Synchronica Secures Funds for Emerging Markets Push

Mobile email and synchronization solutions provider Synchronica plc has raised an additional $3.9 million (£1.97 million) to further fund its push into emerging markets with its mobile email and backup solutions. Synchronica’s Mobile Gateway solution enables operators to offer push email on mass market handsets for both consumer and business users, while Mobile Backup offers a backup and restore service for the personal information stored on devices.
This latest placing of new shares to institutional and private investors is in addition to funding secured in January and brings the 2008 investment in the company to $7.5 million. The funds will be used primarily to expand Synchronica's sales and support functions in emerging markets, including the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The investment comes as Synchronica makes significant inroads into emerging markets. One mobile operator has already launched Mobile Gateway, and another 15 are currently trialling the software.
According to Synchronica, Mobile Gateway 3.5 works with more than 3 billion of the phones in use around the world today, including Smartphones and mass-market devices, making it ideal for emerging markets where low-cost handsets represent the vast majority of devices. With Mobile Gateway 3.5, the company says, even the most basic phones can receive email via an email-to-SMS gateway which shows header and body text in a text message.
Another benefit for subscribers in emerging markets, where PC penetration is low, is that they can now sign up for the service from their handset via WAP, removing the need to register using a PC.
Mobile Backup is also ideally suited to these regions, the company says, since the mobile phone is increasingly becoming the primary repository of choice for social and business contact information. Customers can sign up for Mobile Backup via a straightforward WAP interface or through a simple SMS signup procedure. A built-in client provisioning module automatically configures the phone.
Informa predicts that there will be 4.81 billion mobile phone subscribers by 2012, with the majority of the next billion subscribers coming from emerging markets where PC and fixed-line penetration is low, and consumers rely on their mobile phones for communication.
“This new round of funding is important because it allows us to continue to strengthen our efforts in emerging markets,” says Synchronica CEO, Carsten Brinkschulte. “We have a robust pipeline of prospects in these regions and a first-rate solution that truly offers mobile email for everyone, regardless of which phone they use. With these funds, and our recent announcement of the strategic partnership with Brightstar to distribute Mobile Gateway in over 50 countries across six continents, we are well positioned to offer mobile operators a ‘BlackBerry for the rest of us.’”

Devicescape 2.0 Available for Windows 5 & 6

Devicescape Software has announced that the second generation of its award-winning wi-fi software, Devicescape Connect 2.0, is now available on Windows Mobile 5 & 6. Devicescape 2.0 will enable Windows Mobile 5 & 6 devices to instantly access potentially millions of free and open hotspots, enabling users to spedn less time entering user names and passwords.
For consumers, Devicescape 2.0 provides immediate access from any device to millions of hotspot locations. Access to free and open hotspots requires no sign up. The service is also easily extensible to password-protected networks; credentials only need to be entered once on the fly on the device, or in advance via a web site. You can even add your home network and securely share it with friends. Additionally, Devicescape constantly seeks out hotspots, and notifies users when they have a secure and verified wi-fi connection.
The solution may seem unnecessary for laptop access, and not essential, even if useful, for access to a wi-fi network via a device with a keypad and browser, such as a mobile phone. But devicescape was designed initially for wi-fi-enabled devices with no, or limited, data entry capabilities, such as digital cameras and games consoles.
For device manufacturers, Devicescape now provides a comprehensive wi-fi solution that immediately connects any device to millions of hotspots around the world, without the consumer having to do anything. The device registers anonymously with Devicescape, and begins connecting to free and open hotspots immediately. Consumers can upgrade and expand their access when and how they want. Additionally, Devicescape is compatible with all operator networks and can also be customised for operator partners to include network credentials ‘out-of-the-box’.  This allows manufacturers to easily work with any provider around the world to distribute bundled solutions on any type of device.   

3BILL in Profile Heaven

3BILL, the mobile division of Symbios Group, has acquired Profile Heaven, a UK social networking platform aimed at 15-24 year olds. The company has not disclosed terms of the purchase for the site,  www.profileheaven.com  which in 2006 won a UK Website of the Year  award for Best Community Site
3BILL believes that the acquisition of Profile Heaven will benefit users of the site, allowing them to stay connected to their friends through a range of new, free applications and services that are planned as part of a re-development of the site. These services will make it easier to keep in touch, enabling members to access the site using a mobile phone when they do not have access to a PC. 3BILL will use its own software and content platform to integrate the mobile features to enhance usage of the site as well as offering higher levels of social interaction between users.
The site will be extensively improved over the coming months with a re-launch planned for early summer. 3BILL says the improvements will include a wide range of previously unseen web and mobile applications specifically tailored to deliver an extremely rich web and mobile experience to the site’s well-established and fast growing community. The site will also be re-branded as part of the re-launch.
“This is a natural step for our business within the exciting social networking channel, especially at a time when analysts remain bullish about the market,” says 3BILL CEO, Martin Montague. “Users accessing social networks are on the increase too. I believe we can create a unique and exciting proposition that will become a benchmark for the next generation of users and social networking sites.”

Rubberduck Appoints Komonen as COO

Scandinavian Mobile TV company Rubberduck Media Lab has appointed Jussi Komonen to the position of Chief operating Officer. Komonen was hired by Rubberduck in January from TeliaSonera, where he was Head of the TeliaSonera Medialab.
“I’m very satisfied that we’ve hired Jussi,” says Rubberduck CEO, Ola Svartberg, “He  has rare business and product experience from the development of Mobile TV services in TeliaSonera MediaLab. Skilled and committed employees is one factor that makes Rubberduck succeed with  big operator accounts such as Telenor, Hutchinson 3 and NetCom and broadcasters like BBC and NRK. Jussi will strengthen the supply chain and secure the coordination between sales and operations teams.
Komonen  says he has been impressed by Rubberduck’s dedication to technical excellence, and service quality.
“Rubberduck is a dynamic and quickly growing company operating successfully in a highly competitive market,” says Komonen. “I am very excited to join this team of extremely skilled professionals dedicated to delivering the best Mobile TV experience globally.”

Now Ofcom Goes for Hidden Extras

After Wednesday's news that Ofcom had set a deadline for O2 to meet its 3G licence obligations, the communications regulator has now announced proposals to curb unfair additional charges levied by all UK  communications providers on consumers' bills. Ofcom says the proposals are designed to ensure that extra charges are fair and that mobile, landline, broadband and pay-TV providers clearly market the true cost of their services.
Increasing competition has driven down headline prices and offered consumers more choice. However, says Ofcom, falling headline prices are not the whole picture. Consumers may also pay additional charges as part of complicated contract terms. Some providers make a range of additional charges; for example, when consumers choose to pay by cash or cheque rather than by Direct Debit; cancel a contract before the minimum period has finished; or make a late payment.
Ofcom is proposing to introduce new guidance for communications providers. This will spell out Ofcom's view of the law and what communications providers have to do to meet their obligations under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 to ensure that additional charges are fair and transparent.
Once the guidance has been finalised, Ofcom is proposing to give communications providers three months to comply. Ofcom will then start an enforcement programme - where necessary through the courts.
The draft guidance has two main principles. The first is that providers need to be clear and up front with their consumers and do more to make it easy for consumers to understand the charges. The second is that charges that are not part of the price of a main service under the contract must be demonstrably fair.
Ofcom is seeking views on the draft guidance. The consultation is published here, and the closing date for responses is 8 May 2008. Ofcom expects to publish the final guidance in autumn 2008.
“Consumers are benefiting from greater competition and lower prices,” says Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards. “But for consumers to get an all-round fair deal, they need to know the full costs of the services they are buying. Our proposals will encourage companies to be open and straightforward about additional charges where they feel it is necessary to include them. In addition, our proposals mean that, in some cases, additional charges will be subject to clear limits which would provide direct protection for consumers."

Mr.T - Mobile

Irish mobile marketing agency Return2Sender has announced the launch of a ‘Snickers’ WAP site, created to support the return of a Snickers TV ad campaign featuring Mr.T from ‘The A Team’. The site offers free downloadable Mr.T content, including ringtones and wallpapers. Visitors to the site can also view the TV ad, take part in the Snickers ‘Get some nuts Challenge’ and enter a competition to win an Nintendo Wii. The site is being promoted via mobile advertising on Vodafone live! and the Planet 3 portal in the Republic of Ireland (ROI).
The site went live last week, and according to Return2Sender, has already attracted several thousand visitors, many of whom have downloaded the branded content and passed it on to their friends via Bluetooth or SMS.
People in the ROI who want to access the WAP site should text SNICKERS to 51727. Anyone outside the ROI can find the site at the following address on their phone’s browser: www.r2s.ie/snickers 

Crisp and Adaptive Team Up for Child Security

Crisp, the online child protection technology specialist, has established a partnership with  AdaptiveMobile to offer its next generation anti-grooming software to mobile phone network providers.
AdaptiveMobile, which provides mobile subscriber protection for enterprises and individuals, has added Crisp’s anti-grooming technology to its offering to further protect young people increasingly engaged in Internet-based conversations via mobile phone handsets.   
Crisp’s technology will build upon AdaptiveMobile’s existing Inappropriate Content and Parental Control systems. AdaptiveMobile provides the ability to control inappropriate access to SMS, MMS, email, Instant Messenger (IM), web and WAP services.
The addition of Crisp’s technology to AdaptiveMobile’s portfolio will enable mobile operators to expand the social networking capabilities of their networks, while at the same time delivering a more responsible offering to customers.
Adaptive points out that by the age of 15, more than 90% of children own a mobile and that 23% of three to six-year-olds use a mobile phone. Mobile Internet use has also seen a steep increase since 2003, with 21% of mobile users accessing the Internet on a mobile phone or PDA, compared to just 5% five years ago.
Crisp’s technology does not restrict Internet access, but uses an innovative approach to identifying potentially-inappropriate IM and social-network conversations, which can put young people at risk from online predators. Crisp makes sure parents are aware of unsuitable relationships, while still giving children their online privacy. Parents are only alerted to dangerous relationships via SMS text messages.
“The opportunities for online conversation have increased dramatically as advanced mobile phone technology is offering similar quality Internet access to a home PC or laptop,” says Crisp Thinking CEO, Andrew Lintell. “Quite simply, this means a device that may have been bought by parents to provide extra security could in fact offer abusers a direct link to children.”
Lintell notes that Oonline groomers aim to isolate their victims and normalise their actions, adding that these tactics can be even more effective when a young person is using a device to communicate in more private and remote locations than when they are using a PC. 
“Crisp’s technology goes so much further than website ‘blocking and locking’” says Lintelll. “Without taking away young people’s freedom to explore the Internet, their parents can be safe in the knowledge that our systems are keeping an eye on who they are talking to, and more importantly, what is being said.”
AdpativeMobile CEO Lorcan Burke says the company felt that it was important, with the growth of Mobile IM to find a solution to the growing dangers of grooming using mobile platforms. 
“It is important to realise that the busiest network time for phones owned by children is 10pm, which is generally when they have gone to bed,” says Burke. “This fact alone demonstrates how exposed young people are to potential threats. Crisp’s technology will play a major role in preventing unscrupulous and calculated predators establishing any kind of relationship with our children.”

O2 Hits the Right Note with NME Gig Clips

O2 is making unique live content from tonight’s NME Awards Big Gig at the O2 available exclusively to O2 customers. The NME Awards Big Gig features Manic Street Preachers, Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party, among others. The downloadable content will include live music video clips and backstage action from each of the bands, which will be available online and through O2 Active.
O2 customers can access the content by texting NME to 2020 and can download one live video clip from each band absolutely free (though data charges apply). Additional clips will be available at 75p each. More videos from the event and backstage interviews with each band will also be available exclusively on O2 Active and online here.
For those lucky enough to have a ticket, O2 is offering its customers exclusive VIP access to special areas within The O2 before and after the event. O2 customers can text TICKETS to 60202, for the chance for them and three friends to gain VIP access to the O2 Lounge, which, for one night only, will be transformed into the Rocksino - a flamboyant rock-themed casino open only to VIP guests.
The party will continue in the O2 Blueroom Bar straight after the gig. O2 customers can text BLUEROOM to 60202 for a barcode ticket for themselves and up to 3 guests. Tailor made ‘Rocktails’ will be served at the bar and there will be an indie DJ playing until 1am.
“Through our partnership with (O2 venue owners) AEG, we are able to offer our customers unique VIP experiences and exclusive content direct from The O2,” says O2 UK Marketing Director, Sally Cowdry. “We share our customer’s passion for music and are delighted to be able to bring fans closer to the music and bands they love.”

Momail Launches in Polish

Mobile email provider Momail has revealed that its mobile email service is now available in the local language in Poland. In less than two minutes, the company says, customers can set up a Momail account via their mobile or PC to have a mobile email solution on their handsets which is as easy as SMS to use. 
Mobile penetration in Poland is three times that of PCs. Additionally, the company notes, there are now more than 1 million Polish people who can now use Momail's mobile email offering as their main communication tool, in their native language.
“After Sweden and the UK, we are excited to offer a localized version of Momail to users in Poland,” says Momail CEO, Roger Grönberg. “Our technology optimizes every message and attachment, without destroying the original, while minimising the amount of data and thus the cost of mobile data by up to 99.9%."
Momail does not require special clients or software in the mobile, thus minimising download and installation problems. Momail currently works on more than 1,000 different handset models. Momail is free of charge and works on all mobiles with built-in email support. The service is available in the UK, in all Nordic countries and in Poland. The company says that many more countries will be added this year, beginning with Germany.

Voda Partners with Telmap for SatNav Solution

Vodafone UK has teamed up with mobile mapping and navigation specialist Telmap to launch Vodafone Sat Nav, the first operator-branded mobile navigation service aimed at UK consumers. Vodafone Sat Nav has already been launched into the enterprise market, where it is available on a number of devices, including the BlackBerry Curve 8310, and the BlackBerry Pearl 8110.
Vodafone says the solution provides users with a complete mobile navigation experience, including both in-car and pedestrian navigation. Featuring 3D maps that enhance the navigation experience, up-to-date maps and directions, it also gives the customer instant access to live traffic alerts and millions of points-of-interest, such as hotels, restaurants, shopping and attractions.
“This consumer launch further strengthens the partnership between Telmap and Vodafone UK and allows us to build on the success we have achieved with Vodafone Sat Nav in the enterprise market,” says Telmap CEO, Oren Nissim. “As the first operator-branded mobile navigation service for UK consumers, this launch marks a significant milestone for both Telmap and the industry in bringing a fully featured SatNav experience to the mass-market mobile phone.” 
Vodafone Sat Nav is launching initially on three of Vodafone UK’s GPS-embedded handsets, the Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB and Nokia 6110, as well as the new BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone. Subscription to the service costs £5 per month, with the first month free. Data charges apply when using the service. Customers can sign up for the service from any Vodafone retail store, through telesales or directly from the Vodafone live! portal. BlackBerry Pearl 8110 customer will get 12 months SatNav included, when they buy the phone.

MMA Boosts Membership

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has announced the addition of 33 new members, bringing its global membership to close to 600 member companies. This represents a growth rate of 350% in the past two years. The latest companies to join the MMA member roster include O2, MGM Grand and  Qwikker.
With a membership base representing some of the largest brands in the world, the MMA continues to lead in the development of guidelines and best practices to encourage the adoption of mobile marketing and ensure a positive consumer experience world-wide. The MMA notes that its Code of Conduct, Consumer Best Practices and Mobile Advertising Guidelines have helped to define the playing field for companies entering mobile marketing globally. 
“Our MMA membership continues to proactively and collaboratively drive the adoption of the mobile channel world-wide,” says MMA President, Laura Marriott. “The MMA and its members have spent the last few years laying a solid foundation for growth and we look forward to making 2008 the year for mobile marketing globally. We are particularly excited about our launch in Latin America and look forward to bringing our experiences in the creation of a sustainable channel for mobile marketing to our newest region.”
The MMA will be hosting its regular series of Mobile Marketing Forum (MMF) events around the world this year. The São Paulo Forum takes place on 26 March, the London event on 15 -16 April, the New York Forum on 10 – 11 June, and the San Diego event, including the MMA Awards ceremony, on 13 November.
A complete listing of all MMA members can be found at www.mmaglobal.com. For membership information, contact mma@mmaglobal.com   

OnePoint Reveals What's Hot for 2008

Mobile survey company OnePoint Surveys and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the government’s international business development organisation, have revealed the findings from their ‘What's hot and what's not?’ surveys completed by delegates at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
During the event, UKTI conducted a snap survey of 100 senior executives from global firms working in the mobile and wireless industry, powered by OnePoint Surveys. According to one point, the findings show that two areas are going to be red hot in 2008. Mobile marketing rated as the hottest topic for the coming year, although the lack of mobile-specific content was identified as mobile marketing’s biggest challenge. Location-based Services (LBS) was another hot topic identified by the research. Pricing and privacy were named as the main issues for discussion in this area.
Delegates were also given the opportunity to give feedback, using their mobile phone, on how the Congress compared to previous years. On a scale of 0-10 where 0 = Much worse and 10 = Much better, the vast majority of respondents rated the 2008 event as a 9 and 10, although some commented on the slow registration process on the first day. 
“Mobile surveys are by far the best fit for research such as this,” says OnePoint Managing Director, Neil Jessop. “The surveys enabled instant feedback to be gained from delegates while they were on-the-go where traditional research methods such as face-to-face and paper-based surveys would not have been tolerated by visitors.”
Jessop notes that by using both SMA and WAP technology the mobile survey solution enabled the UKTI to capture the views of delegates from nine countries.

Relay Station Wins Early-warning Task

Voice and text broadcaster Relay Station has revealed that Animal Health, the government’s executive agency responsible for ensuring the health and welfare of farmed animals in Great Britain, has selected its broadcasting technology to launch a managed multi-form, early-warning subscription service for farmers, livestock keepers, vets, and all others concerned about animal disease.
For the first time, subscribers can receive Animal Health alerts in the form most convenient for them ... voice or SMS messaging to their mobile or landline, email, or by fax, at no cost, within minutes of new outbreaks.
Relay Station has been working closely with Animal Health since 2005, initially providing emergency broadcasting of voice, SMS, fax and email message alerts each time a notifiable animal disease alert occurred across the UK. The service enabled Animal Health to communicate with the large number of stakeholders involved in responding to outbreaks of animal diseases such as bluetongue, avian influenza and foot and mouth disease.
Emergency services, vets and public officials welcomed Animal Health’s initiative, enabling them to quickly deploy the most effective response and to seal-off infected premises. Importantly for Animal Health, it freed-up critical staff and resources and provided an extensive audit trail whilst providing a more effective way of reaching stakeholders in the shortest timeframe.
Building upon its successful relationship with Relay Station, Animal Health has now decided to introduce a new subscription service aimed at further improving the reach and coverage of the early-warning programme. Central to the service is a data management tool developed by Relay Station which enables Animal Health to send specific alert messages to specific groups in specific areas. The tool can be accessed from any location at anytime.
Subscription to the service is free and all that farmers or vets need do to activate the service and receive alerts by phone, email or fax is to complete a simple form on the Animal Health website, or call the Agency’s interactive telephone system on 0844 884 9888.
“Animal Health is focussed on providing the best early warning alert system possible, and Relay Station’s technology and frontline support singularly allows us to achieve this,” says Animal Health Contingency Communications Manager, David Shearn. “We expect thousands of farmers and vets to take advantage of this new flexible service so that all can become proactive in limiting the cost of animal disease.”

Ofcom Goes for O2

Communications regulator Ofcom has issued O2 with a deadline for meeting its 3G rollout obligation, and told the operator what steps it proposes to take should it still not be in compliance when the deadline arrives.
The obligation requires each of the five holders of a 3G licence to rollout their networks to enable the provision of 3G services to at least 80% of the population from 31 December 2007. Having completed its assessment of compliance with the obligation, Ofcom found that although four of the five licensees  - H3G, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone - have complied with the requirement, O2 only covered 75.69% of the population at the end of last year. The shortfall equates to approximately 2.5 million people.
Ofcom has now issued O2 with a notice under the procedure in the Wireless Telegraphy Act for licence breaches. This proposes that if O2 has not met the rollout obligation by the end of June 2008, Ofcom will shorten the term of its 3G licence by four months. This would mean that O2's licence would end on 31 August 2021, rather than 31 December 2021.
O2 acquired its 3G licence in 2000 for £4.03 billion. Ofcom estimates that a reduction of the licence term by four months would be equivalent to a significant financial sanction of at least £40 million.

SEVEN Expands Latvian Offering

Push email software company SEVEN has partnered with Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), Latvia’s biggest mobile network operator, to provide LMT customers with access to their consumer email accounts on their mobile phone with Tiešpasts, powered by SEVEN’s Consumer Edition solution.
LMT customers currently have access to SEVEN’s enterprise mobile email solution, making it easy for users to monitor their work email accounts away from the office. Now, SEVEN is providing its Consumer Edition solution to LMT customers, allowing them the same instant access to consumer email accounts from popular Internet email providers such as Google, inbox.lv, delfi.lv, and apollo.lv.
“By extending our mobile email solution to include our Consumer Edition solution with LMT we are furthering our mission to provide mobile email to everyone,” says SEVEN CEO, Ross Bott. “We understand the need for an easy solution to access consumer email accounts on a vast array of devices. We are excited to offer our own consumer email solution to LMT customers, giving them the access they want on their existing mobile phones.”
SEVEN says its consumer mobile email solution is easy to access and use. To access email accounts, customers choose the personal mobile email icon, and enter their username and password once for continued access. SEVEN has simplified the mobile email user interface to encourage usability and adoption of its solution. Customers will also have access to both their personal and work email accounts on their mobile phone, as well as access to their contacts and calendar appointments.
“Mobile email has been steadily gaining popularity among both businesses and consumers for some time,” says LMT Press Secretary, Elīna Lidere. “We are happy to extend our own services to include mobile email access to consumer email accounts, in addition to SEVEN’s enterprise email services they are already offering our customers.”
SEVEN’s Consumer Edition is available for € 4.26 (£3.20) per month, and the Enterprise Edition for
€ 7.11 per month.

Bango Stages Analytics Webinar

Bango is staging a free Mobile Analytics Webinar on Wednesday 27 February at 4.00pm UTC. The webinar will look at how to get an insight into mobile visitors and maximize mobile marketing effectiveness. It will also cover the shift to mobile search and advertising models, and consider how mobile analytics can be used for precision marketing and effective monitoring of campaigns. It will also explain why traditional web analytics are no good for mobile.
There’s more information on the webinar here.

LinkedIn Goes Mobile

Professional network LinkedIn has launched a mobile Internet version of its site for its 19 million members.
LinkedIn members can access the site on their mobile devices at http://m.linkedin.com. The current release is a beta product with the final version expected later this spring. The beta is available immediately in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese, with additional languages to follow.
Using their mobile’s web browser, LinkedIn members will be able to search LinkedIn profiles, including photos and bio information; research the mutual contacts they have with other professionals; issue invitations to connect; and receive updates about their connections while on the go.
“Let's face it, every professional today is carrying a wireless device," says LinkedIn CEO, Dan Nye. “Many of these professionals are on the move, attending conferences, sales meetings and client events. Making LinkedIn available on mobile devices responds to both these business realities and will be great for our users.”

Blackberry Users get SpinVox

Voice-to-screen messaging company SpinVox has made its SpinVox for BlackBerry plug-in available on the SpinVox website.
Adding SpinVox to BlackBerry brings the advantages of email delivery and configuration to voicemail, the company says, improving the experience for mobile, email-dependent BlackBerry users. With SpinVox for BlackBerry, Blackberry users can now receive all their voicemail messages converted to text and delivered as an email direct to their device, allowing them to see who called and what they said, and then reply with just one click. SpinVox converts any caller’s voicemail into text, powered by the SpinVox Voice Message Conversion System (VMCS).   
Importantly, SpinVox for BlackBerry ensures that the inbound caller’s number links up with the user’s address book to present the caller’s name, and the ability to reply directly by email, as an alternative to calling or sending an SMS.
“BlackBerry email delivers business efficiency and personal productivity,” says SpinVox CEO and Co-founder Christina Domecq. “Adding SpinVox to the mix takes those benefits to the next level, eliminating the need to dial-in and check voicemail and making it simple and easy to check voice messages in the email format that BlackBerry addicts love.”
SpinVox notes that the launch comes after RIM executives trialled the SpinVox Voicemail product on their own BlackBerry phones and saw the benefits of having their voice messages converted to email.
New SpinVox Voicemail customers who choose to download the software application will be charged £5 per year.   

Mippin Adds Video Functionality

Mobile content portal Mippin has announced the launch of video functionality for its global community of users, delivering the millions of clips referenced in RSS feeds to mobile data users worldwide.
The move comes as a result of a joint technology development between Refresh Mobile, the company behind Mippin, and blueapple.mobi, a direct-to-consumer mobile search and transcoding video delivery company offering support for popular internet media formats. The service will convert and distribute flash-based RSS video content of any publisher, from international publishing companies through to independent bloggers. The process will see video transcoded automatically to the .3gp mobile standard in real-time for viewing on users' handsets.
Refresh Mobile says that almost any content hosted on the web will be made available, including some channel content previously unavailable for mobile. Videos will be available throughout Mippin wherever a clip is included by a publisher. The service will give users the ability to search and view video immediately on request, providing a choice of preview, streaming and download options.
“Mippin prides itself in delivering perfectly formatted content for almost any device, so it's great to offer pictures, text and now video in such high quality,” says Robin Jewsbury, Co-founder and VP of Technology at Refresh Mobile. “But we're also thrilled to offer Mippin users a new way to discover video on mobile.”
Recently passing its 10 millionth page view since launch and with growth accelerating sharply, the Mippin portal provides mobile web users with an extensive catalogue of content for mobile devices. With the inclusion of video, Mippin enhances the relationship between mobile web users and content publishers by delivering the full range of originally-published content. As with the rest of Mippin, features such as rating, sharing and uploading to social networking sites will be available for video too.
To deliver video for Mippin, Refresh Mobile partnered with blueapple.mobi, a leading direct-to-consumer mobile search and transcoding video delivery company offering support for popular internet media formats.

MMA Heads for Brazil

Informa Telecoms & Media  and the Mobile Marketing Association are to stage a one-day 'Mobile Marketing Forum LATAM' on March 26, 2008 at the Sofitel São Paulo in Brazil.
The event will be the first time the Mobile Marketing Association has hosted its Forum in Latin America. It will feature speakers from all over the world and the region who will share their experiences and successes in mobile marketing.
For information on sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, contact sponsor@mmaglobal.com
To register for the event, click here.

The Ad-funded Approach to Mobile Content

innerActive provides a turnkey solution for portals, media agencies, content providers and mobile operators, enabling them to offer entertainment content at a reduced price, or free of charge, with dynamic ad placements embedded in the content be it games, video, IM or other WAP applications. David Murphy caught up with Co-CEO and Co-founder Offer Yehudai to find out more

DM: So give us the Inner-active story if you would please, Offer

OY: Sure, we are just over two and a half years old, we have 15 staff and a mix of private investors and venture capital funding. We are in the mobile advertising space, but we try to take a different approach. We are not an ad-serving technology company like Screentonic, Enpocket and others. Our focus is on ad-funded entertainment channels. We create and manage entertainment channels where users can find free or discounted rich media content for their mobile, such as video, games etc.

DM: So how does it work?

OY: We partner with content providers and give them the tools to implement our ad-serving technology to create a catalogue of ad-ready content. Then we approach the leading off-deck portals such as Jamster and Buongiorno and say that we can give them a complete ad-funded entertainment channel solution, including both the content and the ad sales. Then we launch the content on their deck, sell the inventory and offer the subscribers free content.

DM: And how many deals do you have in place?

Cambridge Conference set for March

The Wireless Developer Forum has announced details of its second Cambridge Conference, which takes place on 10 March at the Kaetsu Conference Centre in Cambridge.
The conference will address a number of key issues, including, open versus proprietary platforms; the revenue potential of social networking; data access and service pricing and strategies; the business impact for operators and device manufacturers and designers of widgets; and performance barriers for media-rich applications.
The conference features speakers from Mobile Interactive Group (MIG), ARM, Qualcomm, Amobee, and Openwave. A pass for the one-day conference cost £295.
You can see an overview of the event here. Or register here.

O2 Takes the Train

O2 has secured a contract with Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain’s rail infrastructure, to provide voice, BlackBerry and other mobile data services. The deal is O2’s largest corporate customer win and, says O2, one of the UK’s largest ever port of numbers, with 23,000 connections transferring to O2. O2 says that the win overturns industry-wide perceptions that large corporates see the risk of changing suppliers as too daunting.
Working closely with Network Rail, O2 will be developing and streamlining mobile solutions to help Network Rail maintain, renew and enhance the railway. O2 will help Network Rail identify areas of the business that will benefit from mobile technology to enhance efficiency and flexibility for the workforce and put in place systems to achieve both bottom-line and customer benefits.
As the relationship evolves, O2 says it will work closely with Network Rail to develop bespoke solutions.
“This is an incredible win for O2 and provides us with another great example of how we are changing the face of the mobile marketplace,” says O2 UK Business Sales Director, Ben Dowd. “We genuinely believe that customer and employee satisfaction are intrinsically linked to business success and together with Network Rail, we believe we can help the company achieve its objectives.”
Network Rail’s Director of Information Management, Catherine Doran, adds:
“We are delighted to enter into this relationship with O2. We are keen to embrace new ways of communicating with our people and suppliers and changing the way we work by using new technology. O2 has demonstrated the same passion and drive to help us achieve these bold targets, by showing great innovation, good customer service and commercial capability.”
O2 has experience of large scale migrations in blue chip corporations, including Merrill Lynch, the AA and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Indie Meets Reggae in Mobile Music Deal

Mobile marketing and digital distribution agency Indie Mobile, which enables independent record labels to sell their music and video to mobile handsets worldwide, has entered into an exclusive, multi-territory content and mobile rights agreement with reggae label VP Records. The agreement is global, with the exception of Japan, North America and The Caribbean, and covers full-track and all other mobile products.
Under the terms of the agreement, Indie Mobile will have access to the music of artists such as Sean Paul, Shaggy, Morgan Heritage, Bounty Killer, Sizzla, Wayne Wonder, Beenie Man, and Elephant Man. VP Records’ extensive catalogue includes over 15,000 tracks, ranging from classic ‘60s Ska to the latest dancehall hits.
“VP Records has the world’s largest and best reggae music catalogue, and this new agreement allows us to work with some of biggest names in the genre,” says Indie Mobile Managing Director, Seth Jackson. “The depth and quality of this wonderful catalogue is astonishing and we are delighted to be able to add it to our existing offering.”

Mobile Stats Report Released

Portio research has released its report, 'Worldwide Mobile Market Statistics 2007', which includes market sizing data, growth forecasts, market share and rankings, player profiles, and handset shipment data.
The report is made up of data collected from approximately 55 mobile markets and over 240 mobile operators worldwide. It includes statistics, forecasts and detailed analysis on the top 20 mobile markets worldwide, and in addition it contains detailed information of the top mobile operators, mobile groups and handset vendors, providing key financial and operational indicators for the financial year 2002–2006. The report also contains a section on the top growth markets, providing statistics and trends in the emerging wireless markets, as well as additional data covering top wireline and broadband markets. Other useful statistics include highest ARPU, highest SMS traffic, and the leading players in each region.
Worldwide mobile penetration will pass 50% in 2008, Portio notes. As mobile markets have grown bigger and faster than even the most aggressive forecasts predicted, so the search for continuing growth shifts from the mature markets of Europe, North America and the Far East, to the surging growth markets of China, the Indian sub-continent, Asia, Latin America and Africa and the Middle East. This market study looks at the world's mobile markets and the major players within those markets to present a vast array of data, facts and figures to help with business planning, strategy, forecasting and presentations.
The report costs £1,795 for a 1-5 user PDF team licence, £2,495 for a small or medium-sized PDF company licence, or £3,995 for a large corporate PDF unlimited licence.
You can get a brochure here. And full details, including a detailed Table Of Contents here.

Toshiba Closes In on UK Network Deal

Consumer electronics company Toshiba says it is close to securing a deal with a UK network operator to make one or more of its latest handsets, unveiled at MWC last week, available to contract customers.
Though not well known as a mobile handset maker, Toshiba has been making handsets for the past six years, and selling them in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy for the past 18 months, to pay-monthly customers. But according to Med Jeeworth, UK Country Manager for Toshiba’s Mobile Communications Division, a UK network deal is in the offing.
“We are in contract negotiations with a major UK mobile operator, and they are going well, but discussions with mobile operators take time, especially when you are a new supplier,” Medworth told Mobile Marketing. 
If the deal is secured, it would be Toshiba’s second European network deal. The G901 is available to French contract customers via France Telecom.
Three Windows Mobile devices, the Portege G710, Portege G910 and the G450, launch at the end of March. The Blackberry-like G710 will sell for £180 without contract. The clamshell G910 will sell for £380, and the G450, for £150.
The dinky G450 (pictured) is the most interesting of the three devices. Measuring up at just 98 x 36 x 16mm and weighing in at 57g, it’s an HSDPA USB modem which doubles up as a mobile phone. It also has a built-in MP3 player and can also function as a 160MB memory stick for storage.
A fourth device, the touch-screen Portege G810, launches in July.

Volas Makes a Smart Move

Volas Entertainment, which provides mobile video solutions and value added managed services, has announced the introduction of SmartPDA Central, a white-label mobile content portal that offers premium mobile content and "useful" mobile Internet sites, straight to a user's Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry, Palm or any other Smartphone or PDA device. Volas says the portal is ready to be deployed to wireless operators and service providers, and that it will oversee all technical and operational aspects of its management and content aggregation.
Smartphones and PDAs are growing in popularity, the company notes. In 2007 alone, over 100 million Smartphones and wireless PDAs were sold. It points out, however, that until now, not every operator offered their users the ability to access premium mobile content from these devices. With no way to consume this content directly over the operator’s network, Smartphone and PDA users have had to gain access through manually synchronizing with a web-connected PC, thus excluding the operator from the value chain.
SmartPDA Central is designed to address this problem. Delivered directly to any Smartphone or PDA via a mobile Internet connection, SmartPDA Central builds on a wide catalogue of already-aggregated content. The content portal includes useful mobile sites and links, applications, games, themes, videos, wallpaper and more, allowing the operator to expand customer relationships, increase loyalty and user satisfaction. The portal builds on an operator's unique brand, says Volas, and fully integrates with its legacy systems, including billing and subscriber management, while offering ‘anywhere, anytime’ business and entertainment content that is specifically designed for mobile users' needs.
“Mobile content is becoming part of daily life for consumers across the world, and SmartPDA Central is the only solution on the market today which enables the cellular operator to provide unique content directly to the millions of Smartphone and PDA users,” says Volas CEO and Founder, Doron Cohen. “SmartPDA Central will significantly enrich the service catalogue of operators and become a key differentiating factor in their content offering.”

Airwide and NSN in UAE Deployment

Airwide Solutions, which provides next-generation mobile messaging and mobile Internet infrastructure, applications and solutions, has entered into a global reseller agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). The companies' first customer is du, the new integrated telecommunications service provider in United Arab Emirates.
du was seeking a third-party messaging gateway solution to offer controlled access to network capabilities, such as SMS, MMS and WAP technologies to its content partners, and chose to deploy the Airwide technology together with Nokia Siemens Networks. The solution integrates with the NSN-delivered network elements, such as messaging centers, browsing gateways, and charging systems.
Airwide says it will help du to reduce the cost and time involved in bringing rich mobile messaging services to market, automating the partner sign-up process, while preserving and maintaining the security and integrity of the underlying core network.
The solution allows du to set service level agreements with its third-party Value Added Service (VAS) content providers, while monitoring their performance through a business intelligence and reporting system.
“This project demonstrates the capability of Airwide to integrate with Nokia Siemens Networks VAS platforms, enabling us together to unify operators’ value-added service delivery infrastructure and related business processes,” says Antero Norkio, Head of Global Channels for Airwide. “With over 120 operator deployments, the maturity of the product suite has become a real competitive advantage, and makes us a reliable partner for Nokia Siemens Networks.”
The Nokia Siemens Networks agreement covers the entire Airwide solution suite for global reselling. The solutions are delivered through the Nokia Siemens Networks Consulting and Systems Integration business unit that can assist the operator in defining, implementing, delivering and launching Service Delivery Platforms and value-added services. 

Gorillabox Partners with WRN

Gorillabox, the fully-managed Mobile TV enabler, has partnered with TV and radio transmission company WRN, to provide a range of Mobile TV services to media companies.
Gorillabox’s G-Box platform, which can create, host and deliver mobile Internet sites, will be made available to WRN’s clients around the world. These include international public service broadcasters such as Voice of America, commercial stations such as Virgin Radio, and satellite bouquet operators and community stations. Gorillabox says it will be able to offer these clients mobile video streaming, specifically tailored for their individual needs.
Gorillabox will be responsible for the deployment of content on the streaming platform, and for billing integration and customer care, while WRN will approach customers to offer the service, agree pricing and define the client’s marketing goals.
Marina Lois, product development manager at WRN, says the company is proud to be teaming up with Gorrillabox to give broadcasters the opportunity to reach their audiences through mobile phones.
“WRN has always offered easy access to global media platforms,” says Lois. “This service can be tailored to fit the needs of all broadcasters, both TV and radio, streaming and on demand.”
Gorillabox CEO Christian Harris adds:
“It’s an exciting opportunity for Gorillabox and means our streaming media services covering both audio and video will have a truly global reach. WRN has an impressive portfolio of clients, and this initiative will allow their clients to reap the benefits of mobile as an additional channel for distribution of their content.”

Are You an Embracer or a Pragmatist?

New research published by Buongiorno shows the latest trends in mobile user behaviour and, the company says, reveals a divided mobile generation. The research seeks to understand the mobile browsing behaviour of 18-34 year olds in the UK: what role it plays in their lives; key themes shaping their behaviour; and what’s in store for the future.
The research shows that mobile phone users are  spending more and more time accessing the Internet from their mobile and dividing into two specific groups which Buongiorno has dubbed ‘Embracers’ and ‘Pragmatists’.
According to Buongiorno, Embracers see their phones as real beings – pets, friends, collaborators. They love to experiment with browsing and the only limit to how long they spend browsing online is the life of the battery. They browse with friends, alone, on the bus, and while out shopping. They browse to stay connected, to alleviate boredom, for efficiency, for entertainment or for information. Increasingly, they are spending their time socialising as they visit social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace. In some cases, users may be on several chat rooms on their mobile simultaneously. The study also reveals  that embracers may connect to the mobile Internet as often as three times a day.
Pragmatists, on the other hand, see their phones as tools to make their lives easier. For them, browsing is about being informed. They usually spend short bursts of time online – just enough to get the job done. For the Pragmatist, browsing is a personal activity, not one to be shared with friends. It’s about keeping up, being productive, and staying on top of day-to-day issues and events. They therefore access the Internet on their mobile primarily to continue with work that has been started on their PC, or to download content. Pragmatists are also at a loss with regards to the latest developments in technology, so they don’t know how to use their mobile phone for more advanced tasks associated with the mobile Internet. The research also reveals that Pragmatists may access the Internet from their mobile only 2-3 times a week.
Buongiorno says that the research shows the extent of the difference in mobile phone behaviour and how it will affect society in the future. It also shows that part of society will need to learn how to use phones, in order to catch up. 

Menus on Your Mobile

esca, a start-up company based on The Surrey Research Park in Guildford, has unveiled escamo, a new service that enables consumers in the Guildford area to download menus and order takeaways directly from their mobile phones. The service, which is free-to-use, will also allow mobile users to book tables at some of their favourite local eateries, and to peruse lengthy menus at their leisure before arriving at the restaurant.
esca is inviting consumers living in and around Guildford to download the escamo software and begin using the service immediately. Rose Valley, known for its Indian-Bangladeshi Cuisine, and TupThai, one of Guildford's best Thai restaurants, are among the first venues to make their menus and takeaway service available in this way.
“Our easy-to-use ‘mobile menus' will basically turn an ordinary mobile phone into a food-ordering remote control,” says esca Founder, Robert Taylor. “By downloading this unique, free mobile menu tool, people in the Guildford area can now bring their favourite restaurants and takeaways directly to their fingertips.”
esca moved into The Surrey Technology Centre, located on The Surrey Research Park, in July 2007. The firm specialises in the development of mobile technology that facilitates electronic commerce and, increasingly, mobile commerce. esca flags up several benefits that mobile menus will provide for restaurant owners, as well as diners. It notes that by using escamo, customers will have an up-to-date takeaway menu with them at all times, including the very moment that hunger kicks in. Also, whereas a traditional phone order may take a couple of minutes to process, escamo can reduce order times to just seconds, saving both time and money for the restaurants that choose to participate.
Owned and managed by the University of Surrey, The Surrey Technology Centre provides space for a number of diverse technology companies who work in the areas of research, development and design.
“This type of service really does capture the imagination,” says Surrey Research Park Director, Malcolm Parry. “We are delighted to be working with companies like esca, and to see them combining real creativity and technical innovation in a way that benefits local businesses and consumers alike.”
As part of esca's mobile menu package, the company will work closely with participating restaurants to design and create custom-made mobile menus, which can then be downloaded free-of-charge to a mobile phone. Customers place their order from within the application, for processing at the restaurant.
The mobile nature of escamo will also provide a number of interesting marketing opportunities to participating restaurants. For example, restaurants can use escamo to send out special offers directly to their customers, thus helping to increase loyalty and customer satisfaction. Likewise, restaurants can also keep customers up-to-date on any special events or changes to the menu via automatic SMS alerts.
In addition, many restaurants are already planning to offer discounts for first time escamo users. Rose Valley is currently offering £5 off any escamo order of £20 or more. escamo users can also earn additional discounts by inviting friends to download and use the escamo service on their own phones. 
To download escamo onto their mobile phone, users simply need to text ESCA 4 ME to 86688. A list of fully tested, escamo-compatible mobile phones is available on the esca website, but esca says the software will run on most phones released over the last few years.

Glu Reveals N-Gage Line-up

Nokia and mobile games publisher Glu Mobile have jointly announced Glu’s initial line-up of games to be launched on the N-Gage platform in 2008. The titles launching are based on two major forthcoming films from Warner Bros. Pictures, ‘SPEED RACER’ and ‘The Dark Knight’, as well as ‘Super Slam Ping Pong’, a new original Glu title in the spirit of Glu’s popular ‘Super K.O. Boxing!’ game.
In ‘SPEED RACER’, players attempt to become the ultimate grand prix champion. Super Slam Ping Pong features a cast of wacky opponents such as Master Wu-Pong and the Gnarly Gnome. In The Dark Knight, Batman fights to eradicate street crime in Gotham City using his advanced combat skills and an array of unique gadgets.
“We’re pleased to bring these key titles from Glu to N-Gage,” says Glu CTO, Alex Galvagni. “N-Gage is a great innovation in mobile gaming technology, and this line-up of games from Glu utilizes the platform capabilities to offer richly rewarding game experiences.”
Gregg Sauter, Director of Third Party Publishing at Nokia, says the titles are valuable additions to the N-Gage platform, and will deliver exciting gaming experiences for N-Gage players.
“We’re delighted to further our relationship with Glu Mobile,” says Sauter. “Their catalogue of games is extremely strong and offers something for everyone.”

Bacon and Texts

Congratulations to destination marketing agency Fox Kalomaski and mobile network O2 for an excellent 'Introduction to Mobile' breakfast seminar they laid on this morning. In fact, it’s still going on.
O2 Head of Interactive Nigel Dean gave attendees a 20-minute guide to mobile, outlining some of the barriers to adoption – it’s low on marketers’ agenda; the perception that it’s hard to deliver; poor understanding of the channel among agencies; previous poor results – before explaining how many brands are now using mobile, and outlining the opportunities that exist.
Dean ran through some stats on SMS and MMS usage, then went on to cover the mobile web, mobile advertising, and mobile barcodes and ticketing, including O2’s NFC (Near Field Communications) trial, currently taking place in London.
Dean was followed by tireless mobile expert and evangelist Helen Keegan, who gave her own informed take on how brands can and should use the mobile channel.
The key point about the seminar really comes down to the people attending. Whenever I attend mobile seminars and conferences, I am always keen to see how many client-side marketers are there, as this is a good barometer of the level of interest in the channel from the people who count – those with budgets to spend. I’m routinely disappointed at how few turn up.
Today, out of an audience of around 55, made up of agency people, network people and client-side marketers, around half were clients. I didn’t get sight of the full list, but Paddy Power, VisitDenmark and Thai Airlines were three of the brands I saw represented.
I imagine, though I don’t know for sure, that most of the brand marketers there were Fox Kalomaski clients, but who cares. The more client-side marketers not currently using mobile that get a chance to find out what they could be doing with it, the better, and on this basis alone, the event can be judged an unqualified success.

David Murphy
Editor

The Last Word on MWC

Just when you thought you could forget about Mobile World Congress for another year,  mBlox and OnePointSurveys have released their ‘Alternative Congress Stats Wrap-up’.
Each day at the show, mBlox commissioned OnePointSurveys to conduct straw poll SMS surveys on matters of no consequence whatsoever, in order to provide some light relief from the grind of back-to-back meetings. Here, then, are the final findings in all their unexpurgated glory.

The Mobile World Congress demographics:
90% of Mobile World Congress shoes are black.
85% people are wearing suits
Blue is the most popular tie colour
Attendee hair colour:  0.5% ginger, 40% black, 7% grey, 37% brunette/brown 10% Blonde, 6% N/A
15% are women (this rises to 20% in Hall 7)
75% of people have more than one mobile but alarmingly 2% left theirs at home!
45% of people look tired (on the Wednesday)
60% of people had water for lunch, 5% alcohol, 30% fruit juice, 40% coffee
92% of people were shorter than 6ft

Day One
Arriving at MWC is a fraught experience – so who do you call first? Boss, friend, taxi, colleague or client?
It seems that work is the last thing on delegates’ minds; a mere 14% call their work colleagues first.
Encouragingly mobile industry veterans are a loving bunch: 59% call their partners and 27% their friends first.

But onto the big question of the day – should booth babes be banned……? The mobile industry seems to be stuck on this matter
40% want the ban
40% want to keep them
20% don’t care either way

The last question is a serious one – the pollsters asked how delegates saw the growth of the mobile industry in 2008. 
A huge majority (73%) felt that the mobile world would experience growth or even boom!
A pessimistic 18% predicted the industry will shrink or dramatically implode
9% see 2007 all over again and predict static growth

Day Two
Traditionally MWC is seen as a ‘Get out Of Jail Free Card’ for Valentine’s Day but is this really true? Despite taking place in one of the most romantic cities of the world, MWC attendees, it seems, like to go it alone.
Only a paltry 6% arrange something with their other half
A quarter of attendees are single, though being at MWC is unlikely to change that
69% think that the whole thing is stressful enough without bringing their partner

How do we know that we are unlikely to find true love?  We are all uglier this year
29% believe we are more attractive
42% think people are less attractive
31% of people’s minds are clearly on the job and don’t care

All this is rather stressful and, worried about the consumption of coffee on the stand, the pollsters asked delegates how many cups of coffee they had drunk that day:
29% none
30% 1-2
40% 3-5
1% 6+

Day Three
Mobile World Congress is a big investment for many companies but which companies look as thought they spent the most on their stand (top three)?
Nokia – 30%
Samsung - 17% 
Qualcomm brings up the rear with 9%

MWC is not just a time to work, it is an important time to network and establish new contacts. So who had the best party?
Nokia’s Mobile Entertainment party was the highest rated bash (38%), narrowly beating the MEF party (37%)
Honourable mentions go to BlackBerry, 3i, GoMoNews, CNET and of course the GSM Awards Dinner

However, despite this being the Mobile World Congress, people were frustrated. Delegates’ most pressing concern wasn’t the meeting they had double booked, but the battery life of their mobiles (apart from the 2% who left their mobiles at home):
Three quarters of delegates felt battery life was getting them down

Bizarrely 66% of respondents said it was fine to ditch clients to slope off back to their hotel rooms….

Day Four
On the last day of the conference, the pollsters asked the wrap-up questions.  Principally how did your colleagues misbehave?
An alarming 100% said their colleagues got too drunk. Given that Nokia was voted the best party before it actually happened, perhaps no-one should be too surprised by this

Which leads us on to question two: are parties good for business or merely an excuse to have a good time?
Most people (57%) believe that parties are good for business (57%)
A mere third think they are just an excuse 

Is four days enough to encapsulate the drinking and hard work that is Mobile World Congress?
Just over half (51%) believe it is too long
27% think it is just right
A dedicated 22% can’t get enough, saying the show is too short

Make of these stats what you will, but you can’t deny they make a change from yet another forecast about the size of the mobile advertising market by 2011.

Survey Casts Doubt on Enthusiasm for Mobile Music

While a recent report from Juniper Research suggests that music will lead mobile content uptake over the next five years, a recent poll from digital memory company Catalus  highlights the lack of value consumers are currently placing on this content. Catalus questioned 502 consumers about their attitudes towards mobile music.
When asked what they would miss the most if they lost their mobile phone, just 0.8% of respondents said that it would be their music. The most valued content on a mobile was “Numbers of friends and colleagues”, cited by 62.75% of respondents as the data they would miss most if they list their mobile phone. When asked whether they keep a copy of, or back up their music files from their mobile, just 15% said they did.
Dave Flack, Director of Sales and Marketing at Catalus, believes that mobile carriers and content providers have some way yet to go to engage consumers. He says:
“The answers to this poll suggest that music, downloaded and stored on mobile handsets, is currently given little value. With inconsistencies in user interfaces and difficulties with network speed and coverage, the ease of access promised to consumers hasn’t yet come to fruition.” 
Catalus notes that a report published in Information Week in response to the publication of Juniper’s research was scathing about music services on mobile phones, describing many of them as “painful” to use. 
Until things improve, Flack suggests that retailers should attempt to engage consumers in mobile music content by bundling memory cards with download software, or by offering free download credits with handset upgrades, in order to reach a wider audience.

Shazam Launches Facebook App

Music services provider Shazam has announced the launch of a Facebook application that enables Shazam users to access recent songs they have identified using Shazam’s mobile service on their personal Facebook profile, and share their favourite tracks with friends.
The Shazam application is available via the Shazam website (www.shazam.com) and on the Facebook application directory. Registration is free and simple. All users need to do is enter their name and mobile phone number so that the Facebook application can synchronise with their mobile Shazam account. Once registered, users can display recent Song iDs on their Facebook profile, view others’ iD lists, and share music with friends. Users can also view the Shazam iD Chart, a compilation of every song that is iD’d throughout the week.
“Social networks are fundamentally changing the way people discover, purchase and consume music,” says Shazam CEO, Andrew Fisher. “Whether they are used to share and recommend music, reflect a person’s mood or personality, or communicate music tastes, it is clear that they offer tremendous value. We are thrilled to be announcing Shazam’s Facebook application and are confident it will offer our users an even richer, more engaging music experience.” 
Shazam enables music fans to use their mobile phone to identify, purchase and interact with music. More than 11 million people have used Shazam’s mobile services since launch. The company is extending its global footprint, launching services in 25 new countries, giving it coverage across 45 markets in all major territories including the US, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and MENA (Middle East and North Africa).

Voda Hires Knook to Run Internet Services Group

Vodafone Group Plc has announced the creation of Vodafone Internet Services, which the company says will lead the development and delivery of Vodafone’s current and future consumer propositions for the Internet. Vodafone has appointed Pieter Knook, a Senior Vice President of Microsoft, to the newly-created role of Director of Internet Services.
Vodafone Internet Services will focus on the provision and delivery of distinctive consumer web services such as IP communications, mobile Internet access and selected content categories, through mobile devices.
Knook will be responsible for delivering new revenue growth around Internet, content and advertising, with a focus on differentiating Vodafone’s services by creating rich and distinctive experiences for customers. Knook, 49, joins Vodafone on 10 March, following 17 years with Microsoft, where he spent the last five years as Senior Vice President, running Microsoft’s Mobile business. Knook will report to Frank Rovekamp, Vodafone Group Global Chief Marketing Officer.
“Leading Vodafone Internet Services calls for a world class leader of considerable stature and experience,” says Rovekamp. “We are delighted that Pieter is joining us to help transform the customer experience through the mobile Internet, meet growing customer demand for web services accessed from mobile devices, and drive revenues within our Mobile Plus strategy.”
Vodafone’s Mobile Plus strategy focuses on the company’s commitment to address fixed line revenue opportunities, develop integrated mobile and PC offerings, and create advertising revenue streams.

Juniper Names Future Mobile Awards Winners

Juniper Research has announced the winners of its Future Mobile Awards. The awards are given to companies that Juniper believes have made significant progress within their sector during the previous year, and are currently poised to make considerable market impact in the future.
This year's Gold and Silver awards were granted by a panel of expert judges based on a select number of criteria, including innovation, customer retention, customer growth, commercial deployment, ease of use/user interface, revenue generation, pricing, and capability/functionality.
Award winners include:
Future Mobile Gambling Category - Gold Award Winner: Spin3; Silver Award Winner: Probability.

Future Mobile Games Category - Gold: EA Mobile; Silver: Gameloft.

Future Mobile Music Category - Gold: Omnifone; Silver: Apple.

Future Mobile TV Category - Gold: 3 Italia; Silver: KDDI.

Future Mobile UGC Services Category - Gold: GoFresh; Silver: Cyworld Mobile.

There’s more information on the awards here.

mobilePeople Launches liquid Solution

mobilePeople, the local mobile search provider, has introduced its liquid Advertising Suite, which it says further strengthens its proposition for directory publishers. The solution is designed to improve monetisation opportunities through the presentation of contextually and geographically relevant mobile advertising to mobile users.
The liquid Advertising Suite consists of the liquid Ad Server, the liquid Adsite Builder and liquid SMS Links. The liquid Advertising Suite is integrated with the mobilePeople liquid Mobile Search Platform, which is available in 12 markets worldwide. With Jupiter predicting that mobile search advertising will grow from $1.4 billion (£700 million) in 2006 to $2.9 billion by 2011, mobilePeople says the opportunity for directory publishers to monetise their mobile offer is huge
mobilePeople says the solution provides directory publishers and advertisers with “unparalleled opportunities for monetisation” by enabling them to integrate a complete set of mobile-specific advertising formats into the mobile offering. These take the form of priority products, sponsored links, banner and map advertisements, mobile adsites and click-to-call reporting. In addition, the company says, these products allow for flexible business models, as directory publishers and directory assistance providers can sell using either fixed or performance-based pricing models.
The Ad Server provides the capability to deliver targeted mobile ad campaigns for directory publishers. The Adsite Builder consists of tools for rich mobile website creation. SMS links is designed for directory assistance, to add value to SMS messages using text or map links.
Ads can be targeted to users based on time, keyword, category or location. The mobile user's behaviour also impacts the ads that appear during their user session. The intelligent design of the Ad Suite enables provision of relevant advertising to users and, says mobilePeople, provides ontology-based upsell opportunities for directory publishers. For example, if a mobile user is searching for a car showroom in his vicinity, the user can also be provided with car insurance results and local garages.
“We have developed and tested local mobile advertising products that are highly relevant to local advertisers and directory publishers and based on our experience with both users and advertisers the solution is ready for global rollout,” says mobilePeople CEO and Co-founder, Jens Andersen.

Telrock and TSYS Make US Move

Telrock plc, the mobile applications technology company focused on the financial services, utility and public-sector markets, and TSYS, one of the world’s largest companies for outsourced payment services, have revealed that they are jointly developing a suite of integrated mobile solutions for TSYS’s North American clients. The solutions will include a suite of SMS-based mobile services, including fraud alerting, account notifications, customer inquiries and payments.
Telrock has been providing mobile solutions for TSYS’s European card processing clients for more than a year. The decision to extend the relationship to North America is based on the success of the European relationship and an increased interest in mobile account servicing and payment solutions in the North American card market. 
“The expansion of our partnership with TSYS marks an important milestone for Telrock, and we welcome the opportunity to extend our proven mobile solutions into the North American market,” says Telrock Managing Director, Russell Robinson. TSYS gives Telrock a single point of integration to provide its mobile solutions to a market of more than 200 million North American cardholders, giving us a strong foothold in the US market.”

Wayfinder Launches in Chile

Wayfinder has launched its award-winning navigation services in Chile through the mobile operator, Movistar. The move marks Wayfinder’s first entry into the South American market.
“Movistar Chile is a great partner to work with now that we are entering the South American market,” says Wayfinder CEO, Magnus Nillson. “We think this is the starting point for a long and fruitful partnership, and thanks to it, Chilean users will be able to enjoy the best mobile navigation service offered.”
Movistar Chile is launching Wayfinder Navigator and its additional location services offering to its entire customer base in Chile. The Wayfinder Navigation service in Chile is based on digital maps from Dmapas.
“It’s in our strategy to offer the best available services to our customers, and for GPS-navigation services we chose Wayfinder when introducing mobile navigation,” says Movistar Products and Services Manager, José Miguel Torres. “It’s the best service in its field and Wayfinder has proven to be an excellent partner for us, not least counting Wayfinder’s long term partnership with Telefónica in Europe.” 
Wayfinder Navigator combines the best of GPS navigation with the convenience and functionality of a mobile phone. The user is guided from A to B with voice, graphical and map turn-by-turn directions. In addition to the navigation and positioning service, it features a wide range of features and extras, including traffic information, weather reports, information on selected local services and locations of particular interest, and Power Search functionality, for which a patent has been applied for.

Outcast Unveils BuzzMyGoat.com

Online and mobile media production company Outcast TV has launched Buzz, which it describes as “the world’s first fully-featured mobile narrowcasting platform”.
Buzz is a media personalisation engine which enables brands and consumers to create highly personalised video content for web and mobile users. The first commercial application of the technology is BuzzMyGoat.com, a fun service allowing people – and brands – to communicate via personalised video.
BuzzMyGoat.com enables users to customise and send comedy clips that communicate a wide range of personal messages – from chat-ups to wind-ups, Happy Birthdays to marriage proposals. The platform uses “groundbreaking” technology which allows the seamless integration of audio and video segments in an almost limitless number of combinations. The resulting videos are highly-personal and delivered to recipients via WAP. 
Outcast says that BuzzMyGoat represents the first of many possible applications for the Buzz platform. It adds that major brands and publishing houses have already taken note of the system’s unique potential for delivering a bespoke and highly-personalised route to market, merchandise and promote products or talent.
“Imagine having a Hollywood actor urge you by name to attend his latest film in a short mobile video,” says Outcast TV CEO Justin Wickham. “The possibilities are endless for brands to use this technology imaginatively to communicate to a mass market in an extremely individual way.”
Wireless application development, mobile billing and messaging solutions company Tanla Mobile  has been selected by Outcast TV to provide the platform for BuzzMyGoat. “We chose to partner with Tanla Mobile because their level of experience in delivering mobile applications and content platforms is unsurpassed in the industry,”says Wickham.

Informa Sees Bright Future for Mobile Social Networking

Mobile social networking is already an established service in some regions, but in 2008 and beyond, new features are attracting larger numbers of users and permitting new business opportunities, according to Informa Telecoms & Media. The analyst says that mobile social networking is now a global phenomenon, with expansion in all directions.
Informa has just published its report, ‘Mobile Social Networking: Communities and Content on the Move’. The 270-page report assesses social, business and technology factors in the mobile social networking equation. The research concludes that the number of mobile social networking users exceeded 50 million, approximately 2.3% of the global mobile user population, on December 31 2007. Some of these users were registered in multiple mobile communities, engaging with friends, having fun and sharing their passions with others.
With only low investments from mobile network operators, says Informa, the growth in users and community registrations will continue at a compound annual growth rate of 30-50%, depending on the type of community and the region. By 2012, there will be around 12.5% penetration of mobile social networks among mobile users globally in the most conservative scenario; approximately 23% in the high growth scenario. 
“Mobile Social Networking is approaching or has reached critical mass among mobile subscribers in South Korea and Japan,” says Christine Perey, Independent Analyst at PEREY Research & Consulting, and Author of the report. “The US, the Nordic countries and Western Europe are experiencing high growth and other geographies are following. Much of the recent additions have been responses to new WAP-based services, which offer engaging communities and exciting features with low obstacles to entry. Both off-deck and on-deck, the latest mobile community platforms are providing rich media experiences that users want on their mobile handsets.”
In 2006, Mobile Social Networking revenues exceeded $1.5 billion (£750 million), and more than doubled in 2007. The revenue growth will accelerate in the next two years, but after that point, much depends on mobile network operators’ policies, and the interests of users. By 2012, revenues generated from all business models in this industry is forecast to reach $28.9 billion in the most conservative scenario and $52 billion in the high growth scenario.
Over the next 24 months communities which foster friendships will continue strong growth in users and revenues, Informa belives. Entertainment community segment revenues will overtake in some regions in 2010. Other community segments focusing on productivity, fame and social shopping are beginning to emerge on mobile platforms, diversifying the offers and attracting people of different socioeconomic and demographic profiles to Mobile Social Networking services.
“This report is the first of its kind, to keep the hype to one side, and truly focus on what is under the covers of online communities globally,” says Nagappan Arunachalam, Chief Marketing Officer, NewBay Software. “It explores the role of the different players, involved in the value chain of user generated content including the innovative software vendors, trusted operators, and the trendy social networks. This is a hot area at the moment; it is great to see such a comprehensive report that deals with the facts.”
You can get more information and order the report here.

One Step at a Time

Guy Talmi, Senior Marketing Director at Pontis, outlines how companies can benefit from a staged approach to mobile marketing

Mobile users only accept marketing offers, or purchase new content, when the offers are highly personalised and delivered to them at the right time. What’s more, if users are bombarded with offer after offer, there’s a risk that they will be seen as spam and create customer dissatisfaction. To avoid this risk, mobile marketers should adopt a personalized multi-step campaign strategy, rather than a series of generic ‘one trick pony’ campaigns.
A well-managed, personalised, multi-step, campaign will increase user acceptance of marketing offers and sell more digital services and content. In order to achieve this, marketers need to plan a series of synchronized offers, that will initially be targeted based on the usual segmentation criteria and subsequently be based on each user’s actual response behaviour.
The marketer must first define the business objectives of the campaign, and then determine which broad segment of users to target with the initial offer, such as new users or occasional users, for instance. The offer must address the entire pre-defined segment and be relevant, appealing, clear, and simple, for example, offering a discounted first purchase of any song download to potential new users of a music service.

Admoda Reports Strong Interest in Mobile Ad Network

Mobile advertising network Admoda has launched a new solution designed to monetise network operator inventory. Admoda says it can now offer network operators a robust suite of unique features to fully monetise all of their inventory. Ads are highly targeted and can be delivered in a number of Mobile Marketing Association-recommended formats to suit the operator’s particular requirements. Admoda says it already has advertisers lined up in numerous countries who want to run campaigns on operator inventory, and that it can secure the highest rates.
“The response we have had (at MWC) this week has been nothing short of phenomenal,” says Terry Jackson, CEO of Admoda parent company, Mobvision. “We have secured a huge number of key relationships to further our reach into new markets. The Carriers have been extremely responsive to our new solution.”

IMGA Awards Winners Revealed

The International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA), the world’s largest competition for mobile games, announced this year’s winners at a crowded awards ceremony at MWC earlier this week.
A jury of specialists from Japan, US and Europe selected the winners out of the 25 nominees from the US, China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, India, UK, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Australia.
The Best Casual Game Award went to ‘Treasure Arm’, produced by Tequila Mobile from Poland. ‘Furby Island’, produced by Spanish company LemonQuest , won the Best Licensed IP-Based Game Award. The Excellence in 3D award went to Digital Legends in Spain for ‘ONE’, while Jadestone from Finland received the Excellence in Gameplay award for ‘Dirk Dagger and the Fallen Idol’. The IMGA Jury decided not to hand out the Excellence in Connectivity award this year.
The $15,000 (£7,500) Grand Prix went to Ideaworks3D from the UK for ‘Metal Gear Solid Mobile’, published by Konami. This game also took the Operator’s Choice Award, one of two new awards launched this year, selected by a jury of mobile operators.
The second new award, the People’s Choice Award, went to Firemint from Australia for its ‘WRC’ (‘World Rally Championship’) game. This was the result of a ‘Web and Wap’ public vote.
“The fourth IMGA was a big step forward for us,” says Maarten Noyons, CEO and founder of the IMGA. “We’ve had the largest, most widespread and richest participation since 2004, with two new awards to encourage a new level of entry. Moreover, a partnership with the GSM Association gives us a front row seat at the Mobile World Congress. Equally, our partnership with Buongiorno fuelled the People’s Choice Award efficiently through Wap voting and game delivery to journalists worldwide.”
Mark Smith, Media Communications Director of the GSMA adds:
“We are delighted with the success of this first event in collaboration with the IMGA and we look forward to continuing this collaboration in order to establish a real focus on mobile games at this key mobile industry event. Our congratulations go out to all the winners.”

iModus - It's not just for Emergencies

Emergency communications company Vocal has announced the roll-oout of its iModus messaging and communications platform, which has until recently been restricted to use by the emergency services.
Vocal describes iModus as “a one-stop-shop solution for broadcast communications”. It's known by the emergency services as the technology behind Warn&Inform, which is used by many police forces and local authorities across the country to broadcast emergency alerts to subscribing companies in times of major business-affecting incident or terrorist threat.
“While emergency messaging is a vital component of the system, it is so much more than that,” says Vocal Sales Director, Daren Rapley. “It provides a complete integrated messaging suite to cover any area of business, while its robustness and flexibility means there’s no need to worry about system or IT failure, as our infrastructuremeans iModus continues to work when other systems may be failing.”
Global specialist insurer Beazley has worked with Vocal for more than three years and subscribes to iModus, not only for emergency communication but for internal security and building management services. Simon Robinson, Head of Business Continuity Planning for Beazley says:
“We use iModus to monitor our communications room and office environment. This sends an email or SMS message if a fire or temperature alarm is activated, enabling us to react out of office hours without the need for 24-hour physical monitoring, such as security guards.”
Available as an off-the-shelf or bespoke package, iModus can be tailored by department or function and delivers information in real time on a global scale.

MWC – Final News Round-up

In the interests of completeness, with MWC over, here’s one final, cherry-picked round-up of all the news we haven’t yet brought you from the show. If you want more details from the companies concerned, get Googling!

Email and messaging
Synchronica announced a worldwide agreement with Brightstar Corp., which offers distribution and supply chain solutions for the mobile industry, for the distribution of its mobile push email and synchronization technology Mobile Gateway.
As part of the agreement, the two companies will create a dedicated sales and marketing team that will draw on Brightstar's customer base to promote Mobile Gateway in over 50 countries across six continents.

Another push email specialist, SEVEN, revealed that it would be launching a number of applications with Telefónica later this year, including the latest rendition of  its mobile email product suite—System SEVEN 7.0. Applications included within  SEVEN 7.0 include Out of Office, Consumer and Enterprise Editions. They will be launched with Telefónica in Spain and Latin America under the Mail Movistar service in Spain and Correo Movistar in Latin America.

Mobile messaging services company Sybase revealed that it had processed more than 89 billion domestic and international SMS and MMS messages during 2007. Sybase 365 said it achieved these traffic numbers through its robust, operator-grade, global platforms and proactive infrastructure management and upgrades. 
Sybase 365 processes cross-operator SMS and MMS messages globally, to 2.4 billion subscribers through its reach to more than 700 mobile operators. Since the company launched the world’s first inter-operator message delivery network in 2001, it has successfully transported almost 140 billion messages around the world.

Colibria, which provides mobile Instant Messaging (IM) and Presence-enabled solutions, announced the availability of its Colibria Lite client to support growth in emerging markets. The client, designed for basic and low-cost handsets, is intended to support operators and service providers in their drive for mass-market service adoption in emerging markets with innovative and compelling mobile IM services.
The Colibria Lite client provides basic mobile IM and Presence functionality for a wide range of low-end handsets. Features include Presence availability, mood, status text and alias within the contact list - enabling users to manage and express their availability to chat according to the context they are in. As with Colibria's other solutions, the operator has the ability to brand the client so that it compliments their existing look and feel, while fitting into an end-to-end service offering.

SOS Turns to SMS

Mobile messaging comany Mediaburst has been selected by security services company SOS Response to provide the text interface platform of a security system that aims to stamp out bicycle theft.
According to Home Office statistics, a bike is stolen every 71 seconds, with the top three crime spots in Britain being Central London, Kingston-upon Thames and Cambridge. With an increasing population, and the government backing initiatives for people to cycle to work and to have a more active lifestyle, it's inevitable that bike theft will rise, says Mediaburst.
SOS Response's Wireless Asset Security Protection (WASP) cycle-monitoring system enables bike  owners to lock up their bikes in secure, CCTV-monitored areas at railway stations, campuses, and town centres. All that owners need do to protect their asset is send a text message to a security control room, which activates a lock on their bicycles. If anyone tampers with the bike, a movement sensor on the lock emits a silent alarm, which triggers a CCTV camera to zoom in and record the event. The live images on the security control room monitors are then verified against the owner information and a security officer can be sent to the crime scene if necessary to intervene. If the thief leaves the crime scene before the officer arrives, the images can be used as evidence for a successful prosecution.
SOS Response developed the WASP security system in partnership with Hampshire Constabulary and the University of Portsmouth. Combining state-of-the-art miniaturised electronics, intelligent use of RFID technology, CCTV and communication software integration, the system was piloted in Portsmouth last October through December and bike crime was reduced by 90% as a result. Following the successful pilot, the WASP system is to be rolled out nationwide and extended to include motor bikes and scooters, with Mediaburst's text interface platform acting as the system's communications hub.
“Mediaburst is a proven business partner and already routes incoming text from our Lone-Worker and social care GSM/GPS devices through its text platform to our IP-based monitoring solution," says SOS Response Managing Director, Len Weaver. “From this experience, we know all about their excellent customer service and very robust platform and both are key to any business dealing with personal and asset safety."

Greystripe Reveals Clickthrough Stats

Ad-supported mobile games and applications distributor Greystripe has announced the results of its two-month US ad campaign for Yahoo!’s oneSearch mobile web portal. The campaign was run in tandem with a 10- question WAP survey administered by Grail Research to determine campaign effectiveness, specifically focused on brand lift and ad recall.
Greystripe delivers full-screen ads that are wrapped around mobile games and applications. The ads are served before and after usage and are made free via Greystripe’s online/mobile portal GameJump.com and through its AdWRAP Catalog program.
The oneSearch ad campaign started on 19 May, and ran through 13 July. Three unique advertisements, created and powered by Greystripe, averaged an overall ad clickthrough rate (CTR) of 4.2%, which, the company notes, is considerably higher than the average rates for mobile WAP-based advertisements of 1-2%.
According to Grail Research’s analysis of the WAP study, the Yahoo! oneSearch advertisement more than doubled brand awareness to 76% in the test group over 33% in the control group. Among those who recalled seeing the ad, the keywords “best”, “better”, “search” and “results” were more prominent among the test panel than the control panel respondents. Greystripe says it increased consumer interest to try Yahoo! oneSearch among the test panel respondents, with 18% saying they “definitely will try”.
“We are proud to share these results with the industry because it highlights the success that brands can have in mobile,” says Erica Chriss, VP of Strategy and Business Development at Greystripe. “It also highlights that the ad-funded model for mobile content is clearly a sustainable business. Consumers appreciate the free content and are receptive to the right kind of sponsor messages.”