Communications Technology

Surveillance cameras can be such a menace. We never really know these days whether someone is spying on us doing intimate, personal, but often necessary things.

Burger King in Brazil decided that, perhaps, a little surveillance might go a long way to create a large amount of customer loyalty.

You might think that their promise that you can “Have It Your Way” would not be entirely conducive to the use of secret cameras. However, in a very nifty and personal touch, they photographed customers secretly while they were ordering their burgers and then printed the customers’ pictures on the wrapper.

I can imagine this interesting procedure might have slowed service just a fraction.

But the pleasure that people experienced on seeing their own face covering a large slab of pleasantly greasy meat, possibly defrosted bread and the condiments of a distant chef shows that the personal touch is, without question, very much alive.

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Any iPod Touch owners who want to use your devices as GPS navigators (just like iPhone 3G or 3GS owners can), your wishes have just come true.

Dual Electronics announced the availability of the GPS Navigation & Battery Cradle for iPod Touch (model XGPS300). The cradle, which resembles a battery case in size and weight, provides a full-featured and portable GPS navigation solution for the iPod Touch. It includes:

• A cradle with a built-in GPS receiver, a rechargeable battery to power the GPS or recharge the iPod, an amplified speaker for voice prompts, a microphone, a 3.5mm audio out and a Mini-USB port.
• NavAtlas: a navigation application designed to work exclusively with the XGPS300 cradle. NavAtlas features turn-by-turn directions and incorporates the latest U.S. and Canadian maps from NAVTEQ. The app can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
• An adjustable windshield mount to dock and charge the iPod in a car.
• A 12V Cigarette Lighter Adapter and a Mini-USB cable.

According to Dual Electronics, apart from working with the NavAtlas app, the XGPS300 cradle can also provide GPS coordinates for other apps. This means that iPod Touch owners now can enjoy location-based apps that generally require a GPS signal to be useful. Social networking apps are a good example of something that would benefit from this functionality, as are apps that find restaurants, or geocache.

The XGPS300 cradle requires the iPhone OS version 3.0 or later to work. It’s available now at Apple Stores and online and costs around $200.

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Alternative payment methods enable developers to monetize significantly larger portions of their user base, according to a study released Wednesday.

Fifty-three percent of social gamers surveyed for the study, overseen by ComScore and Offerpal Media, said they are enthusiastic about alternative, or indirect, payment methods as a way to earn virtual currency for free, rather than having to pay for it directly.

These alternative forms of payment take many forms, including filling out a survey, watching a video, shopping at online retailers, or signing up for a subscription in order to get points for the games they play on leading social networks.

According to the survey, the top preferred marketing actions, in order of preference, are as such:

1. Completing a free survey
2. Watching a video
3. Completing tasks such as tagging a photo or proofreading a document
4. Shopping for clothes or other goods online
5. Subscribing to a magazine
6. Subscribing to a movie rental program

Offers and surveys have proven to be viable revenue sources for social games, but they are not without problems. Offerpal itself allegedly participated in a variety of programs that were little more than scams. And while scams are obviously bad, the theory behind the programs does make sense.

The statistics show that users want virtual points and goods for free (surprised?)

* 53.3 percent of the total respondents reported that they would be “very likely” to complete a marketing action.
* 22.8 percent of the respondents reported that they would be willing and are able to buy the points using cash payment methods such as credit cards, PayPal, bank transfers, or mobile billing.
* 29.7 percent of social gamers do not have the ability or the means to pay for virtual currency with cash options.
* 34.9 percent say they are “very unlikely” to part with their money in order to purchase points.

As social media matures, and more forms of monetization start to come to light, there is little doubt that we’ll see new forms of offers, both legitimate and questionable. What remains to be seen is how revenue goals can be consistently targeted and achieved.

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