Tag Archive for smartphone

Apple v Samsung – Clash of the Titans?

April 23, 2012 Mobile News No comments
apple-vs-samsung

Embroiled in a long and exhausting patent disputes between two of the largest Mobile devices manufacturers, their Chiefs have decided to meet up and try to find a way to resolve their dispute. About time we would say – saves them load bucks from legal fees!

The article below give more detail about the show-down:

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Choi Gee-sung will meet to try and find a resolution to the ongoing patent dispute between the companies that has gone global over the past year, reports Reuters.

A California court filing revealed that the company bosses will be joined by the general counsels for their firms to discuss the issues which originated when Apple accused Samsung of “slavishly” copying its iPhone and iPad designs for the Galaxy range of smartphones and tablets in a US lawsuit back in April last year.

Read the rest here

 

6 ‘Musts’ to Optimise for Mobile Conversions

March 28, 2012 Mobile PPC No comments

Almost 53% of the UK population now own smartphones which has resulted in the rise of touchscreen technology, 3G, and soaring tablet sales. This has sparked a surge in interest from big brand in all sectors looking for a solution to capitalise on the shift in users habits from desktop PCs and laptops to mobile devices.

Developing a mobile website is an important first step in capitalising on the mobile opportunity, but simply launching a mobile website obviously isn’t enough. Most businesses want to be mobilised to drive conversions.

There are some basic principles that need to be considered when devising your mobile conversion strategy:

1. Search and browsing behavioural patterns on mobile vs. desktop will differ

Mobile users find route of least resistance when browsing the web whereas desktop users are more likely to engage in heavy research before purchasing. For example, PPC on a mobile device is very heavily focused towards 1 or 2 word keyphrases, on desktop the long-tail rules.

2. Users need a simplified, but not content-lite site

Usability on mobile devices is much more in the public consciousness than it ever was for desktop browsing. Just because you want a mobile site that’s easy to use, even when you’re it doesn’t mean you don’t want key information about the product listing.

3. Mobile relevant calls-to-action aid conversion 

This applies for your outreach work, users are much more inclined to click on your ads from a mobile device if it’s made clear to them they’re going to get a mobile specific experience. “Book easily on your mobile” has worked a treat for us

4. Page load time  - spare a thought for those poor old customers who want to buy on the go!

Source

Although this will become less important with the launch of 4G in late 2012/2013 it will be some time before a significant portion of the population will be 4G ready.

5. Device split landing page

Devil’s in the detail with this one. There are hundreds of different mobile screen sizes, each one with a customer behind them expecting you to have thought of them. We’ve got around this problem with our clients by building auto-resizing software which automatically fits the landing page or site to a users device, but this needs to be sure to be included in any site redesigns.

Don’t forget about tablets. Tablet users behave more like desktopers, mobiles very differently and show differences by operating system.

Paddy Power have done this well by moving away from their sports betting competitors, who all share the same platform, by building a proprietary cross-device platform specifically for their users:

Paddy Power Case Study (PDF)

6. A/B Split testing

If it’s good enough for your desktop activity it’s good enough for mobile. There’s no reason why multivariate testing shouldn’t be applied to a mobile website. In most cases given the fact that even the most minor details can have a dramatic effect on conversions in a mobile environment.

SMBs can process Credit Card payments Cheaper using PayPal Here

March 21, 2012 Blog No comments

If you are a small business owner – this post could possibly be music to your ears (or we hope so).

PayPal has just launched its first mobile credit card payment processing gadget called ‘PayPal Here’ which is attachable to any iPhone. You might say how is this different from the market pioneer – Square? We beg to differ. With PayPal Here you can be able to accept major credit cards like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and best of all accepts PayPal Account payments. Currently is it available in US, Canada, Australia & Hong Kong to be rolled out in other countries in April 2012.

Still wondering what is so special about this especially if you process high volume card transactions. It comes in cheaper – well 0.05% cheaper than Square. PayPal Here charges 2.7% transaction fee whereas Square charges 2.75%. Furthermore, with PayPal Here you can process checks by taking the picture. There is still more – you have the option of being charged  the 2.7% transaction fee from your PayPal account rather than chipping off from the credit card transaction. PayPal dubs it as “the world’s first global mobile payments solution” and we would love to hear what you think.

PayPal has launched a dongle that enables small businesses to accept credit card payments by attaching the device to a smartphone.  The dongle effectively transforms the handset into a card reader. The planned launch was leaked earlier this week. New details from the company’s official announcement include that the dongle will be branded PayPal Here. It will have a distinctive triangular shape (pictured).

PayPal Here will compete against a number of similar rivals of which Square is the most prominent. While Square charges a 2.75 percent fee on card transactions, newcomer PayPal will charge a 2.7 percent fee. The payments giant will also offer a one percent cashback to merchants who use a PayPal debit card to make their own purchases

Click here to read more.

Customers are Mobile – Are you Mobilized?

February 19, 2012 Mobile PPC No comments
mobileads

As smartphone ownership continues to grow, 2012 is looking more and more like the year of mobile for search marketers.  

Nielsen reports the number of smartphone subscribers accessing the Internet on their phones has grown 45% since 2010 with the majority of 18 to 34 year-olds owning a smartphone. Similarly, Google recently found 79% use their devices to compare prices, research products or services, and locate retailers. Mobile devices, it seems, are a shopper’s best friend.

Going mobile and mobile optimisation are becoming a business necessity. The article below gives more insight into this. Let us know your thoughts.

We’ve long looked at the online-offline gap. This comes down to the challenge in connecting the dots between increasing levels of online research and the sheer volume of offline spending (95 percent of U.S. retail). This is ROBO: research online to buy offline.

Now we’re not only seeing things like retail inventory feeds (i.e., Milo), and mobile shopping and payments start to connect those dots, but they’re even starting to reverse the flow. In other words, flipping ROBO on its head: using offline research to facilitate online buying.

This is also known as “showrooming,” essentially using physical stores as showrooms for product research before buying from a more price-competitive online marketplace like Amazon. And of course smartphones, shopping apps, and cameras (read: barcode scanners) empower this.

Ironically the e-commerce players that were relegated to research tools under ROBO, are now getting their due in this new environment. The tables have turned on their offline counterparts, especially those who haven’t stepped up the challenge.

 

 

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