Frequently asked questions

There are many acronyms and terms used in the mobile environment over an array of functionalities and components. Here we try to address some of the most often asked questions in a simple way around the mobile mystery shopper / mobile mystery shopping arena.

What is mobile mystery shopping

Mystery shopping or Mystery Consumer is a tool used by market research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information about products and services. Mystery shoppers posing as normal customers perform specific tasks - such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way - and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences. Mobile mystery shopping is an additional means of getting feedback to a centralised data store in real time, as the mystery shopper can submit their report or feedback using their mobile phones web broswer.

What are mobile surveys

Mobile surveys are electronic surveys submitted via mobile phones to centralised data stores (typically online databases)- they utilise many features found on the internet such as form componenets (radio buttons, check boxes, text areas) to submit data in real time. The key advantage of a mobile survey is that data can be collected in the field , soon after the research has been undertaken so as to keep the task at hand fresh in mind. It is a powerful tool for flash surveys, and can be sent through common distribution networks such as wap push and sms as well as print media such as scanning of 2dbarcodes on flyers

What are mobile feedback forms

Mobile feedback forms are web based forms ported to mobile devices. These are similar to surveys, but may be used for more generic tasks, such as business transactions - submitting request for product, time and travel information, asset tracking.

Who uses mobile feedback forms

Anyone with an internet ready mobile device can take part in mobile feedback forms. mobile feedback forms are used by users in remote locations, or people on the move. Mobile feedback forms are powerful realtime tools

Do I need a special mobile phone / cellphone to use this service or services like this?

Generally one should only require an internet ready mobile / cellphone. User experience has been found to be better on devices with larger screens and with colour dispplays. Connection type is also very important for high load transactions, which is dependant on cellphone towers and technology within the network.

What is mobile internet?

Mobile internet is wap, Html or Xhtml data packets browsed on the mobile phone. Most phones are set up to browser the internet via the service providers. This can be done manually or OTA (over the air). Service providers generally charge per megabyte downloaded rather than time usuage on a site. NOTE: check your current tarrif before using browsing mobile sites

What does it cost to browse sites on my phone?

Prices depend on service provider tarrifs. They are charged per megabyte transfered. All though prices are commonly set at 30pence per megabyte some providers have charged up to 7 pounds per megabyte.Prices are considered to be getting cheeper with mass uptake of browsing on mobile devices.

What is xHtml MP?

XHTML Mobile Profile (XHTML MP) is a hypertextual computer language standard designed specifically for mobile phones and other resource-constrained devices.
It is an XHTML document type defined by the Open Mobile Alliance. XHTML-MP is derived from XHTML Basic 1.0 by adding XHTML Modules, with later versions of the standard adding more modules. However, for certain modules, XHTML-MP does not mandate a complete implementation so an XHTML-MP browser may not be fully conforming on all modules.

What is WAP?

Wireless Application Protocol (commonly referred to as WAP) is an open international standard[1] for application layer network communications in a wireless communication environment. Its main use is to enable access to the Mobile Web from a mobile phone or PDA. A WAP browser provides all of the basic services of a computer based web browser but simplified to operate within the restrictions of a mobile phone, such as its smaller view screen. WAP sites are websites written in, or dynamically converted to, WML (Wireless Markup Language) and accessed via the WAP browser. Before the introduction of WAP, service providers had extremely limited opportunities to offer interactive data services. Interactive data applications are required to support now commonplace activities such as:

* Email by mobile phone
* Tracking of stock market price
* Sports results
* News headlines
* Music downloads

What is GPRS?

General packet radio service (GPRS) is a packet oriented mobile data service available to users of the 2G cellular communication systems global system for mobile communications (GSM), as well as in the 3G systems. In 2G systems, GPRS provides data rates of 56-114 kbit/s.

GPRS data transfer is typically charged per megabyte of traffic transferred, while data communication via traditional circuit switching is billed per minute of connection time, independent of whether the user actually is using the capacity or is in an idle state. GPRS is a best-effort packet switched service, as opposed to circuit switching, where a certain quality of service (QoS) is guaranteed during the connection for non-mobile users.

2G cellular systems combined with GPRS are often described as 2.5G, that is, a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile telephony. It provides moderate speed data transfer, by using unused time division multiple access (TDMA) channels in, for example, the GSM system. Originally there was some thought to extend GPRS to cover other standards, but instead those networks are being converted to use the GSM standard, so that GSM is the only kind of network where GPRS is in use. GPRS is integrated into GSM Release 97 and newer releases. It was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), but now by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

What is 3G?

International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000), better known as 3G or 3rd Generation, is a family of standards for mobile telecommunications defined by the International Telecommunication Union,[1] which includes GSM EDGE, UMTS, and CDMA2000 as well as DECT and WiMAX. Services include wide-area wireless voice telephone, video calls, and wireless data, all in a mobile environment. Compared to 2G and 2.5G services, 3G allows simultaneous use of speech and data services and higher data rates (up to 14.0 Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8 Mbit/s on the uplink with HSPA+). Thus, 3G networks enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defined the third generation (3G) of mobile telephony standards - IMT-2000 - to facilitate growth, increase bandwidth, and support more diverse applications. For example, GSM (the current most popular cellular phone standard) could deliver not only voice, but also circuit-switched data at download rates up to 14.4 kbps. But to support mobile multimedia applications, 3G had to deliver packet-switched data with better spectral efficiency, at far greater bandwidths

What is a 2d arcode / QR code?

A matrix code, also known as a 2D barcode or simply a 2D code, is a two-dimensional way of representing information. It is similar to a linear (1-dimensional) barcode, but has more data representation capability.

How do I scan a 2D barcode?

You will require software on your mobile device to scan a barcode. For more information on scanning, click here.

What is wap push?

WAP Push has been incorporated into the specification to allow WAP content to be pushed to the mobile handset with minimum user intervention. A WAP Push is basically a specially encoded message which includes a link to a WAP address.[8] WAP Push is specified on top of WDP; as such, it can be delivered over any WDP-supported bearer, such as GPRS or SMS.[9] In most GSM networks there are a wide range of modified processors, but GPRS activation from the network is not generally supported, so WAP Push messages have to be delivered on top of the SMS bearer. On receiving a WAP Push, a WAP 1.2 or later enabled handset will automatically give the user the option to access the WAP content. This is also known as WAP Push SI (Service Indication).[9] The network entity that processes WAP Pushes and delivers them over an IP or SMS Bearer is known as a Push Proxy Gateway (PPG)

How can I use sms campaigns in my business or service?

SMS is mainly used for marketing distribution and alerting, but has an array of different usages in business. SMS may be used for couponing and voucher coding to draw customers to a geographic location, or be used as a mechanism to push applications and forms to devices. SMS can be used for feedback loops post service delivery - such as a sms poll of customer after a home visit or a purachse of a product.

What is a premium rate sms / txt message?

Mobile terminated short messages can be used to deliver digital content such as news alerts, financial information, logos and ring tones. The Value-added service provider (VASP) providing the content submits the message to the mobile operator's SMSC(s) using a TCP/IP protocol such as the short message peer-to-peer protocol (SMPP) or the External Machine Interface (EMI). The SMSC delivers the text using the normal Mobile Terminated delivery procedure. The subscribers are charged extra for receiving this premium content, and the amount is typically divided between the mobile network operator and the VASP either through revenue share or a fixed transport fee. Mobile originated short messages may also be used in a premium-rated manner for services such as televoting. In this case, the VASP providing the service obtains a short code from the telephone network operator, and subscribers send texts to that number. The payouts to the carriers vary by carrier and the percentages paid are greatest on the lowest priced premium SMS services. Most information providers should expect to pay about 45% of the cost of the premium SMS up front to the carrier. The submission of the text to the SMSC is identical to a standard MO Short Message submission, but once the text is at the SMSC, the Service Centre identifies the Short Code as a premium service. The SC will then direct the content of the text message to the VASP, typically using an IP protocol such as SMPP or EMI. Subscribers are charged a premium for the sending of such messages, with the revenue typically shared between the network operator and the VASP. Limitations of short codes include the limitation to national borders (short codes have to be activated in each country where the campaign takes place), as well as being expensive to sign up together with mobile operators. An alternative to inbound SMS is based on long numbers (international number format, e.g. +44 7624 805000),which can be used in place of short codes for SMS reception in several applications, such as TV voting, product promotions and campaigns. Long numbers are internationally available, as well as enabling businesses to have their own number, rather than short codes which are usually shared across a lot of brands. Additionally, long numbers are non-premium inbound numbers.