Mobile Technology and Your Business
- Access to New Revenue Streams
- Optimising Workforce Performance
- Powerful Applications on Handheld Devices
- Short Message Service Applications
- SMS Barcodes for Promotions and Ticketing
- Multimedia Message Service Applications
- What it is WAP?
- WAP Push
- Chip and Pin Payment via Mobile Devices
- Location Based Services
- Client Specific Applications
Given the almost daily revolutions in mobile technology and its ever-increasing application within the business world, it is easy to get left behind. This White Paper aims to give a brief overview of current mobile applications and the technology behind them as well as some examples of projects where Embrace Mobile has developed a mobile solution.
Access to New Revenue Streams
Mobile technology is a powerful marketing tool that allows you to reach out to your customers any time and any place with location-specific information or promotions. It also provides a potential new revenue stream for your business. Currently available technologies range from the simple yet widely used Short Message Service (SMS), or text messaging, to complex location based services that integrate with the Global Positioning System (GPS) network.
Optimising Workforce Performance
Mobile technologies are also able to provide your employees with access to information and services while on the move, allowing them to remain fully integrated with your internal IT systems at all times. Data can be automatically entered remotely, reducing administration and errors, and providing up to date information in real-time.Powerful Applications on Handheld Devices
With the advent of more powerful mobile devices such as Pocket PCs and multimedia phones, complete applications similar to those on desktop computers may now be written for these handheld devices. This is achieved by using mobile-specific development environments such as Java's J2ME platform or the .Net compact framework.Short Message Service Applications
SMS has long been used as a marketing tool. Services such as premium texting, where mobile phone owners are charged for receiving text messages, have created a new route to revenue generation. The services that can be offered don't just stop at ring tones and logos. Many people prefer information to be sent directly to their phones and are happy to pay a premium for it. If you send emails to your customers as part of a service then you should consider offering to text them.SMS is cheap to set up and can be fully integrated with your existing systems. A text based service has the added advantage that the customer is likely to receive and read the message immediately. For example, the online dating service DIY Dating is now taking advantage of this additional revenue stream by extending its web services to the mobile arena, reverse-billing SMS and giving its customers the opportunity to receive updates on potential matches with other members in their area via their mobile phone.
SMS Barcodes for Promotions and Ticketing
Multimedia Message Service Applications
The Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), or picture messaging, provides the same instant messaging capability of SMS with the added ability to include sound, images and even video content. For example, DIY Dating is now using MMS to allow customers to upload multimedia content such as photos or video messages that can be automatically placed in their account, making them available for online browsing. Sending MMS is more expensive than sending standard text messages and currently network operators do not allow universal reverse billing, as they do for SMS, however this service will be available shortly and then the opportunities are endless.What it is WAP?
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a method for sending information to and from mobile devices. In fact, WAP is the method by which MMS is sent between mobile phones. However, the capabilities of WAP far exceed that required for MMS and with current mobile phones having internet browsers rivalling that on your desktop. These devices can be used to access web based solutions that build on your existing back end infrastructure, providing the functionality of your web site to mobile users.WAP Push
WAP Push provides an alternative to MMS for delivering multimedia content to your customer's phone by combining reverse-billed SMS with WAP. A premium-rate text message is sent to your customer giving them the option to link to your multimedia web content using the WAP facilities of their mobile device. The cost for retrieving this information is then borne by the customer along with the cost of the initial text message. WAP Push can be used, for example, to send a reminder about an appointment or event to customer, who can in turn connect to an interactive web based application where they are able to confirm they will be attending or retrieve further information. WAP Push can also be used to allow mobile devices to receive and automatically install your applications.Chip and Pin Payment via Mobile Devices
In addition to the transfer of information and media content, the advent of more powerful mobile devices now allows the development and deployment of complete applications with the ability to integrate with a host of other technologies such as Chip and Pin payment devices and GPS. Mobile-specific development environments provide a skilled software engineering team access to all levels of the mobile device, from high level graphical user interface (GUI) design, to low level features such as serial port access and control of the network connection. For example, a secure and fully functional general dispatching platform has been developed for the Pocket PC that can replace existing radio-based systems used in the Taxi industry. In this system, the pocket PC integrates with both an external GPS device and a Chip and PIN payment system.Location Based Services
Location-based services encompass a wide variety of systems that provide a customer or service provider with positional information of a mobile device. This information could be the precise location of a device based on GPS technology, the general area in which the device is located using the nearest cell tower, or even proximity information based on Bluetooth technology which can detect if two devices are within range of one another.Client Specific Applications
In some instances you may have a requirement that necessitates the creation of a client application using a technology such as J2ME. Our team of skilled developers combined with tried and tested library components allow the development of robust applications in a timely fashion. This was the case with expanding the 'Hot-or-Not' phenomenon into the mobile world. A specially developed application gives users with the ability to view and rate existing members on their mobile phone. Furthermore, members can upload their own photos directly from their camera phone to be rated.Further detailed technical information can be found on the following pages.
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Text Messaging (SMS)
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Picture Messaging (MMS)
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Internet Browsing (WAP)
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WAP Push
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Location Based Services (LBS, GPS)
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Java-based Technologies (J2ME)
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Rich Client Technologies (.NET)
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