iPhone: Only fun and games?

Today, as I fiddled with my Nokia mobile and gave myself another reason as to why I will never buy another phone made by that company, (I could have a whole post outlining those reasons) I had a thought race across my mind. What about the iPhone as my next mobile? As most people on the planet are aware, the iPhone has been on the darling of the mobile industry. Recently, the applications designed for it surpassed 10,000! That could translate into a lot of useful programs which could potentially simplify things for a busy professional. Now, I have heard a lot of grumblings about the iPhone from front line business professionals in relation to its lack of programs purely designed for their use. These individuals have lambasted the iPhone for being a fun toy but of little use in their working day. This post in effect, will be dedicated to delving somewhat deeper into this matter.

A quick search over at Techcrunch certainly did not lend support to the notion of the iPhone being only fun and games. Here is the list of the top paid apps for the iPhone:

Top Paid Apps (Overall):

Koi Pond
Texas Hold’em
Moto Chaser
Crash Bandicoot: Nitro Kart 3d
Super Monkey Ball
Cro-Mag Rally
Enigmo
Pocket Guitar
Recorder
iBeer

Hmm…I can’t really fathom just how useful iBeer or Pocket Guitar is to the busy executive but I could stand corrected. For a complete listing of other rankings in terms of paid and non paid top application downloads please check out the Techcrunch article.

Upon a second search, I found a site which outlined a number of different business apps for the iPhone which could definitely boost the performance of individual professionals and in essence their respective companies.

I have compiled a basic list of the apps covered in this article:

Oracle Business Indicators, Splash Money, HyperOffice
Readdle Docs, Quickbooks, Netnewswire
Salesforce, NuevaSync, WinAdmin

I assume that if there are over 10,000 apps now there must be more than the aforementioned in relation to pure business minded programs. Some of above are heavy hitters with the power and effectiveness to really make a difference for someone committed to harnessing it within their enterprise.

So, in effect what I have gleaned from my five minute search is that yes the iPhone does have apps out there. Perhaps it’s the proliferation of useful apps like ‘iBeer’ or ‘Super Monkey Ball’ which damage the iPhone’s image as a business tool or maybe more time is needed for the business applications to catch on and gain traction within the professional community. Either of the two or possibly both explanations could explain the overall malaise of business professionals towards the iPhone thus far. It will be interesting to see how this evolves and where Apple desires to position the iPhone in the future.

Canadian Chris

Taxi ads anyone?

Today’s post is an interesting one about an article I recently came across. It centers on the use of wireless technology being applied within the realm of advertising. The idea revolves around static, moving and interactive ads being placed both within and on top of taxis. Where this gets exciting however, is with regards to the digital screens and how they are mounted on the roof of the car. These screens which are 152cm long are double sided and also contain a global positioning system receiver, enabling the screens to promptly display ads according to both geographic locations and timed exposures.

What this means is that special deals such as lunch offers for example, can be sent out for one restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo as the taxi passes by at 12pm and that same taxi can circle back around 6pm with a new dinner ad for the same restaurant. The flexibility offered in terms of content is exactly what marketers want and throw this technology into a densely populated area and you have a new type of ad to really catch some attention.

Now bringing this technology around and relating it to mobile it would not be a stretch to imagine a hybrid campaign incorporating a call to action from a passerby who notices one of these ads as it whizzes by. Advertisers could have mobile landing sites created to direct that consumer to a particular offer. That idea alone echos one of the new rules for ad based CRM system success, which states that the most successful mobile campaigns rely on traditional ad styles—T.V., print, banner/sign—to augment and enhance the distinct capabilities offered by mobile phone advertising. That rooftop taxi sign is certainly a blend of traditional sign based ads, but on steroids per say with its moving, flashing, time and location based ads.

In addition, this new pull based advertising model in which the advertiser is not cramming the product news or information down the consumer’s throat is definitely another idea which must be fully comprehended by content providers. This idea also seems to follow suit in this regard.

This notion is not new as it was first introduced within the U.S. around the year 2000 in New York City and spread to other major American cities. This begs the question as to why, this technology has not taken off yet all over major cities? Why, is it that here in Japan, with the number of ads being served and technology being at such a high level, that such a site is not common within the likes of Tokyo or Osaka? Despite potential outlays of capital, surely there would be major advertisers ready to jump on this one. I would appreciate any thoughts or comments…

Canadian Chris

"The Times They Are a Changin..."

Exciting times we are living within I say. It sometimes takes a moment, thought or experience for that powerful realization to kick in though. I had one of those conscience awakening flashes this past week. I was thinking about this mobile revolution we are living through these days and just how quickly the technology is evolving. It really doesn’t seem all that long ago, when we were all gaga over the internet and what it potentially had to offer. Now, I know the internet is still developing and has much more to offer, however, one would be missing something if he or she didn’t realize that there has been a distinct shift in focus for a lot of companies—Google, Microsoft, Apple—towards mobile technology and development and this little device, which nearly all of carry on a daily basis.

The ubiquitous or ‘always on’ nature of this tool has had people drooling over possibilities for years. Since the keitai’s (Japanese word meaning mobile) inception the possibilities and discussions of developing a universal ‘life remote control’ have been thrown about more times than one can count. However, ten years back or even five years ago those were all just possibilities. Well, fast forward to the present and look around! My, oh my, have we come a long ways from those dreams.

To add some perspective, I picked up Rick Matheson’s book entitled Branding Unbound which basically covers the ‘future’ of advertising, sales and brand experience in the wireless age. This book was first published in 2005, which just under four years ago. Not that long ago right? Wrong! Especially if you are thinking in terms of keitai development, mobile CRM systems and the like! I found a passage in his book—which is an excellent read, or rather was excellent in 2005, but now somewhat dated and most useful to geeks like myself, who blog about the historical evolution of mobile developments. Yes, I am a techno. nerd. However, this book really allows one to see just how far we’ve come. Read, reflect and enjoy a quote lifted from Branding Unbound and an individual called Kenny Hirschorn, the director of strategy, Imagineering, and futurology for U.K.-based mobile carrier Orange:

“A few years from now, the phone call is going to be the lowest piece on the food chain. Of course, we will still facilitate voice communication. But on a daily basis, we will also awaken you in the morning. We will read you your email. We will start the oven. We will arrange transportation to and wherever you want to go. At the office, we will provide you with information and news.”

Check, check and check so far, in terms of what we are currently doing.

“We will translate information into foreign languages, or translate information into your language for you. We will track your health. We will track your family member’s location, if that’s what you want. We’ll be your bank, we’ll provide you with customized news and entertainment and we’ll even monitor your housing security as you sleep at night.”

Sound exciting? Not really eh. Why? Well, we have that technology right now, at least within Japan. That is all pretty much basic and wouldn’t raise an eyebrow to most within this country. That however, is my point you see, This device is rapidly altering the way most of us live and this change is happening now!

Companies or individuals willing to put the time in are leading the charge now, but as we all know, the old adage about today’s leader not always equaling tomorrow’s is something to keep in mind. Especially, for those of us who are big or small movers and shakers in this world of mobile technology and development. Just as Bob Dylan had it right in the sixties with his album about change and revolution, I too would like to join the chorus and hum away to these changin times.

As always, I invite comments about this post and others. In addition, I invite comments on how to introduce more readers to our blog.

Canadian Chris

“To be On-deck or Off-deck? That is the question…”

Recently I have been pondering the exponential growth of the mobile market here in Japan. It’s one of those things that if you think about for too long it can really excite you or scare you depending on your nature and your inherent love or hate towards technology. The number of changes on the way in terms of the way we currently live and structure our lives are undoubtedly many. I personally get very excited by this and the opportunities that are surely to abound. As do a number of mobile support marketing and mobile CRM software/application companies I am sure. To get a good taste of this, one need not look much further than what is happening on the streets of Seoul or Tokyo. Those two particular cities have their fair share of early adopters which are leading the way towards what you and I may soon be doing with our keitai’s in a new way a year from now.
As I thought about this topic a little more and here in Japan in particular I was struck by a bit of a dilemma for new start-up mobile application based companies who wish to tap this market and enter this frenzied game with a mobile based website. Those companies have a big decision to make between creating a site on-deck versus off-deck. For those of you unfamiliar with the terminology, on-deck simply refers to registering one’s site with an official carrier and having the site listed as part of their official line up. Off-deck site creation is the foregoing of this formal registration and simply creating your site on the mobile web. The differences are huge and something I would like to partially explore in this blog entry.
From past research and calls made to both carriers and companies specializing in the creation of off-deck sites I came across a number of distinguishing differences. Below are some of the highlighted differences:

Time and Costs: On deck sites require individual formal registration across each operator with separate fees. These costs on the cheaper end can run upwards of 3 to 5 million yen for a basic mobile site along with the formal registration costs. Not to mention the lengthy time needed for the site to be evaluated and approved. Off-deck on the other hand can be thrown up as fast as you can put it together for as cheap as you wish pending your site development needs.

PV`s: At this point according to calls made to leading mobile site development companies like Infinitia on deck sites offer high reliability and thus higher PV`s due to the inherent formalities of registering the site. Also if your company requires formal payment and bill collection the carriers can also do this for you. That aspect alone definitely makes a difference and knocks down a huge barrier between you and your customer. As we all know trust issues are huge in business however I would like to add that this factor can be especially important here in Japan.

On the other hand, nowadays the youth in Japan are beginning to initiate their searches off deck and by-passing the operators. Already, Japanese teens 13-19 prefer searching using mobile search in 70.1% of cases versus official mobile carrier listings in 47.1%. (Source: CNET Japan, May 2007) One can only assume that this trend will accelerate with internet search engine giant Google entering the mobile world here in Japan recently.

Future Trends: With the sheer numbers of off-deck sites versus on-deck one is inclined to think that the future of these walled gardens offered by operators will soon be a thing of the past. Looking at Docomo's i-Mode and we are already seeing a shift. Roughly 70% of the traffic is moving off-deck with 30% staying on. (Source: Infinitia--Japan Case Study: Mobile 2.0 and the Next Generation of of Mobile Appplications) Now If history has much to say about this along with current trends on both the web and mobile web this is a distinct possibility. The question for many is when of course.

So looking at but a few of these comparisons, one can see that there are distinct structural, technical and operational differences between both on and off deck sites. It must be noted that the list I have created here is certainly not exhaustive as issues of operator filtering amongst other key issues are not examined. But for the purpose of this exercise I thought those highlighted points I noted do illustrate some fairly major issues faced by start-ups who wish to enhance or add a layer to their CRM image or best practices.

The questions I suppose for a lot of these start-ups are what are their goals? What type of site is needed? Who is the site targeted at? How long will their site take to develop a loyal following? These answers which can be garnered from one’s business plan can go along ways towards really simplifying and making seemingly difficult dilemmas very straightforward. I invite others thoughts on this topic!

Canadian Chris

Japan: A Techno Wonderland or Wasteland?

A few months ago while attempting to further acclimate myself with Japan in terms of definable business opportunities, I stumbled across a book entitled "Saying Yes to Japan: How Outsiders are Reviving a Trillion Dollar Services Industry by Tim Clark and Carl Kay". The book as the title suggests examines the service industry here in Japan along the lines of four key industries namely finance, real estate, information technology and health care services and how there is a distinct gap between the level of service offered and what is truly needed to create real value.

One of the key points articulated by Clark and Kay is that the low end services here in Japan are handled quite well compared to the west--as evidenced by the extraordinary service one encounters in a trip to the local 7-11 or MacDonald`s. However, that level of service sharply drops once the higher end servicing opportunities appear. The reason I bring this up is that in starting this blog on mobile CRM and the various CRM software applications and tools being developed worldwide, I am still seeing a distinct gap in what is available in terms of raw technological capabilities and what is currently being offered or even used within the Japanese workplace.


Japan at first glance is certainly a techno wonderland--a coin phrased by the authors of Saying Yes to Japan--in that the level of sophistication relating to technology is quite high. In particular, the technology being utilized to navigate through one`s daily life is highly developed here in Japan versus the west. From buying a Coke with your keitai (mobile phone), to watching your favorite television program, to even programming your rice cooker the examples of keitai based technological savvy are everywhere.

Things get interesting however when one turns their attention to the workplace where this wondrous blend of machinery and human skill is suddenly lost. The dazzling array of technology which pervades one`s daily life outside work suddenly disappears. In visiting local governments, one is stunned by the acute lack of fundamentally deliverable services that are either non-existent or painfully outdated. The amount of paper work one is subjected to for just about any request is extraordinary. Or looking at residential neighborhoods--which are still very connected versus that of western culture standards--and how communications are primarily via a head community centre which circulates a clipboard with the latest news, notices and event information. Visiting a local bank and noticing the fairly recent push of Internet banking capabilities as a relatively new customer enticement service seems a bit behind the times too considering Japan' reputation as a technological leader worldwide.

These points are but a few which illustrate a point driven home by Clark, Kay and countless others. Japan in some regards could certainly be looked upon as a bit of a wasteland technologically speaking. Services utilizing information technology within the workplace aimed at improving either productivity or service support are at levels which are not sufficient considering Japan`s capabilities.

Now, relating these notions to mobile CRM tools, applications and software and statistics as shown in one of our first blogs, one can see that this particular technology offers an outlet for improving or enhancing mobile customer relationships. The applications which are currently developed or are in use within B2B--business to business applications--or B2C--business to consumer applications--pale in comparison to what they could be.


Why is this? Possible explanations include the technology racing too fast for the culture to keep pace. With most large board room executives in Japan being in their latter years and the rate at which this technological is occurring, could it be too much for them to digest and apply all at once? Is the technology itself too forward thinking for even the hyper-connected and technologically savvy Japanese to apply instantly? Both explanations seem plausible, but I am sure the reasons aren't so simple or clear cut. I believe that it is probably a combination of a number of factors such as the above, along with others relating to IT infrastructure not being fully developed or proven to the degree in which companies are willing and comfortable to outlay large expenditures on it just yet. So many questions, but no simple answers.

So, is Japan a techno wonderland or wasteland? Well, it all depends how you further define that question and what the next five to ten years say. What is clear however, is that there are opportunities and that understanding what they could be is the first step in poising oneself to capitalize on them.

Canadian Chris