Mobile Business Magazine - Nokia planning to take on iTunes?: "Nokia planning to take on iTunes? PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 10 August 2006
Nokia Logo - Mobile Business MagazineNokia and Loudeye have announced that they have signed an agreement for Nokia to acquire Loudeye for approximately $60 million.
'Music is a key experience for Nokia and Nokia Nseries multimedia computers and we want to be able to offer the best fully integrated mobile music experience to our customers. Loudeye brings a number of key assets to Nokia, including a great team of people, a substantial content catalogue and a robust service platform that will help us to achieve this objective,' said Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president and general manager, Multimedia, Nokia. 'People should be able to access all the music they want, anywhere, anytime and at a reasonable cost. With this acquisition, we aim to deliver that vision and a comprehensive music experience to Nokia device owners during 2007.'
I don't think Nokia have a chance in hell of competing with i-tunes. For one, memory on phones is still expensive for the majority of un web savvy bargain hunters. Sony E leads the way with walkman phones. Sounds repro on a Nokia is a far cry from Sony's K and M range devices IMHO.
The major stumbling block is getting the music to the phone. If you're smart, you'll throw on the tune from a CD. What you need is a player that plays more compression encoding's. What SUX about MP3 is that if you own the tune or an album you cannot trade up to a proper recording. MP3 is the place to be now. In 5 years with better quality compression or more than likely more storage, you'll listen to your ripped MP3 collection and wonder how bad it was reproduced. Those who had a sony walkman casette player will testify how they used to hear the tape hissing in the background.
Nokia's best at making cool interfaces and quality smartphones. This diversification only complicates the buying process and as such, the over hyped multimedia pastiche is just that - hype. Nokia should really IMHO, concentrate on making quality 1st version OSes for phones. Rather than alledgedly shaky ones that are rushed.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Mobile Business Magazine - All you can eat internet for £1 a day
Mobile Business Magazine - All you can eat internet for £1 a day: "All you can eat internet for £1 a day PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 10 August 2006
T-Mobile - Mobile Business MagazineT-Mobile UK announces that pay-as-you-go mobile phone customers can enjoy the best web experience on a mobile with web’n’walk.
The announcement, designed to open up the mobile Internet to everyone, will give T-Mobile pay-as-you-go customers the freedom to email and surf the web whenever and with complete control on costs.
web’n’walk offers the ultimate mobile Internet experience available on a handset and is unlike other operators’ services which only allow the customer to interact with a very limited and cut-down version of the Internet. So, if you want to check out a friend’s blog while you’re waiting for your train, or book that last minute flight on lastminute.com, web’n’walk will give you the freedom to do it. Pay-as-you-go web’n’walk combines economy with absolute cost control.
Customers can browse as little or as much as they like.. so with pay-as-you-go web’n’walk, even if a customer has browsed extensively on a particular day, they will know that their costs will never get out of control. That’s because as soon as the costs hit £1, their spending is capped and they can browse for the rest of the day at no extra cost. "
Excellent idea for a marketing plan. I know how T-mobile's very good offers work. You offer X much free content / service for an X period of time. People make it a habit and then have to pay. I think it's a good way of introducing technology. Hey in the UK, especially London, without WAP more often than not I could not get home coz of train delays. WAP warned me of this well in advance so I could plan another route. Handsets using email - I think not. If t-mobile offered a messaging service that worked then this would complete with Sony's new MYLO gadget. Thing is, MYLO in the UK will criminalise a lot of people without them necessarily understanding what's a hotpot and what's jacking someone's router. Anyway.. good play t-mobile!
Thursday, 10 August 2006
T-Mobile - Mobile Business MagazineT-Mobile UK announces that pay-as-you-go mobile phone customers can enjoy the best web experience on a mobile with web’n’walk.
The announcement, designed to open up the mobile Internet to everyone, will give T-Mobile pay-as-you-go customers the freedom to email and surf the web whenever and with complete control on costs.
web’n’walk offers the ultimate mobile Internet experience available on a handset and is unlike other operators’ services which only allow the customer to interact with a very limited and cut-down version of the Internet. So, if you want to check out a friend’s blog while you’re waiting for your train, or book that last minute flight on lastminute.com, web’n’walk will give you the freedom to do it. Pay-as-you-go web’n’walk combines economy with absolute cost control.
Customers can browse as little or as much as they like.. so with pay-as-you-go web’n’walk, even if a customer has browsed extensively on a particular day, they will know that their costs will never get out of control. That’s because as soon as the costs hit £1, their spending is capped and they can browse for the rest of the day at no extra cost. "
Excellent idea for a marketing plan. I know how T-mobile's very good offers work. You offer X much free content / service for an X period of time. People make it a habit and then have to pay. I think it's a good way of introducing technology. Hey in the UK, especially London, without WAP more often than not I could not get home coz of train delays. WAP warned me of this well in advance so I could plan another route. Handsets using email - I think not. If t-mobile offered a messaging service that worked then this would complete with Sony's new MYLO gadget. Thing is, MYLO in the UK will criminalise a lot of people without them necessarily understanding what's a hotpot and what's jacking someone's router. Anyway.. good play t-mobile!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Skype announces four wi-fi Skype phones
Tee hee, at last. Skype have got manufacturers to integrate wi-fi into a handset and you can roam and talk. With enough take up and with sexier handsets, this could really mean a lot of the mobile providers could die overnight. However, in remoter regions and outside densely populated regions unless there's a WISP there isn't a revolution overnight. In places like Spain I think this will work out damn cheap as face it - mobile companies have been taking the micheal on the continent with their inflated international roaming charges. Integrate 3G cameras into phones or just a TEXT message only portable keyfob with wi-fi capability and you'll be laughing!
Monday, July 24, 2006
Amazon's Foray into Online Groceries
"Amazon is currently selling just non-perishable goods, so is not necessarily competing directly with FreshDirect and their ilk who also offer fresh produce, but Amazon's economies of scale and logistics expertise will ensure they will have a significant impact on the market.
Online grocery shopping has never been a very popular categories of online retail, compared with books or music, for example. Research from WSL Strategic Retail shows that just 12% of US Internet users purchased groceries online in 2005, up from 8% in 2003."
Great insightful article, however I believe in the UK Tesco are leading the way in fresh goods and non perishables. "Sales for Tesco.com almost reached £1bn in 2005, with profits for the online store up by 55% to £56.2m.
Sales rose at Tesco.com by 32% for the year, now representing over 3% of its UK sales of £32.7bn. Tesco said it had 750,000 regular customers and 200,000 orders a week online. "
Now tesco is selling i-tunes as well. Where Tesco's lack is a robust, search friendly and navigable site. It's an example of a brand offering cheap merchandice. Saying that, I've abandoned my cart quite a few times mainly out of frustration of not finding vegetarian produce I knew they stocked. Still, I don't think Tesco and Amazon will team up as Tesco has so much to learn from Amazon I think the affiliate model (on books, electronics and esp Amazon's affiliate sellers) would be to hard for Amazon to swallow!
Monday, July 17, 2006
"Internet marketing spend reaches new high
"Internet marketing spend is reaching record highs, while traditional advertising and sales promotion budgets are being slashed across the board, according to the latest Bellwether Report.
Growth of Internet marketing continues, with 30% of companies reporting an increase to budgets against a 6% of those reporting a decrease for the second quarter of this year. The report from the of Practitioners in Advertising found that the proportion of companies allocating more than . 10% of spend to Internet marketing rose to a record high of over 17%, while the proportion of companies allocating no spend to Internet budgets fell to a record low of 11%."
Great news for online marketeers however not without a price. Of course online marketing can be effective and be measured more accurately than traditional media. The downside is many companies still expect too much in terms of ROI. A think a report focusing on ad spend over a period of time would be more insightful. For many of the companies I've come in contact with it seems they will put a lot of money in for the short term, but not the long term. Thus it could mean a lot of companies are experimenting, not in it for the long haul.
Growth of Internet marketing continues, with 30% of companies reporting an increase to budgets against a 6% of those reporting a decrease for the second quarter of this year. The report from the of Practitioners in Advertising found that the proportion of companies allocating more than . 10% of spend to Internet marketing rose to a record high of over 17%, while the proportion of companies allocating no spend to Internet budgets fell to a record low of 11%."
Great news for online marketeers however not without a price. Of course online marketing can be effective and be measured more accurately than traditional media. The downside is many companies still expect too much in terms of ROI. A think a report focusing on ad spend over a period of time would be more insightful. For many of the companies I've come in contact with it seems they will put a lot of money in for the short term, but not the long term. Thus it could mean a lot of companies are experimenting, not in it for the long haul.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Free PUSH email
"Emblaze’s emoze is reckoned to be the world’s first free downloadable ‘push’ email service for mobile devices. That means a BlackBerry-like service which delivers emails directly to the phone as soon as they are received in the user’s inbox."
Funny about this new technology - Vodafone have a new business push technology service that works cross platform and with PDA/Phones/Smartphones like the 6630/80 and P910i. If there's no set up costs I might actually try this service. It looks promising and if anything it will encourage networks to lower mobile email delivery!
Funny about this new technology - Vodafone have a new business push technology service that works cross platform and with PDA/Phones/Smartphones like the 6630/80 and P910i. If there's no set up costs I might actually try this service. It looks promising and if anything it will encourage networks to lower mobile email delivery!
Dell Keyloggers
Someone sent us this link. Either it's like super freaky or something is seriously wrong with Dell Keyboards . In effect this guy outlines the tecnical details of each component in his Dell Keyboard. Personally I thought it would have a lot more glue, toilet rolls, saw dust and maybe some electronic components.
But seriously, the author suggests there's a hard wired keylogger in Dell keyboards. He wrote off to Homeland Security to have the usual stone wall letter. Some things like this are interesting especially following Intel's previous interest in marking CPUs.
The best bit however is looking through the file directory this guy has. There's funky applications, pictures and other dross!
But seriously, the author suggests there's a hard wired keylogger in Dell keyboards. He wrote off to Homeland Security to have the usual stone wall letter. Some things like this are interesting especially following Intel's previous interest in marking CPUs.
The best bit however is looking through the file directory this guy has. There's funky applications, pictures and other dross!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Mobile Gaming Market Hot on Downloadable Titles
"Entertainment is a big driver for content consumption on mobile phones, with games a driver of the category. Thirty-nine percent of mobile subscribers play preexisting games on their phones, while 53 percent download additional titles."
This is based in the US. One of the main issues surrounding downloading games/entertainment has always been download time and connectivity. Providers of content and network could offer more headlines for free. Personally I love connectivity, but do i wanna wait 5-10 mins for a game to download? Narr....
This is based in the US. One of the main issues surrounding downloading games/entertainment has always been download time and connectivity. Providers of content and network could offer more headlines for free. Personally I love connectivity, but do i wanna wait 5-10 mins for a game to download? Narr....
Monday, July 10, 2006
Web rage turns shoppers back to the high street
"Three quarters of people now shop online, but the growing threat of ‘web rage’ could drive consumers back to the high street, according to a regional ecommerce study... irritations include websites crashing during a transaction (47 per cent), usability and complicated registration processes (47 per cent), inability to find information (46 per cent) and inability to amend orders (45 per cent)."
This was a REGIONAL web-survey. Probably most of the concerns are shared by most people so no big surprises that poorly built websites cause grief. I guess the same for poorly built cars then!
What the "survey showed that the big spenders are just as likely to live in the North as in London", but I would counter that media spending and point of sale advertising in London promotes a lot more targetted marketing. Frustration is often felt in not finding the best places to do one's shopping or unfamiliarity to smaller online brands.
This was a REGIONAL web-survey. Probably most of the concerns are shared by most people so no big surprises that poorly built websites cause grief. I guess the same for poorly built cars then!
What the "survey showed that the big spenders are just as likely to live in the North as in London", but I would counter that media spending and point of sale advertising in London promotes a lot more targetted marketing. Frustration is often felt in not finding the best places to do one's shopping or unfamiliarity to smaller online brands.
Motorola BLING V3
The V3 get's another launch of life (very good in the world of handsets) with the BLING D&G V3. Only the nokia 6230i has lived this long, but hasn't gone through any re-incarnations. Saying that if you want features go with the nokia 6230i. If you want a slim fashion phone that's bound to get you mugged or laughed at on the street - get the Bling V3.
Portals compete with Yellow Pages for Revenue
Jupiter research have inferred that portals are taking ad revenues from the likes of yellow pages etc.
"Shawn Riegsecker, the president of local media services firm Centro, disagrees. He believes content sites have no need to worry about portals dipping into their ad dollars, because they typically don't sell ads to traditional yellow pages advertisers. Content sites like local newspapers tend to attract advertisers from the real estate, jobs and autos categories, while yellow pages players rely on plumbers, restaurants and contractors, he said.
"There's no fear at all because [local media publishers] don't play in that game today in the offline world," said Reigsecker. As far as he is concerned, portal sites are "glorified yellow pages," providing listings as content rather than the more robust news and information provided by local newspaper sites and other local publishers."
I'd disaggree. For example directory sites would be better looking at agregating their content to the likes of google etc. Why? A partnership would better benefit both parties. In addition the rise of online travel (train/bus/airport) information would also be better served by aggregation. Perhaps directories should think of creating their own white page sites or better still their own localised RSS feeds. I feel that there still needs to be directory companies and although points of presence on the web (portals) will take revenue. The question is whether portals or directories offer something different. One of the most important things a consumer needs to know are things like opening hours, parking space etc. The power is with the directories. Their problem is one of adaptation and innovation to new media.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
NMA.co.uk [100% Interactive Marketing, Media, Mobile and Advertising]
"Pricerunner and 118118 offer best prices by phone
Price-comparison site PriceRunner has launched a phone and text service through directory service 118118 to enable customers to find the best value products when shopping on the high street.
From today, 118118 direct enquiry assistants will be able to give consumers information provided by PriceRunner data so they can compare prices against model numbers over the phone.
The service, called PriceFinder, will be supported by a co-branded microsite that will be available at 118118.com..."
Price-comparison site PriceRunner has launched a phone and text service through directory service 118118 to enable customers to find the best value products when shopping on the high street.
From today, 118118 direct enquiry assistants will be able to give consumers information provided by PriceRunner data so they can compare prices against model numbers over the phone.
The service, called PriceFinder, will be supported by a co-branded microsite that will be available at 118118.com..."
Monday, February 06, 2006
ClickZ Experts on ROI Marketing
ClickZ Experts on ROI Marketing: "10 E-Business Proverbs for 2006"
Sam Decker, former e-commerce and customer-centricity leader at Dell shares 10 of his infamous e-commerce proverbs.
Well, I'd say it's more 10 idioms "If you say, “The cat's out of the bag” instead of “The secret is given away,” you're using an idiom. The meaning of an idiom is different from the actual meaning of the words used. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb. Proverbs are old but familiar sayings that usually give advice."
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769301.html
Saying that.... it's still sage advice..
Sam Decker, former e-commerce and customer-centricity leader at Dell shares 10 of his infamous e-commerce proverbs.
Well, I'd say it's more 10 idioms "If you say, “The cat's out of the bag” instead of “The secret is given away,” you're using an idiom. The meaning of an idiom is different from the actual meaning of the words used. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb. Proverbs are old but familiar sayings that usually give advice."
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769301.html
Saying that.... it's still sage advice..
ClickZ Experts on ROI Marketing
ClickZ Experts on ROI Marketing: "10 E-Business Proverbs for 2006"
Sam Decker, former e-commerce and customer-centricity leader at Dell shares 10 of his infamous e-commerce proverbs.
Well, I'd say it's more 10 idioms "If you say, “The cat's out of the bag” instead of “The secret is given away,” you're using an idiom. The meaning of an idiom is different from the actual meaning of the words used. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb. Proverbs are old but familiar sayings that usually give advice."
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769301.html
Saying that.... it's still sage advice..
Sam Decker, former e-commerce and customer-centricity leader at Dell shares 10 of his infamous e-commerce proverbs.
Well, I'd say it's more 10 idioms "If you say, “The cat's out of the bag” instead of “The secret is given away,” you're using an idiom. The meaning of an idiom is different from the actual meaning of the words used. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb. Proverbs are old but familiar sayings that usually give advice."
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769301.html
Saying that.... it's still sage advice..
ClickZ Experts on ROI Marketing
ClickZ Experts on ROI Marketing: "10 E-Business Proverbs for 2006"
Sam Decker, former e-commerce and customer-centricity leader at Dell shares 10 of his infamous e-commerce proverbs.
Well, I'd say it's more 10 idioms "If you say, “The cat's out of the bag” instead of “The secret is given away,” you're using an idiom. The meaning of an idiom is different from the actual meaning of the words used. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb. Proverbs are old but familiar sayings that usually give advice."
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769301.html
Saying that.... it's still sage advice..
Sam Decker, former e-commerce and customer-centricity leader at Dell shares 10 of his infamous e-commerce proverbs.
Well, I'd say it's more 10 idioms "If you say, “The cat's out of the bag” instead of “The secret is given away,” you're using an idiom. The meaning of an idiom is different from the actual meaning of the words used. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb. Proverbs are old but familiar sayings that usually give advice."
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769301.html
Saying that.... it's still sage advice..
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
WorkZ : 5 Reasons Why Niche Content Sites Are The Way To Go
WorkZ : 5 Reasons Why Niche Content Sites Are The Way To Go: "5 Reasons Why Niche Content Sites Are The Way To Go
By Cory Threlfall
'Content Is King'... and will remain 'King' for as long as the Internet exists and is for this very reason WHY you'd be smart to build a network of these sites for yourself to profit from for years to come.
Let me ask you this... 'What do most people go online for?'
If you said 'INFORMATION' - then you are absolutely right."
Yeah, now try convincing your business this is the way to go and ermm.. run into a brick wall.
The next web development I'd like to get involved in, will be a series of custers of related microsites - content heavy for deep searchs.
This is the way to go if you're serious about SEO and online PR.
By Cory Threlfall
'Content Is King'... and will remain 'King' for as long as the Internet exists and is for this very reason WHY you'd be smart to build a network of these sites for yourself to profit from for years to come.
Let me ask you this... 'What do most people go online for?'
If you said 'INFORMATION' - then you are absolutely right."
Yeah, now try convincing your business this is the way to go and ermm.. run into a brick wall.
The next web development I'd like to get involved in, will be a series of custers of related microsites - content heavy for deep searchs.
This is the way to go if you're serious about SEO and online PR.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Telecoms.com
Telecoms.com: "O2 to offer eBay service over i-mode
UK operator O2 and marketplace website eBay announced yesterday they closed an agreement allowing O2 subscribers to access the eBay web site through the operator's i-mode service. The service launched in the UK yesterday and allows O2 subscribers to bid for goods, track the progress of an online bid or sale and access the usual eBay services through an i mode handset."
I've recently seen i-mode and I got to say I like it. Okay, it's ring fencing it's content but it's got "push" email technology.
The cool thing is you can email 4000 character emails for the price of a text. At present - it's free. The other cool thing is if you like your ringtones or games and you actually pay for them now, on i-mode you can join a portal and get so many free downloads. I spotted some atari games there as well. So if you get 2-4 free games for the max price of joining that community - you're still quids in!
UK operator O2 and marketplace website eBay announced yesterday they closed an agreement allowing O2 subscribers to access the eBay web site through the operator's i-mode service. The service launched in the UK yesterday and allows O2 subscribers to bid for goods, track the progress of an online bid or sale and access the usual eBay services through an i mode handset."
I've recently seen i-mode and I got to say I like it. Okay, it's ring fencing it's content but it's got "push" email technology.
The cool thing is you can email 4000 character emails for the price of a text. At present - it's free. The other cool thing is if you like your ringtones or games and you actually pay for them now, on i-mode you can join a portal and get so many free downloads. I spotted some atari games there as well. So if you get 2-4 free games for the max price of joining that community - you're still quids in!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Telecoms.com
Telecoms.com: "Sony Ericsson ships 51.2 mil. handsets in 2005
Telecoms.com News
18 January 2006
James Middleton, james.middleton@informa.com
Sony Ericsson today reported that net income for 2005 reached Eur356 million (US$431 million), compared to Eur316 million in 2004, while sales increased from Eur6.5 billion a year ago to Eur7.26 billion in 2005.
During 4Q05, Sony Ericsson shipped a record number of handsets - 16.1 million units, compared to 12.6 million in 4Q04 and 13.8 million in the previous quarter. The latter half of 2005 was boosted by the success of certain models, such as the Walkman branded music phones - the W800, W600, W550 and W900. Indeed, since the Walkman phone was launched in August, Sony Ericsson has shifted about 3 million units. During 2005 Sony Ericsson shipped 51.2 million devices.
During 4Q the company further strengthened it portfolio with the introduction of a number of devices covering all price points from high-end 3G products like the W900 3G Walkman phone, to mid-tier clamshell phones like the Z520 model and lower-priced models such as the J230, J210 and Z300. "
Sony are the current leader in simplier phones at present. Nokia's 60 and 70 range have been troublesome - esp with software issues. My nokia 6630 is well buggy and slow. Sony have lead the way with camera/mp3 handsets that've been very popular - k750i and W800i.
Telecoms.com News
18 January 2006
James Middleton, james.middleton@informa.com
Sony Ericsson today reported that net income for 2005 reached Eur356 million (US$431 million), compared to Eur316 million in 2004, while sales increased from Eur6.5 billion a year ago to Eur7.26 billion in 2005.
During 4Q05, Sony Ericsson shipped a record number of handsets - 16.1 million units, compared to 12.6 million in 4Q04 and 13.8 million in the previous quarter. The latter half of 2005 was boosted by the success of certain models, such as the Walkman branded music phones - the W800, W600, W550 and W900. Indeed, since the Walkman phone was launched in August, Sony Ericsson has shifted about 3 million units. During 2005 Sony Ericsson shipped 51.2 million devices.
During 4Q the company further strengthened it portfolio with the introduction of a number of devices covering all price points from high-end 3G products like the W900 3G Walkman phone, to mid-tier clamshell phones like the Z520 model and lower-priced models such as the J230, J210 and Z300. "
Sony are the current leader in simplier phones at present. Nokia's 60 and 70 range have been troublesome - esp with software issues. My nokia 6630 is well buggy and slow. Sony have lead the way with camera/mp3 handsets that've been very popular - k750i and W800i.
E-consultancy Newsletter Interviews 2005 : E-consultancy.com
E-consultancy Newsletter Interviews 2005 : E-consultancy.com: "E-consultancy Newsletter Interviews 2005"
Excellent compendium of interviews with leading experts in online marketing. It's free as wekk,
Excellent compendium of interviews with leading experts in online marketing. It's free as wekk,
Mood-sensing Cell Phone Concept Brings Seamless Mobility to Life; Earns Top Prize for Innovation in Motorola Competition
Motorola Mediacenter - Press Releases: "The Mood Phone is a truly inventive technology solution to a problem most of us wouldnt assume could be answered with a mobile device, said Padamasree Warrior, Motorolas chief technology officer. If the technology becomes reality, it would make all of our lives easier. But the most important idea here is that these college students who entered the MOTOFWRD competition have truly impressed us with their level of innovation and creativity."
Really cool invention - but does this mean if I don't top up my pay as you go phone I'm a grumpy git. I guess if I don't dial anyone I'll say - stop being stingy - cheer up. No, it is a good idea.
Really cool invention - but does this mean if I don't top up my pay as you go phone I'm a grumpy git. I guess if I don't dial anyone I'll say - stop being stingy - cheer up. No, it is a good idea.
news @ nature.com�-�Web users judge sites in the blink of an eye�-�Potential readers can make snap decisions in just 50 milliseconds.
http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060109/full/060109-13.html: "Like the look of our website? Whatever the answer (and hopefully it was yes), the chances are you made your mind up within the first twentieth of a second. A study by researchers in Canada has shown that the snap decisions Internet users make about the quality of a web page have a lasting impact on their opinions..... Of course, says Caudron, the other golden rule is to make sure that your web pages load quickly, otherwise your customers might not stick around long enough to make that coveted first impression. "That can be the difference between big business and no business,"
Most interesting article, but quite subjective. The big question would be how net-savvy are these people. My dad, bless him - could not say if a site is bad or not. With the disparity of online shopping throughout Europe and the UK being the e-commerce leader - UK users would differ from other European online shoppers. Still, other points raised in this article are of interest.
Most interesting article, but quite subjective. The big question would be how net-savvy are these people. My dad, bless him - could not say if a site is bad or not. With the disparity of online shopping throughout Europe and the UK being the e-commerce leader - UK users would differ from other European online shoppers. Still, other points raised in this article are of interest.
Monday, January 16, 2006
MediaPost Publications - Did Google Bamboozle Us? - 01/13/2006
MediaPost Publications - Did Google Bamboozle Us? - 01/13/2006: "But, no matter how much you examine all these opinions about Google and its branding effort, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone talking about how Google did it. People always seem to start their dissertations on Google's brand with the notion that the company simply built a better mouse trap. Google's far superior search results made the company indispensable for hard-core Web users, we learn. This helped the company position itself as smarter than the rest. And the lack of advertising made the company's claims of benevolence believable. Somehow, a lot of people still even believe those claims, despite their irrelevance--and growing mounds of evidence to the contrary.
Using this as a starting point in deconstructing the brand is akin to teaching Intelligent Design in schools. It's less about science than it is about faith.
I say this because what's omitted from this starting point is the fact that Google's search results have never been far superior to Yahoo's, and probably haven't been much better than MSN's or Dogpile's, for that matter. (Which may not be completely fair, since Dogpile is essentially a search engine of search engines.) So, wait a second. The very basis of this brand has little or no basis in fact? How can that be?
------------------------------
It didn't care about being first--only "better." And everything its principals said about themselves inculcated their influencers to evangelize this gospel.
Even today, this brand is expressed clearly on the company's main page, especially when it does something clever with its logo. Google speaks to us. Its products speak too, but in a very different voice. "
This is true, but from a user's point of view Yahoo! have indulged into some intrusive advertising models. In addition, their alliances with BT - which forces you to download a Yahoo! application that opens their IM and installs a lot of other stuff. For me, this ruined thier image. If I'm looking for articles, I prefer Yahoo! If I want a meta search then dogpile is the best.
Google's image is their lack of it. You don't mind passing on information if searches are better. Google exceed with providing value at the minimum of risk.
What pies google have not got their finger's into - does worry me - AOL, WIFI etc as a consumer that there should be MORE choice from search engines.
We're not seeing this. Other search engines might team up with an ISP, but on the whole 'google' like 'hoover' is a dictionary word.
As a searcher, it is an engine of choice.
The one thing it does lack is something the genome project has - looking at searches and tries to match it personally, (albeit with music). Then, it's a matter of trust. It always comes down to a matter of trust.
Using this as a starting point in deconstructing the brand is akin to teaching Intelligent Design in schools. It's less about science than it is about faith.
I say this because what's omitted from this starting point is the fact that Google's search results have never been far superior to Yahoo's, and probably haven't been much better than MSN's or Dogpile's, for that matter. (Which may not be completely fair, since Dogpile is essentially a search engine of search engines.) So, wait a second. The very basis of this brand has little or no basis in fact? How can that be?
------------------------------
It didn't care about being first--only "better." And everything its principals said about themselves inculcated their influencers to evangelize this gospel.
Even today, this brand is expressed clearly on the company's main page, especially when it does something clever with its logo. Google speaks to us. Its products speak too, but in a very different voice. "
This is true, but from a user's point of view Yahoo! have indulged into some intrusive advertising models. In addition, their alliances with BT - which forces you to download a Yahoo! application that opens their IM and installs a lot of other stuff. For me, this ruined thier image. If I'm looking for articles, I prefer Yahoo! If I want a meta search then dogpile is the best.
Google's image is their lack of it. You don't mind passing on information if searches are better. Google exceed with providing value at the minimum of risk.
What pies google have not got their finger's into - does worry me - AOL, WIFI etc as a consumer that there should be MORE choice from search engines.
We're not seeing this. Other search engines might team up with an ISP, but on the whole 'google' like 'hoover' is a dictionary word.
As a searcher, it is an engine of choice.
The one thing it does lack is something the genome project has - looking at searches and tries to match it personally, (albeit with music). Then, it's a matter of trust. It always comes down to a matter of trust.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
BT claims successful mobile TV pilot - vnunet.com
BT claims successful mobile TV pilot - vnunet.com: "BT claims successful mobile TV pilot
Participants watched TV for an average 66 minutes a week
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 12 Jan 2006
BT has released the results of its six-month mobile TV pilot in the south east of England, the largest yet conducted.
The pilot gathered data from 1,000 mobile phone users, equally split in terms of demographics within the M25 area."
I'm interested in mobile TV. However it's really only worth a go on email tablets or PDAs. I'd pay £8 PCM for a month's worth of Star Trek / Smallville or Dr Who. This rawks!
Participants watched TV for an average 66 minutes a week
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 12 Jan 2006
BT has released the results of its six-month mobile TV pilot in the south east of England, the largest yet conducted.
The pilot gathered data from 1,000 mobile phone users, equally split in terms of demographics within the M25 area."
I'm interested in mobile TV. However it's really only worth a go on email tablets or PDAs. I'd pay £8 PCM for a month's worth of Star Trek / Smallville or Dr Who. This rawks!
Nokia's attitude to mobile TV 'ridiculous' - vnunet.com
Nokia's attitude to mobile TV 'ridiculous' - vnunet.com: "Nokia's attitude to mobile TV 'ridiculous'
No detente in standards war
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 12 Jan 2006
decision to support the DVB-H mobile TV standard exclusively has been branded 'ridiculous' by one of the top five UK mobile networks."
ITV have no preference but going proprietry over broadcasting is like asking someone to pay for their TV license in rubels. GO with the flow. Nokia are loosing market share. If MTV do an exclusive in a certain format, all Nokia users will loose out.
No detente in standards war
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 12 Jan 2006
decision to support the DVB-H mobile TV standard exclusively has been branded 'ridiculous' by one of the top five UK mobile networks."
ITV have no preference but going proprietry over broadcasting is like asking someone to pay for their TV license in rubels. GO with the flow. Nokia are loosing market share. If MTV do an exclusive in a certain format, all Nokia users will loose out.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
EU OKs Telefonica To Buy UK's O2, With Conditions
EU OKs Telefonica To Buy UK's O2, With Conditions: "EU OKs Telefonica To Buy UK's O2, With Conditions
BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Commission Tuesday cleared Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA's plan to buy U.K. mobile operator O2 PLC, on condition Telefonica leave the FreeMove international roaming alliance.
After investigating the deal, the regulator found the combined companies could hurt consumers by charging too much for calls made outside their home networks, a service commonly known as roaming.
Telefonica is a member of FreeMove, where it cooperates on international phone calls with Europe's three largest network operators - France Telecom, Telecom Italia, and Deutsche Telekom. 02 is a part of the Starmap alliance, where a range of smaller telecommunications cooperate in a similar framework. "
This will hopefully shake up the UK market a bit. Telefonica's european offering may benefit. It's a pity spain don't do free minutes, only subsidised tariffs. Maybe this will benefit spanish mobile users as well.
BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Commission Tuesday cleared Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA's plan to buy U.K. mobile operator O2 PLC, on condition Telefonica leave the FreeMove international roaming alliance.
After investigating the deal, the regulator found the combined companies could hurt consumers by charging too much for calls made outside their home networks, a service commonly known as roaming.
Telefonica is a member of FreeMove, where it cooperates on international phone calls with Europe's three largest network operators - France Telecom, Telecom Italia, and Deutsche Telekom. 02 is a part of the Starmap alliance, where a range of smaller telecommunications cooperate in a similar framework. "
This will hopefully shake up the UK market a bit. Telefonica's european offering may benefit. It's a pity spain don't do free minutes, only subsidised tariffs. Maybe this will benefit spanish mobile users as well.
EU OKs Telefonica To Buy UK's O2, With Conditions
EU OKs Telefonica To Buy UK's O2, With Conditions: "EU OKs Telefonica To Buy UK's O2, With Conditions
BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Commission Tuesday cleared Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA's plan to buy U.K. mobile operator O2 PLC, on condition Telefonica leave the FreeMove international roaming alliance.
After investigating the deal, the regulator found the combined companies could hurt consumers by charging too much for calls made outside their home networks, a service commonly known as roaming.
Telefonica is a member of FreeMove, where it cooperates on international phone calls with Europe's three largest network operators - France Telecom, Telecom Italia, and Deutsche Telekom. 02 is a part of the Starmap alliance, where a range of smaller telecommunications cooperate in a similar framework. "
This will hopefully shake up the UK market a bit. Telefonica's european offering may benefit. It's a pity spain don't do free minutes, only subsidised tariffs. Maybe this will benefit spanish mobile users as well.
BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Commission Tuesday cleared Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA's plan to buy U.K. mobile operator O2 PLC, on condition Telefonica leave the FreeMove international roaming alliance.
After investigating the deal, the regulator found the combined companies could hurt consumers by charging too much for calls made outside their home networks, a service commonly known as roaming.
Telefonica is a member of FreeMove, where it cooperates on international phone calls with Europe's three largest network operators - France Telecom, Telecom Italia, and Deutsche Telekom. 02 is a part of the Starmap alliance, where a range of smaller telecommunications cooperate in a similar framework. "
This will hopefully shake up the UK market a bit. Telefonica's european offering may benefit. It's a pity spain don't do free minutes, only subsidised tariffs. Maybe this will benefit spanish mobile users as well.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Print This
"Despite its shortcomings, Nokia's new 'Internet tablet' could raise the bar for consumer-device development"
Very interesting concept. Will be a shere winner for SME businesses who connect with T-mobile web'n'walk. But - the Nokia E61 is deffo the killer Nokia for businesses in 2006. http://www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,82900,00.html
Very interesting concept. Will be a shere winner for SME businesses who connect with T-mobile web'n'walk. But - the Nokia E61 is deffo the killer Nokia for businesses in 2006. http://www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,82900,00.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
