With the success of the Gimme 5 iPhone App with users and growing demand for the Android version, we launched the Gimme 5 Android App for Preserve Products recently.
Gimme 5 is a #5 plastic recycling program brought to you by Preserve®, Stonyfield Farm®, Brita®, Burt’s Bees® and Whole Foods Market®! If you’re serious about recycling, you know that most communities don’t accept these common containers for recycling. There’s not enough money in it for them to make it work. And those communities that do accept #5s are generally forced (by poor economics) into bundling them with other plastics to form a mixed plastic bale. This mixed plastic bale is of low value and is often shipped overseas to an unknown end of life.
Preserve and its partners created the Gimme 5 program to offer a simple way to save these plastics and make sure they have a second life. Now you can enjoy all of the great products that come packaged in #5 plastic, save them up, clean them out and drop them at over 200 Whole Foods locations in the US and other participating retail locations, or mail them back to Preserve for recycling. And as a thank-you for your recycling efforts you earn rewards from Recyclebank, a company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from local and national businesses.
Gimme 5 Website and Apps are powered by HubEngage, a social CRM and loyalty platform from Mobinett Interactive. Learn more at www.hubengage.com . Get the Gimme 5 Android App from Google Play today…
iOS, Android, Windows phone 8 or Blackberry 10 – Here are the numbers to help with your mobile strategy
The mobile landscape is changing faster than seasons change here. We still notice that a lot of people want to launch their Apps on iOS or have a strategy primarily around one operating system. However, be it with regular consumers or in the enterprise, you are going to see a wide range of devices running on different versions of iOS, Android or other mobile operating systems. Here are some numbers that will help you with your strategy….
Android has been taking over market share rapidly, especially in emerging markets (China, India etc.). This can be attributed to the wide range of devices at different price points, catering to nearly every segment of the market. See the latest growth statistics below:
Smartphones are seizing the digital camera market
As smart phones become more ubiquitous they are taking over every aspect from cameras to maps to handheld video games. Among all the features, the most popular one is the camera. The immense popularity of photo apps along with increasing functionality in the smartphone cameras has accelerated this trend.
Smartphone and Digital Camera Trends – Credit: InfoTrends
In 2012, digital camera sales declined by 10% and smartphone cameras outsold regular cameras by 6:1. To keep up with the market, digital cameras are now being equipped with WiFi or cellular connectivity, editing tools and filters. However, a recent patent granted to Google for LED technology in cameras, indicates that the smartphone companies are accelerating their development on cameras as well. Perhaps in a few years both the technologies in some way will converge – camera companies may develop native apps for smartphones or launch their own smartphones (just like in Navigation – TomTom’s native apps or Garmin’s Nuviphone ). Whether the camera companies innovate quickly to compete with smartphones and succeed remains to be seen.
Opportunity for Mobile Photo Apps
Mobile trends and strategies for App developers…
I recently gave a short presentation at the Boston New Technology meetup on mobile trends and strategies. The event was attended by over 120 people and sponsored by us i.e. Mobinett Interactive.
Here are some pictures from the event along with the slides that were presented.
Over 65% of the cameras there are smartphones. This is the third straight year that sales of digital point and shoot cameras have declined…. Smartphones can’t be ignored anymore. Is mobile part of your strategy yet?
Are Smart Watches the next trend? Pebble starts shipping, Google and Apple apparently working on prototypes
While the trend in smartphones is to go big creating a hybrid category called Phablets (Phone + Tablets), a new form factor is taking shape – the Smart Watch. So if having a smartphone in your pocket is not enough, then you’re in luck. Now you can wear it on your wrist. Although in the past we have seen many concepts from Nokia and other cell phone manufacturers, these devices are now a reality.
Pebble which just started shipping last week is one of the first companies to bring these devices to market. This smart watch was an overnight success story, raising over $10 million in funding on Kickstarter and 500K of that funding raised on the first day. It can connect to your iPhone or Android device and can bought for $150 a pop.
Some companies like Sony already have a Smart Watch available to ship at $129.99 . Sony’s website described it best:
Get a watch that does more than tell time. Check updates, control your music and much more from your Android™ smartphone. Bluetooth® enabled Smart Watch works beautifully with both Sony and non-Sony Android-based smartphones alike.
On the other hand, Google and Apple are not far behind.
Microsoft needs to up the ante with Surface RT to gain market share
Microsoft Surface RTs are off to a rough start according to CNET which recently spoke with market research firm iSuppli. While shipments of Surface RTs were around 1.25 million, Microsoft was able to sell between 680,000 to 750,000 devices. Although this is typical for any new device launched into the market – Amazon Kindle and Android devices have had the same problem, the fact that the return rate of Surface tablets has been really high indicates that there is a problem with the device.
Last year Mobinett Interactive was among the first few companies’ to develop and publish Apps on Windows 8. The TrialEncounter App developed for ChatThreads was launched in 30+ countries and 18+ languages. Needless to say, we had our own share of issues with Surface RT.
Problems with Surface RT
Radically new interface – Windows 8 is a complete departure from any Windows operating system we have seen in the past. Therefore consumers have a steep learning curve on the device.
