Mobile Behavior: an Omnicom Group Company

Move Over GPS, Here Comes the Smartphone [NYTimes]
Last year we said that mobile phones will kill GPS systems, well, it seems to be coming true. Sales of traditional GPS units from companies like TomTom, Garmin and Magellan have fallen sharply recently. Meanwhile, Garmin's plan to release a phone seems to be taking a lot longer than it should (accounced Jan 2008, now they're saying "later this year"). Guess they ran out of money....

Five Companies Joining Together For 2D Barcode Push [Mobile Marketing Watch]
Modavox, DuPont, Scanbuy, Graphic Packaging, and Augme Mobile are partnering to make mobile barcodes a mainstay in the US. Why could this actually work? DuPont and Graphic Packaging represent hundreds of packaged good services in a wide array of industries, putting the actual implementation directly into the development model.

The Future of the iPhone: Intelligent Object Recognition [Mashable]
Apple has filed patents for an augmented reality technology called ID App that uses image recognition to recognize objects and show more information about them.

6.5 Hours Per Month of Video Consumption Amongst Teens on their Mobile Phones [BitBriefs]
Research from Nielsen shows that 77% of 13-18 year olds own a phone, while 11% borrow one regularly. More specific usage numbers show that in Q1 of 2007, teens sent/received 435 sms a month on average. Q1 of 2009? 2899 text messages, yes that is a a 666% increase in two years. The data also shows mobile video usage by type (Music is number 1).

NY Philharmonic to Raise Funds Via Text Message [PC Magazine]
For its 2009 Concerts in the Park series, the NY Philharmonic is enabling SMS donations. Audience members can send $5 gifts with a limit of $25 per billing cycle and can even download a desktop widget to facilitate donations from home. Understanding the immediacy of the mobile to a user's life is key for leveraging the platform's potential. Signing up, filling out forms, is a discouraging for many, while sending a text is routine.

Google Product Search for Mobile Expanding Rapidly [IntoMobile]
Awhile back Google launched their Product Search for iPhone and Android and now support has been added for the Palm Pre and all devices (with a data connection) in the UK, US, Germany and South Korea.

Top 10 Youth Marketing Myths by Graham Brown [mobileYouth]
Straight to the point slide about the mistakes and misconceptions many marketers hold about Gen Y. Trying to define an age group by certain limited characteristics makes understanding youth easier, but reaching them impossible.

Days Inn Finds SMS is Key to CRM Strategy [Mobile Marketer]
The hotel chain is driving sign ups to an SMS database that lets them send out room offers. So far 30% of guests that opted in have called to make room reservations.

Broadcasters Hope To Re-Program How People Watch TV On Mobile Devices [mocoNews]
The ATSC Technology and Standards Group is due to vote this summer on a definite standard to offer TV to mobile phones. What does this mean for mobile users? Maybe nothing. Indeed, the format will require a special chip to be installed in mobile devices and users will have to pay a monthly fee to receive content. These two factors are enough to block wide adoption because users get plenty of video and TV through channels like Youtube and other streaming sites. Too little, too late?

Multi-Platform Media Sync Software DoubleTwist Gains “Hundreds Of Thousands Downloads”, Is Now Available in Japan [TechCrunch]
Double Twist has been steadily growing as a complementary software for iTunes. The PC/Mac application allows users to share all their photos, videos, and music from one place to a multitude of social networks and mobile devices.

Who Uses Social Networks and What Are They Like? (Part 1 and Part 2) [ReadWriteWeb]
According to research from  Anderson Analytics, 52% of SNS users are a fan of at least one band, 20% would like to see more communication from brands, 15% say they log on at work, at 63% only friend people they know.

Is BlackBerry in the Catbird Seat or the Doghouse? [FierceWireless]
Analysts are debating over the future of RIM. Surely all eyes will be on their new devices --the Tour, launching this summer, and BlackBerry Storm 2, launching in October.

Addicts of the Information Age [WSJ]
Can't put your smartphone down? Some may call you rude, the Wall Street Journal call you a "Smartphoniac". This "condition" crosses demographics and goes way beyond bad manners, stemming from “a deeper disconnect anxiety, an irrepressible fear that you will miss something if you put it away." Look for the University of Florida's study on the subject, currently being conducted.

GeoMe Launches World’s First Mood Based Search Engine on Mobile [IntoMobile]
The search engine offers location-based searching with updates for your friends. Available on any Java based phone, users can even indicate their mood (from "Cheap" to "Sexy") for filtering results. The search engine battle continues, will niche dominate mass?

Facebook Debuts 'Fan Box' Tool [CNET News]
The social network is opening up even more with a widget for brands, products, celebrities, or anyone that has a fan page to embed their presence on their own sites.  People can now become fans, get live updates, even browse other fans' pictures without going to Facebook at all.

YAPPA Rolls MagaStore iPhone App [Wireless Watch Japan]
YAPPA and Dentsu have launched an iPhone app for browsing or buying Japanese magazines.  The project is going to be launched on a multitude of mobile platforms, and promises to be huge and probably imitated elsewhere (CondeNast, are you reading this?).

Africa texts Obama Before Visit [BBC News]
Obama is once again using mobile technology to connect with the people, soliciting questions via text prior to his trip to Africa. The best questions will be selected by African journalists and asked to the Prez. Who needs the red phone anymore? Just text the guy.

Google's AdSense for iPhone Trips up Advertisers [Advertising Age]
Fresh from its launch two weeks ago, Google AdSense for iPhone is still facing some issues, mainly that ads look formatted for the desktop and not mobile. This is by design; Google thinks that HTML-enabled smartphones are just like little desktops. However this fails to consider the unique relationship that people have with their phones.

Youth Lifestyle Trends | Youth Marketing Mobile Culture Research [mobileYouth]
A look at how teens in China use their mobile, how entrepreneurship might save unemployed youth, and a general roundup of what is happening to young people everywhere.

Coldwell Banker Uses Billboard to Interact with Mobile Consumers [Mobile Marketer]
A huge billboard display on Times Square lets you text any zipcode to 30241 and see sample prices for homes in that area...on the billboard. The interactive DOOH campaign is a smart idea for the real estate powerhouse, especially since the real estate market's integration into the mobile universe is sill lagging.

Trends in Youth Media [mobileYouth]
New research about teen music consumption, their relationship to TV, and their responsiveness to ads on various mediums.

Two in three Japanese dissatisfied with their mobile carrier [WhatJapanThinks]
New study by Goo research shows that 2/3 of Japanese from all ages, and sexes, are dissatisfied with their carrier. The grudge comes from voice plan rates, data rates, network availability, and lack of choice for phone model.

Boston Debuts Citizen Connect iPhone App [PSFK]
The city of Boston has just released an iPhone app that allows residents to file minor complaints with their mobile device. The app supports picture, and text complaints which are geo-tagged through the iPhone's GPS. After mobilizing the complaint, residents receive a tracking number to follow what the city is doing about it.

Google Maps Will Now Include Property Listings [BusinessInsider]
Available in Australia, Gmaps now offers Aussies the ability to find real estate deals around them. The certainty of the feature being launched in the U.S. is unquestionable. Idea: how about a mobile app that notifies apartment hunters when they are in proximity of a location that meets their criteria.

Raising the Ante on Metrics for Mobile Advertising [Mobile Marketer]
In the constant move to find accurate ways of measuring the effectiveness of advertising, the mobile platform offers detailed metrics that no other medium can. Whether through WAP, or smartphone browsing and applications, mobile metrics offer users' preferences, history and, most importantly, behavior.

Obama On The Go: Clippz Launches Mobile Channel For White House Videos [TechCrunch]
Clippz eliminates the hassle of figuring out if a video will play on your phone.  By entering your phone model, the service offers you a choice of videos that will play on your device. They even launched a dedicated White House channel.

Taco Bell Spices up Marketing Strategy with Mobile [Mobile Marketer]
Taco Bell has just launched a new iPhone application to promote its 79, 89, 99 cents value meal. Users enter their budget, shake their phone, and get a randomized choice from the value meal. Taco Bell says that the mobile medium is perfect for its demographic, and the on-the-go customer.

Watermelon Express [Watermelon]
Crunching for the GRE, LSAT, GMAT, MCAT, or even the SAT? Watermelon Express offers internet, laptop, and mobile applications to help you study wherever you are, whenever you want.

• Tweet, tweet went the congressman [CNN] - Many Republicans apparently learned from Obama's media strategy during the election, as CNN was quick to point to several members of Congress tweeting away on their BlackBerries during the president's speach. @BarackObama U Suk ... LOLZ ... :P
• MWC 2009 Recap [Next Generation Mobile Content] - One observant Mobile World Congress attendee notes the hot trends including touch UIs and app stores, as well as a conspicuous lack of mobile content.
• Mattel Digital Network - After the success of Barbie's virtual world (BarbieWorld.com) and the debut of some very cool brain-powered games like MattelMindFlex, Mattel announced  its intentions to become a bigger player in the digital space with the "Mattel Digital Network," an online destination for interactive programming and content.
• The Mobile Web Is for Fun and the PC Web Is for Everything Else [GigaOM] - There's a correlation between those who access the internet on their phone and those on a PC. A little shocking? Not really. But a study determined that the heaviest mobile internet users are Males between 18-44...and apparently iPhone users have more fun. Again, not so shocking.
• ‘Mission Impossible’ movies to be included on Samsung phones [RCR Wireless News] - This phone will self-destruct in five seconds. Samsung is teaming up with Paramount Digital Entertainment to package the entire "Mission Impossible" trilogy onto phones sold through Alltel. In order to blunt this action-packed offensive and up the ante, Apple is rumored to be forcing new subscribers to defeat Michael Dudikoff in hand-to-hand combat at select AT&T locations.
• Study Finds iPhone Users Stop Using Downloaded Apps Soon After Purchasing Them [Geek Sugar] - Sure, the app store is posting some impressive numbers, but how many neglected HammerTime download have been relegated to the back page and forgotten? But you'll keep it, just in case you ever want to watch the full version of 2 Legit 2 Quit.
• Combi iPod Bouncer [Think Geek] - Keep on rocking my baby ... Combi's iPod bouncer is way cooler than some animatronic penquin that gyrates to a classic rock midi. Let your infant rock out to hits from Ben Folds Five, Britney Spears or maybe even some old school Kreator. Don't be surprised if they skip walking and go straight to dancing!
• Twitter first to publish dramatic crash pictures [CNN] - Twitter is news you can trust - at least this one time. They were the first to document photos of the the Turkish Airlines crash in Amsterdam ahead of traditional media. After seeing it on the popular website, CNN confirmed the details of the crash then reported the story..
• iPhone 3G to finally hit China this spring [Unwired View] - China is finally getting the iPhone. This spring Apple will at last tap into this market of 130 million cell phone customer and for once, America had it first - savor this moment, for it is fleeting and will not last.
• Archdiocese of St.Louis to announce new Archbishop via SMS - The announcement of St. Louis's new Archbishop of will be broadcast live via text message. Anyone who has signed up on the website will receive a text as soon as the announcement is made.