LetsBuyIt Blog

I have taken a particular interest to Mobile Marketing and M-Commerce and after having heard about Mobile Banking in developing countries I came across this article “Pakistan: Begging for alms via SMSe“. Apparently beggars are asking for mobile phone credit instead of money for food. This might sounds strange but most probably these beggars themselves treat mobile credit as some sort of virtual bank/money account, which they can use in return to pay for goods and services. I heard about this phenomenal idea, which seems to have been developed in Africa. If you have more information please don’t hesitate to letting me know.

On Tuesday we were lucky enough to visit the CeBit 2008 in Hannover and it was quite amazing. The amount of retailers and new products are quite fascinating however it was a little short of fascinating new gadgets, which were unheard of. The trends are predictably M-Commerce, Mobile Technologies, GPS and Internet Security. These new technologies need a lot of development, which is reflected in the plentitude of headhunters and job offers in the hall for Human Resource Recruitment.

However what never ceases to amaze me is the audacity with which some of the companies are demonstrating the copies of the original products. Read this article on Heise to get an idea.

Here is a list of the most useful items that the modern man needs, in my opinion:

HDTV Flatscreen with 3D conversion for the best effects;

ruggedized laptops that are water-resistant (and coffee) can be dropped from the table, can work at -20 upto +60 degrees Celsius with battery for 8.5 hours. This way we can work from anywhere, even the post-Emma Germany;

Mobile phone that can run 2Sim Cards

Wall of 10m of Microsoft Surface touch screen

We have already written an article about Mobile Marketing and QR Codes on June 20, 2007. Finally we see the initial large scale attempt of international retailer H&M who are “tuning” their ads with barcodes.

You take a photo of the barcode on the poster, the software recognizes the product and without any hassle the shopper can purchase the product over the phone and the price is simply added to the telephone bill. These barcodes can be easily recognized with a small software of the Canadian mobile phones marketing specialist Semacode that allows code recognition in liaison with mobile phone cameras. That is even better than purchasing the product within the banner ad without having to leave the page, made possible by Gettailgate.com.

This Silicon Valley start-up has taken social networking and geolocalisation to a new dimension, the mobile phones. This Boost Mobile System (only available in the US) not only provides the social networks with all its usual facets (communities, IM, blogging, etc.) but it traces each member via GPS in real time on a map. On the spot you can chat with your friend near you, everybody knows when the other is the neighbourhood or happens to be in the club that you thought about going.

“Using location-based technologies, Loopt lets you know where your friends are by automatically updating maps on your mobile handset. Loopt even lets you send messages to nearby friends or receive automatic alerts when they’re nearby so that you never miss an opportunity to meet. Loopt also lets you journal your life so that your friends can see what you’re up to. “

Now you are not only being myspaced, facebooked, digged, chatted-up but also traced via GPS. You may like it or not but it is definitely interesting from an entrepreneurial view.

We went to a meeting this morning on the growing opportunity of marketing on mobile phones. The interest of all techniques and methods - SMS, MMS, Bluetooth points or QR code - has been proved regarding to different marketing goals and objectives of the advertisers.
Effectiveness of these mobile campaigns was one of the most significant points of the demonstration: opening rates up to 98% for SMS campaigns, return rate of 25% in average for communication campaigns, in addition to a penetration rate of the mobile phone use in Europe that doesn’t stop increasing.

I must confess that I still have some remaining questions about mobile marketing:
- Return rates are still very high today because commercial mobile messages are not very spread, and spam does not exist on this terminal. But what will happen when spam will appear among sms and mms as they are today by emails? Will we all have to get a anti-spam solution on our mobile phones?
- What about answer and/or website connection fees included on these messages? Will they be carried by the advertisers or is it gonna stay the way it is today: surprises?
- As for QR codes (or 2D codes), I must confess I’ve always been puzzled about them, but never really saw them since they appeared.. I barely believe that just by tacking a picture from any angle of a small code, it will really redirect you with no mistake to the good website!

Ever wish you could find directions to the nearest bookstore or coffee shop without asking a stranger? Maybe you’re having trouble keeping tabs on your adventurous children?

While relatively new, these mobile services have begun to build a following by making it easier for people to find their way around a strange city, meet up with friends, or get directions to a new restaurant or shop.

Source : Reuters
Get the full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/technology-media-telco-SP-A/idUSN2534430920070530

Have you ever walked down the street and thought of an item you wanted to buy or simply wondered what store nearest to you had the latest hot new product?

Slifter - a free cell phone application - gives you the information you need, such as:

• How much is it?
• Where is the nearest store where I can buy it?
• Is it in stock?
• How do I get there?

All this, plus product images and maps to nearby stores. Slifter also lets you text products to friends and family so they can add them to their Slifter shopping lists. Slifter works on almost any mobile device including nearly all cell phones (with data services), Treos, Blackberries as well as any computer with an internet connection.

GPShopper website : http://www.gpshopper.com

Get ready for the new commerce generation!