Market Segmentation
Demand for real time application by subway users in the New York City, among Smartphone users is based on frequent commuters who involve students, the working class, and normal citizens. NYC rail time application demand is subject to the usage of Smartphone among subway users.
Transit Interactive has developed an improved technology that offers real time information to subway riders as opposed to estimated time information that was the only refuge of Smartphone users. Demand factor of the new application in the market will follows the lifecycle of technology adoption among subway users.
Sub-users currently using estimated time applications will adopt the application with respect to the characteristics of innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards in the technology adoption life cycle.
Source: techticker.net
Adoption of technology in level stages typically follows an S curve as shown above in with regards to diffusion of innovations theory. This is due to the fact that clients respond to new cell phone applications in different ways.
Diffusion of innovations theory indicates that people have varying adoption levels to new technology and that the features of the applications have an impact on overall adoption rates, and consequently on real time application demand.
The theory of adoption categorizes levels of adoption into innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. With respect to the S curve, innovators are 2.5%, early adopters are 13.5%, early majority are 34%, late majority 34%, and lastly laggards are 16%.
However, Smartphone applications demand puts into consideration both fundamental and technical aspects of the innovation and its penetration into the market.
Fundamental aspects involve economic statistics with regards to the innovation where valuation of the company is based on the benefit in the market (Brooks 16). There are different classes of subway users in the New York City with respect to the impact of current economic conditions on consumer behavior among smart phone users.
Target Market Segment Strategy
Transit Interactives’ move towards creating ‘NYC Rail Time’, a real time application that taps into MTA grid for subway users in New York City seeks to capture current users of estimated time. Smartphone users adopt newer technologies at faster rates although the target market is generally based on the normal technology adoption lifecycle.
Market Needs
Demand needs of NYC rail time application reveals the adoption rates, risks involved, efficiency opportunity, challenges, and buying habits of Smartphone users. Available applications give information to subway users based on estimated time and therefore creates updated efficiency gap, which needs to be filled by real time information.
NYC rail time, application has sought to provide real time arrival information for subway users in the New York City rail time. Critical product evaluation by Smartphone users reveals the needs of real time information and is therefore the main influencing factor to user’s decision to purchase.
Market Trends
Technological advancement in internet services is the basis of retaining and capturing new customers in the Smartphone industry, however, privacy issues among users are emerging. Transit Interactive needs to put into consideration market trends, such as the emerging privacy issues among Smartphone users in real time application.
Demand of Nextrain arrival tool has been affected purchasing decisions and image of the application by privacy trend with respect with its system of sourcing information from thousands of users.
Market trends with respect to Nexttrain application base their claims on the fact that the application determines real time arrivals of New York City subway trains by sourcing information from significantly many smartphones of New Yorkers (Schweiger et al 43).
Market Growth
New York Rail Time application has the potential of expanding its market through the unique feature of walking application for subway users.
The market growth potential focuses on long term demand where a complete technology adoption will having achieved with innovators, early adopters, early majority, and late majority. This is in consideration of the fact that Transit Interactive of real time arrival application is a new technological improvement from estimated time applications such as Rodify.
Market growth in Transit Interactive is based on real time needs and consciousness of Smartphone users to innovations in applications. Consciousness of innovations is increased through advertising and awareness strategies to deliver information with regards to NYC rail time application.
Real time and social media platforms can deliver information faster than radio and television stations. Subway user needs, opinions, and new application reviews can best be shared through social media platforms, which create spaces where people share similar reviews, interests, conversations, and opinions (Macy and Thompson 2).
Industry Analysis
Smartphone Applications market has transformed at a rapid rate from a niche market to a huge mainstream market. The Smartphone applications industry is growing on the basis of new and thrilling applications being introduced with the changing ways with which consumers are entertained and receive information.
The growing significance of Smartphone applications is put into perspective with respect to the consideration that in 2010 cell phone application design industry was attributed as among the best sectors harboring good prospects for entrepreneurship.
According to Global Industry Inc, the Smartphone applications market in the world is forecast to go up to the level of US$101.2 billion by 2017. This is in consideration of the positive trend and with the huge amounts of investments flow into the industry irrespective of the tough economic conditions.
Smartphone applications market still has a huge growth potential considering the wide range of unexploited demand needs in of real time arrival information among subways users in the New York City.
Industry Participants
The growth of Smartphone applications continuously incorporated new and improved ways with which clients can receive information. The applications meet similar needs of customers in different ways and are quite dynamic in technology and efficiency. Indeed, technology and continuous innovation is critical for sustainability and penetration of specific applications in the dynamic and competitive industry.
In mainstream cell phone applications, the introduction of real time applications has siphoned huge markets from the applications developers that provide stale information. Cell phone application developers that are less dynamic have suffered huge loses in software applications market. However, real time cell phone applications have not fully penetrated the market and thus less dynamic software developers are still successful.
Distribution Patterns
Smartphones sellers distribute the phones inbuilt with internet access features that can enable users to access the tool at normal internet connectivity charges. Smartphone users can access the services through mobile internet services such as commuterPage.com.
More so, the Real Time Arrival Tool can be accessed through New York City system maps icons; however, Microsoft application may be required to enable access of these services. Nevertheless, suppliers of applications follow the Smartphone distribution channel.
Competition and Buying Patterns
In the mainstream business, innovation and customer appreciation is critical.
Technological paradigms in relation to other competitors are a priority in the mainstream business through reinforcing more investments in the field of technology (Welbes 47). Real time arrival cell phone applications follow innovation trends in line with industry participants such as Nexttrain and MBTA Subway.
MBTA Subway tool provides a simple to use interface, which is also quick in processing (Margaria and Steffen 444). Smartphone applications clients focus mainly on technical efficiency that comes with innovations and technological improvements with regards to ease, speed, and up to date benefits.
Main Competitors
Rodify
Rodify is the $10,000 grand prizewinner, which sought to combine DOT and MTA data with real-time information updates from commuters. The application also helps its users to find the cheapest gas and the nearest parking. The application helps users to navigate through towns with complicated paths such as Boston town that has its roads built on cow paths.
Rodify’s arrival tool provides estimated bus tracking and transpondents that enable prediction of arrival time of buses at every bus stop. Some of the strengths of the application include efficiency to clients and financial backing. However, the weakness of the application is that it does not provide real time information.
MBTA Subway
The MBTA Subway Real-Time Arrival Tool helps both visitors and residents to easily navigate the city and the Boston Subway system. The application provides real-time arrival information for trains on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines.
Green lines show expected frequency, holiday, and weekend adjustments for trains. The application can be used to identify nearest stop information and displays general location with maps for individual stops.
It can also estimate walking time by users to T-stations. The application provides a simple to use interface and fast processing speed. The strengths of the product include providing a simple to use interface and quick processing speed. However, the main weakness is that the application does not currently provide real time information.
Nexttrain
The application tracks change in identification of signal base station, where phones automatically connect as people move around the city. However, the signals are lost when people go into subways, and thus Nexttrain charts to create a real time schedule of the city’s train. Six hundred thousand users of NYC mate can activate Nexttrain on their phones to get train schedule information.
The Next train only works in underground systems. On other hand, the nextbus technology uses GPS system to track transit systems through a satellite-tracking device that gathers information concerning traffic patterns and intended stops to accurately predict schedules. The real time application tool generally provides user information through the NYCMate subway map.
Using this map, train commuters are updated on information on arrivals at a selected rail station and the next train to arrive. Moreover, Nexttrain application has capitalized on characteristics of MTBA Subway applications as well as focusing on information needs, concerning the next available train.
The main strength of the product is that it has strong distribution channel with a huge stable market. However, the weakness is the product does only works in the underground systems.
Works Cited
Brooks, John C. Mastering Technical analysis: Using the tool of Technical analysis for profitable trading. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2005. Print.
Macy, Beverly and Thompson, Teri. The Power of Real Time Social Media Marketing: How to attract and retain customers and draw the bottom line ion the globally connected World. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2010. Print.
Margaria, Tiziana and Steffen Bernhard. Leveraging Applications of Formal Methods, Verification and Validation. Berlin: Springer, 2008. Print.
Schweiger, Carol L. et al. Real Time Bus Arrival System. NY: Transportation Research Board, 2003. Print.
Welbes, Matthew J. Real Modernization Study: Report to Congress. NY: DIANE Publishing, 2011. Print.