Unlimited Wireless Data Plans Heading for Extinction

The explosive growth of mobile data consumption driven by smartphone and tablet adoption and the roll-out of faster wireless data networks is speeding the move towards usage-based mobile data plans.
 

Mobile consumers are increasingly downloading books, streaming movies, watching videos, and listening to cloud-based music services such as Spotify and Pandora.  Growing use of internet voice services like Skype and Google Voice and text messaging alternatives such as iPhone messenger and now Facebook messenger consume mobile data AND directly eat into wireless operator voice and text messaging revenues.

Consider some of these Mobile Statistics:

• 600M YouTube video views each day from mobile devices
• 2.6B mobile applications were downloaded in March 2012
• 8.5% of all internet traffic is now from mobile devices
• 15% of all ‘search’ traffic is from mobile devices
• 70% of Pandora’s listening hours are from mobile devices
• 54% of Facebook’s 901M users access Facebook from their mobile device each month

Clearly, wireless operators don’t want to simply provide the bandwidth for everyone else to profit from and they are looking for ways to capitalize – particularly as traditional voice revenues continue to drop and even as their own cost to transmit data (on a per GB basis) continues to decline. The first step, already playing out, is the move away from unlimited data plans.

Verizon and Comcast End Unlimited and Capped Data Plans

Yesterday, a Verizon executive made a statement that mobile customers that currently have unlimited data plans would have to move to a tiered usage-based data plan if they wanted to upgrade to a 4G LTE device.  Verizon, like AT&T before it, no longer offers unlimited data plans to new subscribers and has no doubt been thinking about the best time to cease unlimited data plans for existing customers as well.

Not surprisingly, Verizon received a backlash of negativity from customers and as of this morning seemed to be backing off the statement – instead indicating that they are reviewing pricing plans and will announce them well in advance of implementing them.

Coincidentally, Comcast announced yesterday that they were ending their ‘hard cap’ of 250GB for home internet subscribers and were now running trials where customers were given a nominally higher data allowance (300GB) with $10 overage fees for each additional 50GB of data consumed.

Both moves are further evidence that unlimited data plans will inevitably be replaced by usage-based data plans.

Beyond Unlimited and Usage-based Data Plans

From a wireless operator perspective, much of the rest of the world has already adopted usage-based data plans, so Verizon’s intentions aren’t without precedent. That said, the simple “data usage” model is likely to evolve to better reflect how mobile consumers are using their mobile devices. 

These “consumer pays” models are also likely to be supplemented with more creative – and lucrative - “shared cost” and “sponsored cost” models allowing wireless operators to charge content providers for using their networks or for prioritizing their data traffic.

A few directions wireless operators could explore:

• Capped 'best-effort' plans - which would allow basic email, internet, downloads without a guarantee on bandwidth quality and speed and with max monthly data limits. Streaming video usage would be 'best-effort' and in certain instances blocked if there was network congestion.
• "Premium" plans that would have faster speeds and better quality video by prioritizing data consumption by these users above the basic 'best-effort' plans. e.g. my streaming video always works but yours may be blocked when there is network congestion. As Comcast is doing on the wireline side, these plans would likely have upper thresholds on monthly usage with overage charges.
• “a la carte” fees where users could be asked to pay extra fee for specific services, e.g. for streaming video - either unlimited video for a premium fee or a certain amount of streaming video for a lower price. This might even by charged per GB if you aren't on the 'unlimited' video plan.
• Ditto for over-the-air “app store” downloads and cloud-based storage services like iCloud
• Given mobile social media consumption, I could see operators offering plans similar to unlimited text plans.  $5/month for unlimited access to Facebook, Google+, etc.

Wireless operators may also look to get data usage subsidized by the companies generating the most data traffic by:

• Striking deals with Apple, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube etc. to subsidize users wanting to download or stream content (apps, music, video) over the operator network. This could range from simple licensing fees, to variable fees based on usage to getting a piece of each individual item 'purchased' - e.g. they get $.05 of each $.99 song or app downloaded over their network to asking for a piece of advertising revenue these companies are collecting over the operator network.
• Seeking the right to inject or overlay their own ads into the content so they can generate their own additional advertising revenue.
• Striking similar licensing deals directly with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc. to 'prioritize' or 'subsidize' use of these networks over the operator network.  Why wouldn't wireless operators ask the social networks for a piece of ad revenues generated on their networks?
• Seeking profit-share relationships with Retailers. Amazon handled more than $2B in mobile transactions in 2011, eBay more than $4B. Why not ask for 1% of m-commerce revenues that their networks facilitate? In exchange, wireless operators could prioritize bandwidth for access to a retailer’s website and/or related video content.

The move away from unlimited data plans has been coming for a while, but you can be sure that once they are gone, wireless operators will do whatever they can to capitalize on their role as a critical gateway to the internet for mobile consumers.

Comments below, email me at todd@mobile-perspectives.com, follow me ( @toddshingler ) on Twitter or reach out via our website.

Social Media Week Goes Mobile!

I'm excited to be headed to Social Media Week in New York next week for a number of reasons.

For one, I'll be attending as many of the events as possible - though with more than 250 events spread throughout the city I'll clearly be missing some of them. Fortunately, I'll be able to follow along through various Twitter hashtags and also catch many of the events streaming live (including to mobile phones) thanks to Livestream.

It'll be interesting to hear how often the intersection of Social Media and mobile phones is addressed given the explosive growth of Social Media engagement via mobile phones:

• Facebook acknowledged in their recent IPO filing that 425M of their 845M users access Facebook from their mobile phones
• Twitter says more than half of their active users use Twitter on their mobiles, generating 40% of all tweets sent
• YouTube sees more than 400M mobile video plays each day

Brands and businesses need to quickly figure out how they can best leverage the union of mobile & social or they'll be left behind by those that do.  Many of those who have already figured it out will be speaking at SMW in New York or at events in another SMW host city.

I'm also looking forward to SMW NY as it will be a great opportunity to get feedback from other attendees on Mobile Perspectives' latest project - developing the mobile website for the Social Media Week. Working with SMW creators CrowdCentric, Techliminal in San Francisco, Nokia in Finland and our technology partner New Media Innovation out of Australia, we created a mobile website that seamlessly extends Social Media Week to mobile users.

Mobile visitors to SMW can login and see details and access maps for events they've registered for, register for additional events throughout the week, engage SMW globally and locally on various social media platforms, and more.

As a bi-annual global event, Social Media Week is also in Miami, San Francisco, Washington DC, Toronto, São Paulo, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Paris, London, and Hamburg next week. In September, Social Media Week will be in another 12-13 cities including here in Chicago where Mobile Perspectives is based.

Since going live 3 weeks ago, the mobile SMW website has been visited from more than 100 countries and is now seeing many thousands of visitors each day!

Social Media Week recently published an article (SMW In Your Hands - Our New Mobile Site) about the project, including a Q&A with myself and Rob Leishman from New Media Innovation.



Any other mobile & social aficionados out there headed to SMW NY? I'd love to meet up.

Comments below, email me at todd@mobile-perspectives.com, follow me (@toddshingler) on Twitter or reach out via our website.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mobile Marketing Gurus?

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I’ve long been a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers - admiring their music, their eclectic personalities and their album (yes, album) artwork over the years. They (and their management) have also proven to be great at cultivating the band's image through the years. I guess it should have come as no surprise then to see that they’ve managed to take a creative and effective turn at mobile marketing in promoting their latest album I’m With You.

RHCP fans know that the ‘asterisk’ has long been associated with the band, appearing on many of their albums and a lot of their tour merchandise.

To promote I’m With You, they’ve created a QR (quick-response) code in the shape of an asterisk that has been appearing on various promotional materials.

Scanning the code takes you to a mobile-friendly website (see below for a composite image from my iPhone) where you can buy the album, listen to tracks and watch music videos. You can also sign up for their email newsletter, access their latest tweets and share a link to the mobile site on Twitter and Facebook.

I’m not usually a fan of ‘custom’ QR codes as too often the ‘customization’ results in a code that doesn’t scan (check out this article by CNN for examples of “cool” QR codes – most of which unfortunately don’t scan or go to non-mobile friendly websites).

Here, rather than removing sections of the QR code and overlaying a logo as many brands do, they’ve largely extended the QR code outwards to form the Asterisk.

Kudos to RHCP for a great illustration of using Mobile Marketing to both reinforce a brand (band?) image and effectively engage their mobile audience. And probably sell a few albums.

Comments below, email me at todd@mobile-perspectives.com or follow me @toddshingler on Twitter.

Siri May Well Change Everything

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My new iPhone 4S arrived in the mail yesterday. I spent about 30 minutes backing up my old iPhone 3 and then activating and synching my new iPhone 4S. Having heard so much about Siri, I decided to take her - and the other voice recognition functions of the iPhone 4S for a spin.

I consider myself a smartphone 'power user' - I do more internet surfing, email processing, texting, Skyping, Facebooking, Tweeting, etc., on my iPhone than I do on my laptop.  I had no problems text messaging on numerical 'triple tap' phone keypads, I took quickly to typing on my old Samsung Blackjack, and I quickly adapted to the touch keyboard on my first iPhone.  I've also spent a lot of time over the years helping companies develop mobile websites and applications - and have always advised them to stay away from data entry if at all possible - even on smartphones. 

Now, after only a couple hours of acclimating myself to Siri and to using the voice recognition 'dictation' feature (powered by Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking) now present via the microphone icon on the virtual keyboard, I can only conclude that my iPhone usage is going to increase even further.  I also suspect the way I use my iPhone will fundamentally change - and that there will be major ramifications for mobile website and mobile application developers.

For example, previously if I wanted to know the temperature, I would flick through my applications and launch my 'Weather Channel' app. Then I'd wait for it to find me and update the weather. Now, I can simply hold my phone up, press the microphone when Siri awakens and say 'what is the temperature' - Siri tells me it is 48 degrees and shows me a weather forecast. Incidentally, NOT using the Weather Channel app I've been using for over a year to access the weather. Thus, I'm also not seeing any 'ads' that Weather Channel may be surfacing (and hoping to make revenue from).

Siri can also tell me how the stock market is doing, how many ounces are in a cup, what time it is in Melbourne, Australia and any number of other things that I might previously have determined from an installed application or that I might not have even taken time to check if I had to manually initiate a search using the Safari internet browser. 

Even more 'involved' tasks are easier. Previously, if I wanted directions to a restaurant, I'd open Safari and Google the restaurant name. Hopefully, the search results would include a map that I could click on and Google Maps would open and I could then seek 'Directions to here' from my 'current location'. Now I ask Siri and get to the Map faster. I can also 'speak' the address I want directions from if not my 'current location'.

Siri will make some simple applications obsolete or at least impractical or unprofitable to maintain.  At minimum, it will cause application developers to ensure they are offering real 'value exchange'. Why would I launch the Target mobile application to find the closest store when I can simply 'Ask Siri' instead? If I knew that I was likely to be offered a mobile coupon or other incentive if I searched using the Target application, maybe I still would. (Interestingly, Target's iPhone app has a 'speak to search' option that is also powered by Nuance. However, I found it was actually faster to use the iPhone's built-in speech recognition to fill in the search box than it was to use Target's 'speak to search' feature).

While Siri says she 'wishes she could help me with' Facebook or Twitter (surely a feature for the next version?), if I open these apps myself and go to the search field or status field, I can still use the built-in voice recognition to 'speak' a Facebook status update, a tweet or search string text rather than typing it. Even when the recognition wasn't perfect, I found it easier and faster to fix a couple of errors than to type a full sentence myself.  I also found myself speaking complete sentences in Text Messages and iMessage where I might previously have entered a message via the keyboard using 'text message shorthand' - and possibly reducing confusion on the receiver's end!

A few other things Siri made easier: I was able to text and call people directly without searching for them first in my contacts, I was able to search for - and reply verbally to - an email without opening the email application, I was able to play music simply by asking Siri to play the song title or play an artist, I was able to ask Siri if I had upcoming appointments in my calendar and to set reminders.

Clearly, Siri will raise the bar in terms of application user interface - consumers (at least iPhone users, and the other phone manufacturers are likely already scrambling) will soon expect 'voice recognition' to be a given. Likewise, whereas touch screens and physical keyboards made completing forms on mobile websites less painful than on numerical keypads, voice completion makes form completion even less of a barrier. 

Of course, noisy environments and privacy issues will still require support for manual entry - but it can only be a matter of time before applications (or the phone?) can determine whether the user is in an environment where speech recognition is likely to work! 

I for one hope the rumored Apple reinvention of the TV includes Siri and voice commands - then people won't look as silly when they are talking to their TVs...and maybe they'll even be able to control or influence the storylines!

Comments below, email me at todd@mobile-perspectives.com or follow me @toddshingler on Twitter.

QR Codes: Great Potential, Often Poorly Executed (Part 2)

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Note: QR Codes: Great Potential, Often Poorly Executed – Part 1 discussed a few common examples of poor QR Code presentation and provided tips on how to avoid them. Part 2 is focused on the post-scan experience, provides examples of well-executed QR code campaigns and provides a few recommendations to help with your own QR Code campaigns.

Have you ever scanned a QR code or Microsoft Tag and (presuming it worked) been completely underwhelmed by the result?  I scan just about every QR code and Microsoft Tag that I come across and I am constantly amazed at how poor the resulting experience is.

More often than not, a successful scan launches my browser to a full (non-mobile optimized) website, takes me to a flash video that won’t play, or does nothing discernable (presumably not the intention).

When this happens, I generally end the engagement as I have no desire to pinch, zoom and scroll my way around a desktop website or to try to and figure out why the video didn’t work or why nothing seemed to happen. I also consciously or subconsciously associate the brand with having wasted my time and am unlikely to attempt to further engage the brand. And I’m not alone – in announcing that mobile site optimization is now a factor in how ad quality is scored for AdWords campaigns that drive mobile search traffic, Google quoted an internal study that found that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing from their phone.

Every now and then, the scan results in a positive, often interactive experience, increasing the likelihood that I’ll continue the engagement, recall the brand and react positively to future engagement opportunities.

QR codes are clearly being used more today than they were even 6 months ago.  In the car of the train I was on last week, there were nine advertisements that I could see from my seat. Of these, 5 included QR codes - but only 2 of the QR codes led to a mobile-optimized website or targeted mobile campaign with the other 3 leading to non-mobile optimized sites.  Interestingly, of the 4 ads without QR codes, one included a URL that actually led to a mobile optimized website. It was also interesting to note that the 5 QR codes were printed in 4 different sizes ranging from 2x2 to 6x6 inches and that none of the ads included any explanation what to do with the QR code or what to expect upon scanning it. Clearly, as per my last post, there is a lot of room for improvement in the how QR codes are presented in print advertisements.

So how does one ensure they are creating a positive mobile marketing experience using QR codes? Most important is to ensure the resulting experience is mobile-optimized and contextually appropriate. Without getting into ‘value exchange’ of mobile campaigns, here are a few suggestions depending on your goal:

• If your goal is simply to get consumers to your website, make sure your website is mobile-optimized or detect mobile users and redirect them to a companion mobile website with content and features tailored to a mobile user. For example, the QR code on an ad for Food Genius took me to this mobile website:

• If you don’t have a mobile-optimized website, then you should create a mobile-optimized micro-site in support of the QR code campaign.  A good example of this was the QR code on an ad for Power2Switch.  They don’t have a mobile-optimized website, so instead created a mobile-optimized micro-site promoting the benefits of their service and asking “on-the-go” users to provide their email address so Power2Switch could send them an email “later this evening with instructions about how to get started”.
  
  Power2Switch not only provided a mobile-optimized experience, they also got their key points directly communicated, acknowledged that the mobile user was on-to-go and offered to engage them later on a different medium where the mobile user could continue the engagement at their convenience.
• If you are trying to increase Facebook ‘likes’, Twitter ‘followers’ or FourSquare ‘check-ins’ – state that as your goal and then use QR codes to direct mobile users to the mobile version of your Facebook page, Twitter profile or FourSquare check-in - where they can immediately ‘like’ you, ‘follow’ you or ‘check-in’.
• If you are promoting a specific product, sale or event, ensure the QR code takes mobile users directly to related information. Don’t simply drop them into your mobile website and make them search again for information they should have received directly.  They’ll most likely simply disengage. A good example of this is Best Buy’s use of QR codes on their in-store product fact tags that take customers directly to each product on Best Buy’s mobile website for additional product information and customer reviews.
• If you are encouraging subscriptions to email or text updates, ensure the subsequent confirmation process is mobile-optimized, simple and in-line with the Mobile Marketing Association Code of Conduct and FCC CAN-SPAM Guidelines.
• If you are promoting a mobile application – use the QR code to detect and redirect mobile users to the appropriate app store for their mobile device. For example, an email blast for the upcoming Bricks + Mobile mobile commerce event encourages scanning a QR code to download the Guidebook application ahead of the event. Scanning it took me directly to the Guidebook app on the iTunes app store.

There are many other great ways to use QR codes to complement a marketing campaign. Just remember to ensure the post-scan experience is engaging, mobile-optimized and encourages subsequent engagement. If you can’t ensure this, you’re better off leaving the QR code out altogether. Likewise, if you can’t define and accomplish a specific objective by including a QR code, leave it out. Lastly, until QR code usage gains mainstream traction (or is rendered obsolete by NFC?), consider complementary Text Messaging campaigns to expand the reach of your mobile campaigns.  

Comments below, email me at todd@mobile-perspectives.com (or scan the QR code below from your mobile)

 

or follow me @toddshingler on Twitter (or scan the QR code below from your mobile)

QR Codes: Great Potential, Often Poorly Executed (Part 1)

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In a previous post, I mentioned that I’d started noticing QR codes (those black and white squares like the one shown) popping up in ads on the trains here in Chicago and that I’d have something further to say about them in a future post. After a much longer delay than intended, let’s talk about them.

Over the past few months, I’ve become a little obsessed with the placement and function of QR codes – particularly on the trains and at train stations around Chicago, but also in magazines, emails, etc. My conclusion? It’s a shame to see something with so much potential used so poorly. 

When used properly, QR codes let a brand / organization / company / person extend an initial engagement with a mobile consumer beyond the printed page or ad - providing additional detail about an event or promotion, enabling consumers to easily ‘like’ a brand on Facebook, ‘follow’ an organization on Twitter, subscribe to text or email updates, or easily access a mobile application they can download to their mobile phone to further extend the engagement.

Unfortunately, I’ve found that many QR code campaigns, while well-intentioned, suffer from poor execution. Either the QR codes are presented in ways that make them difficult to scan or the result of a successful scan leads to a subsequent poor experience for the consumer. As with other marketing mediums, a poorly executed QR code campaign reflects negatively on your brand and can instead lead consumers to disengage completely.

A few (unfortunately common) examples of poor QR code execution and how to avoid them:

Fail #1: Not sizing QR codes for the environment in which they will be placed or placing them where they are hard or inconvenient to scan.

• On the trains in Chicago, ads are above the windows. To scan a small (1 inch square or smaller) QR code, you have to stand up and reach over anyone sitting in the seats or around anyone standing up and then try to get the scan to work.
• Multiple ads in the train stations had the QR codes at ankle level – so you basically have to kneel or bend-over and hold your phone by your feet to scan them.
• Many magazine ads emails include QR codes that are too small, too dense, or on a colored background making them difficult to scan.

How to avoid: Consider where your ads will be placed and the perspective your target audience will have. Then size, place and frame the ads appropriately. I’ll include links to a number of best practices articles and publications in next week’s post.   

• Tip: If you are creating a QR code that is a link to a website, use a shortened URL such as from bitly.com instead of using the full URL. The less data that needs to be encoded, the less dense the QR code will be - increasing the likelihood for successful scans.
• Bonus: Bitly automatically generates QR codes for shortened URLs (go to the Info Page for the shortened URL to see and save it) and you can also track how many people scan the QR code vs. access the link directly (e.g. from a Twitter post) on the Info Page.

Fail #2: Not including a call to action or explanation of what to do with the QR code.

• Many ads simply have a QR code with no explanation what to do with it. Not everyone knows what a QR code is and most mobile phones in the US (other than on Sprint) don’t come with a QR code reader pre-installed. Many people think they can simply take a picture of a code with their phone and something will happen.

How to avoid: Until QR codes are fully mainstream, you should always at least tell people that they should scan the QR code with a QR code reader. Better yet, recommend to them a good QR code reader and tell them where they can download it.

• Tip: I’ve had great success with Scanlife’s QR code reader, downloadable at http://getscanlife.com from your mobile web browser.

Fail #3: Not explaining why someone should scan the QR code or what will happen when they do.

• This would seem intuitive given how often you see verbage such as “To learn more, visit our website at <company>.com”. Even most Text Message campaigns say something like “Text Info to 46876 to register for updates”. But for some reason, many QR codes are printed without an explanation of why the consumer should scan the QR code or what they will get out of scanning the QR code.

How to avoid: You should always include text indicating why the code should be scanned or what will happen, e.g. Scan this QR code to follow us on Twitter or Scan this QR code for to learn more about this promotion.

Including QR codes in print ads, on in-store promotions and signage, on billboards, on business cards and elsewhere is a great way to engage and extend the dialog with mobile consumers. Guiding the user towards a successful scan is only part of a well-executed QR code compaign, however.

In my next post, I’ll discuss the importance of a well-executed post-scan user experience (Hint: Redirecting the consumer to a website that is not mobile-optimized is generally an Epic Fail). I'll also provide links to a number of QR code best practices resources that I’ve found beneficial and include pictures of a some well executed campaigns that I’ve come across here in Chicago.

To tide you over, a great example of both use and framing of a QR code is shown below, taken from an email I received about the upcoming Bricks + Mobile (Mobile Commerce) event in Chicago in October.

Comments below, email me at todd@mobile-perspectives.com or follow me @toddshingler on Twitter.

A Day Without My iPhone

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I recently had to go downtown for a client meeting and I realized part way to the train that I'd left my iPhone on the charger at home (next to the bed, of course).  Already running late, I concluded I'd just have to go without it.  Really, how bad could it be?  As it turns out, I've become pretty dependent on my iPhone.

Since moving back from Europe 5 years ago, we've only had mobile phones - the only number anyone has for me is my mobile phone number.  So....immediately, I wouldn't be getting (or making) any calls. Likewise, I wouldn't be texting anyone or getting any texts.  Hopefully, I was going to be on-time and the meeting wasn't going to be moved or cancelled.

I also wouldn't be tweeting or reading other tweets - while relatively new to Twitter, I had already become accustomed to checking and posting to Twitter from my phone. Same with Facebook.  As well, on a typical 30 minute train ride into town I would usually listen to music, check and reply to email, and check the latest news on my iPhone. Occasionally, I'd play a game.

Luckily (and unusually for me), I'd already looked up (on my iPhone) the address where I was going before I left the house and determined which stop I would need to get off the train. Normally, I'd do this on the train using Google Maps on my iPhone.  Once off the train, I'd use Google Maps again to get my bearings and figure out the 'walking' part of my route. If early for my meeting, I'd use my phone to search for the closest Starbucks and then use the Starbucks mobile app to 'pay' for a coffee.  Just two days before, I'd seen a QR (Quick Response) code on an ad on the train, downloaded a QR code reader and scanned the code out of curiosity just to see what would happen (which is a subject for a different blog post!).  

So...now that I was on the train without my phone, what would I do?  Mostly, I observed what everyone else was doing...which was looking and using their phones (mostly) or iPads (4) or eReaders (2) - probably in much the same way I usually do.  I saw one other person on a packed car *not* engaged with their phone or other electronic device. There was very little conversation and I don't recall making eye contact with a single person. I could have been in a foreign country and wouldn't have known it by the people on the train.

It also occurred to me that billboards along the train route were likely not as valuable as they used to be with everyone looking down instead of around. I noted that none of the billboards we passed had QR codes or 'Text for more info' calls-to-action that mobile users could have engaged with (had they been paying attention). The train did stop for 5 minutes due to construction delays and some people did look around briefly to see what was going on before quickly retreating to the devices in their hands.

Interestingly, 3 ads on the train that day did have QR codes. I didn't see anyone attempt to scan  them though - a difficult enough task without having to reach around other standing passengers to get close enough to scan them.

Without the distraction of my phone, I found that I had time to organize my thoughts for the meeting. I also realized my watch still tells time - usually it is on the stopwatch setting for my runs and I look at my phone to check the time. When I got off the train, I was (a little surprised, to be honest given how infrequently I go downtown) able to quickly get my bearings by looking at the which landmark buildings I was near and noting which way the lake was. I also found a great little coffee shop with Intelligentsia coffee that gladly accepted my cash.

I was early for my meeting and the receptionist called to let my client know I'd arrived (normally, I'd have texted or called myself). 

The meeting went great too...except that my client occasionally would get distracted by a text message, incoming email notification and two phone calls. 

On second thought, maybe it would've gone better if he had forgotten his phone as well!!

Comments below, email me at todd@mobile-perspectives.com or follow me @toddshingler on Twitter.