Hi
Starting off: FierceMobileContent
Reports that financial giant MasterCard is going live on an on-demand, person-to-person Mobile MoneySend payment platform. Nice - finally some movement in this area. Please notice that I have already looong been talking on mobile payments. Guess someone needs to make the first steps.
“The platform enables bank customers to offer P2P payments to their customers--users can send and receive funds via SMS, mobile web, downloadable mobile application or PC, linking their mobile phone number to a MasterCard. The platform is already available in 17 countries across the Asia Pacific Middle East Africa region, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India and the Philippines." Does anyone know how it has worked out in these regions?
Also another favorite of mine has been mobile education. IntoMobile reports via CrunchGear that Japanese University Tracks Students by iPhone.
"The iPhone will basically be used as a tracking device with which the university can control if its students are physically on campus or not (the main goal is to prevent cheating during roll calls). But the phone will also be used for digital lectures (podcasts), doing homework and taking tests."
Hope that stuff like this will take up. Really promising as far as reaching rural areas and educating people.
Br. Vesa
keskiviikko 20. toukokuuta 2009
Problems ahead
Hi there
Recently I came around this:
So it seems that Nokia is transferring Widsets to Ovi store. Nice - but what happens to all those personal smaller RSS feedbased widsets such as this one on 1.6.09 ?
Will I have to publish my stuff on Ovi store? Sounds really hard.. taking into account the publisher costs etc. Hmm.. I sure hope my bloggy widset will keep on going :)
I will keep you posted on what will happen by 2.6.
BR. Vesa
Recently I came around this:
So it seems that Nokia is transferring Widsets to Ovi store. Nice - but what happens to all those personal smaller RSS feedbased widsets such as this one on 1.6.09 ?
Will I have to publish my stuff on Ovi store? Sounds really hard.. taking into account the publisher costs etc. Hmm.. I sure hope my bloggy widset will keep on going :)
I will keep you posted on what will happen by 2.6.
BR. Vesa
torstai 14. toukokuuta 2009
Communities
Hi there
Starting off: Tomi Ahonen indicates interesting numbers on the Finnish Habbo hotel (teenager) social networking site.
Numbers: “The teenager social networking service has over 90% of its users within the age bracket of 13-18. They have 11.7 million active users any given month. They earned 50 million Euros (74 M USD) last year in revenues and made a profit of 4.8 M Euros. Ebitda profit margin of 9.6%. A profit margin for an online social networking service with no subscription fee and where the majority of the income is NOT advertising."
Wow impressive figures when you take into account that they do not have subscription and major advertising. How do they make their money? They make it the same way that Second Life - by selling virtual stuff. The teenagers can decorate their hotel rooms and characters as they wish with real Euros.
Next up also news from: Tomi Ahonen evaluating / speculating on Blyk.
Blyk is a free mobile service for young people funded by advertising. So does the Blyk concept work otherwise as well? Seems that Tomato Plus out of Croatia is doing the same with a different approach. "Is not limited to the 18-24 age bracket like Blyk, so they also understandably have attracted a wider age range in their users. Similar to Blyk the users agree to receive 6 mobile ads per day and they receive somewhat a smaller set of free traffic, 50 minutes of free calls and 50 free SMS text messages per month. The ads arrive as SMS or MMS messages."
So: 92% of their users are happy. MobHappy says Advertisers get better response rates than Blyk and their range goes up to 75%. (Blyk after 18 months reports 25% average response rates). I will not go into detail. Please visit Tomis blog if you are interested in more speculation. the main idea is that people are happy and willing to receive ads if they also get something out of it i.e. free calls and text.
Lastly: Cnet states that Crystal Wiski, a teen from Antelope in California's Sacramento County, claims to having sent out almost 304,000 SMS text messages in a single month. More precisely, Crystal claims to have sent 303,398 text messages from her iPhone. Previous record-breaking attempt by a pair of Pennsylvania buddies resulted in a whopping $26,000 phone bill. But, that particular record attempt had just 217,000 text messages sent between two people.
Crazy teens :)
That's all for now.
Br. Vesa
Starting off: Tomi Ahonen indicates interesting numbers on the Finnish Habbo hotel (teenager) social networking site.
Numbers: “The teenager social networking service has over 90% of its users within the age bracket of 13-18. They have 11.7 million active users any given month. They earned 50 million Euros (74 M USD) last year in revenues and made a profit of 4.8 M Euros. Ebitda profit margin of 9.6%. A profit margin for an online social networking service with no subscription fee and where the majority of the income is NOT advertising."
Wow impressive figures when you take into account that they do not have subscription and major advertising. How do they make their money? They make it the same way that Second Life - by selling virtual stuff. The teenagers can decorate their hotel rooms and characters as they wish with real Euros.
Next up also news from: Tomi Ahonen evaluating / speculating on Blyk.
Blyk is a free mobile service for young people funded by advertising. So does the Blyk concept work otherwise as well? Seems that Tomato Plus out of Croatia is doing the same with a different approach. "Is not limited to the 18-24 age bracket like Blyk, so they also understandably have attracted a wider age range in their users. Similar to Blyk the users agree to receive 6 mobile ads per day and they receive somewhat a smaller set of free traffic, 50 minutes of free calls and 50 free SMS text messages per month. The ads arrive as SMS or MMS messages."
So: 92% of their users are happy. MobHappy says Advertisers get better response rates than Blyk and their range goes up to 75%. (Blyk after 18 months reports 25% average response rates). I will not go into detail. Please visit Tomis blog if you are interested in more speculation. the main idea is that people are happy and willing to receive ads if they also get something out of it i.e. free calls and text.
Lastly: Cnet states that Crystal Wiski, a teen from Antelope in California's Sacramento County, claims to having sent out almost 304,000 SMS text messages in a single month. More precisely, Crystal claims to have sent 303,398 text messages from her iPhone. Previous record-breaking attempt by a pair of Pennsylvania buddies resulted in a whopping $26,000 phone bill. But, that particular record attempt had just 217,000 text messages sent between two people.
Crazy teens :)
That's all for now.
Br. Vesa
perjantai 24. huhtikuuta 2009
Video time
Hi
This post will have two interesting videos.
First up: Seth Godin at Gel in 2006
Bio: Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industry's leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998. Godin worked as VP Direct Marketing at Yahoo before leaving to become a full time speaker, writer and blogger.
Even though the video is old (2006) it nicely demonstrates how things take time. Nothing happens over night. The video/presentation is called: "This is broken". If something is "broken" i.e. the process or things/products do not work - then who is to blame? This is the question that the video/presentation tries to answer. Ultimately in an organization no one really wants to take responsibility of putting out there something that is (already) broken. Please see the vidoe - this is difficult to explain.
The other video is from TED.
Bio: David Pogue presents "When it comes to tech, simplicity sells." New York Times columnist David Pogue takes aim at technology’s worst interface-design offenders, and provides encouraging examples of products that get it right.
The video has numerous examples of what not to do when trying to get a service or product out there. Design does count. And when you mix this video with "This is broken" you start to see the point in UI and industrial/experience design.
To end this post on a relaxed manner Engadget informs us that:
Devious carrier pigeon caught trying to smuggle cell phone parts into prison. Case one: attempting to smuggle cell phone parts to inmates in a high-security Brazilian prison. Case two: Columbian authorities say that pigeons are likely being raised inside the prison, and then sent to the outside to collect the contraband handsets before doing what pigeons do best -- returning home.
Br. Vesa
This post will have two interesting videos.
First up: Seth Godin at Gel in 2006
Bio: Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industry's leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998. Godin worked as VP Direct Marketing at Yahoo before leaving to become a full time speaker, writer and blogger.
Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.
Even though the video is old (2006) it nicely demonstrates how things take time. Nothing happens over night. The video/presentation is called: "This is broken". If something is "broken" i.e. the process or things/products do not work - then who is to blame? This is the question that the video/presentation tries to answer. Ultimately in an organization no one really wants to take responsibility of putting out there something that is (already) broken. Please see the vidoe - this is difficult to explain.
The other video is from TED.
Bio: David Pogue presents "When it comes to tech, simplicity sells." New York Times columnist David Pogue takes aim at technology’s worst interface-design offenders, and provides encouraging examples of products that get it right.
The video has numerous examples of what not to do when trying to get a service or product out there. Design does count. And when you mix this video with "This is broken" you start to see the point in UI and industrial/experience design.
To end this post on a relaxed manner Engadget informs us that:
Devious carrier pigeon caught trying to smuggle cell phone parts into prison. Case one: attempting to smuggle cell phone parts to inmates in a high-security Brazilian prison. Case two: Columbian authorities say that pigeons are likely being raised inside the prison, and then sent to the outside to collect the contraband handsets before doing what pigeons do best -- returning home.
Br. Vesa
keskiviikko 22. huhtikuuta 2009
iPhone 3.0 (?) speculations
Hi there
The new iPhone (3.0) is getting more rumors and speculations as we near the early June. Hopefully we will see a new and greater iPhone on 8.6.
Anyway here are a few news picks on the iPhone. Digitimes has teared down the components. Please see the pick for more details.
What is more "interesting" than components is the following speculation by PhoneNews. They claim that future iPhone and iPod Touch hardware will be capable of playing back full-HD video at 720p and 1080i resolutions! Seems that: Apple Resellers have been advised to start clearing out any remaining Composite AV Cable and Apple Component AV Cable stock. The move is aimed at cutting down inventory ahead of the introduction of Apple’s new Apple AV Cable, which consolidates the functions of both the Composite and Component AV iPhone-cables.
Other interesting news is by Ars Technica. The next operating system upgrade will include both voice recognition and text read-back capabilities kind of like with Apple latest iPod Shuffle.
Other rumors are around a "pro" version sporting a 5MP camera and the "smaller" version having a 3.2MP camera. There have also been rumors on an iPhone Nano.
To end this post check out the nice flexible phone concept.
For more info visit Ondo phones
Br. Vesa
The new iPhone (3.0) is getting more rumors and speculations as we near the early June. Hopefully we will see a new and greater iPhone on 8.6.
Anyway here are a few news picks on the iPhone. Digitimes has teared down the components. Please see the pick for more details.
What is more "interesting" than components is the following speculation by PhoneNews. They claim that future iPhone and iPod Touch hardware will be capable of playing back full-HD video at 720p and 1080i resolutions! Seems that: Apple Resellers have been advised to start clearing out any remaining Composite AV Cable and Apple Component AV Cable stock. The move is aimed at cutting down inventory ahead of the introduction of Apple’s new Apple AV Cable, which consolidates the functions of both the Composite and Component AV iPhone-cables.
Other interesting news is by Ars Technica. The next operating system upgrade will include both voice recognition and text read-back capabilities kind of like with Apple latest iPod Shuffle.
Other rumors are around a "pro" version sporting a 5MP camera and the "smaller" version having a 3.2MP camera. There have also been rumors on an iPhone Nano.
To end this post check out the nice flexible phone concept.
For more info visit Ondo phones
Br. Vesa
perjantai 17. huhtikuuta 2009
App developers and store reviews
Hi
So yet again a new post. New York times is reporting on the iPhone app store success.
The idea is that smaller/niche developers can monetize throught the new channel. Ethan Nichols (30 year old) earned himself in 5 months 800.000 dollars with the iShoot application. Another success storey is based on 22 year old Kostas Eleftheriou who gained 100.00 with his iSteam app in three months.
Needless to say that these are the "success" stories. Similarly there was a case where three developers made a game going strait to the top 10 and was downloaded per week over 10.00 times. However the game was free. Thereafter (3months) they decided to give it a price tag of .99 cents. Well downloads fell to 200 per week - ration being somewhat 400:1. At the end they tried advertising and update/upgrades, but the game/app never made it again to top levels.
The idea behind an app store is to view it critically and as a new distribution channel. There might not be any time for price "testing" as trends emerge within days/weeks. Your app might be the hottest and most selling for only a short period of time.
Moving on Gizmodo: has an extensive review on apple, android (Google), blackberry, windows, palm and Nokia app stores.
Please visit their site for more info. Also below is a pick on the main differences.
Below some highlights from Gizmodo:
Apple:
* At least for now, the App Store is the standard by which all others are judged.
* With a $99 dollar developer's fee and a novice-friendly SDK, the barriers of entry for an iPhone developer are fairly low.
Android:
* Google has been much more lenient about what they allow in their store since the beginning but in the rare case that they don't approve of an app you can just go download an .APK file and side load it onto your G1 anyway.
* Google has been much more lenient about what they allow in their store since the beginning but in the rare case that they don't approve of an app, as in the case of tethering apps earlier this month, you can just go download an .APK file and side load it onto your G1 anyway.
Blackberry:
* Listing your wares in App World costs a hefty $200, which gives you the right to upload 10 apps, but doesn't come with any new SDKs or development tools. The payment system is PayPal, which is clumsy to use and a pain to set up. A minimum non-free price tier of $2.99, probably intended to filter out spammy apps.
Nokia, Windows and Palm:
* All still more on the speculative side.
More on ovi store as they arrive :)
Br. Vesa
So yet again a new post. New York times is reporting on the iPhone app store success.
The idea is that smaller/niche developers can monetize throught the new channel. Ethan Nichols (30 year old) earned himself in 5 months 800.000 dollars with the iShoot application. Another success storey is based on 22 year old Kostas Eleftheriou who gained 100.00 with his iSteam app in three months.
Needless to say that these are the "success" stories. Similarly there was a case where three developers made a game going strait to the top 10 and was downloaded per week over 10.00 times. However the game was free. Thereafter (3months) they decided to give it a price tag of .99 cents. Well downloads fell to 200 per week - ration being somewhat 400:1. At the end they tried advertising and update/upgrades, but the game/app never made it again to top levels.
The idea behind an app store is to view it critically and as a new distribution channel. There might not be any time for price "testing" as trends emerge within days/weeks. Your app might be the hottest and most selling for only a short period of time.
Moving on Gizmodo: has an extensive review on apple, android (Google), blackberry, windows, palm and Nokia app stores.
Please visit their site for more info. Also below is a pick on the main differences.
Below some highlights from Gizmodo:
Apple:
* At least for now, the App Store is the standard by which all others are judged.
* With a $99 dollar developer's fee and a novice-friendly SDK, the barriers of entry for an iPhone developer are fairly low.
Android:
* Google has been much more lenient about what they allow in their store since the beginning but in the rare case that they don't approve of an app you can just go download an .APK file and side load it onto your G1 anyway.
* Google has been much more lenient about what they allow in their store since the beginning but in the rare case that they don't approve of an app, as in the case of tethering apps earlier this month, you can just go download an .APK file and side load it onto your G1 anyway.
Blackberry:
* Listing your wares in App World costs a hefty $200, which gives you the right to upload 10 apps, but doesn't come with any new SDKs or development tools. The payment system is PayPal, which is clumsy to use and a pain to set up. A minimum non-free price tier of $2.99, probably intended to filter out spammy apps.
Nokia, Windows and Palm:
* All still more on the speculative side.
More on ovi store as they arrive :)
Br. Vesa
keskiviikko 8. huhtikuuta 2009
SMS marketing and FB going to NYSE?
Hi
Interesting news section on how to value other "marketing" channels. Communities dominate brands tells us that: The newsmagazine Economist has gained more sales in India by promoting/selling their magazine through SMS marketing.
The idea: "The Economist introduced a daily Economist newsflash ad, with a short snippet of news from the current issue or a summary of the headlines etc. They increased India circulation by 39%; they increased subscriptions by 26% and news stand sales by 15%. In one year, using SMS. “ ---> Phenomenal success!!
Other stuff; tietoviikko reports that Facebook is preparing for the stock market. “On Tuesday, the briefing Facebook representative Larry Yu said the company now looking for a financial manager, who would have experience in a listed company's management.” "Larry Yu said the company also will consider a public share issue, but the plan does not even worthy of consideration. "
Facebook also reported its turnover to rise during the current quarter, 70 percent and estimates of the company's profits in 2010. " WHoow - NICE!!
The service is great but I am just worried that consumers will eventually get tired of using the service. It needs to be linked more to your friends and location. Now consumers/users are just increasing their friends lists and updating this and that. What a waste of time :) --> Go out and play. Or write a blog - hehe.
Back again later this week.
Br. Vesa
Interesting news section on how to value other "marketing" channels. Communities dominate brands tells us that: The newsmagazine Economist has gained more sales in India by promoting/selling their magazine through SMS marketing.
The idea: "The Economist introduced a daily Economist newsflash ad, with a short snippet of news from the current issue or a summary of the headlines etc. They increased India circulation by 39%; they increased subscriptions by 26% and news stand sales by 15%. In one year, using SMS. “ ---> Phenomenal success!!
Other stuff; tietoviikko reports that Facebook is preparing for the stock market. “On Tuesday, the briefing Facebook representative Larry Yu said the company now looking for a financial manager, who would have experience in a listed company's management.” "Larry Yu said the company also will consider a public share issue, but the plan does not even worthy of consideration. "
Facebook also reported its turnover to rise during the current quarter, 70 percent and estimates of the company's profits in 2010. " WHoow - NICE!!
The service is great but I am just worried that consumers will eventually get tired of using the service. It needs to be linked more to your friends and location. Now consumers/users are just increasing their friends lists and updating this and that. What a waste of time :) --> Go out and play. Or write a blog - hehe.
Back again later this week.
Br. Vesa
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