Google Challenges Facebook Over User Address Books http://goo.gl/g8Vab

UK shoppers use smartphones to buy time. http://goo.gl/SFCOJ

Going green costs the Earth http://goo.gl/8ZjUT

U may not want to check your bank account from ur phone after all- major mobile banking app security holes uncovered http://bit.ly/aerMIX

The top 10 consumer mobile applications for 2012

From Anthony Burke at WSI Digital Marketing

We made a blog post last week on mobile marketing and mobile technology.  On the back of massive advances in mobile technlogy, marketing on mobile devices (smartphones, Ipads etc) is on the rise and presents businesses with new opportunities to market their products and services.  According to some recent research, the top 10 consumer mobile applications for 2012, as predicted by Gartner (November 2009).

The order in this list was determined by impact on consumers and industry players, considering revenue, loyalty, business model, consumer value and estimated market penetration):

• Money transfer – most services offering person-to-person transfers, using Short Message Service (SMS), signed up several million users within their first year. 
• Location-based services – Gartner predicts that the LBS user base will grow globally from 96 million in 2009 to more than 526 million in 2012.
• Mobile search – the user experience of mobile search needs to improve to drive customer loyalty and drive sales and marketing opportunities.
• Mobile browsing – 60 percent of handsets shipped in 2009 can browse the mobile Web, rising to approximately 80 percent in 2013. Therefore, the mobile Web will be a key part of most corporate B2C mobile strategies.
• Mobile health monitoring – i.e. using IT and mobile telecommunications to monitor patients remotely..
• Mobile payment – paying for goods and services over the mobile Web.
• Near-field-communication services – NFC allows contactless data transfer between devices and terminals typically to pay for transport or to cash in a mobile coupon.
• Mobile advertising – Gartner expects spending on mobile advertising to reach US$7.5 billion in 2012 from US$530.2 million in 2008.
• Mobile instant messaging – Gartner thinks users really desire Mobile IM, especially in developing markets. This presents an opportunity for mobile advertising and social networking.
• Mobile music – apart from ring tones and ring-back tones, which have turned into a multibillion-dollar service, mobile music has so far has been disappointing.

Is your business planning on how to use mobile technology to market your products and services? Are you using mobile technology to build your brand, are you using mobile technology to communicate better with your customers.  Our WSI Digital Marketing practice can help you with your planning so contact us on our Digital Marketing contact page

Worked example: Mobile Marketing for Language Schools and Tourist Attractions

reading: Inside the Google Books Algorithm http://bit.ly/d84d4h