Apple to release its 3G iPhone on July 11

The long wait is over folks. The much-awaited 3G iPhone from Apple will be out on July 11. There is a hefty price cut as well, as the price has been slashed by $200. You can get the 8GB model for $199 and the 16GB model for $299. If you’re one of those early birds who paid $499 for your iPhone, well; I can understand your plight.

Before I get into the details, it’s worth remembering the ‘cause’ which triggered this effect. When Apple released its hugely anticipated iPhone, the response was overwhelming. However, soon there was a complaint that the iPhone was a tad too slow when it comes to browsing the internet. This was a major letdown and Apple had to do something about it. Out came the idea for a next generation iPhone which will offer superior mobile web experience. And now, here we have it.

Alright; back to the current scenario. Steve Jobs has promised that this 3G iPhone will certainly be ‘the phone’ which will stand out from the rest when it comes to mobile browsing and mobile web experience. He also promises that this phone will be more than 35% faster than its rival Nokia N95 when it comes to mobile web. This has made a lot of people sit back and take notice. Also, Apple thinks it can crack the working professionals/executives segment, which is a major market for Blackberry, with its 3G iPhone.

Another interesting thing about this 3G iPhone is the number of mobile apps it boasts of.

1. Mobile Me, which stores your emails, contacts, calendars, and other details in a server called ‘cloud’ and forwards your emails to your PC, Mac, iPod Touch, or iPhone. Whatever change you make in one device will get updated automatically in the other devices.

2. Cow Terry, a music making software, which lets you create songs on the go in your iPhone.

3. A mobile blogging software from TypePad

4. A social networking service from Loopt

5. An app from MLB.com which brings you live scorecard from major league games.

Overall, I would say the 3G iPhone is good. And it’s way better than the current version of iPhone that we’re using now. Most importantly, at $299, I think it’s quite a bargain. So, have you decided to buy it on July 11 or what?

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

2 comments.

Google - story so far and the road ahead

Google is one of those things that most of us just can’t live without. At least, I know I can’t. It has become so indispensable in our lives that we find ourselves searching for something in Google every day. With everyone and their mother using Google as their default search engine, the popularity it enjoys is immense. It’s also the reason why Microsoft and Yahoo pale in comparison. So, when Google announced that it will focus on mobile phone market, a lot of people were surprised. I, for one, was surely surprised. I mean, why would a company which enjoys almost a monopoly in online search think of going into mobile phones? But apparently, Google knew what it was doing.

For long, Google has been enjoying the number one spot in online search. Yahoo and Microsoft were the contenders but ‘so close, yet so far’ was their case. But Google was wary of its competitors, especially Microsoft. Given Microsoft’s reputation to buy companies, a deal with Yahoo was almost on the cards. Steve Ballmer apparently told Yahoo board that together, they can be a great threat to the dominancy of Google and topple it easily. But the deal has not happened and Google, as of now, is still the number one. But for how long was the question. In order to sustain its position in the market, Google had to prove that it was not a ‘one product’ company. The solution came in the form of mobile web.

Why mobile web? It’s simple arithmetic. There are more than 3 billion mobile phones in the world. In just about a couple of years from now, there will be 4 billion mobile users in the world. In other words, there will be three mobile phones for every PC in this world. And to add to this, mobile camera, MMS, mobile internet, mobile video, mobile audio, and GPS – features which were considered luxury once – have become so common these days that we see these features in almost every other phone. What this means to advertisers around the world is that they have a new channel for advertising – the mobile phone.

Mobile advertising, as they say, is the next big thing and there’s billions to be made in the industry which is still in its nascent stage. We hardly go out without our mobile phones. We attend every call and read every text message we get. So, an advertisement in a mobile phone is sure to get noticed. Especially, if you can send targeted ads to people, it will have a bigger impact than traditional advertising. Add this to the fact that Google specializes in targeted advertising. The answer is simple – Google planned to enter the mobile advertising territory big time.

Out came Google Android. A platform which can probably make Google as big a name in the mobile web as it is in online search. But Google knows that this will not be a smooth ride. It will have to struggle considerably to cope with Yahoo, iPhones, Windows Live Mobiles, Blackberries, and more. But competition is something that brings the best out of everyone. Let’s just hope that this competition brings the best out of every big player out there in the market and ultimately benefits us – the end users.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Google, All things mobile phones.

2 comments.

Dumb questions, profound answers - All in the world of mobile advertising

A lot of people ask me why I think mobile advertising has a great future. Some others ask me why I get annoyed with anti-mobile advertising experts. Worse, some others ask me what on earth mobile advertising is. Let me answer you one by one.

First, why do you think mobile advertising has a great future?

The number of mobile phones in the world outnumbers PCs by many times. Yet you think online advertising has future and mobile advertising doesn’t have one? Either you haven’t read this blog yet or you need medical help.

Second, why do you get annoyed with anti-mobile advertising experts?

Well; I don’t really get annoyed with them when they talk/write something against mobile advertising. You see, freedom of speech/expression and all that. But when they assume things and predict things for people, I see red. Clear?

What on earth is mobile advertising?

Well; you’re a little too late. But fear not – you’ve come to the right place. Start right from here and read this blog in its entirety.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Rant, All things mobile phones.

0 comments.

Eric Schmidt, mobile phone market, and a few musings

In one of his recent interviews, Eric Schmidt brought up a few very good, thought-provoking points. If you don’t know who he is, click here.

Eric said that mobile computing could be the most important idea which needs to be developed in future. This argument has been put forward by a lot of prominent people and we all know the bottom line – whatever people do with their PC, they should be able to do it with their mobile phone.

He also has a valid point to back up his argument. When the PC was introduced, no one imagined that it would go on to become such a big, powerful platform. Given the speed at which world is going mobile, the same phenomenon might happen with mobile phones too. The starting point of that phenomenon, he believes, will be Google Android. Google Android, the mobile operating system from Google, has created enormous buzz in the market and later this year, we can expect to see a number of mobile phone makers coming up with handsets based on Android.

However, the most important point that caught my attention is this – ‘ubiquity of location based data’ – a phrase used by Eric. Think of the information that could be most useful to you if you could get it on your mobile phone whenever you want – traffic information, flight and bus schedules and routes, weather updates, and maps. We will soon have all sorts of such information right on our mobile phone, whenever we want.

I believe that mobile advertising and mobile phone market in general could become a much bigger deal by giving the users what they want – like the aforementioned things – rather than ads that are not targeted and irrelevant.

PS: If you had no idea who Eric is and clicked the link above, do this.

1. Come out of the cave you’re living in.

2. Get a shave and a haircut.

3. Get used to us evolved humans and try to behave the way we do.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

0 comments.

Could local mobile marketing become the next big thing?

Mobile advertising, especially when targeted at a particular area, can bring in some great results. It can help retailers and local small business owners to a great extent. In fact, I would go to the extent of saying that local mobile marketing will be the next big thing as far as mobile advertising is concerned. I’d back up my claim with a few reasons.

The number of mobile phones is significantly larger than the number of PCs in the U.S. There are two mobile phones for every PC in the U.S., to be precise.

Internet advertising has a response rate of 1% whereas mobile advertising has a response rate of 5%, which is unbelievably good.

People hardly leave their mobile phone home. They carry it everywhere, making it ideal for advertising.

You can target your core customer base very easily. Mobile users will trust you as they know that you mean business and won’t spam them with unnecessary ads.

When someone responds to your ad, he/she will most likely look forward to other such offers in future. For example, if someone buys a makeup product, they won’t mind you send a discount coupon for makeup products as and when you have an offer, as they are most likely to make use of it.

It makes the job of the customers very simple. If there is a new offer in town, they need not go all the way to the shop in person to find it out. They can simply get alerts on their mobile phone and decide whether to shop or not.

However, the potential of local mobile marketing has not been exploited fully by retailers and small business owners. But as I mentioned some time back, retailers all over the country have decided to buck up and make use of the phenomenon that is mobile advertising. So, get ready to shop through your mobile.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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