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Mobile Quote of the Day: Google’s Tim Armstrong on Mobile Ads
At the Citi Investment Research Technology Conference in New York, Google’s Tim Armstrong was asked about mobile ads revenue potential: “It all comes down to scalability. Will the iPhone grow more quickly? I think the non-iPhone analog devices will see search grow. Typically, we don’t scale all of our resources until we see movement on the consumer side. We’ve been selling ads on mobile for the last 18 months. You should expect to see more over time. But it took a number of years for search to get going, and it will be the same for mobile to pick up as well, from an ad revenue perspective.”
Summer’s over: McGuinty back at “Get Connected Fairly Act”
Back in the beginning of June, David McGuinty, M.P. for Ottawa South started a campaign to pass Bill C-555: the Get Connected Fairly Act. Well, summer is all over and he’s back in business with more vigor than ever.
On his website he clearly lays out the problems on why our cell phone bills in Canada are so much higher compared to other countries around the world, such as Europe and the United States. McGuinty also put together a snazzy bar chart that shows our rates compared to these countries. In addition, not letting the problems just lay there, he outlines the necessary solutions to help reduce our cost and frustration.
Listen to our interview with David McGuinty here… and you can get involved by signing the petition here
Here is the Problem and Solution from his website:
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PROBLEM
Canada pays the highest cellphone bills in the developed world, and has the lowest cellphone adoption rate.
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Heavy cellphone users in Canada pay 56% more than heavy users in the US, average users pay 33% more than their counterparts in the US.
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There is no purpose for a ‘system access fee’ except to confuse consumers.
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Confusing terms of service and sky-high rates have a direct impact on our usage rates.
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Today in Canada, the cellphone adoption rate is 58 cell phones per 100 residents. In the US, 84/100 (and the US is the next lowest country among G7 nations).
SOLUTION
Bill C-555 makes three substantial changes. It:
1. Eliminates the System Access Fee and other misleading charges by making it a term of licensing that cell phone service providers roll all ‘fees’ into their monthly plan rate;
2. Mandates a ‘fact sheet’ for every cell phone contract that sets out each service being provided and its associated cost; and,
3. Launches a CRTC inquiry into competition, consumer protection, and choice in telecommunications in Canada.
Clear pricing encourages price competition between service providers and benefits both the consumer and the industry. Increased competition means better services are provided more efficiently and reduces barriers to competitiveness, productivity, innovation and growth for SMEs in Canada.
Is this the future of cell phone plans? Mobile ads for reduced rates…
In Canada we have challenges getting cost effective rate plans and data plans… however, over in Australia, carrier ComTel (runs Vodafone network) has launched a creative way to lower their plans. The catch is to opt-in and receive advertising sent to your phone. In order to get the $10 a month plan you must get up to 5 ads a day sent to you and have to click on at least 50% of them… if you later chose to opt-out, the rate goes up to $29 a month. Read more here
Nokia “Show your Colours” XpressMusic Contest
Back-to-School season is upon us and Nokia has stepped up with another contest that ensures we keep our country filled with A.D.D. students.
The contest is called “Back to School in Red or Blue: Show your Colours” and you have the chance to win a Rogers Wireless Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone in either in red or blue.
The object of the contest is to send a picture of yourself wearing a red and blue outfit (sounds more American than Canadian). The contest lasts until 11:59pm EST September, 25th, 2008… with the celebrity judge Tara Spencer-Nairn who will pick 5 winners based on colour co-ordination, style and fashion sense.
For those (like me) who didn’t know who Tara Spencer-Nairn is… she plays Karen Pelly on Corner Gas. Full details here…. and also, check out this screenshot of the prizes you can win.
Bell, Telus to share $1 billion HSPA network upgrade?
Bell Canada and Telus are expected to announce this week that they will share estimated $1 billion cost to upgrade thier CDMA networks to HSPA network, putting more pressure and competition for Rogers Wireless. Nokia Siemens Networks is said to be the vendor that will provide Bell Canada and Telus with the HSPA network upgrade. Read whole article here from the Financial Post
Samsung Instinct Video Review
With all the hype with touchscreens these days we recently played around with the Samsung Instinct (aka the “Apple Eater” or “iPhone Killer”).
This is a light device, only at 4.4 ounces and comes loaded with many great features such as a 2.0 mega pixel camera that has video recording capabilities, 3G connectivity to the web, GPS and a music player. Samsung wants people to directly compare this to the iPhone and in our review we take a peek into this touchscreen to see if it even comes close to the iPhone 3G:
This is available at Telus for $129.99 on a 3-year plan… also at Bell(er)
“Hurry!” Rogers Student 10 plan available until 11/03/08
If you’re a student and looking to get the Nokia 6086, Sony Ericsson W350a or W580i you might want to check out the latest student promo from Rogers called the “Student 10″. It’s a “limited-time-offer” plan that informs you to “Hurry”, but the offer is good until November 3rd. It gives you the ability to – unlimited – talk and text to 10 people. There are two levels: $25 and $45.
The $25 plan give you:
MY10™ Unlimited Local Talk, Text and Picture / Video Messaging2 to your top 10 friends, 100 Weekday Minutes, 1,000 Evening and Weekend Minutes and 500 Incoming Minutes
The $45 plan give you:
MY10™ Unlimited Canada-wide Talk, Text and Picture / Video Messaging2 to your top 10 friends, 450 Weekday Minutes, UNLIMITED Evening and Weekend Minutes, UNLIMITED Incoming Minutes
Now, the most important part is to ensure that you read the fine print located here:
For your light reading… Here is a summary:
1. You must present your Valid student identification required to be eligible for a Student Plan.
2 Unlimited local calls, text, picture and video messages applicable to the 10 phone numbers designated on the MY10 list. Unlimited Canadian Long Distance calling included in Canada-wide MY10 and applies only to calls initiated/received from customer’s Rogers Wireless phone anywhere in Canada to/from the MY10 list. Long distance, text to landline and roaming charges are extra where applicable. MY10 terms of service: Only 10-digit Canadian-based phone numbers are eligible for the MY10 service. Customer’s own Rogers Wireless phone number, voicemail retrieval number and special numbers such as 1-800/1-900 not accepted.
3 Premium messages (U.S., international, roaming, MSN alerts, contests and promotions) excluded.
4. Offer expires November 3, 2008 and is only available on new activations and hardware upgrades. Tunes expire 6-12 months after purchase (depending on tune selected). Additional tunes $2/tune.
5. Includes unlimited on-device mobile browsing using the Rogers Mobile Internet Browser only and is only available on select Rogers certified devices (PDAs such as BlackBerry or Windows Mobile devices, PC cards and non-Rogers certified devices not eligible). Data usage incurred on ineligible devices or while tethering (use of device as wireless modem) or while using applications subject to pay-per-use charges of $15/MB for the first 5 MB, $10/MB for next 5 MB, $5/MB for next 10 MB and $0.50/MB thereafter. Data transmission charges of $0.03/kb apply when roaming outside Canada. Visit rogers.com/mobileinternet for details. 36-month term commitment required for Rogers Vision bonus eligibility.
6. Name display compatible device required. Incoming callers with blocked numbers, calls originating outside Canada, or from callers whose wireless carrier/landline provider either does not have this service available or does not have an interconnectivity agreement with Rogers cannot be identified by Name Display.
7. Mobile Backup is a service that backs up contacts saved on your phone (not SIM card). The application must be downloaded to a compatible phone. Visit rogers.com/mobilebackup for details and applicable conditions.
± A $6.95 monthly System Access Fee (non-government fee), a monthly 50¢ 911 Emergency Access Fee (non-government fee) and a one-time $35 Activation Fee applies in addition to the monthly service fee. Local airtime over the allotted monthly minutes in the plan, long distance and roaming charges, any additional service options selected and applicable taxes are extra and are also billed monthly. *Pricing based on subscription to a 3-year term service agreement. Early cancellation fees apply.
Mobile Quote of the Day: “No soup for you! Your apps are gone!”
DoApp created a $.99 cent whoopie cushion iPhone App that was eventually rejected by Apple. Wade Beavers, DoApp’s vice president of strategy, said Apple had never hinted that a program that mimics bodily functions would be considered inappropriate. “Sometimes you feel like you’re in line with the Soup Nazi,” Beavers said, referring to a Seinfeld episode in which a soup vendor capriciously banished patrons. “It’s a really good deal to be part of the Apple thing, and you don’t want to say anything to rock the boat. No soup for you! Your apps are gone!” Read whole article in the Globe here
Consumers “hungry” for all varieties of BlackBerry
The newest report to come out regarding BlackBerry was by ChangeWave Research. They surveyed 3,567 consumers before the beloved Apple iPhone 3G launched and asked if there is potential for RIM devices in the consumer market. The results show consumers are “hungry” for all varieties of BlackBerry. More info and charts here
