Symbian’s Mobile Ad Click Through Rate Better than Apple OS

A recent report from Smaato says that Symbian users are more likely to click on mobile ads than Apple iPhone users. The report discusses the click through rates for mobile advertising campaigns in the U.S. for the month of April 2010. It says that the number of clicks generated by the Symbian smartphone platform is 2.7 times more than the number of clicks generated by the iPhone OS.

This statistics might come as a bit of a surprise for many, as most people are under the impression that the Apple iPhone is the undisputed leader of mobile ads. What is even surprising is that Apple is not even in the second position. It is in the fourth place, as feature phones and Windows mobile phones take the second and third place respectively. Google Android suffered nearly a 50% drop in its click through rates during the period of February 2010 to March 2010, which pushed it down to the fifth position. What this means is that no other operating system comes even closer to the click through rates of Symbian, which is backed by the world’s biggest mobile phone maker – Nokia.

The way I see it, this report from Smaato debunks the myth that Apple OS is the holy grail of mobile advertising and Symbian is an aging platform that no one really cares about. While the possibility of Apple reclaiming the top spot cannot be ruled out, it is still interesting to see Symbian performing so much better and exceeding everyone’s expectations.

In the coming months, this competition could only get more intense. Apple is all set to redefine the world of mobile advertising with the iPad and Symbian is all set to release its revamped mobile library – Symbian ˆ3. It should be interesting, don’t you think?

PS: You can download the report from this link.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Nokia, Apple.

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MSNBC’s New Mobile Application for Apple iPhone Users

Here’s an important piece of information for Apple users.

MSNBC has come up with a mobile application for Apple iPhone and iTouch users. It has joined hands with a mobile media company called Zumobi to develop this application. Zumobi is famous for developing unique mobile applications for various smart phones like Apple iPhone, Google Android, and Palm Pre.

The application brings all the latest news from around the world to the mobile screen. The developers have integrated Twitter into this application which makes it even more useful for the end user.

With this application, you will be able to check out all the latest headlines any time you want right from your mobile phone. From world news to business, sports, weather, or entertainment, this app brings you pretty much anything you need right to your mobile screen. You will also be able to track Twitter feeds, or Tweets as they are called by many, from msnbc.com and share your favorite news items with your friends. The best part about this application, as far as I am concerned, is that it is totally free. You can download it directly from Zumobi’s website.

MSNBC has said that the interactive features in this application will offer a thoroughly engaging experience for mobile users. It has also said that this application offers a great chance for advertisers in the form of premium brand sponsorships.

In my opinion, this app could become pretty popular with iPhone users. If you remember, Associated Press launched its own mobile news network some time back. Considering how popular it became in a very short period of time, I think my prediction might come true very quickly.

Categories: Apple iPhone, All things mobile phones, Apple.

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Mobile applications for Google Android phone a hit among users - says Google

Here is some happy news from the Google camp. The mobile applications for the recently released Android phone – T-Mobile G1 – are a hit among consumers.

Google executives have stated that on an average, a T-Mobile G1 user downloads 14 mobile applications. There are around 200 mobile apps available in the Android Marketplace right now and almost all of them have been well received by mobile users. Google is very happy with how things have gone with the Android phone.

As of now, the mobile apps in Android Marketplace are free. However, Google is planning to let developers charge for their apps soon. Once it happens, 70% of the revenue generated will to go the developers, a small percentage of the revenue will be used to cover the transaction charges, and the rest of the amount will go to the mobile operators. None of the mobile operators has raised any questions about this revenue sharing model so far, so we can safely assume that they are fine with this arrangement.

Google is also happy about the use of mobile data on the T-Mobile G1. Consumers have been very active so far and use various Google services like the search facility and Google Maps and a variety of third party services as well. Google has stated, without revealing the actual numbers, that there has been a ‘huge spike’ in consumer activity in the last month or so.

So, things are hunky-dory at the moment for Google. It will be interesting to see how consumers react once developers start charging for the software. What do you say?

Categories: Google, All things mobile phones.

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Google Android vs. Apple iPhone - Who is the real winner?

So, the widely anticipated Google Android phone, T-Mobile G1, has been released. Before its release, there were a lot of speculations and questions due to two reasons. First, it was from Google. As we now live in the Google era, anything Google does is big news. Second, a lot of people compared Android to Apple iPhone and expected it to create a huge buzz in the market like the iPhone did. So, now that the phone has been released, did it manage to create a huge buzz like Apple iPhone? The answer to that question would be ‘no’.

First of all, you need to understand why and how Apple iPhone managed to create such a huge buzz in the market. There are two main reasons behind it.

1. Apple iPhone was the first of its kind. The unbelievably smooth touch screen, the built-in YouTube player, built-in iPod, and other features made iPhone a stand-out choice for both technophiles and laymen. Also, it made mobile web surfing easier than before. This was a major breakthrough, as an overwhelming majority of iPhone users use the mobile search facility extensively, making the iPhone the leader of mobile searches.

The T-Mobile G1, on the other hand, is in the ‘oh; so what’s new now?’ category.

2. Apple iPhone had a huge, loyal subscriber base way before its release. Most of the iPod-worshipping crowd was excited about the arrival of iPhone and these were the people that rushed to buy the iPhone on the very first day of its release, without even knowing how it was.

The T-Mobile G1, on the other hand, does not have such a loyal following. Though Google is probably the most popular brand today, it is not so in the mobile world. So, we can safely assume that G1 will not rock the sales charts like iPhone did.

However, there is one important thing which sets Android apart from iPhone - its open source platform which allows any developer from anywhere in the world to create mobile applications. Apple, on the other hand, has a tight grip on both the hardware and software of the iPhone. So, though Apple offers plenty of mobile applications through its App Store, it retains a lot of control.

Google has announced that it will license Android to any company in the world, which gives handset makers and wireless carriers around the world to tweak the software according to their needs. This is a major plus point.

Just imagine – If any handset maker can come up with a device for Android and any wireless carrier can support it, Google Android can become a household name around the world in a few years from now. Apple iPhone, on the other hand, is locked with AT&T for five years.

So, while T-Mobile G1 phone has not managed to create a huge buzz like the iPhone did, there is every possibility of Android becoming widespread around the world. So, who could be the real winner in the long term? My money is on Google. What say you?

Categories: Google, Apple iPhone, All things mobile phones, Apple.

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On why Android makes way more sense than Google Phone

There has been a lot of talk about whether or not Google has done the right thing by developing Android. Some say developing its own phone, the so-called Google phone, would have been a better idea. Some say Android is the better idea. Now, where do I stand in this issue?

It’s very simple. Android is Google’s best chance to dominate the mobile world. The reason is very, very obvious. Just think - How did Google become the top dog in the internet? By serving ads to websites all over the world. In other words, Google made everyone use their service.

Now, think of the same scenario here in the mobile world. Instead of creating a phone which can only be used by so many users, Google has come up with a mobile platform which has the potential to reach hundreds of millions of users all over the world. Android is capable of reaching a wide range of operators and users all over the world and this is exactly the route to Google’s success in the mobile world.

With Android, operators will find it easier to make their subscribers use mobile internet as that is where the revenue is. The more the number of users that use mobile internet, the more money it will be for Google, as it will be serving ads through Android. In other words, Android will help Google replicate its online success in the mobile world.

Remember – it’s a market of over a billion users out there. There’s plenty of fish in the sea. Google, in my opinion, has both the experience and the expertise to pull it off in the mobile world, just like they did in the online world. So, wait and watch.

Categories: Google.

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