Last year Absolute were briefed by Intel UK to develop an infographic on the “Explosion of Embedded Internet”. This documented the development of connected technology, from the first main frame computer which was launched in 1968 all the way up to 2020. It was a very interesting and insightful project that allowed us to get under the skin of the speed of mobile phone development and embedded internet. At the same time we were developing some print brochures for Sony (Sony Ericsson as it was then) in Sweden to promote the launch of their new phones and associated products to retailers worldwide

This allowed us to, in a way, see into the future of what was being planned by these major blue chip organisations - it was mind blowing. I made a trip out to meet with Sony at the start of the year and was allowed into a special room with all the latest phones that were going though testing. The phones are not going to hit the market until 2013/14 so it was like getting briefed by Q in a James Bond film.... at least they didn’t self destruct after I had a play or I might have been marched out of the building! (although I did have to hide my phone at the time as it was a Blackberry!)

I came away enchanted by the possibilities that mobile could offer.

Only last week I made my way into Manchester from Horwich Parkway for a meeting and I stood on the train as it rumbled down the line people watching. 90% of my fellow passengers were sat or stood playing with their smart phones. They could have been on Twitter, Facebook or just watching the news or looking for that late break to the sun. This seems to back up what the statistics say that mobile phone browsing will overtake PC by 2013

The guys at GMPD have put together some great stats on mobile browsing which really show how mobile has transformed the way we live and work –

• There are more mobile phones in the UK than people
• The number of Smartphone internet searchers doubles every two months
• eBay sells something via a mobile phone every two seconds
• In 2010, Google became a ‘mobile-first’ company (this means they develop their sites and tools on mobiles first)
• Smartphone sales overtook PC sales last year (two years earlier than expected)
• In three years time, tablet sales will be bigger than PC sales
• Smartphone sales will continue to grow – will be 3 times the sales of PC’s
• 52% of UK mobile phone users have a Smartphone
• 28% of all internet usage is from a mobile phone
• 19% of search queries in the travel industry are from mobiles (was 11% in 2011)
• 16% of search queries in retail are from mobiles (was 10% in 2011)
• 19% of search queries in the entertainment industry are from mobiles (was 10% in 2011)
• Mothers day 2012 – 50% of all online sales came from mobile devices
• 28% of people in the UK have purchased something using their phone
• eBay forecasts $8 billion in mobile sales this year (one sale per second)
• Average of 4 Ferraris sold on a mobile phone every month
• 49% of all Paddy Power bets made from mobile devices
• Orange have sold 500,000 NFC-compatible phones in France & the UK
• 40% of mobile searches have local intent
• 12% of UK population have a tablet
• Tablet sales growing 378% year on year
• 38% of UK tablet owners spend more time on their tablet than watching TV
• 23% increase in search queries from tablets after Christmas day (due to them being given as presents)
• 11% increase in mobile searches after Christmas day
• 53% of people in the UK are ‘dual screening’ (using phone whilst watching TV for example)
• Total of $241 billion in mobile transactions in 2011
• There are regular mobile transactions with value over $5,000
• 86% of all adults own at least one mobile phone
• Most 3G data used by a single user in February 2012 was 573GB

Source - http://www.gpmd.co.uk

Over the past few months we have been working hard in the chapel on our new enhanced mobile strategy to make sure we have the right skills and tools in place to help our clients understand how mobile should be integrated into their current marketing mix and then to help them achieve their goals.

No company should ignore how mobile could add value to their business, it is growing at an alarming rate that every business should take note and plan for, or miss out on potential sales. It might be at different levels but businesses should at least start with making sure their current website has been designed to work on mobile devices. This doesn’t mean you need to invest in mobile websites or Apps but make sure that your website works and is tested on mobile browsers. This could be a painstaking exercise for all those people who requested Flash in the development of their last website! We are currently re-designing our own website that will include a dedicated mobile web version that should be live just before Christmas all being well.

Okay, so what is all the fuss about with mobile technology?

Mobile is revolutionising the way we do business, the way we communicate with friends, colleagues or business associates. This means that a lot of the tools and products we used to use on a daily basis have now or will soon become redundant.

The instant camera is one piece of technology that has been the backbone of many a holiday as you recorded those happy family memories - but now sales of the camera have fallen 29% since 2006. The same can be said for the trusty camcorder, as sales have also dropped 21% over the same period. The reason for this is that Smartphone’s now have fully integrated powerful cameras, such as the latest release of Apple’s iPhone 5 which comes packaged with an 8 megapixel camera and 1080p HD video recording. I would think that even the compact digital camera will go the same way as the camera film did in 2006 in a few years.

Having a camera/video phone on your mobile has also opened up a whole new dimension to online purchasing. For example Halifax has recently launched an augmented reality* App that allows you to search for available properties in the immediate vicinity using the camera. So, for example, if you are walking around Manchester and want to know if there are any properties for sale in the area you can hold up your phone and each home for sale will be flagged up on-screen. When you point the camera at the house you would like information on, you will be shown useful info such as the price, distance to the train station, number of bedrooms etc

Mobile is an important area for property companies, with a customer survey from Rightmove finding that 52% of respondents had used a mobile platform to search for a property.

The exciting thing is Halifax’s augmented reality app is only scratching the surface of what possibilities mobile technology can help develop. There is talk that by 2036 we could be walking round wearing Google contact lenses providing us with data and augmented reality on the go. 10 years ago we would have laughed at such claims by thinking we were watching Tron in the cinema, but the reality is closer than we think.

*Put at its simplest, augmented reality, or AR to its friends, is the art of super-imposing of computer generated content over a live view of the world.