Vonage Puts Traditional International Call Business On Hold
Earlier this month voice over IP mogul Vonage announced they will start offering unlimited international phone calls between forty nations starting at $54.99 a month. Needless to say this is a major upset for most international call providers, whose fees are nowhere near as cheap. The telephone industry has had its fair share of names prematurely put into the obituaries, but this latest move by Vonage may very well be the beginning of the end of traditional telephone service
This is because major telephone service providers are pulling more and more of their profit from international calls due to a decrease in domestic landline use globally over the last ten years. More and more people are abandoning their home phones completely in favor of mobile service exclusively, and due to this focus on the profit gained by international calls, a major undercut like that of Vonage's may do an unprecedented amount of destruction on these companies.
This issue represents the unavoidable truth that wireless Internet access is becoming the paramount piece of technology of the early century, leaving anyone still accessing the web through limited wired devices and even worse attempting to initiate paths of communication outside of it, in the dust. It also highlights the fast-growing establishment of internet access in even the farthest reaches of the globe, even if the technological action committed in making a traditional telephone call is archaic. As long as there's a computer with access to the Internet, someone can now make a phone call to anywhere else in the world for cheap. You could conceivably have a village making calls out of the country off just one laptop.
But the effects will be felt much harder in the industrialized nations where these companies make their profit. Imagine your typical citizen of the western world who makes phone calls internationally: a middle-aged to elderly immigrant calling family in the old country. Typically they'd be the perfect target customer for a typical international call provider. But what happens when their grandson can run over from across the street, bring along his laptop, a Wireless Adapter, and the family Vonage account? They never bother with $-a-minute phone service again.
The final chop into the telephone poll might be the way this service will affect those using mobile phones. More and more individuals, both calling and receiving, are using their mobile phones to communicate internationally, which jack the minute-rate up greatly. If people are able to use their mobile phones to make international calls and avoid the higher cost there's no telling how much business Vonage is going to steal.
While it's always a tough bet to call a centuries-old industry as a business in terminal decline, the way wireless Internet communication can consistently undercut the giants indicates it really is only a matter of time. But if they can't beat them they'll probably just join them. That's how you stick around another century.
Combining Print and Mobile Marketing Technology
The world of advertising is getting shaken up by advances in mobile marketing technology . The latest trend involves using mobile devices to tie print and video campaigns together. These marketing strategies utilize tools such as bar-code readers in smartphones and "augmented reality" concepts. Companies like Calvin Klein, Coca-Cola and Time Out magazine have recently been trying all sorts of innovate techniques to tie print and mobile devices together.
A great example is a giant QR Code on Calvin Klein billboards that is meant to be photographed with your smartphone, and the code then gives you access to a special advertising video. After watching the video, viewers can then share the QR code with friends on Facebook and Twitter. Time Out magazine has also put a special three-dimensional display on its cover that is designed just for smartphone users.
Minimizing Your Mobile Roaming Bill
No one likes to return home after a great overseas trip to find that they have a huge mobile roaming bill waiting for them. Unfortunately, this experience has happened to too many people, as they become shocked to discover that their international roaming charges reached figures in the hundreds to thousands of euros. While mobile roaming can provide greater convenience and accessibility to communicate and receive information, many travelers are unaware of the strategies that they can take to minimize their roaming bill.
One obvious way to reduce your bill is to ensure that your international roaming plan is the cheapest one available. This may involve checking various subscription plans from a number of network providers. In addition, it's important to research the voice and data roaming costs for your travel destination. Another method to minimize your roaming bill is to ensure that you turn off all internet updates of your device. Many email programs, for instance, receive automatic email updates, and keeping this feature on throughout your trip could lead to an expensive bill.