The Death of SMS?

(Image via ispyoo.com)

SMS or Short Messaging Service, has been one of the longest and often used (and sometimes overused) form of mobile communication by both consumers and marketers.

But, with the rise of mobile chat applications such as Whatsapp, Viber, WeChat, Skype, Line, and even Facebook Messenger, it's not really surprising that we see a decline in overall SMS usage here in Malaysia.

We are already seeing a decline of total SMS sent in Q2 2014 vs Q2 2015 in Malaysia (13,193 mil vs 6,855 mil) by about 48%. And the usage still seems to be in a downward trend in 2015 in Q1 (7,768 mil) vs Q2 (6,855 mil). That's a reduction of 10% usage in just one quarter alone!

Source: Communication and Multimedia Pocket Book of Statistics, Q2 2015, MCMC Malaysia.

In the near future, mobile chat applications would probably replace SMS as a preferred form of future text communication as it gives the user more flexibility as well as options. Mobile chat applications allows:

• Real-time response
• Multi user participation (groups) 
• Sharing of files 
• Most importantly - No extra charges to send a message if you're on a data plan or using WiFi

The SMS usage numbers will only decline even further within these 2-3 years as more mobile chat applications become available, mobile data prices becomes more affordable and smartphone usage increases.

However, one thing to note that while SMS usage is on the decline, it's still regarded as a more reliable form of messaging compared to chat applications. SMS is also available as a default to all mobile phones, while chat applications are still very fragmented in nature, meaning, not everyone are on the same chat platform or application as you.

So whether SMS will still be around in the next few years remain to be seen, but the days of SMS are certainly numbered!

Somewhere In The Near Future...

This week, Google gave a glimpse of "Project Glass" in a video and blog post. Still in an early prototype stage, the glasses looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. The glasses also showcase a whole suite of Google applications (Google Maps, Google Places, Google Plus, etc.). While I feel it might still take another few years before this actually takes off, at the rate Google is going, it doesn't seem that impossible and probably not too far away.

Another video that I find interesting is how digital screens will be used in the near future. This concept is brought to you by TAT (The Astonishing Tribe), a company that consists of engineers, visual artists and interaction designers who eat, sleep, and breathe User Interfaces. The company was acquired by RIM in December 2010, the very same people who brought you the Blackberry and Playbook.

Google Buzz = Buzz Kill?

Google recently launched Google Buzz, a service to share updates, photos, videos, and more. There are a lot of criticisms when it went live 2 days ago, I for one am a skeptic, but also understand what Google is trying to achieve by doing so.

It certainly looks like a mediocre attempt to emulate Friendfeed and it certainly feels like it's a half baked product in terms of features. But if you look at how Google is positioning it in terms of a marketing stand point, it looks more like a beta or even alpha version of the upcoming Google Wave. Right now, Buzz is available as an extension on Gmail while they improve on Google Wave.

What I don't like most about it it's the way it's presented. Latest "buzz" threads are not displayed in reverse chronological order like Facebook or Twitter updates...which means users need to scroll all the way down to read new updates in a particular Buzz thread. Active Buzz threads are on the top, while the less active ones are below. Although it’s annoying, it does kinda make sense, because “buzz” is really what it’s all about; which are the more talked about topics/threads.

There also isn't a clear indication of who has updated what thread, unlike Facebook have with their "Notifications" tab. Also base on my usage, I’m only notified on Gmail on the threads that I’m participating in, and don’t get updates on those which I’m not. I might be wrong though. Bear in mind, you can also now share photos, videos and links using Buzz…nothing new really...all features that can and will expand into Google Wave in future.

In summary, I think Buzz is released to do what it's meant to do; to create "Buzz"...simple as that...nothing more in terms of function. If you ask me, Google definitely did a good job by getting users like you and me to use Buzz as a test platform for the development and enhancements for Google Wave in future.

The All New Apple iPad

Photo by Gizmodo

Early this morning around 230AM Malaysian time, Apple unveiled its long awaited tablet dubbed the iPad. So what so special about the iPad you must be asking? Well, it's exactly that...NOTHING! To me, Apple has always been a trend-setter, a lifestyle changer and for arguement sake, some say makes the best operating system in the world. I've never really been an Apple fan for starters, and yes I believe after this post I probably get some hate mail, but lets be honest here; do we actually need the iPad?

As I mentioned, Apple has always been the forefront of trend setting devices; from the iPods, to the iMacs, to the iPhone. I got to admit it did a pretty good job in getting consumers to buy their products by making consumers feel that it's "cool" to own one. But "cool" does not always neccesarily translate to good functionality and features. The iPad for me is just an oversized iPhone on steroids. Many consumers and pundits were anticipating a breakthrough with all the hype building around the iPad, but yet features and capabilities are no different from the iPhone if not less. There is NO CAMERA in this device, which makes web cam and conference calls impossible. It DOES NOT OUTPUT HDMI (source by Gizmodo). Of all the features, I actually think this would be included by Apple as a standard. And most importantly, It still CANNOT MULTITASK which is a very big let down. Imagine you cannot listen your favourite music while writing an email nor can you Tweet and browse the internet at the same time. Multitasking is the very fundamentals of mobile computing, and unless Apple does otherwise, I don't see laptop or even netbook sales decreasing just as yet.

As for the name iPad, Apple with all it's "coolness" could really have came out with a better name than that. Other products that were unveiled at the launch includes iBooks and iWork, which is a stripped down version of Microsoft's Office. How original is that? For what it's worth, I see the iPad as a permanent replacement of the Amazon Kindle, which if you ask me...is not as "cool" as the e-reader on the iPad. But if you ask me if it's a replacement for mobile computing?...maybe not just yet.

Sources:
http://www.apple.com/ipad/
http://gizmodo.com/5457757/apple-ipad-first-hands-on
http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad