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QR Codes Get Marketers Attention

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QR codes have been around for more than a decade, but it is only now that they are gaining popularity in the United States. And now, more than ever, marketers are looking at the extensive possibilities that QR codes offer.

QR stands for Quick Response, and a QR code is another version of barcodes, so to speak. It is composed of black and white squares, and it serves as a repository of data in large amounts. You’ve probably seen QR codes – think of them as barcodes on something, steroids maybe. They are just a little larger and look slightly different from barcodes.

Much like you need a barcode reader to decode the data contained in a barcode, you need a QR scanning application to your smartphone, or any other similar device with a camera. You then need to scan the QR code, and it is up to the application to give you the data that the code contains. [Read more…]

Originally posted on March 30, 2011 @ 12:13 pm

Devil’s Advocate: Why T-Mobile Users Will Love Their AT&T Overlords

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In a move that surprised tech pundits, business insiders and the press, AT&T announced that they have purchased all of T-Mobile USA for almost $40 billion.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Deutsche Telekom AG (FWB: DTE) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at approximately $39 billion. The agreement has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. […]

With this transaction, AT&T commits to a significant expansion of robust 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) deployment to 95 percent of the U.S. population to reach an additional 46.5 million Americans beyond current plans – including rural communities and small towns.  This helps achieve the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and President Obama’s goals to connect “every part of America to the digital age.” T-Mobile USA does not have a clear path to delivering LTE. (via Mobilize Everything by AT&T).

AT&T will face an uphill battle getting this deal approved by the feds as acquiring T-Mobile will make the company the sole GSM carrier in the US (not to mention make it even harder to resurrect net neutrality).

Although a majority of T-Mobile customers have expressed outrage regarding the deal upon Facebook, there are at least a few reasons why they may end up loving their AT&T overlords (at least in the near future). [Read more…]

Originally posted on March 21, 2011 @ 1:28 pm

Will Skype Ads Pay Off?

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In an attempt to help monetize their platform, the VoIP king is launching ads upon Skype and is even leveraging their relationship with Facebook in order to empower users to share the ads with friends.

While including ads may help Skype off set the cost of providing free video chat services for millions of users, the question is will their service pay off?

Skype “Home” provides a sponsored large masthead space at 650 x 170 pixels expandable to 650 x 340 pixels for advertisers to display ads that can include audio or video. Since the ads are on Skype, advertisers can add a Click & Call button in the ad as another call to action. In addition, it allows people to share the ad to their Facebook or Twitter accounts, and with one-click, ads can also be closed with the “Close Ad” button. (Business Wire)

Skype’s plan on placing ads upon the home screen instead of on top of conversations is great for Skype fans, but it may not benefit advertisers as users will probably spend most of their time in the “conversational area” of Skype (unlike the home page).

Unless Skype was able to present some kind of “Groupon like” deal of the day, I fail to see how these ads will receive an abundance of user attention outside of Skype fans closing the ad out of annoyance.

Although it’s great to see Skype putting users ahead of advertisers, hopefully the company an adopt a strategy that benefits users and advertisers in order to help pay for their free video chat sessions.

(Image Credit: Official Skype Blog)

Originally posted on March 7, 2011 @ 1:23 pm

3 Ways Android Tablets Can Survive Against iPad 2

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With iPad 2 out, some are wondering whether or not a decent competitor will emerge to challenge Apple’s crown for king of the tablet devices.

Although Motorola’s Xoom is barely surviving the tablet wars, it doesn’t appear that they (or any future Android tablet) will be able to compete against iPad 2 in the near future due to 3 simple blunders. [Read more…]

Originally posted on March 14, 2011 @ 2:19 pm

Android Founder To Critics: You’re Full Of FUD

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Apparently Google doesn’t like being called a liar in public and Andy Rubin (one of the co-founders) seems to be upset about the “fear, uncertainty and doubt” being spread by the media about Android’s new rules.

Rubin attempts to clarify Google’s position regarding Android, although manufactures may not like what they hear.

We don’t believe in a “one size fits all” solution. The Android platform has already spurred the development of hundreds of different types of devices – many of which were not originally contemplated when the platform was first created.  […]

If someone wishes to market a device as Android-compatible or include Google applications on the device, we do require the device to conform with some basic compatibility requirements. (Official Android Blog)

To Google’s credit, members of the Open Handset Alliance did promise not to fragment Android, so Google (technically) did not perform a “bait and switch” upon carriers or manufactures when launching Android publicly a few years ago.

However Google can not claim to be open while running their “anti-fragmentation” campaign, as the former by definition gives everyone the power to alter (or fragment) Android to their hearts content.

Google is trying to have their cake and eat it too by using the open source community to help build up Android, while at the same time embracing a “Windows Phone” philosophy (i.e. force standardizations upon all phones).

While having standards for Android devices is needed for consumers and app developers, Google needs to stop pretending that Android is all about open (as Android is only “more open” than rivals, instead of being purely open source).

Originally posted on April 7, 2011 @ 1:03 pm