A lot of free viral marketing does happen over the Internet – yes they do not get paid to post about products and services and campaigns – but that’s because the incentives are not quantified in terms of cold cash. Instead, these “grassroots viral marketers” are in it for the prestige, the “being part of something” feeling, and because they believe that spreading the word forms part of their web site’s advocacy.

But what happens when viral marketing creeps upon the realm of spam?

Easy Marketing Blog refers to these three ways to make viral campaigns more attractive to say YES to:

Offer exclusive content. Anyone can offer ring tones. It’s the unique content, such as exclusive mobile images of new brand concepts, that drives interest and calls them out in other media like e-mail campaigns, newsletters, websites, etc. So a wireless campaign is most effective when it offers exclusive content for wireless devices.

Make it useful and timely. Think about what would be handy and helpful to have on a mobile device. Last year, for example, Food Network enabled Sprint customers to download shopping lists for their Thanksgiving dinners. There was a lot of “Sprint-envy” going around among non-sprint customers.

Clearly define objectives. Usually, one of two business objectives drives successful mobile experiences: incremental revenue of brand intimacy. On the intimacy factor, a text message usually takes priority over almost any other form of communication. Why? Because we haven’t yet been saturated with mobile spam, and this is what causes us to prioritize wireless messaging over voice.

Do I agree to these? Well, yes and no. In an ideal world offering exclusive content would be a good thing for the mere fact that these are branded as exclusive. But in the real world, a person’s mobile phone is sacrosanct.

My personal experience is that I’d want to have full control of the stuff that gets sent into my phone via my carrier. Which is why I don’t subscribe to ringtones, jokes or even news. That stuff I can get through the Internet, when I want them.

Post from: Cellphone9

I think it’s too early for Apple to pull a fast one and come up with a new product like a smartphone. As to what ancestry it should come from, whether it should be more iPod than phone, or more phone than iPod or more MacBook than phone, only time will tell.

Really nice Mac Pro though.

Post from: Cellphone9

Perhaps the biggest question on the minds of readers would be whether the twisting mechanism provides a good UI compliment for phone and multimedia. The answer is that it wins 2/3 times failing in the realm of the camera. Tilting the bottom half perpendicular to the screen makes it a bit uncomfy for taking shots since the “shoot me!” button is naturally programmed as the 5-way joystick. If you use your right hand, you’d feel awkward. If you use your left hand, you’d cover the screen. Of course you can always shoot using the standard candybar mode but you’d have to press buttons instead of flipping the phone – which is like, the coolest thing.

The music player is semi-decent. It must be noted that the 3250 comes with a set of In-ears which is a huge plus. The big minus is that the expansion card slot is located NOT on the side of the phone but between the flipping mechanisms. It was sooo hard to locate and open.

[Full specs here]

Post from: Cellphone9

Peter Kennedy leaves a very small footprint on the internet- probably because the people he works for value his silence and reticence. There are a number of Patent applications floating out in the ether with his name on them. Prior to working for Apple it seems Kennedy worked on projects for both IBM and SONY ERICSSON. What could Apple want with someone with an interest in User interfaces for phones? cough iPhone… new video iPod?

Read

Post from: Cellphone9

Recap – The Nokia N90 has a 2.o megapixel camera fitted with a Carl Zeiss lens

The picture shown above was taken in macro mode (see link below for full sized image). I was able to take shots clearly from one inch from the subject. Not bad for a camera phone. Overall, the N90’s camera is slightly better than the W800i’s because images are slightly more crisp (thanks to Mr. Zeiss). Available shooting modes include auto focus, macro, night shot, and sports (fast moving stuff). At 2 megapixels, images are around and have a resolution of 1600×1200.

Here is a non-compromised shot I’ve got on macro. The lens was about half an inch from the piece of wood.

It takes a few seconds for sunlight and glare to resolve but it can be put to a creative advantage.

In partial light night mode. Zero light night shot here with flash.

This is a sample of the portrait mode. Nothing visibly different from automatic shooting, but I use it anyway. Oh, that’s Hondo, my trusty sidekick (because all heroes need a sidekick!)

Compare these to a sample portrait photo from the W800i.

You can check out the full res camera shots on my Photobook site.

Post from: Cellphone9

Now, I’m not CNET editor – I’m the C9 editor! So that means aside from being the life of the party, I get to do my own rundown of some of these products from the lifestyle perspective.

SE W600a
Swiveling body, like the S700i. There’s this engineering prophecy that states, “it whose parts are abundantly moving will breaketh more ofteneth.” Features-wise you pretty much get the same thing except that the W600a looks a tad cooler when folding out. I’ll stick to the W800i – its more compact and looks more durable.

Motorola Q
Said to be next year’s contender to Palm’s Treo line. All I have to say is, “thank you for saturating the market with phones that have the same features as everything else.” Makes everything cheaper in the long run. Ah, I love laissez-faire.

LG F7200
Reminds me of the Samsung D50o: light, compact and stylish. I have a thing for those sliding phones though. They tend to slide without warning as they age. Consider this a good buy if you’re into that Push to Talk thing.

Treo 700w
Oh no not another commentary about the Windowzed-Palm device. The buttons are essentially the same. Except that now the “Home” button is now the “Start” button. I have another concern too. Either this is an experimental Tre0 that leads to a dead end to compensate for Cobalt’s delay, or its just the beginning of a new line of Windowzed Treos. Think about it. (Palm to become a hardware OEM? hehe)

CNET in CTIA

Hey hey, speaking of ‘C9,’ can you guys venture a guess as to why the site is named as such? There’s that comment box thingee below where you can guess away.

Post from: Cellphone9

I guess with Palm’s Cobalt still in the drawing board, the devs just decided to use Windows, because Cobalt = Windows Mobile. Its really just the same thing. Heh.

This development will bring a huge impact on the Asian market. It is here where Windows Mobile devices, at least in general, are not at par with Palm’s efficient tech support. This is big news – a Windows Mobile platform that supports very good Palm warranty support. Wowzers!

But then again, it may still be too early to tell – so we just have to sit back and enjoy the show.

From Engadget

Post from: Cellphone9

I grabbed my camera to take a shot but when the evil demo guy saw me whip out my Olympus, he grabbed the unit and with some sleight of hand, stuffed it somewhere never to be seen again. Oh noes, my bad.

What I just saw was the rumored XDA II Mini Pro, a Wi-Fi enabled Windows Mobile 5.0 device that also comes with a thumb board, which reveals itself from the left side of the unit. Ingenious! The side-popping (surprise!) keypad takes advantage of Windows Mobile 5.0’s landscape view, so you can use the XDA II Mini Pro as a mobile office (landscape mode) or as a phone / PDA (portrait mode) with a lot of ease.

Paparazzi details from CNET Asia

Post from: Cellphone9

Courtesy of Engadget

Post from: Cellphone9

Some may wonder why the ROKR doesn’t live up to Apple’s design – let’s face the music coz’ it kinda sucks compared to everything else Apple has released design-wise. A move perhaps to focus on the iPod, a full fledged digital music player? Nah, I think it has more to do with copyright stuff.

Apple isn’t afraid of phones that can play digital music. And I personally don’t think these phones will replace these HD and flashed-based players.

“A mobile phone-based player doesn’t offer much to a high-volume music consumer. The convenience of having to carry one device less will usually be outweighed by the design compromises that result”, said Canalys analyst Rachel Lashford. “And a heavy user isn’t going to pay a premium to download each track over the air to a phone when there are cheaper service alternatives that offer a more sophisticated browsing experience, interface and file management.”

via The Register

Here’s a small piece from my friend Art on why convergence devices won’t make it in the long run.

In marketing, there is a principle known as the Principle of Focus, which says that you can only be known for one thing. And you should stick to it, because the market will only remember you for one thing and for one thing alone.

via m|ph blog

Post from: Cellphone9