so I grabbed my smart phone, went online to get directions, and then searched to find a nearby store to buy suntan lotion. Long live mobile search! Some of the basic search design best practices I highlighted also apply to designing for mobile devices. For example, it’s important in both instances that you design the search functionality as an input field and button (like on Lowe’s mobile site) and place it in a consistent place in the top portion of your mobile app or site. ” They type “H-a” and get results like “Harry.” MORE >>

Every week over at m-pulse we discus the companies and concepts rocking the industry and my pick was Scoopshot, a mobile crowdsourcing app (and ecosystem) that allows media companies to post location-aware photo ‘assignments’ to the community of app users. Scoopshot is a free mobile app for iPhone and android devices allowing users to capture and send photos to the media. If no one buys a  photo within 48 hours, then rights are transferred back to the sender. They can also buy exclusive rights, which is 10-fold the price. Scoopshot: at-a-glance. MORE >>

It’s a fledgling market poised for explosive growth, and a mobile app mega-trend  highlighted in my new book The Everything Guide To Mobile Apps: A Practical Guide To Affordable Mobile App Development For Your Business (F+W Media Inc.), This book brings together the insights of 25+ mobile professionals, practitioners and pundits to identify market trends, best practices and lessons learned in developing and distributing mobile apps. More recently, the company was nominated one of the top 50 innovative companies by Mobile Entertainment. MORE >>

The holiday numbers are in, the mobile user surveys are done, and the implications for brands, retailers and marketers are profound. Mobile has become an integral part of the shopping routine, with the vast majority of consumers admitting to using their mobile phones to search and purchase gifts. John Stevens examines this mobile megatrend and shares eight tips for creating and executing a successful mobile strategy. number of reports show that people rely on mobile every step of the consumer journey. The bottom line: mobile retail is a fact, not a fad. MORE >>

The willingness of people to interact with brands on their mobile phones (and their growing reliance on mobile devices for shopping advice and assistance on the move) has jumpstarted a new phase in mobile marketing growth driven by retail brands and advertisers. From department stores to computers & electronics retailers to luxury fashion brands, marketers are investing in mobile advertising to reach and influence people throughout the purchase funnel (awareness, engagement,  consideration, conversion and loyalty). Mobile retail users. What did they buy? MORE >>