Handsets
BlackBerry Storm
The BlackBerry Storm - first touchscreen from the business-first folks at BlackBerry - will be available this fall exclusively through Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and Vodafone in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. This, plus the long-awaited arrival of the first Android handset, shows that the iPhone may finally have some competition and that the era of the touchscreen is officially upon us.
Trends and Research
Study: 93 Percent of Americans Want Companies to Have Presence on Social Media Sites [ReadWriteWeb]
93 percent of Americans believe that businesses should be present in social media and 85 percent believe that they should be interacting with consumers – according to the 2008 Cone “Business in Social Media” study. It’s a short step to mobile from here, folks.
Hispanic Teens Increasingly Important Wireless Consumers, According to MultiMedia Intelligence [MarketWatch]
The growth of mobile phone use among Hispanic teens will be 2-3 times that of the overall U.S.-teen market in the next five years - according to MultiMedia Intelligence in their recent report on the current state and future of mobile phone use among this demographic.
Religion
Church encourages texting during sermons [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Confused about how to engage children who feel worship services are too old fashioned? In O’Fallon, Missouri, the Morning Star Church encourages teens to text their questions during church to a moderator who then sends relevant material to the Reverend’s laptop for incorporation into his sermon.
User-generated Content
Xtranormal Launches Text-to-Movie Making
Like Animasher before it, Xtranormal is all about making your own movies. Unlike Animasher, you can add dialogue, control character expresssion, movement - even change accent! No giant, floating Oscar Wilde though … will the literary mavens stand for it?
Asia
A Day in The Life of a Mobile Phone in Seoul [m-trends]
Everyone knows South Korea’s phone culture makes the rest of us look like little leaguers at the All-Star game. Well, this probably won’t change your opinion, but it is neat to take another glimpse at the future before it comes down the pipeline.
Trend: M-commerce Booming in China [CScout]
Mobile monetary transactions have a big future in China. With the world’s largest number of mobile subscribers, China is already off to a headstart in developing this infrastructure. However, mobile has yet to completely infiltrate all rural areas of the country, so it will be awhile before billfolds are thrown by the wayside completely.
