Archive for 'News'

Sepo18

SeanB

2

Vancouver Sun Business: House hunting goes mobile with new text services

My favourite local real estate columnists, Derrick Penner penned a great new article about what is happening with mobile technology in the real estate industry.  Shopping for a home goes mobile was published on the front page of today’s Business section in the Vancouver Sun.
There are some good quotes from Vancouver Realtor Kye Grace (@KyeGrace) throughout the article. He says “There’s no doubt that mobile is where it’s at… and in all reality, the consumer is going mobile.” I need to talk to him to see what system he is using.
The article mainly talks about old technology, using a call to action on a For Sale sign. This method is over supplied and under utilized by consumers. Realtors tell me all the time that they aren’t getting the traction they were looking for. This is why we focus on MLS search and delivery. We Make Mobile MLS Easy!
The article also mentions an iPhone app. Of course, the App Store is dominating the mobile space and can’t be ignored. 3locations is working on phone apps that combine the MLS with the best practices of social networking.

3locations Mobile MLS

3locations Mobile MLS

Juno14

SeanB

2

1000watt Consulting sees the future on a small screen

This week I came across an article on Inman.com  (the best source for real estate news) that was a reprint off the 1000watt blog where Brian Boero spells out a compelling explanation of why real estate applications and MLS services will better serve the home buyer on a portable device. Boero states that “The handheld device will be the locus of real estate technology innovation in the coming years.”
Of course, I can only agree. Your phone is your most personal device and still predominately advertising-free. It can deliver a more focused user experience when you optimize the “limited-capabilities.” Boero calls it a “liberating” experience for the home buyer and “most importantly, the experience is portable, which is perfectly suited to real estate.”
Location awareness, embedded maps and geo-coded MLS information can be combined to deliver a simple and reliable service that is hard to replicate on a PC that is designed to provide much more. Boero explains that “This is why I think the Zillow iPhone app is better than Zillow.com. It’s why I am so excited about the numerous IDX-based native iPhone apps in development as I type.”
I look forward to Brian’s reports and experiencing for myself the best new real estate applications for your phone.

Juno08

SeanB

3

Email, Search and Facebook - Mobile Web has arrived!

Numerous reports this week point to the fact that Mobile Internet Usage is reaching critical mass in Canada with close to 4 million mobile web surfers. The growth is staggering when you consider that during the first 3 months of 2009 the rate increased from 16% to 21.3% of all cellphone users, that’s over 900,000 more people accessing the Internet on their phone.
The Nielsen Company, the first third-party analysts to report on the Canadian mobile market see specific trends driving mobile Internet growth, such as the increased use of smartphones, the development of popular phone applications and unlimited data plans. Many advertising campaigns are expanding consumer awareness that mobile phone capabilities are providing a similar user experience to that of using a personal computer.
The top five sites accessed on the mobile web are Windows Live Mail with 1.4 million unique visitors. Google Mobile Search (850,000 unique users), Facebook (784,000 unique users), The Weather Network (674,000 unique users) and Yahoo! Mail with (652,000 unique users).
Another interesting fact is that North America adoption rates are currently 12 to 18 months behind those of Japan and Korea. 

Mayo21

SeanB

1

Bad News: 60% of teenagers text while driving in the U.S.

Vlingo, a mobile application development company released a report yesterday stating that 26 percent of people in the U.S. admit to texting while driving. The Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report polled nearly 5,000 people to come up with their findings. The report concluded that drivers in Tennessee were the worst offenders (or most honest) with 42% of respondents confirming they Drive While Texting (DWT) and Arizona posting the lowest score of 18.8%.
The Vlingo report states that the problem has to do with the explosive growth in the popularity of text messaging with nearly 60% of all mobile phone users texting on a regular basis in 2009. The problem increases when you break down the report by demographics, with 49% of adults aged  20 - 29 and where close to 60% of those aged 16 to 19 will read and send text messages while operating a motor vehicle.
The answer to this problem lies in tougher legislation. As of May 2009, only 7 states in the U.S. have laws completely prohibiting a person from using SMS while driving.
“Texting is such an integral component of our daily lives, and more people are texting. The good news is that many state legislatures are starting to take up this issue, and today more advanced technologies exist that can increase safety on the roads” says Dave Grannan, CEO of Vlingo.

Mayo17

SeanB

1

Mobile advertising to grow 36% in 2009 and reach $229M

Fierce Mobile Content reported May 5, 2009 that U.S. mobile advertising will grow from $169 million in 2008 to revenues of $229 million in 2009. Global media and forecasting firm Magna credits the revenue growth to the increasing number of wireless subscribers using text messaging and the mobile web. The forecast predicts that SMS advertising will perform strongly, with text messaging platforms representing the “best near-term potential for advertisers” who want to use mobile phones to support broad-reaching marketing campaigns. This contrasts with slower growth rates for other types of mobile media campaigns such as mobile search, in-call media, mobile video, mobile coupons and mobile gaming.
Magna explains that “few (types of) media have captured the passions of consumers, marketers and inventory owners alike as the mobile advertising space has.” The popularity of mobile phones, with more than 270 million U.S. subscriptions at the end of 2008 (according to the CTIA) and the increasing use of text messaging (virtually every device has the capability to receive SMS) is supporting the growth in advertising revenues.
Also, smartphones like the Blackbery and iPhone are driving growth with the popularity of phone applications among consumers, marketers and carriers. This results in exponentially higher levels of data (and mobile web) consumption. This segment of the market will continue to expand rapidly as more mobile operating systems create “App Stores” to drive similar products to a wider range of devices.

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