Showing posts with label mobile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mobile. Show all posts

What Is Mobile Internet?

What Is Mobile Internet?
We can access the internet from (almost) anywhere these days. With our computers, laptops, phones and tablets. Can you believe that it was only the late 90s that mobile phones became popular? The fast moving mobile technology world is evolving faster than a lot of us can keep up with.

Now we can make video calls to the other side of the world with Skype on our iPads, we can download music onto our iPhones, we can take photos and paste them onto Facebook from the beach. We really have come a long way in the last decade.

How does it work? Telecom companies in Australia set up Wireless networks which span large portions of inhabited Australia. You have probably seen mobile towers around cities or on hills as you travel through the country. These towers traditionally used as voice hubs now also transmit and receive data, i.e your internet and emails to and from your mobile internet device and your computer.

You should not confuse mobile internet with a home wireless network. Mobile internet is where you are provided a SIM card for your device and can connect to the internet through a Telecom provider such as Optus or Telstra almost anywhere. A home wireless network is generally a router that sits in your house and creates a small wireless network for people in your house to connect to the internet.

You may have heard the term 3G or 4G before, this term refers to the groups of technology used to run the wireless network e.g. 3rd generation or 4th generation. 3G and 4G are essentially marketing terms which simplify groups of advanced technologies which most customers do not want or need to know about.

The difference between the 3G and 4G network is that the 4G network uses newer technologies. faster and a more robust connection.

At the moment, the only Telecom country to have an active 4G network is Telstra. Their LTE (Long term evolution) network is active and being used by the general population.

The LTE network is not true 4G however it does offer customers 4G speeds and that is all we need to worry about.

Telstra claim download speeds on their 4G network between 2Mbps and 40Mbps, although it appears to be rare to be getting speeds at the top end of that claim. Still, it is a significant increase on Telstra's 3G speeds which generally around an average of 2Mbps. These wireless network speeds can vary dramatically subject to changers in distance from tower, volume of use and your device configuration.

The coverage for the 4G wireless network is currently small, you will only get 4G speeds in capital city CBD's and selected regional areas. This is expected to expand dramatically as Telstra tests and rolls out the new network.

If you are not in a 4G enabled area, your device will automatically switch back to the 3G network.

With Telstra's 4G network, the quality and experience of mobile broadband has increased dramatically and will continue to do so as it's competitors launch their own 4G networks and Telstra improves it's own network.

Mobile Internet has come along way in a short amount of time. If you havn't used it in a while you will be impressed.
Read: Mobile Marketing
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What Is Mobile Marketing?

What Is Mobile Marketing?
Mobile marketing is essentially taking advantage of the popularity of cell phones (especially smartphones) to make money. It is a subset of internet marketing, which uses web-based advertising. Mobile marketing advertisements are also viewed over the internet, but on a phone browser rather than a computer.

There are many advantages to this. Primarily, there are many more people using cell phones to access the internet than there are using computers. This means any form of cell phone marketing will reach a higher number of people. In addition, getting your ads on smartphone apps, mobile sites, and cell phone browsers is far cheaper than doing the same on computers.

In addition to lower costs and a larger audience, marketing on smartphones also has virtually no competition for most of the highest paying terms. This means that you make more money in a shorter amount of time when compared to other methods.

If you have been looking to make money online, mobile marketing is one way to do it that will introduce you to all of the basic principles of internet marketing without the cost, complications, and competition. If you're someone who is already making money online, mobile marketing is a way to simplify and diversify what you are currently doing.

In short, mobile marketing provides a money making opportunity to the experienced and inexperienced alike. It involves utilizes the popularity of smartphones and other types of cell phones to make a profit. Because of the low cost and lack of competition, it is a good option for anyone looking for a new method to make money online.
Read: Mobile Learning
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What Is Mobile Learning?

What Is Mobile Learning?
The term ubiquitous often appears in conjunction with scholarly articles on mobile and communication devices and more specifically, mobile learning. This article will help us understand more about this term and why it has become so relevant in the field of mobile learning.

Wikipedia states that ubiquitous learning (or u-learning) is equivalent to a form of simple mobile learning, e.g. learning environments that can be accessed in various contexts and situations.

With mobile learning expanding globally, more and more people have begun to experience ubiquitous learning (learning that can happen whenever you need it, however you want it) using their mobile devices.

Features of Ubiquitous Learning
The main characteristics of ubiquitous learning are (Chen et al., 2002; Curtis et al., 2002):
  • Permanency: Learners can never lose their work unless it is purposefully deleted. In addition, all the learning processes are recorded continuously in everyday.
  • Accessibility: Learners have access to their documents, data, or videos from anywhere. That information is provided based on their requests. Therefore, the learning involved is self-directed.
  • Immediacy: Wherever learners are, they can get any information immediately. Therefore learners can solve problems quickly. Otherwise, the learner may record the questions and look for the answer later.
  • Interactivity: Learners can interact with experts, teachers, or peers in the form of synchronies or asynchronous communication. Hence, the experts are more reachable and the knowledge is more available.
  • Situating of instructional activities: The learning could be embedded in our daily life. The problems encountered as well as the knowledge required are all presented in the nature and authentic forms. It helps learners notice the features of problem situations that make particular actions relevant.
  • Adaptability: Learners can get the right information at the right place with the right way.
By looking at the features of ubiquitous learning, it's easier to understand why many consider mobile education to be a form ubiquitous learning.

With the development of mobile learning, the concept of ubiquitous education has become more tangible. While u-learning itself extends beyond known technologies like portable computers and mobile devices, this decade has ushered in the advent of mobile education, considered by many as a vital step towards a truly ubiquitous learning system.

Reference: Chen et al., Curtis et al., 2002, In Young Scientific Research(2) no. 15700516 from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Read: Mobile Forensics
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What Is Mobile Broadband?

What Is Mobile Broadband?
The road to mobile broadband - how the online world evolved
As we look back on the history of the internet, we can see a constant evolution. Things never stay the same, they move and evolve, fighting to set new standards, to become more than they once were. It really is like evolution, with advancements being made, and the best surviving. And in doing that, the internet has evolved from the lumbering beastie it used to be, into a swift, nimble-footed creature, running like the wind, and following us wherever we go (yep, I know how to stretch a metaphor well past the point where it ceases to be useful!)

It all started, for me, at least, with dialup, using a modem you had to actually take your computer to bits to install. Which was both annoying and painful, if you caught your fingers in the case (as I did EVERY time). Then along came broadband, and the internet got fast. And my god, wasn't it better! So, as broadband evolved, and got faster, we went from modems to wireless routers, and that opened the world's eyes to something cool: using the internet, on a laptop, whilst wireless and moving about was cool. But it was only this year, in 2008, that the idea reached its true potential. Not WiFi... fully mobile broadband.

Mobile Broadband - what we've all been waiting for:
2008 is a big year for the internet, because this is the year that mobile broadband goes big time. I'm talking full-on, no-holds-barred world domination. Imagine the wonder of it. No more wires, and going online wherever you want. Oh, it's going to be glorious!

So, why is mobile broadband so good? What makes it achieve a level of brilliance that no other broadband system can match? Well, in truth, there are a couple of factors.

First off is obviously the fact that it's completely mobile. With absolutely no need to go hunting down a WiFi hot spot, and no need to have a home landline, it frees up the internet, setting it free from boundaries, so you can carry it round with you wherever you go (probably not in your pocket, though, unles you've got pockets big enough to fit a laptop in...).

The second big factor is simply how easy it is to set up. You get the USB Modem, you plug it in, it installs itself, you go online. It's so easy it beggars belief. Compare mobile broadband to any other internet package, and I guarantee it will come off well!
Read: Grid Computing
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What is Mobile Content?

What is Mobile Content?
The uses of mobile phones have grown in leaps and bounds since the early 90s and consequently its importance in daily life has developed too. The mobile phone is now used for various activities like making calendar appointments, sending and receiving messages, listening to music, watching or taking videos, cashing coupon codes for online purchases, connecting to the internet, the list is endless. The mobile content is any medium that is made use of in a mobile phone like their ring tones, graphics, games, etc.

At the same time mobile content can also mean the matter or the multimedia that is put up on the various websites. They can be regular pages on the internet or alternatively they can be mobile pages. Mobile content using text messaging is even now the most widely used means of sending messages to consumers and it is even today considered the most efficient method of attracting the targeted audience. But it is vital to utilize the correct providers to ensure proper functioning.

The new age phones have the Blue-tooth built into it enabling videos to be sent from mobile to mobile and the benefit is that there are no data charges for it. The leading marketers for mobile content are Japan and South Korea followed closely by Europe, but it is still catch up in Canada and the US. Some of the most popular mobile contents are Musical Ring tones, Poly Tones, Mobile Videos, Mobile Phone Games, Animations, and Wallpaper.

Mobile games are those that permit you to play a game on your hand held set and the major games in their order of preference include puzzles, arcade games, action or adventure games, cards, Word games and sports or racing. Many researches show that it is mostly women who buy and play mobile games.

Mobile images are typically used as wallpaper or screen savers and in many cell phones, you can set the phone such that images display the callers. Mobile music is an audio file that can be played on your mobile and is usually in MP3 format. Another form of mobile music is the full track download of a complete song that can be played on your mobile phone. You can buy these over the mobile network, but are exorbitantly priced. You could also download the song by first downloading it on to your computer and get it transferred on to your cell phone by means of Bluetooth technology.

Mobile videos are available in various formats like MPEG4, 3GPP, RTSP, and Flashlite. Another mobile phone content is the Mobishow which is a series that has been specifically got ready for mobile viewing. Some Mobishows are 'The Ashes' and 'The Paparazzi Show'. You can also see live video shows that can be streamed and sent to other mobile phones by making use of certain applications like Qik and the Wi-Fi.

Mobile content delivery systems are beginning to get patented with promises to improve the capability and speed of the use of application content. With the number of mobile phone users on the increase more and more people are utilizing their mobile phones to access online data and other correlated material, making the use of mobile phone content more indispensable.
Read: Cloud Computing
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What Is Mobile Advertising?

What Is Mobile Advertising?
In the marketing world, mobile advertising is the way of the future. Advertising through this medium is similar to advertising online although the potential target is much greater. In 2009, the number of mobile phones in the world totaled over 4.6 billion. Computers totaled less than a quarter of that. Currently the amount spent on mobile advertising is only around 1% of total advertising budgets. Media for mobile phones is quickly evolving. Approximately 90% of the United States population owns a cell phone according to CTIA, the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry.

Mobile advertising has really taken off in countries like Spain, France and Japan. In Japan, 44% of mobile phone users click on ads they receive via their phones. The largest mobile advertising company in Japan, D2, announced in November of 2009 that the industry was worth 900 million dollars in their country alone. There are several forms of mobile ads from web banners to SMS advertising to advertising within applications and games. Other forms include audio or video recordings that play while interacting with different services. You can get free instant access to the best mobile marketing newsletter.

According to Mashable, an online guide to social media and one of the top ten blogs worldwide, trends to watch in mobile advertising include:
  • Innovations through SMS
  • Advancements with rich forms of media like sound, gaming and video
  • Mobile applications or mobile websites
  • Geo-location as an advertising tool
  • The role of mobile video
  • Innovations through SMS
Of the available mobile phone models, 98% are capable of short message service, or text messaging. This form of communication is one of the most popular methods in the world. Text messaging is easy to use with a low-cost. There are no applications needed to text another person. Service providers offer a range of options from unlimited plans to plans that give up to 250 messages per month. Even if a person opts out of a text message plan, he or she still is capable to receive a message.

Statistics show that in late 2008, the average American user sent 357 text messages per month. Experian reported that text messages are usually read within 15 minutes of being received and responded to within an hour while email messages might go unread for several days.

Advancements with Rich Media
With the number of smartphones saturating the market, rich media will begin to have a stronger foothold in the mobile advertising industry. Consumers prefer engaging, interactive ads, designed through rich media like gaming, sound and video. A drawback to this form of mobile advertising is that skills and time are necessary to create ads. Big companies have the advantage with this media as they are more likely to have the budget and staff capable of tackling this type of advertisement.

Mobile Applications or Mobile Websites In Advertising
Advertisers have to decide if they are going to create a mobile application or a mobile website. Some will opt to do both. Certain factors like operating systems, types of devices, and screen size all play a role in how they will present mobile marketing. Internet giant Google is taking the mobile web road while Apple is going the application route. At this time it is difficult to find out which type of platform consumers will prefer in the future. This causes many issues during the development stage.

In an April 2010 survey conducted by eROI, trends in mobile marketing, less than a third of marketers in the United States consider the mobile marketing experience important to their customers. Only 23% of the respondents reported having an optimized website for a mobile device. An internet trends report by Morgan Stanley estimated that by the year 2014, mobile devices will conduct half of the web browsing done by Americans.

Advertising with Geo-Location
Geo-Location is one of the newer trends in mobile advertising. Applications like Foursquare are place-based programs for smartphones that help consumers find new ways to explore their city. Although there is an interest in this type of marketing, a recent study by Foursquare indicated that only 4% of users have taken advantage of place-based services. Only 1% actually log in to a location once per week.

Some concerns with geo-location based mobile advertising centers around privacy issues. This is also the case for other forms that deal specifically with targeted marketing. When companies customize ads, they use personal behavioral data, user profiles, and other data mind information. Privacy advocates have warned the industry that this may result in privacy infringement. Generally users have to give consent when opening an account for an application. This consent will override many privacy issues. The Mobile Marketing Association has published guidelines to aid marketers but as this is a rapidly growing area, the Association has found it difficult to keep their guidelines current.

The Role of Mobile Video
Internet video consumption has experienced a huge growth with today's internet users. Because of this trend with internet video, marketers assume that mobile video will also experience a huge growth. Cisco, a worldwide leader in networking, believes that the use of video will occupy about 66% of mobile traffic by 2013.

Mobile advertising has definitely caught marketers attention and the amount spent on advertising is growing. Marketers can measure the effectiveness of mobile ad campaigns by the number of views and clicks as well as other interactive tools. Swedish analyst, Berg Insight predicts that by 2014, mobile marketing will represent 11.7% of the total digital advertising market.
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