Toronto has become a hotbed of app development for mobile phones, churning out everything from productivity apps for businesses to sports and entertainment apps. The iPad’s bigger screen opens up even greater possibilities and Toronto developers are eager to seize the opportunities. The city is well-placed to do so. Its bustling film, Internet, design and creative industries have merged around the city’s universities and institutions to create an ideal ecosystem for app development, says Krista Jones, who heads the information and communication technology division at the MaRS Discovery District, a small business incubator. “Toronto is an app hub because we have deep roots in both the creative and design industries, and the technical industries,” she says. “It’s the perfect mix for apps.”

Ameet Shah, Jeff Zakrzewski, Oliver Tabay and Troy Hubman of Five Mobile Inc., have developed apps for Sony, Disney and mapquest and are currently developing new apps for the iPad. They are seen outside their Toronto office on May 28, 2010. JENNIFER ROBERTS FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Five Mobile Inc.

Founders: Troy Hubman, Ameet Shah, Oliver Tabay, Jeff Zakrzewski

No. of employees: 35

Most popular creation: The Score Mobile for BlackBerry

Shortly before Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in September, 2008, the financial giant pulled the plug on one of its many investments: Tira Wireless, a mobile app developer with a large office in Toronto. Five of the employees started the aptly named Five Mobile and never looked back. “When we started the company we had our first four contracts waiting to be signed as we were waiting for our incorporation papers,” says Ameet Shah, a Silicon Valley veteran. The company has grown to become one of the city’s larger developers. From NHL games for simple cellphones, the firm went on to create a popular BlackBerry app that aggregates sports results for The Score television network, as well as apps for Walt Disney Co., Sony Pictures Entertainment and MapQuest.

[Read the full article here]

Insurers are planning to invest on average $84 million on strategic distribution improvements over the next three years according to a survey of 125 insurers globally.

By Anthony O’Donnell More from this author
May 26, 2010
Tags: Accenture,

A large majority of insurance carriers consider their distribution capabilities uncompetitive today, and on average insurers will invest $84 million over the next three years to improve their multi-channel distribution strategies, according to an Accenture (New York) survey of 125 insurers globally, announced at the 2010 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Las Vegas yesterday.

The survey also found that insurers will emphasize mobile technologies, digital marketing —’including social media, such as Facebook — and channel integration over the next three years. While a limited number of insurers said that their current investments are focused on creating mobile capabilities, improving digital marketing and integrating channels (19 percent, 34 percent and 36 percent, respectively), a much higher percentage of insurers are planning or considering investments in these areas for the near future (62 percent, 49 percent and 44 percent), Accenture reports. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents said that they did not consider their current distribution model as a source of competitive advantage.

“Increasing investment in mobile capabilities to take advantage of the growing use of smart phones, and in digital marketing to create new opportunities to influence customer choice, is necessary but insufficient in today’s environment,” comments Serge Callet, global managing director of Accenture’s insurance practice. “Consumers are not simply replacing one channel with another but are diversifying and using more channels than ever for all of their needs.”

The challenge insurers face, Callet adds, is to develop a distribution strategy that capitalizes on the strengths of each channel an that will allow them to match the right customers to the right products and services, at the right price, through the right distribution channels.

The survey also found that insurers are increasingly tailoring their marketing strategies to specific customer segments. About a quarter of insurers (26 percent) said they will customize their products, promotions, channels, services and pricing strategies to specific customer segments in the next three years. Only 14 percent of insurers currently tailor all these activities by customer segment.

“Potential buyers of insurance are changing in numerous ways, and their expectations of their providers are increasing steadily, as consumer-service leaders such as Amazon and Apple raise the bar for everyone,” comments Michael Costonis, executive director of Accenture’s insurance practice in North America. “Insurers are starting to realize that their products should be bought and not just solid. To do this they need to truly understand their customers, and achieve a level of segmentation that is indispensable for moving from a product centric to a solution-centric business model. The objective is to create a unique customer experience across all channels.”

[Source]

If you haven’t already heard about the HTC EVO 4G yet, get ready to have your world rocked!  The EVO is the first handset to leverage 4G networks in North America.  This steroid injected Android based device, boasts some very impressive specs that we have yet to see in one device before.  The EVO is centered around a stunning 480 x 800 4.3-inch TFT LCD screen, it’s powered by Qualcoms 1GHz  snapdragon processor, a 1GB capacity, and 512mb of ram to boot.  On the media side of the specs, the EVO does not disappoint either what with its HDMI out port, and the 8 megapixel camera, that’s capable of shooting video at 720p.  The EVO marks the start of a long line of next gen devices that will push boundaries and blur the lines between smartphones and other media devices.  The Folks at [Engadget] have reviewed the phone from top to bottom.  Take a look!

Our own Ameet Shah weighs in on the FTC’s review of Google’s acquisition of mobile advertiser AdMob.

Google’s $750 million acquisition of AdMob, the fast-growing mobile-advertising startup, appears to be running aground in Washington, D.C. Antitrust regulators at the Federal Trade Commission have reportedly given the deal more time for a review. Some mobile developers, though, are raising questions about the FTC’s review process and asking whether Google’s getting a fair shake.

The deal is unquestionably contentious: Google, the dominant player in online advertising, is seeking to expand its presence with AdMob, one of the top mobile-advertising networks. (Estimates of AdMob’s market share vary wildly but range as high as 62 percent.)

But VentureBeat has spoken with several developers who say FTC investigators who contacted them about the deal seemed to have their minds made up.

Will Price, CEO of WidgetBox, a San Francisco-based rich-media advertising startup, said that when an FTC investigator contacted him, he expressed his view that the mobile-advertising market is far from mature and that blocking the deal could harm an emerging industry. But he’s not sure he was heard.

“There’s a bit of a subtext, an agenda that comes across when talking to them,” said Price. According to Price, the FTC later sent him a transcript which omitted most of his views favoring the Google-AdMob deal and asked him to sign it and swear to its accuracy. Only after he protested did they send a more complete transcript for him to sign.

Ameet Shah, cofounder of Toronto, Canada-based Five Mobile, reported a similar experience. “It seemed strange, like I was being led to an already-defined conclusion,” he said. “They were definitely looking for reasons to investigate further.”

Are politics at play? The White House is often portrayed as being close to Google, a company Barack Obama praised as a presidential candidate. He assiduously courted the YouTube audience and even hired some Googlers, such as Katie Stanton, who’s now working in the State Department.

But Google’s growing dominance of search and online advertising — and through it, the future of media — has alarmed the government’s antitrust cops. Before her appointment as the head of antitrust enforcement at the Department of Justice, Christine Varney characterized Google as an antitrust “problem.”

That philosophy may be a factor in the government’s AdMob investigation.

“It seems like the FTC’s interest here in terms of Google seems to be much larger than this AdMob deal,” said Five Mobile’s Shah. “They’re more concerned with Google as a whole.”

The developer community is divided on the deal. Simon Buckingham, who writes a blog about mobile apps called Appitalism, has raised a number of questions about a combined Google-AdMob’s dominance of the field. But the concern expressed by some developers is whether the FTC is getting a full picture of opinions about the deal in the market — or if it’s even interested in doing so.

Shah also said the FTC personnel he spoke to didn’t seem familiar with mobile business models — like the fact that many apps, instead of relying on advertising revenues, offer free versions and entice users to upgrade, the so-called “freemium” business model. The Google-AdMob deal would presumably have no effect on such developers, Shah pointed out. ”My feeling was that the people I was speaking to did not have enough information to make a decision,” said Shah.

Widgetbox’s Price concurred: “The idea that [FTC investigators] understand this market well enough to make a decision strikes me as absurd.”

Hence, perhaps, the decision to extend the deal’s review period. The Google-AdMob deal may still go through. Apple’s acquisition of AdMob competitor Quattro Wireless certainly helps Google’s case. And Google, for one, is publicly displaying the Googleplex’s trademark sunny optimism.

“We’re continuing to talk with the FTC about our acquisition of AdMob,” said spokesman Adam Kovacevich. “We’re confident that they’ll conclude that the rapidly growing mobile advertising space will remain highly competitive after this deal closes.”

And if it does? Then questions will linger about the FTC’s aggressive stance in its investigation — and whether the next Google deal will proceed like an inquiry — or a witch hunt.

[Source]

If you haven’t already heard about Square yet, this interesting little service is trying to revolutionize merchant services by bringing a mobile point of sale system to your iPhone, iPad, iTouch, and Android devices.  The service works with a simple card reader attachment [pictured] that plugs into the head phone jack of your device, and voila you are now able to receive mobile payments. The costs are minimal at 2.75%, coupled with a 15 cent surcharge.  Now all you have to do is turn your credit card over to the creepy guy who sells stuff out of the the trunk of his car!  Check out the Video below!

Being a teenager certainly has changed over the years, only if you were Zach Morris could you be lucky enough to own your own cellphone. In this recent study by Pew Internet Research, 75% of US teens between the ages of 12-17 own their own cellphones. This is up 45% since 2004.

Fresh off the heels of the OS 6 unveiling, the Blackberry Bold 9800 Slider shows up in the wild. Check out the first known video of the rumored device!

Leave it to the ‘Do it Yourself-ers’ to make the iPad experience that much more entertaining. Check out the fun ways the iPad is being used!

Part 2 Part 3

In a press release today, Apple announced that sales for the iPad have reached 1 million units in just 28 days!
While everyone has an opinion on the device, some good, some bad,  no one can deny these impressive numbers. If we were to put things in perspective and take a look at the jewel of planet Apple, the iPhone, it took more than twice as long (74 days) before 1 million units were sold.    Read the full press release below.

CUPERTINO, California—May 3, 2010—Apple® today announced that it sold its one millionth iPad™ on Friday, just 28 days after its introduction on April 3. iPad users have already downloaded over 12 million apps from the App Store and over 1.5 million ebooks from the new iBookstore.

“One million iPads in 28 days—that’s less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Demand continues to exceed supply and we’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more customers.”

iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad is 0.5 inches thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

Developers have created over 5,000 exciting new apps for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch user interface, large screen and high-quality graphics. iPad will run almost all of the more than 200,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.