Resources: The Best and Worst of the Mobile Web from mobiThinking
This one isn’t the most up to date, but we have a soft spot for free data resources here and so it’s worth bringing you the link. mobiThinking’s free PDF is full of what they consider the good and the bad, with the aim of providing examples toward the cause of overall improvement. Check out their website as well, since the were kind enough to prepare the document for you.
Winners like the BBC, ESPN, and others are used to illustrate; sinners are also shown as examples of what not to do.
They have examples in each of what they consider the principles of the mobile web:
- – You need to have one. (um, OK.)
- - It needs to work (more…)
Resources: Top iPhone and Android app store downloads from Distimo
With the huge buzz around applications for smart phones, and the rush by marketers to capitalize on the new-found market, having a little real data to review is always a good thing. Distimo has been releasing some reports on the top downloads of the most vibrant marketplaces – initially just the iPhone, but now for Android apps as well.
Get your reports here. Registration required.
AdMob Releases July Mobile Metrics Report – Insights into iPhone, Android Apps and Behavior
AdMob, which serves advertising on 7,000 mobile websites and 3,000 applications for both the iPhone and Android platforms, has released a new report that provides some excellent reference data for those in the field. You can download it here, and here’s some highlights:
- Android and iPhone users download approximately 10 new apps a month, while iPod touch owners download an average of 18 per month
- More than 90 percent of Android and iPhone OS users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device instead of their computer
- Upgrading from the lite version was the top reason given when users were asked what drives them to purchase a paid app
- iPhone and iPod touch users are twice as likely to purchase paid apps than Android users.
- Users who regularly download paid apps spend approximately $9 on an average of five paid downloads per month
Some good news for developers pursuing a “lite” or “trial” version strategy in that it’s the main reason for purchase cited by users…. no clear reason behind the iPod Touch owners high usage stats.
Full release here, plus supplemental data available.
from CBS grad: Hiring a VP Marketing for Pre-Seed Startup
from Gary Ragusa, (my friends and classmate):
“I started a mobile phone application company geared towards fashion SMB retailers. I am currently starting development on a prototype and am working with a couple of International brands to test the application. The goal is to build a database of retailers, sign up 10 to 15 participating retailers, develop the app, and launch/test the application during October.
As a way of reference, I worked the past six years with retailers, including Levi’s, Lacost, Puma on their US expansion strategies. Prior to that I was in a software startup and also an ecommerce startup in the late 90’s. I have an MBA from Columbia Business School.
I am currently seeking seed investment (and going well, but still early). Hence, this is a PRE-SEED startup. We would work out an Equity stake PLUS cash compensation AFTER we get seed financing, which I expect to occur during the next few months.
I have three part time people working with me, but I need a full time marketing professional. The VP marketing would (a) work with iphone dev and design team (former Lipman execs) to flush out product details, (b) work with retailers to create parameters for test trial, (c) create marketing strategy for getting users to download and use application via viral, retailers, pr, ads, etc. and (d) participate in the test trial to ensure we meet objectives and can take product to market.
If you are interested to hear more, please email me your CV and we can discuss further. I have product demo and executive summary to share after NDA is signed.
Contact Gary Ragusa at: gfragusa (at) gmail.com
AdMob Research Emphasizes the “Long” in Long Tail for iPhone Apps
AdMob has just released a report and while the data is only representative of the iPhone apps that work with them, it’s a good sample – and it says that the Long Tail is very long indeed. For those hoping to make big bucks from iPhone apps, it’s worth noting that only a little more than one hundred apps (116) tracked by AdMob have more than 100,000 users. That’s not bad for a paid app, although with an average price from most sources at 1-2 dollars it’s certainly not retirement money, but the implications for ad supported apps are much worse as the impressions simply won’t add up to enough to matter, even at good CPMs.
Greystripe Report with Mobile Consumer, iPhone Insights
Mobile firm Greystripe released a report last week with some interesting insights on the mobile consumer, as well as more data analyzing behavior of iPhone users. The have basically aggregated the data from their partners and network and the results are very interesting.
The demographics skew younger, better educated, and higher income from the sample, but that reflects the user base.
As the mobile industry matures third party verification of campaign performance will become
essential. In anticipation of this trend, Greystripe has partnered with several research firms and
advertisers to measure the success of campaigns delivered through our network. Most recently
we’ve partnered with ComScore on the research side and Axe, LeapFrog, HP, and Burger King
on the advertiser side to look at our new Flash ad format.
The report is most useful for some basic data that can inform certain industries (they ask questions pertaining to fast food, television and movie habits, and computer purchase intent, as well as comparative data against broader consumer groups or other channels. Greystripe offers an SDK for developers, and some ad solutions that may be of interest to those seeking to market to the growing mobile population.
