Mobile Groove

In mobile, shift happens — often — and once again we could count on the recent Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Forum event to provide insights marketers need to know in order to navigate the tough terrain ahead. And, if you didn’t make it to Istanbul in November to hear the great speaker lineup live, Stéphanie Viriot has collected the key takeaways and connected the dots in an in-depth series of posts over at the Gemalto blog. (Be sure to check out her follow-up analysis that just went li…

The new Apple iPhone dominates the news today, but will the new model allow Apple to grow its share of ad impressions and remain ‘the’ device developers and brands need to factor into their mobile strategies?

It’s a tough one to call. New data from independent mobile ad and data platform company Millennial Media shows that Apple mobile devices certainly led the pack in Q2 2012, accounting for 31.4 percent of all impressions. The Apple iPhone was also the number one device on the Mi…

A new report from IDC is betting high on HTML5, concluding that it will be a MAJOR factor in mobile development during the next 5 to 10 years.

• By 2013, there will be more than 1 billion HTML5-capable browsers in use throughout the world, and applications for these browsers will be created by 2 million HTML Web developers.
• Over 80 percent of all mobile apps will be wholly or in part based upon HTML5 by 2015.

• SOURCE: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23480612

Mobile Moms are new force

The …

In episode #9 of M-Pulse I examine a recent report from analysis firm Ovum that claims social messaging applications cost mobile network operators US$13.9 billion in lost SMS revenue last year.

Ovum expects the decline (nearly 6 percent of total messaging revenue in 2010 and 9 percent in 2011) to continue as the popularity of messaging apps continues to grow. Ovum warns operators to rework their legacy services if they want to secure their future position in the messaging market.

How can mobile operators hold their ground? Neha Dharia, consumer analyst at Ovum and author of the report tells us collaboration, not competition is the way to succeed.

Editor’s note: This provocative guest column from Andy Bovingdon, Bango VP Product Marketing, takes a hard look at the critical questions publishers, developers and advertisers need to ask themselves as they architect truly effective mobile strategies. Should the Apple iPad, just now coming to Europe, be considered a mobile device (and therefore take a central role in mobile strategy)? Or do other factors beyond technology play a deciding role?

In the run up to launch of the iconic iPad device it’s no wonder that the topic has come up in several recent mobile marketing meetings with clients and colleagues alike. The emotional bond – even obsession – with this device is understandable. But the need for hard-nosed business realism (particularly if you are a publisher or marketer aiming to delight your particular customer base or target demographic) is much greater.

This week the Carnival of the Mobilists (COM) brings the best of mobile blogging to Volker Hirsch over at Volker on Mobile. Regular Mobilists – including Russell Buckley from MobHappy, Mark Jaffe from Mobile Mandala, Andy Favell from mobiThinking and WIP Jam — submitted a thought-provoking selection of posts.

How can/should brands monetize our passion? What happens when cloud computing shifts app development to the Web? Will Amazon have to offer us an in-store experience? And how do the mobile ad networks really stack up? Read on and find out!

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