Tag Archive for 'Mobile'

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Why Facebook’s Mobile Messenger App is a big deal for Telcos.

Published on August 10, 2011 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

I just finished reading a CNN article about the launch of Facebook’s Mobile Messenger App. For some reason, this new development from the world’s largest social network of 700 million users struck me as super significant. At this time, Facebook Messenger is only available as an iPhone and Android mobile app in a certain markets – it seems I cannot download it yet on Apple’s App Store in Kenya. However, you have to consider that once its available globally, and on multiple mobile operating systems and platforms, how big could it possibly become?

The truth of the matter is that most mobile networks globally make a significant volume of their revenues via SMS messaging. It’s a major part of their business and one that they have prospered on for many many years. However, courtesy of smartphones and the growing range of innovative mobile messaging apps, this revenue line is now under attack. I recently got a BlackBerry and have only started using BB Messenger. I have to say its excellent and I keep signing up more and more friends. It works and its free but unfortunately only works on BlackBerry.

In addition to the launch of Facebook Messenger, other mobile messaging apps of note are the soon to be launched Apple iMessenger in the next upgrade of iOS as well as WhatsApp Messenger which is really taking off as a multi-platform mobile messaging app. Not to be left behind, Samsung also recently announced that they plan to launch a mobile messaging service that will work across all their mobile devices in a ubiquitous manner.

Going forward, the most significant thing about Facebook Messenger is Facebook’s huge user base on a global scale. Facebook Messenger has the potential to reinvent mobile messaging and communications as we know it. Take Kenya for instance – there are over 1 million Facebook users. This in itself is as large as a small mobile network’s subscriber base, and its only getting bigger by the day. Facebook Messenger essentially makes Facebook a quasi-mobile network operator for free messaging.

This could indeed be a significant moment in telecoms history – the day that Facebook moved from being a social network to the “de facto” global mobile communications platform – it’s certainly conceivable that this could happen. One just has to look at how successful Google’s Android has been in the smartphone space to realize that technology innovation reinvents everything and that today’s enabler could be tomorrow’s disruptor.

 

Nokia’s “Create for Millions” Series 40 Mobile Apps Contest Launched In Kenya.

Published on July 30, 2011 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Yesterday I was at the iHub in Nairobi for Nokia’s launch of its local version of the “Create for Millions” mobile apps contest. The contest has both a local and global versions that aim to bring consumers and developers together to create applications for Nokia’s Series 40 mobile phones.

In light of the hyper-growth and interest surrounding smartphones globally, it’s very easy to forget that the majority of mobile subscribers in emerging markets such as Kenya cannot afford them. It’s for this very reason that entry-level phones such as Nokia’s Series 40 handsets continue to lead the market in terms of uptake and general internet usage as per statistics. Therefore, this is still a very large market for mobile apps, even as smartphones become more widely adopted.

The best thing about the local version of Create for Millions is that three winners will be chosen by a select panel of judges and they will be flown to London on an all expense-paid trip to attend Nokia World which will be held in October 26-27, 2011. Nokia has invited me to be one of the judges on this local panel so this is something I am really looking forward to.

The last day for entries in the local Create for Millions competition is the 2nd of September 2011 so there is not that much time left. One thing that left me thinking that Kenya could really win the global event is that VirtualCity did this last year and pocketed a cool US$ 1 million in Nokia’s Calling All Innovators mobile apps contest. It’s very possible!

So, if your that budding mobile application developer or a tech firm that has the chops to enter, good luck and give it a go by registering online at www.developer.nokia.com/create4millions/

Orange Mobile launches Facebook Zero in Kenya.

Published on July 30, 2011 in Uncategorized. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

I’m not sure how this happened so quietly but apparently Orange Mobile launched Facebook Zero in Kenya sometime in late July 2011. This would make Orange Mobile the first mobile network operator in Kenya to do so. For those of you who may not know about Facebook Zero, this is a mobile version of Facebook that was launched globally over a year ago with around 50 mobile networks in 45 countries.

The way Facebook Zero works is that using it is free as it does not attract data charges. Media such as images and graphics are not present on Facebook Zero and all content is in text. The fact that Facebook Zero content is in text means that it is fast to access which is ideal for markets where Internet speeds can be slow. For these two reasons, Facebook Zero going live in Kenya with Orange Mobile is an exciting new development since there are over 1 million registered Facebook users in the country.

In order to access Facebook Zero on your Orange Mobile handset, all you need to do is point your browser to 0.facebook.com and it should come up. In addition, you can get more details on setting up Facebook Zero on your mobile handset at the Orange Mobile web site here>

Apple launches iTunes App Store in more African countries.

Published on July 26, 2011 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

A few days ago, Apple launched its iTunes App Store in 33 new countries globally that include Nigeria, Tanzania, Algeria and Ghana in Africa. These countries join Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa, Egypt and Uganda who already have their own versions of Apple’s iTunes App Store in place.

Apple’s iTunes App Store is now available globally in around 123 countries after the new additions. Personally, I have been on an iPhone for the better part of a year and I have been able to download free and paid apps from the Kenyan version of the iTunes App Store. It works just fine and I have to say using it has been a flawless process.

Over 1/4 of Kenya’s population is now online from a population of 40 million. Going forward, it seems, more mobile app stores should come to market in Africa in addition to Google’s Android Market and Nokia’s OVI store. Other late entrants to this space include Samsung’s BADA platform which is slowly but surely deploying “local” mobile apps for the African marketplace. In most of these mobile app stores, one can pay using operator-based billing or credit cards.

Apple’s additional iTunes App Store launches in Africa go to show that there is indeed a healthy level of interest for mobile apps in Africa. Indeed, it can only mean that the uptake of iOS devices is going mainstream, and more consumers are expected to advantage of this trend where mobile apps are concerned. In addition, mobile application developers can reach a wider customer base for their apps on the iOS platform than ever before – in Africa and beyond, leading to higher sales numbers.

 

A candid view of [integrated] mobile marketing campaigns in Kenya.

Published on July 8, 2011 in Uncategorized. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

This is the first post I have done on this blog after what has been a horrid 2 days. This blog went offline after I attempted to do a routine upgrade, the sort of which I have done many times when a new version of WordPress comes out (which is quite often these days at a time when the likes of the IMF, Sony and Citibank have been routinely hacked lately). However, as I have done on many occasions, I opted to be “lazy” and not do the highly recommended back-up. As an amateur techie, this proved to be a big mistake and it took two days and the help of one of my more “geekie techie” friends (thanks Mike!) to help sort it out. Lets just say the lesson is well learned and I will be 1) less zealous and 2) more cautious the next time I do an upgrade.

So, to get the blogging started this weekend I wanted to share some insights that came my way this week courtesy of a couple of text-based marketing messages I received on my mobile phone. Let me start by saying I do not yet know which, if, any marketing database has my mobile number but clearly it seems one does. I received two messages at different times. One was presumably from Safaricom promoting the Ngwalito Concert that is happening tonight. It was fairly innocuous and contained the ticket prices, the place (being Safaricom House), a mobile number to call and (yes!) even a shortened URL for a promotional web site/landing page. You can see the image of the screen grab above.

Now, when you open the URL in the above screen, here is what you get below. The big deal here is that this web site has been mobile web optimized meaning its easy to read on your mobile phone. It also has more information that is NOT within the text message. It’s a classic case of using mobile marketing channels to reach the mobile phone user, in this case on two distinct channels – SMS and mobile web. This is the sort of mobile marketing execution that will become more and more common in Kenya going forward, as is already the case in many global markets.

However, the reason for this post is that for every excellent case of mobile marketing there are others that are not as good – it’s about avoiding the pitfalls. Enter the other text message I received on the left from Rwandair this afternoon. Rwandair is the national airline for Rwanda, one of the most progressive countries in East Africa. Clearly, with this kind of mobile marketing it shows they are ahead of the curve (Kenya Airways, are you seeing this?). However, for me, a glaring mistake is that they did NOT to include a phone number to call, or an office location? However, they do have a URL for a landing page on their website for “deals” – excellent! Well, its good, the only problem being that it’s not a shortened URL (many URL shortening services today also offer detailed metrics for who actually clicked it and from where in the world so Rwandair could be losing out on serious data insights).

On clicking the Rwandair landing page for their offers above, one arrives to the page on the right. What’s wrong with this picture? This is a mobile marketing campaign that started off with a text message to a known mobile number, which otherwise could not have been delivered. In addition, the sender of the message also inserts a URL for a landing page on their web site for one to “see” what the “deals” on Rwandair are on their mobile phone. Therefore, why is it that the landing page in question has NOT been optimized for the mobile web and one is instead taken to a standard “full-sized” web site that would only run well on a “full-scale” computer. It’s a big glaring mistake in a country where over 50% of 10+ million Internet users go online via their mobile phones – How did this happen? Ironically, this is not the first time I have seen this happen for other similar campaigns – there are many other cases where the mobile marketing web site needs to have also been optimized for mobile web users – it’s really the basics in my opinion.

In concluding, I applaud both Ngwalito/Safaricom and Rwandair on both of these integrated mobile marketing campaigns. This is what needs happen on a broader scale in Kenya and the rest of Africa where we can leverage the most ideal channel to reach customers in a targeted way – all 500+ million of them throughout the continent on their mobile phones. However, as the manner of execution goes to show, small details really do matter. Nevertheless, mobile marketing is getting more and more advanced in Kenya and this goes to show that the future of digital marketing in this region is finally, and, really going mobile.

New addition:

I also came across the campaign below from Elite Computer who are authorized Apple Resellers in Kenya. They too are using a mobile ad network for marketing and this in turn leads to a mobile web landing page. A good effort from them too!

A review of Samsung’s Ch@t 322 Dual SIM Mobile Handset.

Published on July 1, 2011 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Its been around 2 weeks since I got my hands on Samsung’s new dual SIM mobile handset – the Ch@t 322. The phone has just been launched in Kenya as evidenced by the large newspaper ads and billboards nationwide with a “mirror image” of Wyre, the popular local musician. In the marketing, one can tell that the target audience is clearly the Youth from this perspective – those social media loving and fast texting generation that make up the bulk of Kenya’s fast emerging always-on digital class. However, having had sometime with the Ch@t 322, its clearly a phone that can serve a much wider market.

A couple of things first though. The build quality and overall finish of the Ch@t 322 as to be expected from Samsung is excellent. However, The Ch@t 322 is NOT what I would call a true smart phone by today’s standards. It is what I would call an advanced phone meaning it does a few key things really well but not the whole gamut that a smart phone would do. The big deal about this phone is obviously its dual SIM capability. This is an especially important feature in addition to the full QWERTY keyboard – which is a first as far as I can tell in this market for a dual SIM mobile handset. The Ch@t 322 also comes with an optical track pad meaning that it has some nifty navigational capabilities.

In Kenya, the Ch@t 322 is currently retailing for Kes. 8,299.00 and is available from major retailers such Fonexpress, Phonelinks and Tuscoms (nationwide), Samsung’s brand shop at the Westgate Mall and Safaritel on Mama Ngina street, as well as other key stores. The price in my opinion is fair for a dual SIM phone with all its features to be discussed later in this post. However, we now have other branded smart phones retailing for a similar price in the market BUT without dual SIM capabilities. This trade-off may be a tough sell for prospective buyers unless they feel they really need a dual SIM handset when they could buy a 3G enabled but entry-level smart phone.

The Ch@t 322 has a home screen that has prominent menu options for direct access to Twitter, Facebook, and MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. In the same manner, once can also access their email (with native ActiveSync for regular updates) and SMS services directly from the same menu, as well as free Bluetooth Messaging. This points to the fact that this indeed a phone that is focused on messaging at the core.

In terms of getting online, the Ch@t 322 comes with GPRS and does not support EDGE or 3G – I found this to be quite disappointing as you have to wait for content to come through. It comes with a 1.3 Megapixel camera for both video and photos. It also comes with 60MB of on-board memory that can be expanded up to 8GB via a Micro SD card. If one wants to use the Ch@t 322 for larger media downloads such as music and video, the Ch@t comes with a 2GB Micro SD card out of the box which is a decent amount of extra data storage.

I found setting up my Ch@t 322 for email and social networks to be easy and stress free – its the first time I have ever used a Dual SIM phone. The screen is quite large and easy to navigate, especially with the nifty optical track pad. Browsing the web was a reasonably good experience except for the slow speeds. The seamless use of both SIM cards once activated via the menu means its easy to move back and forth between the active lines from the menu while the phone is continuously on – there is no need to restart it to work the two lines. The keys on the QWERTY keyboard were a little small so it took sometime to get used to them without making mistakes.

In concluding, I have mixed feelings about the Ch@t 322. On one hand, its a great dual SIM mobile handset. Its also great for messaging in all of its myriad forms via social networks, instant messaging and email. However, I think it would have to appeal to have very specific market that would buy it for this very reason. If its a question of getting a phone that flies on the Internet and delivers a full smart phone experience at the same price, I would not recommend it. Ultimately, it boils down to the fact that the Ch@t 322 is probably the best brand name dual SIM handset in the market today, hands down. On this basis, I would buy it.

[Video] Interview with Mikul Shah of Eat Out at Pivot25

Published on June 23, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

This is the last of four interviews I had last week at Pivot25. This one was with Mikul Shah who is the Founder and CEO of Eat Out. Eat Out is a web site that provides comprehensive information on restaurants in Nairobi as well as reservation services and special discounts for customers. In a nutshell, Eat Out helps restaurants generate interest and eventually business. In addition, existing and prospective customers can find and explore the restaurant scene in Nairobi via Eat Out.

Eat Out was one of the finalists at Pivot25 although they did not win their highly competitive category. However, they have made already won several awards over the past year or so and have even become profitable in under a year with limited funding.

In the interview below, Mikul talks about their plans to launch Eat Out mobile which they expect to extend their reach in the Kenyan marketplace. In addition, he is currently in discussions with Nokia and Equity Bank and hopes to achieve strategic partnerships that will help Eat Out become an even bigger success in Kenya.

You can watch the interview with Mikul below:

InMobi research finds that 72% of Kenyans purchase on mobile devices

Published on June 20, 2011 in Uncategorized. 9 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Press Release

Recent research by InMobi shows that 72% of Kenyans purchase on mobile devices compared to 59% of Africa mobile web users that have purchased digital or physical products through their mobile devices

Research by InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile ad network, reveals that African mobile web users prefer the mobile channel (46%) to their Desktop (10%) and even In-store (44%) when shopping for Apparel, Consumer Electronics and Entertainment Tickets. This clearly highlights the shift to ‘shopping on the move’ across Africa.

Surprisingly, non-smartphone users have an even higher preference of browsing and shopping using their Mobile versus Desktop than smartphone users.  This signifies the higher dependence on mobile devices among feature phone users as it’s their primary means to digital content in many cases.

The study conducted among 3,100 African mobile web consumers, found that 51% of Kenyans have only ever purchased digital goods via their mobile device.

Commenting on the study, James Lamberti, VP Global Research & Marketing at InMobi, commented that “Mobile shopping is becoming increasingly commonplace in Africa.  It’s an exciting time for the consumer, retailer, and manufacturer as mobile shopping solutions will become more accessible, intelligent and compelling to use.  With the high level of consumer acceptance a new mass reach retail channel has emerged setting up huge opportunities in the world of mobile advertising. ”

Most popular purchases from mobile devices in Kenya:

Product % Buying
Digital Goods 66%
Apparel 12%
Entertainment Tickets 12%
Travel 9%
Other 1%

Full results of the study, conducted in 14 countries among 15,000 consumers, will be released in a global research roadshow to leading agencies, brands, analysts, and journalists. For further information, please visit www.inmobi.com

About the Study

The study, entitled “A Global Consumer Perspective on Mobile Shopping”, was conducted among 15,000 consumers in 14 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia during February and March 2011.  Consumers participated in the study directly through their mobile devices offering the mobile ecosystem a point of view on mobile shopping among mobile Internet users.

About InMobi

InMobi is the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. With offices on four continents, it provides advertisers, publishers and developers with a uniquely global solution for advertising. Its network is growing fast and now delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 314 million consumers, in over 200 countries, through more than 35 billion mobile ad impressions monthly. InMobi was recently selected as the 2011 Always On Top 100 Mobile Companies in Silicon Valley.

InMobi is venture-backed with marquee investors including: Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures. The company has offices in Nairobi, London, San Francisco, Bangalore, Tokyo, and Singapore.

To learn more, please visit www.InMobi.com/research, follow us on Twitter @InMobi, or read our blog at www.InMobi.com/InMobiblog/

Emirates Launches Mobile Boarding Pass Service in East Africa.

Published on June 8, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Press Release.

Nairobi – 07 June, 2011 – Making travel even more efficient, Emirates now offers customers the option of receiving a mobile boarding pass on their internet-enabled mobile device – providing customers with a stress-free, paperless travel experience.

The service is available to all passengers who utilize Emirates’ online check-in facility out of Dubai up to 24 hours in advance. Passengers can log on to www.emirates.com, and can choose to receive a web-link to their mobile boarding pass by email or SMS, that displays a barcoded boarding pass on their internet-enabled phone.

“The launch of Emirates’ mobile boarding pass not only supports paperless travel and the reduction of paper waste, but also meets the demands of a new era of travellers, who seek a more sophisticated and efficient means of managing their business and leisure travel,” said Mohammed H Mattar – Divisional Senior Vice President Airport Services, Emirates.

He continued: “The mobile boarding pass puts flexibility and control completely in the hands of our customers, while making a small step towards reducing our environmental impact.”

The mobile boarding pass can be scanned and read directly at all check-in counters, airport security check points, Dubai immigration, Emirates First Class and Business Class lounges, and boarding gates. The service allows customers to keep all their travel information in one place, while also safe guarding the environment through paperless travel.

In the first year of implementation, it is estimated that the use of mobile boarding passes alone will save a minimum of 550 kilograms of paper. Across the Emirates Group, over 3.6 million kilograms of paper and cardboard have been recycled in the financial year 2010 – 11.

Following the launch in Dubai, over 30 other mobile boarding pass compliant airports, have been identified for implementation across the Emirates network.

The launch of the mobile boarding pass services follows the launch of Emirates mobile booking services in mid 2010. Designed to work with over 3000 mobile devices, Mobile Emirates.com has been optimized to ensure that customers on the move can easily and efficiently access the emirates.com website, through their mobile phones.

“Consumers are far more mobile than ever before. There is a constant need for products and services to cater to the fast paced lifestyle that today’s individuals lead, people want it here and now, without exception,” Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Emirates Regional Manager for East Africa said of Emirates mobile booking and boarding services.

The new sophisticated functionality ensures that the Emirates website is downloaded in the appropriate format for each specific mobile device, allowing customers to perform a multitude of tasks including; booking and managing a flight, mobile check-in, searching flight schedules and status and even checking the in-flight amenities available on a specific flight. Once they log on to www.emirates.com they will be automatically redirected to the mobile optimized version of the website.

Mobifixx – a great mobile phone repair shop in Nairobi.

Published on April 9, 2011 in Uncategorized. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Mobifixx at Diamond Plaza, Parklands, Nairobi, Kenya

Its inevitable. At one point or another, you will damage your mobile handset, or it will stop working properly for no apparent reason. That’s of course if it has not yet happened to you, or at least once? Over the last decade or so, I have had a good number of incidents when I either accidentally damaged a mobile phone or it just went on the blink for no good reason. The tricky bit of course was finding a repair shop or “repair guy” that could fix it. On the other hand, even if covered under warranty at the dealers, it was sometimes more practical to simply buy a replacement mobile handset rather than bother fixing the damaged one.

This is what brings me to the point of this blog post. In a country of over 22 million mobile subscribers, its surprising how hard it is to find a decent mobile phone repair shop. I am NOT talking about the sort that just happens to operate around the corner where there is a 50/50 chance they can actually repair your phone – if not make it worse. I am talking about the type who are professional, affordable and most importantly reliable? Yes, these are few and far in between. Therefore, it came as something of a surprise the other day that I encountered a mobile repair shop called “Mobifixx”.

Mobifixx are located at the popular Diamond Plaza mall in Parklands. I happened on them by chance and paid them a visit. I was intrigued to find out if they could fix the cracked screen of my smart phone (courtesy of my over enthusiastic 2 year old son). They not only were able to repair the cracked screen in around 30 minutes, it even looks better than it did when I got the phone. The other bit that was also really great is the price – it was around 50% of the cost I had been quoted by a reputable phone dealer. Yes indeed, Mobifixx will sort out your damaged mobile phone. That’s what they do, and do really well. Give them a call on 0715-321999.