Archive for October, 2009
iPhone Making Moves on the BlackBerry
posted by Michael Arcand
When the iPhone first hit the smart phone market, most business users already had a smart phone, namely a Blackberry or Palm Pre. However, in just two short years Apple’s iPhone has gone from being a new shiny Mac fanboy toy to being a serious competitor with other smartphones, even in the business market. According to a report recently released by ChangeWave research, a full 30 percent of all smart phone owners are currently using an iPhone, compared to 40 percent with a BlackBerry and only seven percent with the Palm Pre (absolutely dismal numbers for the Pre, which once dominated the market).
So what is the driving factor behind the advance of the iPhone in both overall smart phone use as well as business? It’s the same thing that has driven successful products and referral marketing for years: customer satisfaction. According to a recent J.D. Powers study, Apple came in first place among smart phone business owners, beating out LG (second place) and BlackBerry (third place). ChangeWave’s report noted that 74 percent of their survey participants who used the iPhone were very satisfied with the smart phone.
The convergence of these two trends, the consumer and business sectors, can only mean one thing: continued growth for the iPhone and possibly the domination of the smart phone market within the next six to twelve months. The handwriting is on the wall. More and more people are moving from traditional wireless phones into the smart phone market. More and more businesses are seeing the advantages in customer satisfaction coming from iPhone users.
This all adds up to one thing for you. Now is the time to get on board! If you’re looking to catch the wave of incoming iPhone users and tap into the market that’s already there, then there is no time better than the present to develop an iPhone app for your band or website. Let MobileRoadie help you today to get started.
The Alice in Chains Black Gives Way to Blue App
posted by adminWe’re very excited to announce the release of the Black Gives Way to Blue iPhone app featuring the music of Alice in Chains. From their latest hit album of the same name, the Black Gives Way to Blue app has some unique features in addition to the already robust Mobile Roadie platform.
As seen in the below video, the app includes 3 full tracks you can stream directly from the app but what, there’s more. Each track is accompanied by an art piece you can interact with. Simply touch and slide various elements on the screen to reveal a treasure trove of goodies. Of course you’ll also find photos from the band’s Flickr stream and some full length music videos you can easily share with your friends via Twitter and Facebook.
Head on over to the app store to get your copy today.
(Bonus points if you can locate all the easter eggs we’ve hidden in this one.)
The Mobile Web is Exploding … Are You On Board?
posted by Michael ArcandFar be it for us to toot our own horn, but we just happen to think we’re in the right place at the right time. And we want you to be right there with us. Are you ready? Here’s why we think the mobile web is where it’s at and why the iPhone is the one platform you must be on …
Mary Meeker, the managing director of Morgan Stanley (yeah, those investment folks), gave a presentation last week at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Fransisco touting the tech sector as a leading indicator that we are rebounding from the recession. But more importantly, to us at least, was the emphasis she placed on the mobile web and her perspective on things to come. Meeker surmised that the mobile web, which is already expanding during the recession, will explode once the recovery in other sectors of the economy is in full swing. At some point she feels that the mobile web use will dwarf the desktop use of the Internet 10 to 1.
So why are we so excited about this and what should this mean to you as an iPhone developer? Meeker pointed out that the iPhone and the iPod Touch are the fastest growing pieces of electronic hardware ever. Given the fact that the iPhone currently dominates the landscape in usage share and market share numbers, the sky is the limit with this platform. It will only get bigger and bigger.
If you want to look over all of the slides from her presentation, you can check them out below. Why not take a few minutes to think about what impact the mobile web will have on your business in the future, then let us help you get where you want to go.
Apple Announces In App Purchase for Free Apps
posted by Michael Arcand
That’s right folks, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Apple announced today that they are now allowing free apps to use in app purchases. So what does this really mean? Only that one of the best concepts ever derived in marketing is now available to developers who are putting out free apps. What is that, you ask? It’s the upsell. Simply put, you can now give away your iPhone application with minimal functionality. You let the user know that there is much to be had in advanced functionality … IF they purchase the full version of the app. This has long been a standby for marketing of all types of products and services and it works very well. It’s just like the hook … they get to experience what you have to offer and see the big picture. Once they test drive your app (if you have a decent product or service), they’ll be hooked.
The reason this works so well is that unlike an initial app purchase, when a customer does an in app purchase the majority of the process takes place on the devs server, leaving you, as the developer, the electronic receipt. Interestingly enough, as suggested by MobileCrunch, this could actually have an effect in reducing app piracy, somewhat. While your app can be cracked and distributed far and wide, it’s difficult at best to forge an electronic receipt. However, the only way to verify each use of the app would be to check the electronic receipt against the copy on the dev’s server.
At MobileRoadie we look forward to offering this to our growing line of apps in the future. Be sure to stay tuned to our blog for updates and contact us with any questions.
Mobile Roadie presents: Mobile Roadie
posted by brocksteadyWe finally had a chance to kick out a little promo video to show off our app platform. While not going into explicit detail on every function of the app, we took the opportunity to show off a couple key features that help artists, athletes, and public figures better connect with their fans. Check it out!
iPhone Multitasking Done Right
posted by Michael ArcandOcean Observations has come up with two concept interfaces for the iPhone that they have posted to YouTube. If you haven’t seen this, you’re in for a treat. Combining some elements from the Palm Pre’s card system with Cover Flow, they’ve produced some kick ass videos to just say “what if iPhone had … ?” Of course, Cover Flow is only the first video. The second video covers the idea of using “Springboard Exposé” to bring hundreds of pages to the home button using multiple thumbnail view menus. In this way, you could jump to a specific page much more quickly than having to swipe dozens of pages to find what you are looking for. Both of these concepts are ingenious and are getting quite some attention on Twitter. After all, multitasking and easier navigation are almost always on the top of any request list we’ve seen for the iPhone.
Admittedly, their Twitter stream says they aren’t working on these concepts themselves, but intended the videos as inspiration for Apple. These concepts look great and we can only hope that someone in the creative department takes the overwhelmingly positive response to these videos to heart and begins to figure out how to make it happen.
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