The Marlin Mobile Blog

mUX / 6 – Is it Mobile Secure?

Posted on 2010-02-08 by Adrian Mendoza  | No responses

We at Marlin Mobile have had recent conversations about what represents the language of security.  Online we use locks, secure icons, and other visual representations to indicate to the user that a website is secure.  Regardless of its standing, the issue of security grew out of the maturity of transactions and sales as web commerce emerged (e-commerce, enterprise, web 2.0, etc.).

But what is the language for mobile security?

As more transactions occur on mobile devices, we need to indicate to the user that their mobile experience is secure.  I have shown the example of FANDANGO’s iPhone app that allows the users to buy tickets online.  We see no indicator of security or description to the user about the security of their mobile experience.  This is a common trend seen on most apps, mobile web pages, and other mobile platforms.

A solution?  A visual language of icons and process to indicate to the user that a mobile app or site is Mobile Secure.

Is Mobile Infrastructure Ahead of Device Technology Within Developing Economies?

Posted on 2009-10-29 by Justin Souza  | No responses

A recent summary article by Reuters, “Will Solar Speed up Emerging Cell Phone Revolution?“, does a nice job of capturing the current realities and future potential of solar powered cell phones in developing economies.  The correspondents quote Abdul Bayes, an economics professor from Bangladesh’s Jahangirnagar University, delivering a very powerful statement that is very familiar to those of us who are crafting business models that embrace the mobile web in developing and emerging economies…

Bayes, who has studied the impact of mobile phones on developing economies, estimates that GDP increases by one or two percent for every 10 percent increase in mobile phone access.

Global business news headlines are made daily within developing economies pertaining to partnerships among carriers and governments, carriers and device manufacturers, content providers and various parties, etc.  Much is debated globally over the role of government bureaucracy and regulation in expanding mobile access from an infrastructure perspective.  So much so, I believe the casual observer would tend to think that carrier penetration is the primary barrier to mobile access within developing economies.  I define quality mobile access as access to web-enabled banking, commerce, and social networking in its most simplistic formats.  When considering the substantive reality of solar powered phone technology and grid access, it becomes clear that network infrastructure (GSM coverage maps) is ahead of cost-effective device technology for the developing world consumer – with the goal of a quality mobile experience for the masses. With that said and as the solar technology matures, this short-cut to affordable power to enable such mobile access may prove to be one of this century’s greatest catalysts to economic opportunity.

mUX / 5 – What Is User Experience (UX) design?

Posted on 2009-10-16 by Adrian Mendoza  | No responses

This set of slides focuses on presenting the role of User Experience (UX) design in web projects. This is a step by step review of deliverables that are available to a designer, client, and team.

Presented to Graphic Design students at Suffolk University in October 2009

eBay a Beacon for M-Commerce Growth

Posted on 2009-10-05 by Justin Souza  | 2 responses

Global m-commerce is accelerating in global consumer adoption faster than the pundits anticipated.  In my mind, nothing reflects this more than eBay’s recent announcement regarding year-to-date revenue derived from m-commerce:   http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=31936

News like this has the potential to serve as a game changing proof point for mobile strategy-hesitant domestic retailers that may also be heavy in Yankee provincialism.  Just did the math…With the assumption that the current pace continues, the m-commerce channel for eBay will  be 5-6% of revenue for 2009.  This was achieved by eBay without an elaborately defined effort – just an experimental toe dip.  Any guesses on 2011?  I bet 20% is not outrageous as the user experience becomes refined and the reach of the mobile web expands its global footprint.  Then again, given how dynamic their business model can cater to ‘mobile-first’ regions and the acceleration of mobile web access in those regions, perhaps all bets are off.

mUX / 4 – Careers in Web design

Posted on 2009-10-04 by Adrian Mendoza  | No responses

Part of a series of presentations for design students focusing on the web process and UX; I am including the link here for the first set of slides. Please enjoy and share.

*Updated -  I just created an audio track for the slides. Please Enjoy!

Presentation given at Suffolk University this past Friday Sept 25, 2009

Mobile banking, $1.5 million at a time.

Posted on 2009-08-14 by Adrian Mendoza  | No responses

An article in the Washington Post claims that USAA bank has already deposited over $1.5 million checks through their iPhone application in their first 3 days. It allows a user to take a photo of the check and this starts the process electronically.

I am excited to hear whether or not this level of transactions will maintain the number of repeat users over time. At least, this is a first step in mobile banking transactions that directly use the smart phone technology and attributes to allow the user to interact with the transaction

Follow our mUX conversations on Twitter

Posted on 2009-08-13 by Adrian Mendoza  | No responses

You can follow our UX conversation using @marlinUX

Topics in Social Influence Marketing

Posted on 2009-08-07 by Adrian Mendoza  | No responses

Social influence marketing became a topic this week within the Marlin Mobile executive team.  This week we attended the workshop: Why Social Media is Critical to B2B Companies’ Success hosted by 451 Marketing; a marketing agency focused on social influence marketing. The topics ranged from using social media platforms to create brand awareness to lead generation.  As a mobile technology company, the topic of mobile application stickiness goes hand in hand with the stickiness of social media.

Earlier this week, Razorfish released their 2009 Fluent: The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report.  Along with the workshop we attended, it helped create a clearer picture of the role that social media is playing in the influencing of both consumers and B2B decision makers.  It is clear that social media has played an important role in the brand awareness of successful companies and product launches in the past year.

You can follow 451 Marketing on Twitter and become a fan of Marlin Mobile on Facebook.

The Verizon App Store and the Evolving Role of Carriers

Posted on 2009-07-23 by Justin Souza  | No responses

Verizon recently announced it is creating its own cross-platform app store that will ship with its phones…and will only ship with their own app store installed:

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=7EF200BA-1A64-6A71-CE5297EFB356998F

The Verizon App Store will not block access out of the box to other app stores in its purview, specifically the Blackberry App World, Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and the Android Marketplace.  The consumer faces no barrier to download them on their own.

There is a lot to talk about here.  A carrier taking this approach was inevitable given the success of the iPhone App Store, but several topics come to mind…

How far out into the future will the triple and quadruple-play revenue streams of the major carriers begin to blur and fundamentally change their models?  What actions will be taken to ensure that these revenue streams remain distinct for as long as possible?  I am fascinated as to when we will see market pressure that will substantively combine home television and internet access (mobile or otherwise) into one service.  This is a topic for a different blog, but interesting nonetheless.  It is abundantly clear however, that the role of the carrier in our lives is changing given the extent of their access.  Many thought leaders in technology and finance are conceding that the path to sustained growth for carriers is to ultimately serve as banks, further leveraging their expanding role in facilitating transactions.

It is obviously a big leap to go from an app store to banking, but I believe this is a vivid example of a carrier asserting itself with a keen understanding for its role in commerce and an abundant awareness of the rate of change it faces.

3G Contracts Awarded by China Mobile

Posted on 2009-07-17 by Justin Souza  | No responses

A news item that represents significant momentum in enabling 3G access to the masses in China:

http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/business-in-china/100136206-1-domestic-firms-win-big-3g.html

Wire service reports indicate that the China Mobile service will be rolled out to 98% of China’s natural villages when the project is finished, which will gradually begin to provide stronger predictability and forecasting for the mobile experience in-country.

Of significance besides the obvious current and future m-commerce and mobile banking potential, is the ability over time to progressively optimize the mobile web experience which will be aided by a more consistent set of variables.  Specifically, the market dominance of China Mobile will thwart network provider variability as an element of mobile web fragmentation that warrants significant attention.

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