Mobile phone growth in the U.S. and Asia - A perspective

When it comes to mobile phone market, not many people know that the U.S. is not the market leader. Instead, Asia beats everyone left, right, and center. Asia has been the hub for mobile phones for quite some time now and the surprising fact is, Asia leads in not just the number of mobile phones or mobile connections, but also in the kind of mobile technology that is being used.

How about this for a sample? In Japan, you can play games and fast forward through MP3 tracks with just a flick of your finger, literally. Certain mobile phones in Japan come with built-in motion sensors which let you do this at your comfort. Also, you can point your mobile phones at a big commercial complex and your mobile phone will display information about the building like what’s in there, how to get to a particular shop in the building, and even the daily special in the restaurant. This facility is available in certain models of Sony Ericsson and DoCoMo.

China has gone one step ahead and has come up with a technology through which mobile users can get live broadcasts of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The best part is, you’ll not get streaming videos that are pretty slow. Here, the signals from China’s mobile TV will be transmitted straight to a UHF/VHF antenna which is inbuilt in the mobile phones, and you will be able to get 50 times the normal bandwidth, which, needless to say, will be very quick and easier to watch.

As of now, technologies such as this are almost unheard of in the U.S. However, a lot of experts believe that the 700 MHz auction will change things significantly in the U.S. They actually predict a third network apart from Cellular and Wi-Fi/WiMax, which will make mobile phone market in the U.S. a fast growing one. Soon, people in the U.S. will be able to switch their handsets at their wish without having to change the provider. Well; we’re all waiting for that day, aren’t we?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Mobile social networking made simple - MoDazzle

If you are someone who travels a lot, keeping in touch with your friends through social networking sites can be tougher. After all, you can’t expect an internet kiosk wherever you go or even if you carry a laptop, you can’t expect to be in a Wi-Fi zone all the time. The result is – a mobile service which allows you to check out social networking sites right in your mobile phone.

MoDazzle is a company which specializes in building mobile services which offer value to the users. With MoDazzle, you can access sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Salesforce, and other online sources. Also, you can get weather updates, stock news, news updates, and so on. While I was going through their site, two services stood out from the rest.

Firstly, restaurant reviews. I really think this might be useful for a lot of people. You are in an unfamiliar area and want to find out a good restaurant to dine. Pick up your mobile phone and mention the kind of cuisine you want and the area you are in and text it to 22553. You’ll get a text message in return with all the details about the restaurant you want.

The second one, direction help. If you’re stuck somewhere and want to go somewhere, you can text the place where you want to go and the place you are in to 22553, you’ll get a reply which will show you the right direction to go to reach the place you want to go.

You can access this service in two ways – you can text whatever you want to 22553 and get a text message to help you, or you can access your mobile browser and send an email with your query to find out what you want.

On top of everything, it’s a free service. Need I say more? Go check it out and let me know what you guys feel.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Social Networking.

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Cellphone advertising in 2007 - A review

2007 is almost over and we’re eagerly expecting the arrival of the New Year. So, it’s that time of the year when people look back at their silly mistakes, achievements (if any), resolutions they made, and all other useless stuff. I’m not gonna do any of them; don’t worry. Instead, I’m gonna look back at the cellphone advertising and marketing industry and share some of my thoughts with you.

The single biggest event that changed the course of the cellphone advertising and marketing industry was the launch of the Apple iPhone. It was more than just a phone and the truckload of features made it a favorite with users instantly. At a time when cellphone advertisers were thinking about advertising via text messaging and banner ads, the Wi-Fi enabled iPhone offered them a hell lot of options. Interestingly, iPhone is not the only phone in the market with such features. Blackberry, AT & T and T-Mobile Network phones, and a few models from Nokia also have Wi-Fi facility and other features that the iPhone boasts of. But the most important difference was in the way Apple marketed their product. The enormous hype created before the launch of iPhone was simply never heard of in the market before and thankfully, it lived up to the hype.

The second biggest event, in fact the one that almost outshone Apple iPhone was the launch of Google Android. Google had been timing the market to take the plunge for a long time and speculations were running wild. A lot of market experts and market watchers (including yours truly) had predicted that Google would come up with Google Phone, which could be the fitting answer for the iPhone. But when Google announced that it will not develop its own phone, at least in the near future, they had their foot firmly in their mouth. But Google Android proved out to be a bigger success, considering the buzz it created in the market. With its Open Handset Alliance with 30 plus big names, Google simply stole the show from the iPhone. I’ve already explained why Google Android could lead to the undoing of iPhone and it remains to be seen whether I’ll be proven wrong in 2008.

2007 could possibly go down as the most eventful year as far as cellphone advertising industry is concerned, as the year saw some major names like Microsoft, New York Times, Coca Cola, Facebook, MySpace, Fox Interactive Media, and of course Google enter the market in full fledge. Most of the industry experts and research firms predicted a huge growth for cellphone marketing and advertising industry whose revenue was estimated at around $1 billion. Also, it is said that in just about five years, this revenue could increase tenfold.

Also, 2007 was the year of acquisitions. Big players in the market realized the enormous potential of cellphone advertising and marketing and started acquiring cellphone advertising firms. We saw Nokia acquire Enpocket, AOL acquire Third Screen Media, Microsoft acquire ScreenTonic, Publicis acquire Phonevalley, and so on. This definitely marked the arrival of cellphone marketing and advertising in a big way.

Though 2007 is undoubtedly the biggest year for cellphone advertising, there are still some unconquered territories within the industry. First of all, mobile internet facility should be within the reach of the majority of consumers for advertisers and marketers to be able to reach them fully. A lot of companies have realized the potential of mobile websites and for consumers to be able to make the most of it, the price of high-end mobile phones should be brought down. Already, Apple has started the process with a hefty price cut on its iPhone and we can expect other handset makers to follow suit, hopefully. Also, thanks to mobile advertisers, the price of premium services has come down drastically and in a lot of cases, these services are available free of cost, thanks to ad-funded services. With some operators even offering free talk time to customers who opt in for cellphone advertising, I really think cellphone advertising has hit the target big-time. Its continued success though, lies only in the hands of operators, advertisers, and handset makers for they are in a position to lead the industry in the right direction next year.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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