Now Use Written Gestures to Search Android Phone

It’s getting closer to the moment of truth for me and this kind of “news” gets me a little closer to making the move on going with an Android device. I know the days are numbered for my BlackBerry. That’s a foregone conclusion. I guess I am the customer that is being most fought over between Apple and any Android device (hence Google for all intents and purposes). I want out of my Blackberry Storm sooner than later but I am still debating whether to wait out the contract to go with an iPhone (it’s a year away) or commit to an Android device ….. now.

Google today introduced the ability to search on an Android device using 2.0 or higher using written gestures. Pretty slick. The Google Mobile Blog tells some more.

As mobile phones become increasingly powerful and can store more data, we’ve introduced new methods of search to get you to your content faster, such as search suggestions or search by voice. But sometimes, typing to get to the right search suggestion takes too long, and you may be in a quiet environment where speaking a query is inappropriate. Today we’re pleased to announce Gesture Search, a new Google Labs application for Android-powered devices running Android 2.0 or above in the US. Gesture Search lets you quickly find a contact, an installed application, a bookmark or a music track from hundreds or thousands of items, by simply drawing alphabet gestures on the touch screen.

This ability alone is not enough to make me switch but the speed with which Google is progressing with functionality and specific Google centric changes is making many pay close attention. Add to that the Apple v. HTC (indirectly Google) alleged patent infringement case and it look like the Android is going to be a real competitor and Apple knows it.

I am not taking sides in the Apple v Google war because I use both of them to do much of my work. I am, however, trying to figure out how I can get the most out of each because there are benefits to both. Right now, though, I need Google more than I need Apple so maybe this isn’t such a tough decision after all.

While I am at a crossroads of sorts as a mobile user where are you with regard to marketing in this space? Do marketers need to take sides or do they truly need to ride the fence and look to appease both groups? Or am I completely wrong in assuming that the Android market will ever challenge the iPhone dominance?

How do you see this?

Google Searches Follow To Your Mobile Life – If It’s An Android

Google continues to bring more and more functionality to the Google experience and in a huge coincidence the latest improvements only run on Android phones. Hmmm……wonder why they would do that?

In a nutshell, Android devices can now access searches made on your computer or other devices. If you do a search query on your desktop then hit the road with your Android phone you can now have that search available on the go. The Official Google Mobile Blog states

If you often use both a computer and a mobile phone in your daily routine, it can seem like a hassle when they don’t stay in sync. You might spend time on your computer looking for a great used bookstore, only to forget the name of the place when you are ready to get directions from your phone. Sure, you could print directions in advance, but we believe smartphones are “smart” because they save you time. That’s why today we’re making your phone a bit smarter with the introduction of personalized suggestions and synchronized starring in Google Maps for mobile on Android.

Google continues to make these kinds of updates aimed directly at the market that is making smartphone choices. If there is a chance to jump ship from say, Verizon, it can be tempting to go over to AT&T for the iPhone. In my case, I have a BlackBerry Storm that needs to be replaced. I have thought about an iPhone forever but Android phones are looking like a strong choice because of my near dependency on Google services. My iPod Touch can do the app thing but carrying two devices kinda sucks. Honestly, though, it may be worth the hassle if Google is going to just do more on the Android phone.

The blog gives a scenario where this feature could come in handy

Personalized suggestions make it easy to find places you’ve previously searched for. For example, imagine you’re on your computer and you come across the Place Page for Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe. After reading reviews, you decide to stop in for lunch. When you’re ready to go and want to get directions, just open Google Maps on your phone, start typing “mar,” and you’ll quickly see a suggestion – saving you from re-typing a long query and making it easier and faster to be on your way.

The fight is definitely on between Google and just about everyone else. It gets some people like Steve Jobs pretty riled up. What’s more important though is that it gets customers fired up to have a smartphone that helps them be more efficient with the tools that they already rely on for efficiency.

This is only going to get more intense so fasten your seat belts and be ready for the fireworks should be created that the rest of this year and many more to come.

Yelp Gives Its Reviews a Location Twist

The review site Yelp has been interesting to watch over time. It gets a lot of interest from different businesses like Google who was interested buying it. Then it gets more investment from VC’s when those deals don’t pan out. It has been vilified for business practices and then has worked to make the service more ‘balanced’ as well. Regardless of your point of view of the service it certainly has established itself as the leader in the small business online review space. This month’s Inc. magazine’s cover story is on the service (take note of the what not to do story that opens the piece ….. creepy.)

Now Yelp is looking to make the service even more interesting by adding a location based feature that allows reviewers to show how many times they have “checked in” to a location that they have reviewed. Mashable tells us more

Last week, the battle for your check-ins took an interesting new turn as Yelp rolled out a set of location features for its iPhone app. Today, Yelp’s expanding the feature to include check-in information alongside user reviews on its website.

With that small step, you can see exactly why check-ins are such a big deal for Yelp and a big threat to upstarts like Foursquare and Gowalla. We’re told that Yelp just passed nine million reviews, and now, with the ability to connect check-in data to individual reviews, the company is hoping to add further credibility to its users’ ratings.

According to the article this feature is only available for iPhone apps but versions for Android, BlackBerry and the like are on the horizon. Here’s a look at how these check-in appear in a review.

They also show up in a user’s profile by their reviews. This is important because it gives some level of participation to the site by giving users the ability to add more depth and credibility to their reviews if they have repeatedly “checked in” from that location.

Mashable’s Adam Ostrow makes an interesting observation about this feature as it relates to the level of competition this service could provide to a much smaller high flyer of late, Foursquare, which is a location based ‘game’.

……..the most interesting aspect of Foursquare is not the game, but seeing where your friends are, and Yelp’s doing that too. Given Yelp has a big headstart, it’s hard not to see it representing a big threat to the startups — though Facebook and its expected location features still loom large as well.

I am not a participant in any of these location-based activities personally. There are a lot of reasons for it and I explain a few here. Whether I use it or not though is obviously not the point. There appears to be a real growing wave of moving toward filling this apparent obsession of knowing where everyone is at all times and letting them know where you are. It’s like a location tweet of sorts.

As marketers, there could be tremendous value that will be discovered with time. Who will be the players that really take advantage of it and allow themselves to ‘stub their toes’ early on in the ‘monetization of location’ game should be fun to watch.

Are you seeing any real effective early adopters marketers who leverage location based services out there? Do tell.

Google Integrates “Real-Time” Messages Into Place Pages, Makes BlackBerry Mobile App More Useful

Taking a page from Facebook or Twitter, Google is putting a bit of real-time functionality on local business Place Pages. Google is promoting the idea that small businesses can use their Place Pages to promote time-sensitive (real-time) events. Here’s the Google LatLong blog discussion of how they envision its use:
Holding a special event today? Want [...]

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Cup of Joe: Give Me a Smart Phone With Pink & Purple Stripes

So the other day I logged into LinkedIn and went to my Inbox to view some messages. There I saw a connection request that I had obviously rejected back in November. I don’t like accepting request on LinkedIn unless I have met the said person face to face. So it’s not unusual that I would have rejected someone’s request. However, when I actually read this one request something was different. This person apparently met me while in Las Vegas at PubCon. Why did I refuse his request? Well, to be honest, I don’t remember the guy at all. I mean, I met a lot of cool folks at PubCon and apparently I met some non-memorable ones as well. Being non-memorable is a problem, especially for people at networking events.

I have to make a confession: I don’t have a trendy smart phone.

Now don’t get me wrong I have nothing against them, it’s just that my current phone does everything I need and more. I have been thinking lately about upgrading to a new smart phone, but quite honestly it has been really hard deciding which to pick. One of my old friends from college used to have a BlackBerry and now is using a Motorola Droid. So I called him up to get his opinion. We talked for a long time about all the different options in the smart phone market and I still didn’t feel any closer to picking out a phone that I wanted.

Why can’t I decide? What keeps getting in the way with this decision? Honestly none of the phones “jump out” at me. I mean really, when it all boils down to it, they are all the same. Sure some have different features. Some come with different services plans. Some come with different apps and widgets. But seriously they all pretty much do the same thing. Why aren’t any of the smart phone makers creating devices that stand out from the crowd? Why aren’t any of them creating memorable products? Why do they all pretty much look the same?

Why can’t I get one shaped like a banana with pink and purple stripes? I want one that can also open a bottle of beer, or something else equally ridiculous. Seth Godin will tell you that your brand has to be remarkable.  However, before your brand can be remarkable it has to be memorable. It has to stand out from the crowd. It has to make me want to know more.

Sherlock Holmes Uncovers TweetDeck Promo Potential

In an informal survey it would be interesting to know how many of our readers that made it this far into the post use TweetDeck as their third party Twitter app. I for one do on the desktop and as my mobile Twitter app in an iPod Touch. Alas, the old Blackberry disconnect ends my ability to be a full fledged TweetDecker. Are you a TweetDeck user? If not what are your preferred third party Twitter apps. Just let us know for kicks.

So why the interest in TweetDeck? Well, it looks like they are at least finding a way to generate some revenue. In the past the application provider has offered skins for their service for bands like Blink182 but now the film industry is getting on board. Mashable reports

TweetDeck kicked off the series with a Warner Brothers partnership for the studio’s upcoming film version of Sherlock Holmes — the accompanying theme, “TweetDeck Telegram Co.,” is now available for download.

While I suspect I am not the target market for these things it could be interesting to see just how this kind of promotional option pans out for Warner Brothers. It’s certainly worth a try right? If there is a chance to customize your TweetDeck and be tied into something that is important to you (even for a short time) I imagine there is a decent amount of TweetDeckers who could be takers. In the age of quality trumping quantity in marketing (finally!) it could be a good play if the price is right.

TweetDeck says it will be partnering with record labels, bands, movie studios and other media companies to release more themes over the coming year……….Each will present a custom look and feel as well as a dedicated channel for the artist or film alongside the user’s existing TweetDeck columns. In the Sherlock Holmes theme, the dedicated channel features a window into the 221b game.

So what’s your take on this kind of promotion? Is there something you would like to see from the folks at TweetDeck? Let’em know!

Android to Make Waves by 2012

This is interesting timing for me personally regarding the release of a report from Gartner regarding its predictions for the future of smart phones once Android finds its stride. I have noted here before that I am a BlackBerry Storm user on the Verizon Network and I am underwhelmed. I like the network and chuckle regarding the AT&T lapses in service that I hear iPhone users gripe about. At the same time the Storm is just not that great.

It’s so ‘not that great’ that I went out and bought a 32GB iPod Touch just so I could enter the world of apps. At the same time Verizon announced its offering of Android phones in the near future. I got a little giddy at the thought of having the Touch for Apple apps and then the Android phone for all things Google because I suspect that the offering will be on par if not better than Apple’s.

Well, along comes Gartner and makes me feel like some kind of prophet (in a pretty insignificant way but a way nonetheless)! According to Computerworld

While the Google-backed Android mobile operating system currently runs on less than 2% of all smartphones, Gartner Inc. predicts it will surge to 14% of the global smartphone market in 2012 — ahead of the iPhone, as well as Windows Mobile and BlackBerry smartphones.

In that year, Gartner forecasts Android will actually rank second globally, behind the Symbian OS, which is used in Nokia devices that are highly popular in Europe and many countries outside the U.S. Symbian now runs on about half of all smartphones, but will fall to 39% in 2012, Gartner says.

As I surmised prior to this report, since Google is behind the Android there is a serious likelihood that it is going to be integrated near seamlessly into a lot things I already do with Google. Trouble is that just as I typed that last sentence I got the chills. I felt like I was being assimilated into the Goog. It wasn’t even as if I gave it a second thought. I just went along with the fact that I, like millions of others, are somewhat owned by the collective computing conscience that is Google. Well, I’m over it.

Bring it on I say. Competition is good and now some of the iPhone glitterati will have to see if hey really do have the coolest toy on the playground.

The Gartner forecast gives Android such an enormous surge in popularity because of a variety of factors, but chiefly because of Google Inc.’s backing of Android and the range of cloud computing functions and related applications that Google will make available in coming years.

Right now the market is split with the Symbian OS currently has 50% share world wide due to the popularity of Nokia devices in Europe (does anyone in the US still use a Nokia phone?) with Blackberrys and iPhones taking the next spots. What Android phones look to do is provide some of the best features of it’s competitors in a more all inclusive platform

And because Android and Google operate in an “integrative and open environment, [they] could easily top … the singular Apple

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The final indicator of the potential game changing influence that Android could have is the prediction that BlackBerry OS’s will drop from number 2 today to 5th as of 2012. If that holds true there are going to be some interesting times ahead for the smart phone world and the folks like us that depend on them.

Is This Recession Over Yet?

We appear to be caught in a rut as of late. No one wants to make a definitive statement as to whether or not the recession / slow down / depression / aberration or whatever we call this thing is over or not. Depending on who you talk to we can either be on the edge of a recovery or the edge of a cliff. Is there a way to tell if this dark economic time is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel?

We at Marketing Pilgrim are not analysts and we don’t claim to be. What we can do, however, is tell you about reports that are out there that can provide some insight or at least help us think differently. As marketers we tend to land on the hopeful / optimistic side of news because we want people to buy our stuff, right? Well, if the folks at Millward Brown Optimor which is owned by WPP are right with their BrandZ Portfolio study then there may be indications that at least the strongest of the strong, brandwise, are showing signs of life.

The analysis shows the top 100 brands, which Millward Brown refers to as the BrandZ Portfolio and includes many technology companies like Apple, Vodafone, Microsoft, Nokia, BlackBerry, Intel and others, are recovering from the recession at a faster pace than the market. As the chart above shows, the most valuable global brands have been outperforming the S&P 500 for a number of years now but show a much faster recovery from the recession than the market in recent months.

As noted by Robin Wauters of TechCrunch it’s a relief of sorts to at least see both of the performance indicators showing movement in the positive direction.

So why would big brands show a quicker recovery than the S&P as a whole? Well, who really knows? While this data is interesting it may be a stretch to make this kind of comparison since the ranking of the Top Brands is something that needed to be ‘crafted’. Here is some of the criteria.

The ranking is calculated using a methodology called “Economic Use”, taking into account the role that brands play in purchase decisions and identifying what proportion of the business value can be attributed purely to the brand. Besides inputs from the BrandZ study, the ranking uses financial data from Bloomberg and market and product data from Datamonitor. The ranking takes into account regional variations since even for truly global brands measures of brand contribution might differ substantially across countries.

So we need your thoughts again Pilgrims. Putting aside a larger worldview for a minute what is happening in your neck of the woods? Are you seeing signs of recovery or signs of ‘more of the same’? While it’s interesting to look at studies like this what is really happening at the street level. I see some more activity but I think the activity is more around preparing to spend more at some point in the future rather than getting back into the game right now. What about you?

Apple’s Irresistible Force Meets Google’s Immovable Object–Who Wins?

What happens when the irresistible force meets an immovable object?

The irresistible force wins! The immovable object publicly complains.

That appears to be the case as Google announces Google Latitude for the iPhone and, in the same announcement, gripes that Apple is to blame for the lack of an actual application.

We worked closely with Apple to bring Latitude to the iPhone in a way Apple thought would be best for iPhone users. After we developed a Latitude application for the iPhone, Apple requested we release Latitude as a web application in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone, which uses Google to serve maps tiles.

Huh? “…Apple thought would be best for iPhone users.” What about Google Latitude users? Didn’t Apple give any thought as to how the main users of the service would want to use it? I love my iPhone, but won’t be using Google Latitude until it’s available as an app. Then again, an app sounds pretty lame too–considering Apple won’t let apps run in the background:

Unfortunately, since there is no mechanism for applications to run in the background on iPhone (which applies to browser-based web apps as well), we’re not able to provide continuous background location updates in the same way that we can for Latitude users on Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Window Mobile.

We could talk about the need for background apps on the iPhone, but that would take us off-topic. Instead, I’m intrigued that, despite all the talk of too much collusion between Apple and Google, Google wasn’t able to get its own way with a single, innocuous, iPhone application.

If Google can’t influence Apple enough to let it publish an iPhone application, do we really have anything to fear from Schmidt’s board position? And, what does this say about who wears the pants in this relationship?

PS. Oh yeah, you can get Google Latitude by pointing your iPhone browser here: google.com/latitude

(image credit: unknown)

Google Voice For Mobile: One Number To Rule Them All

Google has created a mobile app for its Google Voice service, right now only for Android and BlackBerry with an iPhone app to come. Think of this as Skype for mobile only more so, because there’s a usable number associated with the service and integration with your phone’s contacts.
Effectively what the mobile app allows you [...]

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