is the blog of NetPlus Interactive: a top 50 Interactive Agency based in Philadelphia. ©2010
Steve Jobs just announced that Bing will now be a search choice for the iPhone.
Google remains the “default” option on Safari. But Bing now becomes the third search option after Google and Yahoo.
Where in the World Are You?
Have you heard of Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Britekite, Google latitude, twitter location, Facebook location (which is due out soon); the new buzz of the web is who will be the leader on keeping tabs on your location. I have joined foursquare and google latitude and started checking in for a few locations around the office and my house, which begs the question how “social” do i want social networking?
For example Foursquare wants you to unlock your world, using your cell phone or text message (US only) by checking in to locations. Using your cell phone’s GPS functionality to tell you what is close to you, suggestions from other Foursquare users, and the ability to add locations. Once you check in you can let your friends know and also share this information on twitter and Facebook. If you have checked into a location the most you become the Mayor of that location. There are also discounts on some Foursquare locations where you could get drink specials if you check in to a location. Check out the video on Foursquare here.
Facebook will be launching their Geolocation based software soon which will integrate with the most popular site on the web. So what will happen when Geolocation hits the mainstream? How will brands use this information? Could be the rise of geotargeted pay per click or location based services; what a great way to target your customers.
This is going to be great for marketers but what about privacy? Do I really want the world and markets to know where i am all the time. If i am at the mall I don’t want text messages from say the Gap saying i could get a discount if i could stop in the store. Imagine all the junk text, emails, tweets, fB messages you would get by just walking around in the King of Prussia Mall. It would be nuts.
There will be a thin line on how people will want their information used. So there are a lot of i’s to dot and t’s to be crossed before everyone is loving geolocation. I think it will be here to stay…What are your thoughts? Concerns? Excited?
Check out Foursquare, Google Latitude, Gowalla, Loopt, and Britekite below
It’s the next step up from a bar code and holds a lot more information than a bar code – 7,098 numeric characters or 4,296 alphanumeric characters.
Readers are available for most smartphones and mobile devices so they can be used to bridge the gap between offline and online via in-store signage, business cards, trade show flyers, etc.
QR codes originated in Japan and they’re highly popular in that country.
QR codes can store URLs, text or phone numbers. In this way they’re very handy for mobile because they eliminate the need for the user to type – a big usability/user experience improvement.
Several sites that provide content are adding QR codes – Facebook (for fan pages and individual statuses) and Google places (links to your Google places page).
There’s also speculation that QR codes will influence SEO over time.
They’re slowly gaining popularity in the US and Europe. Currently, most smartphones don’t come with a QR code reader pre-installed. This is a big barrier. If a user needs to install a new app they have to be motivated to do so. It’s not as simple as scan and go. And as you all know, in mobile it needs to be simple.
Qdoba did a Buy 1 Get 1 Free mobile advertising campaign last year and got a 52% redemption rate on approximately 4,000 scans. Lesson – if you give users a good reason to download an app they will.
Look for more smartphones to come with a QR reader in the near future before this technology really takes off. As a comparison, 70% of smartphones in Japan come with a QR reader pre-installed.
And just to keep things interesting, Microsoft released their own 2D bar code (theirs has color).
This is either a brilliant PR stunt or a huge mistake – but news broke the other day that Apple’s next iPhone has been leaked. Was this done intentionally to communicate the new features without an official “announcement” (To keep people away from Droids or the Nexus One)? Or was the disguised prototype iPhone actually left behind in a bar accidentally?
Here’s the detailed article at Gizmodo: http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone
Complete with the updated iPhone OS 4.0: Front facing camera, larger rear camera lens, integrated flash, micro SIM, higher screen resolution and a new exterior design/finish are just some of the new features included. While the hardware updates are certainly interesting, we’re staying on top of the implications surrounding iPhone OS 4.0 + iAds functionality. What kind of ads campaigns will be possible with the new front facing camera? What kind of targeting will be available? What about the pricing model?
The new iAd platform will require collaboration across a wide variety of interactive disciplines – creative, media, and tech teams will need to work seamlessly to develop strategic, goal oriented campaigns within the iPad and iPhone OS 4.0 environments; which puts NetPlus in the ideal position to deliver such campaigns.
More to come as details emerge…
Since I have been living in the dark ages without a smart phone for some time now, I have decided to make the leap. But before I could make the jump I had to figure out where to jump. On one side of the cliff was Apple’s iPhone which has been around for a couple years and those who have it love it. On the other side of the cliff was the Nexus One from Google.
I heard from all the iPhone users how they love their phone and don’t know how they lived without it and have read the reviews on the Nexus One on what it can do. So let’s take a closer look at each phone.
One of the first smart phones on the market the iPhone is the leader of all smart phones for now. With over 25 million iPhones sold worldwide that is a good start. There have been over a billion applications downloaded for this phone. So the iPhone has the masses behind it. I mean could 25 million people really be wrong?
The one problem with the applications are that they have to go through the Apple review before the world can see them. So if Apple doesn’t like the Application then no one will ever see it.
The iPhone is only available for one carrier and that is AT&T, which does limit some people who are locked into contracts with their phone. The Nexus one has begun to open up to different carriers, at first it was just T-Mobile. Now Sprint and Verizon have joined in.
The next iPhone is due out soon with a new OS which could fix some of the problems. Just like any hardware as soon as you buy it there is something better coming out.
The Nexus One is a Google phone with the Andriod OS. This phone came out in late Jan 2010, it has a lot of the features of the iPhone. Some even say the iPhone on steroids. The Nexus Phone is fully integrated with all of Google’s online applications. gmail, gchat, Google docs, Google maps, and Google calendar.
As of right now the application library is not as refined as the iPhones, but there is no review process for these applications so in the upcoming months you can expect more and more applications. Also the android sdk is free, which means you can start building your own applications and get them up on your phone in no time. For Apple users the SDK package is free but to submit your applications you need to register with apple and it costs $99.00.
The browser which is preloaded on the Nexus One does not have a zoom option, though you could always download another browser. As with anything new there are not many products out there just yet for the Nexus One, like docking stations so you can play your music or as an alarm clock. Though I am sure they are on their way.
Another problem is the memory space on the Nexus One. You can store a lot more applications on the iPhone compared to the Nexus One.
Since the Nexus One allows multiple programs to be running at once it is a drain on the battery.
So as of early last week I am the owner of my very own smart phone, the Nexus One. One of the key points was building my own applications. Since I am a computer engineer having more control over my phone was important to me. I also liked how you have more control over the first four screens. You can add applications, you can customize moving backgrounds, and you can add widgets to give updates on scores, FaceBook and twitter without having the application up and running.
So now that I am a smart phone owner what applications do you have? Which are the best applications out there for both iPhones and Droids?
