The only electronic gadget that my father owns is a set of prostate busting buzz-balls. To say he is a techno-fobe is an understatement. The man can’t even muster the intellect to learn smoke an e-cigarette. So I was surprised when he rang me the other day to ask for my advice on what laptop he should buy?
“What are you going to use it for?” I asked.
“E-mail and a bit of porn.” Came his reply.
We started to discuss the potential of him going Apple. The thought of Trojan horses and viral infections terrified him more than the £1k price tag on Jobs little baby. But e-mail and porn?
“Well maybe I would use it to have a little bet as well?” He asked.
This is when is suddenly dawned on me that the desktop/laptop computer could well be the next Panda. My father travels all around the world as a chemical engineer. I would say that his needs to place a bet, send an e-mail and get his rocks off can all be adequately met by the use of a mobile device. He needs a phone anyway, so why not spend that little bit extra on a decent one and become yet another potential Apple customer who prefers mobility to sleek, sexy and shiny?
“Get a decent mobile phone or an iPad.” I told him.
According to the Pew Internet Research Centre 55% of Americans said that they used a mobile device to access the internet during 2012, and 31% of them said it was their main way of accessing the web.
The desperate situation that the likes of the UK Retail Stores are facing is another indicator of all things mobile. But the special people that we rely on to make our world a better place are still not getting the message. Where are all of our mind blowing mobile products? Is Candy Crush Saga the best you can do?
Neil Channing of the Betting Emporium is dividing his time between playing poker at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and finding the winners at Royal Ascot. As a punter I have to wait diligently for Channing to complete his study and post his results before it’s my turn to shine. I need to scour the internet for the best prices for Channing’s winners and then post my bets. I want to know when someone is going to create a mobile product that solves all these problems for me? With more and more of the Bookmakers profits coming via mobile isn’t that an indication that the people want more gambling products?
It’s not just a lack of gambling products that causes my voice to go into that angry octave; it’s everything about accessibility. The overseas charges for data roaming would bankrupt most people and let’s not even get into the difficulties I will no doubt incur as I try to actually post the bets online. I still chuckle when I pass the Zombie Apocalypse store on my way to the Rio. A place where I can buy every single gun used in the Terminator movie and yet I can’t get a bet on the 15:30 at Royal Ascot because the nation thinks I am going to turn into a obsessive, broken man. Maybe this is why Google reported that 77% of mobile searches actually took place at home or work. Kind of takes the mobile out of the mobile.
So come on…where are you? I want the bright minds of the gambling industry to stand up and be counted. Make me a gambling product for my mobile device and while you are at it, can you recommend any decent mobile porn products for my old man?
