Category: Mobile Technology

The other day, a colleague and I were defending our thoughts on the most influential and disruptive technologies of the last 20 years.  The usual suspects came and went very quickly and with little debate.  TIVO … duh.  Touch screens … well it was actually invented in 1965 but it really became a staple of consumer devices in this century so maybe.  IPhone… well revolutionary yes, however, it was derivative of many personal data assistants that came before it.  It laid the foundation for the next generation of telephony and basically killed the non-Smartphone market.  Ask Motorola, Ericsson and Nokia, if they think it was disruptive.

If the Smartphone killed the mobile phone, then what will kill the Smartphone?  What is the next round of disruption to this industry?  Why exactly is the Smartphone dead?

To develop disruption, the first step is to identify the pain points within the existing process.  For telephony it’s actually pretty easy.

1. Smartphones need to have big screen sizes.  Practically, there is only so far a screen can grow and still be portable.  Current phone sizes can range up past 5 inches; however, no one thinks a 7 inch screen is practical for daily communication purposes.  However, increasingly the gap between tablet, Smartphone and computer is shrinking.  We must find a way to execute more with less space or fundamentally change the equation.
2. Touch screens aren’t that practical.  Finger prints drive us all crazy.  Screen protectors are just painful and steal the vibrancy away from today’s high res screens.  Cursor positioning on a Smartphone is a labor in futility and don’t get me started on why iOS won’t add the cursor arrows to their keyboards.  Touch screens also require you to be looking down or at them to engage.  How many times have you almost walked into a pole, while texting or surfing on your phone?
3. Does anyone like earpieces?  Both Bluetooth and wired have fundamental issues and limitations.  Tangled cords, poor sound transmission, poor amplification, noise cancellation that baffles both the user and party on the other line.  Do you walk around all day with an ear piece on or put it in your pocket until needed.  You need to charge it with a separate charger than your phone (generally) and how often does either your phone or earpiece run out of power when you need it most?  The underlying problem is that flat, rectangular phones are a flawed shape for telephony.  Great for data, poor for conducting a conversation.
4. Where do you put your phone when you aren’t using it?  Nomophobia is the fear of losing your phone.  We can all agree that it is a well founded fear and most of us have misplaced, lost or dropped a phone.  With phone prices rising, it’s easy to understand how this has become a condition.  The bigger phones get, coupled with the more power needed to support the larger and higher resolution screens, the harder it is to comfortably walk around with a phone in your pocket.  Form and function are again at odds.

So what does my crystal ball say as to the future evolution of personal computing, communication and telephony.  It actually takes a page directly out of Apple’s own playbook.  Identify a form factor that can be stylish, trendsetting and leverages existing capabilities in a way that provides a differential experience.  Take technologies that are already there and combine them in a way that hasn’t been thought of yet.

Welcome to, iGlasses 2018.  Not the currently interpreted view of what Google’s Project Glass and Apple’s existing iGlasses initiative represent but the real world and disruptive application of that vision.  Imagine a set of eye glasses, with thousands of frame choices for you to make, that integrates hard-wired earbuds (think of a better version of what Oakley makes) and battery and charging systems to make them a completely integrated system.  Utilize induction to charge and slim connectors, Bluetooth or wireless to upload and download data.

These transparent, head mounted, displays would permit the wearer to view and interact with content through a much, much larger perspective.  Imagine how you would interact with a 50 inch screen in front of you?  Don’t worry about walking into a pole because you can see right through the data and you have your head up all the time.

Now how would you interact with the data?  On a Smartphone you touch, tap and drag.  Using iGlasses, you could use four different data input methods.

1. Voice.  Clearly Siri and voice technology is only improving.  It won’t be long for you to be able to guide your experience through voice alone.  Siri, pull up today’s calendar.  Siri, call my brother.  That works already, however it would become cumbersome on its own for repetitive navigation commands.
2. Eye tracking.  The frames of the glasses could have sensors that track the movements of your eye to reference where on the virtual screen you are looking at.  Currently, there are dozens of practical applications using eye tracking as a computer interface.  It simply needs to be miniaturized to fit this application.
3. Hand/finger tracking.  Kinect and other gesture control technologies are exploding right now.  Unlike eye tracking, imagine the sensor is on the other side of the rim tracking your hand/finger movements to position the cursor on the virtual screen.  Look anywhere and virtually type in the air to compose your next email.
4. Lastly, and certainly not as far off as you think is mind control.  No really!  Check out this TED video to see how a small number of strategically positioned electrodes can enable anyone to move cursors and 3D renderings with their mind.  Imagine that the rim, temple and earpiece have sensors that detect your unique brainwave pattern.  Instead of reading how to click and swipe in the instruction manual, it’ll teach you how to calibrate the sensors to read your thoughts.

So you may ask… How would you ever fit all the components required by a phone into a slim pair of iGlasses frames?  Great question.  That could be accomplished in at least two ways.

1. Miniaturization.  If Moore’s Law holds then it won’t take more than 5 or 6 years for the circuitry in a standard Smartphone to fit within a modestly sized frame.  Batteries are also shrinking and smaller circuits require less power to execute the same functions.
2. Key fob.  Imagine that instead of having the phone within the glasses, the actual telephony hardware, computer and main battery are shrunk into a key fob that pares with the iGlasses to do the heavy processing.  The key fob would still be very small but can be shaped in a form that allows for the components to fit better together.  Now you have another reason to fear losing your keys!

Am I serious?  Absolutely!  Is it a disruptive idea?  You tell me.  While you think about, it, I’m placing my advanced order.

Before I started writing about messaging technology, I wasn’t sure what the phrase “short code” meant–even though I’d used them all the time as a consumer. So how can someone new to the space, even if (s)he is a seasoned vet of marketing, be expected to?

That’s why I’m excited about The Ultimate Guide To Common Short Codes, mobileStorm’s newest white paper, written by CEO Jared Reitzin himself. (You can find it, along with our other valuable white papers, here.)

“The popularity and recognition of short codes in the USA accelerated dramatically with shows like American Idol (i.e., Text VOTE to 4701 for your favorite idol) and recently when President Obama used a short code-based method to announce Joe Biden as his vice president. Supporters were encouraged to text OBAMA to 62262 to be the first to know… The Obama VP announcement was considered the largest single mobile marketing event in history, texting 2.5 million people,” Jared points out.

After offering these clear examples of short code use–and success–Jared gives readers a primer on how to start using a short code.

He gives a heads-up on the CSCA, the entity in charge of short codes (to find out what “CSCA” means, read the paper); explains each step in the process of obtaining and using a code; and addresses some of the headaches, such as wait-time for approval and certification.

Also, Jared spells out the difference between “common” and “dedicated” codes (the latter being exclusive to one company or brand, often spelling out an easily-recognized name or word), making it easier for a company to decide which type of code to use.

To get the 411 on everything you need to know about short codes, download The Ultimate Guide To Common Short Codes today!

Eydie Cubarrubia

“I’d rather you text me”

June is the start of Hurricane Season, and that means public safety officials have already begun preparing for the intense ocean-incubated storms. As the first tropical storm in the Americas for 2009 brewed last week, I got to thinking about how public safety departments can, and should, use SMS marketing technologies whenever a hurricane–or other disaster–strikes.

Text messaging is especially important whenever a large area is affected, along with utilities. When land lines and Internet connections go down, most people turn to their cell phones. Trouble is, voice service takes up a lot of bandwidth–so that it’s nearly impossible for someone to call for help, or for worried loved ones to contact someone in a disaster area. 

SMS, however, is not affected by busy traffic and other problems. As Cellular South said in a recent hurricane-preparedness press release, “Text messages require less network capacity and are more likely than voice calls to reach their destination during periods of network congestion.”

Numerous government agencies, as well as institutions like universities, already have some kind of message alert system in place. These are for large-scale disasters as well as individual emergencies. For example, the Marietta, Georgia school board has an SMS program in which students can send crime tips to police–using mobileStorm’s technology to make it possible.

It’s pretty satisfying that what was originally a marketing solution can also be used for the public good.

Eydie Cubarrubia

“I’d rather you text me”

Nearly 100 million votes were cast during this week’s American Idol finale, resulting in Kris Allen winning the competition for the show’s eighth season. Last night was also a win for SMS marketing, just as much as it was for Mr. Allen.

Why? Television experts have been saying that Idol ratings have been down this year, and that its popularity seems to have waned. Yet the 100 million votes–sent predominantly via text message–is a record high for the show. Even if there are fewer viewers, consumers are engaged with the brand more than ever.

This means continued success for the show, whose production company, FremantleMedia, is also a mobileStorm client. With texting, fans really become invested in the Idol outcome. Comment boards on news and entertainment sites right now are bursting with ways people say they are able to send as many messages as possible so that their faves will win.

Such proof that these consumers are so committed to the brand means that Fox will likely command a high price for its commercials, ratings be darned. Fremantle, too, will continue to get paid big bucks from Fox to keep American Idol on the network.

Consider also the claim that it’s much easier to text a vote into a short code than it is to call the show’s toll-free landline–and to ensure that that vote counts. As the business publication Broadcasting & Cable said in a report: “Text messaging is digital [unlike phone lines, which are analog] and simply doesn’t have the same traffic jams. A text message is also time-coded, meaning that all of the votes messaged during the two-hour period can be lined up like jets on a runway and eventually recorded.”

So after the upset of Idol frontrunner Adam Lambert, fans of future frontrunners will be spurred to send ever-more SMS votes.

Speak of the devil. Last week when I wrote about Cloudmark’s SMS spam hype, I thought I made a good case, noting that the majority of marketers follow industry-accepted best practices, and that the price of sending texts will greatly limit SMS spam-senders.

But it’s easy to use fear to cause good intentions to veer to the dark side. “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering” and all. That’s what could happen, though, with a new proposed federal law aimed at curbing SMS spam.

The act, called m-SPAM and introduced by U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Bill Nelson, wants to restrain marketers from sending unwanted texts to consumers. No one can argue with that. But the law as proposed could unintentionally harm legitimate marketers–those who only send messages to people who’ve opted in to receive them–and even consumers who wanted those texts offering a coupon, entry to a party, or other discounts or specials.

How would this harm honest mobile marketing campaigns? As our CEO, Jared Reitzin, told Mobile Marketer, “I’m extremely against having wireless numbers on the do-not-call list, it’s absurd… They’re going to charge people to scrub against it? Will they offer APIs we can automatically scrub against? How long is it going to take to get your data back? That will be shot down… Overall the m-SPAM Act is probably a good idea to establish best practices, but not going to stop spam.”

Legislators should work with mobile marketing leaders to create the most effective law, one that will criminalize mobile spammers while supporting the efforts of honest SMS marketers. Carriers should weigh in too, since SMS marketing is one of the reasons why texting has become such a revenue-driver for them. Marketing experts should write to their own Senate and Congressional representatives, explaining what lawmakers need to consider when crafting the federal statute.

Those on the Hill shouldn’t be quick to rush in heavy-handed.

Today’s smartphones are affordable for almost anyone these days, as competing handset makers strive to make devices that offer better-than-ever Web-browsing experiences on cell phones.

What if you suddenly need to look up a local business? With a smartphone, no matter where you are you can get online and start searching for it. Many technologies already offer to search locally; they can even show where you are “right now” on an interactive map, and then show the businesses around you that fit into the category you are researching.

How great would it be if a customer enters your office or store, and says he just found you on the web via his mobile phone while driving around? This possibility ought to encourage you to market your site locally on the web.

Start going this road before everyone else, because soon it’s going to be really busy. People are going to search the Internet with their mobile devices more frequently, especially for something local. Before long, it might be too late for you to get in on the action.

In order to start marketing locally for cell phones, here is a list of major resources to help you work with the top three mobile search engines:

http://mobile.yahoo.com/go: This includes local listings arranged by distance and ratings, pulled out from the Yahoo Local database.

http://www.google.com/mobile/: Google’s local solution for mobile devices, which offers local search results for particular device models.

http://www.livesearchmobile.com/: Live Search Mobile by Microsoft provides click-to-call listings of local businesses.

Shavkat Karimov, Internet Marketing Manager, mobileStorm
“Every problem comes with a solution”

Recently our CEO has given a number of webinars on mobile coupons. All this brought something to mind–or stomach, I should say–as I was thinking of what to have for dinner last night: Restaurant coupons.

In a down economy it’s not hard to believe that people are eating out less and less–43 percent less, according to a recent survey from ComPsych Corp, a Chicago-based provider of employee assistance programs. So it would seem natural that restaurateurs would start some form of discount or coupon campaign. The most surprising thing to me is that many of these are coming in the mail.

As a proponent of mobile/SMS/text message marketing programs, I find it hard to believe that eateries aren’t keeping up with the hype in the marketing industry, and aren’t sending incentives to a patron’s cell phone. Why is there that hype? Because mobile incentives are effective.

It appalls me that more restaurants don’t take advantage of the opportunity they have. I would eat out far more often if I was to receive mobile coupons. All I would have to do is pop out my cell phone and give my server a special code or barcode to scan.

I personally guarantee that the cost to send out such coupons alone beats the printing costs of all those annoying color fliers that consumers like me get in the mail. Add in the high redemption rate of such vouchers, and restaurants should realize that mobile coupons offer the best ROI in a time when diners are hard-pressed to leave their own kitchens.

Today the news site Mobile Marketer interviewed mobileStorm sales director Elyse Rossler about Overstock.com using our platform for its beta SMS promotions campaign. It’s not just a boon for us, though. We’ve long believed that texting can boost sales for any retailer. The medium offers a sense of a personal relationship between consumer and brand, and can also be used to encourage spur-of-the-moment purchases.

What Overstock is doing is a twofold strategy. First, it is offering sales and news alerts, including coupons, to customers who subscribe to receive such messages via text message. Second, it has launched a mobile site so that on-the-go consumers can shop wherever they are. Conceivably, a consumer could receive a sales alert via SMS, then go directly onto the mobile Internet, check out Overstock’s mobile site for the item of interest–and buy the item right then and there.

Says Overstock’s James Munnerlyn in our news announcement: “Using the mobileStorm 4.0 platform will open an entirely new channel of communicating with Overstock.com customers. After a thorough analysis of vendors in the mobile marketing space, we selected mobileStorm based on their ability to quickly execute our mobile marketing vision at a reasonable cost, and with all the complimentary resources and services we need to run the programs.”

One important point in the Mobile Marketer news article: “A whopping 98 percent of consumers have mobile phones that are capable of sending and receiving text messages. Also, 90 percent of all text messages sent are responded to within 15 minutes, making SMS a good way to reach consumers.”

So the scenario I outlined in the second paragraph could result in a conversion within 15 minutes.

Now, that’s a bright spot for businesses during cloudy economic times.

As U.S. President Barack Obama was inaugurated this month, his promises for “change” echoed in media coverage nonstop. Mobile marketers, though, have actually seen President Obama usher in change for their industry.

The former Illinois senator hit the ground running, implementing SMS alerts a year and a half before the November 2008 election. While other candidates were fiddling with Web forms and email newsletters, President Obama enticed supporters to sign up to receive news and updates about his campaign via text message. The campaign used SMS for everything from announcing last-minute rallies to declaring now-Vice President Joe Biden as the candidate’s running mate.

Moreover the 44th American president’s heavy reliance on his BlackBerry was something consumers red or blue could understand. (He almost had to give it up due to both security reasons and a federal open records law for presidential documents.) It underscored just how much every citizen relies on his or her cell phone these days. Smartphones like BlackBerrys allow the consumer to be contacted not just by voice and SMS, but also by mobile email and mobile Internet. (Although texts are the most urgent type of message, since they’re instantly viewable by the recipient even if he or she is doing something else.)

Thanks to President Obama, marketers understand more than ever:

• That mobile messaging is the best way to reach a consumer with urgent news, such as information about a sale on an item that the consumer has been interested in buying.
• That email is increasingly becoming a mobile message type, and so marketers should tailor their emails (whether a short notice or a newsletter) to the specs of a smart phone. If customers are mostly business clients, these emails should be tailored to the BlackBerry.
• That the mobile phone is an indispensible part of a consumer’s life, and so marketers must treat it with respect—most important being that they only engage in opt-in campaigns.

Hail to the cell!

Mobile marketers have something to be thankful for, even if they’re not celebrating the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday this week: The great growth of mobile coupons, as predicted by Juniper Research.

The firm reports that by the year 2013, some 200 million subscribers worldwide will use coupons that are delivered and redeemed via mobile phones. North America and Western Europe will account for almost 20 percent of those voucher redeemers. Doing the math… that’s 40 million mobile consumers in those two regions who will be using mobile coupons!

And don’t worry about ads on the mobile Web, which is just now starting to become common with the proliferation of smart phones aimed at consumers, or other burgening technologies. SMS is not only now–it’s also the most common way for delivering mobile coupons to the consumer, according to Juniper.

“The mobile phone is the ultimate individual marketing device and mobile coupon pilots show greatly increased redemption rates–often double digit percentages,” says Howard Wilcox. author of the Juniper report.

As regular readers of this blog know, mobileStorm has long known how big mobile coupons will be. Get in the game before those 200 million mobile coupon users pass you by: Download a free recording of our webinar titled “Making Money With Mobile Coupons.”