Native Mobile Monthly Report - November 2012

MOBILE REPORT / NOVEMBER 2012

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SNAPSHOT OF MOBILE NEWS,

VIEWS, EVENTS & DEVELOPMENTS

LOCALLY AND ABROAD

2 MOBILE REPORT/NOVEMBER 2012

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HOW TO USE THIS REPORT

MOBILE REPORT/NOVEMBER 2012 3

»  This report is intended as an easy-to-reference tool

»  It is a resource that allows you to easily flip through in your own time – and not to necessarily read it from front-to-back

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


1.  The mobile landscape gives an idea as to what we can expect in the next decade- from the future of digital and how this will affect traditional media, the Internet of Everything (IOT), to the app economy where free apps are likely to represent 91% of all downloads

2.  Several reports have been released giving insights into mobile broadband, data usage, the Internet population in South Africa, and hear local industry players give their opinions on mobile marketing

3.  Many industry award ceremonies took place in November including the Bookmarks Awards, CSSA Awards, Assegai Awards, and Africa Com Awards

4.  Mobile innovation in SA is expanding with the launch of the Pick n Pay and MTN mobile bank, Shoprite Checkers mobile coupons, and the Young Africa Live mobile HIV service. Absa moves up with the soft launch of its mobile app and Pebble, and the reveal of NATIVE’s Inventions and it’s Mxit apps launch

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


5.  Africa is the 2nd largest mobile phone market in the world, and its biggest handset rivals Nokia and Samsung plan to meet the markets most crucial needs like built-in radio’s and home language support

6.  The most recent Vodacom results show Blackberry still holds major share of the smartphone market in South Africa while its active data user base continues to grow rapidly

7.  South African’s can finally buy from the iTunes music store and iPhone 5 is expected to be launched in South Africa on 14 December 2012

8.  We take a look at the ongoing network price wars that have resulted in cheaper voice rates, data rates, and the ongoing race to launch and grow LTE networks by Vodacom, Cell C and MTN continue

9.  If you are looking for the latest 2012 social media stats for your next presentation, the famous Socialnomics YouTube video is out and social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn continue to roll out mobile features

CONTENTS

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»  Section 1: Mobile Landscape ……………………………….. 7

»  Section 2: Mobile Events and Happenings ….…………….. 19

»  Section 3: Mobile Innovation and Campaigns …………..… 30

»  Section 4: Mobile Handsets & Operating Systems ..……… 45

»  Section 5: Mobile Networks ………………………………..... 58

»  Section 6: Social Networks ……………………………….…. 69

»  Section 7: Summary & Contacts …………………………..... 78

MOBILE REPORT/NOVEMBER 2012

SECTION 1

7

MOBILE LANDSCAPE


THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL IS MOBILE


»  BI Intelligence is a new research and analysis service focused on mobile computing and the Internet. The current trends in digital media include:

»  With just over 2 billion people online, there is still 2/3’s of the world left to go. In the past year, smartphone sales have blown past PC sales and tablets are now the growth drivers in the PC market

»  Digital content revenues are exploding as news consumption moves online. Google now generates as much US ad revenue as newspapers and magazines

»  Digital video advertising is on the rise, which is expected to disrupt TV production and media budgets

»  The slide deck is available here

Business Insider, 27 November 2012

WHAT WILL THE NEXT DECADE OF THE INTERNET BRING?


»  From the Internet of Things (IoT), where we are today, we are just beginning to enter a new realm: the Internet of Everything (IoE), where things will gain context awareness, increased processing power, and greater sensing abilities

»  Add people and information into the mix and you get a network of networks where billions or even trillions of connections create unprecedented opportunities and give things that were silent a voice

»  Cisco defines IoE as bringing together people, process, data, and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before

Cisco, 7 November 2012

THE DECADE OF 350 BILLION APPS


»  Between 2008 and 2017, Google Play and Apple’s App Store will be responsible for a mind-blowing number of mobile app downloads: 350 billion

»  According to the new Strategy Analytics App Ecosystem Opportunities (AEO) forecast – Mobile Apps Download Forecast: 2008 – 2017 – paid downloads will generate more than $57 billion globally within the time frame projected

»  The report, however, does show that paid apps begin to decline as free apps come to represent more than 91% of all downloads. This will be the reality by 2017

»  Newer platforms such as Windows 8, BlackBerry 10, Tizen and Firefox are building their operating systems and storefronts, which have the potential to become “attractive to developers and end users.”

Mobile Marketing Watch, 19 November 2012

TRENDWATCHING PREDICTS ‘MOBILE MOMENTS’


»  For those wondering where ‘mobile’ will head next, one behavioural insight should give you plenty to run with: in 2013, consumers will look to their mobile devices to maximise absolutely every moment

»  Hectic, urban lifestyles mean that no amount of (micro) time will be too fleeting, or activity too absorbing, to cram in more content, connection, consumption or simply more fun

»  All of which means the next 12 months will see an explosion in MOBILE MOMENTS: products, services and experiences that will enable mobile-loving consumers to embrace (seamless) lifestyle multi-if-not-hyper-tasking

»  More Crucial Consumer Trends for 2013 here

Trendwatching, 28 November 2012

ERICSSON’S MASSIVE MOBILE REPORT


»  Telecommunications giant Ericson has released a massive report on the state of the mobile world

»  China, the rest of Asia, and Africa together accounted for 75% of new mobile subscriptions in the 3rd quarter of 2012, with 38 million in China, 31 million in the rest of Asia, and 25 million in Africa

»  Ericsson, says, those 6.4 billion subscriptions are spread over only 4.3 billion people, meaning that many people have more than one plan … for example, a phone and a tablet, both with a cellular connection, which leads to a penetration percentage of well over 100% in some areas

»  The report can be found here

VentureBeat, 23 November 2012

MOBILE BROADBAND TO BOOST SA ECONOMY


»  The ‘State of Broadband 2012: Achieving Digital Inclusion for All’ report evaluates the roll-out of broadband around the world

»  South Africa performed well when it came to mobile broadband. With 19.8 active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, South Africa ranks at number 47 out of 177 countries.

»  South Africa ranks at number 64 out of 127 developing countries for households with Internet access

»  According to the report, wireless broadband and related industries in South Africa could generate 1.8% of GDP (R72 billion) by 2015, and about 28,000 jobs

»  Watch the video here

BusinessTech by MyBroadband, 2 November 2012

MOBILE & SMARTPHONE USAGE IN AFRICA


»  The infographic by Expat Forum shows the usage of mobiles in Africa, giving insight into mobile penetration, subscriptions, smartphones and mobile commerce in Africa and other regions across the globe

»  Some of the highlights from the infographic include:

–  Africa is ranked in the top 4 regions for mobile subscriptions at 610 million

–  The Africa/Middle East region is the fastest growing in terms of smartphone ownership

–  The most common m-commerce service across Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa is buying airtime

»  The full infographic is available to download here

Expat Forum, 12 November 2012

MOBILE DATA LANDSCAPE IN SA


»  In recent years it seems as if there has been an explosion of mobile technology with Blackberry, Samsung Galaxy, iPhone 5, iPad, notebook, and mobile apps

»  Our cell phones have become more than just devices with which we make calls to each another

»  The infographic created by MoneySmart gives facts about mobile data in South Africa, showing that:

–  80% of the population uses prepaid accounts –  7.9million South Africans access the internet via

mobile phones –  The average users spend for voice has gone

down while data continues to grow

»  The full infographic is available here

Web AddiCT(s), 7 November 2012

INSIGHTS INTO SA’S INTERNET POPULATION


»  The first results of The South African Network Society Survey, from ‘The New Wave’ report, written by Indra de Lanerolle, designed by Garage East © University of Witwatersrand, tells us that 1 in 3 (34%) adults in South Africa now use the Internet

»  2 out of 3 Internet users (66%) speak an African language at home, although most of the them have not been educated beyond school level, and 4 out of 10 live on less than R1,500/m

»  Almost ¾’s of them use their phones to go online, though only a minority is entirely

»  Internet use has increased dramatically over the last 4 years – from 15% in 2008 to 34% this year

»  More key findings and infographics available here

MyBroadband, 1 December 2012

GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS ABOUT MOBILE MARKETING IN AFRICA


»  Justin Spratt of Quirk has very definite ideas about mobile and which mobile marketing channels will succeed in reaching the masses, in South & Sub Saharan Africa

»  Some of his views include:

–  The price of the device does not affect the adoption of smartphones

–  There is a stronger demand for Android devices in Africa

–  Good interactive design can overcome literacy

–  Data costs are are still a challenge as we wait for networks to come to terms with lower ARPU’s

»  The video is available here

Adlip, 14 November 2012

MOBILE MARKETING TACTICS FOR FEATURE PHONES


»  Nic Haralambous (the guy who just sold Motribe to Mxit) gives his view on why clients need a feature phone strategy:

–  Less than 1% of Africa has an iPhone –  65% of the African market uses a Nokia

–  Nokia Xpress Music and the Samsung e250 are the biggest selling handsets in Africa and South Africa

–  Only when mobile phones come with a QR code reader built into the camera, then QR codes will be a killer technology, but right now they are not.


Adlip, 14 November 2012

SECTION 2

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MOBILE EVENTS & HAPPENINGS


BOOKMARKS AWARDS 2012 REWARDS EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL


»  South Africa’s most prestigious digital awards event of the year, The Bookmarks Awards honoured digital champions in driving the growth of the digital industry in SA

»  NATIVE took home six of the coveted Bookmarks pixels. In addition, these wins saw the agency being ranked second overall in the Finweek Bookmarks Agency Ranking, ahead of most of the major players in the market

»  The agency received 3 silver and 1 bronze award for the #CloseTheTap campaign while Best Media Planner and Best Account Manager titles were awarded to two of the agency’s own Jarred Mailer and Leanne Godden

»  Jason Xenopoulos of Native, speaks to Adlip about the winning #CloseTheTap campaign here

Adlip, 12 November 2012 DMMA, 2 November 2012

CSSA AWARDS NAMES 2012 IT PERSONALITY


»  Congratulations go to Rob Stokes, Quirk founder and CEO, who scooped this year's IT Personality of the Year award, and Sello Mmakau, CIO of the Department of Home Affairs, has won the Visionary CIO title

»  Stokes' love of technology and constant search for innovative and fresh ideas helped him win the award, which recognises a person who has made an outstanding impact on the South African ICT industry and a significant contribution to the ICT profession

»  Quirk also took home Digital Agency of the Year at the Adfocus 2012 awards

ITWeb, 8 November 2012

ASSEGAI INTEGRATED MARKETING AWARD WINNERS


»  The winners for the 2012 Assegai Integrated Marketing Awards were announced, recognising excellence in direct and interactive marketing

»  Each year an analysis of the entries reveals a telling story - more and more businesses, from small entrepreneurial outfits right through to the largest blue chips, are investing in direct and integrated marketing

»  NATIVE received the bronze award in the Mobile Media category for its 'Pass the Parcel' campaign created for the launch of Nedbank’s banking product, 4Me –  The case study can be found here

Bizcommunity, 7 November 2012

2012 AFRICA COM AWARD WINNERS


»  The winners of the 2012 Africa Com Awards were announced this month, which included Cell C CEO Alan Knott-Craig being named the industry personality of the year

»  The awards received more entries than ever before. “All of an extremely high calibre, this is a clear tribute to the exciting and innovative work that’s taken place in Africa over the past 12 months,” according to Africa Com and included:

–  Best Smart-Device for Africa – Etisalat Misr – Smart Device

–  The 2012 Mobile Data and Social Media Award – Bozza Mobile – The Bozza.mobi App

–  Best Smart Phone App: Prezence Digital – Ster-Kinekor mobile app

–  Best Feature Phone App: biNu MyBroadband, 15 November 2012

MOBILE INSIGHTS FROM MOBILE WEB IN AFRICA 2012


»  The Mobile Web in Africa 2012 conference took place, with the title “Mobile Marketing Africa Focus”. Some of the discussions included:

»  Shinka’s (part of World of Avatar group) Paul Stemmet believed the Nokia Express mobile phone to be eclipsing the Samsung E250 as South Africa’s the “AK-47 of mobile “

»  Vincent Maher touched on the sensitive issue about the resistance of brand owners/decision makers to feature phones because they don’t personally use them

»  PriceCheck and Junk Mail provided insights on mobile shopping on the web

»  Mobile innovations like eZapp and Funda.ac in Africa were profiled

HumanIPO, 28 November 2012

GOOGLE+ HANGOUT WITH FOUR OF SA’S DIGERATI


»  The first Quirk Digital Forum was held via a live Hangout on Google+

»  The Forum presented an opportunity for some of South Africa's digital elite to discuss the efficacy of 4 award-winning digital campaigns in the country:

–  NATIVE - Close The Tap –  Ogilvy Cape Town - Volkswagen Street Quest –  Cerebra - Toyota properties

–  Quirk - Savanna Dead Funny Videos »  Watch it here

NATIVE, 21 November 2012

‘GOOGLE NOW’ WINS INNOVATION AWARD


»  Google Now has won Popular Science’s Innovation of the Year, putting it in the company of past winners such as the Large Hadron Collider, the Toyota Prius and the Mars Curiosity Rover

»  In giving the award, the magazine calls Now “the first virtual assistant that truly anticipates your needs”

»  Now incorporates elements of Knowledge Graph, but also acts as a personal assistant. It tells you the day’s weather, how much traffic to expect on your way to work, and can give you live sports scores

»  Some of the more recent updates include the addition of a pedometer and public safety alerts

Memeburn, 23 November 2012

BLACK FRIDAY TO CYBER MONDAY


»  Estimates of Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year for the US, showed a growing portion coming from the pockets of a record number of mobile shoppers

»  Payment system PayPal had a 196% increase in mobile payment volume on Cyber Monday 2012 than Cyber Monday 2011. On Black Friday, the increase in the number of people shopping on their mobile devices was stark for PayPal as well as auction site eBay, which owns PayPal. On Friday, there was a 153% increase in mobile volume transactions compared to Black Friday last year. PayPal's volume increased almost three-fold, 193%, compared to last year's Black Friday

»  The annual event is increasingly becoming Cyber Week instead of a one-day event, and is beginning to be adopted worldwide

ABC News, 26 November 2012

TECH GURUS ON NEW TELEVISION SHOW


»  A tech show with a smack of humor and 2 of the country’s best-known tech journos agreeing to disagree on just about everything. That’s the formula for an offbeat new series, Tech on Tap, launched on Summit TV and hosted by broadcaster Aki Anastasiou and Stuff editor Toby Shapshak

»  In partnership with Microsoft Windows 8, Tech on Tap is a 15-minute infotainment series focusing on the world of gadgets and gizmos. It’ll bring you up–to-date technology news, the latest IT trends, as well as reviews of the best software, hardware, web and even mobile applications

»  Tech on Tap airs weekly on DStv Channel 412

MyBroadband, 1 November 2012

NEW LOCAL TREND-WATCHING ONLINE PORTAL


»  Leading industry editors and publishers, Louise Marsland and Herman Manson have joined forces to launch TREND. – a trend-watching, market intelligence and research online portal and free resource for the media, advertising and marketing communications industry in South Africa

»  The focus will be on consumer and media data, consumer and industry trends and market intelligence, across retail, media, marketing, digital innovation, and so on

»  Content partnerships with agencies and research houses will see TREND. providing exclusive research and predicting trends, as well as reporting on them

Marketing Update, 1 November 2012

SECTION 3

30

MOBILE INNOVATION & CAMPAIGNS


PICK N PAY AND MTN LAUNCH MOBILE BANK


»  Mobile telecommunications group MTN and retailer Pick n Pay are launching a mobile money banking system, a groundbreaking offering that has the potential to be South Africa's answer to Kenya's M-Pesa

»  Called Tyme Capital, the service will allow cellphone users to set up an account from their phones and send money to any other South African with a phone. Cash deposits and withdrawals will be done through Pick n Pay’s chain of 775 retail outlets, as well as its Boxer Superstores

»  Tyme Capital hopes to make mobile money transfers and mobile banking commonplace in South Africa, where consumers have to date failed to embrace similar offerings en masse

iAfrica, 22 November 2012

SHOPRITE CHECKERS OFFERS MOBILE COUPONS


»  Shoprite Checkers have launched a system that enables all South African consumers to get instant shopping discounts on their cellphones, which can be redeemed at the Group's stores

»  The mobile coupons, EeziCoupons, are reportedly set to revolutionise outdated paper coupons

»  Getting the mobile coupons is easy; consumers simply view coupons on their cellphones, purchase those products in store and enter their one unique code, called a WiCode at the till's pin pad in the store

»  Eezi Coupons are available on a number of the Group's other digital channels including USSD, mobisites, websites, Facebook and a Checkers smartphone app for iPhone and Blackberry users


MOBILE HIV SERVICE LAUNCHES ON WORLD AIDS DAY


»  Praekelt Foundation and info4africa announced a new feature that will provide YoungAfricaLive (YAL) youth focused mobile social network users information on HIV testing sites across South Africa

»  The service, which went live on World Aids Day (1 December) this year, includes what the organisations say is “the most complete database of HCT (HIV Counselling and Testing) sites in South Africa”. This they say means that YAL users will be able to search for, and find their nearest HIV Counselling and Testing site anywhere in South Africa


NATIVE INVENTIONS UNVEILED


»  NATIVE Inventions, the innovation and product development division of NATIVE is the first step in its mission to pioneer new mobile apps and platforms in the market

»  Levon Rivers, Head of NATIVE Inventions says: “This division is our way of investing our creativity and technical skill in exploring additional revenue streams for NATIVE. It’s amazing work, and I’m proud to be heading it up.”

»  NATIVE Inventions operates as a start-up within the agency, with range of activities including product development, prototyping new technologies, establishing and managing relationships with technology partners such as RSAWeb and Everlytic, and expanding knowledge in the agency through TED-like Axe Sharpener Sessions

»  The first batch of mobile products seek to bring smartphone capabilities and experiences to feature phone users. Mxit was selected as the first technology partner

NATIVE, 28 November 2012

NATIVE INVENTIONS MASSIVE MXIT LAUNCH


»  The NATIVE’s Inventions unit has launched with Mxit partnership, 10 new apps live on the platform

»  The apps range from the useful to the comical. Examples are a directions app using the Google Maps API called GetThere and a meme generator called MakeAMeme. The success of the applications has been significant, for example in less than two months Mxit users had created over 20 000 memes and generated over 500 000 page views with MakeAMeme.

»  Andy Volk, VP of Developer Relations at Mxit, says, “It’s truly inspiring to see the amount of innovation in NATIVE's new apps. They’re exactly the kind of developer that we want on the Mxit platform."

SA SCHOOL BOOKS HEADED TO IPAD


»  With more than 200 schools in South Africa that use iPads, Apple in Education, computer maker Apple’s educational arm, will launch a digital textbook store in South Africa in late January offering interactive textbooks for all of South Africa’s primary and secondary school subjects

»  Core Group communications manager Taryn Hyam says the store is a Core Group initiative that is intended to ensure South African school pupils have access to local content

»  The textbook store, called ZABooks, will be available as an application from the App Store and will offer 400 textbooks at its launch, with additional titles to follow later

TechCentral, 28 November 2012

ABSA APP SOFT LAUNCH


»  Absa might be late out of the blocks to get its banking app to market, but Arrie Rautenbach, Absa head of retail markets, promises that it will be better than whatever is out there at the moment

»  In an interview with Moneyweb Rautenbach revealed that the app will be launched to Absa’s staff in November and that it will then be available to clients in the first quarter of next year

»  When asked about Absa’s digital strategy, given that all the other big banks have already launched their apps to their clients in a drive to get them to migrate to cheaper digital platforms, Rautenbach explained that under the bank’s retail banking strategy, nothing is ever done in isolation


ABSA UNVEILS ‘PEBBLE’


»  Absa has launched technology capable of accepting payments from chip-and-pin or magnetic credit and debit cards using a mobile phone, tablet computer or PC

»  Dubbed the ‘Pebble’, the tech comes with mobile applications for Apple’s iOS, Google Android and BlackBerry devices

»  The retail bank has partnered with local technology company Thumbzup to roll out the offering that works with Visa or Mastercards

»  The device is targeted at small businesses, entrepreneurs and anyone else who wants to accept mobile payments in real time

ITWeb Africa, 29 November 2012

TABASCO LAUNCHES LOCAL INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN


»  Aimed at increasing Tabasco brand relevance and growing the local consumer base, the new integrated campaign, conceptualised by Volcano, includes strong digital and social media elements and radio supported by eye-catching in-store activations and elements

»  The digital campaign, entitled 'Campaign for Change', mimics that of a political election and sees Red Tabasco and Green Tabasco embattled in a campaign for superiority

»  Fans are encouraged to vote for their favourite, as 'Red' and 'Green' campaign for their vote, promising fun online engagement and the opportunity to change perception of Tabasco usage forever.


SURE TRAVEL GETS AN APP


»  The Sure Travel app offers streaming travel news, the latest travel packages and an agency locator using iPhones and Android handsets' GPS capabilities.

»  Abigail Pires, solutions optimisation manager for Sure Travel, says that next version of the app may also offer commercial and transactional services

»  He says future possibilities for the app could include cardless loyalty schemes

»  The company is also developing a BlackBerry version, given the platform's continuing popularity in South Africa


EXPAT DEVELOPS BRAAI APP


»  Kacper Saar, who has been living in the UK for over 10 years, developed 'Let's Braai' app for iPhone

»  Saar still finds every opportunity to braai and decided to develop an app for all South African braai masters, both local as well as those living abroad

»  It helps avid braai-ers: –  Check the weather at the braai location, with a

full five day weather forecast –  Find the nearest butcher and soon the bottle

store for 'chop 'n dop' –  Learn new techniques and get safety

information

–  Access braai recipes or share your best ones with friends and the Let's Braai community


MONTBLANC GLOBAL MOBILE IMAGE SHARING CAMPAIGN


»  Montblanc, a maker of writing instruments and watches, is tapping consumers’ interest in mobile image sharing by inviting them to participate in a project centering on photographs taken at the exact same moment

»  The “Montblanc Worldsecond” mobile application-based campaign and contest is available to IPhone and Android users who will be prompted to take an image at the exact same time, which the brand will curate on a microsite

»  60 different Worldseconds , consumers can automatically take an image at the exact same time as other users. The app shows a countdown to the moment when the image will be captured

Luxury Daily, 1 November 2012

ADIDAS INTERACTIVE WINDOW SHOPPING


»  The new Adidas window shopping campaign in Germany is a completely interactive in-window experience that lets customers flick through clothing racks, individual garments and play with a model (getting them to try on every item) to see exactly how the clothes look, no matter the position/stance of the model

»  The best feature is being able to connect your phone to the installation and drag everything into a shopping bag that transfers the items to your phone with no app required

»  The video is available is here

Digital Buzz Blog, 21 November 2012

INSTAGRAM APP JOINS THE ‘DESKTOP WEB

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The Globe and Mail, 6 November 2012


»  Instagram, the photo-sharing app that was created for mobile phones, is expanding to the Web

»  Previously, users’ profiles existed only on Instagram’s mobile applications accessed on the iPhone or Android devices. Now, users will have a website with a profile photo, bio and a selection of the snapshots they’ve recently shared on Instagram

»  Users will have a large cover image that’s a collage of their old Instagram shots. Their profile photo is on the right side and their snapshots cascade down the page

SECTION 4

45

MOBILE HANDSETS & OPERATING SYSTEMS


AFRICA 2ND LARGEST MOBILE PHONE MARKET


»  According to Business Day, VP and COO, Samsung electronics Africa, George Ferreira, announced that after moving from an accounted sales of 90 million mobile phones in 2005 to an estimated 450 million in 2012, Africa has now become the world’s second largest mobile phone market after China

»  Major brands like Nokia and LG keep shipping millions of cellphones to Africa adding functional features like in-built radio and torchlight to products moving to the electricity-starved continent

»  Samsung said from January 2013 it would begin integrating African content, including languages on its phones, in an effort to appeal more to the market responsible for about 40% of its phone sales

Ventures Africa, 5 November 2012

BLACKBERRY VS. IPHONE VS. ANDROID IN SOUTH AFRICA


»  Vodacom revealed that they currently have 2.7 million BlackBerry smartphones on its South African network

»  The number of BlackBerry users is significantly higher than the number of Android users (700,000) and the number of iPhone users (500,000) on the Vodacom network

»  This number of Blackberry’s on the Vodacom network has grown by around 300,000 over the last three months. The number of Android users grew by 200,000 and the number of iPhone users increased by around 250,000 over the same period


NOKIA LUMIA 920 LAUNCHED IN SA


»  Nokia has launched its highly anticipated new flagship smartphone, the Lumia 920, in South Africa

»  The phone, seen by analysts as the Finnish firm’s best chance to date of reversing its punishing loss in smartphone market share, is the first from Nokia running Windows Phone 8

»  The Lumia 920, which supports fourth-generation long-term evolution (4G/LTE) broadband speeds of up to a theoretical 100Mbit/s

»  It also comes with Nokia City Lens, which uses “augmented reality” technology to overlay information about restaurants, shops, hotels and other venues on the surfaces of buildings when viewed through the camera lens. The technology has full localisation for the South African market


JELLY BEAN COMES TO GALAXY SIII


»  Jelly Bean, the latest iteration of Google’s Android operating system, has finally begun downloading onto Samsung Galaxy S3 handsets in South Africa with some users on the Vodacom network have reported that the update is now available for download

»  News of the updates comes weeks after operators in parts of Asia, Europe and North America began pushing out the update to their customers

»  Unlike Apple, which pushes updates to its iOS operating system directly to end users, Android updates are made available by handset manufacturers to telecommunications operators for testing before they then release the updates to their clients


MICROSOFT OFFICE FOR IOS AND ANDROID


»  After many rumours over the last year, it seems that Microsoft Office for Android and iOS will be a reality. According to reports the Redmond giant will release its versions for its main rivals early in 2013. Office for iPad has already been a lingering rumour for a while

»  Office will be available for iOS first in late February or early March, with an offer to purchase an Office 365 subscription within the app, and allows for basic editing. Versions for Android will be available sometime in May

»  Office Mobile will allow Android and iOS users to view and to a limited degree edit Microsoft Office documents with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel document support


STEVEN SINOFSKY LEAVES MICROSOFT


»  Steven Sinofsky, President, Windows Division, is leaving the company, effective immediately. The news is being characterised as a mutual decision

»  The news comes just after Microsoft put its latest release of its operating system, Windows 8, on the market – a groundbreaking new product for the company that Sinofsky has played a lead role in engineering and demonstrating onstage at various Windows events

»  Sinofsky has been with Microsoft for 23 years, having most recently served as president of the Windows Division from July 2009 to November 2012

TechCrunch, 12 November 2012

BLACKBERRY 10 LAUNCH CONFIRMED


»  Research In Motion (RIM) announced that it will hold its BlackBerry® 10 launch event on January 30th, 2013 and will happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world

»  This day will mark the official launch of its new platform – BlackBerry 10, as well as the unveiling of the first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones

»  Some key features of the new BlackBerry 10 devices already unveiled recently include: –  BlackBerry Flow and BlackBerry Hub

–  BlackBerry Keyboard –  BlackBerry Balance

Advantage Magazine, 13 November 2012

RIM INTEGRATES APP WORLD BILLING


»  RIM has started implementing integrated carrier billing on the BlackBerry App World storefront

»  More than 50 carriers including Vodacom – have already implemented carrier billing

»  Integrated carrier billing enables customers to purchase apps or digital goods on their BlackBerry smartphone, and have the purchases put directly on their regular monthly bill from their carrier

»  RIM says carrier billing is also integrated with the BlackBerry Payment Service, which enables developers and content providers to offer in-app purchases (such as additional levels in a game), as well as supporting one-off and recurring (subscription-based) purchases, without interrupting the customer’s app experience


BBM 7 BETA ADDS FREE VOICE CALLING OVER WIFI


»  RIM has announced BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) version 7 – a free update for BBM users which will allow users to make free voice calls to other BBM customers around the world over a Wi-Fi connection

»  BBM version 7, with the new BBM Voice feature, is currently available in beta for BlackBerry smartphones running the BlackBerry 6 OS or higher

»  It is likely that South African operators will support the BBM Voice over Wi-Fi feature, but it is understood that there are concerns that RIM may enable the BBM Voice feature for 3G as well


RIM BRINGS BLACKBERRY CLOUD TO SA


»  Research In Motion (RIM) has announced BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365 is now available to South African enterprise customers

»  The cloud solution extends Microsoft Exchange Online to BlackBerry smartphones and allows customers to manage their BlackBerry deployments in the cloud. The service works with BlackBerry smartphones on business or consumer data plans

»  RIM says the cloud-based option makes it easy and cost-effective for customers to support mobility across their organisations, manage devices, and secure their BlackBerry deployments. “It offers all the advanced administration and flexible self-service features that allow an organisation to manage its BlackBerry deployment in the cloud.”


IPHONE 5 GETS A LAUNCH DATE IN SA AND AFRICA


»  The highly anticipated iPhone 5 will be launched in South Africa on 14 December 2012 - Apple announced on Monday that the highly coveted smartphone will be launched in more than 50 additional countries over the next 10 days

»  The iPhone 5 is already available in 47 countries. It was launched on 21 September in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore

»  Several other African countries are getting the iPhone 5 a week later, on 21 December. They are Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda

TechCentral, 3 December 2012

SA GETS THE ITUNES MUSIC STORE


»  In breaking news, South Africans can finally download music from Apple’s iTunes Store. The news comes after it was announced that the iPhone 5 would be launched in South Africa on 14 December 2012

»  “Apple is launching the iTunes Store in Russia, Turkey, India, South Africa and 52 additional countries “featuring an incredible selection of local and international music” the Apple statement reads

»  Although the iTunes Store offers movies and television shows in many markets, it appears the South African store is offering only music for now. In its announcement, however, Apple says “movie fans can choose from a wide selection of films available for rent or purchase from the iTunes Store”. Market talk is that the full iTunes Store will be available in South Africa soon

TechCentral, 4 December 2012

SECTION 5

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MOBILE NETWORKS


CHEAPER VOICE RATES RIPE FOR THE PICKING IN SA


»  Mark Taylor, CEO of Nashua Mobile, says that the price war among South African cellular operators, particularly Vodacom and Cell C, is helping to give new impetus to the least-cost routing (LCR) sector

»  With the most recent round of price cuts, cellular subscribers can enjoy per-second billing rates on national and international calls that are 25% or lower than Telkom’s rates

»  With national calls from as low 60 cents and international calls at 85 cents to selected destinations, and true per-second billing, many organisations can enjoy substantial cost-savings through prudent use of LCR


MOBILE DATA COMPARISON FOR SA


»  The infographic by MoneySmart calculates which mobile service provider offers the cheapest mobile data in South Africa and the average mobile data usage per month for users

»  Comparing prepaid data, it shows that for anything under 2GB, Cell C offers the cheapest rates

»  When it comes to mobile data usage, the most data is used on gaming at +-200MB/4hrs, with instant messaging coming second with +-37MB/31hrs

»  The average mobile data usage based on handset: –  Feature phone +-4.3MB p/m –  Smartphone +-150MB p/m –  Tablet +-517MB p/m –  Laptop +-2.1GB p/m

»  The full infographic is available here

Web AddiCT(s), 7 November 2012

VODACOM’S ACTIVE DATA USER BASE REVEALED


»  Vodacom’s active data customers increased 26.8% to 13.3 million, and an additional 1.4 million smartphones over the year are now active on their network bringing the total to 5.3 million

»  Vodacom customers purchasing data bundles increased 35.2% to 4.8 million, and the average monthly data usage on smartphones increased by 46.1% to 123MB, up from 84MB in the prior year period

»  The mobile operator’s South African data traffic grew 42.5%, which more than offset a 24.2% reduction in their average effective price per megabyte

»  Vodacom’s data revenue in South Africa increased by 13.5% to R4,224 million, contributing 17.7% to service revenue compared to 15.8% a year ago


CELL C 100GB DEAL PRICE COMPARISON


»  Cell C recently unveiled its new 100GB SIM-only any-time data promotion (dubbed Go GigaNTIC) for R2,499 once off. This promotion drops the price of mobile data to below 3c per MB

»  “Cell C customers have been asking for a competitively priced prepaid product with larger data denominations. We are pleased to be able to offer our customers what they have been looking for,” said Cell C CEO Alan Knott-Craig

»  Cell C’s new 100GB promotion directly competes against similar promotions from 8ta, Vodacom, Neotel and some of its own packages.

»  The table provided by MyBroadband gives an overview of some of the best prepaid mobile data promotions in South Africa


CELL C FOCUSES LTE PLANS ON CAPE TOWN


»  Mobile operator Cell C will launch fourth-generation (4G) mobile services based on long-term evolution (LTE) technology in Cape Town and Durban as well as other top coastal holiday resorts in December

»  This will be done on a trial basis ahead of a commercial launch, which will follow at an unspecified future date

»  According to spokesman Karin Fourie, the roll-out will be expanded to Johannesburg and Pretoria early in 2013

»  Cell C’s decision to use Cape Town as one of its starting points for LTE comes after both Vodacom and MTN said their initial focus would be on Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban

»  None of the other networks has been given access to the additional radio frequency spectrum needed to build networks of national scope


VODACOM GROWS LTE NETWORK


»  Vodacom has grown its number of fourth-generation long-term evolution (4G/LTE) base stations to 200 in Johannesburg, from 70 when it launched commercial services in October, and has begun testing the next-generation broadband technology in Cape Town

»  The operator’s statement that it is now eyeing Cape Town comes hot on the heels of the announcement by rival Cell C that it intends to target the Mother

»  Both Vodacom and MTN had said previously that they would focus on Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban at first

»  MTN had said it wants as many as 500 base stations in place before launching its commercial 4G/LTE service


MTN LAUNCHES LTE IN SA


»  MTN SA has gone live with its LTE network in the Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban regions. As of 1 December 2012, South African consumers will be able to purchase LTE devices and access the revolutionary technology on the MTN network

»  As more mobile devices become available on the MTN network, it is expected that from the first quarter of 2013, consumers can purchase LTE dongles and other mobile devices on contract from selected MTN stores

»  MTN’s street level coverage map that shows areas with MTN LTE coverage can be viewed on the company’s website

Gadget, 30 November 2012

MTN CRACKDOWN ON BLACKBERRY CLIENTS


»  In an effort to curb excessive use of the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) on its network, mobile operator MTN SA has changed its policies for the service, angering customers in the process

»  MTN introduced new policies for BIS that limit what type of content users can download or stream. It says this was necessary to improve customer experience. Many MTN customers, however, have slated the move and expressed their displeasure on social media

»  In effect, the company is throttling or blocking certain types of data. This includes streaming, downloading of files, watching videos on YouTube or using voice-over-Internet protocol services like Skype, which MTN says “are not meant to done on the BlackBerry network”


8TA, GOOGLE LAUNCH FREE ZONE


»  Google and 8ta have teamed up to launch Free Zone, which gives people access to mobile web search and feature-phone-friendly versions of Gmail and Google+ with zero data charges

»  The first page of a website linked from search results is also provided at no data cost

»  Using Free Zone, feature phone users can use the power of the web to grow their businesses or keep in touch with friends and family without the fear of unknown data costs and make more informed choices about their next data device, read a press statement

iAfrica, 13 November 2012

TELKOM HIRES MOBILE LEAD AFTER LIEBENBERG DEPARTURE


»  Former MD at Samsung SA, Deon Liebenberg, quit his post at Telkom Mobile and is set to hop across to Vodacom, a Vodacom spokesperson said, however, it is not yet clear what his new title will be

»  Days later, Telkom appointed Attila Vitai as MD of Telkom Mobile. This is the first time the group has had an MD at its mobile arm, which combines 8ta and Telkom Business Mobile

»  “Vitai brings a wealth of experience with a successful 20-year track record of senior management in the telecoms industry,” says Telkom in a statement

»  Telkom says Vitai’s experience will be “invaluable” as he executes on his mandate to grow Telkom Mobile into a profitable and sustainable business in a highly competitive industry

ITWeb, 14 November 2012 MyBroadband, 8 November 2012

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SOCIAL NETWORKS


SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO 2012 UPDATE


»  The Socialnomics “Social Media Revolution” video #4 has been updated with the latest 2012 stats. Some highlights include: –  Social Media has become the #1 activity on the Web

–  The Ford Explorer Launch on Facebook generated more traffic than a Super Bowl ad

–  Every second 2 new members join LinkedIn

–  YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world

–  97% of Pinterest fans are women

–  53% of people on Twitter recommend products in their tweets


Digital Buzz Blog, 21 November 2012

MOBILE ADVERTISING AFFECTS FACEBOOK’S STOCK VALUE


»  In recent weeks, the number of ads appearing in users’ mobile newsfeeds has grown, accounting for up to 20% of posts, according to recent reports

»  The jump suggests brands are flocking to Facebook’s mobile offerings in greater numbers – thereby boosting the social network’s mobile revenues – and is causing the company’s stock to rally

»  As a result, Facebook’s stock value has also risen to its highest level since late July, after it held its initial public offering

Mobile Marketer, 27 November 2012

FACEBOOK ROLLS OUT SHARE BUTTON ON MOBISITE


»  Facebook posted a blog entry Thursday that confirms the roll out of a “share button” on its mobile site, as well as on Android and iOS apps.

»  “You can now use the Share button on News Feed stories from your phone whether you’re using the Facebook for Android app, the Facebook for iPhone and iPad app, or the Facebook mobile web site.”

»  The feature, which shows up on newsfeed posts alongside “like” and “comment” buttons, lets users post a link or photo to their own profiles, and gives them the option to add a comment. Like the desktop version, they can also choose to share with specific “audience” and “friends list” groups.

Mashable, 15 November 2012

TWITTER CEO REVEALS NEW STATS


»  Twitter now sends a billion tweets every two-and-a-half days, according to Twitter CEO Dick Costolo who revealed this information during a talk

»  Other facts Costolo has revealed about Twitter included that the service now has 500 million users, sending over 350 million tweets per day.

»  Costolo also emphasised that Twitter would “never change” its 140-character limit

»  Costolo also promised that by year-end, Twitter users will be able to download full archives of their tweets. This was a promise he first made in September, and he has now reiterated that vow, but also explained some of the challenges involved in implementing it


PINTEREST INTRODUCES BUSINESS ACCOUNTS

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Mashable, 14 November 2012


»  Companies will now be able to create business accounts, which allows them to enter just a business name

»  Companies that already have a personal account on Pinterest will be able to convert it to a business account.

»  Companies are encouraged to add Pin It and Follow buttons to their sites, and embed widgets showcasing their pins. Widgets is an entirely new feature, and will be available both to individuals and to companies

»  Beyond the new tools, Pinterest launched a business microsite displaying case studies from brands like Etsy and Jetsetter, as well as best practices and guidelines for brands, said product manager Cat Lee

LINKEDIN ENABLES PROFILE EDITING ON MOBILE


»  One of the company’s most requested features for its app is finally available

»  LinkedIn mobile app uses can now update their profile with a new headline, add a new job position or add recent skills from their mobile phone

»  "We're making it possible for mobile professionals to edit their profile on the go," said LinkedIn's senior product manager, David Breger

»  The new feature is available in all current languages offered on the iPhone and Android apps

»  LinkedIn also recently released new features like endorsements which have encouraged more user activity and increased the frequency of profile updates

CBR Online, 14 November 2012

MXIT ANNOUNCES ‘MXIT LAUNCH’ FOR BRANDS


»  Vincent Maher, VP of Product Strategy and Growth at Mxit revealed at the Mobile Web in Africa Conference ‘Mxit Launch’, an app in closed beta with tools that include content publishing, free broadcast, Google Analytics and micro-billing

»  With the announcement, Maher said that the platform is making it easy for any brand or community to get on Mxit

»  In essence, it will give social media and community managers a chance to include Mxit in their overall strategy and will be available to the public in March next year

»  The main aim of the product, the company says, is to give community owners, particularly social media managers, control and visibility of their community activity on Mxit #MWA2012, 29 November 2012 Memeburn, 3 December 2012

MXIT BIGGEST SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM IN SA

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CNN, 9 November 2012


»  Mobile network Mxit claims to have nearly 10 million users in the country, making it South Africa's most popular social media platform by far, eclipsing Facebook's six million users and Twitter's 1.1 million subscribers

»  Mxit has grown from an instant messaging application into a global mobile social network

»  The handset-agnostic network says its users transfer between 500 and 850 million messages every day. That's roughly double the number of tweets sent daily on a global basis

»  The average user now spends 85 minutes a week using Mxit and logs on up to four times a day

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CREDITS AND CONTACTS


CREDITS

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»  ABC News

»  Adlip

»  Advantage Magazine

»  Bizcommunity

»  Business Insider

»  CBR Online

»  CNN

»  Cisco

»  Digital Buzz Blog

»  DMMA

»  eConsultancy

»  Expat Forum

»  Gadget

»  Google Chrome

»  HumanIPO

»  iAfrica

»  ITWeb

»  Luxury Daily

»  TechCentral

»  Marketing Update

»  Mashable

»  Memeburn

»  Mobile Marketer

»  Mobile Marketing Watch

»  MyBroadband

»  MyBroadband BusinessTech

»  Network Society

»  The Globe and Mail

»  Trendwatching

»  Twitter

»  VentureBeat

»  Ventures Africa

»  Web AddiCT(s)


INSERT VIDEO HERE

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CONTACT US

Vuyisile Sisulu | Mobile Technologist [tel] +27 (11) 555-3800 [cell] +27 (82) 679 5415 [fax] 0867210884 [email] [email protected] [twitter] @Vuyisile_Sisulu

Tracy Aberman | Mobile Strategist [tel] +27 (11) 555-3800 [cell] +27 (82) 754 6111 [fax] 0867210884 [email] [email protected] [twitter] @TracyInSA

Angus Robinson | Director: Mobile, Content, Community & Media [tel] +27 (11) 555-3800 [cell] +27 (83) 635 4400 [fax] 0867210884 [email] [email protected] [twitter] @angusrobinson

Should you have any mobile insight, strategy, campaign or solutions requirements please contact any one of us.


Native Mobile Monthly Report - November 2012

Technology

Transcript of Native Mobile Monthly Report - November 2012