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Friday, October 8, 2010

Nectar only really cares about iPhone owners

Mark Bridge writes:

Never mind customer loyalty, if you don't have an Apple iPhone you're a second-class consumer. That's the message I seem to have received from Nectar, the multi-retailer loyalty card company.

They've just sent me an email with a headline that reads "Exclusive bonus points offers at your fingertips". It goes on to say "Get the handy new Nectar app FREE on your iPhone or iPod Touch and receive exclusive bonus points offers at Sainsbury’s, Homebase, BP and many more great brands."

Apparently the app's been available for a few weeks, although I hadn't noticed because – oh, the shame – I don't have an iOS device. Therefore I won't be receiving the "exclusive bonus offers only available on the app". That's right, special offers only available if you have a particular type of mobile phone or music player.

Now, I realise that the idea of Nectar is to persuade you to alter your shopping habits in order to favour participating retailers. Visit Sainsbury's. Buy petrol from BP. Redecorate with Homebase.

There's even an internet search toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox. Which, unlike the iPhone app, is available to the majority of Nectar card users. The app is simply one step too far.

Rewarding a fragment of your customer base is no way to please the others. So please, please, can we call an end to this i-obsession?  I know I'm not the first to ask – Steve Dobson has warned against being "Apple happy", Tomi Ahonen has spoken of "App Store hysteria" and Martin Wilson diagnosed "iSyndrome". But this time it's personal.

If I want my loyalty card on my mobile phone, I'll trust Cardmobili. I'm certainly no longer a fan of Nectar. Because, for a company that talks about loyalty, Nectar has an odd way of rewarding it.

Nectar email

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Opinion Articles

Review: BeeWi BBS020 solar-powered hands-free Bluetooth car kit

Mark Bridge writes:

Persuading mobile phone users not to hold their phone when they’re driving should be a simple task. It’s dangerous, it’s against the law and the penalties include a fine plus points on your licence.

But even then, there’s often an excuse about convenience and usability. Some people don’t like wearing headsets, some don’t like wires and some simply forget to charge the batteries.

That’s why a new hands-free Bluetooth loudspeaker from French company BeeWi caught my eye.

Author: The Fonecast
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The simple case of the disguised iPhone 4

Mark Bridge writes:

I remember the launch of Carweek back in the 1990s. It was a motoring magazine produced as a weekly glossy newspaper; a novel format, although one that probably led to its demise. 'Spy shots' of prototype cars seemed then – as now – to be much sought-after, despite them often not showing much resemblance to the finished product. Indeed, I often wondered how you could possibly road-test the handling of a new car when it was covered with unflattering body parts that served to disguise its shape.

Author: The Fonecast
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Maria Sharapova and the 'geek porn' of unboxing

Mark Bridge writes:

'Unboxing' is - or was - the new geek porn. We know this because The Register told us so in 2006, when the practice of video recording the unpacking of new consumer electronics products started to become popular. Just over two years later The Independent tried to tell us that unboxing was still the new geek porn but, by then, conventional porn had probably returned to... er... pole position.

Why do I mention this?  Well, Sony Ericsson has just published its own unboxing video featuring tennis player, model, charity worker and Sony Ericsson brand ambassador Maria Sharapova.

Author: The Fonecast
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Scaremongering news stories? There's an app for that

Mark Bridge writes:

Here’s a news headline that caught my eye.

Shotgun certificate up for renewal?  There's an app for that

Or, if you prefer…

Police to allow gun users renew licences with iPhone app

Author: The Fonecast
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Mobile payments: solutions get dumber while cards get smarter?

Mark Bridge writes:

Last week I spotted a couple of mobile-related news stories that involved payment company MasterCard. One came from CPI Card Group, which had introduced a “next-generation, MasterCard-approved payment tag” (a.k.a. 'sticker') that enabled “any mobile device to be used to make payments anywhere using the worldwide contactless MasterCard PayPass standard” (by sticking it on the back).

Author: The Fonecast
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