This is a question I often hear, "Why there is only 160 characters available for SMS?"
I came across this excellent explanation and I just had to share it with everone!
The LA Times Blog interviews German communications researcher Friedhelm Hillebrand, the gentleman who figured out how to transmit and display text messages on cell phones to explain the 160 character limit.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Mobile Going Strong in the Downturn
The Recession’s Early Winners, you guessed it…Mobile.
Posted on April 20, 2009 by The Mobile Marketer
This recession is going to reshape America for generations, including the way we live and work. What will the future look like? Who will be the winners and losers?Obviously you could make a lot of money if you guess right.Historians note that many of the stocks which did best during the Great Depression were actually so-called “growth” companies, because they were the ones conquering the future. When a hurricane sweeps through a forest it knocks down a lot of the older, weaker trees. The younger ones survive and prosper. And so it may be in the economy.It’s only six months into the crash, but the stock market is already starting to make some early calls. The market isn’t a perfect seer of the future, but it has a pretty good track record. And a few of the calls it’s making now are challenging the conventional wisdom iPhone nation lives. Shares in cellular companies tanked when the crisis first hit. Sprint crashed 85%. Apple fell by more than half. The conventional wisdom: Cellular contracts and fancy handhelds are very expensive. Even a $60 a month habit is costing you $720 a year. Desperate consumers would drop these plans, or scale back sharply, as they were forced to slash their household budgets.So far? The market’s having a dramatic rethink. Shares in cellular companies have jumped about 40%, on average, from their November lows. During that time the rest of the market has gone nowhere. Sprint’s doubled from its distressed levels. Apple, Black Berry’s Research In Motion, even Palm have risen a long way.The reason: Maybe post-crash America won’t junk its fancy handhelds after all. “We’ve learned this recession that wireless has become more of a necessity,” says analyst Tim Horan at Oppenheimer. “We haven’t seen a lot of people dropping their cellphone service.”The daily latte may not be toast. Starbucks stock was another early victim of the crash. The shares collapsed. Everyone beat them up last fall, because an expensive latte habit is one of the easiest budget cuts a hard-pressed consumer can make.The market’s rethinking this one, too. Starbucks stock has now jumped 55% from the lows. Sure, sales and profits are well down. But management is fighting back with cost savings and new initiatives. More than 750,000 people have signed up for Starbucks loyalty cards, triple what the company expected. (And that’s a wireless play too: They give you some free WiFi with your beverage.) The coffee shop has become an important part of many people’s day. Shares in rival coffee chain Peet’s are up about 10% too.Dotcoms strike back! Shares in most regular retailers have slumped over the past six months, for obvious reasons. Expect more bricks and mortar stores to close as overstretched consumers retrench. But when it comes to online retailers, the story changes. Amazon stock, which tanked initially, has doubled since November. Hype over the Kindle electronic book reader has helped. Online jeweler Blue Nile has also bounced. And look at Netflix – its stock just hit a record high, surging over $40 for the first time. The Internet-based movie rental company is one of the big winners of the recession so far, as consumers stay home and order in movies. And it makes sense: A Netflix subscription, typically about $14 a month, is much cheaper than cable.
Posted on April 20, 2009 by The Mobile Marketer
This recession is going to reshape America for generations, including the way we live and work. What will the future look like? Who will be the winners and losers?Obviously you could make a lot of money if you guess right.Historians note that many of the stocks which did best during the Great Depression were actually so-called “growth” companies, because they were the ones conquering the future. When a hurricane sweeps through a forest it knocks down a lot of the older, weaker trees. The younger ones survive and prosper. And so it may be in the economy.It’s only six months into the crash, but the stock market is already starting to make some early calls. The market isn’t a perfect seer of the future, but it has a pretty good track record. And a few of the calls it’s making now are challenging the conventional wisdom iPhone nation lives. Shares in cellular companies tanked when the crisis first hit. Sprint crashed 85%. Apple fell by more than half. The conventional wisdom: Cellular contracts and fancy handhelds are very expensive. Even a $60 a month habit is costing you $720 a year. Desperate consumers would drop these plans, or scale back sharply, as they were forced to slash their household budgets.So far? The market’s having a dramatic rethink. Shares in cellular companies have jumped about 40%, on average, from their November lows. During that time the rest of the market has gone nowhere. Sprint’s doubled from its distressed levels. Apple, Black Berry’s Research In Motion, even Palm have risen a long way.The reason: Maybe post-crash America won’t junk its fancy handhelds after all. “We’ve learned this recession that wireless has become more of a necessity,” says analyst Tim Horan at Oppenheimer. “We haven’t seen a lot of people dropping their cellphone service.”The daily latte may not be toast. Starbucks stock was another early victim of the crash. The shares collapsed. Everyone beat them up last fall, because an expensive latte habit is one of the easiest budget cuts a hard-pressed consumer can make.The market’s rethinking this one, too. Starbucks stock has now jumped 55% from the lows. Sure, sales and profits are well down. But management is fighting back with cost savings and new initiatives. More than 750,000 people have signed up for Starbucks loyalty cards, triple what the company expected. (And that’s a wireless play too: They give you some free WiFi with your beverage.) The coffee shop has become an important part of many people’s day. Shares in rival coffee chain Peet’s are up about 10% too.Dotcoms strike back! Shares in most regular retailers have slumped over the past six months, for obvious reasons. Expect more bricks and mortar stores to close as overstretched consumers retrench. But when it comes to online retailers, the story changes. Amazon stock, which tanked initially, has doubled since November. Hype over the Kindle electronic book reader has helped. Online jeweler Blue Nile has also bounced. And look at Netflix – its stock just hit a record high, surging over $40 for the first time. The Internet-based movie rental company is one of the big winners of the recession so far, as consumers stay home and order in movies. And it makes sense: A Netflix subscription, typically about $14 a month, is much cheaper than cable.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
New iPhone Campaign Aimed at Small Business & Entrepreneurs
One of Apple’s new iPhone ads targets small businesses by showing them how they can use iPhone apps to process credit card transactions, print shipping labels and check on the delivery of an order.
“There’s an app for that” has become the standard refrain in a series of television advertisements that Apple runs during prime-time hours on commercial television.
The new ad, entitled “Office” and available for viewing on Apple’s Web site shows how small business users can use the iPhone to process credit card transactions using Inner Fence’s Credit Card Terminal application; print a shipping label for a package using Print & Share; and check on the status of a delivery with FedEx Mobile
“There’s an app for that” has become the standard refrain in a series of television advertisements that Apple runs during prime-time hours on commercial television.
The new ad, entitled “Office” and available for viewing on Apple’s Web site shows how small business users can use the iPhone to process credit card transactions using Inner Fence’s Credit Card Terminal application; print a shipping label for a package using Print & Share; and check on the status of a delivery with FedEx Mobile
Farmers Use SMS to Track Rubber Prices
The Hindu News Service is reporting many rubber farmers and dealers in Kerala are tracking the prices of the commodity real time by SMS. The growers are helped by a service by the Rubber Board which through SMSes updates the farmers with rates in the global as well as domestic markets.The Rubber Board provides the update of both national and international rates of natural rubber through SMS throughout the country at rupees two per SMS.On an average 300-400 SMSes are received on a daily basis from around Kerala," a senior Board official said.
Smartphone consumers opt for "cheap chic
A Reuters story got my attention: cell phone makers are expected to report buoyant sales of lower-priced, feature-packed smartphones as consumers opt for "cheap chic" amid the global recession.
These consumers on the go are not giving up their smartphones; but finding ways to keep in touch and lower costs.
SMS is still the best way to stay in touch with these consumers no matter where they are in these turbulent economic times
These consumers on the go are not giving up their smartphones; but finding ways to keep in touch and lower costs.
SMS is still the best way to stay in touch with these consumers no matter where they are in these turbulent economic times
Swedes files their taxes by SMS
Sounds so easy…..get taxes paid with a few keystrokes! It is in Sweden where they get a new text message, enter your Social Security number and a security code sent to you by mail, and zip it off to the Department of the Treasury. And instantly your income taxes are now filed.
Read full article<http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10219457-94.html>
Any customer and/or external business partner information summation can be done through SMS, including 2 way chat. Just because CEO "does not text", that does not mean that they can not be shown the benefits of SMS in their enterprise.
Sounds so easy…..get taxes paid with a few keystrokes! It is in Sweden where they get a new text message, enter your Social Security number and a security code sent to you by mail, and zip it off to the Department of the Treasury. And instantly your income taxes are now filed.
Read full article<http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10219457-94.html>
Any customer and/or external business partner information summation can be done through SMS, including 2 way chat. Just because CEO "does not text", that does not mean that they can not be shown the benefits of SMS in their enterprise.
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