Tag Archives: iPhone

Mobile Facebook Growing Pains

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Just how big is Facebook? As a private company it hasn’t been easy to pin that down. Now that Facebook is going public, they have released some statistics like this:

In December 2011, Facebook had more than 425m monthly active mobile users – people logging in from the company’s apps and mobile website. That is just over half of its 845m monthly active users overall.  UK Guardian

So, half of their usage comes from mobile devices. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of using Facebook on my iPhone. Everything is so shrunken down, and my big stupid fingers can’t handle it!

What I DO like about mobile Facebook is that it’s free from clutter, very simplified, and NO ADS. Well, guess what?

“Growth in use of Facebook through our mobile products, where we do not currently display ads, as a substitute for use on personal computers may negatively affect our revenue and financial results,” explains the filing. UK Guardian

85% of their revenue comes from ads on the desktop site, but only half of their users are tuning in? This will not stand!  So get ready for “Sponsored Stories” in your mobile Facebook feed. The global ad market is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2010 to $17.6 billion in 2015, and Facebook wants its slice of the pie!

The problem? We have grown used to mobile Facebook WITHOUT ads! Oh well, the only thing more popular than Facebook is complaining about Facebook!

What do you think? Read the article here.

Mobile Devices Make Traveling Easier

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“Mobile is growing over 100 percent per year. Consumers are really moving toward mobile devices for all aspects of their lives, including travel.”  Chicago Tribune

With that in mind, popular travel site Orbitz.com is preparing to beef up its mobile offerings for your iPad, iPhone and Android devices. All of the normal searching, comparing and booking of flights, motels and rental cars you do at home on your desktop will now be done on the run. The mobile address is m.orbitz.com

They will also have mobile-only discounts, called Mobile Steals, for last-minute bookings. Orbitz claims that 65% of their mobile bookings are for same-day travel needs.

So, have you used your mobile device for travel bookings? Is it convenient? Do you trust it? Better or worse than the old way? Let us know!

Mobile Consumption by the Numbers

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Yahoo has recently conducted a big study on the numbers and ways we are using our smartphones for entertainment, specifically how much time we watch mobile video. Check it out!

How many of us are using mobile web?

According to the Yahoo study, 54% are spending more time on mobile web than a year ago.

How are we using mobile web?

  • 38% of mobile consumers used the mobile Web to connect with other users.
  • 16% used mobile Web to search
  • 15% used it for entertainment

And the time spent watching video on mobile has increased nearly 30%

What kinds of entertainment?

  • 42% gaming video content
  • 34% movie clips and trailers
  • 33% full-length TV shows and movies or sports coverage
  • 32% celebrity, beauty or fashion video content on their devices
  • 14% political coverage

When?

The majority of time spent happens before 1 p.m.

Are we satisfied with what we are seeing?

Are you kidding? We’re AMERICANS! 60% of us are still looking for a better user experience and expect more!

So that’s the rundown. You’re welcome to check out the original article but, frankly, it’s a tough read! How about you? Are you using mobile web for entertainment? Has your use increased?

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

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It was just a couple of weeks ago that we were discussing Apple impresario Steve Jobs’ retirement. Now we have learned of his passing.

By no means am I in the die-hard Steve Jobs Admiration Society. Not until recently, when I worked for a company whose entire business was making accessories for Apple products, did I give Mr. Jobs much thought. But I have to say that he was a trailblazer. He didn’t just make awesome products to satisfy our needs – he anticipated our needs and invented an entire industry to meet them. In this way, he has been (rightly, I believe) likened to a modern-day Thomas Edison.

So today, that’s what I would like to focus upon, as opposed to speculating on the effect on Apple’s shares. Just yesterday, we had the first big Apple teleconference without him, and many were under-whelmed. Who knows? Maybe they were anticipating the news.

So what do you think?

iPhone Losing Its Cool?

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“There’s an interesting thing that’s going on in the market. The iPhone has become a little less cool than it was.”

Now, here at MindField we love our iPods, iPhones, iPads, you name it. We’d like to think it’s because they’re innovative, they work well (alone and together) and they have great apps. We’d like to think it’s NOT for the Apple “cool factor”…because that wouldn’t be cool somehow.

But the cool factor is a big part of it for a lot of people. Believe me, I know. I worked at a company that made cases and power accessories for Apple products. The boss would call a staff meeting. 30 people would gather around the big table, and all of them would immediately whip out their iPhones. Heck, about a third of them had iPads, too. And here I was with a dumb old Nokia flip-phone.

So when my wife’s boss was giving up his iPhone 3GS and upgrading to an iPhone 4, I jumped at his used model. Social faux pas averted! Coolness achieved!

So, when I read this article, “Has the iPhone Lost its Cool?”, I got a bit of a chuckle. Basically, it says that college kids are turning away from iPhone for one or both of the following reasons: first, if their parents love the iPhone – as parents definitely do – there must be something terribly LAME about it. Also, if you want an iPhone, you’d better be ready to lay down at least three bills for it – unless you buy a creaky old 3GS like mine! Meanwhile, nicely capable Android phones are available at a variety of price points.

Now, bear in mind, this article was based on an Android executive’s personal experience dropping his daughter off at her college dorm – so take it with a grain of salt! But what do you think? Has the iPhone lost some of its luster? Are you just as happy with an Android? Let us know!