Sprint Makes More Progress

Sprint’s fourth quarter highlighted a company that has rebounded nicely, with almost 1.1 million net subscriber additions includng prepaid and postpaid customers.

Sprint added 58,000 postpaid subscribers, 519,000 net subscribers to its brand and prepaid subscribers of 646,000 to the Virgin Mobile, Assurance Wireless and Boost Mobile brands. Overall, Sprint added almost 1.1 million wireless subscribers—the most additions since the first and second quarters of 2006.

Postpaid churn also improved to 1.86 percent in the fourth quarter compared to 2.11 percent a year ago. Now that figure isn’t anywhere near the churn figures Verizon Wireless and AT&T enjoy, but Sprint is doing something right with its value pricing.

Sprint Q4 results, subscriber additions solid

78% Use Mobile Location Features

Location-based services and apps are increasingly important. A new survey by JiWire shows 78 percent of mobile consumers use location-based apps on their phone, and 29 percent use them multiple times a day.

Some 34 percent clicked on an ad in response to location specific message, while 57 percent are more likely to engage with an ad that is relevant to their location, an increase from 46 percent in the first quarter of 2010.

About 17 percent have made a purchase in response to a location-based advertisement and 84 percent of people who use app-enabled phones have participated in a shopping activity.

On average, the mobile audience uses 1.6 devices to connect while on the go.

Media Center - JiWire.com

Will Google or Facebook Buy Twitter?

Executives at both Facebook and Google, among other companies, have held low-level talks with those at Twitter Inc. in recent months to explore the prospect of an acquisition of the messaging service, according to the Wall Street Journal. The talks have so far gone nowhere, these people say.

Twitter's Suitors Talk in Billions - WSJ.com (subscription required)

Mobile Banking Can Deliver 300% Returns, Accenture Says

A study of 20 financial institutions around the world that offer mobile banking, commissioned by Accenture and conducted by TowerGroup, has found a Middle Eastern bank that is getting an eye-popping 300 percent return on investment by letting its two million mobile banking customers pay bills on their mobile devices, including topping up their pay-as-you-go mobile phones, paying utility bills, or paying a fixed monthly fee for a premium services package.

Another bank in Asia Pacific has achieved an ROI of 230 percent since launching mobile banking in 2007, according to the Accenture report.

http://nstore.accenture.com/acn_com/video/financial_services/banking/884-BankTechnology-InnovationsMisTheNewE-Generic-Mar2010.m4v

Mobile Banking Can Deliver 300% Returns, Accenture Says - Bank Systems & Technology

Mobile Apps Revenue to Triple in 2011

World-wide, revenue from mobile apps is expected to triple this year to $15.1 billion, including paid downloads and advertising revenue generated by free apps, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

Besides the potential of making money directly from such creations, more and better apps can help devices powered by Google's Android operating system continue to gain ground on Apple's iPhones and iPads. It's all about the ecosystem, says Nokia CEO Stephen Elops.

Google to Boost Staffing for Development of Mobile Apps - WSJ.com (subscription required)

U.S. Mobile Payment Will Grow Quickly, Some Think

Although mobile payments first became popular in Asia and Europe, analysts agree that the United States is going to catch up quickly. In its November 2010 report, the Aite Group forecasts that U.S. mobile bill payments will reach US$214 billion in gross dollar volume in 2015, up from US$16 billion in 2010.

Mobile Payment on the rise | MobilePaymentsToday.com

Starbucks Mobile Payment System: One Unfortunate Security Issue

The Starbucks mobile payment application has a security issue that could allow another person to "steal" the stored value on the linked Starbucks card.

Kelley Langford, vice president of sales and marketing at System Innovators, says the process takes about 90 seconds. One might argue the chances of such theft occurring are rather remote, and almost non-existent if a user keeps their iPhone in sight, in a pocket or a purse.

How to compromise the Starbucks Rewards Card app in 90 seconds