At 11:12 yesterday morning, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook places is soon to include ‘Deals’ whereby a user checks in to a location, enabling them to view local deals on offer. The user then checks in to their desired place to ‘claim’ their deal and it is posted on their wall for their use and to share with their friends.

At present ‘Deals’ is being rolled out across the US and will be expanding over time, at least we hope so as we can’t wait to get our hands on this and find some good local deals through Facebook rather than having to hop onto another app or use another voucher site!

Deals will also provide customers with brand loyalty as the return to check in again and receive further discount codes to use in their chosen location. Merchants who participate will also benefit from increased traffic and brand recognition such as Gap who are offering the first 10,000 customers to check in a free pair of jeans and subsequent check ins a 40% discount.

Is this the end of Foursquare?

Through the use of a challenge to accumulate badges, become the mayor of their location by checking in the most times and receiving offers from selected partners, Foursquare provides users with an incentive to use their check-in service. When Facebook Places emerged into the market, great speculation occurred on whether this would be the end for Foursquare. However, Facebook Places as it was lacked incentive and caused many users worries over security and privacy.

So, although Foursquare did survive the last hit from Facebook, will it survive Facebook Deals? I am not convinced. Now that people can not only use all the existing features but also check-in and get local deals through Facebook, it is now the social network that does everything plus a little bit more.

Considering that Foursquare has just 3 million users compared to the 200 million people that actively use Facebook mobile, it is going to be more of a vested interest for a business to establish a presence on Facebook rather than Foursquare. Perhaps Foursquare will continue to exist, but I am not entirely sure how it could expand to gain higher appeal than the biggest social network to date.

Facebook launches ‘Deals’ is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

The one iPhone app that has caught my attention this week has been developed by No Need For Mirrors for the retail giant Debenhams. With Christmas fast approaching, Debenhams have chosen the right time to release an iPhone app, saving customers the hassle of rushing to their nearest store to fight to get the last Monopoly on the shelf.

According to The Future Laboratory “mobile commerce is definitely the future of retail” and I totally agree.

The barcode scanner

Launched on Monday 11th October, the Debenhams app is the first of its kind to incorporate a barcode scanner. The barcode scanner can not only be used to scan products to find pricing, stock and reviews but it can also be used to scan QR codes in store windows which give savvy shoppers access to exclusive offers.

Acting as a virtual shopping assistant, through the use of barcode scanning this app can help shoppers plan exactly what they want to buy and avoid the long Christmas queues or post payday sprees.

A colleague also scanned the barcode on the Debenhams webapp website with his HTC Desire which was surprisingly a success and provided him with a free delivery code for his first purchase made through the app. What better incentive could Debenhams give to try out their new app?!

How many of us have been store and found the perfect Christmas dress but it is not in your size? Well now you can scan the barcode and buy it direct from your iPod instead.

What else can it do?

Other features of the app include a wish list and a gift list. Adding items to your wishlist could not be easier and Debenhams even have the courtesy to alert you when stock is running low on an item that you have added to your list. Once you have added items to your wish list, you can email your lists to your iPhone contacts – what better way to drop hints to your friends and family about what you want for Christmas!

You also have the ability to enter preferences such as type, brand, colour, price and size which are saved under the ‘My Debenhams’ tab. This is one of my favourite features of the app as I for one despise having to scroll through endless lists of products online to find the right item. Instead you can save your preferences and be displayed only the products that fit into your chosen categories.

The app also gives you the option to use GPS and a link to Google Maps to help you navigate to your nearest store. This is also a big time saver as I am sure that many will agree it can be a tiresome job walking around the store for hours deciding what to buy your loved ones for Christmas and then seeing the growing queue and deciding to go home and buy online. Now we have the option collect from a store or have products delivered to our homes, we can decide what we want to buy on our mobiles and simply pop into the shop to purchase the already chosen items or buy direct from the app.

Simon Forster, Online Trading Director for Debenhams says, “Acting as a pocket personal shopper, downloading the Debenhams app means that getting lost, not being able to find your size and having to carry heavy bags home are pitfalls of shopping trips past.”

Forster also added: “Come Christmas, the Debenhams app will transform the on-the-go shopping experience, enabling customers to manage their purchases wherever and whenever they want at the busiest time of the year.”

The appearance of the app

The app design is very swish and easy to use, appealing to a wide audience. With the opening page simply holding links to shop all, shop sale, my Debenhams, barcode scan, Christmas, Debenhams tv, stay in touch and store finder; pretty much everything you need is there to do your Christmas shopping. Finding products is easy as the categories are split down well and products and prices are presented in a crisp and appealing manner.

The app is also very fun to use. I loved walking around the shop and scanning products to add to my Christmas wish list. I have visions of me doing my Christmas shopping whilst on the train, how much more convenient can this get?

I think the best thing about the Debenhams app is that it is free, so get downloading and let us know what you think! In the mean time, I am going to start making a Christmas wish list to send to my friends!

The Rise of the Fashion App is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

Android Contenders

Armed with a 1 GHz Cortex A8 ARM-based processor paired with a PowerVR SGX540 graphics processor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is the fastest and most responsive of the Android devices in the market so far. Internal memory of 16GB (or 32GB) is supplemented by a microSD port that could accommodate flash cards with up to 32GB more storage.

It only has a 7-inch, 1024×600 resolution touch screen, which is not as spacious as the iPad’s. It weighs 380 grams which is half that of a 3G-enabled iPad. Another significant difference from iPad is that it supports communication functions, which means you could use it to make a call with a Bluetooth earpiece. Also it comes with a 3.2-megapixel back camera and a 1.3-megapixel front camera for taking photos and for video chat, which could be ported to a TV with its HDMI port.

Compared to the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Folio 100 by Toshiba seems like more an Android version of iPad. It has a 10.1 inch screen with 1024×600 resolution, an Nvidia Tegra processor and 16G of memory. It weighs the same as an iPad but its battery lasts only 7 hours.

Future Tablets

No one can ignore any news from the tradition technology giant Microsoft. Based on their huge investment in HCI research, we have to say that Microsoft has the most advanced technology for multi touch interfaces. Surface is a good example. A tablet called Courier is being researched by Microsoft. The device would have been hinged like a book, with two seven-inch screens facing each other when the “Book” was closed. Microsoft is not the only company who are working on a dual screen tablet. According to TechCrunch, a company called Kno is aiming to build a textbook shaped tablet which will be compelling to the college user. The users will be able to take notes and draw on the pages just like the print versions. And they’ll be able to access those books on a variety of devices.

Will tablet computing change e-marketing?

Yes, the tablet computing era is coming and I believe the change will be huge. Visitor behaviour will be very different due to the smaller and more sensitive touch screen.  Therefore, all advertisers will have to make adjustment to their smart-devices, whether rich media, video or email. And because of the high mobility of these tablets, location issues will be more important for both advertising and web analytics. With these new kinds of tablets coming to the market, there should be more opportunities for multichannel marketing in the future.

Tablet War Heats Up: Apple Gets Stiff Competition is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

How does it work?

Similar to the web based app, the mobile app is able to adapt content to each child based upon age and skills to aid their development. So don’t worry if your child hasn’t quite reached the stage of learning to read, Zoodles will only present content where no reading is required. The app is also able to detect the device they are using, so Android users with Flash installed will have access to games build in Flash and videos etc. Although there are lots of educational and fun games available in the Android Marketplace, nearly all of them are ad supported and your child can click on the ad, which will load a web browser and lead your child out of the game. Zoodles automatically locks your child into the app, so you have the peace of mind that they cannot accidently make any calls, delete important emails or access any of your other apps.

How to get started

Zoodles for Android allows users to create an account, or log in through an existing Zoodles account. Once the app is launched, a child can log in by simply tapping their picture and can make a selection from a scrolling menu of activities. Zoodles is able to automatically recognise the Android device being used and presents the appropriate content for that specific phone.

Zoodles is steadily gaining in popularity as parents are looking for child friendly ways to introduce computing to their children at an early age. So far the startup has just recorded over one million of hours of playtime on its products. Zoodles also plans to launch an iPad app soon, so keep an eye out for the latest developments and with any luck you will be able to get your phone back avoiding any tantrums!   Download Zoodles by searching for Zoodles in the Android Marketplace and let us know what you think.

Zoodles launch Child Safe browser App for Android phones is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

But for a select few the dream of owning a Nexus One has been kept alive. Google has announced that the phone will remain in production and be available, unlocked, to registered Android developers. The uptake has proven that the Nexus One is still an attractive choice, with an announcement yesterday on the Android Developers Blog that stock is currently on re-order due to popular demand.

Developers will have to part with $529 (£340) to get their hands on one, but judging by the current response they obviously think the hardware is worth it. The phone will also continue to receive full support from Google; it currently downloads Android 2.2 once shipped and will be the first to receive the update to 3.0 in October.

With such an advanced phone at the disposal of so many Android developers it will be exciting to see what Android apps will hit the market in the near future.

Nexus One – Gone but not buried is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

This is assuming though that more mobile phone manufacturers follow this trend. For example, whilst Apple continue to develop screen size and quality to levels that enhance the browsing experience on their latest iPhone offering, they are still refusing to integrate properly with flash. Currently the iPhone browser does not support Flash in any way and is unlikely to in the near future. Flash is also under attack from supporters of the HTML 5 code standard which has arisen after recent discussion on the BBC website. Essentially people are claiming the BBC is not embracing open development standards because of its reluctance to move its flash functionality into HTML 5, and this sort of news, whilst been played down by the BBC, does not help support Flash in the public domain.

Whether it will continue to enhance the android platform in the next few years remains to be seen, but the main problem is getting hold of a phone at the moment that supports android 2.2 is a challenge on its own. The market leading model, the HTC desire, is currently out of stock on most of the main carriers and with no confirmed date of when it comes in. In the meantime I will have to go back to my non-flash supported G1 and continue to view websites with big gaps in them where the flash animation cannot be displayed, much like the millions of iPhone users who will continue to see this view in the coming years.

Flash on your Mobile Phone is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

The 12 new Google voice actions are:

• Send text messages
• Listen to music
• Navigate to
• Get directions
• Call businesses
• Call contacts
• Send email
• Set an alarm
• View a map
• Go to websites
• Write a note (and email it to yourself)
• Search Google

What makes this new Google software stand above the voice recognition used on the iPhone is that Android users can use both the files contained on their phone, and any information gathered by Google search. For example, when calling a business, the number you require doesn’t have to be stored in your phone or local app. As long as the number is available in Google search the technology will find and dial it.

The software comes pre-installed on phones running Android 2.2, including the HTC Desire, Nexus One and Motorola Droid 2. Although it is only currently available in US English there is the promise of other languages in the near future.

Google have put together a very nice promo video and reports from the launch press conference, where text messaging and emails were demonstrated, are positive.

It now remains to be seen whether, in the hands of real people, with real accents and dialect, the app will still come out on top. Feel free to let us know of your own experiences.

Google Voice Actions – Another blow in Android vs iPhone is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

The BBC reports on a case with a Russian media player application that was released on the android market. The app essentially stole money from users by sending out premium rate text messages after the app gained access to that area of the phones operating system.

The mobile research manager for Kaspersky Lab, Denis Maslennikov, stated, “The success of the Android platform in the marketplace has triggered increased interest from virus writers.” The company intends to release a new mobile security application to respond to these threats which should be out early 2011. In the meantime advice is to be careful about what you install and monitor what settings each application has access to. If you are at all dubious about an application uninstall it immediately.

This news is almost expected but is another hurdle developers are going to face when creating apps for genuine companies and will likely mean reduced uptake rates on any smaller applications in the coming months.

Virus Creators Hit Smart Phones is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

What Magento Mobile Offers

Magento is a PHP open-source CMS for E commerce based on components of the Zend Framework. Magento is owned by a company called Varien. It officially started development in early 2007 and was first released seven months later. Now the fast growing E-commerce platform is deeply integrated with its mobile commerce solution. These features will be key for the success of Magento Mobile:

• Integration with existing system: The Magento mobile deeply integrates with the retailer’s existing Magento E-Commerce Platform, including full integration with the store’s catalog, checkout, inventory, reporting and more. Therefore, the shopping experience is ensured to be seamless for customers interacting with retails across multiple channels, no matter what device is used to start or complete the transaction.
• Multiple devices support: Since there are so many mobile devices with unique features, people are always confused by which device is going to support. IPhone or Android? Even iPad? It is important to provide a cost-efficient extensibility across multiple devices and also deep support for native features on each mobile device. The Magento will allow administrators to easily support new device and incorporate individual features for each device that are relevant to their business and customers’ need.
• Support for payments: One of the biggest barriers to mobile commerce is fast, easy and safer payments. Personally, the only reason that I don’t like to purchase on the mobile is the difficulty of typing all the details, such as credit card information. Now Magento mobile integrates with PayPal’s mobile payment library for iPhone, iPad and Android, delivering a simple and seamless mobile payments experience.

The Cons of Magento Mobile

• Not Free. Although the Magento platform is a PHP open source project, the Magento Mobile extension is not free at this moment so considering the specification of the system, this could put off a large potential client base who use other Magento products. Just like the main Magento system, it is something taken up by smaller companies given the good functionality available for nothing, but for larger companies who demand more from the system there are other options available albeit at a higher price tag. It really depends what you want from the product.
• Magento Platform Existing Users Only. Because it is built on the exiting Magento Platform, only the Magento existing users could easily install the mobile module. Otherwise, other platform users have to switch to the Magento in order to use this service.

What Next?

I believe this is a milestone for mobile commerce and will leverage it onto a new level. With Magento Mobile or other similar mobile platforms in the future, retailers could manage their online business easily across multiple channels and customers would be given a seamless shopping experience.

Today North Face Euro, one of the world’s largest outdoor product companies, has selected Magento Mobile to power its mobile commerce initiatives. Now iPhone users in Sweden and the UK are able to download the application and purchase products directly from their iPhone. Watch the demo video below or check it out on your own iPhone if you are interested.

Obviously the Magento system is only one product on offer and there are certainly other, perhaps better, options out there. For more information on content management systems and what options are available to you, such as our own redfish product, please feel free to contact us today.

Magento Mobile: Will It Boost Mobile Commerce? is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.

To summarise the concept; for those of you not initiated into the Foursquare ‘crew’, this social application is essentially a game that allows businesses to reward users for visiting and ‘checking in’ to registered locations as well as leaving reviews, tips and comments for other users to read. Foursquare, although only currently boasting around 1 million users, has already seen the likes of Pepsi, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks and Warner Bros running campaigns built around the platform. Many of these initial platforms have also integrated with Facebook and Twitter to raise their appeal; for example, Foursquare contains a ‘like’ button on its business pages that connects to your facebook profile to display an image and produce a status update. Facebooks concept is in a similar vein to this, allowing users to add a ‘geo-tag’ to their status updates, informing friends of their exact location. Although initially it will be launched for consumers only, there are plans to roll out branded applications on top of the service that allow businesses to interact with users, for example adding rewards or promotions for ‘checking in’ or simply advertising themselves to users that are in the area. McDonalds has already signed a deal with Facebook to be the first business to use the platform, predicted to launch at the end of May.

But it’s not just big companies that can benefit from geo-targeting ads. On the contrary, small, local businesses may well gain the most benefit from Facebooks venture into location based social networking. The adoption of a platform that displays your business to local consumers, along with reviews and comments from current and recent customers (hopefully positive ones!) means that small bricks and mortar businesses can harness the power of online social networking without the need for a flashy website. With the leverage of 500million current Facebook users and supported by a simple online marketing campaign, focused on local customers, smaller businesses could thrive in the new social-mobile environment.

Facebook vs. Foursquare

Facebook has been instrumental in the demise of Bebo and the dramatic reduction in usage of MySpace, casting them by the wayside on its swift clamber to social network dominance. However, despite the previous immortality of Facebook in the social network sphere many marketers believe this does not spell the end for Foursquare and its companions.

So what advantages does Foursquare have that Myspace didn’t?

Firstly, it has the support of some big brands including Pepsi and General Motors. These companies are already customers of Foursquare and are maintaining that these new developments from Facebook make them no more likely to consider it for a location program. This says a lot for the existing relationships that Foursquare has built with its clients, and the respect they have for the knowledge and value that the company is giving them.

Secondly, Foursquare has dynamic game play that makes users want to interact and ‘check-in’ with the application. They can compete with their friends and within the community to unlock badges, become the mayor and generally gain social status around their locality.
In terms of value to businesses Foursquare offers companies knowledge and experience in this new social space; which they’ve gained from both their first mover advantage and their focus on such a niche. Furthermore, Foursquare’s game environment encourages users to become loyal to certain establishments and by bringing friends or sharing reviews it is likely that business sales and revenue will also prosper as a result.

In contrast, Facebook are introducing geo-tagging as a primarily status based feature, which doesn’t give users as compelling a reason to ‘check in’. With Facebook surrounded by controversy over privacy issues at the moment this also doesn’t bode well for encouraging users to put yet more information in the public domain. Also, it may be difficult for Facebook to differentiate its offering against the others in the market. So far each location based social network has carved its own niche in the market, focusing on either discovery, gaming or shopping. Due to these specialities each application can offer businesses differentiated value; Facebook however, is known more commonly for its mass appeal, something that businesses trying to target a more specific, influential audience may not want or need. One aspect in Facebooks favour however is the important part it already plays in many consumers lives. If there does become a case of ‘check-in fatigue’ and users start to prefer to only use one application, due to the regularity of interaction with Facebook already it is likely that consumers will continue to log in to Facebook on a regular basis and may chose to only update their location on there.

So who’s going to come out on top?

All in all, I believe that for smaller, local businesses one of the current location based applications will continue to be very effective in increasing sales and building brand awareness. And although Facebook currently has an audience base that the current apps can only dream about that does not give it a clear advantage in the strategy proposals of big businesses either. Experience, knowledge and business value are the most important aspects in a localised social media strategy and the current players appear to have this in bucket loads.

This may be a corner that Facebook should let the small guys win.

Facebook enters the Geo-Networking Arena is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.