Top 10 Consumer Mobile Applications for 2012
The top ten consumer mobile applications it predicts will dominate the market in 2012.
-
Money Transfer
-
Location-Based Services
-
Mobile Search
-
Mobile Browsing
-
Mobile Health Monitoring
-
Mobile Payment
-
Near Field Communication Services
-
Mobile Advertising
-
Mobile Instant Messaging
-
Mobile Music
Top 10 Mobile Marketing Trends for 2011
The Mobile Marketing Association on Tuesday announced its annual top 10 industry predictions for mobile marketing in the Asia Pacific region. As 2010 comes to a close, MMA provides a guide to new and existing technologies that will dominate the market in the coming year.
"Recent industry reports from InMobi and Synovate have revealed that consumers are showing a greater inclination towards receiving mobile advertising and marketing messages," said Rohit Dadwal, managing director, MMA Asia Pacific Pte Ltd in Singapore.
"The global mobile advertising market is expected to grow to $13 to $14 billion in 2011 and Asia Pacific is expected to bring in the majority of this revenue followed by North America and Europe. As the market continues to grow, we hope to continue to provide insights that we believe should to be on the radar screen of every organization when deciding on their mobile spends for the region."
1. Personalization and privacy will increase effectiveness and credibility of the mobile media as a marketing channel
As mobile technology continues to evolve, mobile marketing messages will become increasingly personalized / relevant. Additionally, the adoption of transparent, permission-based marketing along with the introduction of regulations and applications for blocking unwanted content will help overcome the perception that mobile advertising is nothing but spam. Mobile will be the only truly conversational and measurable medium that can lead to an actual, real-time increase in business-to-consumer transactions.
2. Over the top services will drive data usage
On-deck operator ad revenues will be overshadowed by over the top application-based value-added services revenues. These services will help create mobile inventory and enable greater mobile ad spend. Operators should take a step back from establishing their own app stores and concentrate on enabling more converged devices like tablets. Telecom service providers will be forced to review their publishing business investments and plans.
3. Free SMS/free video/free phone calls will be available across devices.
Applications like WhatsApp and Viber are already allowing free SMS and calls from mobile devices. More such applications will be entering the market making these basic mobile features available free of cost across devices. We will also keep seeing an increase in mobile video consumption. The introduction of new ad units, including interactive and partial screen, will subsidize free content.
4. The re-birth of Windows 7 mobile
The new and relatively strict hardware specifications introduced by Microsoft are geared towards providing a universal user experience much like Research In Motion (RIM) and Apple. Based on prior experience with the availability of too many phones variants, Microsoft is focused on restricting the use of its new operating system by phones that are not compatible. The re-birth of the Windows 7 mobile will further fuel the growth of mobile Internet and advertising.
5. New winner in the HTML5 vs. Apps war
A lot has been said about how apps are expected to peak in 2013 and have already shown signs of slowing down. Though the new HTML offers great opportunities, apps and app stores continue to rule mobile content. The availability of basic functions of an app even without an active or stable data connection combined with the high level of usability and engagement offered by app stores make it a much more appealing option for customers. However, the fact that apps are device specific and limit penetration offers opportunities for experimentation that might lead to a decline in their popularity over the coming years.
6. Location-Based Services (LBS) + Augmented Reality (AR) will be the leading integrated mobile technology in the market
The proliferation of GPS phones with digital compasses has already given rise to a series of location-based AR software platforms and applications. The combination of AR with LBS allows for graphic content related to the position of the user to be overlaid in real-time onto camera images taken by the phone. This makes for one of the most intuitive user interface currently available on mobile and also makes the consumption of location-based information a lot more fun. Such specific targeting will not only fuel ad spend but also transactions.
7. Mobile micropayments will allow customers to pay from their 'electronic wallets' rather than ATM cards
The electronic payment industry is growing rapidly and provides significant opportunities for all electronic payment channels including those on mobile platforms. In developing countries, mobile banking services can address a service gap that is critical to their development. The key advantage of the introduction of mobile payment will be quick transactions. There are no credit card readers, no paper slips and more security than written forms. It will be like an electronic wallet that a customer will always have access to and will provide them with relevant purchase opportunities while they're on-the-go.
8. The re-emergence of mobile blogging
As mobile phones become more sophisticated and feature-rich, they are increasingly being used as a replacement for computers. With the introduction and adoption of tablet devices, the consumers now have greater speed, connectivity and battery life in their mobile devices. Several writers/bloggers are already using these devices to pen down their thoughts. With processing power that allows for editing and upload of content in various formats, these mobile devices are fast becoming the preferred travel gadget for professionals and have created opportunities for the development of a whole new set of user applications.
9. Continued proliferation of smartphones and mobile Internet advertising
It is expected that by 2011 over 85% of handsets shipped globally will have browser capabilities. The relatively large growth in smartphones combined with their superior user interface will continue to encourage more people to access conventional websites on their mobile handsets. Business-to-consumer applications can be delivered using conventional Web tools as well as Web adaptation tools. As smartphone penetration increases, more users will possess the technology to view richer content on their mobile devices making the medium extremely useful for marketers.
10. Mobiles will jump onto the 3D bandwagon
3D technology is being incorporated in any and every gadget available in the market today. Mobile manufacturers have also experimented with the technology and Spice Mobility in India has already introduced a phone with 3D capabilities. Manufacturers still have a long way to go in terms of creating a sophisticated 3D mobile device but the market will see a lot more experimentation in 3D phones in the coming year. The technology will lead to the development of new content and advertising avenues.
Article Taken from rediff news
Some Generic Information about M-Commerce
M-commerce can be divided into three types i.e. premium content, remote payment and point-of-sale applications. Of those, premium content will be the most important, generating more than three-fourths of all m-commerce revenues.
Type of M-Commerce
1. Premium content
this is where special or expensive content is offered to the phone subscriber on his phone. It depends a lot on the phone technology that is 3g (third generation) or 4g (4th generation). 3G phones are available in almost every country however there are only a few countries like Japan and South Korea with 4G technologies enabled. These services include like video and music. Mobile phone companies also offer premium content like stock exchange information.
2. Remote payment
this is largely similar to ecommerce on the web. It basically refers to the online payment of money whereby the one paying is in a different location from the one receiving. This is supported in m-commerce through secure payment connections.
3. Point-of-sale
this refers to commerce in which the mobile device is used as a point of sale. This is possible if the device can access the online store. These devices are not the typical mobile devices but are capable of accessing higher content. They are usually WAP enabled and can access xml and java components as well.
Advantages of M-Commerce
- Any transaction with a monetary value that is conducted over a wireless telephone network
- M-Commerce increases customer satisfaction, cost savings, and new business opportunities
- M-commerce is available anywhere with relatively small devices that are mobile phones and PDA’s
- Mobile commerce can be highly personalized and user has control over data. Personally owned smart phones reduce IT training and help desk resources.
- Enhance customer seller relationships because communication is easier.
Limitations of M-Commerce
- Less functionality for mobile Internet over mobile phones and existing generation of handhelds than for mobile computers (laptops and next generation handhelds).
- Small screens of most devices still limit types of file and data transfer (i.e. streaming videos, etc.)
- No real standards in M-commerce. There is a lot differentiation in M-commerce solutions offered.
- Technology constraints of mobile devices (memory, processing power, display capabilities, input methods)
Applications of M-Commerce
1) Finance and Applications
Many applications in the service industry, such as banking, travel, stocks, and more can be conducted with wireless devices. Shopping can be done from mobile devices, too.
2) Intra business Applications
Large number of Intra business applications, including inventory management, sales force automation, wireless voice, job dispatching, wireless office, and more are evident inside organizations.
Mobile Internet Users in India
A study by IMRB and IAMAI suggests that there are only about 2 million users accessing Internet through their mobile phones and other mobile devices on an active basis, which means they use Internet on their Mobile at least once a month.
As per the study by IMRB and IAMAI, 27% mobile phones are Internet ready (127 million mobile subscribers out of 471 million total subscribers) and out of these 127 million subscribers, only 12 million have used Mobile Internet and this number further reduces down to 2 million or 17% when it comes to active users.
Why the People Using Mobile Internet?
For Checking emails and searching for information are the two most popular reasons for accessing net over mobile phones. 2.8% of Urban Indian mobile population used the Internet over their phones to check emails while 2.5% used the net to search for information.
Indian Mobile Commerce set to grow in leaps
Mobile commerce in India is gaining quite a bit of momentum, and why not. India currently boasts more than 200 million mobile subscribers growing at nearly 100% yoy. Online E-commerce is yet to catch up, but it also has started picking up pace.
With this kind of growth it is hardly a surprise that India’s largest mobile service provider – Bharti Airtel – is all set to join the M-Commerce bandwagon in a big way.
According to the latest news, Bharti will launch host of value-added services, primarily related to M-commerce applications.
The application includes a platform that allows both its prepaid and postpaid users to link their credit card, debit card or bank accounts to their mobile connection. (This facility has already been thrown open to its pre-paid users and Bharti subscriber can use this facility to top up or pay the bill of other cellular users also). Also on the cards is an extension of these M-commerce applications to allow customers pays their utility bills and also pay for their railway tickets and hotel rooms via their handsets.
Paymate is another mobile payment gateway that offer similar service to what Bharti plans to offer.Very recently, Magicbricks, one of the leading real estate portals came up with their mobile real estate portal.
There are also host of other M-Commerce application providers in India. However, with entry of Bharti in this arena, M-Commerce in India will take much bigger proportions. Remember, they already have more than 50 million strong subscriber base who are readymade customers for M-Commerce applications.
Source: trak.in
About Smart e-Commerce
Smart e-Commerce is the Blog from Embitel which will provides the latest trends, information, Trends and strategies about e-Retail Solutions, e-Commerce, Social Media Optimization, Blog Marketing, Online Seminars, Search Engine Optimization, Google Rankings and e-Marketing Solutions in India, Germany, UK, Nordic, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
For ECommerce Services
Click Here
