O2 continues to surprise and delight with Valentine's campaign
O2 is continuing to roll out plans to ‘surprise and delight’ customers with another personalised social media campaign for Valentine’s Day.
The mobile operator has created a “digital Love Nest in the Clouds” to deliver Twitter users’ messages via YouTube videos, personally recorded by non-identical twin “O2 Cupids”.
This builds on the success of its #O2Santa stunt over Christmas, in which the company tracked mentions of the hashtag and similarly had a Santa character record people’s requested messages.
Blackberry's impressive app stats avoid the bigger picture
Blackberry’s App World generates 43% more daily downloads per app than Apple’s App Store, according to RIM’s VP for developer relations Alec Saunders.
During his speech at Blackberry DevCon Europe today, Saunders also stated that App World has more paid downloads than the Android Market and clocks up 6m daily downloads, which equates to 30 apps per Blackberry user each year.
Overall, App World is second only to iOS in terms of profitability, generating 40% more revenue for developers than the Android Market.
Why retailers need to embrace mobile internet in stores
It's natural that some retailers will feel threatened by the growing use of mobile in store, but the answer is to embrace this trend and use it to enhance the in-store experience.
Retailers can do this by providing apps and mobile optimised sites, but also by offering wi-fi to customers.
According to an On Device Research (ODR) survey of mobile users, 60% of respondents have used the mobile internet while in stores, while 78% would use free wi-fi in stores if offered it.
The use of smartphones by consumers is growing, and many are now using them to compare prices, and search the web for product reviews.
So how can retailers adapt and use this customer behaviour to their advantage?
10 amazing Google infographics
I've rounded up ten recent infographics on Google, with lots of stats, tips on searching Google, the most expensive keywords, and 2011 revenues.
Where possible, I've added the infographics to this post in a readable size, but for others you can click on the image to see a larger version...
TMNG launches smartphone lease plan in the US
Consulting firm TMNG Global has launched a smartphone leasing scheme in the US as an alternative to a two-year phone contract.
This will allow people to use the latest handset technology without having to pay early termination charges.
Could after-hours email restrictions hurt email marketers?
The rapid growth of mobile technology and its adoption throughout society has arguably been a boon to both employers and employees. When put in capable hands, a smart phone can be an incredible promoter of productivity.
But that doesn't mean that smart phones are perfect. There's a reason, after all, that many corporate workers given Blackberries coined the term 'Crackberry.'
Smartphone penetration hits 42% across 'EU5'
Smartphone penetration reached 42% across the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany (EU5) in October, compared to 39% in the US.
The data from comScore shows that Symbian is the dominant operating system in the EU5 with 32% market share, compared to 28% for Android and 21% for iOS.
O2 shares customer phone numbers with websites
Think your phone number is safe when browsing the web via your mobile? It seems like a logical assumption to make.
But that might not be quite true if you're an O2 customer.
Four proven steps to boost your online testing
Many businesses have dipped their toes into the world of online testing, and sometimes expectations of high returns from simple tests can outweigh reality.
The truth is that there are genuine and continuous benefits to be had, but you should think outside the box to drive real change.
11 dubious uses of QR codes
There are some very good examples of QR code use, but many of them seem to be used without enough consideration of factors such as location and optimising landing pages.
Here are some dodgy uses of QR codes, some bizarre, some in ridiculous locations, others just plain stupid...
