Mobile Takes the World by Storm
It’s been a couple of months since my last mobile update and a lot has happened in that time — both within the mobile space as well as in terms of my own personal mobile experience.
That’s right, since my last update I’ve purchased a new Blackberry Storm AND a new iPhone 3G.
Having taken a dive into the deep end of advanced mobile experiences, I’ve managed to renew my awe of this space and am motivated to pull together another post on the topic.
So without any further ado, let’s get right into it.
Mobile Devices
The last couple of weeks have brought a few mobile device-related items that are worth mentioning.
The much anticipated Palm Pre is officially being released, finally. After much anticipation, Sprint announced both a definitive launch date (June 6th) as well as pricing information ($200 after mail in rebate) for the latest aspiring “iPhone killer”.
Despite the fact that Nokia has not officially gone on the record about this, there is talk about a new program that would allow companies to brand Nokia mobile devices by wrapping them in their logos or custom images and pre-loading them with branded multimedia content. The cost of these branded Nokia devices would be offset by the corporate sponsorship for the user, and would offer a new, unique mobile marketing opportunity for the brands involved.
Mobile Apps
Now there’s no way I’m getting through my first mobile post after purchasing a Storm and an iPhone without talking about some apps.
Nokia Ovi Store — hoping to follow the success of Apple’s App Store, Nokia launched their own version this week. Since apps are critical to successfully gaining market share in this space, this is a positive step for Nokia (though they have a very long way to go to reach the level of Apple’s App Store).
SkyMap — Google released a new Android App at this month’s Searchology event called Sky Map, which turns any Android-based phone into a virtual guide to the galaxies. This is one app that I very much hope gets released for the iPhone soon.
Product Search — also from Google and also for Android, the Product Search app is now capable of scanning the barcode of a product. Using the built in camera of your mobile device, comparison shopping has never been easier.
Elvis has NOT left the building – a new iPhone app called Elvis Mobile was also released this month. It allows Elvis fans to view images and videos released by Graceland, listen to podcasts from Elvis Radio and even report Elvis sightings from around the world.
Well, that’s probably enough to chew on for today. As always, please feel free to add your favorite mobile highlights to the mix by commenting — and stay tuned for your next monthly mobile installment.
