Welcome to the 258th edition of the Carnival of the Mobilists. This week it is the turn of Martin Wilson from Mobileweb Company to provide his take on a week in mobile.
With only a few weeks to go until Mobile World Congress, the biggest event of the mobile calendar there seems to be no shortage of goings-on in our exciting industry. January has been full of stories doing the rounds. Attention seems to have largely fallen away from the carriers and appears focused on the device manufacturers and OS guys. We hear about; the demise of Nokia, a stagnation of Apple iPhone, explosive growth of Android and failings of Microsoft. What will pan out?
What is for certain 2012 is going to another interesting year in mobile, no more so than for retailers and mobile payments.
Here are some of the week’s highlights – we hope you enjoy the read.
Over at Optism, Peggy Ann Salz takes a step back and looks at the Big Picture and examines the questions posed in an even bigger debate going on in the industry: what is the value chain? And, more importantly, what is the value of apps?
“What Marketers Need To Know About Mobile Apps” – In an interview with Martin Wilson, of Mobileweb Company, we gain an insight to the biggest challenges that cripple many organisations attempts as they approach mobile: “understand and recognise that there is a value chain in the first place.” and the “continued obsession with control.” Martin argues that an app alone is not the answer.
Apps or Web? … it’s not either/or.
For those with sites with ad inventory James Coops, of mobyaffiltates, provides advice on how to increase ad fill rates:
“How To: Increase your mobile ad fill rate” – James highlights the poor fill rate issue mobile advertising is currently facing, stating “inventory is far outstripping the ad budget”.
James goes on to provide guidance on what organisations need to do to increase mobile ad fill rates and the vehicles that can support. Signing off with the advice:
…And finally – Do your research!
An interesting read as always from Ajit Jaokar, of Future Text. A call for comment and input:
“webinos – sensor based scenarios – managed service scenarios for sensor networks ..” – Ajit takes us a step further into understanding the drivers of the webinos project. The ambition; to create an Open Source platform, which will enable web applications and services to be used and shared consistently and securely over a broad spectrum of connected devices.
So how will this all work for sensor based devices (zero screen) especially in a smart cities ecosystem?
A couple of warning shots from Liron Segev, of Swift Consulting. First, don’t share company announcements unless you know the source is bona fide. Second, caution when downloading apps from non-official sources:
“My Whatsapp icons goes RED” – Liron shares frustrations on the open willingness for people to forward messages linked to services, such as those doing the rounds on ‘Whatsapp’, without checking out them out first. Liron states: “Companies such as these will never rely of their users to “pass on” information. They would make their own announcements”, so true.
Think before you forward anything to your entire contact list!
“WARNING: SMS scam on Android !” – Why users need to be aware of what they are doing when they download applications that isn’t in the official App Store or Marketplace. Sadly not all applications – or developers – have good intentions. Liron sites a case where a battery management app contains a far from transparent automatic monthly subscription charge, which can quickly run out of control and leave you almost powerless to do anything about.
Think before you download any app and ensure you read the small print!
Over at AppCircus the 2012 Mobile Premier Awards have been announced:
Mobile Premier Awards 2012 – The international showcase for the world’s latest apps. Emerging and established developers pitch their apps for a rare opportunity to compete for the best app at Mobile Premier Awards, to be held in February 2012.
Get your entries in …
Next week:
Next week’s Carnival (#259) will be created by Helen Keegan (@technokitten). If you’d like to be included in Helen’s wrap up of the week’s mobile writing, be sure to submit your posts by the end of the day, Friday 27 January to ‘mobilists(at)gmail.com’.
If you would like to host an upcoming Carnival of the Mobilists, drop Peggy Anne Salz a line.
Carnival of the mobilists : Post #258
Image: © iQoncept – Fotolia.com
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