Topaz to take the Centre Stage at WIMA 2010
WIMA 2010, the 4th Global NFC Business & Technical Developers Summit which brings together industry leaders, NFC developers, standards bodies and research and academic institutions will witness Innovition Research & Technology’s Topaz NFC tags playing a central role. The event which takes place on 20-22 April at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco also witnesses Innovision as the official sponsor of the event.
According to Innovision VP Marketing, Stephen Graham, it’s interesting to see how far NFC has come since they provided their tags to the very first NFC Competition winners back in 2007.
In his opinion, understanding of NFC technology has evolved and the competition has quickly evolved with it, to the extent that the entries are becoming increasingly advanced, wide-ranging and relevant in all aspects of life.
1020 Placecast launches ShopAlerts
1020 Placecast, location-based marketing firm has unveiled ShopAlerts which according to the firm is a new way to bring customers closer to the brands they love. The company has claimed that the service has already demonstrated promising results in trials with retail marketers across the United States.
According to Greg Sterling, Senior Analyst for Opus Research’s Internet2Go program, SMS is already a very effective marketing platform and by adding location to the proposition the companies will see even greater consumer response.
ShopAlerts is designed to work easily and efficiently within the existing marketing structure and needs of retailers.
Research unveils Mobile Industry Handbook
A research has released the ‘Worldwide Mobile Industry Handbook 2009-2014. Subscriber numbers for operators in 73 countries for the year 2007 to Q2 2009 are included in the study. It also has subscriber growth forecasts for the same countries for 2009 to 2014; quarterly mobile handset shipments 2007 to Q2 2009; and handset vendor market share 2007 to Q2 2009.
According to Portio, the handbook will enable readers to understand the value of the trillion dollar worldwide mobile industry; identify growth opportunities in key regional markets; understand the latest technology; and get a detailed insight into ARPU, churn rates, penetration and handset shipments.
The report is priced at £795 for a 1 – 5 user PDF team licence; £1,495 for a small or medium size PDF company licence; and £1,995 for a large corporate PDF unlimited licence.
Zeemote JS1 partners with ‘Works With Nokia’ Program
According to Zeemote, its JS1 Bluetooth Controller has been accepted into Nokia’s new Accessory Developer Program, ‘Works with Nokia’. Zeemote JS1 will be sold in a retail pack featuring the Works with Nokia logo through retail channel internationally, under this programme.
As per Zeemote, the JS1 Controller is seen as a perfect example of a third party accessory which helps Nokia customers find new and engaging experiences on Nokia devices.
Improv Comedy Group moved to Text
Bemoko, Mobile Internet software firm supported a unique performance on last month by award winning improvisation group, The Noise Next Door, at Winchester University. The audience participated in the show by texting in or selecting options from a specially built website before and during the performance to influence the performance.
According to Tom Livingstone, The Noise Next Door’s improv maestro and resident storyteller, the idea of a show based around texting was really exciting, especially the element of anonymity.
No-shows reduces 70% due to SMS Reminders
A Headrush Hair Salon, Global Hair Limited in Peacehaven, near Brighton, today boasts of 4,700 clients. Previously the company had been experiencing issues with client missing appointments, which created an increasing amount of spare time for the salon’s stylists and costing the business lots of money in missed revenue.
Global Hair Director Emma Fulgoney, deployed a text messaging solution from TextMagic to address the problem, which showed dramatic results.
According to her, TextMagic has improved their amount of no-show clients who may have forgotten the date and time of their appointment, therefore leaving a stylist in the salon with sometimes up to two and a half hours of down time, which is clearly bad for business and profits.
They calculate that their number of no-shows has been reduced by approximately 70% since they have been using TextMagic and they expect this number to improve further as we obtain more clients’ mobile numbers.
Quick Response Codes enter into Ireland with DRG/Scanbuy Deal
A deal has been signed between Digital Reach Group (DRG) and mobile barcode firm Scanbuy to include Quick Response (QR) codes alongside print ads, editorial content and on packaging and merchandise displays in Ireland.
According to DRG CEO, Colm Grealy, with mobile Internet and Smartphones becoming the norm, there is an increasing expectation from the public to be able to get the information they have on the Internet at home straight to their handset quickly and with no fuss.
The service they are bringing to Ireland will truly integrate mobile Internet browsing into consumer’s daily lives.
The service is aimed at advertisers, ad agencies, retailers and traditional media publishers. QR Codes can also be bought as an add-on to traditional ad campaigns, packaging and merchandise displays.
In the opinion of Scanbuy CEO, Jonathan Bulkeley, the proliferation of Internet-equipped phones gives advertisers a tremendous opportunity to reach a sizable and engaged audience.
With mobile codes, the offline and online worlds can now be easily bridged. A scan of a print ad will instantly take people directly to a supporting website and the opportunities are endless from there.
Mobile Distillery unveils Celsius V6
Mobile application development technology provider Mobile Distillery has launched the latest version of its flagship product, Celsius V6. This app aims to meet the needs of large corporations, who want to reach their customers or employees through mobile phones.
This version includes automatic porting to native code for the user interface on iPhone and Android, in addition to existing target platforms (BlackBerry, Java ME, Windows Mobile, Brew).
According to Mobile Distillery Chief Technical Officer, Razmig Sarkissian, Celsius V6 allows corporations to concentrate on their applications rather than on mobile phone complexity and fragmentation, freeing them up to develop their ‘go mobile’ strategy.
Chorus services to come into effect in 90 Countries
Over 90 new countries now have Chorus application of envIO networks. Chorus has been designed to help users cut through the clutter by tapping into the people they trust most-their friends.
The app enables users to connect with their friends to see the apps they’re using, which apps they rate highly, and to stay up-to-date on the hottest new apps available.
In addition to recommendations from friends, Chorus aggregates opinions of leading experts via its ‘AppMavens’ service.
According to envIO networks CEO, Manish Jha, the company has received numerous requests from Chorus fans in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia. In his opinion, Chorus users invite their friends and are active and engaged, helping shape a whole new community around shared discovery.
Harrison to Aid Oxygen8 Growth Plans
The global micro-billing, communications and mobile enablement firm, Oxygen8 Communication has appointed James Harrison as UK Sales Manager, as part of the company’s strategy to grow its business activities by 60% over the next two years. Harrison will be looking after the sales and business development strategy of Oxygen8.
According to Harrison, customers like the fact that they can come to Oxygen8 for a full range of end-to-end services, including sales, account management, support, technical assistance and compliance advice. In his opinion, the breadth and scope of the company offering means that they are ideally positioned to help companies exploit the potential of mobile, web and voice services in order to generate new revenues and improve customer engagement.
Before this, Harrson served as National Sales Manager at Mainline Digital Communications, the UK’s largest distributor of Orange mobile phones in the B2B sector.
