George Dearing dot com

According to Mplayit's report, about one-third of users across all the major mobile platforms (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry) are interested in paid apps. iPhone users are the most willing to pay for some of their apps (57%), followed by BlackBerry users (33%). Android users are the least likely to be interested in paid apps (16%).

While Jive and Lithium are the ones mentioned in this Wall Street Journal piece, Telligent also has a strong story when it comes to the integration of mobile environments and things like online forums and groups.

A good example, and one the WSJ briefly alludes to, is having the capability to use email to push messages back and forth to a customer's online forums. But that scenario isn't just a no-brainer for external communities. It's also big when you're introducing online applications inside the firewall to a group of new users. By allowing a company's employees to use their mobile phones, you don't have to disrupt the way they're communicating today.

We typically set up groups internally and users can create and receive updates on their mobile devices when new information is available. As users get comfortable with that approach, they'll often move to more sophisticated subscription options like RSS feeds or personalized widgets.

While I'd rarely be against the development of a full-blown iPhone app in this context, I think the way mobile's evolving, most access will be browser-based.

Dedicated applications will bring their own merit though, perhaps providing offline access, exclusive content and the "official" brand feel that a richer client app might provide. Either way, the mantra should be flexibility. If your customer can't tell your online forum is anchored to your website, that's probably a good thing.

And you thought location, location, location was only prevalent in real estate.
--------------
“We’re selling shovels at the beginning of a gold rush,” is how co-founder Matt Galligan put it on a call today. “You want to add location, just come to us — it’s done.” Though four-person SimpleGeo still measures its age in months, it already has a price sheet: free, $399/month for small businesses and $2,499/month for custom implementations. Galligan said he expects to announce a funding round soon."

Note to self..get rid of the useless apps...delete.

"Now, Localyte is furthering its mobile strategy by launching PocketSherpa, a free iPhone app that integrates its online platform onto a mobile device, letting travelers access local guides and information (from WikiTravel) on the go."

It's amazing how far the U.S is behind in mobile payments. I don't really go to Starbucks but I'm certainly interested in how this plays out. There's big implications for brands, especially as their experiences move to the handset.
I can see all sorts of mashups spawning from the convergence of location-based services, micropayments and of course social networking.

"Verizon is the second-largest carrier in terms of mobile data, edging past China Mobile and closing in on NTT DoCoMo, which had revenues of $8 billion."

Good presentation from MacManus and company at ReadWriteWeb. The real-time web gets me the most excited albeit mobile computing (web) is a close second. And though I'm not ready to declare "next year" as mobile's year, it certainly appears the industry is in a fast change mode. You can thank Apple's iPhone and AppStore for much of that.

It's really good to see ride sharing picking up steam. OpenRide has the right approach..keep the the interfaces open and flexible enough to scale it across disparate platforms as different applications emerge.
----------------------------------------------------------
"OpenRide links mobile terminals with navigation and route planning software to automatically organize ridesharing opportunities,” explains Dr. Matthias Flügge, project manager at FOKUS. The mobile ridesharing center is particularly suitable for last-minute journeys in towns and cities. “The system opens up a new market because there is no provision at present for the typical spontaneous and shorter trips that take place in local everyday traffic,” says Flügge. “We are using device-independent technologies in order to make the service available to as many users as possible,” adds Anna Kress, technical director of OpenRide."

AdMob surveyed more than 1,000 iPhone, iPod touch and Android users and here's what they found:
---------------------------------------------------
• Android and iPhone users download approximately 10 new apps a month, while iPod touch owners download an average of 18 per month
• More than 90 percent of Android and iPhone OS users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device instead of their computer
• Upgrading from the lite version was the top reason given when users were asked what drives them to purchase a paid app
• iPhone and iPod touch users are twice as likely to purchase paid apps than Android users.
• Users who regularly download paid apps spend approximately $9 on an average of five paid downloads per month
-------------------------------------------

The stat showing 90% of users look for apps directly from their mobile device is significant because it's that use case that can increase adoption and stimulate sales for the non-mobile app.

A few examples are DropBox, Evernote, Remember The Milk and Box.net. Without my exposure to the iPhone version, chances are I wouldn't have upgraded to the full blown version. Increasingly, we all want to move back and forth between our desktop and mobile environments.

With that comes the desire to have things in sync and generally accessible with the same interfaces we're used to. As you develop your service or product, think about how those two environments need to complement each other. A consistent user experience, and one that extends to mobile, will certainly increase your chances to build brand and generate some revenue.