Archive for June 2011
Social Media Necklaces
Oh, why not.
ILIKE SILVER PENDANT The Internet has inspired artists, designers, fashion catwalks and museums, and certainly has been an inspiration for Lysander Follet’s iLIKE Silver Pendant. For a round of Facebook-inspired jewelry, young French designer Lysander Follet from French studio Minigorille has created a pendant that is fully handmade out of silver 925. It’s a limited edition, 30-piece pendant made in Lyon, France that may look familiar to some of you social network lovers out there. That’s right, the design is formed in the shape of the “Facebook Like” button icon that you use every day. For lovers of the largest social network in the world, here is an original jewelry gift to offer or to be offered. This limited edition iLIKE Silver Pendant is available at selective shops around the world. Published: Jun 27, 11 • References: minigorille and viacomit.net
Taken from Trend Hunters
Nielsen says: In US, Smartphones Now Majority of New Cellphone Purchases
June 30, 2011
Source: blog.nielsen.com and GiGaOm
Apple iOS up, Android flat, RIM down among recent acquirers.
Smartphones continue to grow in popularity. According to Nielsen’s May survey of mobile consumers in the U.S., 38 percent now own smartphones. And 55 percent of those who purchased a new handset in the past three months reported buying a smartphone instead of a feature phone, up from 34 percent just a year ago.
Android continues to be the most popular smartphone operating system, with 38 percent of smartphone consumers owning Android devices. However, while Android also leads among those who recently purchased a new smartphone, it is the Apple iPhone that has shown the most growth in recent months.
Angry Birds finally launches on Windows Phone
As I have been reporting on gaming earlier, here’s an other one, slightly bigger most probably.
It’s been a long time coming but the Rovio’s Angry Birds has finally launched on Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, hitting the marketplace as a paid download costing $2.99.
We originally reported that the popular franchise was coming to Windows Phone handsets back in February, noting an April launch. At the time Microsoft confirmed that the game, among other popular applications, would be launching on April 6th.
However, the release of Angry Birds for the Windows Phone 7 platform was pushed back more than a month to June 29th – which, of course, is today.
Microsoft had previously promised that the game would be ready for launch on May 25th but the company waited until the official release date was close to announce the delay, so it could have been that Rovio, was unsure of the delay until just days before the launch.
Microsoft has said that the title has automatically been added to its “Must Have Games” section on its website and is available for download for $2.99 via the Windows Phone Marketplace or Zune application.
Eneco launches her first iPhone app: Solar Shooter
Although I am not much of a gamer, I’d like your attention for this nice one the Dutch energy producer ENECO has launched: Solar Shooter. Oneshoe, the Dutch interactive and mobile forerunner with a crush for new technology, has developed the game. Why not take a shot via iPhone app store or through the QR at the end of the Dutch text. The game is in English so that will not be much of a problem.
Eneco lanceert haar eerste iPhone App: ‘Solar Shooter’
Solar Shooter is een iPhone game, ontwikkeld door het Nederlandse bedrijf One Shoe mobile in opdracht van Eneco, als Nederlandse energieleverancier. Deze vrolijke laagdrempelige iPhone game, met een vette knipoog naar duurzaamheid, is sinds vandaag geschikt voor alle leeftijden. Behaalde scores kunnen worden gedeeld op Facebook. De game is door iedereen met een iPhone iOS 4.0 of hoger gratis te downloaden.
Waarom een app?
Het gebruik van mobiel (internet) neemt een enorme vlucht. Eneco gelooft dat mobiel ook een belangrijke rol gaat spelen in de communicatie met haar klanten. Het komende jaar wil Eneco diverse functionaliteiten, zoals het beheersen van je energiekosten, aan gaan bieden via mobiele applicaties. Met de relatief eenvoudige game Solar Shooter wil Eneco nu leren door te doen om straks complexere applicaties eenvoudiger te kunnen realiseren en introduceren.
Eneco heeft voor deze app gekozen voor de iPhone iOS als platform, omdat dit het meest gebruikte apparaat is op het gebied van mobiel internet en applicaties zoals games. Het concept van de applicatie is met een dikke knipoog gerelateerd aan de dienstverlening van Eneco, namelijk het leveren van duurzame energie.
Wat is Solar Shooter?
In de game is de fictieve Mr. Watson uitvinder van elektriciteit. Hij merkt op dat hij zijn monopoliepositie hierop echter aan het verliezen is. Aan wie? Aan ‘Sunny Solar’, het zonnepaneeltje dat elektriciteit opwekt met behulp van de zon. Sunny moet Mr. Watson stoppen, voordat hij de wereld verovert met energie slurpende apparaten. Mr. Watson geeft zich niet heel snel gewonnen. Hij stapt in zijn vliegtuig en laat diverse apparaten, de zogenoemde ‘enemies’ van Sunny, vanuit zijn vliegtuig naar beneden vallen. Na deze korte introductie kun je de game gaan spelen.
De Game
Het verhaal speelt zich af in een huis en als speler ben je het karakter ‘Sunny Solar’. Sunny moet diverse levels in de vorm van een woonkamer, badkamer en keuken doorlopen. In elke kamer moet je weer diverse sublevels spelen die van een niveau 1 tot en met 10 steeds moeilijker worden. In iedere nieuw level komen er andere apparaten naar beneden die Sunny met de ‘Solar particles’ kapot moet schieten. Sommige apparaten laten na het kapot schieten een object vallen. Er zijn zes verschillende objecten binnen de categorieën ‘power-up’ en ‘power-down’. Objecten onder de categorie ‘power-up’ geven Sunny een positief effect waardoor Sunny bijvoorbeeld twee solar particles kan schieten. Objecten onder de categorie ‘power-down’ geven Sunny een negatief effect waardoor de schietkracht van Sunny bijvoorbeeld minder wordt. Het is uiteraard de bedoeling om de positieve objecten te pakken en de negatieve objecten te ontwijken.
Upgrades
Als je genoeg punten weet te scoren kun je Sunny Solar een upgrade geven voor extra schietkracht. Hierdoor kun je de apparaten verderop in de game gemakkelijker uitschakelen. De shop voor de upgrades is te vinden in de gang van het huis.
Bediening
De game is te bedienen door Sunny Solar met je vinger van links naar rechts te bewegen. Door met je vinger op Sunny Solar te tikken kun je meerdere malen achter elkaar schieten.
Het doel
Uiteindelijk is het streven om met zo min mogelijk schoten alle kamers en levels uit te gaan spelen. Je score wordt bepaald op nauwkeurigheid en de behaalde punten, waar er weer bonus punten behaald kunnen worden door je nauwkeurigheid van schieten. Gebruik dus zo min mogelijk energie van Sunny om Mr. Watson en zijn apparaten te verslaan!
Wat wil Eneco bereiken?
Eneco wil ervaring opdoen met markteting via “onbekende” en nieuwe kanalen, zoals bijvoorbeeld de iPhone App Store. Daarnaast hoopt Eneco natuurlijk dat de Solar Shooter iPhone applicatie enthousiast ontvangen wordt en dat veel mensen de app gaan downloaden en spelen.
Download Solar Shooter via de iPhone App Store of scan deze QR code:
Mobile gambling doubles to $65.7M in 2010: study – Mobile Commerce Daily – Research
Revenue from mobile gambling in Britain more than doubled to $65.8 million in 2010, showing that consumers are increasingly playing games on their mobile devices.
The study was conducted by IHS Screen Digest. In addition to revenue, the study also found that mobile gambling applications boosted engagement over the past year.
“This study shows just how much the gambling industry is growing, not only with gambling but with the mobile industry as well,” said Ronan De Renesse, senior analyst and head of mobile at IHS Screen Digest.
IHS Screen Digest is a research, publishing and consulting company located in Englewood, CO.
Gamble on mobile
The study shows that 13 percent of British consumers use mobile gambling apps, compared to 9 percent in 2007.
In particular, gambling organization such as Blue Square attributed 20 percent of its revenue from mobile gambling in 2010, up 300 percent from 2009.
Additionally, the study found that in the next couple of years, mobile gambling is expected to increase the average user’s online revenue by 10 to 20 percent.
According to the study, the rise in revenue is due to location-based services. Users can now bet on games anywhere while on the go. Consumers can also watch more live-streaming games, which makes it easier for them to bet on.
“The strongest trend our study found was just meeting needs of mobile gambling consumers,” Mr. De Renesse said.
“The increase in mobile gambling usage shows that mobile is becoming an undeniably important part of companies’ strategies,” he said.
“By increasing their reach, they are improving the way that users can be reached while on the move with mobile phones.”
via Mobile gambling doubles to $65.7M in 2010: study – Mobile Commerce Daily – Research.
Mobile Marketing Watch | The Pulse Of The Mobile Marketing Community
Despite the insistent – but ultimately incorrect – predictions by some, it no longer appears that Google has given up on its social networking ambitions by any stretch of the imagination.
Called the Google+ project, the Internet search giant has raised the curtain on a beta version of a social networking platform that makes it possible for users to be more selective in their social networking.
via Mobile Marketing Watch | The Pulse Of The Mobile Marketing Community.
Mobile key ingredient needed to encourage consumer purchasing – Mobile Commerce Daily – Multichannel retail support
With the recession and current state of the economy, consumers are less inclined to spend online or in-store. However, mobile presents an opportunity for brands to drive sales and customer loyalty through unique experiences, per industry experts.
Brands should look at mobile strategically and include valuable features in the consumer experience. Companies need to feature tools such as store locators, store check-ins, product discovery through bar code scanning, promotion discovery through QR code scanning, timely and relevant local offers through push notifications and even store exit surveys, all done within the retailer’s rich
“Brands are driving sales and customer loyalty by engaging consumers through unique mobile optimized experiences,” said Holly Krenek, marketing manager at Digby, Dallas.
“It is not about taking the tactical approach of cutting and pasting an ecommerce site to mobile site as it limits the retailer’s ability to create rich, engaging and location based offers and promotions,” she said.
“By providing consumers with valuable and rich experiences, consumers feel encouraged on a deeper level to shop from their mobile devices anywhere at anytime helping brands increase sales via mobile, build a community of lifelong loyal customers and learn about customer buying behavior while in the store.”
Read on via Mobile key ingredient needed to encourage consumer purchasing – Mobile Commerce Daily – Multichannel retail support.
It’s time to touch your photos with Flickr Studio 3
Flickr Studio for iPad is one of those apps that has moved far beyond its initial purpose: conceived as a basic Flickr viewer, it has now transformed into a full fledged Flickr browsing, uploading and editing experience.
For its upcoming 3.0 release, the biggest challenge was to improve the interface with the basic idea that no GUI elements should ever overlap a photo.
Flickr Studio started out as a simple photo viewing app, a window on the millions of quality photographs that live in the Flickr sphere. But in just under 10 months it has evolved to be much more than just an iPad interface to Flickr.
“When I started out”, says app creator Robin van Mourik, “I was fed up with constantly syncing all my photos to my iPad, with no way to search through them. Since I have all my photos on Flickr, a native Flickr app for my iPad seamed like a dream app for me to create. As I got more and more excited about the possibilities the app has seen a burst of features in less than a years time”.
Continue via It’s time to touch your photos with Flickr Studio 3 at Dutch Daily News
Rumor: Baidu’s Android-based MobileOS coming by end of year – TNW Asia
TechWeb suggests that China’s biggest search engine, Baidu, is developing its own Android-based Mobile OS called Qiushi, which will be released by year-end with hopes of dominating the Chinese market by going super local.
While it reinforces the rumor of Baidu’s search-focused light operating system for mobile devices that was revealed a couple of months back, the company continues to deny it by referring to Qiushi as a mobile ad product.
“Mobile internet is an important component of our future strategies. Baidu is hoping to play a key role in the mobile internet field, partnering with operators, content producers, mobile vendors and software developers to push forward the industry development,” said Baidu VP Ren Xuyang.
Creating its own mobile OS would definitely support this vision by seamlessly integrating the different mobile services of Baidu, including its mobile input method, service aggregator, maps, browser and search.
This does not exactly bode well for Apple as China has always been dependent on homegrown, local Internet sites and services.
via Rumor: Baidu’s Android-based MobileOS coming by end of year – TNW Asia.
Awesome pictures of the Nokia N9, published on Dutch Mobile Cowboys
The pretty great Dutch blog Mobile Cowboys has published these pictures of the new Nokia N9. For me the whole charade has the same ‘je ne sais quoi’ as when the first iPhone was introduced; a rare moment of wanting to live in a country where the machine will be introduced within the connotation of time of a dwarvy child: SOON.
So, hopefully with permission of the cowboys, here are thye pics:
