Smartphone's – Niche Luxury or Phone?

Smartphone market is a unique market and full of mystery. In the last 4-5 months we have seen some of the biggest models (Samsung S3, iPhone 4S, Sony Xperia S and Xperia U, Nokia Lumina, Blackberry with OS 7) coming to the market which will possible change the history, loads of reviews from different cell Guru’s and concepts such as Humanization of cell phone technology.

There are so many brands which are pouring into market on almost weekly basis offering very much same standard set of features. Billions of mobiles are getting sold based on those features and recommendations given by tech guru’s.

I have seen many discussions wherein we look for an answer of which mobile to buy? Which is best? etc and have collected few points which MIGHT which as per our self acclaimed cell Guru’s, Company Articles, Reviews etc are worth to have:

1) Screen Size – I personally believe that it doesn’t matter what size of your screen is. All matter is what Pixel per inch is. Anything above 3.5” will suffice the need of creating presentations, emailing etc.

2) Weight – Sleekest and Lightest is always in demand.

3) Processors – Better processor leads to better experience of using internet, applications in addition of smoothness of overall phone.

4) Camera – Worth having decent camera which can let you take HD quality images

5) Battery Life – Big thing, anything above 1800 mAH will make your day easy.

All above features make perfect Smartphone BUT Million dollar question is despite of all these super features – Do we get a phone? which meant for connecting others over voice? Does today’s mobile sets provide superb call quality? 

To find the answer of above questions, I spoke to many dealers, company outlets, Guru’s etc but no one responded to that. Per them I can get many features which can make life easy – but call Quality --  Umm No Idea!!

I cannot disagree that these Smartphone's are equipped with some of the cool features which make sense and make life easy. This is one technology which always go beyond traditions and surprise us by making our day to day life easy and left us wondering do we really need to depend of laptops or desktops anymore? But at the end of the day – question remain unanswered – Can I hear you?? Hello…Hello….!!

Kasauli Trip

After a long working week – we few friends have decided to visit Kasauli – near Chandigargh via Road. We thought to make it unplanned trip and didn’t booked any hotel or resort. It’s a nice place covered with hills and few good places to move including sunrise point, Manki point etc.

We started for trip on Friday night around 2 AM after office, fully loaded with excitement and usual stock of Food, Vodka, Gold Rum etc in a safari. Journey was supposedly of 6-7 hours but it took around 10 hours for us to reach – not because of traffic, because of fun we had on the way.

We reached there in the morning and after some struggle we were able to find us the roof. Hotel was not that good, but due to limited options and budget we decided to stay there. It was kind of dormitory wherein we 6 member stayed.

Note – we haven't slept so far – not even in the journey but we are still feeling energetic and on top of the world.  The moment we reached hotel, few guys went to sleep immediately except 2-3 guys. Those awake were making sure that they have loads of fun - after all we didn’t went to sleep there. We completed our stock, went out on hills, clicked photographs etc and had some local food. There was no night on that day, we all continued having good time till Sunday morning – non stop. 

In the mean time we decided to play a prank with one of our colleague in Delhi and started calling him to share worst PJ’s and then we also asked all our office team members (in Delhi) to start calling him at night. Now that was funny part – he was in his home town and on roaming and suddenly all seniors, juniors started calling him to ask how he is doing. It was really funny and he was totally confused on what happened.

Sunday, we decided to go out for sight seeing and went to few places including sunrise point and Manki point (religious place) which is under Air force security. Manki point was a good place, though we end up walking more then 6-7 kms out of which almost 2-3 Kms was trekking.

Overall it was an awesome trip, which allowed us to unwind a little. It got nice weather with good crowd. I’d recommend this place for one time visit that too for not more than 2 days stay. It lacks quality hotels and food.

Social Media Activity - A Ravan's Conspiracy!!

It has been a while that I've been asked by my friends and colleagues that why I waste my time in updating blog, using LinkedIn, tweeting, using Facebook, and other social media tools. They strongly believe (since they are hardcore techies) that it’s a waste of time and there are no results out of it.  I face this question almost daily in different ways and every time I give them same answer.

Today, I came across an article from Alok Kejriwal, who actually answered these questions in a best possible way. He clubbed all his answers as conspiracy of RAVAN (pretty much inspired from Ravan, an ancient King of Lanka, currently known as Srilanka).

I was so overwhelmed to read his answer that I couldn’t stop myself and re-posting his conspiracy (err...Ravan’s) to my own blog, with few changes and his permission :)

Below is the interesting RAVAN Conspiracy:

Ravan

R - Reality

Facebook, Twitter is REALITY. Alok gave his own example based on his vast network, however for me – I faced this reality when few of my contact have reached me out to help them in something. I remember getting lot of calls looking for my expertise through my blog, LinkedIn profile etc.

We go to ANY CITY in the world and we can have a real friend to MEET - with whom we can share some background, post etc. Don’t you think it’s a huge thing?

A - Ask

Personally, these social tools have been very useful in getting answers on any topic, no matter how stupid you perceive it is. No matter what you ask, there is an answer available to it. It opens a window wherein you don’t feel shy and have power to ask anything – Kind of RTI (Right to Information) stuff.  You get connected to industry experts, get new ideas etc.

The more open you are, more information you can collect and share. After all, this is what we need to grow.

V - Voice

Social Networks are our VOICE. You can share what you know, what you think with everyone.  I have seen many people looking for answers on many topics which I am aware of and based on my experience I can say that there is no single forum where you can get them.  I know using these tools, I can help these people to understand what they are looking for – after all what could be better than that if you can help someone with your knowledge when it’s required.

Take a current example – Mr. Anna and our civil society was able to create awareness using these tools only. Mango man (aam aadmi – general public) was able to share their voice through it.

A - AWARE

Same example which I quoted above, Anna team was able to create awareness on Lokpal bill issue through social median networks. General public was not even aware of that bill, but in a short span – entire India was aware of it.

These tools create awareness; however it depends on what you seek. Alok has wisely quoted that We SEEK to be AWARE.

We spend maximum time in office or at home, our social connections are not the only source wherein we can be Aware of things going on outside our 4 walls.

N - NEW

Every time we connect with someone, learn about something new or spread awareness on something – we get a different feel – which matches to the feel of getting reborn.  You get connected with old mates, college friends, colleagues, new business ideas, opportunities etc and also can increase your reach through it.  Something NEW is always there for us.

I believe all the above points answers the questions that why I am addicted to Social Media and what results I get from it.

Social Networking Trends in Q3 of 2011

Q3 2011 Social Media report from Nielsen shows that its popularity continues to grow, allowing people to connect with just everything which they can watch and buy. Like always, tools like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook played a key role in expanding its popularity and concept.

The latest report from Nielsen shows how powerful this influence is on consumer behavior and how they are educating consumers with various options both offline and online.

The value of the time consumers spend online and on social networks and blogs continues to grow, most visible through the influence on purchase decisions. For instance, 60 percent of people who use three or more digital means of research for product purchases learned about a specific brand or retailer from a social networking site. Forty-eight percent of these consumers responded to a retailer’s offer posted on Facebook or Twitter.

The Key Findings from the report are:

Social Media Around the World

1. Social networks and blogs continue to dominate Americans’ time online, now accounting for nearly a quarter of total time spent on the Internet.
2. Social media has grown rapidly – today nearly 4 in 5 active Internet users visit social networks and blogs.
3. Americans spend more time on Facebook than they do on any other U.S. website
4. Close to 40 percent of social media users access social media content from their mobile phone
5. Social networking apps are the third most-used among U.S. smart phone owners
6. Internet users over the age of 55 are driving the growth of social networking through the Mobile Internet
7. Although a larger number of women view online video on social networks and blogs, men are the heaviest online video users overall streaming more videos and watching them longer
8. 70 percent of active online adult social networkers shop online, 12 percent more likely than the average adult Internet user
9. 53 percent of active adult social networkers follow a brand, while 32 percent follow a celebrity
10. Across a snapshot of 10 major global markets, social networks and blogs reach over three-quarters of active Internet users
11. Tumblr is an emerging player in social media, nearly tripling its audience from a year ago

Few other interesting facts from the reports are:

Social Networking is a global phenomenon and in Nielsen reports which collected samples from 10 countries/markets shows that social network and blogs are the top online destination in each country accounting for majority of the time spent.

 

Social Networking blogs are the top online destination where most of the users spend time. They attract almost 22.5% of traffic compare to online games who does only 10%. 

U.S. Internet Users Spend More Time on Facebook than Any Other Web Brand. Almost 53% users are on Facebook, followed by 17% on yahoo. Facebook became a synonym not only with Social media but also with Web use for general use.

 

 

Females and 18-34-Year-Olds are most Active Social Networkers.

There is rise in number of users who are accessing Social media through mobile for different purposes.

Men are more likely to Visit LinkedIn and Wikia compare to females, check one image from the report.

Influence of Social Media

Report shows that out of 5, nearly 2 users access services from their mobile which can be for either downloading Music, Social networking or just for browsing.

Active Social Media Users are Influential Offline. Consumers trust the reviews or recommendation from peers on these sites. Almost 60% social media users create reviews of products and services.

Get New Clients with Social Networking...

Recent global survey of business from Regus business shows that more and more number of companies, brands are relying on social media practices for their expansion, new client acquisitions and winning new businesses.

Results shows that companies worldwide are achieving greater success with social networking compared to traditional practices.

Few of the key findings from Marketing Profs site are:

• 69% of US businesses (74% worldwide) say social networking is an essential activity for business success.
• Single-channel campaigns are less successful: 64% of US businesses (61% worldwide) say companies that only use social networking and online campaigns, and ignore traditional media/techniques, will be unsuccessful.
• 50% of US businesses (52% of businesses worldwide) use social networks to interact with and to inform existing customers, virtually unchanged since 2010.

Few interesting facts:

1) Experienced profit increased in past year:

2) Countries using successfully to find new customers: China, India are supposedly using social networking in a better way and are attracting lot of new business. Check the facts below:

I believe this study and facts will help companies to think about how they are targeting to get new clients and what extra value they can offer to maintain relationships. No wonder, there is a huge scope in market for social marketing and networking.

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