jācapps

Everyone has heard or experienced it by now – it is difficult for companies to attract and retain exceptional, creative, and hard working talent. Many HR teams spend endless amounts of effort on this task.  At jacapps, we consider ourselves lucky to have the wonderful team we do that works tirelessly to build and create the best of the best.

We are happy to congratulate Alex Burnstein, our Director of Business Development, on her 5 year anniversary at jacapps, as well as Kate Levy, our Director of Mobile Application Development, on her 4 year anniversary.

“Alex gets the ball rolling, assessing client needs and pairing them with the right mobile solution. She combines a great design eye with a marketing approach to sales.”

“Kate makes it all work by finding innovative solutions for our clients’ needs. She seamlessly blends design and code to create elegant, beautiful apps.”

Both Alex and Kate are irreplaceable pieces of the jacapps team that bring extensive knowledge and experience to the table. They are both committed to bringing our clients the best project experience possible from start to finish and continue to be outstanding leaders in their fields.

Even in the early 1900’s, people were buzzing about the possibility of mobile telephones.

According to Wired, the world’s first car phone, invented by Lars Magnus Ericsson in 1910, had to be hooked into wires along the side of the road, but hey, it was still mobile!

Here, you can view a commercial by Eve’s Wireless from 1922 that highlights a “mobile phone” that does not need wires. In the video appear two women walking with said phone, which uses an umbrella as an antenna and ropes around the top of a fire hydrant. It then shows the women being connected to an operator on the other end.

BUT, it is not really a phone. Specialists have speculated that it was probably just an old fashioned radio. “For it to work, it needs to be earthed, which is why it’s connected to the fire hydrant”.

Apparently, in the early 20th century, when people referred to the “wireless telephone” they were actually talking about these old fashioned cat’s whisker type radio receivers (also known as crystal radio receivers).

Technology has changed so much over the years, but even then, folks were itching to go mobile!

According to Mobile Commerce Press, studies by both The Boston Consulting Group and Qualcomm reveal that mobile technology has become a major factor of growth for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). As mobile technology keeps growing, we, as consumers, are relying heavily on our mobile devices for a plethora of different things. When companies jump on board and start incorporating mobile technology into their business model, it will produce fresh new ways to connect with customers and can set up the business for success. 

The study by BCG states that about 25% of SMEs that take advantage of using the mobile space can see their revenue increase up to two times faster as well as adding jobs up to eight times faster than those who do not. According to the study, “Greater mobile adoption by SMEs can create jobs. If more SMEs expand their businesses at the rate of the mobile leaders, 7 million more jobs could be added in the six countries evaluated.”

There are so many benefits to having mobile technology as a part of your business. It is beneficial in keeping your workspace current, and can help your company find even greater success in the future, so why not get on board?

Coming off another hot holiday season of smartphone sales (did Santa get you that new 6+ you wanted?), there is more evidence that mobile apps are the currency of Web 3.0. If the fact that 86% of smartphone usage is on apps, compared to only 14% on browsers, wasn’t enough to convince you of how crucial mobile apps are to business in 2015, research firm Fiksu recently reported that app downloads hit a record high for the third straight month. The Top 200 free iOS apps were downloaded 9.2 million times.

So the good news is that Americans continue to use their mobile devices more and more. Time spent is up, number of apps per device continues to grow, and number of apps used daily is also up.

But here is the dark side of success: Costs to market those apps, drive downloads and usage (particularly usage over time), are growing. It now costs, on average, $2.10 to get a user to download and then use an app at least 3 times.  The cost per install has also grown to about $1.50. So for the average mobile app getting and keeping a large number of users – the kind of numbers that make that app monetize-able – is getting pretty expensive.

But radio mobile apps aren’t “average” mobile apps. That’s because they come with a built in, 24/7 marketing channel called a radio broadcast. For a station with its own app, there is an incredible opportunity to get people to use that app.  That marketing channel is something that other apps would have to spend big bucks to replicate. But from what we’ve witnessed, stations tend to give their app a big push when they first go live, then forget about them, and wonder why their installed base isn’t growing much.

This is about more than just using on-air time to promote your new app. What really makes the chase to build a great audience on mobile is giving your listener lots of reasons to engage with the app. Invite them to connect with you via social media, give them information on upcoming promotions, concerts and other events, let them learn more and talk back more. Create an on-going context for this, so that it isn’t something that’s “special” but, rather, an everyday part of the communal flow of your programming.

As it is movie awards season (and as indicated in the title of this post), I will weave together a couple of movie references: the audience is listening, but just because you built it doesn’t mean they’ll come, so use the force of your broadcast. Because do or do not. There is no try.

As we are seeing every day, technology is rapidly evolving. So much so, that Israel has begun experimenting with making mobile technology accessible to those who have disabilities. These technologies are also beneficial for able-bodied users. For example, Project Ray has developed a phone for the blind, which also allows drivers to use the device without taking their eyes off of the road. Voiceitt, an app for people with speech impediments, is working on ways for voice recognition to recognize different types of accents. There is also Sesame, which allows paralyzed users to operate their devices hands free.

According to The Globe and Mail, disability has “inspired innovation for centuries” which is most definitely true. The invention of the telephone came about from work on hearing and speech products for the deaf, and the use of the phonograph was also intended to record books for the blind. Presently, developments in screen interfaces, voice recognition, and robotics were all tested out by disabled users. As these technologies advance, we may be able to use our mobile devices without even touching them!