We have just launched a new partner program paying out substantial commission and bonus payments to web professionals, developers and marketers that refer customers.

LouderVoice is Ireland’s largest and longest standing provider of Review & Rate (R&R) solutions to e-businesses. These solutions give customers the ability to post reviews of a products or services on the website they bought from. R&R tools are seen by market analysts as one of the most important tools for any website serious about online business*.

Our system is delivered using a Software as a Service (SaaS) model which scales effortlessly with a company’s online sales growth. Installation can be as simple as pasting a line of code on a web-page and typically takes less than an hour.

Since 2008, the company has sold direct. On March 1st, we suspended our direct channel and now only sell through partners.

We recognise that companies with serious web businesses already have suppliers they trust to manage the ongoing development of their e-business. We now exclusively support these partners in delivering the hottest web tool of the year to their clients.

We offer an extremely rewarding commission and bonus program. Partners that have 50 customers can earn as much as €7,200 in their first year and larger partners, with 200 customers, can earn over €35,000 within 12 months. Plus, we pay an ongoing commission for the life of the customer.

Launch Partners include Webtrade, WSI, Hotel Consult, Granite Consulting, Digital Crew, Monsoon Consulting, TNS Distribution and WeddingDates.ie.

As our VP of Sales, Karl Llewellyn tells our customers: ‘All serious web business should have a Review & Rate tool on their site, today. They are missing out on sales without it. We provide our partners with all the sales material and support to allow them convert the maximum number of their customers; all they have to do is implement one of our ready-made campaigns.’

For more information on becoming a LouderVoice partner go to http://www.loudervoice.com/partner-program/

*26% of US e-businesses surveyed use an R&R Solution with a further 73% citing customer reviews as being an investment priority in the next 12 months. Jan 2010, Forrester Research

Well bloody done Meteor for being first to launch an Android phone in Ireland. Three seems to have dropped the ball with launches recently (possibly due to all effort going into the National Broadband scheme) and this is a real coup for one of the smaller mobile operators. Once I check 3G coverage where I live, I might seriously consider moving from the dreaded Vodafone.

One of the worst aspects of the Android Market is the search feature, which is about as ironic as it gets, since Android comes from Google. I am also concerned that paid Apps are not available in Ireland yet which cuts out a lot of really great applications. Does anyone know when they are enabling paid-apps here?

So if you are wondering what apps to install, here is the full list on my phone:

• LouderVoice Reviews – of course
• AK Notepad – good note taker
• AndFTP – super FTP client
• AndNav2! – a clunky/ugly but usable mapping app based on the OpenStreetMap data
• Apps Installer – so you can install applications outside of the Android Market
• Barcode Scanner – Does what it says on the tin
• BeyondPod – A great podcasting app
• Cardiotrainer – Fitness app
• CM Updater – For the latest Cyanogen community firmware
• Compare Everywhere – Incredible barcode scanner and product finder
• ConnectBot – SSH
• Evernote – For the site of the same name
• Facebook – mobile version of site
• Foursquare – Social Game/Location app
• Google Skymap  - mind boggling view of the stars
• KeePass – For passwords, works with great PC app
• Layar – Virtual Reality App
• Listen – Google Podcast app. Not as good as Beyondpod
• mAnalytics – Google Analytics
• Meridian – Video player
• Google My Tracks – Brilliant GPS trace recorder so you can upload maps to OpenStreetMaps
• OI File Manager – Copy/move/delete files
• Pixelpipe – Media uploader to Facebook/Twitter/Blogs/etc
• Google Places – Great business directory
• Qik – Stream video live from your phone
• Remember The Milk – Brilliant to-do app which I use online all the time
• ShopSavvy – Same as Compare Everywhere
• Skype – Not full Skype but good for IM
• Task Manager – See what’s running on the phone
• TubeStatus – Live status updates from the London Underground
• Twidroid – Powerful but heavy Twitter App
• Twit2Go – More lightweight Twitter App
• TwitterRide – And another
• Ustream – Like Qik. Has never worked for me on Android
• Vespucci – OpenStreetMaps editor
• Video Player – Plays videos
• Weatherbug – Weather based on your location
• Wikitude – Virtual Reality App
• Wireless Tether – Use phone as broadband modem over Wifi or Bluetooth
• YouTube – Videos

If finding apps on the Android Market proves too awkward, you should check out AndroLib which is a web-based copy of the Market with tons more features.

Hope that’s of some help.

I make maybe two large orders a year from drugstore.com which is based in the US (and owned by Amazon I think). The main purchase is a generic OTC medicine which costs a ridiculous fortune in Ireland in branded form. But I also stock up on ibuprofen etc. Buying 250 of those for the same price as 24 in Ireland is all you need to know about the rip-off that this country remains.

Two weeks ago, running out of that OTC med, I put in another order. Something went wrong in their system and the order was never processed. So I attempted to do it again late last week. Suddenly my standard purchases were all coming up as “cannot deliver outside of USA”. I exploded. My meds were now run out, I was in deep discomfort and now I was stymied. So I lashed out on Twitter with some pretty (ok very) harsh language about them.

Within a few hours I got a message from one of their representatives on Twitter, asking if they could help. I explained the situation but assumed it was a dead-end and that their shipping policies had changed (or some Irish muppet civil servant had changed the rules here).

So imagine my total delight to receive an email this evening from them apologising profusely and explaining that it was a bug/error and should not have happened. I can now happily re-do my order.

It’s now a given that all companies should be monitoring their brand on Twitter but apart from small-medium companies who are already known to me, I’ve never had a major business  reach out to me like this. In fact I have purposely baited some Irish companies and they have studiously ignored me.

Now that my problem is sorted, I wholeheartedly recommend that you use drugstore.com to order from Ireland. Yes, the delivery/customs charges will initially shock you but it’s still cheaper than here and the trick is to order lots and lots (or buy for your family/friends too). They add Irish Customs charges at source so you won’t be gouged when the stuff arrives here.

Bravo drugstore.com, I hope we all learn to run our businesses like you.

This is their response to the iPhone App Store and Android Market. You install it by opening the Download! App on your phone (for N-series anyway). Takes ages to install and phone must be rebooted.

My initial feeling is that it doesn’t feel wildly different to that Download! app on my N95-8GB and there is too much Star Trek.

Much more importantly, if you search for something like Shozu, they want €5! Eh, isn’t it free on the Shozu site? A rip-off like that means I’m unlikely to ever use the store again.

How much is Nokia charging companies to put their apps on the store? Is that the reason for the €5? Google charged us nothing to put the “LouderVoice Reviews” for Android app up on the Market.

UPDATE: Based on the newsletter I got from Shozu last night, it’s them charging the €5 not Nokia.  Therefore, I was wrong, Nokia are not the rip-off merchants. It looks like some previously free apps are now pay-for because they have a better route-to-market. Nokia should have spotted this PR mess before it happened and “encouraged” Shozu to offer a freeium option. The fact that they are charging the €5 in Ireland but are not even on the UK Ovi Store makes this story even more odd.

Some screenshots: