Mobile Groove

Is voice the new battlefield as companies (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nuance) jockey for position to control the voice interface and our personal search and assistance experiences? Roberto Pieraccini, industry veteran and author of new book The Voice in the Machine, looks and the evolution of voice in computing and communications and maps out the future of mobile voice and beyond.

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If you watch Kubrick’s 1968 classic movie “2001 A Space Odyssey” today, you will certainly notice that ma…

How and why should brands and marketers take advantage of the unique characteristics of mobile to connect with us at the moments we need them most? Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group, a leading integrated advertising and marketing communications agency, tells why marketers need to think beyond reaching a target audience.

As Rory sees it: The real power of mobile is context. It allows brands to interact with people during  target moments (I need something now), target moods (I want s…

How do mobile operators across the Asia Pacific region view increasing competition from banks, credit card companies and mobile payments middlemen? What is driving mobile operators to mobile marketing and advertising strategies? Why is personalization a primary focus across mobile operator app stores and storefronts?

These are just a few of the questions examined in the new report Fighting Smart: Using Value-Added Services To Create Lasting Customer Loyalty. The report — written by MobileGroove and commissioned by Amdocs Interactive — is based on a survey of 120 telecom executives at major mobile operators across Asia Pacific conducted by market research firm Coleman Parkes.

Give digital natives what they want? It’s not an option; it’s a business imperative. These tech-savvy, empowered individuals (your customers, community members and employees) have grown up with the Internet and an abundance of applications designed to give them more of a say in how they create, access and enjoy content. (And don’t forget that truly valuable advertising combines a sales pitch with useful content — recipes, advice, etc.)

The advance of mobile takes this all to a new level, taking natives’ natural inclinations to interact to a new extreme. Mobile enables instant self-expression and turns up the pressure on companies and brands to deliver their marketing message via a two-way conversation within the context of what matters most to digital natives: their lives, their experiences, their networks, and their worlds. But delivering a message doesn’t make for a conversation; marketers also have listen to what digital natives have to say. Connect the dots, and it’s clear that permission marketing has earned a central spot in the mobile marketing mix.

Is your company driving more personalized mobile content discovery and content sharing, making it easier for us all to find, purchase and popularize mobile content? If the answer is ‘yes,’ then stand up and be counted. You have three more days to submit your entry to the Meffys. Now in their 8th year, the Meffys are the industry’s most coveted awards, honoring innovation and achievements across mobile content and commerce.

The deadline for entries was extended to May 6 due to popular demand, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to showcase your service and have it viewed by the top journalists and analysts who sit on the judges panel.

If your company is shortlisted, then you can count on being center stage at the annual gala event (and top of mind with the hundreds of leading industry execs and decision-makers who attend the ceremony each year). TV personality, comedienne and author Ruby Wax will host the 2011 Meffys Gala Awards Dinner (July 7) at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London’s Covent Garden.

There’s a sea change underway shaping the way we all communicate. No longer limited to a specific device, people enjoy the freedom to seamlessly network with friends and co-workers, watch videos, share photos, or generally wander the Net 24×7 – wherever and whenever they choose. NewBay’s Steve French maps out the new landscape and impact on all the players — particularly mobile operators and device makers.

Today’s rich communication experience doesn’t just transform how we connect and communicate with our friends, families and social networks. It also encourages us to create and share content, including user- generated content (UGC) and premium content. At the other end of the spectrum, content delivery and social networking have converged with developments in cloud-based storage, device innovation and the advance of ubiquitous broadband to enable new experiences that were not possible in the past.