We're big fans of the iPhone and Apple's App Store but Apple needs strong competition and Google's Android is very definitely supplying this. Android is now the most popular smartphone platform in the UK with 28 per cent market share, according to research conducted by YouGov for Intelligent Environments. Although iPhone users remain the heaviest smartphone users, Android's success in reaching younger phone users has to be good news for app developers and advertisers.
- Russell Wiley Is Out To Lunch
While ad agency execs have had plenty of fictional characters to identify with, it's about time the same could be said for media people. And this new novel by Richard Hine, featuring the antics of a media executive at the fictional Daily Business Chronicle, will have many a middle-aged media man (and woman) smiling in recognition at some of the scenarios. Hine worked as an ad copywriter before stints at Time magazine and The Wall Street Journal and his writing style is already leading to comparisons with Matt Beaumont's E.
- Radioplayer
At last, the online Radioplayer (www.radioplayer.co.uk) has launched and we're really enjoying using it. The Player, a joint venture between the BBC and commercial radio companies, offers access to content from 157 UK stations at the click of a mouse. Its flexibility and ease of use is its big selling point - we enjoyed being able to search by station, location, programme, presenter or interest. It should provide a boost to commercial radio, providing easy access to content via smartphones and other devices.
- Sky's Football League deal
As fans of lower league football supporting teams destined to never play in the Premier League, we applaud Sky's £195 million deal to cover Football League, Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy matches into the 2015 season. The broadcaster's commitment to 75 matches each season between 2012 and 2015 is encouraging for lower league football and advertisers wanting to target millions of fans, even if the deal is on reduced terms to the current deal split between Sky and the BBC.
AND ONE THING WE DON'T ...
- Michael McIntyre's 2012 tour
We're not big fans of the cheesy comedian Michael McIntyre at the best of times but were appalled to see ads last week offering tickets for his 2012 tour (which doesn't even kick off for 15 months). Pundits have estimated that McIntyre, who is due to appear in ITV's Britain's Got Talent as one of the judges, and his people could trouser as much as £20 million from the ticket sales and asking the public to fork out more than a year in advance seems to be utterly taking the piss. But if people are stupid enough to buy them, maybe the downturn isn't as bad as we thought.