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AT&T Mobile Barcode Scanner #mobile

August 2, 2010 By ramonbnuezjr View Comments

If you have not noticed — mobile is exploding. This revolution is being lead by secure payment systems.

AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile announced that they are working on a (mobile) secure payment systems. This system will utilize your smartphone in lieu of a credit card. AT&T is also working on a mobile application that will scan barcodes — scan 2D (QR and datamatrix codes) and 1D (UPC and EAN) barcodes found in magazines, stores and online.

I am also thinking about location based services. Just think about it — use your AT&T Captivate to scan a discount Starbucks code from your magazine, you Foursquare into your local Starbucks, the coupon code from your previous scan is applied to your purchase and you swipe your Captivate to pay.

Now you have a massively robust revenue generating mobile ecosystem.

Amplify’d from www.att.com

AT&T* is furthering its innovation with mobile barcodes with the availability of a free mobile application to read barcodes utilizing a variety of mobile devices across multiple platforms including Android™ and BlackBerry®. 

Today’s announcement is the latest milestone in AT&T’s efforts to develop mobile barcodes into an effective direct response solution for brands and their consumers. To that end, the company is investing in AT&T Mobile Barcode Services, a suite of products and services that enables marketers to provide measurable experiences with their target audience, at the moment of interest.
  • AT&T Code Scanner: a free mobile application** which provides a fun and easy way to scan 2D (QR and datamatrix codes) and 1D (UPC and EAN) barcodes found in magazines, stores, and online, unlocking new ways to experience the world. Consumers can download the free application through several app stores including BlackBerry® App World™ and Android Market™ or go to http://scan.mobi on their mobile device. AT&T Code Scanner provides consumers with the tool they need to experience a sneak-peak into the exciting potential of this emerging mobile technology. Consumers are encouraged to visit www.att.com/mobilebarcodes to see examples of how mobile barcodes can be used.  

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Android has Fragmentation Issues #mobile

July 30, 2010 By ramonbnuezjr View Comments

Michael Klurfeld — good article and great points.

I have had this very same discussion on my podcast — Android’s fragmentation. I don’t think that it’s as terrible as you make it out to be. The average person does not even understand what Android is let alone what version they are running. Just because Motorola is making version diferences a selling point still does not mean much. I do agree that there needs to be standards and Google and/or the Open Handset Alliance should implement a standard or two.

Hotspots are cool but most MNO’s charge extra for that feature. Exchange support is solid but most IT shops don’t allow unapproved devices to attach to their network.

Additionally, the OEM skins the handset. The subscriber does not see the OS nor does he actually (directly) interact with it.

Amplify’d from thenextweb.com

Today the sales training release for Motorola’s upcoming Droid 2 leaked, and with it came a very interesting marketing point: agents are to compare the Droid 2’s Android 2.2 OS with other phones which are still stuck on 2.1.

Complaints of fragmentation across versions of Android are nothing new. 2.2 is the newest version of the OS, and yet due development cycles, we’re still seeing 2.1 devices just coming to market (I’m looking at you, Samsung). The G1, which was only killed off a few days ago, never made it past version 1.6. One of my less knowledgeable friends recently made the mistake of buying a Motorola Backflip, and that thing still has 1.5.

The problem is that ROM tinkerers make up a small percentage of the market. By and large, people don’t want to think about what they can do to get their phones to run optimally. And the problem isn’t hardware – even the G1 was bumped up to Android 2.2 by ROM hackers. No one wants to see that their cool new gadget is suddenly unable to do all the things that the new stuff can do. So if Android handset makers don’t work as hard to update older handsets as they do to make new ones, they may not enjoy good sales for too much longer.

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The Revolution of Content Fueled by the Birth of Mobile

July 28, 2010 By ramonbnuezjr View Comments

In full disclosure this is my post on the Huffington Post. Enjoy.

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com

Over the past decade there has been a fundamental and global change in who defines what information is on the Internet. Web 2.0 is nothing short of a revolution — a climate shift in which an everyday consumer has the potential to become a producer of content. We no longer lay wait impatiently for the next morsel of information. The Web 2.0 tools available to us – allow us to create, curate, distribute and comment. These tools are household names – Twitter, Facebook, the Huffington Post and Mashable just to name a few. These platforms have given us an alternative to the mainstream channels.

The consumption and production of content has become an infectious movement.

mobileWeb

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#mobile Consumers fuming over Android smartphone bloatware

July 23, 2010 By Ramon Nuez View Comments

I understand the consumer distaste towards bloatware. I am also a consumer and I find it annoying – at times. Unfortunately, bloatware is not some new feature that OEM’s and MNO’s just decided to install. We have lived with bloatware for years — on your PC’s, feature phones and pocket PC’s. So why are consumers now up in arms?

Is it because our iPhone cousins don’t have this issue?

Amplify’d from www.fiercemobilecontent.com

Android smartphone users are voicing their displeasure over a growing number of preloaded third-party applications and trial software that cannot be deleted by consumers. Known as “bloatware” in PC parlance and a catch-all for non-essential software and media files bundled with hardware to boost revenue and introduce users to new services, the preloaded Android apps include services like mobile television, location-based search and games–according to Wired, specific examples include the new Samsung Vibrant, which ships with MobiTV, GoGo Flight and Electronic Arts’ The Sims 3, along with the Motorola Backflip (including location-based solution Where and Yellow Pages app YPMobile) and the HTC Evo (featuring Sprint TV and Sprint Football).

“It’s different from phone to phone and operator to operator,” said HTC spokesman Keith Nowak. “But in general, the apps are put there to meet the operator’s business and revenue needs.” According to a Samsung representative, the preloaded applications “highlight the key features and performance” of the Vibrant–operator partner T-Mobile USA adds the apps exist to showcase the phone’s processor and display.

Wired notes that the preloaded apps are integrated into Android devices in a manner that blocks users from removing the software short of jailbreaking the handset. A thread on the AndroidForums.com website details subscriber concerns over the trend. “It’s a throwback to the days of the feature phones,” said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. “Handset makers and carriers would bundle messaging and music clients with feature phones hoping to provide some differentiation. They are now trying that with smartphones.” In regards to the inability to delete the applications in question, Golvin said “I suspect that a lot of operators think consumers won’t notice or get to a point where they would want to get rid of them.”

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