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August 18, 2009

Smartphone Market Share Influences Download versus Mobile Web Debate

In a recent article from Media Post a software application developer from Istanbul, Turkey attending a conference in San Jose, California, voiced his opinion that the US does not understand the importance of the Mobile Web. This article reminded me of the panel discussion I moderated at the PhoCusWright @ITB conference in Berlin earlier this year where the subject of […]

August 10, 2009

Innovation in Online Travel

The general media is a buzz with stories about the lack of innovation of the major OTAs. A recent Forrester Report which shows consumers’ frustration with online travel planning and booking is cited. The report stated that many consumers are fed up with the complicated process of planning and booking travel online. Part of this frustration concerns added fees, what […]

July 30, 2009

How a Single Vacation Experience Can Impact Loyalty

I generally do not blog about my own personal travel experiences, but I felt compelled to do so after my family’s recent trip to Hawaii. To validate that I am indeed a frequent traveler, I am currently a UA Global Services member, a SPG Platinum and a Marriott Silver Elite. I have made 11 trips to the Middle East in […]

July 12, 2009

The Dark Side of UGC – The Cleveland Video

We’ve all read about the value of user generated content (UGC) and viral marketing. Unfortunately the best intentions do not always produce the desired results. Positively Cleveland, a DMO that promotes the region created a “Hastily-Made Tourism Video Contest”. The goal was simple, use UGC to promote the city. This video was “created” for the contest, but obviously was never […]

July 8, 2009

Augmented Reality to Enhance the Travel Experience

One of the future trends identified in the PhoCusWright mobile research was the use of mobile devices to augment reality. Layar a browser available on the Google Android platform has announced the opening of its API to a select group of developers. As mentioned in the TechCrunch article other AR browser players include:” Tonchidot’s Sekai Camera and Mobilizy’s Wiki Tude. […]

July 2, 2009

Is the Finger Print Reader on the IPhone the Solution for M-commerce and Security?

Apple has filled patents for fingerprint recognition system for the iPhone. This may have major implications for m-commerce and security as well as mobile user interfaces. Fingerprint reader technology has long been used for computer security. The interesting thing about Apple’s research is that involves the use of fingerprint patterns to actually identify distinct fingers. The idea is to match […]