Gadget Talks

Posts Tagged ‘Business’

Kevin Nakao is VP of Mobile & Business Search for WhitePages, a Top 40 Web and Mobile Publisher. You can find him on Twitter, and on the Whitepages Blog where he writes about mobile, local, and social media.

While last year’s SXSW seemed to serve as the “coming out” party for location-based services (LBS), maybe this year’s conference signifies the migration of these platforms into mainstream culture. And perhaps the only real “new” concept to emerge this year is the idea that there is finally a real opportunity to make money via “location.”

Here are five things that companies should consider as they look to utilize location-based services (LBS) as part their mobile strategy.

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1. Location Shouldn’t be the Only Goal

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From finding the nearest ski slope on REI’s Ski and Snow Report to a nearby movie on Flixter, there are plenty of Top iPhone applications that have incorporated a “lead with the offer, not the capability” philosophy into their mobile product offering to provide a better service. Build the best service first, then add the bells and whistles.

With all the hoopla surrounding location, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that location’s real appeal to advertisers is the fact that with this functionality, you can reach the on-the-go user, who is ready to buy and consume. Just because TwitterTwitter and FacebookFacebook offer location doesn’t make that valuable or new to advertisers. Location-targeting via IP address has been around a while. For the same reason radio is a great advertising channel for retailers, LBS advertising is also valuable: because it can reach the consumer near the point of sale.

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2. The “Long Tail” for User Adoption

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FoursquareFoursquare has clearly emerged as the location darling. Consider the fact that after only one year, they’ve reached 500,000 active users (Foursquare recently tweeted they added 100,000 users in 10 days).

However, if you apply any city’s share of the total U.S. population, the results show some pretty low estimates of Foursquare users in individual localities. What emerges is a very “long tail” — a steep, narrow graph — of local user adoption. This shows why it is important to achieve scale if you hope to see return on investment in the location marketing space.

For example, using these rough estimates of a city’s proportional share of the U.S. population, if a local pet supply store wanted to target people in San Francisco, the estimated reach would be 1,310 Foursquare users. Even if you double this audience estimate, the number is fairly small for even a local marketer. We had to hit around 4 million downloads of the Whitepages iPhone app to achieve the minimum scale needed for advertiser geo-targeting. Today, 80% of our campaigns from major brands are geo-targeted.

Editor’s Note: It’s important to remember that these are just rough estimates. Because Foursquare was initially only available in a handful of major metro areas, the geographic distribution of users may not precisely follow the geographic distribution of the population.

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3. Mobile Battery Life is Key

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Battery life is the single biggest threat to location. With GPS on, the phone is asking the network where it is, and this chatter can drain battery life — anyone with an iPhoneiPhone knows what I am referring to. Thus, phone manufacturers will play a critical role in the future of LBS. RIM, the manufacturer of BlackBerryBlackBerry Rocks! devices, faced this problem early on with the energy-tax of e-mail polling, and as a result, their devices now have some of the best battery life.

Foursquare has helped us move forward here as well. “Check-ins” help to address the issue as they offer efficient geo-triggers without having to keep battery-draining GPS features on at all times.

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4. Location Will Be the Battleground of the Mobile OS

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Looking forward, I predict the mobile platform wars will be fought with location and maps. This is an important feature that a platform can use as a point of differentiation for consumers and developers.

In anticipation of that battle, Apple purchased mapping company Placebase, and GoogleGoogle is starting to provide unique mapping features like turn-by-turn navigation on its AndroidAndroid devices. The only hope I see for Windows Mobile is if they do something completely revolutionary on the mobile location front. A development like this was alluded to at the recent TED conference with its augmented reality layering of geo-tagged FlickrFlickr photos and real-time video integration.

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5. Location Pays

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At WhitePages, we monetize our mobile services through a mix of premium, national display, and sponsored links for local business. Our effective CPM (revenue per thousand ad impressions) for sponsored local links is $30-$50 — double the effective CPM (eCPM) rate we see for premium display ad campaigns from national brands. The eCPM multiple of local targeted ads over ad network rates is a staggering 10x.

Location-based inventory will also become scarce as Apple recently announced that iPhone apps will not be permitted to access GPS capabilities for advertising alone. There now needs to be some consumer benefit and functionality in order to access a user’s location. Geo-targeted inventory on mobile will continue to be at a high premium with no excess supply or ad networks to drive it down.

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Conclusion

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It is my hope that by this time next year, SXSW –- the festival of “emerging” music and technology –- will have finally moved on from location. It’s clearly happening now, and if integrated wisely, location will be making companies too much money to be called the “cool kid on the block” any longer

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More location-based resources from Mashable:

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- 9 Killer Tips for Location-Based Marketing
- 10 Foursquare Apps You Can Use Right Now
- 6 Foursquare Apps We’d Love to See
- 6 Tips for Getting the Most out of Foursquare
- Foursquare vs. Gowalla: Location-Based Throwdown
- Location, Location, Location: 5 Big Predictions for 2010

Palm gave us a heads-up back in late February that its upcoming earnings report wouldn't exactly be cause for celebration, and today the news has become official: the outfit recorded a net loss of $22 million during its fiscal Q3, which still looks rosy compared to the $98 million loss it suffered this quarter a year ago. All told, the firm shipped 960,000 smartphones in the period, which represents a 23 percent uptick from Q2 2010 and a nearly 300 percent increase compared to this quarter in 2009. Unfortunately, sell-through wasn't exactly stellar, with just 408,000 units changing hands -- that's a 29 percent decline from last quarter and a 15 percent drop year-over-year. We get the impression that it's waiting for carriers to get down to replenishment levels, but it's hard to say when that'll happen. Jon Rubinstein, Palm's chairman and CEO, was obviously not thrilled about the news, but he's mirroring statements made to employees just over a fortnight ago with this quote:

"Our recent underperformance has been very disappointing, but the potential for Palm remains strong. The work we're doing to improve sales is having an impact, we're making great progress on future products, and we're looking forward to upcoming launches with new carrier partners. Most importantly, we have built a unique and highly differentiated platform in webOS, which will provide us with a considerable - and growing - advantage as we move forward."

We're listening into the earnings call right now, and so far we've heard a few choice quotes. Jon mentioned that Palm has "aggressive roadmaps on the software front that we're working on," and that there were "no changes to our planned carrier launches." We'll let you know if he introduces the Pixi 2 or anything.

Update: The call's over. PreCentral points out a choice quote from Rubinstein:

We had an arrangement with Sprint that when we launched with Sprint that they would invest in marketing and carry the product and for that they would get an exclusive for a period of time. That really determined when we could do our launch at Verizon. I agree with your premise that if we could have launched at Verizon earlier, prior to Droid, that we would have gotten the attention that the Droid got and since I believe that we have a better product, I think we would have even done better.

In other words, Palm -- regardless of Verizon's positioning -- feels like the Pre Plus could've been a legitimate contender as a halo phone for the carrier had it been able to launch sooner, though that opportunity has obviously long since passed. We're not so sure we agree that the Droid and the Pre Plus play in quite the same space, but if nothing else, we like the chutzpah -- now it's time to deliver some new hardware.

Palm posts $22m Q3 loss, says it liked its chances against Droid had Verizon launch been sooner originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Apple’s iPhone wasn’t originally conceived as a business-focused device; however, the advent of the App Store and the rapid rise in usage and adoption has really given the platform — and the phone — some pretty great use cases for business users. The iPhone App Store has more than 150,000 applications and separating the wheat from the chaff, especially when you have a specific goal or task in mind can be difficult. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of some of the best applications for the iPhone for the small business user.

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Access to Files and Folders

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Something that really sets this generation of smartphone devices apart from devices of even five years ago is the rise in cloud computing and ubiquitous connectivity. While accessing e-mail from multiple devices with full message history intact is old-hat, that capability has now extended to many other types of files.

Using programs like FileMagnet ($4.99) and Air Sharing ($3.99 for the regular version, $9.99 for Pro) you can easily transfer PDF, Microsoft Office and iWork files to your iPhone from your Mac or PC over WiFi.

As I’ve pointed out in the past, services like Box.netBox.net and DropboxDropbox can be really great tools for small business owners. Both Box.net and Dropbox have free iPhone applications that let you access your files on those clouds directly from your phone.

If you’re a user of Apple’s MobileMe service, there is also a free MobileMe iDisk app that lets you access those files, folders and images directly from your iPhone.

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Document Viewing and Editing

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Accessing files and folders is great, but what about when you want to get some serious work done? There are a number of full-fledged productivity applications that make it possible to not only view, but also edit documents, even on cloud-based services.

QuickOffice Connect Suite for the iPhone ($9.99) is a great app because it not only lets you view your Microsoft Office documents, but also edit and create those documents — both stored locally on your phone, and on cloud services like Google DocsGoogle Docs, MobileMeMobileMe, Box.net and Dropbox.

This means you can view a file shared with you on Box.net or in your Dropbox folder, make some changes and save it back. Likewise, you can create a new document or spreadsheet and save it to a cloud service of your choice.

Documents To Go Premium ($14.99) also lets you view and edit Microsoft Office docs on your iPhone, but it only supports Google Docs right now.

If you really need to view documents more than edit, GoodReader ($0.99) is not only the best PDF viewer on the iPhone (you can view files up to 1GB in size without having issues), you can access files from WebDAV servers (including MobileMe), Box.net, Dropbox and for a $0.99 in-app purchase, you can also access GoogleDocs.

File editing is limited to text files for right now, but the viewing capabilities, the ability to transfer files over WiFi, download PDF files from a URL directly to the iPhone and support for stuff like zipping and unzipping of files make this app really fantastic. If you ever find yourself needing to deal with exceptionally large PDF files, GET THIS APP.

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Scan, Fax, Print

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That camera on your iPhone is for more than just quick snapshots and FacebookFacebook uploads. Believe it or not, it’s also a really good document scanner. This goes double for iPhone 3GS owners, as the improved lens and built-in auto-focus and stabilization features make it a real asset for document capture.

While the iPhone camera might not displace a high-quality document or business-card scanner, you might be surprised at how well it can work, especially when paired with the right software.

JotNot Scanner ($4.99) is a solid document scanner that lets you scan multiple page PDF files and then save them to MobileMe, EvernoteEvernote, Dropbox. Box.net or Google Docs. If you upload to Google Docs you can even take advantage of Google’s OCR engine for better document processing. The app is really optimized for the iPhone 3GS but older iPhones can still utilize its featureset.

Scanner Pro ($6.99) is another solid scanning option. It also can upload to Box.net, Dropbox, Mobile Me (or any WebDAV service). It also lets you do custom-page sizes, send scans by e-mail and if you also have the Print n Share ($6.99), seamlessly send a document to your printer.

For users who need to send faxes from the iPhone, there are a number of faxing-specific apps but most of them charge a high per-fax (and sometimes per-document) fee in addition to the price of the app itself. That’s why, if you plan on doing any serious faxing, I recommend spending the $24.99 and getting the ScanR Business Center app because not only does it let you capture files as PDF and do OCR processing (with desktop web access too), you can send unlimited faxes from the app itself.

If you already have an e-mail to fax solution like eFax or Maxemail, check out Mobile Phax ($4.99) which will do document capture to PDF and easily integrate with lots of e-mail to fax programs. Of course, you can conceivably use any image to PDF app to send faxes as an attachment with your existing e-mail to fax subscription plans, Mobile Phax just makes the process a bit more seamless.

If business card scanning is what you are after, check out ScanBizCards ($5.99 or try the free Lite version).

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Which are most useful to you?

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Which iPhone apps do you find most useful for your small business? Tell us about your favorites in the comments, and look out for my next post, where I’ll discuss the best productivity apps for the iPhone for your small business.

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More business resources from Mashable:

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- 7 Essential Online HR Resources for Your Small Business
- Google Buzz: 5 Opportunities for Small Businesses
- 5 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Personal Brand Online
- 4 Elements of a Successful Business Web Presence
- HOW TO: Implement a Social Media Business Strategy
- HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs

Ten weeks after the launch of Google’s Nexus One smartphone, sales continue to remain slow. Mobile analytics firm Flurry, who also projected first week and first month sales for the snazzy device, has just released its latest sales estimates, deducing that in 74 days, 135,000 devices have been sold.

This is in sharp contrast to the Motorola DROID and the original Apple iPhoneiPhone, which both sold a million units in the same period of time.

Flurry actually used 74 days as a barometer, because that was how long it took for the original iPhone to sell one million units back in 2007. Motorola’s DROID sold 1.05 million units by day 74, and that’s to say nothing of future iPhone releases, which all crossed the one-million-sold mark even more quickly.

Flurry lays out some good arguments for why Nexus One sales have lagged behind DROID sales (and we really do think that DROID is the more accurate barometer, rather than using the 2007 iPhone benchmarks), but we think it’s really all about one thing: Carrier.

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Problem 1: T-Mobile

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Although the Nexus One is available unlocked (for a higher price), it is still largely tied to a single carrier in the United States (and in Canada). That carrier, T-Mobile, has the smallest 3G coverage area of the major wireless telecos. That’s a big problem when you are talking about a phone that really needs to be connected to 3G or Wi-Fi to show off its best features.

Conversely, Verizon has a huge subscription base, the most consistent 3G network and is running a very aggressive ad campaign promoting the DROID.

AT&T may be the bane of many iPhone users’ existence (although it is slowly improving), but the coverage options still trump T-Mobile, even with 3G out of the equation. Fortunately, GoogleGoogle has just made unlocked Nexus One phones available for AT&T and Rogers 3G networks. Unfortunately, this is still a separate version from the T-Mobile Nexus One, which means that if you wanted to switch carriers in the United States or Canada and keep 3G, you’re still SOL.

Once the Nexus One hits Verizon, we expect sales to really start to increase.

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Problem 2: Buying/Getting Support

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When Google officially released the Nexus One, I commented that it wasn’t really about the phone, it was about Google’s new phone marketplace.

Seventy-four days later, this phone marketplace has a lot of problems that still haven’t been completely resolved. First, customers complained about an additional (and excessive) early termination fee that Google charged for users who terminated their contract in the first 120 days of ownership. This fee was in addition to T-Mobile’s fee and as expected, consumers went ballistic. Google has since lowered the ETF to $150, but that still means you’re paying two early termination fees if you cancel in the first four months of use.

Then, there’s the ongoing issue of getting support for the Nexus One. Google has since improved support options, but you still need to potentially deal with three different people: the manufacturer, the wireless company and then Google. That’s problematic and it is something that doesn’t happen for other phones, even on the same carrier. When I had problems with my BlackBerry, I called and was served by a T-Mobile person — sometimes I had to jump through hoops to talk to a RIM specialist, but I didn’t have to call RIM directly.

Plus, I do think that perhaps Google underestimated how many people like to, I don’t know, physically touch a phone before buying it. Now, I’m not one of those people (Hey, I pre-ordered the iPad sight-unseen), but many users are — and not having any store presence is problematic, if only because it decreases visibility.

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Bottom Line

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The Nexus One is clearly not the big hit that many expected it to be — and even on Verizon, it might never be a hit.

However, the fact that DROID numbers are so strong shows that this isn’t a platform problem, it’s an execution problem. It will be interesting to see Google’s next attempt.

What do you think of Nexus One sales? Are you surprised that they are as low as they are? Let us know!

Social networking has finally become something valuable for brick-and-mortar businesses. Smartphones and location-based social networks allow users to interact, share, meet up, and recommend places based on their physical coordinates. This real-world connection to social media can mean more foot traffic and profits for business owners.

So-called “lo-so” networks like FoursquareFoursquare, Loopt, and GowallaGowalla enable any business with a physical location to not only communicate with customers online, but actually get more of them to walk in the door — and that’s exciting.

The question any brick-and-mortar business owner should be asking him or herself is no longer “Should I use lo-so networks?” It’s “How do I do it?” The following tips are essential to getting started.

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1. Learn the Platforms

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First of all, you need to understand how the technology works. Generally, people use lo-so apps on their phones to “check in” whenever they go places. Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) locate the users and determine what “venue” they might be at, giving them options to select a location or create a new listing. These “check ins” allow their friends to know where they are now, or where they frequently go. Some services allow users to leave location-based tips for friends to discover later, and several involve social competitions, or the ability to unlock digital badges, stickers, and prizes. Businesses can announce specials or promotions through these apps, so when users “check in,” they receive notifications of nearby deals.

Item one on your to-do list should be to become familiar with the prevailing platforms. Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, BrightkiteBrightkite, and Google Latitude are the most talked about in general, though others exist, and popularity varies by geography (e.g. Foursquare reigns supreme in New York City, and Loopt has a lot of clout in Silicon Valley). Other platforms to be aware of include YelpYelp and FacebookFacebook, which are just now dabbling in lo-so. Sign up for all of these, and download the apps to your phone if you can, so you can become familiar with how someone would use each one. Most of the networks have iPhoneiPhone, AndroidAndroid, and BlackBerryBlackBerry Rocks! apps, and all of them allow you to “check in” via desktop and mobile web browsers.

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2. Determine Your Goals

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Before you can optimize your business for lo-social networking, you need to step back and determine what you want to accomplish.

• Are you hoping to increase foot traffic to your store?
• Do you want to sell more of a particular item?
• Do you want more patrons at certain times of day?
• Do you want to promote a specific product?
• Are you looking for new customer acquisition?
• Repeat customers?

You may say, “I want all of those,” but to be effective, you need to set specific objectives. These will determine your approach to the entire process. Luckily, if you need to change things around to fit new objectives in the future, the cost of doing so is very small.

One goal that should be on every business’s list is to be easily findable on every network, which brings us to number three:

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3. Establish Your Presence

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Make sure that your business is listed on each network. Then make sure the address, phone, and details are correct and current. Don’t assume that users have added everything correctly. On some networks, once a venue is there, it’s stuck. Others let you edit. Don’t be afraid to contact the network itself to ask them for help if you can’t fix your venue listing. Gowalla’s Jonathan Carroll says, “We receive dozens of e-mails a day from businesses around the world asking for additions or tweaks to their Gowalla locations, and we’re happy to help out with them.”

It’s also a good idea to put up notices or stickers (on the door, order counter, or table centerpieces, for example) announcing “We’re on Foursquare” or “Find us on Yelp.” This will remind people to “check in” and spread the word about you.

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4. Customize

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Different networks have different options for customization, but it’s important that you do as much as you can to build out your listing. Add your website. Integrate with your other social networking accounts, like TwitterTwitter. Features are constantly being added to each network, but great customizations you can try right now include the following:

On Foursquare: Create to-do lists for users to explore around your area. And if possible, work with Foursquare to create a custom badge for your venue or event.

On Gowalla: Ask for a custom icon for your location, rather than the generic one for your category. Examples: Shake Shack, NYC, Austin Java, and Coop Ale Works.

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5. Implement Compelling Promotions

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Lo-social networks allow you to run promos to increase engagement and get people into your store. Foursquare’s Tristan Walker says, “Any type of in-store promotion you can conceive we want to make it so Foursquare can run it.” Many businesses offer specials like “check in 10 times and get a free appetizer” on all the major lo-so networks. Establish well-conceived promotions based on your goals, then evaluate the results. The biggest mistake you can make is to do this sloppily or half-heartedly.

Carroll cites Lift Cafe as a good example. “They offer 10% off every purchase when you check in on Gowalla, which they include in their description and also as a reminder in the success screen after check-in.”

“[What] we’ve seen across all channels again and again is that what works is a good local offer,” says Loopt CEO Sam Altman. Businesses with offers that cater to people “making that gametime decision” when they’re out and about do the best. “Offer value to the customer so it doesn’t feel like an ad,” he advises.

Shelley Bernstein, Chief of Technology for the Brooklyn Museum, talks about how the institution uses Foursquare to create a multi-faceted campaign and experience for museum goers.

“We knew that many people coming here wanted to know more about the local neighborhood, which is something Foursquare does well. We asked our staff for their opinion of the best stuff in the neighborhood … and left tips at all these venues for Foursquare users to find. Second, we added a promo for our mayor to reward the people who are consistently identifying themselves with us. Third, Foursquare has given us a badge which unlocks after three visits, and this helps reward our community for coming in the doors.

“All of these things together help create a total presence on the platform that works well for the Foursquare community, the Brooklyn Museum visitor, and the local merchants in our neighborhood.”"

Common promotions across various networks include the following:

• Raffles (e.g. “Every person who checks in gets a chance to win an iPod.”)
• Specials for the user who checks in most often. This is a staple of Foursquare promos for a lot of venues (e.g. “Top user/mayor gets the first drink free every time he/she comes in.”)
• First check in specials (e.g. “Get 30% off your order when you check in for the first time.”)
• Digital punch cards (e.g. “Check in 5 times, get a free coffee.”)

Tips for developing effective promotions:

• Advertise particular incentives, rather than your business in general (“20% off between 2 and 4pm;” “Buy one burger, get one free;” etc.).
• On platforms that allow you create your own banner ads (such as Loopt), include your address and opening hours in the ad itself, when possible.
• Be creative. For example, Incase, the bag and protective case maker, recently ran a promo with Gowalla to put virtual versions of its products into the app to be collected and traded. Carroll remarks, “The result has been phenomenal: Thousands upon thousands of their virtual items have been distributed in Gowalla to an audience who could benefit from their products, but many of whom had not previously heard of Incase.”

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6. Engage With Your Customers

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It would be a mistake to use Twitter as a one-way corporate megaphone, never interacting with your audience. That’s a quick route to an audience of zero. One of the most effective uses of social media is personal engagement and relationship building with your audience. The same goes for lo-so networks.

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7. Track Everything

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Foursquare just released a slick analytics dashboard for venues to track their stats. Other networks have metrics you can view as well, and they’ll certainly be releasing better and better tools. From data you can study online to qualitative observations at your own store, it’s important to keep track of everything so you can learn what promotions work with your audience. Be aware, though, that your ROI may not be directly measurable, and aside from increased sales, you’re working for brand exposure and increased awareness of your business.

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8. Be Prepared to Adapt

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Location-based social network technology may be the newest and grooviest incarnation of social media, but it certainly won’t be the last. And in a year it won’t look exactly like it does today. Be prepared to adapt your methods when features change, as new tools emerge, and as you review your own promotional results. Again, keep your objectives in mind, and be ready to keep up with new technology.

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9. Avoid Common Pitfalls

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In talking with representatives from the major lo-so networks, several common mistakes came up. Here are a few things you should try to avoid:

• Don’t leave fake reviews or tips. They’re easy to spot, and you’ll lose all on- and off-line credibility immediately when people catch on.
• Don’t throw up poorly designed ads. “A badly designed banner ad performs so much worse than … a good one,” Altman says. “It’s an insane difference.”
• Don’t forget to monitor activity. Carroll points out, “Chances are if someone has a gripe or praise with their check-in, it’s a real-time thing: The patron is probably still there … so the business has a chance to make the experience even better.”

We’d love to hear about your own lo-so experiences. Let us know how location-based services have benefited your business in the comments!

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More location-based resources from Mashable:

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- 10 Foursquare Apps You Can Use Right Now
- 6 Foursquare Apps We’d Love to See
- 6 Tips for Getting the Most out of Foursquare
- Foursquare vs. Gowalla: Location-Based Throwdown
- Location, Location, Location: 5 Big Predictions for 2010

We heard back in January that Sony was looking to reface itself somewhat by introducing a minty fresh retail look that takes a note or two from the Apple and Microsoft shops already in existence, and for those lucky enough to find themselves in Nagoya this weekend, you can check it out in person. March 13th marked the opening of the all new Sony Store Nagoya, and with an ample of amount of glass, white demo stands and black overhead signs, it's certainly one of the more seductive retail shops that we've seen. We'd bother knocking Sony for following instead of leading, but considering just how far the brand has fallen over the past couple of years, we're just stoked to see it putting forth an effort to turn things around.

Sony opens idyllic new retail store in Nagoya, Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel's current generation of Xeon processors already represents some of the fastest silicon you can buy, and yet the company's forthcoming Nehalem-Ex-based Xeons are being touted as the single greatest generational jump in its history. To achieve that, Intel has strapped eight cores into each CPU, with a pair of threads per core and 24MB of shared cache, along with integrated quad-channel memory controllers, Turbo Boost, and the pretty awesome ability to scale up to eight sockets -- meaning you could have 64 processing cores in the same rig. Don't even ask whether these chips can run Crysis 2, they'll probably be showing up in the machines that are making the game... and maybe yours, provided you have the cash to splash later this month.

Intel readies 8-core Nehalem-Ex processors for a March launch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With a list of allegedly infringed patents as long as my arm, Apple could be considered as filing this lawsuit with nothing but the idea of getting what’s rightfully theirs. I imagine that’s true as far as it goes, but there’s a little more to it and I think this conflict may expose even further the cracks that are appearing in our patent and trademark system.

I was going to write a big ol’ thing on this, but the fact is that I’d just be duplicating the analysis over at Brainstorm Tech and Daring Fireball. The situation is evolving, and we’ll see how the cookie crumbles — but either way, there are many intelligent things to be said about the patent system and how what was designed for the industrial age doesn’t work in the information age.

Google advertisers can now add click-to-call phone numbers to their mobile ads. The move expands the offering from just local advertisers to national advertisers.

The setup is quite simple and means that all advertisers running mobile ads can add a phone number via the adwords phone extensions menu (make sure to select the “iPhones and other mobile devices with full Internet browsers” campaign option as well).

Following setup, advertisers with phone numbers associated with their ads will gain access to data on how many calls they receive per keyword, ad group or campaign.

On the user side of things, iPhone, Android and Palm Pre device owners should start noticing the national and local Google ads with click-to-call phone numbers at the bottom.

Obviously the type of phone number advertisers employ will vary, with some businesses being more call-friendly than others, but we’re certainly intrigued by the idea of searchers directly contacting advertisers. The mainstream adoption of social media by businesses has proven that customers are looking for more direct access to companies, so we’re curious to see if this same idea translates in mobile ad form as well.

Mobile device owners running Windows Phone Classic (i.e. any version of Windows Mobile OS) will no longer be able to download Skype.

The company has just announced that it has removed SkypeSkype for Windows Phones and Skype Lite from its mobile site. The announcement was made this morning in a blog post addressing changes to Skype’s mobile lineup. The post states:

“As part of our continual review of our mobile range, we’ve decided to make a few changes to our lineup. Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Phones are no longer available for download.”

Users who have already downloaded the applications can continue to use them as usual, though they should operate under the notion that these applications offer a sub-par Skype experience.

Skype speaks to the challenges associated with supporting multiple handsets on multiple carriers as the primary reason for the drastic move. As for Skype Lite — a lightweight version of Skype for non-smartphones — the application’s limitations around supported countries and call rates were the contributing factors to its demise.

Right now there’s no word on Skype’s plans to support devices running the WindowsWindows operating system moving forward, but we’ve e-mailed for comment and will update this post when we know more.

With Windows Phones 7 not scheduled to come on the market until the end of 2010, though, this latest decision could mean that there will be an extended period of time during which Skype for Windows Phones will simply be unavailable.