It should be interesting to see how these advertising services perform with respect to RIM’s ad service, and whether developers will jump ship. Also, it’s been shown on other platforms that in-app purchasing results in more revenue for developers, so the ad-supported app route isn’t necessarily a good direction for developers. On the other hand, apps like Poynt rely on ad revenue and are apparently happy with RIM’s offerings.
We’re here at the BlackBerry Developer Conference and there are a lot of cool announcements for developers and users. The best announcement here from a user perspective is the BlackBerry PlayBook which looks really, really, really, cool. Below, you’ll find a roundup of all the announcements that are coming out of the conference. Continue reading ‘BlackBerry Developer Conference 2010 Announcements Roundup’
The first BlackBerry Torch commercial was pretty cool but it took some criticism for showing off features (eg keyboard) that weren’t really going to impress consumers. Also, the ad sounds like it’s going to break out into Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5″. The latest ad is up on BlackBerry’s YouTube channel and it shows off the media capabilities of the phone. The commercial takes place in San Francisco, where RIM is going to host the 2010 developer conference. Considering the iPhone presence in San Francisco, California and the Valley, why does RIM insist on shooting commercials and hosting conferences there? Get your own turf.
When you work for a company as large as RIM, a lot of patents get filed that aren’t necessarily part of the company’s business, but more part of its process. It’s also a great way to keep an inflated legal department busy during a lull in leak season.
The latest patents to come out of RIM relate to billboard advertising. RIM has applied for two patents titled an “Adaptive roadside billboard system and related methods” and “Adaptive pedestrian billboard system and related methods”. The idea is that the billboard advertising can make use of crowd-sourced data from RIM to serve ads more effectively. As more pedestrians pass an advertisement, the message might be made simpler to accommodate the influx of people. The same applies to cars: if traffic is slower, more detailed advertisements could be served. Continue reading ‘RIM Patents Adaptive Roadside Billboard System Using Crowd Sourced Data’
In a series of patents filed recently, it seems RIM is working on methods for monetizing BlackBerry messages. One patent, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INCORPORATING MULTIMEDIA CONTENT INTO A MESSAGE HANDLED BY A MOBILE DEVICE“, describes a method for examining a message and linking keywords in the message to an ad. This sounds just like what Google does in its webmail and RIM is probably going to see if it can generate some dollars from a similar service.
Another patent, titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR EVALUATING ADVERTISING METRICS“, describes a method for determining whether an application or user has attempted to defraud RIM’s advertising model. Personally, I think RIM could do well with a partnership with Google, instead of trying to do it themselves. Google has figured all of this out already and I bet RIM will come across some of the same problems Google faced in its early stages of development. One particular problem I see on the horizon is a backlash from people seeing ads in their BlackBerry Messages. Email is a very private service and while Google saw a backlash from their web service, I think seeing ads on your handheld will generate more concern.
What do you think, would you care about seeing ads in your email? What if there was some benefit like cheaper devices in the long run?
