Category Archives: mobile phone broadcasting

Four Pillars that underpin buyers requirements for eLearning

Posted on November 29, 2012 | 2 comments

Get qualified in days not years

article by Diane Shawe M.Ed

Whilst I am in the industry and excited by the latest trends in e-learning  through blended Learning Management Systems (LMS)  learning being hugely of interest at present, I believe that the four  pillars that go to underpin the buyers requirements and therefore still define the industry offerings are centered around the following:

• Compliance and accreditation
• Scalable and flexible whilst achieving a real reduction in Cost
• Improving , track and measuring Learners performance
• Real time management, alignment and communication to support ongoing changes.

The ability to track and report learner performance remains upper most in many procurers mind.

It will become increasingly important to have specified learning strategy which can deliver effectively against all of these requirements, and getting the “e-learning mix” of technologies obviously including content, collaboration and communication environments (social learning) and control mechanisms will be the key to further industry growth.

Under-pining these trends we are seeing growing interest in how e-learning can address softer skills and this is why we have concentrated our LMS content to this area of learning.

Some vendors are following the vertical market and configuring the offer to meet specific needs, others are differentiating by adding social media and social learning functionalists, and others such as us are aligning the LMS to the latest technologies being colonised by the e-learning industry – mobile/smart devices and video driven content. The trend from the USA is strongly toward talent management and we are often lagging behind.

The smart vendors in my view are aligning and integrating with other solutions: HR, ERP, CRM etc…. Content or Content, which to choose…..?

These developments can only be positive for the industry, as the demand for quality and quantative content will grow and grow.

My one but final view is that we will progress from blending to mixing the content provision as this will be the key challenge to the e-learning industry. The importance of content won’t go away, its just changing faster becoming more “Re-purposable” , “Flexible”, “Interoperable”, and “Accessible” learning content!

Now get this, I am so loving the fact that on its way to us is 3 Dimensional technologies, simulation, holographic all of which will increase the demand for new genres of learning content into a learning reality!

http://www.expresstrainingcourses.co.uk

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E-learning growth ‘set to rise to £19 billion by 2015

Posted on November 19, 2012 | 8 comments

Get qualified whilst on the move with AVPT

article by Diane Shawe M.Ed.

Academy of Vocational and Professional Training (AVPT) finds that the market for e-learning just keeps growing and growing, according to various research and sales figure surveys

A survey by Ambient Insight Research has showed that the worldwide market for e-learning products was $32.1 billion (£20.5 billion) in 2010 and is expected to rise to $49.9 billion by 2015.

Products and methods of online learning that were deemed the most successful in sales rates included “how to” videos, step-by-step interactive guides and course notes which have multi-media inserts and annotations which directed learners to other resources.

Writer for Gadget magazine, Andre Joubert of MWEB Business said that he thinks the availability of media-rich, interactive e-learning content on the internet – and the advent of uncapped, business-strength broadband connectivity is changing the face of e-learning. He based his analysis on South Africa, but his principles apply worldwide as global sales figures show.

We noted from our research that Mr Joubert said: “E-learning has long been recognised as offering considerable advantages over conventional classroom-based training when it comes to training employees and management quickly, efficiently and conveniently.

So what about the Virtual Classroom?

We see 2012/13 as being the breakthrough year for virtual classrooms, as organisations move on from webinars (which are increasingly commonplace) to more interactive environments offered by virtual classrooms.

I am certainly excited by our  online courses which are recognised and accredited in over 200 subject matters.  As  result of this growing trend AVPT has launched the first globally accredited Virtual Tutor Facilitator course. To train

A New Career Opportunity as a VTF

professionals in becoming a qualified online Tutor who want flexibility and positive earning potential to assist individuals gain a professional recognised certificate  using a mobile learning Management solutions through facilitating their online learning.

Training through online learning is now widely available on the internet and can be beneficial to anything from flower arranging, PowerPoint presentations through to health and safety.

Soft skills is now becoming the new hard skills and offering mobile training and  advice  through e-learning are valuable to many people and a range of businesses globally.

Tim Dingle AVPT Chief Development Officer cited many benefits of the virtual classroom, such as convenience, relevance, immediacy, affordability and ease of use. He added that beginning the learning experience can be as easy as starting up an internet browser.

According to research by Key Note from last year, instructor-led training represents the largest sector of the market, although e-learning teaching – which includes blended learning – showed the highest growth over the review period between 2005 and 2009.

Mobile Learning forging forward.

A 2009 research report summarised that they thought mobile learning could be a “maybe just maybe”, In 2010  a definite trend was being recorded and in 2011 they saw mobile learning as a major driver for the growth of the e-learning market.

The driver is not one of simple learning enhancement and support but driven by a requirement for portability and availability made possible by smart phones and tablet devices, the learning “additionality”. The PC might still remain key to many learners for some years to come but I believe that the call for mobility, flexibility and the trends to workforce mobility will win the day.

We are particularly taken with the concept of second screen learning, in that learners will use mobile devices i-pads, smart phones etc… in conjunction with other forms media such as skype, bluetooth and appliances imbedded in a variety of devices such as the TV, car or even on your fridge.

I do not see mobile learning as a straight replacement to existing genres, and accordingly iIdo not advise organisations to rush headlong into mobile learning solutions because they can be an expensive option if not properly planned out.

Mobile learning in appropriate additional ways  can be used to enhance the learning mix. One principle game changer is our ability to upload current or new courses into our LMS, cutting down on project development planning time and costs and enabling a blended Learning proposition to commence not only laterally but securely, scalable and in real time.

For instance the unemployed, people of disability, prison population, senior citizens and excluded children from the educational system could all benefit in real time whilst keeping the overall unit costs down by scaling and up-skilling with an emphasis on inclusion and virtual support.

Content can now increasingly be authored or in many cases converted to become fit for all purpose all range device delivery and in real time.

HTML5 coupled with Cloud based services will further embed e-learning into the all- pervasive always on internet. Indeed the terminology of mobile learning/ e-learning will lose differentiation, as will the nature of the device that the learning is undertaken upon.

Technology coupled with the growing importance of social media learning will lead to greater learner acceptance. I for one have seen a pattern stemming from the services we are offering to date and look forward to 2013 as we believe it is going to be a bumper year for mobile learning.

Visit us on http://www.expresstrainingcourses.com or call us if you would like more information on 0203 551 2621.

Join us now with over 200 courses

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10 Ways that Education will change in the next 10 years

Posted on July 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

Get qualified in days not years

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By Tim T Dingle BSc (Hons) PGCE MBA  CDO  Academy of Vocational and Professional Training Ltd

One of my true heroes is Peter Drucker and I love his quotation:

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

Having been in education, training and leaning for the last 28 years (and now as Chief Development Officer for The Academy Of Vocational and Professional Training ) I am involved in creating that future. I came across this morning   poll from Edutopia that asked:  What will online learning look like in 20 years?  And the results were:

Universal. Some type of virtual learning will be mandatory in all schools, and virtual schooling, with no in-person teaching at all, will be widespread.

33% (171 votes)

Prevalent. Online learning will continue to grow, though not every school will have it. Online-only schooling will enjoy greater popularity.

51% (264 votes)

Atypical. The challenges of online courses will restrict their usage; classroom learning will remain the primary place for education.

13% (66 votes)

None of the above.

3% (16 votes)

When I voted, I considered lots of possibilities and my answer was that it would be prevalent and thus continuing to grow, and will be growing in popularity.  This seemed to be the most popular answer.  As I considered this more, I asked myself what education would look like in 20 years.  I started teaching in 1981 and by 1985 we had word processors (the joy of early green screen Amstrads) and presentations were still done with colourful posters that were painstakingly made.  Teachers and students remember ‘Bandas’ (the smell, oh the smell) and Roneo ‘mass production’ via stencils. I used state of the art learning aides: video’s  (Betamax) of David Attenborough’s  Life on Earth were the highlight of the 80’s Biology teaching. I can’t remember when I got my first email address, but I can remember my first home computer in 1991!

So when I ask myself what education will be like in the next 20 years, I imagine it to be a little more advanced with some more bells and whistles with some early adopter teachers that embrace it, some that go with the flow and try to keep up, and some that are “old school”.  I do know a few things:  education is slow to change….slow is fast in education…and innovation & technology are useless unless the teachers are supported and encouraged to try it and use it.

This year proved to be one of great debate surrounding the future and necessity of the Learning Management System. Much of it boils down to whether employee learning should be controlled and tracked, particularly when much of workplace learning occurs through informal channels. Learning Management Systems can enable collaboration, knowledge sharing, and social networking.

So here goes: my top ten predictions for change in the next 10 years:

NO MORE OLD DESKS, BENCHES AND CHAIRS

  1. The 21st century does not fit neatly into rows because we all need to be facing the same way!  I do a lot of stand up comedy and being on the stage is frightening for many. Allow the network-based concepts of flow, collaboration, and dynamism help rearrange education for authentic 21st century learning.

NO MORE LANGUAGE LABS

  1. It is true that foreign language acquisition is only a smartphone away or Google translate away on your iPad. See www.expresstrainingcourses.com . Time to get rid of those clunky headphones,desktops and monitors and do something fun and funky with that room. Make it a space for interaction and global connection.

 NO MORE COMPUTERS

  1. Hmm…how does this work? More precisely this one should read, let’s change our view and concept of what a computer is and does. Because computing is going mobile and over the next decade we’re going to see the full fury of individualised computing via hand helds come to the fore. See Diane Shawe’s blog’s on this! Due to improved infrastructure, slick mobile operating systems and smartphone market penetration, we seemed to hit a tipping point of readiness for mobile content this year. From mini-courses to collaboration to performance support, mobile learning could go mainstream in the near future. In terms of converting legacy courses, it will mean streamlining everything—paring down over-sized multimedia elements as well as implementing a ‘less is more’ philosophy. In terms of new development, designers will have to manage the limitations of a smaller screen and decreased memory capacity. When mobile learning hits critical mass, people of all ages and occupations will reap the benefits.

 NO MORE HOMEWORK

  1. There is no doubt that the 21st century is a 24/7 environment. And the next decade is going to see the traditional temporal boundaries between home and school vanish. Mobile Learning, anytime, anywhere, anyplace…The new Martini generation!

TRUE DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING

The 21st century is absolutely customisable. In ten years, the teacher who hasn’t yet figured out how to use tech to personalise learning will be the teacher out of a job. Differentiation won’t make you ‘distinguished’; it’ll just be a natural part of your work. Most learning will be done via tablets and phones and will happen everywhere.

 LETTING GO OF THE FEAR OF WIKIPEDIA

  1. So many people have a fear of Wiki but in many ways Wikipedia is the greatest democratising force in the world right now. I know it can be wrong. It also challenges the Teacher as the expert.  If you are afraid of letting your students peruse it, it’s time you get over yourself.

NO MORE TEXT BOOKS

  1. Books were nice. In ten years’ time, all reading will be via digital means. Maybe you like the ‘feel’ of paper. Well, in ten years’ time you’ll hardly tell the difference as ‘paper’ itself becomes digitized and a generation od Children will have better posture for not lugging around a ton of text books.

    THE JOURNEY TO AUGMENTED REALITY

Gary Woodill, Ed.D., a Senior Research Analyst at Brandon Hall Research and author of The Mobile Learning Edge, was kind enough to contribute his perspective on the trends affecting Augmented Reality related to mobile learning.

According to Dr. Woodlill, “Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the most disruptive applications for mobile learners. It is an example of location-based services, where information is provided to you based on your location, and even the direction that your phone camera is facing. With that information, your smartphone can supply additional textual information about what you are looking at, or can blend computer generated objects with the video or still image on your screen.

THE END OF  I.T. DEPARTMENTS

  1. I.T. Departments as we currently know them will disappear… Cloud computing and a decade’s worth of increased wifi and satellite access will make some of the traditional roles of IT — software, security, and connectivity — a thing of the past. So the question is what will all those IT professionals do? Simple:  Innovate. Look to I.T. departments to instigate real change in the function of schools over the next twenty years. Dream, design and deliver!

 NEW BLENDED LEARNING  

Blended or hybrid learning came about because one eLearning course is often not the solution to an organisation’s or an individual’s learning needs. Until recently, blended referred to a learning experience that included both instructor-led and online self-paced components. But that was a long time ago in Internet Time.

Now that live synchronous instruction frequently occurs online and that opportunities for individualized learning abound, the definition of blended learning is expanding to include any number of strategies, from learning through a community of practice to mobile performance support. For example, someone might attend a workplace webinar on how people learn, then participate in a video-based Google+ hangout with a cognitive psychologist, and join a LinkedIn community of instructional designers to discuss the application of these ideas.

So  (in my humble opinion) it will be a very different in School in 10 years time and hugely different for learners. We will become genuine Life Long Learners served by technology and we will see fundamental changes for employers, employees and systems. Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has the goal to provide socio-technical innovations (also improving efficiency and cost effectiveness) for e-learning practices, regarding individuals and organisations, independent of time, place and pace.

Can’t wait.

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Why smartphones & ipads are playing a major part in online learning

Posted on January 20, 2012 | Leave a comment
The World of education has changed, and this has impacted on personal trainers, teachers and life coaches on how they source and deliver training.
Institutions of higher learning increasingly embrace online education, with 65.5 percent of chief academic officers now calling online education ?critical? to their institution?s long-term strategy, an opinion that?s risen more than 15% over eight years.
67% believe academic outcomes from online classes are equivalent to those in face-to-face learning, but still, one-third of academic leaders think online classes are inferior. We do not agree with this but we do understand that resistance to change can often impede new growth.
Express Online Training Courses
A series of half day conferences will introduce you to the changing face of virtual education and how you can prepare and adapt yourself and business.
If  you interested in finding out what a virtual teacher, trainer or life coaches teaching style would be? The impact on online education and the changes? Then this event could be for you.
At this half day event you will understand more about the following:
  • Enhance your understanding of learning styles and trends for 2012
  • Reaction to Change, Early adopters and Diehards.
  • Learning Management Systems
  • Mobile legacy courses
  • Interactive content
  • Blogs and education
  • Digital publishing and learning
  • QR Codes and how it will benefit educators
  • Hosting Learning in the cloud
  • New Blended Learning in community, mobile, webinar and video
  • Augmented Reality related to mobile learning and diversity
  • Virtual Worlds multi learners simulations in 3D
  • Pocket Video Technology for informal learning
  • Social Media integrating across all devices to improve online collaboration
  • What is a Virtual Tutor/Trainer
  • Defining the growth of online Soft Skills Training
  • Benefits and Advantages for Virtual online Tutor/Trainers
  • Diminished environmental Constraints
  • The New Online E-Learning Process
  • The Opportunity
If you are interested in attending one of the several dates, just click here and register today.

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The rise of the Andriod Smartphones

Posted on May 29, 2011 | 1 comment
Smartphone are here to stay!  Whilst most people will bow down to the supreme way iPhone has dominated the market, lets take a look at the top 10 android smartphones.

After doing a little research on what’s happening in the market, i-send came across some info set up by  Street.com.

Street.com claims that Apple’s iPhone had a good run atop the smartphone league, but 10 Google Androids aim to bury the tuckered-out leader this year.

Motorola Mobility, Samsung, HTC and LG have promised to deliver supercharged, ultra-thin, 4G Android devices in the coming weeks and months.  (It’s interesting that they don’t mention any Nokia phones but let’s watch this space)

But not always. Before the mobile phone industry got all busy with design makeovers and tummy tucks, there were — and still are — some delightfully hideous phones that represented the other side of the beauty trend. The Street has gone back through the past decade to dig up some of the best examples of designs that make you wince and stare in disbelief. The clueless stylings, the flights of fancy into odd shapes, the obsession with square versus rounded — it is a wonderfully colorful history.

The giant Android attack features bigger screens, better cameras, faster processors and speedier 4G connections than the upcoming iPhone.

The Android’s phone screens, for example, start at 4 inches and go to 4.5 inches, advancing the size standard for this generation of touchscreens. By comparison, Apple’s next iPhone is expected to have a 3.5-inch screen.

The new Androids are 4G phones either on AT&T HSDPA-Plus network or Verizon’s LTE network, and four of the 10 will come with dual core processors.

Apple, on the other hand, is expected to upgrade to a dual-core processor this year, but the 4G LTE iPhone has been delayed to 2012, as first reported.

The presumed delay of the next iPhone from June to September, and the decision to wait a year on 4G LTE upgrade highlight just a few of the areas where Apple has been lagging behind the leaders in the Android pack.

“The processor and display quality improvement in the Android camp is proceeding at such a clip that Apple will be under a lot of pressure to deliver a substantial jump in iPhone specs next autumn,” MKM Partners’ analyst Tero Kuittinen.

“It’s not clear how Apple can battle the rapid Android evolution,” says Kuittinen, “unless it picks up the pace of its iPhone launches.”

Here’s a look at the top 10 Androids that could dwarf the iPhone:

More from
TheStreet.com : The Ugliest Phones of the Mobile Era 17 Products That Were Invented by Accident

10 Cities Unaffected by a Bad Economy
Nokia 3620
Samsung Nexus S

Samsung Nexus S, Sprint

This is Google’s second run at making its own phone, only this time Samsung is manufacturing the device and Sprint is selling it. Two years ago, the Nexus One was made by HTC and sold online by Google. It was an experiment in retailing that was far less revolutionary than Google hoped.

The Nexus S runs on Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and works on Sprint’s WiMax 4G service. Because it is a phone built to Google’s specifications, it includes some of Google’s favorite projects including NFC or near field communications that may one day allow phones to make purchases with a swipe at a sales counter.

The Nexus phones are big among Android fans who see them as more purely Android than other versions in the market. The Gingerbread system has been a little hard to find and the Nexus S will continue to be among the most advanced Androids until Ice Cream Sandwich arrives as early as year-end.

Samsung Cleo
LG Optimus

LG Optimus

The LG Optimus is one of the sleeker members of the new Android class. Even though it has a 4-inch screen, the phone is nearly a third of an inch thick, and at 3.8 ounces, it is a full ounce lighter than the iPhone.

The LG Optimus runs on Android 2.2 or Froyo and is powered by a 1-gigahertz OMAP processor from Texas Instruments, one of the key wins for TI in the most recent round of Androids.

The LG Optimus is expected to debut in Europe this month and arrive in the U.S. later this year. AT&T and possibly T-Mobile will likely get the phone since it is configured for the HSDPA network.

Research In Motion BlackBerry 8700
Samsung Droid Charge

Samsung Droid Charge, Verizon

After a little delay, No. 2 phone maker Samsung finally gets into Verizon’s Droid franchise and continues the robotic theme for another year.

The Droid Charge runs on Android 2.2, has a 4.3-inch LED screen and is powered by a 1-gigahertz Samsung Cortex A8 processor. According to analysts, Samsung has built the phone to consume about half as much battery power than its 4G LTE predecessor the HTC Thunderbolt.

Another area where it exceeds the Thunderbolt is on price. Verizon has a $300 price tag on the phone with a two-year contract.

Nokia 3620
Samsung Function, Verizon

Samsung Function, Verizon

Samsung is pushing hard to get on the 4G LTE bandwagon where Verizon has a speedy lead over the rest of the telco field. The Function is a member of the Samsung Galaxy family and a follow up to the 3G Fascinate, which debuted last year at Verizon.

The Function is a truly muscular phone. It runs on Android Gingerbread, it is powered by a dual-core 1.2-gigahertz processor, with 1-gigabyte of memory and another 32-gigabytes of built-in storage. And the 8-megapixel camera shoots 1080p HD video.

The Function is due later this year, and depending on the timing, may be one of the more formidable opponents to the iPhone next iPhone.

Sony Ericsson t61z
Motorola Mobility Targa, Verizon

Motorola Mobility Targa, Verizon

Speaking of formidable, Motorola Mobility apparently wasn’t happy with how the Bionic was coming together and reworked the phone under the code name Targa. Bionic was expected to be the blockbuster 4G LTE phone for Verizon from Motorola, and aimed not just at the iPhone but at the Android superphones from Samsung and HTC.

There’s not much information about what powers the Targa, but the specs are likely to be similar to the Bionic. That list would include a dual-core processor, and an 8-megapixel camera.

Verizon and Motorola were expected to have the Bionic available by the end of June, but a revamped Targa will likely be a pre-holiday fall arrival. This would also pit it squarely against the next iPhone.

Motorola Nextel i500
HTC Sensation, AT&T

HTC Sensation

When and if it arrives at T-Mobile, the HTC Sensation promises to be a big step up from the HTC Thunderbolt. And that’s no small feat. The Sensation is expected to have one of the first dual-core 1.2-gigahertz Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, which holds big promise for Qualcomm.

The Sensation has a 4.3-inch display, a 8-megapixel camera and it runs on Android’s Gingerbread operating system. The phone has an aluminum unibody structure, a trend Apple started with its laptops.

The Sensation runs on the HSDPA network that AT&T and T-Mobile call 4G. The phone is expected to arrive as early as next month.

Motorola Flipout
LG Revolution, Verizon

LG Revolution, Verizon

LG’s focus on feature phones made it a weak player in the smartphone game, but the Korean electronics giant now wants to make up for lost ground in the super-phone category.

The LG Revolution is the heaviest of the five Androids, weighing 6 ounces. But it carries the weight well in a sleek half-inch-thick form with a large 4.3-inch display screen.

The phone runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 1-gigahertz processor and has a whopping 16 gigabytes of storage. It has two cameras, one front-facing for video chats and the rear a less-than-robust 5-megapixel shooter.

The Revolution is a 4G LTE phone that was expected to start selling at Verizon in the first quarter.

LG VX9800
Samsung Infuse, AT&T

Samsung Infuse, AT&T

Samsung seems to be trying extra hard to be the iPhone replacement for AT&T. By appearances, the Samsung Infuse looks very much like a large version of the iPhone 4, at least from the front.

Samsung had reasonable success with Android phones in its Galaxy series; with the Infuse, it hopes to take that one more step higher. The phone has a massive 4.5-inch super-AMOLED-plus screen that is designed to provide better resolution and easier daylight viewing.

The Infuse runs on a speedy 1.2-gigahertz Hummingbird single-core processor. Its front-facing camera is a wimpy 1.3-megapixels, but the rear camera captures 8-megapixels. The Infuse runs on the HSDPA-Plus wireless technology, which AT&T started calling 4G.

The Infuse, sort of like the 5-inch Dell Streak, attempts to push the limits of super-phone sizes in an effort to skirt the fringes of the larger tablet market.

AT&T starts selling the Infuse this spring.

HTC Apache
HTC Thunderbolt, Verizon

HTC Thunderbolt, Verizon

We got our hands on the HTC Thunderbolt when it arrived in March. Its speed is astonishing, but its battery life is terrible.

The Thunderbolt has the best name of the new crop of 4G devices that Verizon has introduced so far. The Thunderbolt looks very much like HTC’s popular EVO at Sprint, with the same convex back and kickstand.

The Thunderbolt runs on Qualcomm’s 1-gigahertz Snapdragon processor, has a 4.3-inch screen and a front-facing camera as well as an 8-megapixel rear camera. All those specs, by the way, are identical to its 4G WiMax brother, the EVO at Sprint.

The difference with the Thunderbolt is that it runs on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. The Thunderbolt arrived in March quarter and was hailed as the first Verizon 4G LTE phone.

LG VX9800
Motorola Atrix, AT&T

Motorola Atrix, AT&T

If there was one phone that caught the most attention at CES, it was the Motorola Atrix, which AT&T had been promoting like crazy.

This Atrix uses a dual-core Nvidia processor like its sister phone the Bionic, and has similar specs. But it also features 1-gigabyte of RAM, the same deployed by small laptops. And curiously, that’s how Motorola is pitching this device — as a pocket computer.

During the Motorola demonstration, the Atrix was docked in an empty laptop shell, which, powered by a keyboard and big screen, made the Atrix the core of a notebook computer. The Atrix is designed to serve as both your super-phone and through a docking system, your PC.

With processing power and memory comparable to a netbook, the Atrix may help push Motorola devices further into the workplace, bumping up against Research In Motion and Hewlett-Packard’s Palm business.

Well they all look very good, but I am a Nokia fan and I am looking forward to purchasing my N7.  It works so well for business users.
In the mean time, as we see the rise of the smart phone, every business needs to look at how they can cost effectively advertise within proximity.  Click here to learn more.
Research In Motion BlackBerry 8700
Samsung Droid Char

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British Leisure Show launch apps to connect exhibitors & visitors

Posted on March 5, 2011 | 1 comment

Welcome to the British Leisure Show who have launched there first apps to help promote their event and will be using Bluetooth location based broadcasting throughout the event to drive visitors to exhibitors stands.

By Diane Shawe

Click on the image below to Download the British Leisure Show Apps and find out more about the event.

This exciting, three day family friendly festival, provides entertainment and interaction for visitors of all ages. It’s packed with an exciting variety of things to SEE, TRY AND BUY, with the latest product models and accessories, competitions and demonstrations to watch and activities to try.

i-send will be holding a meeting designed to help business learn about apps and how it could help improve mobile marketing.

On of many events will be held throughout the year with the first one on the 10th March 2011 in London. Click to register

For a growing number of UK shoppers, the difference between off-line and on-line shopping will be no line at all.

What does this mean for retailers, sole traders, enterprise business and the retail sector?

Come join us at this free event when you will be able to listen, learn and ask.

With an inundation of new smart phone apps these hand held shopping tools are redefining the shopping experience and blurring the distinction between the in-store experience and the virtual world of information now available in the palm of your hand.

Advances in location-based technology, price-comparison apps, bar-code scanning apps and social-networking tools have turned the mobile device into a real-time third channel of commerce, empowering consumers while challenging retailers to rethink the way they do business.

The appetite for new apps seems voracious. A recent survey by comparison-shopping site PriceGrabber revealed that 36 percent of consumers plan to use their mobile phones for shopping-related activities this holiday season.

Around 4.2m of us in the UK are already using our mobiles to access the internet and browse retailer’s eCommerce sites.

This event will look at the pros of cons about introducing a apps into your business and all the pointers one should consider.  Specialist speaks will be available to give you golden nugget advise.

Introducing our Panellist Speakers

Andrew Lamont

Cllr Andrew Lamont ‘Access Champion for the Royal Borough of Kenisigton & Chelsea’

Topic:  Why Access & Apps go together

Partially sighted as a result of optic atrophy, Cllr Lamont is a seasoned campaigner on behalf of the blind and partially sighted. As a trustee of the charity BlindArt he has worked to remove barriers to the visual arts for all, inclusive of visually impaired people.

Andrew is currently the Access Consultant for i-send proximity and plays an important role in advising local authorities and Town Centre’s on managing the implimentation of Access.

Andrew is concerned about the new technolgy and feels that Apps and the new type of Smartphones should take into consideration access for over 2 million people throughout the UK

Diane Shawe

Diane Shawe Author of ‘How to Cyber kiss your business to Success’

Topic: Discovering the Pros & Cons for implementing Apps into your business

Project Director for i-send proximity, Diane has over 16 years experience in the Telecoms Fibre Optic and Microwave technology. Smartcard and internet audience measurement solutions.

Diane is often a guest speaker and training in business development and is currently working on several City and Town Centre Projects who want to build a PWAN Bluetooth Broadcasting Network.

The world of promoting your business has pivoted in a way that could leave a lot of  businesses behind if they don’t implement a structured apps program.

Jason Cobine

Jason Cobine Founder of  Beyond Networking runs a series of revolutionary, unique, branded workshop.

Topic: Apps & Profit and protecting infringed intellectual property rights.

Jason Cobine for the last 20 years have helped organisations around London with business insurance, indemnity insurance and reputation protection.

Jason has also helped businesses reduce the time and money spent finding new opportunities through business networking.

Jason is often a speaker and trainer at business related events and is going to shed some light on the protection of Intellectual property rights when using apps to promote your business.

Jason come’s highly recommended and will help you navigate yourself through this complex arena.

Abel Hussain Author Speaker

Abul Hussain Author of Grow your business with Internet Marketing

Topic:  Why SEO don’t work so for some businesses

A Managing Partner at the Middle Man Marketing Group,  Abul is an experienced marketing consultant, who consults with the marketing departments of many FTSE 100 companies.

His specialities include SEO, Pay Per Click Marketing, Social Media Marketing, amongst other marketing areas.

He often is a guest speaker at business association events and a guest author around the marketing blogosphere.

Abul will discuss the importance of implementing certain strategies to insure that localised and regionalised businesses can make better use of the SEO online strategy.

Jonathan Greensted

Jonathan Greensted Founder and CEO  of Sentient

Topic:Apps defining the shopping experience

Sentient has help many large organisations such as AstraZeneca, Virgin Holidays, Pfizer, Commerzbank, Microsoft, MCI and Centrica leverage IT to increase profits, optimise costs or increase their business agility.

Sentient’s innovation incubator has pioneered retail energy management (1995), web content management (1997), teleco billing (1999), social networking (2002), mobile software (2004), GPS tracking (2006) and Software + Services (2008).

He often is a guest speaker at business events.

Jonathan wil discuss the changing face of the retail business as the inundation of new smart phone apps enter the market.

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US Wireless Data Market Grows 23 Per Cent Year-on-year

Posted on March 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

All I can say is WAKE-UP SME’s and start smelling the COFFEE!

by Diane Shawe

I-send was sent a recent post from the the analyst, Chetan Sharma, who released its US Mobile Data Market Update for Q4 2010 and 2011.

The report reveals that the US wireless data market grew 5 per cent quarter-on-quarter, and 23 per cent year-on-year, to reach $14.8bn (£9.1bn) in mobile data service revenues in Q4 2010. The final tally for the 2010 year was $55bn, which the analyst expects to increase by 22 per cent to $67bn in 2011.

US mobile subscriptions officially crossed the 100 per cent penetration mark in Q4 2010. The connected device category (including tablets, M2M, telematics, eReaders, etc.), registered the highest growth at 55 per cent, while postpaid subscriptions grew by only 3 per cent for the calendar year. Connected devices now account for 7 per cent of the installed base.

Smartphone shipments overtake computers
The report notes that 2010 marked the milestone of the start of a new computing and communications era. For the first time in the US, smartphone shipments exceeded the traditional computer segments (desktops, notebooks and netbooks). In 2011, the smartphone segment, along with connected devices will not only exceed the computer segment in unit shipment but more importantly, in overall revenues as well.

While connected devices ARPU is low, Chetan Sharma believes this segment will prove to be the most profitable in the coming years, due to higher margins. By the end of 2011, connected devices will be commanding double digit market share.

However, not all sub-segments are going to be successful in the operator channel, until multi-device data pricing plans are introduced. Most of the tablets and eReaders can work well with only wi-fi most of the time. Monthly data plans make sense for enterprise users but not for consumers who might use these devices occasionally. As such, the report says, tablets will be more successful in direct and traditional retail channels. Operators who start to bundle multiple devices by single data plans and data buckets are going to see a better yield in this category. Similarly, OEMs who rely on operators for sell-through of tablets/eReaders will see low volumes compared to players who have more diverse distribution channels, such as Apple and HP.

As previously noted by Chetan Sharma, the iPad and other tablets are making Netbooks irrelevant. In fact, tablets are starting to eat into the laptop category as well. As expected, the device has been a hit with many enterprises with mobile workers. Many enterprises are giving out iPads to their workforce instead of laptops or Netbooks. The analyst expects iPad to dominate the space in 2011 as competitors will find it hard to compete across all dimensions – price, performance, ecosystem, distribution, and brand power.

Data traffic more than doubles
Mobile data consumption continued to grow across all networks, increasing by 2-5 times on major US networks. While average data consumption in the US at the end of 2010 was 350 MB/month, many of the superphones introduced in the second half of 2010 are clocking 1-1.5GB/month on average. Thus, while data revenues for the year increased by 23 per cent, mobile data traffic grew by 132 per cent.

The significant rise in smartphone sales and usage in the US market – over 50 per cent of devices sold in the US in 2010 were smartphones, almost twice the global average – means that by the end of 2011, in the US, the smartphones will consume more data than data cards for the first time. Chetan Sharma also expects the US to become the number 1 nation in mobile data consumption this year, edging out Sweden.

The report notes also that the center of gravity of the mobile market has shifted back to the US, which is also the most dominant market in terms of revenue generation for the industry. While the US represents less than 6 per cent of the subscription base, it accounts for over 21 per cent of data revenues, with Verizon Wireless becoming the number one mobile data operator in 2010, edging past the decade-long leader, NTT DoCoMo. AT&T also went past China Mobile to gain its current number three ranking. By the end of 2013, the US market will account for 25 per cent of global mobile data services revenues.

Wake-up call
Chetan Sharma calls the Nokia-Microsoft announcement “a wake-up call to many in the industry who were in denial”, and praises Nokia for decisiveness, and for moving quickly under pressure. But it concludes that the impact on Nokia remains uncertain, saying: “While there were risks with Android, going with Win7 is not an assured path to resurrection either. It all comes down to execution…Nokia has significant talent and it’s a proud company, but jumping into the shark-infested cold waters miles away from the shore will require all the stamina, good weather, and skill it can muster to make landfall before thanksgiving”.

Looking ahead, the report notes that Android and iOS are completely dominating the developer and ecosystem mindshare, and says the race to become a viable third option is on, with operators keen to see another competitive force emerge in the market. Chetan Sharma will be discussing how the  industry is going to evolve in the next decade at its mobile thought leadership summit – Mobile Future Forward, in September.

I-send proximity is launching a series of workshop/expert forums to discuss the implementation and road mapping of apps into any type of business, visit http://www.i-send.co events page for more information.

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Invitation to our forthcoming Apps Network Event

Posted on February 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Come along and join us at our informal networking meeting on Thursday 10th March 2011 in London to take a closer look at apps and how they could impact on your future business.

For a growing number of UK shoppers, the difference between off-line and on-line shopping will be no line at all.

What does this mean for retailers, sole traders, enterprise business and the retail sector?

Come join us at this free event when you will be able to listen, learn and ask.

With an inundation of new smart phone apps these hand held shopping tools are redefining the shopping experience and blurring the distinction between the in-store experience and the virtual world of information now available in the palm of your hand.

Advances in location-based technology, price-comparison apps, bar-code scanning apps and social-networking tools have turned the mobile device into a real-time third channel of commerce, empowering consumers while challenging retailers to rethink the way they do business.

The appetite for new apps seems voracious. A recent survey by comparison-shopping site PriceGrabber revealed that 36 percent of consumers plan to use their mobile phones for shopping-related activities this holiday season.

Around 4.2m of us in the UK are already using our mobiles to access the internet and browse retailer’s eCommerce sites.

This event will look at the pros of cons about introducing a apps into your business and all the pointers one should consider.  Specialist speaks will be available to give you golden nugget advise.

Introducing our Panellist Speakers

Andrew Lamont

Andrew Lamont ‘Access Champion for the Royal Borough of Kenisigton & Chelsea’

Topic:  Why Access & Apps go together

Partially sighted as a result of optic atrophy, Cllr Lamont is a seasoned campaigner on behalf of the blind and partially sighted. As a trustee of the charity BlindArt he has worked to remove barriers to the visual arts for all, inclusive of visually impaired people.

Andrew is currently the Access Consultant for i-send proximity and plays an important role in advising local authorities and Town Centre’s on managing the implimentation of Access.

Andrew is concerned about the new technolgy and feels that Apps and the new type of Smartphones should take into consideration access for over 2 million people throughout the UK

 

Diane Shawe

Diane Shawe Author of ‘How to Cyber kiss your business to Success’

Topic: Discovering the Pros & Cons for implementing Apps into your business

Project Director for i-send proximity, Diane has over 16 years experience in the Telecoms Fibre Optic and Microwave technology. Smartcard and internet audience measurement solutions.

Diane is often a guest speaker and training in business development and is currently working on several City and Town Centre Projects who want to build a PWAN Bluetooth Broadcasting Network.

The world of promoting your business has pivoted in a way that could leave a lot of  businesses behind if they don’t implement a structured apps program.

 

Abel Hussain Author Speaker

Abul Hussain Author of Grow your business with Internet Marketing

Topic:  Why SEO don’t work so for some businesses

A Managing Partner at the Middle Man Marketing Group,  Abul is an experienced marketing consultant, who consults with the marketing departments of many FTSE 100 companies.

His specialities include SEO, Pay Per Click Marketing, Social Media Marketing, amongst other marketing areas.

He often is a guest speaker at business association events and a guest author around the marketing blogosphere.

Abul will discuss the importance of implementing certain strategies to insure that localised and regionalised businesses can make better use of the SEO online strategy.

 



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Apps Entrepreneurs

Posted on February 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

The soaring popularity of smart phones has created a new type of entrepreneur – the “app developer”.

And now you can confess your sins via an apps.  There is no end.

The industry has grown up around the iPhone. More than 450,000 different iPhone applications have appeared since Apple opened its Apps Store on iTunes to outside developers in July 2008.

Although it is the dominant player, there are many more to choose from including those from BlackBerry, Microsoft, Google, Nokia, and Samsung.

Applications rarely cost more than a few pounds or the equivalent in other currencies to download. Many are free.

But already the app market is worth nearly two and a half billion dollars (£1.65bn) a year, according to data from AdMob, an advertising company.

Other smart phone brands are striving to erode Apple’s early lead by developing their own platforms for apps.

‘Apps Goldrush’

The popularity of apps has created a gold rush mentality among a new breed of independent software developers. Some have even become millionaires.

IT’S TIME TO GET YOUR OWN APPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

 

 

 

‘Powerful idea’

The success of Pocket God and other pioneering novelty apps has inspired large numbers of small scale entrepreneurs to have a go at developing software for smart phones.

I-send will build your apps to work across a variety of smartphone operating systems including Apple iPhone, Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile devices
PRICES STARTING FROM £99

Nobody knows how many app developers there are, but the figure could run into thousands.

However, with so much competition around it has got a lot harder to create a top seller.

“You definitely have to do a lot more work today – doing PR and talking to people,” explains Diane Shawe Project Director of I-send proximity.

The essential point about current apps is that they are mostly intended to entertain and they have not involved a lot of work to develop. But we are seeing a rise of businesses using them to drive consumers to specific areas of there website.

There’s enormous innovation and a constant stream of new creative applications are coming online.

So forget about current applications, what matters are the creative things you can do to help your business get into the apps market and not being left behind.

It’s a lot like the internet bust that happened a few years ago
Dave Castelnuovo

Mr Yoffie draws a parallel with the early days of personal computers.

“If you think about the old spread sheets before Lotus 123 and Excel, they weren’t terribly functional,” he says, referring to two landmark programs in desktop computing.

“But ultimately we figured out how to take the basic ideas that were developed in the very early days and make them better, more effective and very powerful,” he adds.

‘Crazy ideas’

Apps for smart phones will go through a variety of  evolution.

In the longer term, Diane thinks smart phones will have the capability to act like portable subtitling machines, translating foreign languages for those visiting foreign countries, payment cards and heart monitors.

Blackberry

Other firms are now offering apps for mobile phones

But not everyone believes the centre of gravity in computing will shift to smart phones, I believe that the smartpad will also play a pivotal part in the restructuring of advertising and how it is viewed by consumers.

On the one hand it is growing fast and there is the potential for really powerful apps that could change of the nature of computing.

The real apps war begins as we see microsoft and nokia join forces to level out the playing field against the iphone and ipad.

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The rise of the Apps. Now use second only to mobile messaging

Posted on February 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

 

Download i-send apps

 

Mobile apps attract almost as much mobile device use as messaging, and exceed the totals for voice calls and web browsing, according to a January 2011 survey by Zokem Research.

According to the study, commissioned by Wireless Intelligence, the research arm of the GSMA, mobile apps are responsible for 667 minutes of use per user each month, almost as much as messaging (671 minutes), and far more than voice (531 minutes) and web browsing (422 minutes).

The research revealed some interesting distinctions between apps pre-installed before shipment and apps downloaded by the users. User-added apps dominated in categories including entertainment (including gaming) and social networking. For ’commodity’ functionality such as browsing, messaging and voice, people are more likely to use the pre-installed software.

Add-on apps made up to 20 percent of total face time, but accounted for 30 percent of data traffic. Social networking represented 32 percent of total traffic with multimedia being the biggest chunk of mobile data usage at 57 percent.

Almost 10 percent of all smartphone “face time” is through the use of social networking apps. In terms of actual usage, only two third-party apps have greater than 30 percent penetration: Facebook and YouTube.

The research also noted differences between the major smartphone platforms. iPhone and Android device owners use an average of 15 different apps per month, whereas the number is eight for BlackBerry and Symbian OS. iTunes and Android Market Place have a monthly reach of 95  percent of their user bases, whereas Blackberry App World reaches 50 percent of Blackberry users, and Nokia Ovi store only 26 percent of Symbian users.

During January 2011, the average user added 2.5 apps, and nearly half of all users had more at the end of the month than in the beginning. One-in-five users had less at the end of the period, however.

iPhones generated  more than 200 percent more traffic per month on average than Android devices. Wi-Fi usage was about 11 percent of total traffic to/from devices.

Overall smartphone usage dropped at weekends but generically averaged more than 70 minutes per day with apps capturing more face time than any other activity at weekends.

The findings showed that SMS usage was higher in the mornings than voice and usage of social networking apps built up through the day and peaked at 9-10pm.

Source:  Apps use second only to mobile messaging – GSMA Mobile Business Briefing.

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