Mobile site review: Sccope
I wrote an article about the quality of shopping comparison sites on mobile a few weeks ago, and was disappointed by the quality of most of them.
Reevoo and Kelkoo both had useful iPhone versions, and Reevoo has further improved its app by adding price information and transactional functionality, but most were less useful than they could have been.
I've been looking at another entrant into the market, Sccope, as well as talking to CEO Douglas Orr.
Nielsen - websites need mobile versions
The mobile user experience on most websites, even when accessed on the best devices, leaves a lot to be desired, and companies need to optimise their sites for the small screen.
This is usability guru Jakob Nielsen's verdict in his latest Alertbox column, and having accessed a lot of websites on mobile recently, it's hard to disagree with this point of view.
Mobile site review: LoveFilm
DVD rental company LoveFilm launched a mobile version of its website earlier this month, allowing users to browse through titles, read news and reviews, and view trailers.
The site is not fully transactional yet, though this is something that is planned for the future, but it does provide an opportunity to promote the LoveFilm service to mobile users, as well as providing advertising space.
Mobile wifi usage on the rise
Thanks to growing adoption of the iPhone and other smart mobile devices, an increasing number of Americans are logging onto WiFi networks to access the internet on the go.
Growth is heaviest in the heavily metropolitan West and Northeast sections of the country, together with Texas. California led the way with 18 percent of usage, followed by New York with 14 percent and Texas with 8 percent.
The findings come from mobile ad network AdMob's Mobile Metrics Report.
Worldwide mobile ad requests increased 8 percent month over month in January to 6.8 billion, led by double digit growth in Western Europe and Asia, but ad requests remained flat to negative growth in most of North America.
Mobile app review: ITN News
ITN has just launched a news app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which provides the latest news and sport in a more accessible format.
News organisations in the UK have been pretty slow to adapt their mobile sites or provide apps for smartphones; FT.com has a useful mobile site, with an iPhone app on the way, but others, like the Guardian, need to improve the user experience on mobile.
Reevoo improves its iPhone site
I looked at price comparison websites on mobile yesterday, and found many of these sites were not up to scratch, have not released versions for smartphones, or in many cases have not even developed mobile sites.
Of the five mobile shopping comparison sites I looked at, Reevoo's was one of the best, and has now improved its mobile offering by adding pricing information from retailers.
Are mobile shopping comparison sites any good?
For mobile internet users shopping offline, mobile price comparison sites should provide a useful service, allowing shoppers to look up reviews and see what kind of value they are getting.
Mobile users are using their phones to access product reviews and compare prices when shopping instore, so how well do price comparison sites cater for this consumer behaviour?
Retailers need to look to mobile internet - survey
25% of shoppers are using mobile phones as part of the buying process when in retail stores, using phones to compare prices and look for reviews or recommendations from friends.
A recent survey suggests that retailers have an opportunity to get more mobile users shopping instore by providing them with mobile apps and more mobile-friendly websites to allow customers to access this information to help make a purchase decision.
23 ways Apple can improve my next iPhone
I purchased two things last year that have improved my world considerably.
The first purchase was the Roland Juno, a synthesiser that is pound for pound the best value for money of anything I’ve ever bought. It is tremendous fun and all manner of synthy noises and weird Devo-esque sounds. It even has a cowbell. I can’t really play it, but I have a lot of fun trying.
The second thing was the delightful Apple iPhone. As you probably know, it is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread. For anybody who runs websites for a living it is a must-have. I’ve been sleeping more soundly since I bought it...
However, as with most things, there is scope for improvement.
Mobile site review: FT.com
FT.com has been giving its mobile site a makeover, launching a new version which matches the pink look of the website, and has also been optimised for smartphone users.
I looked at a few mobile newspaper sites recently, and haven't been all that impressed so far, especially with those from UK publishers, so how well does FT.com translate to mobile?
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Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
