Skyfire is a mobile browser that brings social media features to its users. Have you ever wanted to share information you have found while browsing on your mobile phone? Skyfire allows you to accomplish this and more.
Some of the features Skyfire offers are video capability which includes flash, popular content, which displays the most popular content of your friend and Facebook. Another great functionality is the Fireplace Feed Reader, which just provides links from your Facebook feed. This includes the ability of the browser to link your facebook profile with it. With one touch you can access your Facebook profile, places, status updates among other features, making it easier to handle your Facebook account without having to open a new application on your mobile device to make an update or add a link.
When it comes to making a search in this mobile browser, you have the ability to choose specific places you would like your search to be made on, such as on Google, Facebook, Twitter and many other sites. This search feature combined with the option of changing the user agent gives the user the ability of viewing the mobile version of the site or the actual desktop version.
Currently, the newest version of skyfire is only available for android devices running Android 2.0 or higher, and it can be found on the Android marketplace. We hope to see this new feature available for other mobile devices soon. This browser shows how important mobile search use has become, since it’s easily available for people to use and it makes social media and SEO strategies for your company very important.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer believes his company’s plan to release a revamped operating system (OS) for smartphones, Windows Phone 7, will propel them into the race for smartphone OS market share and the advertising treasure the leader will enjoy. Apple and Google have seen their OS and the devices running on them rapidly erode long time cell phone leader Nokia’s dominate position. Nokia has finally taken their blinders off and has recently released a new version, Sybian 3, of their OS. One would have to go all the way back to 2006 to find Nokia’s last smartphone success, the N95, since that time, Apple’s iPhone, released in 2007, has been gaining ground as has Google’s Android released in 2008.
In my previous blog on this topic, Mobile Search and Mobile Advertising, I provided charts outlining the leader board for the smartphone OS and mobile advertising spending with projections. I noted the absence of Mircrosoft and that they would act quickly to get into the race. Microsoft has taken a two prong approach to gaining on the leaders. The first is with their innovating new OS, the second is with their legal muscle as exhibited by their patent lawsuit against Motorola. The stakes are extremely high for all the players in this space, as is the reward. Will a rash of legal maneuvering and the negative press of a patent lawsuit against an open source backed OS be effective in product promotion for Microsoft? I’m not sure the legal approach is going to help Microsoft’s image or convince the public to purchase a device, nor is it going to assimilate developers and we all know that the applications which run on top of the OS are the steroid for these entrants in the race.
In the graph below take a quick look at how the OS race has been playing out during the first three quarters of this year; it clearly shows a steady player, one that rewards developers via low cost of entry due to being open source and few restrictions, Android and Google.
I like the fact that “Do no evil” is the corporate motto and have trusted the search engine giant for years. They continue to innovate and refine their services, an important attribute an application developer considers when picking a development platform, since they rely on a steady stream of income from their applications. Google’s AdWords is the dominate search engine marketing vehicle, and I believe they will continue to refine it to allow all size businesses equal access to the mobile advertising market. Keep your eye out for more articles on this dynamic, fast growth industry news. We will.
There’s been a lot of hype recently with regard to making sure your website has a mobile friendly version available for Blackberry, iPhone, Android etc. users. How important is it really? Think about it this way. The vast majority of your site visitors have a mobile device, right? Well, the number of those mobile devices with internet capabilities is growing quickly and will continue to climb. You ought to ensure that you have a mobile site that represents your business well and can be easily accessed and viewed from any mobile phone.
That being said, have you ever looked at your website on a Blackberry or iPhone? If not, I encourage you to do so. Once you finally get it to load, how does it look? If you do not have a mobile version of your website, my guess is not so good. Oh wait, scroll to the left, now to the right, then all the way down. Get my drift? The purpose of having a mobile site is to present a simplified (yet still aesthetically pleasing) version of your website on a handheld device. The site should be no more than 4 to 5 pages of branded/informational content and should include components that a mobile phone visitor would want or need. So what would they want or need? Mobile searchers tend to be impatient; they want to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Some examples include:
Directions – This is absolutely critical if you are a brick and mortar business. Think about how many people will use their phone to find directions if they are lost!
Contact Us – No matter what type of business you are, you want your visitors to easily be able to reach you.
Request More Information – This could be a brochure, or simply a request to have someone call or email them back.
Newsletter Sign Up — An excellent lead generator!
Services — What exactly do you offer?
Social Media — If you are participating in Facebook, Twitter, etc. you can include links and logos on your mobile site.
Also, don’t forget to include a link to your home page for those who wish to view the site in its entirety.
At the end of the day, for a relatively low cost, you can create a mobile friendly version of your site. It doesn’t require any of the functionality of your main website and can become an excellent branding tool. Why wouldn’t you have one?
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