Mobile Commerce

Category: Mobile Commerce

Technology News from BuyVia survey reveals consumer smartphone preferences

Denny | April 12, 2013

Consumers still favor Apple phones over other smartphone devices.

The latest technology news from a survey conducted by BuyVia, a shopping website and app, shows that Apple’s upcoming iPhone is the preferred mobile phone upgrade choice among survey participants.

BuyVia has discovered there are three specific phone features smartphone consumers want.

When it comes to their next smartphone purchase, the majority of consumers who took part in the survey revealed that they desire a device that is equipped with a bigger screen, a faster processor, and a smaller price tag. This technology news will no doubt be highly useful to mobile developers who are interested in knowing what consumers want so they can satisfy these desires and become the top choice.

The technology news revealed in the survey suggests consumers are happy with their current mobile platforms.

While the BuyVia survey results found that 41% of consumers who took their survey have their sights set on the next iPhone should they choose to upgrade their mobile device, it was revealed that 42% of survey participants who are currently with Android have no intention of switching to Apple. Likewise, 46% of iPhone users who took part in the study do not intend to opt for Android. Thus, it appears that as far as smartphone technology news is concerned, on the whole, consumers know which platform they prefer and intend to stick to it.

However, the survey did point out that although Apple remains ahead of the game in terms of being the smartphone upgrade of choice among consumers, it’s appearing to lose its dominant ground. According to Norman Fong, the co-founder and CEO of BuyVia, “Our survey finds that people still want the iPhone, but it’s clear their popularity is somewhat eroding. Consumers are more discriminating about features and pricing, no matter what platform they buy.”

Fong went on to say that it doesn’t matter what amazing innovative or cheaper product Apple may offer in the future. Competition is high and “no position is safe and everyone has to continue to step up their game.” This technology news, although not surprising to some, shows that the fight among competitors is fierce and competition among top smartphone platforms is likely to grow stronger in the future.

M-commerce could receive boost through new device

Lucy | April 12, 2013

Prototypes for second screen gadgets may increase shopping from television viewers.

Akamai Technologies has just unveiled the prototype for a new device that it is creating for the specific purpose of boosting m-commerce through its use in conjunction with a television that is being watched.

This device provides the viewer with content complementary to what is seen on TV, but on a smartphone or tablet.

In order to use this device, a mobile device would need to be synched with the television. This could be accomplished in a number of ways. In the Akamai m-commerce demonstration, the company used a QR code scan to accomplish that task. From that point, every program that was displayed on the television had content ID as well as a timestamp. This provided viewers with the opportunity to use their mobile devices to see content that was complementary to what they were watching, at the exact same time that it was occurring on the screen.

The result is a near real time m-commerce opportunity that would provide users with more relevant content.

According to the Akamai Technologies chief strategist of connected devices and gaming, Kris Alexander, “It’s something that can be synced in near-real time.” He added that “By the time somebody looks down from the primary screen it seems like the second screen is in real time.”

The demonstration of the prototype used preloaded content including a television show, a movie, and a basketball game. One of the examples that occurred during the movie was the display on a tablet of the model, price and link to purchase a pair of sunglasses over m-commerce that were similar to those being worn by an actor on the television screen. Another example occurred during the basketball game, when information about players who had just scored was displayed on the tablet, in addition to an option to purchase tickets to a future game.

Alexander explained that this second screen method of m-commerce is much less disruptive to the viewer than adding the content to the television screen, itself. He also pointed out that in theory, the content could be customized to each viewer, at some time down the road. For instance, if he or she logged in to a social media account, then the results displayed could be based on data about him or her gleaned from recent status updates and “likes”.