Promotions 2.0Blurring the line between interactive advertising, promotions and social network marketing.

March 17th, 2009

The Phone is the Next Big Thing.

The computer industry has hit upon its Next Big Thing. It is called a phone.

95% of consumers carry their cell phone at retail, making mobile the next big platform for marketers. Now PC makers are trying to get in on the action.

Emboldened by Apple’s success with its iPhone, many PC makers and chip companies are charging into the mobile-phone business, promising new devices that can pack the horsepower of standard computers into palm-size packages.

The companies are also shifting gears because their technological feats of the last two decades — smaller laptops with faster chips to deliver snazzier graphics — no longer impress consumers, who increasingly find their three-year-old computers adequate for everyday tasks.

The new smartphones promised by PC companies will, among other things, handle the full glory of the Internet, power two-way video conferences, and stream high-definition movies to your TV.

It is a development that spells serious competition for established cellphone makers and phone companies. Apple was the first to spot a sleepy industry, shaking up the handset category two years ago with the iPhone. Until recently, the handset makers were the ones reacting to the iPhone - and then with me-too products.

Now fellow PC makers are announcing plans for smartphones in a variety of sizes, shapes and abilities.
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