The list of smartphones running Android is getting bigger and bigger every day. In fact, nearly 75% of all smartphone sold in Q1 of 2013 were Android devices. If you’re looking for a new Android phone, it can be quite difficult and frustrating to find the best device for your needs.

In contrast to other buyer’s guides, this guide will also look at the custom ROM scene for the hottest devices, to make sure your Android phone is future-proof. The Android market is very fragmented and Android OS availability differs strongly from device to device. This buyer’s guide will help you decide which Android phone to buy.

Things To Consider When Buying An Android Phone

Tech specs, battery life and other features are usually the main consideration points before purchasing a phone. If you are a more advanced user, you should definitely consider custom ROMs available, how active the tweaker community for this device is and how easy it is to root the device.

If you’re not buying a Google-branded Nexus device, there is a high chance that you have to wait for a few months before you get the latest Android version on your phone. Even new devices like the HTC One are released with an outdated Android version (4.1 in this case, with 4.2 being available since November 2012).

Usually this delay is created by the manufacturers own UI (like Sense for HTC or TouchWiz for Samsung devices) that needs to be adjusted to the new Android version. Custom ROMs are a great way to reduce waiting time, because they will bring stock Android experience or other improvements to your phone. When buying a new Android device I would highly recommend to check out the custom ROM scene before deciding solely on specs and features.

I will update this article frequently to make sure it includes the latest developments in terms of custom roms.

Top 5 Android Devices

Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung Galaxy S4 Features

• Android 4.2.2 – Stock & Samsung-branded TouchWiz
• 5” Full HD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080) display, 441 ppi
• 1.9 GHz Quad-Core Processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16 / 32 / 64GB memory + microSD slot (up to 64GB)
• Main (Rear) Camera 13 MP, Front Camera 2 MP
• Dimensions: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm, 130g
• NFC-enabled
• 2,600mAh battery
• Price: $699.00

Samsung’s new flagship phone is one of the best Android devices on the market. Not only does it have a crisp 441 ppi display and a massive removable 2,600 mAh battery, but it will also be available with stock Android on Google Play soon. The huge 5 inch AMOLED is one of the best displays currently available.

Powered by a quad-core 1.9 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 2GB RAM, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is also one of the fastest Android devices on the market. If you didn’t like the “plastic”-feel of the Samsung Galaxy S3, you will probably also dislike the plastic case of the new model.

With Samsung’s new flagship destined to be a very popular Android phone, more custom ROMs are popping up on XDA from day to day. AOKP and CyanogenMod custom ROMs are available to download, although still in a very early stage. Since the phone is quite fresh, we have to see how much the device will be supported by the custom ROM scene. Especially Google’s introduction of a stock ROM version is quite interesting.

Check out the Samsung Galaxy S4 on Amazon

Advantages

• High resolution display
• Fast processor
• Removable battery
• Additional storage through microSD support
• Great camera

Disavantages

• No direct stock ROM support (yet)
• Plastic-feel
• Expensive

Nexus 4

Nexus 4 Features

• Stock Android 4.2.2
• 4.7” 1280 x 768 display, 320 ppi
• 1.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor
• 2GB RAM
• 8GB or 16GB memory
• Main (Rear) Camera 8 MP, Front Camera 1.3 MP
• Dimensions: 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm, 139g
• NFC-enabled
• 2100mAh battery
• Price: $299.00 (8GB), $350.00 (16GB)

The LG Nexus 4 is Google’s current flagship phone of its own Nexus series. Priced at $299.00, it offers a fast 1.4 GHz Quad-Core processor and a crisp 320 ppi 4.7” display. I’m personally using this phone since January and I simply love it.

Being part of Google’s Nexus series, the latest Android version is always available for the LG Nexus 4. Sure, the specs can’t compare to Android flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One, but it offers great value for it’s low price. Unfortunately, the LG Nexus 4 battery is not removable and it does not have a microSD card slot. The camera is good, but has its weaknesses in the dark or while recording video in noisy environments.

The LG Nexus 4 custom ROM and modding scene is great. All important custom ROMs like CyanogenMod or ParanoidAndroid as well as a range of custom kernels are available. I can highly recommend the LG Nexus 4 for people looking for the pure Android experience. If you can wait a little longer, Google is expected to launch a new version of it’s flagship phone this summer.

Check out the LG Nexus 4 on Google Play

Advantages

• High resolution display
• Fast processor
• Stock Android
• Great value for it’s price

Disadvantages

• Limited memory
• Non-removable battery
• Camera has weaknesses

Samsung Galaxy Note II

Samsung Galaxy Note II Features

• Android 4.1 with Samsung TouchWiz
• 5.5″ HD Super AMOLED (1,280 x 720), 267 ppi
• 1.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16 / 32 / 64GB memory + microSD slot (up to 64GB)
• Main (Rear) Camera 8 MP, Front Camera 1.9 MP
• Dimensions: 80.5 x 151.1 x 9.4 mm, 182.5g
• NFC-enabled
• 3100mAh battery
• Price: From $539.95

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is huge. The phablet – a combination of phone and tablet – has a gigantic 5.5” Super AMOLED screen with 267 ppi. Although the phablet does not have the latest tech specs anymore, it is still leader in its class. Samsung is expected to launch its successor later this year.

Just like with the Samsung Galaxy S4, the Note II’s plastic construction can be a negative point for some users. Using the phablet can also get quite difficult due to its huge screen – but I think that’s something you’re fully aware of when buying a 5.5” device.

With the Samsung Galaxy Note II being on the market since September 2012, the custom ROM and modder community is very active. All relevant custom ROMs like ParanoidAndroid, CyanogenMod or AOKP are available for the phablet. These custom ROMs are a great way to use the latest version of Android on the Note II.

Check out the Samsung Galaxy Note II on Amazon

Advantages

• Huge screen
• Extensive battery life
• Expandable memory
• Removable battery

Disadvantages

• No official support for Stock Android
• Plastic-feel

HTC One

HTC One Features

• Android 4.1 with Sense 5.0
• 4.7” Full-HD, 468 ppi
• 1.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor
• 2GB RAM
• 32 / 64GB memory
• Main (Rear) Camera HTC UltraPixel, Front Camera 2.1 MP
• Dimensions: 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm, 143g
• NFC-enabled
• 2300mAh battery
• Price: From $755.00

The HTC One is HTC’s current flagship device, which was released recently. Being the Samsung Galaxy S4’s main competitor, it has comparable hardware specs and comes with state of the art features. The 4.7” screen comes with 468 ppi and is the current leader in terms of pixel density. The phone comes with HTC’s “BoomSound” which are loud, front-facing speakers with a deep bass.

In contrast to Samsung’s flagship, HTC’s device comes with a high quality aluminium case and has a great look and feel. The phone ships with 32 or 64GB internal memory but no expansion slot. In terms of battery life, the Samsung Galaxy S4 outperforms the HTC One having a higher capacity battery, but both should last through the day. The battery is also non-removable.

It’s quite interesting that the HTC One ships with Android 4.1 and Sense 5.0 although Android 4.2 has been available since November. It always took HTC ages before updating to the latest Android version which is quite negative for advanced users. Luckily HTC supports the custom ROM scene quite well, so custom roms like CyanogenMod, ParanoidAndroid and AOKP are already available running the latest Android version 4.2.2.

Check out the HTC One on Amazon

Advantages

• Great screen with highest pixel density on the market
• Fast processor
• High-resolution camera
• Premium aluminium body
• Loud “BoomSound” speakers

Disadvantages

• Non-removable battery
• No additional storage slot
• Outdated Android version 
• Expensive

Sony Xperia Z

Sony Xperia Z Features

• Android 4.1
• 5” Full-HD, 441 ppi
• 1.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor
• 2GB RAM
• up to 16GB + microSD slot (up to 32GB)
• Main (Rear) Camera 13MP, Front Camera 2MP
• Dimensions: 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm, 146g
• NFC-enabled
• 2330mAh battery
• Price: From $585.00

The Sony Xperia Z is Sony’s flagship Android device and comes with state of the art specs like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One. In contrast to the other two Android phones, the Xperia Z is often forgotten when talking about the top phones, although it does not need to hide from them. Coming with a 5” 441 ppi display and a 1.5 GHz Quad-Core processor it’s one of the fastest devices on the market.

Unfortunately, the display is not as good as it sounds on paper due to a bad contrast ratio and viewing issues when looking on the display from different perspectives. The battery is not removable, which might be due to the fact that the Xperia Z is water- and dustproof. Other than that, Sony’s launcher can get quite laggy which can be easily solved by installing a new Android launcher. The Xperia Z ships with Android 4.1 but can be updated using custom ROMs.

The Sony Xperia Z custom ROM scene looks active, but not as big as with other high-class Android devices. All big distributions like CyanogenMod, AOKP and ParanoidAndroid are available.

Check out the Sony Xperia Z on Amazon

Advantages

• Fast processor
• Additional storage via microSD
• Water- and Dust-proof

Disadvantages

• No Stock Android
• Display not as great as advertised
• Camera has issues
• Lower battery capacity compared to other top-class phones

Final Words or Which Android Phone Should I Buy?

Deciding which Android phone to get can be quite difficult. As mentioned above, I can only recommend to go for a phone that supports stock Android or has an active custom ROM scene. Depending on your budget, I would recommend to go with the LG Nexus 4 or with the Google Play version of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Both devices come with the latest version of Android and you’ll always get your updates as soon as Google releases them.

I will keep this page updated with the latest smartphones released. Want to give your current phone a new look? Then check out my guide on custom ROMs for Android or the best Android launchers available.

Got questions? Need help? Ask me in the comments below!

The post Android Phone Buyer’s Guide For Advanced Users appeared first on trendblog.net.

Google’s mobile operating system Android is a real phenomenon. It started as a simple idea to advance open standards on mobile and has become the world’s leading mobile platform. The rapid growth of this platform is astonishing and is not going to slow down in the foreseeable future.

Gartner has released its smartphone sales figures for Q1 2013 which confirm and underline Android’s growth. In the first three months of 2013, 210 million smartphones were sold, from which 156 million were Android phones. This means that Android accounted for 75% of all smartphone sales. Compared to the sales numbers from last year’s first quarter, almost twice as much Android phones were sold this year.

Samsung has the biggest share of smartphone sales

The biggest player has been Samsung (again). According to Gartner’s estimates, 31% of all smartphones that were purchased were produced by Samsung. Unsurprisingly, Apple follows Samsung with a share of (only) 18%. Apple’s sale numbers are still growing but at a slower pace than they used to. In my opinion, one reason might be that many Apple users decided to skip the iPhone 5 model and are waiting for the release of the new model.

One interesting development are the overall mobile handset sales. Compared to a year ago, they only went up by 0.7%. This means that there is a clear shift from lower-end mobile phones to smartphones.

If we count in lower-end mobile phones and look at the overall sales numbers, Samsung is still stealing the show. Its share is 23.6% or, in absolute numbers, over 100 million mobile phone sales in Q1 2013.

Below are two tables displaying the manufacturers with the most smartphone and overall mobile phone sales:

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 1Q13 (Thousands of Units)

Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 1Q13 (Thousands of Units)

Are you surprised by these numbers and the clear dominance of Android? If so, why? And do you think Android’s growth will keep its pace or flatten? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

The post Android Continues Its Triumph: Nearly 75% Of All Smartphone Sales In Q1 Were Android appeared first on trendblog.net.

Yesterday we had the pleasure to watch Google’s I/O keynote presentation live via YouTube. During the three hour long keynote, Google has shown a lot of interesting new features of its existing products and announced some new products, most of which are for developers.

Unfortunate for the “regular” consumers, we haven’t seen any new cool devices or a new version of Android, in spite of all the rumors.

Nevertheless, we have created a small graphic with 6 of the most exciting Google announcements (in a sleek Google Now-like design).

Feel free to share this graphic on your own blog or website using the code below:

How do you feel about Google’s latest announcements? Did you miss anything Google should have addressed? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post 6 Of The Most Exciting Google I/O 2013 Announcements appeared first on trendblog.net.

We spend most of our online time in a browser. Some of us do research, others watch videos on YouTube or talk to their friends on Facebook. With the web developing faster and faster every day, many things like e-mail programs or even office software move away from computers and into your browser.

Sometimes we tend to waste time online, but you can also improve your productivity using extensions and add ons. Some browsers offer the possibility to install additional, small programs called “extensions” or “add-ons” that can increase your productivity and offer you a better experience.

Google Chrome is the most used browser in the world. Although Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is still leading in the US, Chrome wins on a global scale with 37% – in front of other browsers like Internet Explorer, Safari or Firefox.

Increase Your Productivity With Google Chrome Extensions

People like to use Chrome not only because it’s fast, supports new web technologies and its many built-in features, but also because of the extensive Chrome Web Store. This article will show you 7 Chrome extensions that will help you to increase your online productivy.

StayFocusd

StayFocusd is a great extension that helps you to limit time wasted online. By adding certain websites to StayFocused, the extension will only allow you to browse these websites for a limited amount of time. You can also use the “Nuclear Option” and allow only a few websites to be available, limiting access to all other websites. This extension is especially great if you can’t get yourself to work for 30 minutes without checking Facebook. Just add Facebook to the list and StayFocused!

StayFocusd on the Chrome Web Store

Awesome Screenshot

Awesome Screenshot offers the possibility to take screenshots of the website you’re currently browsing. You can decide whether to capture the whole page, window or only a certain area. In contrast to other browser capturing tools, Awesome Screenshot offers annotation features as well as an instant upload to an image host.

You can also choose to store your screenshot temporarily (for 3 days). This will automatically generate a link, which you can instantly share with anybody.

Download Awesome Screenshot

Popchrom

Do you repeat certain phrases or long words quite often? Popchrom might be able to help you with that! Simply define shortcut phrases like “tb” and the extension will replace it with a predefined word or phrase like “trendblog.net”.

Download Popchrom

RescueTime

RescureTime helps you to keep track of the time you spend in your browser and what you’re doing. You can also set alerts that will remind you to stop wasting time when browsing too much on “unwanted” websites.

Download RescueTime

Session Buddy

If you’re like me, you always have tons of tabs open. This can get quite chaotic from time to time. Session Buddy helps you to save the state of all open tabs and restore them at a later point in time.

Download Session Buddy

LastPass

LastPass is a password manager and form filler. If you have many passwords for different websites, LastPass will store them all securely in one place. Just like with 1Password for Mac, you’ll only need one password ever again. It can also help you to easily fill-in data in forms.

Download Last Pass and get a free month of LastPass premium here

Strict Pomodoro

Do you like to use the Pomodoro time management technique? This extension will block distracting websites and only allow you to access them during your break periods.

Download Strict Pomodoro

Checker Plus for Gmail

If you’re using Gmail, Checker Plus is the ultimate Gmail tool. The extension offers you many features such as displaying new emails, reading and deleting them without even opening the Gmail website.

Download Checker Plus for Gmail

Conclusion

Google Chrome extensions are a great way to improve your productivity by making many tasks easier, help you to track your time or block certain websites. Do you use IFTTT? Then check out Daniel’s article with 10 IFTTT recipes to increase your productivity .

Did I forget your favourite productivity extensions? Make sure to comment below and I’ll add them to this list!

The post 7 Best Chrome Extensions To Increase Your Productivity appeared first on trendblog.net.

As of June 2012, 78.9% of all people in North America had access to internet. I think it’s fair to say that nowadays everybody in the western world, and many other parts of the world, can afford an internet connection – no matter if it’s mobile internet or a broadband connection from your local provider.

Having an internet connection breaks a lot barriers, one of which is education. Every person with internet access is able to search the web and start learning stuff. Doesn’t matter if it’s high-school material, university courses or, what I did, online marketing.

Most of what I knew about online marketing (before landing my first industry job and starting trendblog.net) I have taught myself online. I have read a countless amount of blog articles, books, watched many related YouTube videos and took e-learning courses.

In this blog post, I want to share with you some of the best and most popular e-learning websites. They all successfully helped me to learn basically everything I wanted to learn in the past and, hopefully, will help me in the future as well.

Why Take Online Courses?

Every day more an more people start enrolling into countless e-learning programmes – ranging from biology and physics to entrepreneurship and marketing. A study has shown that people who took all or part of their courses online performed better compared to the ones who took face-to-face courses.

So why would you attend online courses? Here are a few reasons why you should:

1. Study at your own pace and repeat courses whenever you want
2. Amazing amount of free courses
3. Flexible schedule – learn when you want
4. You can attend courses from anywhere in the world given the fact that you have internet access
5. Certificate given at the end of each course – this may be something for your CV

Best eLearning Platforms

Udemy

Udemy is an e-learning platform, which offers a huge variety of free and premium courses ranging from Technology and Business to Music and Craftsmanship.

Recommended courses:

1. Infographics For Content Promotion (free)
2. Coding for Entrepreneurs ($49)
3. Beginner’s or Advanced Excel Training ($99)

Download Udemy iOS App

Codecademy

As digital marketers we have to stay up to date with the latest technologies and be able to understand how they work. You should at least know the basics of HTML and CSS. If you want to make yourself familiar with coding, check out Codecademy’s free courses.

Recommended courses:

1. JavaScript
   
2. Web Fundamentals
   
3. PHP
   
4. APIs (especially useful)

Coursera

More than 3.5 million students have already signed up for the 370 free courses from 69 different partners, including Ivy League universities like Brown, Columbia and Princeton.

The main difference between Coursera and other online education platforms is that all the courses take place within a certain time frame, usually a few weeks long. This means that you would have to adjust to the schedule, without having the full ability to learn at your own pace.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is probably the best known resource for online courses. It also helped me to pass quite a few finance-related courses in university.

Besides featuring over 4.100 different educational videos, students are able to see detailed study-performance statistics. All courses are being offered for free – no exceptions.

The website offers courses from 5 different categories:

1. Math
2. Science & Economics
3. Computer Science
4. Humanities
5. Test Preparation (i.e. SAT Math, GMAT, CAHSEE)

Download Khan Academy iOS App

Conclusion

Doesn’t matter what you want to learn, there is something out there for you. There is a huge variety of free online courses, and the paid ones are very often quite affordable, compared to “offline” courses. Whether you want to catch up on some courses you missed in high-school or want to develop your professional skills – you can do it.

What kind of experience did/do you have with online education? Do you think it will replace face-to-face teaching? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Best Online Education & E-Learning Websites appeared first on trendblog.net.

Since the Google Glass launch there has been huge buzz around this brand new piece of wearable technology. Glass has received a lot of coverage from all kinds of technology blogs, including us. In spite of all the information being available online, there are still big questions in the minds of the public: “What can Google Glass actually do?!” or “Why would anybody use them?!”.

In this post we will look at different uses for Google Glass and some awesome value-adding applications.

What Can Google Glass Do At The Moment?

In its current (beta) state Glass has very limited functionality, which boils down to only a few things. It has far more potential than it has functionality. But this doesn’t stop bleeding edge technology enthusiasts from buying them for $1500 (which is a lot).

Google will likely start selling Glass to the public mid-2014 for an unknown price. Just recently we have published the results of our survey, which shows that most people were willing to pay between $200-$300 for Glass.

Google Glass’ basic functions:

• Take pictures
• Record videos
• Show notifications
• Give directions
• Google Hangouts (video calling)

In my opinion, Google Glass is an amazing playground for developers, who would be able to create awesome apps around Google’s hardware.

Future Applications of Google Glass

With the first Glass(es) being shipped, an increasing number of developers start creating great apps for Glass, giving it a lot more functionality. Let’s look at what we would be able to do with Glass in the near future:

1. Education

There is an increasing demand for online education. More and more people start enrolling in online courses through different education platforms (such as Udemy) or look at educating YouTube videos. There are a lot of talented people who can show you how to do the things you want to learn.

With Google Glass you could now “attend” cooking classes hosted by world-famous chefs and see exactly what they are seeing. Imagine how many different things  people could teach each other!

Andrew Vanden Heuvel, a physics teacher from Michigan, had a great idea how to use Google Glass for education: he took his class on a virtual field trip into the Large Hadron Collider (see video below).

2. Healthcare

Nowadays some surgeons already wear head-mounted cameras to film everything they see. They also have to have an eye on different stats like heart rate, blood pressure, etc. Using Google Glass it would be possible to combine a camera with a “surgical dashboard” showing all necessary stats in the corner of the eye without any distractions.

3. Collaboration

Google Glass opens up new possibilities for online collaboration. Start a Google Hangout with your colleagues and see what they are seeing – sketches, mind maps, creative work and much more. Check out other collaboration tools we use at trendblog.net!

4. Sports

There is now a way to enhance your sports viewing experience, which will bring the action on the field right to you. Referees wearing Google Glass would be able to stream everything they see on the field, giving you the opportunity to see all the action, which you can’t see from a distance.

A head-mounted referee-cam has already been tested a while ago. The video below shows you exactly how it looks like.

5. Games

With Google Glass you and your kids would be able to participate in awesome outdoor games like interactive treasure hunts. It is also a great way to explore new cities in a very fun and interesting way.

6. Journalism

Nowadays, information is everything. News spread on Twitter like wildfire, videos of the most recent events are being uploaded to YouTube and pictures are taken with Instagram.

News companies don’t have their crews everywhere. But with Google Glass everybody could be a journalist – streaming live video of breaking news or live events from anywhere in the world. There are already many services which offer this functionality for smartphones, but there’s a downside to it: the person who is recording the video will have to hold up a smartphone all the time. With Google Glass you would be able to focus on what is happening and let others see it too.

Conclusion

There is still a lot to come. As I have previously mentioned, Google Glass has far more potential than it has functionality. And Google knows it. As soon as more developers will have their hands on Glass, we will see a huge number of new apps being developed for it.

What would you use Google Glass for? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post 6 Awesome & Creative Things Google Glass Can Do appeared first on trendblog.net.

This post is part of a multiple-series guide about Online Marketing For Small Businesses. In this post I will discuss the basics of getting people to visit your website by explaining location based and local marketing, blogging, email and affiliate marketing.

• Part 1: Building up an online web presence
• Part 2: Inbound marketing (SEO and PPC)
• Part 3: Inbound marketing (location based, local, blogging, email, affiliate)

In the previous part I talked about search engine optimization and online advertising. In this part I’m going to talk about other online marketing channels you can use to drive traffic to your website and/or your physical store.

So let’s get to it!

Location based marketing

For smaller businesses with physical locations, location based marketing is a great and money-saving way to attract new and existing customers and get them to engage more with your business. Targeting consumers locally has several advantages:

• Consumers are more likely to visit your if they are close to it
• If you are well presented on location based service platforms, such as Foursquare, people who search for your kind of business can easily find you and are more likely to visit you.
• You’re able to reach all mobile device users nearby who are doing a local search. In fact, 48% of all mobile users in the US are making local searches on their devices.

There are several ways to use location based marketing and, depending on your business, you might consider a mix of the following for your location based marketing strategy:

Mobile Ads

As I already mentioned, almost half of all mobile users use their device for local searches and the majority uses Google Search. Therefore, displaying location-based mobile ads on Google can bring many customers into your store which, initially, saw your ad on their smartphone. The big advantage here is that mobile ads can be highly targeted. For example, you could set up ads, which are only displayed with a click to call extension in a certain area and a specific time period.

If you have a marketing budget, I recommend trying out mobile ads, either by doing it yourself or with the help of an online advertising agency.

Before you get started, check out our online advertising beginner’s guide if you are not yet familiar with the topic.

Location based service apps

Location based apps are a great way to lure consumers into your shop. These services are either for free or low-cost and very targeted. One of the most popular apps is Foursquare. Because of its 33 million users and 3.5 billion location check-ins since its launch 2009, businesses should seriously consider using it in their marketing strategy.

Using different approaches and services you can get more customers and increase your revenue. You should find out which services your target group is using and focus on them. However, I recommend using more than just one. Being present on several location based platforms increases your reach and will likely bring in more customers.

Only a few small businesses are using location based apps properly, which gives you the opportunity to get a head start and steal away potential customers from your competitors.

Incentives for “checking-in”

Normally, you don’t get location based app users into your store that easily. You need to give them a good reason to enter your store. Use incentives for “check-ins”, such as a discount or a free product if they check-in for the first time. This way you can especially attract new customers. Getting new customers is much harder than keeping existing ones.

Put yourself into the position of potential new customers and think about suitable incentives, which would convince them to pay you a visit.

Reward your loyal customers

Obviously, it is crucial to turn existing customers into loyal and returning ones. With location based platforms, you can make this transition easier and reward loyalty.  For example, with Foursquare, you can offer rewards (free coffee, discount …) to customers, who checked into your store several times or are the so-called “Mayor” (the person who has checked-in the most in a certain time period becomes the mayor).

Think of the rewards as a digital version of the traditional stamp cards (e.g. 10th visit is for free).

Even out time periods when business is slow

Times of the day in which business is slow can be a real pain. So why not offer special deals in such time periods to drive sales? It is always better to make sales with a lower profit margin than no sales at all, right?

You can use location based platforms and mobile ads to set up special discounts or free products which are only available in your defined time period. For example, you can create an ad campaign in AdWords, which displays ads only at specific times to advertise a 20% discount for students. This way, coffee shops or bars could lure students to their locations when they leave the university.

Get to know your customers

Usually, location based services offer its users the possibility to give ratings, reviews and tips about a place they have visited. Every business owner knows by now that consumers value reviews a lot, it is important that your customers leave reviews.

Reviews can help you to see what your customers think about you and the way you do your job. Look at what your customers say and react on their reactions in order to improve their experience.

Encourage your customers to write reviews. Best approach would be to offer them something in return.

Blogging

Having a blog with frequently updated content is a good way to increase website traffic. Every blog post is one piece of content more than can drive traffic from search eng. Furthermore, a business blog can establish you as an expert of your industry, which increases your credibility and trust.

If you have a local store, I recommend that you write about topics that are not only general but also local. This way you can also reach potential customers searching for relevant local keywords.

However, before you start setting up a blog you should think about the following:

• Do I have the resources (time, staff …) to write articles on a regular basis and promote them on social media and other channels?
• How much of an expert am I? Am I able to write unique and valuable content?
• What are my goals for the blog?

If you’re still eager to start blogging after asking yourself those questions, I recommend to use WordPress, a content management system, which is very user-friendly and easy to set up.

Email marketing

Despite of the bad reputation email newsletter might have, they are still a great way to communicate with subscribers and turn them into customers (again). However, you need to be very careful what you send out. There are a lot of things you can do wrong, which drive away your target audience and make them unsubscribe from your newsletter.

Here are some important things to keep an eye on if you consider email marketing:

• Never send out spam (useless mails without value) and don’t send out too many mails in a short time period
• Only include content which offers value to your subscriber
• Make it as easy as possible for your visitors to sign up for your newsletter
• Be consistent
• Tell you subscriber what they can expect
• Use a newsletter design which fits your business
• Use a responsive newsletter design, so that it’s properly displayed on mobile devices

There are many email marketing tools out there to make our life easier. I can recommend Mailchimp, which we use here at trendblog. It’s very easy to understand and user-friendly.

Final words & outlook on part 4

Getting traffic to your website and, eventually, to your store is a real challenge and can be quite some work. However, if you have a good inbound marketing strategy and clear goals you can see positive results relatively soon. Never end up in a routine, always try to test and improve your approaches.

In the next part, which will come out soon, I will talk about how to analyze your website’s traffic using different tools. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments.

Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and social media channels to stay up-to-date!

The post The Ultimate Online Marketing Guide For Small Businesses – Part 3: Inbound Marketing appeared first on trendblog.net.

Last week’s first part of our mobile app monetization series focused on using mobile ad networks to monetize your app. This article will focus on charging the user through paid apps, in-app purchases or subscription fees.

Whether you decide to directly charge your user or monetize your app through advertisements can be a tough decision. With more than 50% of apps in Apple’s App Store being free, charging users can be a huge download barrier. This part of the guide will help you to make the best decision for your app by considering different factors.

Pricing Strategies For Paid Apps

Charging the user a fee for downloading your app is a standard approach to monetizing an app. Typical prices on the App Store and Google Play range from $0.99 to $2.99, with $0.99 being the most frequent one in the App Store.

When considering whether to charge for an app or not, put yourself in your consumers perspective and think about reasons why you would pay for an app:

8 Pricing Strategies For Apps

1. The user liked the free version and wants to support the developer
2. The user liked the free version and wants to get rid of the advertisements
3. The user wants to unlock premium features that are not available in the free version
4. The app is so unique and valuable that the user has no problems with paying for it
5. The user knows the product (or the developer/publisher) and knows that the app is worth a few bucks
6. The app was recently promoted by a trusted source or has a top ranking
7. The user wants to use the app`s features and there is no free version available
8. The app is currently on sale and the user is willing to pay a small amount for a premium app

You can summarize the reasons into 3 categories:

1. Offer a free version of your app with advertisements, limited features and charge users for a premium version
2. Offer a unique app experience for which users are willing to pay without testing it
3. Have a strong brand or product that is well known to its loyal audience

Different customers have different reasons to pay for an app directly. Try to find the most common ones for your target group. Every app is different and so is its pricing- and selling strategy. Especially the app category plays an important role. Is your app a game? Does your app offer a hotel booking service and make most profit from transaction fees? Think about it! There is no golden rule!

In-App Purchase Approaches

In-app purchases (IAP) are a nice way to directly charge users for additional features in a free app. When offering a free app with in-app purchases you circumvent the download barrier set by offering a paid app. Users are able to test your app and can decide whether to pay for some premium features or not. You can always monetize through advertisements, and in-app purchases are a nice way to generate additional revenue. I’ve listed a few examples below:

Currency

With most games offering some sort of currency to progress in them you can add a second, paid currency, for progressing faster. Although it’s not a rule set in stone, don’t offer your paying customers an overpowered advantage. Many gamers don’t like such “pay-to-win” games and will give you negative feedback and bad ratings.

Freemium

Freemium is a well-established online business model that can also be applied to mobile apps. Offer a free app and let people unlock premium features such as additional levels for games or more exercises for a workout app.

Customization Features & Skins

Especially with online games, users want to personalize their appearance. Charge users for customization features like character skins or new colors for their car.

Subscription

Depending on your app, subscriptions for newspapers, magazines or other content through In-App purchases can be a great way to create an additional income channel to your on- or offline business.

The examples listed above are obviously interconnected and can be mixed. For instance, you could charge users for custom features with your premium in-game currency. There are many possibilities and it’s up to you to find the best strategy for your app and target group.

Conclusion & Outlook

It’s not easy to decide whether to monetize your app through directly charging the consumer or using advertisements. I would recommend to use a mixed approach because it will give you more channels to monetize your app. As I already pointed out, there is no golden rule and you have to do proper research before deciding which way is the most profitable for you.

In the next weeks I’ll tell you about more creative ways to monetize your app. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and social media channels to stay up-to-date!

The post Beginners Guide to Mobile App Monetization #2: Monetizing Through Paid Apps & IAP appeared first on trendblog.net.

Just a little while ago I went to Berlin to attend Germany’s top technology & startup conference – NEXT Berlin. There I had the pleasure to meet many interesting people, including Berlin’s finest entrepreneurs, visionaries and influencers in the marketing & technology sectors.

Along with Marina Gorbis, Harper Reed and Bruce Sterling, I had a very interesting encounter with technical evangelist and blogger Robert Scoble. He is (as far as I know) the first person to bring Google Glass to Germany! It was the first time I had the opportunity to try Google Glass(es) myself when I met Robert right after his brilliant and enlightening keynote presentation about “the Era of Context”.

I must say that the experience of Google Glass comes very close to the promo-video Google has released a while ago. As a technology enthusiast, I was very excited about Google Glass and the fact that I was one of the first people in Germany to try them on.

At this point I have realized that I will buy them as soon as they get on the market. My “geeky” subconscious was just begging for it.

But then I caught myself on a thought that many “wannabe-Glassholes” likely had as well : “How much will they cost?”. Will Google Glass be priced at the current level of $1500 or will the price go down? So I asked Robert Scoble… It was a relief to hear Robert’s answer:

Google Glass doesn’t have very expensive technology inside. In fact, it contains 3 times less tech than a regular smartphone. Currently, the most expensive part is the “screen”: the projector and prism cost around $300 each. But once Google will start mass-production the price will drop for sure.

According to Robert Scoble, Google Glass will be priced around $300-$500 when launched. Let’s hope that he is right.

Acceptable Price For Google Glass

But how much are people actually willing to pay for this brand new piece of wearable technology? Out of pure curiosity we have created a short online survey asking people from all over the world how much they would pay for Google Glass. The survey has received almost 3,500 responses within 3 days. And here are the results:

48% of people are willing to pay between $200 and $300 for Google Glass.

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Feel free to embed the results of the survey on your own blog or website using the code below:

I must say that I am surprised by these results. My expectation was that the majority of people would be ready to pay at least $500 for a pair of Glass(es).

Google Glass Price Prediction

Google Glass Developer Terms confirm that there will be no advertising on Google Glass. This is a pretty big step for Google… So, now what? How will Google make money from Glass?

When it comes to the pricing I see three possible scenarios:

Price prediction scenario #1: $499

Google will try to make profit from Glass itself – selling it at a higher price than it costs to produce Glass.

Price prediction scenarion #2: $349

Like with Nexus devices, Google will sell Glass at-cost, pushing people into using Google services. As of now you are required to connect Glass with an Anroid phone to make it work. So, depending on whether Glass will be compatible with the iPhone or not – Google would also push Android and Play Store sales.

Price prediction scenario #3: $199 (unlikely)

I can also imagine Google having a more aggressive sales strategy – selling Glass at a loss, aiming to push Android and Play Store sales. In this scenario Google won’t be adding iPhone support to Glass, making it an additional USP for Android devices.

What do you think Google will do? What scenario is most likely to happen? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

The post How Much Are People Willing To Pay For Google Glass? appeared first on trendblog.net.

April is over and the summer is finally coming! As you might expect, some of the most shared viral ad videos last month were April’s fools days pranks. Enjoy!

Most Shared Viral Ad Videos Of The Last 30 days:

#15 Introducing Gmail Blue | 103,233 shares

#14 Pepsi MAX & Jeff Gordon: “Test Drive” | 107,855 shares

#13 The Simpsons: Breaking Bad Couch Gag | 121,185 shares

#12 Switch to the Nokia Lumia 920 | 122,405 shares

#11 Durex Fundawear | 124,674 shares

#10 Samsung Smart Camera: Usain Bolt | 125,453 shares

#9 Biting Elbows – ‘Bad Motherfucker’ | 134,291 shares

#8 YouTube’s ready to select a winner | 151,421 shares

#7 Bubba’s Hover | 209,740 shares

#6 Pepsi Beyoncé “Mirrors” | 224,571 shares

#5 Introducing Google Nose | 296,775 shares

#4 Daft Punk Pharrell “Get Lucky” SNL Ad | 463,541 shares

#3 baby&me / the new evian film | 1,962,594 shares

#2 Ship My Pants | 1,967,200 shares

#1 Dove Real Beauty Sketches | 2,801,673 shares

Did you miss last months most viral ad videos? Check them out here!

The post Most Shared Viral Video Ads Of The Month – April 2013 appeared first on trendblog.net.