Monday, June 10

Smartphone, tablet shipments to hit 1.7 billion mark in 2014: IDC by Zack Whittaker for ZDNet

Quotable
“…60 percent of these devices — about 1 billion units — won’t be shipped to the usual markets, such as the U.S. and Western Europe. Instead, the four major emerging markets will be taking more than half of all smart connected device shipments next year.”

According to a recent research report from IDC, 1.7 billion smart connected devices are expected to ship globally by 2014. Surprisingly, almost half of the units will ship to emerging markets, particularly Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Smartphones and tablets are anticipated to make up the vast majority of smart connected devices being shipped, as the average selling price for both platforms has decreased over the past year; tablet prices are down 19 percent and smartphones fell by more than 8 percent.

Tuesday, June 11

The A-Z of UX design principles from the big tech firms/experts by Chris Lake for Econsultancy

Quotable
“Good design principles are cross-feature but specific.”

Many companies—especially tech firms—have their own design principles that describe the experience and core values of a product or service. Businesses abide and live by these principles for optimal design and user experience—but which are worth taking note of? Some of Econsultancy’s picks include keeping design simple, welcoming white space, focusing on user customization and celebrating typography. Another vital principle? Joy. Says Nielsen Norman Group, “The first requirement for an exemplary user experience is to meet the exact needs of the customer, without fuss or bother. Next comes simplicity and elegance that produce products that are a joy to own, a joy to use. True user experience goes far beyond giving customers what they say they want, or providing checklist features.”

Wednesday, June 12

Mobile Marketing for Motorists Could Be Big, Says Expert by Michael Essany for Mobile Marketing Watch

Quotable
“Some marketing professionals and industry analysts see a precious opportunity for ramping up their targeted mobile marketing efforts. A motorist’s nav screen, mounted smartphone, or other mobile device, for example, could be a future target for video, audio, or display ads….”

The automobile is fast becoming a new and very worthwhile target for mobile marketing. At Apple’s annual developer conference this week, new developments were announced for the company’s “iOS in the car” program. Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, Chevy, Kia and Hyundai will see expanded integration with the program, leading several marketing professionals and industry analysts to see a valuable opportunity for ramping up targeted mobile marketing efforts. It is anticipated that motorist navigation screens and mounted mobile devices, among other things, be future targets for video, audio and display ads.

Thursday, June 13

Ogilvy exec: Mobile, multiscreen experiences need to focus on value by Lauren Johnson for Mobile Marketer

Quotable
“…marketers need to go beyond simply creating mobile experiences for the sake of hitting a new audience. Instead, the focus should be on the value for consumers.”

As discussed at the 2013 MultiScreen Summit earlier this week, the abundance of screens and new technology available today has unlocked a new focus for marketers: the art of unlocking consumer value and creating an impeccable experience from screen to screen for consumers. Creating content and campaigns that trigger an emotional value is also key for marketing success. Robert John Davis, worldwide interactive marketing director and director of advanced video practice at Ogilvy, New York, explained, “The best multiscreen marketing occurs when there is a core drawn between the goals of the marketplace and the desires of the users.”

Friday, June 14

Mobile Media Consumption to be worth $200bn by 2017 by Kirsty Styles for Mobile Marketing

Quotable
“Sales of mobile content, including apps, games, video and TV, along with mobile browsing and ad revenue, raked in $161bn during 2012 alone, but the market will break the $200bn barrier in just three years.”

The Strategy Analytics “Global Mobile Media Forecast” has predicted that mobile content sales will break the $200 billion mark within the next three years, a healthy boost from the $161 billion raked in from 2012. Mobile advertising revenue is expected to more than triple in the next three years, accounting for 18 percent of total mobile media expenditure by 2017. Seeing a trend in increased mobile advertising spend, David Kerr, VP at Strategy Analytics notes popular social networks’ growing interest in mobile advertising “which underlies advertiser demand to test and experiment with well-targeted mobile inventory provided by popular social networks.”

That sums up this week in mobile! Have a wonderful weekend, and please don’t forget to share your favorite articles in the comments thread below. See you all next week!

We had another exciting week in mobile, with new reports that advertisers and small businesses alike are hopping on the mobile marketing train. With fresh activity continuing the trend toward responsive design—backed by the fact that mobile spending continues to soar—we can’t wait to see newer technologies, like local-mobile marketing, become standard.

Monday, June 3

Mobile Advertising Check-Up Reveals Turbulence and Steep Growth by Matt Kapko for ClickZ

Quotable
“While it produced almost $4.75 billion, or 2 percent of all ad spend last year, mobile is riding a wave of growth that continues to outpace online by a large margin.”

According to John Fletcher, senior analyst at SNL Kagan, mobile advertising is growing faster than online advertising in terms of investment. While online advertising grew at a compound annual growth rate of 47.2 percent from 1995 through 2012, mobile grew an astounding 80.1 percent from 2007 through last year. Tablet adoption may be the cause for such high figures, with around 22 percent of the US market now using the platform.

Tuesday, June 4

Publishers are charging forward with responsive design – now it’s time for advertisers to catch up by Hamish McKenzie for PandoDaily

Quotable
“Undertone believes that the mobile Web is the future for publishers, so advertisers have to follow. ‘We ultimately think that all of our customers want to run across screens, because all consumers want to run across screens,’ says Franchi.”

Looking to improve the lackluster relationship between advertisers and the responsive Web world, New York-based Undertone has developed a new HTML5 platform to provide a much needed “high-impact experience” in responsive design. Undertone co-founder Eric Franchi believes the ad industry is at the dawn of the responsive era, explaining that the surge towards responsive design has taken so long because even the most cultured digital ad companies aren’t pushing the shift—not because of a lack of demand. The onslaught of responsive design units is nearing, however, as Google has begun testing possible solutions—perhaps leading to a new industry standard.

Wednesday, June 5

Small business gets boost from mobile marketing by Roger Yu for USA Today

Quotable
 “U.S. mobile spending — including ads on phones — rose 69% in 2012 to $6.7 billion, according to the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), and this year will be $10.46 billion.”

Small businesses are increasingly opting for mobile marketing in order to broaden their potential message channels to customers, a result no doubt stemming  from the fact that “money is pouring in U.S. mobile spending,” rising 69 percent in 2012 to $6.7 billion. To make the most of mobile marketing, create an engaging website that avoids using too much text or flash graphics that are difficult to read or take too long to load.

Thursday, June 6

More Access, More Devices Mean More Spending by Aaron Baar for MediaPost

Quotable
“ ‘Internet access globally and mobile Internet access in the U.S. is a huge driver of consumer spending on entertainment and media,’ Sean De Winter, a partner in PwC’s Entertainment, Media & Communications practice, tells Marketing Daily. ‘We’re seeing more and more people walking around with more mobile devices, and using them over their laptops.’”

Entertainment and media spending by consumers and marketers is anticipated to skyrocket over the next five years thanks to mobile. Mobile devices and the mobile Internet are becoming increasingly more accessible and, as such, the digital channel is expected to account for nearly half of all entertainment and media spending by 2017 in mature markets, up from 34 percent in 2012.

Friday, June 7

Why Local-Mobile Marketing Is Exploding by Josh Luger for Business Insider

Quotable
“Location-based mobile marketing promises the sky: high conversion rates, surgical targeting, and rich consumer profiles. But does it deliver? According to many accounts, it does.”

The location-based services marketplace is reigning supreme in mobile marketing, according to a recent report from BI Intelligence. The report finds that 91 percent of 400 brand executives plan on increasing investments in location-based marketing campaigns in 2013. Verve, a location-based mobile advertising company, notes in the report that its location-based ad efforts are about twice as effective as the mobile industry average click-through rate of 0.4 percent. Location-enabled ad spend is expected to increase to 33 percent of total mobile ad spend by 2017.

Happy Friday, everyone! As always, if you think we missed a gem, please share the article with us in the comments section!

Note: This is a (mostly) spoiler-free article!

Welcome to Westeros, land of the Seven Kingdoms, and the setting of George R.R. Martin’s wildly popular A Song of Ice and Fire series. If you’re a fan of the books or the television show, we assume you already have a favorite character picked out. If not, allow us to lend a hand by comparing the series’ Great Houses to – you guessed it – your favorite smartphone operating systems. (I know, this is by far the nerdiest article we’ve ever written, but bear with us.)

Are you an Apple fanatic? Addicted to your Android? Mourning the slow demise of BlackBerry? Chances are, your favorite smartphone says a lot about your favorite GoT characters.

House Lannister = Android

Well-connected, filthy rich, and (ahem) “well-integrated”, the Lannisters are definitely the House to beat. Controlling the Seven Kingdoms from Kings Landing (aka Googleplex), the Lannisters make sure to stay three steps ahead of their enemies, even if it means being a little bit evil.

Currently the Lannisters have a firm grasp on power, but they shouldn’t let it go to their heads. The Lannisters, much like Google, have a big target on their backs – and there’s no such thing as “too big to fail.”

House Tyrell = Apple

One of the oldest houses and rulers of the most populous (and popular) region in the Seven Kingdoms, the Tyrells are obviously Apple fans. Sure, they’re often accused of being proud and superficial, but don’t let their narcissism fool you. Beneath the vanity and well-designed exteriors, the Tyrells are a shrewd and ambitious crowd. Not to mention, their riches are on par with those of the Lannister Androids. Don’t go messing with the Tyrells, or you’re asking for some serious trouble (and probably a lawsuit).

House Stark = BlackBerry

Everyone loves to root for the underdog, but things aren’t looking good for the Starks these days. Once powerful rulers in the North, the Starks, much like BlackBerry, have fallen a long way at the hands of the Lannister Androids. As big supporters of the “old ways” (remember physical keyboards?) they refused to play dirty with the likes of the Lannisters and Tyrells, and now the Starks have really painted themselves into a dangerous corner.

There aren’t many Starks left in Westeros, but don’t lose hope just yet. Much like BlackBerry, they may still have some tricks up their sleeves – we’re looking at you, Arya and Bran.

House Targaryen = Windows Mobile

Once rulers of all the Seven Kingdoms, descended from a spectacular ancestry that includes actual dragonlords, the House Targaryen is a mere shadow of its former glory. Corrupted by power, the Targaryens now have to claw their way back to the top after literally starting over from scratch. Daenerys Targaryen is the dark horse in the race for Kings Landing, and much like Windows Mobile, her lineage may look great on paper, but she’s going to have to prove herself to the competition.

Daenerys is building a small army along the periphery, using her beauty, charisma, and aggressive campaigns to gain followers (sounds a lot like the Lumia, doesn’t it?), but that may not be enough to topple the Lannister Androids or the Tyrell Apples. She does have some dragons, though. And that’s pretty cool. Keep an eye out for the Targaryen/Windows Mobile comeback.

The Wildlings = Mozilla’s Firefox OS

Exiled north of the Wall, the wildlings are a loosely aligned group of hunter-gatherers and warriors led by Mance Rayder, the so-called “King-Beyond-the-Wall”. Their isolation makes them a mysterious people to those living in the Seven Kingdoms, and it’s never quite clear what’s going on up there. That’s not to say that everyone south of the wall shouldn’t be paying a bit closer attention.

Much like Mozilla’s new HTML5-driven Firefox OS, the wildlings have some ambitious plans. Whether or not they can ultimately compete with the Great Houses remains uncertain, but I wouldn’t rule out either The Wildlings or Firefox OS making a run for the crown. Stranger things have happened in Westeros.

This was a VERY controversial article among Bluetrain’s Game of Thrones fans, so we know you probably have an opinion about our pairings. (Are the Lannisters actually Apple? Are the Starks Android?). Feel free to start a war in the comments thread – just be sure to choose your Bannermen wisely.

Though it was a short week (Happy belated Memorial Day!), we were pleased to see significant coverage indicative of the rapid growth of mobile marketing. Through survey results pointing to the importance of maintaining customers via mobile-friendly websites, reports on the transcendence of tablets, and announcements of big name brands like The Boston Globe taking the responsive route, it’s clear that mobile marketing is now, more than ever, crucial to business success.

Tuesday, May 28

Tablet Shipments to Surpass Portable PC Shipments in 2013: IDC by Nathan Eddy for eWeek

Quotable
“‘What started as a sign of tough economic times has quickly shifted to a change in the global computing paradigm, with mobile being the primary benefactor,’ Ryan Reith, program manager for IDC’s Mobility Trackers, said in a statement.” 

According to new research from IDC, tablet shipments will grow 58.7 percent from 144.5 million units in 2012 to 229.3 million units in 2013. With these striking new figures, tablet shipments are expected to surpass those of portable PCs this year as the PC market continues to falter, seeing negative growth for the second consecutive year. By 2015, IDC anticipates tablet shipments to surpass the entire PC market—both portables and desktops. Program Manager for IDC’s Mobility Trackers Ryan Reith says that this “marks a significant change in consumer attitudes about computer devices and the applications and ecosystems that power them.” Additionally, smaller screen sizes on tablets will continue to be favored in the future and prices are also expected to decline, allowing vendors to deliver to more people.

Wednesday, May 29

44pc of shoppers will never return to sites that are not mobile friendly: report by Chantal Tode for Mobile Commerce Daily

Quotable
“’The big news from a mobile perspective is people want to interact with companies via their mobile devices, but many won’t do so unless those companies provide a mobile-friendly experience,’ said Thomas Robbins, chief evangelist at Kentico Software, Nashua, NH. ‘And the closer a company comes to mimicking the in-store experience, the better.’”

The new Mobile Experience Survey from Kentico Software focuses on the increased interplay between online shoppers and brands on mobile devices. The survey finds that before making a purchase, 85 percent of smartphone owners will use their mobile device to compare companies, products and pricing—but purchasing goods online isn’t solely dependent on these factors. 78 percent of smartphone owners, 75 percent of tablet owners and 69 percent of laptop owners say that buying a product comes down to the look and feel of a company’s mobile website. Mobile sites that are not optimized, beware—44 percent of mobile users will never return, while 52 percent will not return often.

Thursday, May 30

Mobile, Social See Biggest Digital Ad Spend Bumps for eMarketer

Quotable
“Of the 20 major US brands surveyed by the Association of National Advertisers in March 2013, 65% said they were increasing their investments in mobile—the highest percentage of marketers upping investments in any channel studied. Only 10% planned to decrease mobile spend.”

The enthusiasm surrounding mobile, social and video is being backed by marketers with more ad dollars. Major US brands show no signs of wavering when it comes to investing in mobile, and marketers appear to have no hesitations about social, with 55 percent of respondents saying they plan on investing more to the format. Investments in video are also expected to increase among marketers, as the number of online video viewers continues to grow. Social media and internet display each took in 5 percent of digital budgets as of March, and mobile marketing accounted for another 3 percent of total spending.

Friday, May 31

The Boston Globe on Making Responsive Design Work for Advertisers and Readers for eMarketer

Quotable
“We did a lot of research into what people wanted from us, and what they wanted was a familiar design that replicated a newspaper reading experience. Believing in the future of mobile, we went down the path of building BostonGlobe.com as our responsive website.” –Jeff Moriarty, Vice President, Digital Products, The Boston Globe

Through research into how people consume content on mobile devices, the folks at The Boston Globe concluded a mobile website with a basic design that mirrored the newspaper reading experience was what readers desired. Wanting to reach as many users as possible, the Globe decided to create a new website, which was among the first websites to launch as responsively designed.

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s Mobile Roundup. Feel free to add any articles we may have missed to the comments thread below. See you next week!

As you know, we’re completely dialed in to the future of mobile, and this week, we focused our Mobile Roundup on the hot topic of marketing in a multi-screen world. Read on for more info on the unique and exciting opportunities (and challenges) that come along with mobile marketing.

Monday, May 20

Responsive Design Aims to Solve the Multiscreen Dilemma for eMarketer

Quotable
“…digital content will need to be served to an ever-increasing number of screens, according to a new eMarketer report, ‘Responsive Design: A Solution for Publishers, a Question for Advertisers.’”

Responsive web design, albeit challenging for advertisers, will be of utmost importance for mobile marketers in the future. A new eMarketer report has found that users are increasingly using multiple screens to take in information, and as such, marketers must be prepared to address the many needs of various Internet-enabled devices through responsive design.

Tuesday, May 21

The Tracking Solutions That Could Lead An Explosion In Mobile Marketing by Josh Luger for Business Insider

Quotable
“It’s clear that intermediaries and solutions providers are in a race to provide the technical solutions that will allow marketers to integrate mobile seamlessly into cross-screen campaigns and properly attribute the results achieved. As these solutions develop and improve, they will fuel the already rapid growth of cross-screen marketing.”

A recent report from BI Intelligence shows that audiences are becoming increasingly digitally agnostic, willing to consume content across several devices. With smart eyewear and wrist wear coming into play soon, the opportunities for cross screen marketers appear to be growing. The effectiveness of any advertising campaign rests on a brand’s ability to effectively deliver messages to a targeted audience, but proper measurement appears to be an obstacle to success. 

Wednesday, May 22

Marketers Should Tailor Specific Pitches To Tablet, Smartphone by Mark Walsh for MediaPost

Quotable
“’The context in which people use their tablets dictates a unique marketing approach,’ argues analyst Thomas Husson in the Forrester report, based on a survey of more than 13,000 consumers.”

A new Forrester report found that tablets and smartphones serve users in different ways. Tablets are used primarily while relaxing at home—consuming media, using two-screen viewing, and engaging in e-commerce. Smartphones on the other hand, are used both at home and on-the-go for communications and apps purposes. For these reasons, tablets must employ different mobile marketing strategies than smartphones. Recommended marketing tactics for tablets include using search marketing to drive higher conversion rates, creating immersive experiences and capitalizing on two-screen viewing.

Thursday, May 23

Forrester exec: Future of mobile development hinges on context by Rimma Kats for Mobile Marketer

Quotable
“’Mobile platforms will be the catalyst for the next generation of connect experiences,’ [Forrester analyst Julie Ask] said. ‘We’re really at the very beginning stages of these connected experiences – in some cases your phone will be the hub.’”

The CTIA 2013: Mobile Marketplace conference kicked off this week, and according to Julie Ask, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, analytics and contextual data will drive next-generation applications. Ask predicts that in the coming years, all marketers will need to measure their position in the mobile arena, analyzing what is and isn’t working. Additionally, mobile will revamp business models by offering deeper consumer engagement and real-time interaction, transforming pricing models and existing cost structures. In preparation for these changes, marketers must approach mobile services by concentrating on convenience, thinking mobile-first, and utilizing feedback. “The mobile shift is definitely here,” said Jeffrey Hammond, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester. “It’s happening.”

Friday, May 24

Building Customer Engagement with Mobile-Ready Learning Tools by Chris Grebisz for Destination CRM

Quotable
“… the mobile Internet is predicted to take over desktop Internet usage by 2014, according to Microsoft Tag. As a result, business applications will need to continue to become more and more mobile-friendly.”

With a growing number of Americans using smartphones to access search engines, there is an increased emphasis  on mobile learning, or “mLearning.” Perfect for businesses that want to create ongoing customer engagement experiences, mLearning must be simple in design. According to microlearning theorists Theo Hug and Norm Friesen, successful mLearning must involve “low time commitment, small chunks, short effort, and narrow topics.” The measurement of user feedback and metrics will also be vital to producing quick ROI.

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s Mobile Roundup! Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and feel free to share your own favorite articles from this week in the comments section below.

Happy Friday, everyone! Our theme for this week’s Mobile Roundup is the future of mobile. Read on to find out what we’re excited to see in the months and years ahead.

Monday, May 13

AT&T exec: Analytics will move mobile spend forward by Lauren Johnson for Mobile Marketer

Quotable
“…what it’s really going to take going forward to increase that spend is the analytics piece, so it’s really about how do we prove the ROI of the platform, how do we prove that it drives sales and that it drives traffic and other behavior like that.”

Julia Plourde, an AT&T executive, offers that for mobile budgets to increase, analytics must be better leveraged to demonstrate the ROI of the mobile medium. While AT&T has incorporated smartphones and tablets into its marketing strategy, the company continues to struggle to determine the impact of mobile campaigns and initiatives. With that in mind, a trend toward analytics is highly likely.

Tuesday, May 14

Mobile marketing to approach $20B by 2015 by Sandra Zoratti for BtoB

Quotable
“Mobile marketing communications expenditures in the U.S. totaled approximately $6.70 billion last year and are projected to reach $19.80 billion by 2015, according to a Mobile Marketing Association study.”

According to a recent report from the Mobile Marketing Association, spending on mobile advertising, mobile direct response and mobile CRM is expected to soar by 2015. Mobile advertising is expected to generate the most spending power, followed by mobile CRM and mobile direct response. Three cheers for mobile marketing!

Wednesday, May 15

Apps, HTML5 and m-commerce among key mobile challenges facing businesses: report by David Moth for eConsultancy

Quotable
“The overriding message from this year’s Digital Cream is that a viable mobile strategy is not rocket science, but it does require a brand to have visibility into the customer experience, a sensitive, flexible approach and clear business objectives.”

eConsultancy’s Digital Cream London event kicked off last month, prompting conversations on the state and future of digital marketing. While ecommerce businesses reported favorable traffic to their mobile sites, a lack of mobile site optimization and the complexity of the m-commerce journey have proven to cause drop-outs and subsequent revenue loss. Retailers have also noted the unpleasant trend of ‘showrooming’, when customers look at products in-store, check prices, and then leave to make the purchases elsewhere. Will this frustrating trend continue in the future?

Thursday, May 16

iOS Gains On Android by Mark Walsh for MediaPost

Quotable
“Android accounted for more than half (52%) of impressions on the Millennial Media mobile ad network in the first quarter, with iOS claiming 39%. That marks a six-percentage-point gain for iOS from a year ago, narrowing Android’s lead as the leading mobile platform on the network.”

Millennial Media recently found that iOS is moving on up in the mobile platform world, jumping from 33 percent of impressions on their mobile ad network to 39 percent only a year later. What does this mean for Android? Probably nothing of concern. Of the total tablet impressions on the Millennial Media platform, 45 percent were from Android tablets, leaping 96 percent from the same quarter a year ago. It appears that both iOS and Android will continue to go head to head in the mobile race.

Friday, May 17

Mobile web content drives in-store purchases, Google suggests for Brafton

Quotable
“New data from Google suggests that consumers not only turn to the mobile web for content discovery, but also for affirmation on what to buy while in select stores.”

According to a recent report from Google, 84 percent of smartphone shoppers use their devices to guide their in-store shopping experiences. Report data also suggests that most in-store mobile activities begin with search, which 82 percent of mobile shoppers use to influence their purchasing decisions. With this in mind, it’s evident that marketers must create web content for mobile search to best engage with their customers.

That wraps up this week in mobile! Have a fantastic weekend, and be sure to share your thoughts on any of these articles in the comments section below.

Responsive web design (RWD) is a hot topic in the world of web design and development, and for good reason. With new web-connected devices being introduced into the market every month, continuously changing the game for web marketers, it’s clear that responsive design and responsive practices are where web development is headed. No other methods have shown as much promise at solving these cross-device web issues, and so far, the leaders at the forefront of RWD are interactive agencies, in-house teams of advanced CSS and HTML coders, and a handful of influential responsive pioneers.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Mike Norman, VP of Technology at Genuine Interactive about the current state of responsive web design (RWD), where this approach is headed, and the role it plays in enabling any-screen marketing. During this conversation, Mike shared some really great insights on the merits of RWD that I thought I’d share with you.

Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from my conversation with Mike:

Takeaway #1: Responsive Design is the future

You don’t necessarily need to speak with a VP of Technology to know that responsive design is the future, but it is important to understand. This isn’t to say that all websites will be responsive in the next two to three years, but per my conversation with Mike, it’s pretty clear that RWD has become the “gold standard” of web design. Despite the fact that it takes a big upfront investment of time and resources, RWD is one of the only proven ways to accommodate for all the different devices accessing your website through one build and to ensure that all of your content is accessible across all of these devices in a relatively easy-to-use format. This is currently one of the biggest challenges for web marketers; making sure there is a positive web experience for visitors across all of the different devices. Thus, for those who have the budget and those ready for a full site redesign, RWD has primarily become the go-to web strategy.

Responsive design is also the best way to future-proof your website for any new devices that hit the market (at least for now). As screen sizes change and devices start to merge, RWD offers an ideal solution because of its flexibility and fluidity to fit any screen. As Mike points out, “you have no idea what devices will come out in a year or two…a year or two, in our field, is a lifetime.” According to Mike, building device-specific websites may lead to constant redesigns and time-consuming maintenance to ensure that your website provides a good user experience on all devices. RWD, on the other hand, dynamically adjusts to fit new devices, no matter what the screen size is.

Takeaway #2: Current Responsive Design has its downfalls

In my conversation with Mike, I asked him to address the current state of RWD in general. While Responsive Design is the future of web design, there are a number of limitations. For the most part, current responsive design consists of a number of different page elements (text, images, navigation etc.) combined with a number of different browser size breakpoints, which dictate how the text, images and navigation will render on that screen size. In other words, the elements on the page dynamically adjust based on the size of the browser. However, there are fundamental issues with this approach. One of these issues, as Mike pointed out, is delivering the same sized images to all device users. “You can’t just do pure front-end responsive. On some level you have to incorporate the backend to determine what image should be put out there. If you’re sending down a 1.5 MB image to a smartphone user, not only are you going to drastically increase load times, but you’ll also kill their data plan.”

Another drawback to current responsive design is that design capabilities are limited for fully responsive sites. Mike shared a few responsive websites that really exemplify this, two in particular being Starbucks and Microsoft. Both of these sites are completely custom, responsive websites, and both have a very similar design style (or lack thereof). These sites are very “boxy” and there’s a lot of empty/wasted white space, especially when viewed on a desktop computer. Coding practices have a come a long way with responsive design, but there are still some limitations when it comes to having complete creative freedom from a design perspective.

Mike also pointed out that RWD isn’t well suited for companies with highly action-oriented websites. “There are some people whose sites are action-oriented, so there are particular paths they want a user to take and some of the content on the site is secondary. For those clients, responsive doesn’t matter as much.” These clients typically want a specific mobile experience that is targeted for the mobile user, allowing them to easily optimize content, calls-to-action and user flows for a mobile visitor, without having to mess with site-wide CSS. If their site was responsive, they’d need to involve their IT dept or agency just to swap out a quick call-to-action. For example, downloading a white paper may be very interesting for a desktop user, but a mobile user would most likely be more interested in signing up for your email newsletter. “You can’t argue the action-oriented approach,” Mike says. “Sometimes that’s what your business dictates.” In such cases, traditional RWD falls short.

I will add that one solution to RWD’s limitations, which is gaining steam in the responsive community as a better approach — building on the inherent strengths of RWD, is server-side responsive, also known as RESS. In this approach, the server detects the device before loading the website and will deliver a web experience and appropriate image sizes optimized to that specific device, rather than just re-arranging the same elements according to the browser size.

Takeaway #3: Responsive Web Design is a constant evolution

Given the first two takeaways, this may seem like an obvious conclusion, but it is important to understand how RWD is changing. One of the biggest challenges currently with responsive design is, as Mike put it, that it’s a real disruption to process. “In traditional web design, the roles are clear. It’s ‘you do UX’, ‘you do design’, ‘you do development’. With responsive web design, it’s not like once you’re done with UX, you’re done with it…there’s a lot more back and forth. In the past year alone the process has changed dramatically.” RWD involves a much more integrated and continuous effort from the development and design teams, not just a simple division of duties. Because it’s such a disruption to that process, agencies and coding teams are still figuring out the most efficient way to develop responsive sites.

The other thing to understand about RWD is that it’s not black and white. Yes, some websites can dynamically change when you adjust the browser size, and some can’t. But a website is not necessarily either responsive or not. There are many design practices that are responsive by nature but can be applied to more traditional web design (e.g. swapping out images for CSS). The opposite is true as well. There are web design practices that are not typically used in RWD (javascript device detection) but that can be used in a way to make the website load differently based on the size of the browser accessing it. There are even different approaches to responsive design. The capabilities and applications of responsive design are constantly changing, which means its definition is continuously evolving.

The last factor I’d like to mention, and perhaps the most important, that drives the continuous change of RWD (and all web design for that matter) is how we as humans are behaving on the web. Our web-based interactions and data consumption methods are the driving force behind web evolution. What happens when Google Glass is released to the public, or if Apple’s rumored iWatch hits the market? How will responsive sites render on those devices? How will users interact with those sites? How will voice commands change the way we navigate and communicate on the web? What if screens become flexible? It’s nearly impossible to answer these kinds of questions because it’s nearly impossible to predict future technologies. One certain truth: whatever these trends are, they will be sure to affect how the web is consumed and developed.

Conclusion

As responsive web design continues to grow in popularity, it’s clear that it will have a strong foothold in the future of web development. Due to its fluid and adaptable nature, it has emerged as the ideal choice for most web developers and marketers who are concerned about how their site looks and behaves across all devices. However, there are still many areas in which RWD can be improved, specifically when it comes to optimizing images, content and calls-to-action. Although it’s difficult to predict precisely how the use of the web will evolve in the future, it will be very interesting to see what kinds of technologies and coding practices emerge from its continuous evolution.

Where do you see responsive design headed in the future? Let us know in the comments section.

With the onset of summer comes a flurry of exciting mobile announcements, so we’re dedicating today’s edition of This Week in Mobile to smartphone rumors! If you’ve been paying close attention to the tech blogs, many of this may already be old news; for those of you just tuning in, get ready for a glimpse into this year’s upcoming tech!

Mozilla’s Firefox OS

The revolutionary Firefox OS from Mozilla, which is entirely built to run HTML5 web apps, probably won’t start shipping in the US until 2014 – but that won’t stop developers from trying to get their hands on a Geeksphone (the only phone that runs Firefox OS, currently available in Spain). Mozilla’s “Principle Developer Evangelist”, Christian Heilmann, notes that developers should work on making their web apps look great before the company starts shipping phones to consumers.

If you’re a developer who’s too impatient to wait for your Geeksphone to arrive, you can start playing around with the Firefox OS Simulator 3.0, which features the ability to push in-progress web apps to connected test devices for some hands-on QA. Other exciting features include testing HTML5 animations (like rotating displays) and the ability to test location-aware web apps that can access a phone’s internal GPS. It looks like Mozilla is doing some really exciting things with HTML5, and we can’t wait to see the consumer reaction to these new smartphones!

“Mozilla doesn’t want you buying a Firefox OS phone just yet” via Geek.com
“With A Widespread Launch Looming, Mozilla Rolls Out Fireox OS Simulator 3.0″ via TechCrunch

Android and Motorola’s “X Phone”

The very name “X Phone” practically oozes technological cool, so it’s no surprise there are a lot of expectations riding on this “magical unicorn” of a phone. Ever since Google bought Motorola Mobility, rumors have been swirling about a phone that knows you even better than you know yourself – even down to predicting when you’ll want certain apps to appear on the screen. This phone may even be ready to pair with the as-yet-unavailable Google Glass! Perhaps an even more exciting rumor is that this phone could be heavily subsidized and offered at a much lower price than expected (perhaps to compete with the possible low-end iPhone?).

Google I/O is just around the corner on May 15-17, so expect more details to emerge during the conference. Perhaps we may even get a sneak peak at this mysterious X Phone.

“Should you wait for the mythical Motorola X Phone?” via CNET
“Motorola X Phone rumors, benchmarks march on” via CNET

Apple’s iOS 7

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is taking place June 10-14 this summer, with a rumored unveiling of the new iOS 7 and its completely redesigned user interface. Gone will be the “skeuomorphic” aesthetic (a digital representation of a physical texture or design – like the iPhone’s leather-bound notepad, for example), and in its place will be a flat, minimalist, and modern OS.

Perhaps in an effort to keep up with the new 2D tile designs of Google Now and Microsoft 8, Apple’s UI guru, Jonathan Ive, is giving iOS its first major reworking since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007. Expect to see a preview of iOS 7 at WWDC in June, along with an announcement regarding iPhone integration with vehicles (we’re curious to see how the latter plays out).

“Apple Engineers Working Overtime on iOS7′s ‘DeForstallization’” via MacRumors
“iOS 7 Rumors Point to Redesigned Interface, Vehicle Integration” via PCMag

Which smartphone rumors are you most excited to see confirmed? Are there any that we missed? Sound off in the comments thread and spread the news!

To our customers, investors, and friends, today is a really exciting day at Bluetrain Mobile and I have several announcements to share:

 1. Expansion to Tablets!

This morning, Bluetrain Mobile released support for tablets. We now enable marketers to design and build brilliant and engaging websites for smartphone AND tablet audiences. The first phase of this rollout is compatible with all major smartphones and tablets, with the exception of the full-size iPad. The fastest area of growth in the tablet market is from the iPad mini and a wide array of Android and Kindle tablet devices, and Bluetrain Mobile will support them all.

2. Expanded Vision for Web Marketing on Any Screen

We believe that the future of consumer marketing is mobile and multi-screen. Our expansion to tablet is part of an ambitious 2013 R&D plan that will culminate with Bluetrain Mobile supporting any screen, including smartphones, tablets, and desktops. Our goal is to enable marketers and their agencies to create brilliant and compelling multi-screen experiences resulting in measurable visitor engagement and action.

3. The Future of Responsive Web Design

Also in our press release today, we’re announcing our vision to build the world’s most advanced responsive website platform. Designed for data-driven consumer marketers and their agencies, who must continually optimize lead generation on smartphone, tablet, and desktop devices, our responsive server side (RESS) platform puts the intelligence of responsive design directly in the marketer’s hands. In the video above, I share details of our approach to building websites for any screen, and why we think this represents the next generation of responsive web design.

4. Announcing $1.53 million in New Funding

We are very pleased to announce $1.53 million in new funding with the strong backing of top-notch investors and VCs, including Polaris Partners, Atlas Venture, Boston Seed Capital, and LaunchCapital.

5. Nina McIntyre Joins Bluetrain Mobile as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

I am delighted to welcome Nina McIntyre to Bluetrain Mobile. Nina will join us as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, and will also serve on the board of directors at Bluetrain Mobile. Nina and I met a few years ago when she was CMO at ATG, and a key member of the executive team. Nina helped define ATG’s “Commerce Anywhere” strategy across desktop, mobile, social, and in-store e-commerce channels, culminating in the acquisition of ATG by Oracle. She is an exceptional software marketing executive with a track record of growing successful software businesses, with a career that began in product management, and a solid business foundation beginning with an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

6. Free Trial

This morning, we also launched a 30-day Free Trial of our platform, enabling anyone to sign up to experience why over 45 customers maintain over 55 sites on our platform. Now you can create a compelling website that deepens engagement, generates leads and revenue for your business, and enables you to compete in an increasingly multi-screen world.

It’s shaping up to be an exciting year on the Bluetrain. Stay tuned and reserve your seat!

I know we’re in the business of helping marketers build brilliant mobile websites, but you can’t surf the mobile web without the right hardware! Our theme for this week’s mobile roundup is indisputably The Smartphone, from its glorious history to what’s happening in the world of handsets today.

Monday, April 8

How Small Businesses Can Optimize Social Content for Mobile Customers by Lisa Wirthman for Forbes

Quotable
“…sites that aren’t optimized for mobile can quickly lose customers. Some 61% of mobile users said they’d move to another site if they didn’t find what they were looking for right away. Worse, just one bad mobile experience can damage your brand. Half of mobile users said if a site didn’t work well on their smartphones, they felt the company didn’t care about their business.”

This article from Forbes offers some basic (but still useful!) advice to marketers who are building a mobile marketing strategy anchored with a mobile site. Recommendations include prioritizing mobile-optimized calls to action, keeping the site lightweight to achieve faster load times, and keeping forms brief to cut down on clumsy smartphone keyboards.

Tuesday, April 9

1.4 Billion HTML5-Capable Mobile Devices in 2013, But Developer Uptake Requires Strong OS, Chipset Integration, Says ABI Research from BusinessWire

Quotable
“Mobile devices with HTML5-compatible browsers will total 1.4 billion at end-2013, following an annual increase of 87%, according to new forecasts from ABI Research.”

As HTML5 becomes more ubiquitous, this forecast from ABI research predicts that the technology will eventually become even more tightly integrated with smartphone hardware in the year to come. Researchers point to the growth of open-source platforms, like Firefox OS, Sailfish, and Ubuntu, as the first in a wave of HTML5 browsers baked right into the underlying OS (with Android and Chrome not far behind).

Wednesday, April 10

Infographic: Tracking The Evolution of the Mobile Phone by Michael for Mobile Marketing Watch

Quotable
“Four decades ago, a man named Martin Cooper – a vice president at Motorola – ‘stepped onto a New York City sidewalk and made the first known cellphone call in history.’”

Who doesn’t love a great origin story? (In infographic form, no less!) Last week was the 40th birthday of your favorite technological innovation, so Column Five and Mashable joined forces to bring you the story of the cellphone – from Gordon Gekko’s ’83 Dynatac (estimated battery life: 30 min) to today’s newest touch-enabled devices, this infographic tells the whole story. (Looking for an even more in-depth look at the history of mobile? Check out the Timeline on our Facebook Page!).

Thursday, April 11

BackBerry Tops iPhone and Android…In a “Don’t Want” Poll by John Paczkowski for AllThingsD

Quotable
“Of the consumers Raymond Jame surveyed, 20 percent said they would never buy an iPhone, 31 percent said they’d never buy an Android phone, and 71 percent said they’d never purchase a BlackBerry.”

In a twist on your typical consumer survey, research house Raymond James asked participants which phone they would never purchase and… you guessed it, BlackBerry lost. Other questions on this survey included what features a particular manufacturer would need to include to make participants more likely to reach for their wallets, but 71.4% of users said that absolutely nothing would get them to buy a BlackBerry. Ouch.

Friday, April 12

R/GA exec: Web is last untapped portion of mobile by Lauren Johnson for Mobile Marketer

Quotable
“‘There are a lot of great applications out there, and a lot of great mobile ads as well, but I think there is this one space in mobile that is a little untapped, and I think things are happening in the mobile browser are pretty exciting to me,’ said Richard Ting, executive vice president and global executive creative director of mobile and social platforms at R/GA, New York.”

Rounding out our discussion on smartphones and HTML5, the bigwigs at R/GA say that consumers should expect a lot more from brands on the mobile web. Ting maintains that the conversation of native app vs. mobile website should still take place, but he predicts that soon HTML5 capabilities will make mobile websites just as attractive as native apps (if it’s animations you want, they’re already available). Finally, he urges marketers to push the limitations of what is possible in mobile browsers to speed innovation.

That’s it for this week! I hope you all have a great weekend, and we’ll see you back here next Friday – same time, same place.