Business News Holding

Tag: mobile-app

  • Survey: Website or App for e-Commerce? Depends on Your Nationality

    Survey: Website or App for e-Commerce? Depends on Your Nationality

    mobile-shopping1

    Different nationalities have different preferences in their method of online shopping – website/mobile site vs. mobile application, according to a survey conducted by OHT-Mobile.

    The survey, conducted in February 2015, was jointly carried out with Google Consumer Surveys based on a representative sample of 800 respondents – 100 each from the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan.

    58% of all respondents worldwide answered that they prefer shopping using a website. In Canada 67% still prefer to shop using a website or mobile site but in the UK, only 49% express the same preference.

    In Germany, more than half (51%) responded that they prefer either an app or have no preference – meaning that those who prefer to shop on websites (44%) are in the minority.

    The full results are as follows:

    • USA (65% prefer web or mobile site; 21% app; 10% no preference)
    • Canada (67%; 15%; 13%)
    • UK (49%; 23%; 23%)
    • Australia (58%, 11%, 29%)
    • Germany (44%; 22%; 29%)
    • Italy (61%; 16%; 21%)
    • Netherlands (62%; 14%; 22%)
    • Japan (56%; 16%; 23%)

    “The preference for shopping on websites is still strong, but there is a growing trend for app shopping. What’s more is that we are seeing variation between nationalities,” said Ofer Shoshan, CEO of One Hour Translation. “Online retailers should be aware of the different preferences of the audience in each region and be sure to localize their mobile sites and applications to suit accordingly.”

    The survey results follow similar results of a One Hour Translation survey completed in Q4 of 2014 with 2,000 participants from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada. According to that survey, 83% of Italians prefer to buy goods and services online in their native language, compared with 80% of Germans, 65% of the Dutch, 74% of the Canadians, and no less than 90% of Japanese people.

    Image: Jason Howie

  • New Smartphone App Gives Verizon Customers VoIP Capabilities

    South Carolina-based Zipit Wireless launched a new app, one they expect to help healthcare professionals deliver faster, more complete aid to their patients than ever before. It’s called Zipit Enterprise Critical Messaging Solution, and it has grown out of an exclusive partnership with Verizon.

    The new app will launch in over one hundred healthcare facilities in the United States, and will give professionals the ability to send a tracked communication in ten seconds or less. That level of speed means faster decision-making for patients in critical health and better access to current patient and treatment information, potentially leading to higher quality care and saved lives.

    The app will be available on Android and iOS devices, and works like a next generation pager. Users can send alerts, launch a two-way communications window, and create pages tagged with various levels of priority. The Vice President of Verizon Connected Healthcare, Peter Tippett, feels it may forever transform the healthcare industry. His excitement stems from the idea that technology can enable professionals to better care for their patients through instant connectivity and the sharing of information at unprecedented speeds.

    Hospital professionals are already sounding off on the app’s viability and real-world applications. They feel it brings accountability along with information access, as the app creates a detailed log of all communications, whether voice, text or page. But Zipit Wireless feels that the app provides a unique opportunity for other industries as well. Any field that needs quick, clear and accountable communication, such as the manufacturing or hotel industries, will find it streamlines their IT processes, saving their company and their customers money and time.

  • Viber 3G VoIP Mobile App Coming to Android

    Viber, a mobile application that offers users free phone calls and text messaging to other Viber users over 3G and Wi-Fi, announced the official launch of the Android version of the app, bringing Viber to millions of additional users.

    Viber also announced that it has acquired over 12 million active users (last 30 days) and has an impressive call traffic volume of over one billion minutes of calls per quarter.

    Viber was released for iPhone just seven months ago and it now has over 20 million registered users and 12 million active users who currently talk on Viber for 11 million minutes every day, with an average of 6 minutes per call.

    The Android version of Viber features the same easy setup process and high-quality calls that drove its success on the iPhone. The Android version of Viber includes several exclusive features:

    • Full call screen whenever a Viber call is received;
    • Popup text message notification, which lets users respond to text messages without having to open Viber;
    • Tighter integration with the phone, which allows users to see their regular call logs and messages within Viber;
    • A default dialer setting that enables users to use the Viber dialer for all their phone calls, not just for Viber calls.

    "We have been looking forward to launching our Android app, especially after having received a staggering number of requests from Android users asking us to bring Viber to the Android market. Our latest user numbers are the best indicator of how much our users love to talk and send messages for free with Viber," said Talmon Marco, Viber CEO.

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    [Originally appeared on VoIP.Biz-news.com]

  • Viber 3G VoIP Mobile App Coming to Android

    Viber, a mobile application that offers users free phone calls and text messaging to other Viber users over 3G and Wi-Fi, announced the official launch of the Android version of the app, bringing Viber to millions of additional users.

    Viber also announced that it has acquired over 12 million active users (last 30 days) and has an impressive call traffic volume of over one billion minutes of calls per quarter.

    Viber was released for iPhone just seven months ago and it now has over 20 million registered users and 12 million active users who currently talk on Viber for 11 million minutes every day, with an average of 6 minutes per call.

    The Android version of Viber features the same easy setup process and high-quality calls that drove its success on the iPhone. The Android version of Viber includes several exclusive features:

    • Full call screen whenever a Viber call is received;
    • Popup text message notification, which lets users respond to text messages without having to open Viber;
    • Tighter integration with the phone, which allows users to see their regular call logs and messages within Viber;
    • A default dialer setting that enables users to use the Viber dialer for all their phone calls, not just for Viber calls.

    "We have been looking forward to launching our Android app, especially after having received a staggering number of requests from Android users asking us to bring Viber to the Android market. Our latest user numbers are the best indicator of how much our users love to talk and send messages for free with Viber," said Talmon Marco, Viber CEO.

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  • VoIP-PAL Working on New iPad 2 App

    VoIP-PAL announced the development of integrating the video conferencing feature on forthcoming new PointsPhone Mobile App for the iPhone 4G and Apple’s new iPad 2. The App and the new Video Calling feature will soon be available for free downloading at the Apple App Store.

    According to VoIP-PAL, its goal is to provide "a quality, reliable, cost-effective and safe solution" for the casual and business international traveler who must rely on their smartphones to communicate.

    "Apple has once again proven to be the leader in innovation," stated Dennis Chang, President of VoIP-PAL. 

    "When it comes to providing what the consumer seems to want. A front facing camera on its iPhone 4G has made it practical for video calling and conferencing. Apple’s own FaceTime App is available from the Apple App Store, but we are developing a new version of our PointsPhone Mobile iPhone App that will also incorporate video calling. This new iPhone App will also be compatible and allow video chatting on Apple’s latest iPad 2. The new iPad 2 is a modest but significant upgrade and it’s important for our PointsPhone iPhone App to work on Apple’s latest product," he added.

    According to him,  video valling capabilities for smartphones is an important step in bringing the world closer together. Face-to-Face communication will not only improve family and friends’ connectivity, but it will help strengthen business relationships.

    "The first step is to complete the work to upgrade our iPhone App," said Mukesh Mohanbhai, VoIP-PAL’s Chief Technical Officer. "A beta version has been completed and tested. The new version will be fully capable of supporting our new Video Calling feature. Some of the new features of the Video Calling will be highly competitive to some of the others offered, such as transports to various popular Instant Messaging (IM) protocols such as MSN, Google Talk and Yahoo. Again, we will not release a product until I am sure it is truly a quality product and that it is safe and reliable. At VoIP-PAL we have adopted the doctrine of ‘Right the First Time’ release."

  • iSuppli: Facebook Plans New Mobile Strategy

    Facebook is set to move beyond its mobile application strategy as it plans to become a stand-alone mobile platform, which developers can distribute mobile apps with, says iSuppli.

    Already a leader in non-mobile web applications, Facebook offers more than 550,000 applications and supports 1m developers. According to the research group, the social network’s aim is to offer something similar on mobile (most third-party Facebook apps are not currently available on mobile).

    Facebook’s mobile growth remains strong. It now counts more than 150m active mobile users (out of more than 400m total users), compared with 100m in February 2010.

    “Mobile will continue to play a key role in growing Facebook’s overall user base. In May 2010, it launched Facebook 0, a text only version of the social network aimed at mobile users in developing countries with lower-end phones and limited access to mobile data. Facebook has deals with more than 60 network operators in 50 developing countries to provide the service for free,” said iSuppli analyst Jack Kent.

    According to him, while Facebook will likely remain the leading social network on mobile, a number of new players will force it to innovate. Foursquare, the location-based mobile social network that offers a gaming element and check-in functionality, is most prevalent of these new entrants. While Foursquare‘s 2m user base is tiny compared to Facebook, its implementation of location specific data is likely to be similar to Facebook’s forthcoming local features.

    “Facebook’s drive towards creating its own mobile platform may cause a headache for developers who will be forced to develop for another set of APIs (application program interfaces) in the already fragmented mobile sector. The prospect of tapping into a 500m-strong social graph could however prove enticing for many, as is already the case for many websites that integrate Facebook’s APIs,” said Kent.

    He thinks that having previously focused on developing native applications for mobile operating systems (including Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android), Facebook’s new strategy will likely focus on mobile web based applications that give it greater control over its ecosystem and the user experience it provides.

    “For Facebook, offering its own platform for mobile web applications will help drive its core advertising and microtransaction business models. It will be able to serve ads and gain revenues from its Facebook Credits virtual currency, outside the realm of other mobile ad-networks and mobile application stores,” concluded the iSuppli analyst.

  • No More Phone Numbers: Interview with Micha Benoliel, CEO of Digitrad

    “This is the future, this is the next big thing: save money on international calls and merging online social places with voice on your cell phone. You will never use your cell phone the same way!,” says Micha Benoliel, CEO of Digitrad, when asked by Smartphone.Biz-News.com about CallbyName, the company’s flagship product.

    Digitrad is the provider of consolidated communications platforms bringing together IM, voice, social networks and online directories. They started in 2000 as a web agency specialized in dynamic websites integrations.

    No More Phone Numbers
    “In 2003 we did our first voice app. After this successful first experience, we realized there was a wonderful opportunity by merging web interface with voice applications to create a real Swiss knife tool to help you build voice services in a record time.

    Micha Benoliel

    “CallbyName combines our unified communications features such as mobile voice to voice web, voice to email and voice to SMS with a social address book. Your real name becomes your single point of contact for all your communications.

    “Some people use multiple social networks with the same people and want to sync all their info under a single profile. Just one and same place to gather all your communications info. With all these contacts spread out across different places and applications, we need a service that helps us to reach someone fast, simply and in a way convenient for the caller and the receiver,” says Micha.

    “Almost free calling”
    The service also lets you call the world “almost for free” from the mobile phone. “Amost for free”? Micha explains how it works: “When you decide to call a friend in US from UK for example, instead of calling the US number CallbyName will assign you a temporary local English phone number. When you dial that number which is included within your plan or cost as a local call, you will hear an 8 second audio ad that sponsors the call and it will ring on the US number you wanted to dial originally.”

    CallByName mobile app, currently available on Android and iPhone, uses your local phonebook and offers to call up to 50 international destinations for the cost of a local call from your mobile. You can also leave voicemails directly delivered by email as an attachment. It’s available in the US, UK France and soon in 21 more countries

    “From the user feedback we have a good retention rate and they like the user experience very close from the one of any address book on any phone. But this is really a start as the version 2 is the one really getting the traction with the connectors to social networks and the presence feature that allows you to call your friends from the mobile to the Facebook page.”

    The version 2 will include the connectors with social networks and online addressbook like Facebook, Twitter, Google contacts, LinkedIn.

    Digital ID for all your communications
    Another product from Digitrad is yes.tel. In 2009, they became registrar for the .tel domain which is the first domain dedicated to communications. It is now between the top 25 registrars of .tel in the world. Instead of linking a name to a website, .tel links a name to contacts information.

    “For an individual, it could be called your home or your place on the web. For businesses it is a way to enter the first real-time global directory,” explains Micha.

    When asked what is next for mobile integrated communication systems, he says: “Our team of passionate and talented people works to integrate CallbyName within the everyday mobile and web user experience. It means that you will no longer have to search for the best way to communicate with someone. You will have a seamless call experience that will always reach and connect the other party even if you don’t know its phone number.”

    He believes the VoIP market has a great potential. According to him, the question is how are the telco infrastructures going to handle this technology very demanding in terms of bandwidth and quality of service.

    “We believe that for the time being a temporary local phone number to reach the cloud and connect anywhere for the cost of a local call is the right combination,” he says.

    Micha says the main goal for Digitrad in 2010 is “to show the world that using your real name as a single point of contact for all your communications is not a dream anymore.”

  • Mobile application sales to hit $16 billion per year by 2013

    The number of smartphones sold each year will increase from around 165.2 million in 2009 to 422.96 million in 2013, with the total number of smartphone users approaching 1.6 billion, according to Wireless Expertise, an UK-based wireless market research and consulting firm.

    Its latest report “The future of mobile application storefronts” shows how smartphone penetration will reach approximately 28-30% of the total mobile market by 2013.

    “We expect smartphone growth to have a positive impact on the number of application downloads in the short- to mid-term,” said Anuj Khanna, CEO of Wireless Expertise and author of the report.

    Wireless Expertise forecasts that the global mobile app market – including games – will be worth $4.66 billion in 2009, rising to $16.60 billion, in 2013.

    With mobile phones outnumbering PCs around the world by 4:1, mobile applications represent an even bigger opportunity for the mobile industry than the fixed-line perceived the internet a decade ago.

    “With over four billion mobile users around the world compared to approximately one billion PCs, mobile will become the ideal channel for businesses to reach their consumers,” continued Khanna.

    “Mobile operators have to adopt a dual app store strategy, using the now widely-accepted app store model in conjunction with a browser-based widget store, to provide the greatest potential for a mass-market proposition.”

    The report credits Apple for growing and revolutionalising the applications market. “Apple has not only invigorated what was rapidly becoming a stagnant mobile content and services market, but its App Store has paved the way for professional content developers and publishers to stand side-by-side with the new breed of garage developers introducing innovative and functional apps,” said Khanna.

    “However, we expect Apple to face tough competition from mobile operators, independent service providers and competing vendor application portals in the next 18-24 months.”

    Wireless Expertise suggests that Nokia will be very active in the smartphone market and Nokia’s biggest advantage over Apple is its ability to offer Ovi on a wide range of handsets, ranging from the high-end to the mainstream. And the fact that Nokia is pushing its app store to a mass market is very encouraging.

    “Diverse and competing mobile operating systems from other vendors such as Symbian, Google Android, Microsoft Windows and Research in Motion will also help in growing the market,” concluded Khanna.

    “We predict the emergence of independent mobile application stores which specialise in niche content such as games and location-based services.”

    Mobile Operators releasing a mobile internet API would address the issue of fragmentation and help create a multichannel app services and content retail environment coupled with integrated billing and payment mechanisms.

    However, operators must be involved in the delivery and payment of the service with their own platforms giving improved revenue shares as high as 90% if they want to compete in this market.