Tag: mobile devices

Mobile trends show that lighter and thinner devices are no longer top features

| December 22, 2014

Consumers are now looking for a different range of selling points in order to attract them to buy.

The speed at which technology has been advancing has also caused mobile trends to start to change in terms of what consumers find most appealing, and which features will cause them to choose one product over another.

Ten years ago, there were no smartphones, and the cell phones that were available were heavy and huge.

In the earlier days, the level of technology that was available made lighter and smaller versions of products such as laptops, cell phones, and tablets into very appealing mobile marketing trends. People didn’t just want their devices to be less heavy and to be thinner, they needed them to be that way in order to make them more practical. Mobile device makers were always keen to be able to say that their device was the thinnest or the lightest in the world.

However, these mobile trends have now changed as the majority of devices are very light and extremely thin.

Mobile TrendsEven the battery life, which has traditionally been a vital feature in mobile technology, is starting to decrease in importance as a selling feature. While it is still up there on the list, the fact that the majority of mobile devices can be used for long hours or even days, and portable battery chargers are becoming higher in quality and more affordable means that most gadget owners don’t find themselves in a lurch after making only one long phone call.

It appears as though the goals for lightness and thinness have essentially been reached in the eyes of the consumer, and shoppers are now looking for something more from their mobile technology. The key is for device makers to keep on top of the tech trends and to make sure that as they change tacks so that they are developing and advertising their latest features, they will be capabilities that people actually want, will find relevant, and will convince them to choose their product over another.

Failing to do so will only cause manufacturers to be victims of the latest mobile trends. This helps to explain why iPhone customers with the previous most recent device were not necessarily among those waiting in line for the iPhone 6 upon its release, and why Samsung has been watching declining sales, this year.

Mobile technology to play critical role in Samoa cleanup after Cyclone Evan

| December 19, 2014

Farmers and other people across the Pacific Island nation are using smartphones to purchase necessary supplies.

Despite the fact that almost two years have passed since Samoa was devastated by Cyclone Evan, the Pacific Island is still working to recover from the catastrophe, and mobile technology has been playing a vital role in this process.

During the worst of the storm, winds reached up to 105 miles per hour, whipping the sheets of rain.

The waves were 13 feet high and storm surges were driven by the powerfully gusting winds. The World Bank created a post-disaster needs assessment following the storm and it showed that it was the agricultural segment of the country that experienced the greatest devastation. Over 7,000 families on the country’s Upolu island lost their livestock, crops, and farming equipment. The loss of income continues to hurt the communities that were dependent on agriculture. Programs have been set in place to help to recover and many now include the use of e-vouchers and mobile technology.

Mobile technology has provided massive relief in a system that has been piloted by the government in Samoa.

Mobile Technology - Cyclone EvanThe program is based on the use of mobile device technology. Affected families have been provided with e-vouchers that can be used as payments for the replacement of farming supplies. The system works by transferring funds directly to the smartphones of the farmers, which have a special chip enabled within them.

The system then allows those funds to be used for the purchase of over 5,000 specifically pre-approved “white listed” items that are sold from designated vendors. The items that have been authorized to be purchased by the farmers include building materials, as well as equipment for fishing and farming.

This represents the first time that the Pacific region has used this type of technology using mobile devices, and the practicality and cost effectiveness of the effort has been astounding. The risk of fraudulent use of the funds has been considerably reduced by linking the point-of-sale systems to the white listed products. Moreover, as it uses mobile technology, the electronic databases notably lower the need for paperwork. Those same databases also make it possible for improved and more reliable evaluation and monitoring of the program.