Social Networking Dominates Mobile Search
By Lynnette Luna
Social networking is the top area of interest among mobile web users, according to mobile software applications and infrastructure provider Openwave Systems. Facebook and MySpace top search terms on both Google and Yahoo! OneSearch.
Per mobile web usage trends derived from an anonymous sample of customer logs from a Tier-1 North American operator and processed through its Openwave Mobile Analytics service, the firm notes that in terms of average hits per session, MySpace leads Facebook by nearly 46 percent, suggesting MySpace could become the preferred choice of mobile communications for a segment of the operator subscriber base and could even displace some email solutions.
Openwave also found that mobile advertising marketplace AdMob serves nearly seven times more ads than its nearest competitor. But it also has a lower click-through rate compared with rivals Buzzcity and Microsoft. Openwave said that AdMob's lower click-through numbers could be the result of generic ads that fail to offer targeted relevance to the subscriber. [FierceWireless]
Audi Announces First Automotive OEM iPhone Application
Audi of America today announced the release of the first ever iPhone application from an auto manufacturer. "Audi A4 Challenge" is a driving game that utilizes the iPhone's accelerometer (motion sensor) to steer a digital version of Audi's entirely new 2009 A4 through a series of progressively challenging courses.
Players maneuver the course and race against the clock to beat their own personal best time. The application is now available free of charge on Apple's iPhone Application Store. The 2009 Audi A4 will be available in Audi dealerships nationwide starting in September of 2008.
"The iPhone is an ideal platform to help introduce the entirely new Audi A4 to the public," said Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer, Audi of America. "Audi customers are smart, sophisticated and technologically savvy. As a brand, we are committed to progress and innovation at every turn. We're very excited to be the first automotive manufacturer to connect with our audience through the iPhone."
Located in Denver, Factory Design Labs, Audi's interactive agency of record designed the game in just two weeks.
"Innovation is the foundation of the Audi brand," said Scott Mellin, CEO of Factory Design Labs. "This is the first application by an automotive OEM, but it's also reinventing the shopping experience. In combination with the A4 iPhone web site, this is the first viable mobile marketing solution in the automotive space. Importantly, it is also a unique way to engage the consumer with the DNA of the Audi brand."
To support the application and the launch of the A4, Audi has also created an A4 iPhone experience web site that allows users to experience and learn more about the entirely new Audi A4. Customers who visit truthinengineering.com/a4/iphone on their iPhone will find a unique interface and content on the A4, specialized videos, wallpapers, an exterior color customizer, a dealer locator and link to install the Audi A4 Challenge application. [pr/FierceWireless]
Study: Users Want Practical Mobile Applications
By Jason Ankeny
Consumers desire practical, utility-based mobile applications like mobile-optimized banking and travel planning more than basic entertainment services according to a new usage and attitudes study conducted by mobile web domain registry dotMobi and digital agency AKQA's Research & Insights unit.
dotMobi notes growing consumer trust in the security of the mobile web, citing the volume of consumers demanding access to mobile banking and related m-commerce services. In addition, roughly 90 percent of the 2,000 respondents said they would be more likely to select an airline with mobile check-in over one that did not offer mobile services, while almost two thirds of participants said they would consider purchasing theater tickets, take-out food and travel tickets on mobile.
dotMobi notes that consumer awareness remains a significant challenge: About 50 percent of respondents said they were unaware of the existence of websites optimized for the mobile platform, with 86 percent expressing interest in learning which sites are easily accessible via mobile device.
Moreover, close to 50 percent of respondents reported that their initial mobile web user experience was so poor that it made them "reluctant to access" the site or the mobile Internet as a whole again, citing poor site display and layout as the primary culprits. Only 2 percent of the survey participants who've purchased new handsets in the past six months selected an iPhone. [FierceWireless]
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