So the lovely people at Orange decided to run a Twitter comp via Conor their PR Manager UK, asking for ideas for a Festival mobile app. I went a bit nuts and recorded my ideas here. Are you going to rip them off? Probably. Do I care? Not really. Did I have fun doing it? YES! 
The first day of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona usually throws up a few surprises, but I am not sure anyone expected what went down on this cold day in February.
After a complete anti-climax of a press event from Nokia, their faces were well and truly rubbed in the dirt by Steve Ballmer and the Microsoft team. A technical hitch at the beginning of the presentation was the only speed bump in a smooth ride for the Microsoft team, whose presentation has been greeted with great aplomb. Windows Phone 7 is a completely new product from Microsoft that encapsulates a vast range of services and offerings focussed on the consumer (which Windows Mobile before it never seemed to grasp). Where did that come from?!
For me, there were several key USPs that make Windows Phone a very promising inclusion in the smartphone operating system wars.
Microsoft has created a product to support the personal nature of the mobile phone. By taking into account the user experience, they have developed a UI that appeals to a users preference, offering relevant information that can be personalised to a seemingly ‘nTH’ degree. Only time will tell whether this is Microsoft’s fight back onto the mobile scene; all I know is that it is a major step back in the right direction.
For a good summary of the keynote, check out a break down here. Or for the official press release, click here.
For those of you that don’t know who Tomi Ahonen is, get out from under your rock!
Tomi T Ahonen is an author and independent consultant focusing on the mobile industry and digital convergence, at tomiahonen.com. Tomi is the father or co-inventor of several theories and management tools used by the industry which are referenced in 50 books by his peers. Previously employed as an executive with Nokia and three operators in Finland and the USA, today Tomi’s reference client list includes HP the biggest computer maker, Vodafone the biggest mobile operator group, Nokia the biggest handset maker, Intel the biggest chip maker, Ericsson the biggest telecoms network vendor and NTT DoCoMo the biggest mobile internet service provider. He is widely considered the ‘Godfather of Mobile’.
And Tomi has been ever so kind as to answer a few questions for Mobsessed. (read more…)
The GSMA yesterday announced its first batch of Mobile Media Metrics, in association with all of the major UK MNO’s. 2 years in development, these statistics not only mark early signs of the mobile industry working together towards a common goal, but it also signals what we hope is the start of a swift adoption of mobile as a platform on which brands and businesses can target their varying audiences.
‘But mobile is common place in marketing already!’ I hear you cry.
Yes it is being employed, but is the quality and targeting of said work demonstrating not just ROI and all the other buzzword bullshit, but true engagement with its users? (read more…)