Now 4 billion people know the joy of txt
The humble SMS is 20 years old… and a far more important invention than the flashier inventions that have followed it
Here’s a question: what’s bigger and far more important than Facebook? Hint: it’s very low-tech and doesn’t need a smartphone or even an internet connection. And this year marks its 20th birthday, which means that in internet time it’s 140 years old. Oh, and it doesn’t involve LOLcats either.
Got it yet? It’s SMS – text messaging to you and me. Or txt msng, if you prefer. Two-thirds of the world’s population – that’s over 4 billion people – have access to it because that’s the number of people who have mobile phones, and even the cheapest, clunkiest handset can send SMS messages. It’s had a much bigger impact on people’s lives than anything dreamed up in Silicon Valley….Continue reading at The Guardian
Smartphones Vs. Tablets
Visa Reveals payWave-Compatible NFC Smartphone List
Trying to keep track of the current state of mobile payments via NFC on smartphones can be enough to drive you nuts. What should be a thriving development community is instead hampered by restrictions largely imposed by carriers. While they’ve hemmed and hawed about compatibility issues (and a cynical mind might just think they’re desperate to monetize the feature), we’ve seen some very slow progress towards a workable payment system with enough support to stand a fighting chance. One of the players still trying to come out on top is Visa, whose payWave system has been on our radar since last Spring. Today, Visa announced which phones will be the first to see payWave compatibility.
The initial batch of NFC-equipped smartphones to receive Visa approval consists of the Samsung Galaxy S II, LG Optimus Net NFC, BlackBerryBold 9900, Bold 9790, Curve 9380, and Curve 9360. There are some interesting names missing from that list, like the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S, but we’re optimistic it will grow in time.
So, let’s say you have one of these supported smartphones; how do you get Visa’s app and start making wireless payments? That’s not entirely clear. Visa has said that now that these phones have been certified, it “paves the way for mobile device manufacturers, mobile operators and retailers to partner with financial institutions to offer Visa mobile payment functionality”. Sadly, that news isn’t very empowering for the end-user, and it looks like you’ll just have to wait for a company you do business with to offer to set you up with payWave.
Source: Visa
Via: Pocket Now
Mobile Technology Leads to Better Customer Experience
Motorola Solutions Survey shows 67% of shoppers agree emerging in-store technologies heighten overall satisfaction.
The rising availability of shopping-assisted options across all shopping channels has raised customer service expectations for shoppers and retail associates. According to the survey, more than eight in 10 (83.3%) surveyed retail associates and managers believe that shoppers can easily find a better deal so customer service is more important than ever. From a shopper perspective, 33% of shopping trips ended with shoppers leaving before satisfying their intent to purchase, costing an average of $125 per trip. Of those lost opportunities, more than 73% did not complete their purchases with the original retailer.
While shopper activity and spend remains higher in-store than online, retailers need to continue to address the needs of the omni-channel shopper. Online purchases swelled by more than 18% compared to 2010 and 63% of surveyed shoppers with smartphones downloaded some type of shopping application.
Increasing online spend has created variances in satisfaction between offline and online experiences – almost 41% of shoppers were not satisfied with the ability to receive in-stock status in-store compared to 20% online. Approximately 27% of shoppers were not satisfied with the ease of finding correct prices in-store versus approximately 14% online; and 42% of shoppers were not satisfied with the check-out process in-store compared to 15% online. Online shoppers cited a much higher dissatisfaction rate (41% compared to 25%) for the return/exchange process, providing a significant advantage for in-store retailers…Continue reading at CSD
Trending Tech In The Workplace
The ubiquitous nature of smartphone and tablets is driving behavioral changes at an unprecedented pace. We are trending towards using one device for everything (see the Kleiner Perkins graph below). And the device needs to move seamlessly back and forth between work, home life, leisure activities, and everything else that we do on a daily basis. This trend is impacting social behavior. The tethering to a single device permits life and work to overlap in many more situations than before…
