Apple CEO Steve Jobs Goes on Medical Leave

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO is taking medical leave at Apple. Jobs says he will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company, as apparently he has in the passt.

Tim Cook will be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations during the absence, as happened also when Jobs took his last leave.

At few companies is the potential departure of a CEO as crucial as at Apple, but it probably is worth noting that Apple has, in the past, continued to introduce major products of high market impact even when Jobs was not physically as present.

The iPad, another apparent breakthrough product, was launched after Jobs had a liver transplant.

Apple Media Advisory | Business Wire

Mobile Works Better than Online Advertising, Study Finds

InsightExpress, a digital marketing research firm, found mobile campaign norms were 4.5 to 5 times higher than online norms against measures of unaided awareness, aided awareness, ad awareness, message association, brand favorability and purchase intent.

A comparison of three different mobile media types (Mobile Internet, SMS and Mobile video) revealed that mobile Internet is the current powerhouse. Mobile Internet campaigns resulted in increases of nine percentage points for unaided awareness, nine percentage points for aided awareness and 24 percentage points for ad awareness. SMS is also effective at increasing upper level purchase funnel metrics such as awareness measures. SMS campaigns generated increases of 5 percentage points for unaided awareness, 10 percentage points for aided awareness and 18 percentage points for ad awareness.

Mobile video is still emerging, but shows campaign impact on par with SMS across most key brand metrics. This channel drove especially strong results against brand favorability. With an increase of 13 percentage points, compared to 12 percentage points for Mobile Internet and 7 percentage points for SMS, mobile video is demonstrating promise as a way to move the important brand favorability measure.

Comparing mobile norms to online norms, mobile consumer packaged goods purchase intent effect is three times higher than online CPG purchase intent. Mobile entertainment purchase intent effect is four times higher than online entertainment intent.

Mobile travel purchase Intent effect is five times higher than online travel purchase intent, while mobile technology purchase intent effect is seven times higher than online technology purchase intent.

Mobile automotive purchase intent effect is four times higher than online.

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Small Business Marketing Looks to Rise in 2011

Small business owners plan to spend on marketing their business in 2011, according to a new survey by Manta, the world's largest online community for promoting and connecting small business.

Some 77 percent of small business owners surveyed by Manta plan to spend in 2011 even though 85 percent reported across-the-board cuts in 2010. Some 47 percent have prioritized marketing and sales as their top spend, with 24 percent noting business development as top priority and 23 percent opting for marketing and advertising.

Another 23 percent of the respondents said they couldn't prioritize expenditures for 2011, given the current state of their business.

Manta Small Business Survey: Marketing a Priority in 2011

U.S. Hispanics are Avid Mobile Users

U.S. Hispanics are avid mobile phone users, according to Scarborough Research, which finds that the percentage of Hispanic adults who use a cellular phone grew 26 percent since 2005, versus 18 percent for all adults. Currently, mobile usage among Hispanics is on par with that of the general population as 82 percent of Hispanic adults use a cellular phone, compared to 84 percent of total adults.

But Hispanics are heavier users. Hispanics are more likely than other cellular users to text message. Sixty‐four percent of Hispanics who use a wireless phone text message, versus 56 percent of all cellular users.

Also, 22 percent of Hispanic cellular users download or listen to music using their wireless device, compared to 15 percent of all wireless users. Likewise, 19 percent of Hispanic cellular users play games on their wireless device, compared to 15 percent of all wireless users.

Some 12 percent of Hispanic cellular users access social networks from their wireless device, compared to 10 percent of all wireless users.

Additionally, the Hispanic smartphone growth rate is outpacing that of the total population. Nineteen percent of Hispanic adults currently live in a household that owns one or more smartphones, up from five percent in 2005. Twenty‐three percent of the general population currently owns these devices in their household, growing from nine percent in 2005.

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Over half of businesses see benefits of mobile apps, 42% don't

Over half of business technology professionals say their companies currently deploy, or plan to deploy, mobile apps on smartphones, according to a new survey from InformationWeek Analytics. But some businesses are yet to be convinced.

Fifty-two percent of the 700 or so technology professionals surveyed for the report grasped the potential of mobile apps, and already use or plan to use them, up from 42 percent from 2009.

Over half of businesses see benefits of mobile apps, 42% don't - Mobile Marketing - BizReport

Intuit Makes Big Mobile Payments Play

HTC EVO 4G Credit Card Processing > PaymentMax For Credit Card Processing and Merchant Accounts

HTC EVO 4G owners can create merchant accounts with PaymentMax, allowing their EVO devices to act as credit card readers.

PaymentMax does not charge any set-up fees for MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express. You need a "credit card swiper."

All our merchant accounts use PCI certified software that encrypts data before it is transmitted on your HTC EVO 4G.

The ROAMpay application expands the capabilities of a cell phone, enabling it to process credit and debit cards. The ROAMpay Swiper is optional accessory hardware that works with the app to provide extra speed, security, and savings when processing card information.

The ROAMpay Swiper is currently available for dozens of phones including 3G iPhone, 3GS iPhone, iPhone 4, Nexus One, and the HTC Hero. The ROAMpay app is compatible with hundreds of phones like iPhones, Blackberrys, and Androids. Many, like the Droid Incredible and the Droid X, can currently process cards with the app while the Swiper card reader is in "coming soon" status for these droid phones.

HTC EVO 4G Credit Card Processing > PaymentMax For Credit Card Processing and Merchant Accounts