SEO works! April Fool. Not.

What do you do when you want to surprise on April Fools day? (save those for the guys here in the office - heh, heh)
Well, you don't post to a blog, that's what!
Who's going to believe...? Aah, guess it's the price of success.

We didn't expect to see what we saw today a few weeks ago and I know it's a feeling you probably won't share, but our free Point of Sale uniCenta oPOS download rate is continuing to surprise, and excite us.
You know it was only a week ago we saw the number of uniCenta oPOS downloads jump through the 6000 mark - now that made us very happy - and proudly announced this news of course.  But now downloads have passed 7000 only one week later!
Now, if we were excited a week ago, it won't take you long to figure how we feel about this when we saw the latest stat's. Yep. Right. You got it.

So, what's the under-lying reason for the accelerating downloads? Easy. It's down to SEO. 
We've spent a lot of time refining  the app', and a lot of time learning, and applying, what we've learned about SEO.  The results speak for themselves, I think. 
So, you think to yourself; ooh goody. This SEO thing really works... Got to try it.  STOP!  Beware!
Before you do; just want to let you know that if you want to fry your your brain or experience slow excruciating trauma you should try it! This SEO thingy, it's a deep, deep mysterious black-art practised by shady folks who don't get much sunlight :-)

Here's our stat's.  As the saying goes "A picture speaks..." so I'll let our Sourceforge uniCenta oPOS project stat's say the rest.

You can see the effect of our previous SEO work kicking in at the beginning of the year then in March. BOOM!
If you want to know more about us visit our uniCenta main site or go directly to our dedicated uniCenta oPOS site.

Dutch, French, German and Spanish language locales released today!

uniCenta oPOS language and settings can easily be changed by downloading and using the new beta language locales.
Available in Dutch, French, German and Spanish the locales are simple to install and ready to use straight way.

Still got a bit to do in places - to complete translation for the additional fourteen reports (unavailable in Openbravo POS default install) we added to uniCenta oPOS - but expect another update soon.

Here's a shot of uniCenta oPOS German locale installed - Stock Menu:

 ...and a Product List Report

Onwards and Upwards

uniCenta oPOS downloads went through the 5000 line, end of Jan', and in this last weekend shot through 6000

What a sprint!

Now I'm guessing here, it's been the SEO stuff I've been playing with on both the main www.unicenta.net and www.unicentaopos.co.uk sites, and both have seen a doubling of visitors.  Reckon that's a pretty good indicater for my guess.

What's interesting though is the level of interest trending towards Mobile POS - in all its forms - which is really great to see.  What's more, the interest level is coming from all sectors.
For all who know the history, Mobile POS is something I've always promoted..., since I can't remember when, and in those early days mobile devices were heavy, clumsy to use, under-powered, scare as rocking horse do-do's and cost the proverbial arm & leg.

Just curious....  What's your idea of the perfect Mobile POS device?

uniCenta oPOS v2.60 - Mobile Ordering

Thought we'd give you a sneek peek at uniCenta moPAD development as we continue to play with the Partner Tech OT-200 Windows Mobile 6.5.x PDA

Here's a quickie of it in Partner Tech corporate branding (not finished and still experimenting) - getting it ready for the RBTE show, Earls Court, in London 16-17 March.

 You'll see we're running a non-standard keyboard instead of the almost useless built-in Windows 6.5; it's Dasur SlideIT. We like it.... a lot.

What do you think?

For the Techies;
Snippet shows moPAD running server-side, jsp war pages with Ajax directly through the OT-200's in-built IE browser.
More play-time coming up with Opera mobile.

uniCenta oPOS v2.60 Released

We've let loose our latest upgrade to uniCenta oPOS our Free open source Point Of Sale you can get it here http://www.unicentaopos.co.uk and here http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/unicentaopos

Have been having some fun with it too running as a mobile app' (it already runs really well on Partner Tech's 10" EM-200 pad/tablet pc)
Here's some shots.
Full app' running on PartnerTech OT-200 Windows Mobile 6.5 PDA

 

and here running server side web page version in browser

uniCenta oPOS v2.60

Haven't been here for a while...  thought I'd better get my act together and post some stuff.

Letting you know that uniCenta oPOS version 2.60 is coming out of beta in the next few days.
Main focus has been on improving User Interface Look and Feel, tidying up the reports and adding a few more bells + a few whistles to boot.

Here's a few shots for the curious;

 

Also got a new and improved - the new standard that is being applied to all Manuals - Installation Guide; you can see it here

Jack

Didn't believe me about my last post... Look at this!

Just came across this... thought you should see it.

I've highlighted the relevant

Amenities and technology key hotel differentiators for business travelers

November 15, 2010 | Hospitality Industry

Amenities and Technology Key Differentiators

The Deloitte survey found that the overall hotel experience is important to a majority of business travelers. Roughly two-thirds of respondents said they often work in their room (68 percent) and they also expect a lot more from a hotel than just a clean room and comfortable bed (65 percent). Further, almost four out of five respondents felt that high-speed Internet (79 percent) and free parking (77 percent) were important amenities to them when staying at a hotel for business. A core group of business travelers (30 percent) felt their favorite hotel brand was so important to them that they would stay at that hotel brand even if it were not in the most convenient location. This loyalty was highest among those earning $150,000 or more.

“Consumers are more value-conscious than ever and have been conditioned to expect more for their money after a steady diet of recession-era deals. The tipping point for hotels to differentiate their brand offering and strengthen loyalty among the post-recessionary business traveler will be providing additional complementary services and amenities tailored to their guests’ specific needs,” said Weissenberg. “Beyond traditional incentives, hotels are realizing the importance of developing their online presence, particularly with mobile platforms, to capitalize on a crucial touch point for brand communication.”

Roughly half, 48 percent, of survey respondents owned a web-enabled smartphone. However, business travelers who are 18 to 29 years old, or with an income of more than $150,000, were far more likely to own one (84 percent and 63 percent, respectively). Among smartphone owners, more than one-quarter (26 percent) have downloaded a hotel application and have used it primarily to book a room (54 percent).

Interestingly, general-purpose travel websites did not appear to be regularly used by business travelers for booking accommodations. Only 31 percent used such sites always/frequently, 31 percent used them occasionally, and a larger 38 percent stating they never use these sites for reserving a hotel room for business travel.

About the Survey

The survey was commissioned by Deloitte and conducted online by an independent research company between September 10 and September 14, 2010. The survey polled a nationally representative sample of 1,001 business travelers and has a margin of error of +/- three percentage points.

Related Link: Deloitte

http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/amenities_and_technology_key_hotel_differentiators_for_business_travelers/