Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news, the latest market insight & data nuggets, the Global News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content & commerce snapshot.
Global News Stories
Facebook And 6 Phone Companies Launch Internet.org To Bring Affordable Access To Everyone
Tech Crunch
Facebook has just announced a partnership with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera and Qualcomm to launch Internet.org, a project aimed at bringing affordable Internet access to the 5 billion people without it. The companies will work together on data-compression technologies and cheap, high-quality smartphones to make the web cheaper.
Mobile is the great unifier as cross-device advertising takes off
Mobile Marketer
Marketers are increasingly eyeing cross-device campaigns, with mobile acting as the glue that connects the various elements together to ensure a seamless user experience. However, challenges still exist such as mobile tracking and how to tailor content for each platform.
Google patents ‘pay-per-gaze’ eye-tracking that could measure emotional response to real-world ads
The Verge
Advertisers spend heaps of cash on branding, bannering, and product-placing. But does anyone really look at those ads? Google could be betting that advertisers will pay to know whether consumers are actually looking at their billboards, magazine spreads, and online ads. The company was just granted a patent for “pay-per-gaze” advertising, which would employ a Google Glass-like eye sensor in order to identify when consumers are looking at advertisements in the real world and online.
Samsung, LG, Apple to compete in smart watches
Korea Herald
Samsung Electronics, Apple Inc. and LG Electronics, the world‘s top three electronics firms, are rumored to be taking their competition to the next level this fall in the emerging smart-watch market. Each company is ready to release a smart watch ― Samsung with Galaxy Gear, Apple with iWatch and LG with GWatch ― most likely by the end of this year.
Slow launch of mobile banking in Latin America
M2 Commerce LatAm
According to analysis by the Editor of Canadian Treasurer, Robin Arnfield, despite low levels of banking and high mobile penetration in Latin America, banks are slowly developing mobile banking services.
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Baidu Deal May Reduce App Piracy in China
New York Times
The biggest Internet takeover to date in China has already sharpened a rivalry among the country’s digital powerhouses, but the deal could also bring more order to China’s messy world of mobile apps. Baidu, the leading search engine in China, signed a deal last week to buy an operator of mobile application stores called 91 Wireless for $1.9 billion from an online video game company, NetDragon.
App spend to hit $75 billion as in-app purchases prevail
Mobile Entertainment
In-app purchases which are increasing across many markets, and the impact of new monetisation models used by developers and storefronts will result in the rise inspend on consumer apps – which is expected to grow to more than $75 billion by 2017, reported Juniper Research. Storefronts such as Microsoft and Amazon are fighting for a more recognised position in the app store battle against current dominators Apple and Google Play.
Global News Round-up – These articles are not written by MEF and do not represent any views of individuals, members or the organisation.
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