Smartphone Operating Systems in Canada

Anthony Wayne    Cell Phones     Canada, market share, smartphone

RIM’s once large lead in the Canadian smartphone market no longer exists.  The Blackberry operating system, while still in the lead, is being pushed by Android and Apple and will soon be the third most popular OS in Canada.

Blackberry has lost significant market share in Canada.

Digital Newspapers Growth Benefits Online Dating Product

Anthony Wayne    Dating     Dating, digital, newspapers, online

Digitial Newspaper Web sites drew 113 million unique visitors per month in the first quarter of 2012.  That correlates to a 4.4% increase from the first quarter of 2011.  The study was done by comScore data and was cited by the Newspaper Association of America.

Newspapers Online Dating

The total number of minutes spent on newspaper Web sites increased by 6.9%, according to the same study. Over this period, the number of page views increased 1.4%. The average number of visits per user was 9.77 per month, thus showing that digital newspaper users are regular users that will benefit from consistent frequency.

Newspapers have to be pleased with the demographics of their users.  The number of average daily visitors in the 18-to-24 age group increased 10% and the number of visitors in the 21 to 34 age group increased by 7% over the same period.  Of 18 to 34-year-olds, 48% said they read only digital newspaper content, and another 34% said they read both print and digital newspapers, while just 24% who said they read only print newspapers.

Advanced Telecom Services provides its MatchLink online dating solution to newspapers.  With MatchLink, a digital newspaper can relive some of the glory days of newspaper personals with a customized website with the look and feel of the newspaper, but with the power of the Match.com database behind it.  Advanced Telecom Services is one of only two companies in the nation to be able to  provide a custom online dating solution in conjunction with Match.com.

Apple iPad Sales Soar

Anthony Wayne    Cell Phones     ipad, iphone, sales

Apple's new 3G iPhone is helping spur sales growth.

Over 2/3 of all cell phones sold in 2012 have been smartphones.  Hence, smartphone penetration has now exceeded 50% in the USA.  While Android is the dominant smartphone OS, Apple’s iPhone sales continue to flourish.

Apple soared past analysts’ expectations, reporting on Tuesday a nearly 60% increase in sales and a 94% rise in profits in its fiscal second quarter compared with a year earlier. The company sold 35.1 million iPhones, many of them in China, where sales leaped by 400%. Analysts had feared lower-priced rivals would eat into iPhone sales, but the report “shows they are able to maintain their pricing without compromising on growth,” said Michael Holt, a Morningstar analyst. Sales of iPads grew 151% to 11.8 million units. Verizon Wireless and AT&T together sold 7.5 million iPhones and are prospering from data services sold through the smartphone.

14% Prefer Shopping on a Mobile Website

Anthony Wayne    Cell Phones, mobile marketing     apps, mobile website, preference, shopping

14% of Americans showed a preference for shopping on a mobile website via their smartphone.  9% prefer shopping on a mobile website via a tablet.  4% each prefer shopping on an app on a tablet and the same on a smartphone.

88% of American Adults Now Own Cell Phone

Anthony Wayne    Cell Phone, Technology, Cell Phones     cell phones, computers, mobile

Americans are certainly in love with their mobile phones.

Here’s an interesting graph about what we are becoming more in love with and what we are finding as less necessary.

Android’s Dominance Continues

Anthony Wayne    Cell Phone, Technology     Android, Google., share, smartphone

Android’s stranglehold on the USA smartphone market continues to increase.  Of American smartphone owners, over half now own an Android device.  A full 2/3 of all purchases of mobile phones made in the first two months of 2012 were smartphones.

SHOWDOWN: Mobile Websites vs. Mobile Apps

Anthony Wayne    Mobile Apps, Mobile Web Sites     apps, mobile, websites

Mobile websites, or “mobile microsites” as we like to call them, can be created for 85% less than a mobile app, but nearly all of the same features.  In many instances, a company should consider developing a mobile app rather than a more expensive app.  There are significant advantages to developing a mobile app in addition to simply the cost.

Now, we have nothing against apps.  In fact, we love apps.  Check out this article about our apps we developed for Comcast.

Watch Bob Bentz’s video and you’ll learn more about when you should use a mobile website versus a mobile app.

How To Use a QR Code

Anthony Wayne    QR Codes     QR Codes, scan

If you’ve seen QR Codes, but aren’t sure what to do with them when you see them, watch this video about QR Codes and you’ll soon be an expert on scanning QR Codes. It’s not really “take a picture” of a QR Code, but how to scan a QR Code that makes the QR Code work.

Statistics: Multi-Tasking on Mobile while Watching TV

Anthony Wayne    media     Canada, pound code, premium, television

Americans are multi-tasking more than ever before, even while watching television.

Those in the highest stress age group of 35-49 are really taking multi-tasking to heart.  A full 2/3 of those that own tablets are on them while watching television.  Men tend to use their smartphones more while watching television while women tend to prefer the tablet.

This makes for a great opportunity for interactive TV providers.  Our Canadian office has been involved in numerous interactive television shows from game shows and esoteric (Psychic) shows.  Unique billing mechanisms like the pound code and direct mobile billing enable cell phone users to interact with the television show, even if they are not able to dial 900 numbers.

Americans are multi-tasking more than ever before, even while watching TV.

Majority of US Smartphone Owners Use Devices to Help them in Shopping

Norman Barret    Internet Marketing, mobile marketing, Text Message Marketing     smartphone shopping behavior

According to a report by research firm Leo J. Shapiro and Associates, it was found that two-thirds of US consumers with smartphones have used their devices to help them in shopping. The February 2012 survey also found that 38% of the respondents explored products on their smartphones while shopping inside the store. Customers are using web-enabled devices for a variety of purposes, such as finding out more information about a product, comparing price etc. Customers are “pre-shopping” on smartphones before visiting to a retail location.

Once near the point of sale, more than one in 10 smartphone owners used their phones to compare prices at different stores or websites. This finding relates to growing concerns among retailers over the practice of “showrooming,” when customers research products in-store, but then purchase them elsewhere. Retailers can solve this problem by guaranteeing that the prices of products are steady across multiple channels—in stores, on mobile apps and on their websites.  That will give shoppers less motives to walk away from a purchase.

eMarketer estimates that there will be 115.8 million smartphone users in the US by the end of 2012, with that number growing to 176.3 million by 2015.