MCAPI

Cheap Netbook for Mobile Data Collection

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by Sean Conry

Hardware markets have never been so attractive.

Check out the hot deal on the ASUS Eee PC with Windows at $285.

MCAPI used to only apply to PDA Survey Software, but with the introduction and proliferation of Netbooks, and powerful mobile survey packages like the ones offered by my company, now you can easily deploy complex surveys to small and large screens alike, depending on your project need.

Cheap Interview Devices Still Exist

Thursday, October 8, 2009 by Sean Conry

If you're a real cheapskate like me, and you've been biding your time before making a new hardware investment, then look no longer. The next release of inexpensive smartphone technology for MCAPI interviews and diary studies has arrived.

Check out the unlocked Palm Treo 500 for $119. Incredible.

Just make sure you're willing to live with a QWERTZ keyboard - (in Germany, they switch the Z with the Y.. go figure).

Some shameless promotion here, but with Techneos' new SaaS pay-per-complete options, there's never been a more affordable time to equip your field force or diary respondents with a world-class mobile interview system.

More device updates for CAPI Software for mobile survey

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by Sean Conry

I recently wrote about the Wild West of mobile devices - that was within the context of self-completed surveys and survey software on respondent devices. But what about mobility in terms of more traditional CAPI / MCAPI for a mobile device survey?

Netbooks and their equivalents are some of the only hardware projected for sales growth this year, and when I look at some of these entrants, I can see why. Check out the CTL 2go. Windows and a touch screen for $499? It even has a handle and is semi-rugged (tested for 50cm drop)! It's almost as if they had interview research in mind when they built this thing.

The popular Asus eee will also soon be available in a touchscreen..

Some other cool devices like this super keyboard computer can be found at PC World's "10 Most Anticipated Ultraportables and Netbooks of 2009" (Thanks to Mike for the forward)

Devices with promise for CAPI and MCAPI Wireless Surveys

Monday, April 13, 2009 by Sean Conry

I recently wrote a post about a client who asked me about Palm, Market share of mobile devices, and what device to choose for their PDA Survey Software. Hopefully that helped spur thoughts on the state of the market today, but what's in store for the devices researchers will choose for tomorrow's Mobile Research?

In September 2008, professor Randall Stross from San Jose State University did an interview with the CBC where he noted that devices are getting ever more capable.

"There's no question that Google sees the biggest opportunity for growth is mobile access to the internet. Phones are becoming ever more capable of performing the same work that we use our desktops for. There's a whole new category of phones now, beyond the smartphone, that is designed from the ground up to interact with web services"

There's no doubt in my mind that hardware is converging...

Regular laptops are on the decline, but take a look at the proliferation of Netbooks (or mini-PC's, as they are sometimes called). One client of ours just decided to go with the Dell, although some other clients are also using the Asus EEE with great success.

Netbooks don't have a touch screen, and you have to be aware that you might be buying the linux version, but you can't beat the price and battery life.

The UMPC (or ultra mobile PC) never quite took off with widespread appeal among consumers, but they

can make a great survey device. Samsung, the main player in this space, is coming out with the next iteration of their popular Q1 line. Our company used the first release in the Q1 line, and I have to say, it was pretty nice.
You can't get a durable touchscreen device running Windows for much less.

And of couse there is the highly anticipated Palm Pre... (read more about this in other posts on this blog).

I am personally excited to see the Touch Book by Always Innovating (even though you can't get it with Windows). I understand offering linux, but they came up with yet another operating system (Touchbook OS). Sigh.

What about Android, and LiMO (or Linux Mobile) the open-source mobile operating systems?

Choice is good for consumers, but at some point, the vast proliferation of operating systems and technology standards make it tougher for business users to decide what platform to standardize on.

The shining ray of light in the chaos of these mobile phone wars is the first hint of collaboration amongst the main competitors. It's a green initiative, but incredibly, at least 17 cell phone brands will be sharing the same universal charger by 2012. Of course Apple isn't going to cooperate, but they'll probably come up with their own way to solve the problem.

For researchers, it means you need to consider your mobile software and hardware in tandem. For more on this, Techneos has a great whitepaper I can recommend ;) - check out the last page for "10 tips"

What's the right device when using PDA survey software?

Thursday, April 2, 2009 by Sean Conry

A customer recently called me and said "we have a big MCAPI project starting this summer. We've used Palms in the past with your PDA survey software for customer satisfaction questionnaires, but Palm is losing market share. What device should we use for our mobile data collection?"

I argued that market share in the consumer world is irrelevant to what gets the job done best for intercept research.

Some people think Palm is all but dead, but that's far from the truth. Did you know that Bono (yes THE Bono) just put hundreds of millions of dollars in to Palm?

And did you know that Windows Mobile is losing market share?

And no, it wasn't displaced by iPhone, but by RIM.

Yes, I realize that Palm is the smallest slice in this pie, but you don't even see Android on here (yet). Also, the Palm Centro was one of the best selling devices of 2008, with sales surpassing 2 million units in July of 2008.
The point is that you want to run your survey software on a device that is reliable and easy to use. It probably should have a touch screen and a keyboard, and offer good battery life. Palm and Windows Mobile both offer great devices in this regard.

I'll admit that Palm's story isn't all rosy, but they have a strong chance at re-winning some of that market share. ..and if you still don't believe me, check out this segment from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

The not-so-overnight phenomenon of mobile surveys

Friday, March 27, 2009 by Mark Cameron

Mobile surveys might be the hottest topic in market research today -- and I've been waiting a long time to say that!

Since I developed my first survey software for Mobile Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (MCAPI) in 1991, I've been waiting for mobile research to hit the mainstream. From bleeding edge to leading edge, mobile surveys have always been viewed as an "opportunity of the future". If PDA surveys generated a bit of a wave back in the late 1990's, then Internet surveys were surely a tsunami... and now it's the marriage of mobility and high-speed wireless Internet access that is opening a whole new word of possibilities.

I had an opportunity to speak at the Mobile Research Conference in London last month. It was billed as the first ever conference dedicated to mobile research, and it was a very promising sign for this niche that Techneos has been working to fill for more than a decade. (In fact, it was at least the second such conference, as I also presented at the Association for Survey Computing conference on Mobile Computing in 2005).

While Techneos has been proving for many years that you CAN do serious research on a handheld computer, a much bigger opportunity for mobile surveys is emerging -- at long last! Ranging from photo diaries to mystery shopping to funky new ways to conduct customer satisfaction questionnaires--and lest we forget the good old face-to-face interview--surveys on mobile phones, Netbooks and other mobile devices will no doubt play a major role in the future of market research.

Hold onto your hats and join us for the ride! We're looking forward to the future that we first envisioned almost 20 years ago. Yikes, how time flies!