Libby Hodgson manages the Marketing, Tourism and Digital programs at Taronga (Taronga Zoo, Taronga Western Plains Zoo and Taronga Conservation Society Australia).
Libby has recently overseen the implementation of an integrated CRM system, the re-launch of the website, the development of the Zoo’s first iPhone application Taronga Zoo – Monkey Mayhem and the evolution of numerous mobile and social initiatives.
Taronga Zoo free educational app "Monkey Mayhem"
Jackie Taranto, Managing Director of the region’s largest business event, CeBIT Australia, believes mCommerce will open new doors for retailers as mobile and tablet device users are both plentiful and demographically diverse.
“Consumers use mobile and wireless devices as part of their day-to-day life. The technology that is now available to owners of these devices has paved the way for unique brand experiences when utilised appropriately by organisations,” said Ms. Taranto.
Photo Credit: Neerav Bhatt (Creative Commons)
Despite the hype surrounding the m-commerce revolution, some consumers have concerns about the regulation of these devices and what it means for the protection of their identity and finances.
“Converging media always poses new threats and challenges for providers and consumers. The difficulty will be maintaining the proper degree of regulation as the technology continues to improve” said Ms. Taranto.
“Customers now demand 24/7 marketplaces and the next 12 months will see more and more retailers using m-commerce to ensure customers can buy, whenever, wherever.”
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Jane Huxley is currently Chief Executive and Publisher for the Digital Division (Metropolitan) at Fairfax Media. In this role, Jane is charged with leading the product, mobile, video and online business strategies and oversees the technology, digital marketing and online editorial and creative services divisions. Websites include SMH, The Age, WA Today, Brisbane Times, Essential Baby, Weather Zone etc.
Jane brings to Fairfax Media more than 20 years of strategic business, marketing, and change management experience. For over fifteen years she held various technical, sales and marketing positions with Microsoft, and has also previously worked at international organizations including Vodafone and DigitalOne.
We had a coffee with Jane Huxley to learn more about her discussion topic “Insights Presentation: Customising your Mobile Offering for Better Reach and Engagement” at CeBIT’s Mobile Conference. Jane will also be part of an interactive Panel discussion about “Mobile Agility”.
Her first move was to give a background of the Fairfax mobile journey and how they have learnt a lot along the road.
“We made a conscious decision to invest really early in mobile and that early investment has really paid off for us. In this point in the evolution of mobile when I look at our mobile business mobile sites or apps, we have market leading positions in both of these areas. That doesn’t happen overnight, it’s been 7 years of focusing on a segment that initially had no audience and no revenue. Thanks to this investment of time and resources we have a very strong sense of how to do digital well.”
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In a World 1st Rittal Australia is taking to the streets to showcase it’s innovative mobile Rittal Data Centre Container (RDCC). The first of 65 worldwide Rittal subsidiaries, Rittal Australia is proud to showcase a complete, fully functioning live data centre in all major capital cities.
World 1st - Rittal Australia Mobile Containerised Data Centre Roadshow
IDC has released it’s analysis of the Australia and NZ Tablet Market as of 2011 Q4, revealing several insights:
Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G
4G Tablet Sales in Q1 Q2 2012 Worth Watching
Samsung launched the first 4G tablet in Australia, the Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G on 28th February 2012 (late Q1). At the moment Apple doesn’t manufacture an iPad 4G model that is compatible with Australian 4G standards. As long as this remains the case, Samsung has the chance to pick up customers who need a Tablet with integrated 4G speeds. This group is likely to include a number of business people who work in the 80+ locations around Australia where there is Telstra 4G coverage.
Warwick Bray, Executive Director, Telstra Mobile, said that “in 4G coverage areas GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G can offer speeds typically reserved for the office which will make it hugely popular with business .. customers [who] will be able to access email, cloud-hosted applications and documents without the need for a bulky laptop and it’s perfect for sharing multimedia content on client visits”.
WiFi Only Tablets 54% of the 644,000 units shipped in the quarter
This reflected the increase in the number of WiFi only tablet models available on sale and their greater affordability compared to Wifi/3G versions that cost more to purchase and require a separate data plan.
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Manuela Davidson is the Mobile Executive Producer for ABC Innovation and has dedicated the past 12 years of her career to digital media, with a focus on online journalism, UGC, DTV and mobile projects.
In her current role she is helping the Australian Broadcasting Corporation understand where mobile audiences are heading to and how corporate strategies need to be realigned to respond to this shift in behaviour.
ABC Mobile Apps - including sneak peek at soon to be released new Android app
In 2011 something big happened … the number of smartphones sold exceeded the number of PC’s sold. In a few years the number of mobile phones being used will dwarf the number of PC’s and Tablet sales will also outpace PC’s. This will totally change how the world does business.
Photo Credit: Neerav Bhatt (Creative Commons)
Industry Trends
For now though the number of smartphone users worldwide are outnumbered 7 times by feature phones. In Australia as of the end of 2011 smartphones are now 65% of the total mobile phone market.
Globally the shift is occurring at a slower pace but this has been accelerated by the availability of budget Android smartphones at prices similar to feature phones.
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Andi Mann, Vice President, Strategy Solutions, CA Technologies is speaking at CeBIT Australia’s Cloud Conference on 22 May 2012 about how Cloud is transforming the CIO into the Chief Innovation Officer.
CA - Cloud Service
Andi has over 20 years’ experience across four continents, with deep expertise of enterprise software on cloud, mainframe, midrange, server and desktop systems.
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CeBIT - Connected Worlds
Nielsen’s recent report has some good insights into the Australian Online Consumer Landscape.
Internet usage in Australia is widespread, with 90% penetration (5th best in the world) and 81% of the population 16 years and above classified as active online users.
The internet offers consumers countless choices of things to do, using a range of mobile devices with different types of screens.
Marketers have to navigate this fragmented content delivery ecosystem with a clear path in mind to be able to engage with consumers successfully.
Nokia is taking to the streets of Australia, using Augmented Reality to demonstrate the abilities of it’s new Lumia 800 Windows Phone. The stunt series began today in Sydney’s Martin Place and will also appear in Brisbane at King George Square on Friday 23rd March and Melbourne’s Federation Square on Saturday 31st March.
Nokia Lumia Live
Sydney-siders passing through Martin Place were invited to test out their dancing skills against an interactive Augmented Reality (AR) version of music star Timomatic.
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Last week we saw two interesting product name changes by technology giants Apple and Google which have resulted in a high volume of discussion amongst users and the media:
Google Play
The changes in question were Apple’s decision to call the 3rd generation iPad tablet “The New iPad” rather than the iPad HD or iPad 3 as predicted by most people, as well as Google’s equally unexpected move to rename the “Google Market” Android application to “Google Play”.
Some commentators say that both companies have made a mistake in changing long standing names. CNN asks Why doesn’t the ‘new iPad’ have a name? and TechCrunch made their view clear Google Play? What The Hell Was Wrong With Android Market?.
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