spend for their websites as more people are using their Smartphone’s to do research and make purchases. According to a recent study, mobile phone and Smartphone clicks during the months of December 2010 and January 2011 dramatically increased.

This increase in mobile clicks is partly due to the level of research that consumers are doing while shopping on their Smartphone, normally when they are on the high street. However, the main reason is believed to be that more people have access to a Smartphone and can make purchases (with appropriate apps occasionally) very easy. The mobile phone and the Smartphone are a very immediate method to research prices and locate the best price on the move.

It will be more important for any business to utilise any mobile purchasing when driving sales. A conventional website will be visited more and more as research on mobiles grows.  It’s vital that the business website is suitable and clear form a desktop pc and a Smartphone if it wishes to generate sales as Smartphone’s continue to grow in popularity.

As 2010 leaves our modern day, what new technical challenges and concepts might we face in 2011?

One aspect of technology that might influence our new 2011 year is the NFC. An NFC is a Near Field Communication device. At this stage, probably something that not many people have heard of. Is this new communication device on our planet now? Yes, in London, the Oyster card (which is a travel card) uses the same system.

The same system may be included into the iPhone 5 and this will be a significant step as the smartphone, online trends and Apple develop this technology. But what else excluding the Oyster Travel Card can be improved by this system? Well, it will mean that your phone/device can pretend to be a credit card as well.

When looking back briefly at the 2010 year, a key new area in business and technology was the social media and online marketing segment. This new area was and still is, littered with emphasis to generate followers, fans and online friends. This then creates a new channel of communication that suits the user. This trend is set to continue.

Some new technology is, oddly enough, a friend to some people but no to others. The companies that seriously consider enabling this technology within the business will create new revenue channels.

 However there is a risk element with so many new ideas and innovations particularly when including mobile internet and the access to so many WiFi sites, mainly in security to company or personal data. With more methods to be online via more and more handheld devices, office networks and home routers may highlight potential weak points.

Facebook turns its attention to mid-range mobile phone apps

Facebook just refuse to take 5 minutes to breathe.  Having conquered the Smartphone app market, they have now launched a mobile app that caters for the mid-range ‘feature’ phones.

The app is intended to enhance navigation and contact synchronisation for over 2,500 handsets on brands such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and LG.

Facebook teamed up with mobile development firm Snaptu and 14 mobile operators.  An added bonus for phone users is that the operators have agreed to drop data charges for using the app.

Operators involved in launching the app include Three’s Hong Kong division, Vodafone’s Romanian unit and STC in Saudi Arabia.

Facebook’s programme manager, Mark Heynen, wrote on the company’s blog page: “Smartphones have offered better features for sharing with friends but aren’t used by most people around the world. Today, we’re launching a mobile app to bring Facebook to the most popular mobile phones around the world.”

The new mobile app follows the launch of the 0.facebook.com mobile site launched in May 2010, which targeted emerging markets where access to the internet via PC is rare.

Google Team Up With Carphone Warehouse To Release 2nd Smartphone

Recent reports have suggested that Google has plans to launch its second smartphone.  However, according to reports, the handset will only be exclusively available through Carphone Warehouse.

Google’s first smartphone handset, the Nexus One was release at the start of 2010.  We have no details of the name of the new mobile phone from Google.  We just understand that Samsung are the manufacturer and it’s in the final phase of development ready to release towards the end of the year.

Let’s make no mistake, it’s no coincidence that Google are choosing to release it just before Christmas.  Google has been keen to become a recognised force in the smartphone battle and this exclusive deal between them and Carphone Warehouse certainly should help them.

Symbian currently head the mobile phone operating system leaderboard with two key players jostling for position behind them.  The Android operating system is becoming more and more popular and has recently overtaken Apple to jump into second spot with an 18% share of the market compared to Apple’s 15%.

A report has predicted that Android will have increased their share to 22.2% by the end of 2011.

Google and Carphone Warehouse have made no comments about the reports to date.