Sunday, May 13, 2012
Buckley on Technology: Search goes social at Bing: 4 "must see" links fr...
Buckley on Technology: Search goes social at Bing: 4 "must see" links fr...: I've spent a great deal of time over the course of the past several months talking about the search industry’s ongoing efforts to stay c...
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Digital Wallet Use in the US Exceeds 35%
More than a third of mobile users in the US using some form of digital wallet in this piece by MediaPost.
More than a third (37%) of mobile consumers have used some type of “mobile wallet” service in the last three months, according to new findings from location-based mobile ad company JiWire. The report appeared to define the term loosely as any type of mobile payment made at the point of sale.
Of those who have not used mobile wallet services, 8% said they would like to, and 14% didn’t know what a mobile wallet is. The JiWire data roughly corresponds to a December 2011 report from comScore showing that 38% of smartphone owners had used their phones to make some kind of purchase.
A recent poll of mobile experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 65% expect most people to have fully adopted use of smart-device swiping as their everyday means of paying by 2020. Previous Pew research showed that more than one-third of smartphone owners have used their phones to do online banking services like paying bills or checking a balance, and that 46% of apps users have purchased an app through a mobile device.
Still, there is debate surrounding how quickly mobile wallets will catch on widely. Google, for instance, was said to be considering a revamp of its approach that would include revenue sharing with partners Verizon and AT&T to help spur adoption of its Google Wallet app.
Separately, the JiWire report indicated that half (49%) of mobile users comparison shopped via mobile while in retail stores during the first quarter. Furthermore, 15% compared prices to the store’s own Web site, and 13% searched for mobile coupons. People between the ages of 25 and 44, and men (53%) are most likely to check prices via mobile while shopping.
Tablet owners were twice as likely as non-owners to comparison shop in-store and purchase on a mobile device instead, at 10% versus 5%. Nearly half (47%) of smartphone users have a tablet, up from 32% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
JiWire, which serves ads to more than 30,000 Wi-Fi locations in North America, also looked at usage by C-level officers. It found that 70% use location-based apps on a weekly or daily basis, and more than half of business executives use apps on a daily basis regardless of position or company size.
Travel, weather and social networking apps are the most commonly used types for business travelers. For the same group, booking reservations is the most important service while on the go, followed by finding nearby business services.
Almost half of JiWire’s audience is now connecting to the network via smartphones (31%) or tablets (14%). The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch remain the top three device, although the iPhone was the only one of Apple devices to gain ground in the first quarter, up 2.3%. Android was the only smartphone platform to see an increase in users, growing 3.2%.
The JiWire findings are based on data from 315,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as surveying more than 5,000 randomly-selected customers across its Wi-Fi media network between January and March.
Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/174101/jiwire-37-of-cell-owners-using-mobile-wallet-s.html?edition=46583#ixzz1uIlp0o7B
JiWire: 37% Of Cell Owners Using 'Mobile Wallet' Services (by Mark Walsh)
More than a third (37%) of mobile consumers have used some type of “mobile wallet” service in the last three months, according to new findings from location-based mobile ad company JiWire. The report appeared to define the term loosely as any type of mobile payment made at the point of sale.
Of those who have not used mobile wallet services, 8% said they would like to, and 14% didn’t know what a mobile wallet is. The JiWire data roughly corresponds to a December 2011 report from comScore showing that 38% of smartphone owners had used their phones to make some kind of purchase.
A recent poll of mobile experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 65% expect most people to have fully adopted use of smart-device swiping as their everyday means of paying by 2020. Previous Pew research showed that more than one-third of smartphone owners have used their phones to do online banking services like paying bills or checking a balance, and that 46% of apps users have purchased an app through a mobile device.
Still, there is debate surrounding how quickly mobile wallets will catch on widely. Google, for instance, was said to be considering a revamp of its approach that would include revenue sharing with partners Verizon and AT&T to help spur adoption of its Google Wallet app.
Separately, the JiWire report indicated that half (49%) of mobile users comparison shopped via mobile while in retail stores during the first quarter. Furthermore, 15% compared prices to the store’s own Web site, and 13% searched for mobile coupons. People between the ages of 25 and 44, and men (53%) are most likely to check prices via mobile while shopping.
Tablet owners were twice as likely as non-owners to comparison shop in-store and purchase on a mobile device instead, at 10% versus 5%. Nearly half (47%) of smartphone users have a tablet, up from 32% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
JiWire, which serves ads to more than 30,000 Wi-Fi locations in North America, also looked at usage by C-level officers. It found that 70% use location-based apps on a weekly or daily basis, and more than half of business executives use apps on a daily basis regardless of position or company size.
Travel, weather and social networking apps are the most commonly used types for business travelers. For the same group, booking reservations is the most important service while on the go, followed by finding nearby business services.
Almost half of JiWire’s audience is now connecting to the network via smartphones (31%) or tablets (14%). The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch remain the top three device, although the iPhone was the only one of Apple devices to gain ground in the first quarter, up 2.3%. Android was the only smartphone platform to see an increase in users, growing 3.2%.
The JiWire findings are based on data from 315,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as surveying more than 5,000 randomly-selected customers across its Wi-Fi media network between January and March.
Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/174101/jiwire-37-of-cell-owners-using-mobile-wallet-s.html?edition=46583#ixzz1uIlp0o7B
Augmented Reality Dynamic Modeling
Great use of Augmented Reality - example of dynamic modeling in 3D (via Mashable)
Augmented Reality Sandbox Simulates Water in Real Time [VIDEO]
In one of the coolest examples of augmented reality use we’ve seen, researchers at UC Davis have created an AR sandbox which overlays a real-time, virtual, colored topographic map on sand surface.
As you change the actual topography of the sandbox, creating mountains, basins and riverbeds, a Kinect 3D camera combined with a projector overlay it with a virtual layer of visual information, including flowing water which adheres to the terrain configuration you’ve created.
It works in real time, meaning you can — for example — connect a body of water and a dry basin with a channel and see it fill with water.
The project is powered by a PC with an Intel Core i7 CPU and a Geforce 580 graphics processing unit, with the GPU doing most of the heavy work.
The final goal for the project is to create a self-contained AR system which could be used for educational purposes, for example as an exhibit in science museums.
#ar #augmentedreality #innovation #3D
Friday, May 4, 2012
Research: Control & Empowerment Driving Mobilized Era of 'Extreme Shopping'
Mobile devices facilitating consumer knowledge and driving shopping behavior via MediaPost.
Study: Control And Empowerment Driving Mobilized Era of 'Extreme Shopping' by Steve Smith
According to a new research report from GfK, half of smartphone and tablet owners use their devices for price comparisons while shopping. The mobilized consumer has become a new, highly informed and empowered shopping force in the retail arena, and people are using their mobile tools to achieve a sense of control over the purchase process. The most mobilized of shoppers are leveraging their device at every key stage of the purchase process, from research to peer recommendations, value-seeking to the purchase itself.Not only are half of advanced device owners using them for shopping now, but 44% are looking for coupon opportunities on the devices and 17% have already purchased a product via mobile platforms. Clearly, this m-shopper class is also fully engaged in social networks as part of the process, since a third of smartphone or tablet owners have “liked” a retail brand on Facebook.
According to GfK, this new process of “extreme shopping” is being driven by a greater sense of control. Owners of smartphones and tablets say they feel “more in control than ever before” of the shopping experience, because these devices help them choose the best products, shop more efficiently and find a broader range of information sources.
The often-discussed but rarely quantified phenomenon of mobile “showrooming” is quite real, the GfK research shows. About a quarter of respondents said they have scoped out products in physical retail venues only to make their purchase of them online and via their smartphone.
GfK says the mobilized “extreme shopper” is not only affecting the bigger-ticket items that seem to require deeper research. “Our research shows that the mobile trend is substantially impacing food and beverage, health and beauty, and even lawn and garden,” says Rob Barrish, SVP Digital Technology, GfK, who presented the research this week at The Market Research Technology Event in Las Vegas.
Younger mobile users are the driving force toward Extreme Shopping. GfK finds that among 18- to-34-year-olds, 34% report using a smartphone or tablet to engage shopping, compared to only 10% of the 50-to-65 segment.
GfK analysts argue that the challenge to retailers can be embraced as an opportunity to deepen relationships. Brands need to facilitate the learning process and help consumers achieve greater efficiencies and sense of new empowerment in the marketplace that “extreme shoppers” appear to enjoy. GfK argues that the segment of people who are “extreme shoppers” today will be the typical consumer in coming years.
The GfK research was based on 1,088 interviews in mid-March of this year.
Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/173929/study-control-and-empowerment-driving-mobilized-e.html?edition=46464#ixzz1tvEj8IB2
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Great piece on smartphone penetration and content consumeption via eMarketer
The ‘Smartphone Class’: Always On, Always Consuming Content
MAY 2, 2012Consuming content in frequent, small portions means more touchpoints for marketers
Armed with fast, high-powered smartphones, a new class of consumers, 100 million strong and growing, is rerouting the path to purchase and redefining cultural norms in the US.
Members of the “smartphone class” stand apart from other Americans in the way they shop, communicate, consume media—even how they use their spare time. Its members define themselves by their connectedness and their sense of empowerment through unfettered access to real-time information.
“What others do with a PC, they do with their smartphones,” said Catherine Boyle, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “The Smartphone Class: Connected Consumers Transform US Commerce and Culture.” “Their phone is their workplace, entertainment center and their marketplace. They watch videos in coffee shops, social network at concerts, play games in waiting rooms, scan barcodes in stores and shop with their smartphone from anywhere at any time. Their behaviors are rerouting the traditional path to purchase and they are proving to the rest of America that spare moments can be productive ones, too.”
eMarketer estimates nearly 116 million Americans will use a smartphone at least monthly by the end of this year, up from 93.1 million in 2011. By 2013, they will represent over half of all mobile phone users, and by 2016, nearly three in five consumers will have a smartphone.
The smartphone class is not defined by age, gender, income or race. Instead it is defined by its members’ shared behaviors. Understanding the common behavioral traits that unite the class makes members easy to recognize and underscores the influence this class of consumers is having on how Americans communicate, consume media and shop.
One of those behaviors is to always be “snacking.” The smartphone class doesn’t tolerate dull moments; members turn to their phones for instant gratification. Depending on their mood in the moment, gratification might mean completing a quick task or finding a fun distraction. For marketers, this rising content consumption means an increasing number of touchpoints where they can reach consumers. eMarketer forecasts double-digit growth in mobile gaming as well as music and video consumption among the smartphone class through 2015.
“Snacking on mobile in small amounts throughout the day can be as lucrative to brands as it is gratifying to members of the smartphone class,” said Boyle. “The five minutes grazing on news in the morning, the 15 minutes playing a game at lunch and the two minutes watching a video at the grocery store are all opportunities for marketers to get a message across or close a sale.
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