A while back, we reported that a tech blogger discovered some NFC functionality on the Google+ mobile app. Google has also been actively implementing the technology for its Google Wallet and Google Places services.

With our favorite search company placing bets on NFC, it’s no surprise Sony Ericsson wants in on the action. According to Steve Walker, global head of marketing at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, mobile payments will be the “first and most obvious” use for his company’s implementation of NFC. Don’t be surprised to see the technology come to life in gaming and entertainment applications either, since that’s how Sony Ericsson differentiates its phone from others.

He adds: “NFC should be universally adopted across all industries. It requires somebody to take the lead. We saw it happening in Japan where mobile payment and ticketing technology was adopted quickly when the government took the lead. Train companies, banks and retailers followed suit. Mobile phone companies are waiting to make the plunge.”

Looks like Steve found his leading man.

Alongside Google, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications is also a principal member of the NFC forum, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing NFC technology. The forum boasts sponsor members like MasterCard and Microsoft, and principal members like Intel, PayPal, and American Express (more on membership schemes here).

With other major mobile players like HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and Nokia already producing or about to release NFC-enabled phones (see list of phones), Sony Ericsson is late on arrival, although their arrival at the hot tub party will certainly be welcomed by NFC proponents.

The only party-pooper? Apple. GigaOM has a nice article that documents the rumor mill surrounding whether iPhone 5 will be NFC-enabled, although the author also said that it “makes sense” for iPhone 6, set for launch in 2012, to be the first Apple phone with NFC capabilities. That will put it behind the competition though.

According to the IDC, sales of tablets through mobile carriers face an obstacle of getting customers to sign up for their 3G or 4G data plans that are a requirement for purchasing these devices. As a result, they have only seen moderate success.

Canaccord analysts suggest another reason for the iPad 2′s dominence: Price-point.

“Our checks indicate both the Motorola Xoom and RIM PlayBook have not sold well at current price points, as we believe competing tablets must sell at a substantial discount to the iPad 2,” wrote analyst Michael Walkley and his co-authors.

They add that Apple currently holds 56 percent of the global tablet market, Samsung a distant second at 12 percent, and ASUS at 5 percent. They also predict that by 2012 Apple will lose about 5 percent of its market share as more rivals come to the fore.

Finally, market researcher comScore has said that the iPad accounts for 89 percent of global tablet Internet traffic in May 2011.

The dominance of the iPad is also seen in Asia, says IDC. While they predict a ten-fold increase in the number of tablets shipped, the growth will mostly be driven by Apple.

Photo: Erik Hörnfeldt

“HTC is proud to provide a richer experience for our users by incorporating Chalkboard – a service that works with thousands of local businesses – on our innovative handhelds,” says SK Wong, country manager at HTC, Malaysia.

Chalkboard reaches out to over 4,000 business customers in Malaysia alone. Businesses can send updates to consumers for less than RM1 (S$0.40) per day. In addition to special deals, the app also displays the businesses’ address and contact information, all within a five -kilometer radius from the user. A map also enables potential customers to find their way to the shop.

Besides major mobile platforms iOS and Android, Chalkboard is also available on Internet browsers like Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer.

Chalkboard, which operates in Singapore, Malaysia, and the US, was founded in February 2010 by CEO Saumil Nanavati and CTO Bernard Leong with investment from Neoteny Labs. They have plans to enter the Indonesia market.

Our friends at Tech65 starts off this week with their weekly podcast on the following issues that dominated the tech landscape with their thoughts [1] Official: HTC rolling out Android 2.2, 720p video, iTunes sync to unlocked Euro Desires this weekend, [2] HP Won’t Make Any Windows Phone 7 Devices, [3] Apple starts patenting mobile app ideas, [4] StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – 12 Years of Wait – StarCraft II : Wings of Liberty, [5] iPhone 4 and 3 Mid-night Launches, [6] RSVP to Tech65 Party 2010. Note that the Tech65 are catching up with editing and publishing new episodes for listeners and do bear with them. Do click and check out their latest podcast here (and they jump forward 3 episodes this time). You can now also listen to the Tech65 podcast here as well by coming to the blog post directly.

Our friends at Tech65 starts off this week with their weekly podcast on the following issues that dominated the tech landscape with their thoughts [1] iPhone 4, [2] Nokia N8 to be final Symbian N Series device, [3] Palm files 8-K with SEC on merger, VP of PR Lynn Fox leaving, [4] Adobe Flash gets its full launch on Android, [5] HTC Hero Eclair 2.1 Release in Singapore. Note that the Tech65 are catching up with editing and publishing new episodes for listeners and do bear with them. Do click and check out their latest podcast here. You can now also listen to the Tech65 podcast here as well by coming to the blog post directly.

Our friends at Tech65 starts off this week with their weekly podcast on the following issues that dominated the tech landscape: [1] Apple iPhone Gains Market Share, BlackBerry Slips, [2] HTC files patent complaint against Apple, asks for ban on iPhone, iPad, and iPod, [3] Valve to Deliver Steam & Source on the Mac, [4] Is Europe’s cure for wireless “bill shock” right for the US?. Do click and check out their latest podcast here. You can now also listen to the Tech65 podcast here as well by coming to the blog post directly.

For Customer Service, Please Dial 1

On May 10, this post appeared on the wall of HTC Singapore’s Facebook page:

Thanks to everyone who has been contributing to the HTC Facebook Wall. We’re no longer supporting it. Nonetheless, watch out on this space for updates & freshest promotions!

The response from Facebook users was swift and vicious. Typical of many comments posted, Boresoft McBalls wrote, “VERY smart move, HTC Singapore. Set up a page to connect with your beloved customers, realise you ACTUALLY have to answer their questions, and run away! Looking forward to my new iPhone.”

According to HTC Singapore, they are no longer supporting customer queries via their Facebook wall because, “The questions posted tend to be very generic, so our customer service agents still have to track down the customer to clarify. This means that we cannot offer the customer speedy service.

“Also, because the questions posted are generic and don’t provide context, other customers may get a misconception of what our service standards are.”

Support is a Two-Way Street

Given the flavour of the comments posted on the Facebook page and elsewhere (see: Horrendous experience in getting Nexus One replaced for factory defects ) it is clear that customers have serious complaints about HTC Singapore. Kenntt from HardwareZone.Com posted, “I am personally tired of HTC postponing the HTC Hero Android 2.1 update. This will be my last HTC product until they get their act together. It seems like they like to sell, but don’t like to service the customer.”

Regardless of whether a Facebook page should be treated like a support desk (for reference, HTC US responds to complaints posted on Twitter), on social media platforms customers expect to be able to interact with the company, rather than passively receive information as via traditional media. As Lee Chee Wee notes on the wall, “Funny that HTC Singapore is ‘no longer supporting’ this page but still expects people to stay and watch this page for promotions….Any company that wants to leverage on the power of social media cannot afford to be anti-social…”

Feeling Good is Not Good Enough

While HTC Singapore is doing the right thing in engaging customers through a variety of channels (e.g. workshops, reaching out to bloggers), companies need to understand that nothing can replace quality of product and quality of service. Customers expect promises to be kept (Android update, ahem) and to respond in a timely fashion to their problems. When this does not happen, platforms such as blogs and Facebook makes it easy to disseminate their experience to the wider public very quickly.

Although Asia does not have a site like The Consumerist collating experiences of poor service it is not difficult for anyone in the market for a new smartphone to Google for information. Unless HTC Singapore understands that customers will continue to share their experiences online, and begins to engage them in a meaningful way (for a start: treat the Facebook wall as an aggregator of sentiment and act on them), expect to hear more from customers like Jaslynn Teo who love their phones but hate the service who will vote with their feet.

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Tips for Surviving on the Internet

1. Don’t expect a fan page to only attract your fans: there will always be complaints.

2. Respond to all queries quickly, whether it is submitted through the customer service desk or other “unofficial” channels.

3. Keep hearing the same complaints? If it’s possible, collate these queries and post them as a FAQ so customers can help themselves. This is also a signal that there may be more fundamental problems that need to be addressed.

4. Remember, it’s a conversation! Listening is arguably the most important thing you can do.

Image credit: badlogik.

• Ushi.cn – a Chinese Linkedin?: Since BL’s comment in Barcamp KL about no Chinese Linkedin clone, he got a surprise invitation to join on Ushi.cn, a social network which is poised to be the bridge for Chinese and Western professionals.
• Yahoo! Japan And DeNA To Runs Social Game Site Yahoo! Mobage: We examine the success of Yahoo! Japan and why Google is having such tough time in east Asia. What is Yahoo! doing correctly there?
• Softbank To Stop Further Development Of Japan-Made Mobile Technology And To Take Chinese 4G Standard?: The investor to Yahoo! Japan, Softbank (also well known for other Internet investments like Mixi and Twitter Japan) is adopting the standard from China for 4G. Does that mean that we are seeing a China-Japan nexus on tech happening in our backyard?
• Microsoft plans to invest Kaixin001 – Chinese Social Network: Is Microsoft adopting the same principle to how they invest in Facebook with Kaixin001 in China? BL relates a tale with the CEO of Kaixin001 where he shares how the western media keep getting it wrong to get people to talk. While this investment is rumored to happen, the TWIA crew also talked about the recent acquisition of Palm by HP and wondered why they got it wrong with Lenovo and HTC.
• Baidu sees 165% increase in Profit after departure of Google China: So, with Google China’s exit, Baidu is picking up the profits from the consumers now. So, what else is new for them?

• iPhone takes 4.9% market share in Japan: The surprise with Apple gaining 4.9% market share in the overall mobile market & 72% of the smart-phone market. How did Apple manage such a feat in Japan? We also discuss the recent loss of the iPhone 4G by an employee from Apple and provide our Asian perspective to the issue.
• Lenovo leads the chase for Palm after HTC drops the bid: With HTC dropping the ball, is Lenovo primed for the takeover with Palm? Are there other candidates? We offer a few more, from Microsoft to Facebook. While discussing this issue, we also take a perspective on how this takeover of Palm will mean for the “war” between Apple and Google.
• Potentialpark Acquires iHipo: iHipo (which is also invested by BL) from Thymos Capital and MDA has been acquired by Potential Park. We brought Kamal on board to discuss how start-ups in Singapore and Malaysia should stop thinking about getting government grants and go building prototypes instead.