This is a nice use of AR for a shutter company. As well as seeing how they look in your windows, you can also change their status (open or shut) and colour etc

The UK credit card company, Barclaycard are rolling out their PayTag NFC stickers to millions of customers in the hope they will attach them to their phones. The company has already been sending them to a selected few, but the recent announcement will see that scaled up to significantly more customers.

But is this a good thing for mobile NFC? This could certainly be a good way to introduce users to tapping their phone in to an NFC terminal to make a payment. However, unlike mobile embedded NFC the PayTags are essentially dumb chips that do not link to the the phone and have limited capabilities. Currently that capability is a £15 payment (rising to £20 in June). Native NFC is capable of doing so much more. It can link to a website, launch a video, add loyalty points, be used for event or transport ticketing.

In the UK the major supermarkets are rolling out NFC terminals as well as commitments from Transport for London to include mobile ticketing in their contactless system. The danger with PayTags is that it does not benefit the user significantly enough to encourage mass adoption of NFC.

What future does QR have? Apps such as Blippar and Aurasma approach it through image recognition of a photo or logo. But what if the item doesn’t have a logo? How about just recognising the object itself? This Japanese supermarket uses some new clever tech that can differentiate objects and scan them instantly. It is so good, it can even distinguish different types of (similar-looking) apples.  Maybe one day we’ll be getting these on our mobiles.

Perhaps it isn’t the most original of uses, but here’s an example of QR being used well. This is a point of sale display for a molecular cooking set (yes, thanks to the Heston Blumenthal influence they really do make these). I have previously blogged about the need to get the context, engagement and targeting right for QR. This meets all those requirements.

The QR code is used is nice and large, on a high contrast background. There’s plenty of dwell time as it’s in the kitchen department of Selfridges where people spend plenty of time. The engagement is pretty good, as it links to a useful video to explain how this new product works. It’s also well targeted. Those interested in molecular cooking are likely to be techie, probably have smartphones and will probably bother to scan the code.

Now that smartphones are becoming ubiquitous, there is plenty of evidence that consumers are using their devices to check prices, availability and other information. Many retailers and retail brands  are missing out as they are largely failing to engage with these users. This is an example of how that engagement could be done.

No surprises really, but early reports suggest that Instagram on Android is as popular as people expected, with over 1 million downloads of their app in the first 24 hours. The iPhone version has steadily built a strong following, with over 30 million users, and it looks like the Android version will match that. The question that most people are asking was ‘why did it take so long’? According to Instagram, trying to develop for two platforms earlier would have made other innovations harder to implement.

Although a number of brands, such as Starbucks, Topshop, Ford (Feistagram) and Red Bull have used the channel, the potential for co-creation remains under-used. Perhaps the Android version will see brands making more use of Instagram.

What is the current UK landscape for smartphone penetration?

Around the end of 2012, the UK reached tipping point with over 50% smartphone penetration. Comscore data from January this year shows how that is distributed by age and income.

As with previous trends, the smartphones have the highest penetration in the 18-34 age group. However, the uptake amongst older audiences is rapid – 75% of all new handsets

Income is also a factor in smartphone ownership, although with some SIM-free smartphones at less than £100, that is now become less significant in defining the market:

 l

In terms of OS breakdown, Android continues to be the leader, but closely followed by the iPhone, however in terms of usage, iOS still dominates. RIM’s dwindling market share is largely lost to Google’s Android.

Five weeks and 20 million downloads (that’s more than Foursquare has managed in three years) has seen Drawsomething become one of the fastest installed apps ever. But is it just a flash in the pan or will it be bigger than Angry Birds?

Reasons why Drawsomething might succeed

1. It’s very adictive – once you start playing you get drawn into it (no pun intended)

2. It’s simple – ‘it’s like Pictionary with friends’

3. It’s very viral – being friend/Facebook based it’s going to spread fast

Reasons why Drawsomething might not beat Angry Birds

1. It’s very adictive – unlike Angry Birds you can’t dip in and out of it so easily. For some, it may be a case of playing with Drawsomething or getting a divorce

2. It requires a data connection. Unlike Angry Birds, you need to be online so there are fewer places that you can play it

3. It’s created some great doodles - http://mashable.com/2012/03/22/draw-something-best-doodles/#55083Manicure

What about brands?

Where there’s a trend, someone will jump on it. For starters, like Angry Birds (and many other apps), I can see branded versions come soon. But there are more guerilla opportunities. This Amsterdam agency is cleverly using it to hire creatives by getting people to play the game with them and show of their skills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMH2N6rSUQQ&feature=youtu.be

Always ones to be pushing the tech boundaries, the US version of Wired Magazine has included an ad from Lexus with NFC embedded in it. With around 3 million NFC handsets in the US, they are hoping that some of their 500k readership will be willing to ‘touch in’ to the advert. The activation takes users to a link with videos which introduce the Lexus app suite which includes Bing, OpenTable, iHeartRadio, Pandora, MovieTickets.com and Yelp. For Wired, it’s as much about being experimental as it is about gaining a response. But who knows, maybe all magazine ads will be like this one day.

Unsurprisingly, one of the big themes at WMC last week was NFC or contactless. Sure, there were payment devices, but there were lots of other whizzy applications showing how NFC in phones is much more than a mobile wallet. Here are just a few:

NFC Vending Machine – touch in to buy your drink

NFC flowers – touch in to find out what the flower is and how best to look after it

NFC Car – OK, this was a car mock-up, but showed how contactless could be used to unlock a car and as an ignition key. This is very useful for car hire or car sharing where the NFC could be restricted to a set time period.

Of course, there’s so much more that could be done with the technology. To try to find out, Isobar London Create are running a hack day on 24/25th March, in London and partnership with O2. Any would-be developer can turn up, demonstrate their skills in an NFC environment and be in with a chance to win a number of mobile devices and other goodies. And anyone who comes up with a great application could be eligable for Kickstart funding from Bluevia. There’ll be lots of NFC tech and expert support to help developers through the Hackathon. There’s more information at http://www.isobar.com/createlondon

According to reports in the digital media press, iAd is contacting UK agencies about changes in their pricing policy and structure. In the US, the minimum spend has already been reduced from $1m to $100k, but it seems there will be even further developments. Currently iAd uses a ‘hybrid’ (or double) pricing model of both CPM and CPC for its advertising, which is a major barrier for advertisers. Apple are also expected to increase payouts to developers in order to create further distribution of ad content.

The expected changes come at a time when the mobile advertising market is hotting up. Google’s Admob has moved closer to the Adwords model and Facebook are likely to launch a major mobile ad initiative before the spring. Back in June 2011, I wrote that Apple seemed to be losing interest in iAd and a report by The Digital Times suggested that the recent moves are a last-ditch attempt save the project. Apple have driven the consumer market in mobile, but have failed to ignite the world of advertising. With the amount of profit they’re making, I suspect they’re not too worried about it.