Newsletter - Issue 1
Welcome to this edition of the Embrace Mobile Newsletter which we hope will give you an insight into mobile technology and its growing importance as a business resource. This significance is demonstrated in a recent report by the Wireless World Forum that shows Mobile ownership in the UK has now passed 43 million, or 82% of the population*. This shows that Mobile technology is here to stay and not just for making calls and texting friends. Mobile devices, particularly phones, are powerful tools that can be used for a range of applications to improve business processes and communicate with staff and customers.
* Based on number of unique mobile owners as opposed to actual accounts as quoted in many other reportsIn this edition
Focus on Mobile Surveys
In this edition we are focussing on Market Research via mobile phones. Carrying out market research is getting increasingly difficult and costly. Embrace Mobile have developed the first mobile survey application designed to give researchers another option when collecting data. Surveys can be conducted via mobile phones allowing mobile self-completion interviewing.
Recently online surveys have become the low cost alternative to traditional methods, however only 59.8%** of the population has access to the internet compared with 82% that own a mobile phone. Not only can a large percentage of the population be contacted by mobile, but it is also particularly suitable for reaching the lower socioeconomic groups (C2, D, E's) and the youth market that are traditionally difficult to elicit a response from. To read more about this solution see here.
**Internet users as of June 2005 - Nielsen/NetRatings
SurveyShack.com Ltd Respond to Embrace Mobile Surveys
Embrace Mobile have been selected by SurveyShack.com Ltd to meet customer demand for providing mobile surveys. They have recognised that market research via mobile phone is a strategic resource which can play a key part in the overall research program.
"The challenge is how to process and report on the data that has been acquired through a mobile marketing survey, quickly and accurately so that the immediacy of the information can be capitalised on," says Francine Heywood, Sales Director for SurveyShack.com Ltd.
Having the data processed and available instantly, even live during the survey, is just one benefit. It is an extremely powerful tool allowing you to contact people you wouldn't normally be able to reach and it provides improved response rates since the method is so convenient and fits in with today's mobile lifestyle.
Triple-S Compatibility
The Survey Interchange Standard or Triple-S, initially developed over 10 years ago, has been successful in making it easier for users to move survey data between different data collection and analysis systems. It is an open standard for transferring data between survey programmes running on different hardware and software platforms.
To ensure compatibility with research data collection systems the Embrace Mobile Survey application for mobile phones has been developed using open standards, both Triple-S and XML. To find out more about Triple-S see here.
Mobile Survey Gets Better Response
Following Embrace Mobile's recent seminar we carried out some research to look at response rates between two methods of surveys. We are pleased to say that despite a member of the team physically trying to collect paper evaluation forms from delegates, we had a better response to our mobile evaluation questionnaire which was sent out the following day! In this small trial we had a 30% response rate with mobile as opposed to 20% and a lot of hard work attempting to collect paper responses.
Mobile Seminar Delegates Keep Phones Switched On!
It is not something you hear very often but delegates at the recent Mobile Technology Seminar, hosted by Embrace Mobile, were asked to keep their mobile phones switched on during proceedings. Those attending received a text message with a 2D barcode which contained information that said whether they had won a bottle of champagne. To find out they had to scan the barcode. Unfortunately, the person that had been randomly selected to win did not attend so you get a chance to win the champagne in our competition!
The seminar brought together an impressive selection of speakers who explained the applications available from a technology and users perspective and looked at real case studies. To view the speakers profiles and presentations see here:
Introduction to mobile technology - Gareth Reakes, Embrace Mobile
The opportunities and challenges for mobile IT - Andrew May, Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute, Loughborough University
Real life mobile applications in the public sector - Paul McDonald, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The future of mobile technology - Tim Gingell, TCI and Personal Broadband UK
Mobile News
Mobiles Get Emerging Markets Lift
Global mobile phone shipments grew by 19% last year, helped by strong demand from emerging markets such as India and Africa, according to a study. A record 810 million units were shipped with emerging markets accounting for half of total global sales, research firm Strategy Analytics said.
The firm predicted one billion units would be sold in 2007 if the rate of sales in emerging markets continued. Full story....
Brits Show Appetite for Mobile TV
Watching TV on mobile phones could be a money-spinner for mobile operators if the results of two trials are anything to go by. A trial in Oxford, conducted by O2, has found that nearly 80% of people would subscribe to a mobile TV service. Full story....
UK Online Banking: Not Mobile Yet
According to a 2005 study by the Oxford Internet Institute, 45% of UK Internet users ages 14 and over engaged in online banking in 2005. While this makes it less popular than activities like e-commerce, listening to music, playing games, finding information and even weather checking, it's still something done by almost one-half of Net users. Banking through mobile phones, on the other hand, is far less prevalent. Forrester Research surveyed 2,127 Internet users in the UK about their use of mobile phones as part of a study commissioned by mobile banking specialist Meridea. Full story....
Meet the Team - Gareth Reakes
As Founder and Managing Director Gareth provides leadership and direction with his entrepreneurial drive and enthusiasm. He is the external face of Embrace Mobile responsible for the day to day management of the company. Prior to starting Embrace Mobile he worked for DecisionSoft where he was Head of Product Development and his clients included the Inland Revenue. Gareth was recently a finalist in the Up and Coming Entrepreneur of the Year category at the Martin & Audrey Wood Enterprise Awards. More about Gareth.
Terminology Explained
What is WAP?
WAP is an abbreviation of "Wireless Application Protocol" more commonly known as the mobile internet. It is an open, global format that allows mobile users with wireless devices such as phones or PDAs to easily access and interact with information and services. WAP runs on "micro browsers" which are similar to what you use to access the internet on your PC but are designed for small file sizes that can accommodate the low memory constraints of handheld devices and the relatively low bandwidth of the mobile networks.
Gadget Corner - Top Tech Tip
In this part of the newsletter we thought we would share with you a useful or exciting gadget we have come across. This time it is the Samsung D600 phone. With so many phones on the market it is difficult to choose but this one has an extra function which we love. We stumbled across this when looking for away of demonstrating our phone applications on a big screen. This phone does just that by having a TV out. The primary purpose is to share your photos and videos with friends and family via you television however, connected to an LCD projector it works just as well and transfers the phone display to the projector screen and the quality is great too!
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Contact Us
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UK: +44.1865.770.851
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