IMIMobile Buys Mobytec

IMImobile, hich provides converged mobile and online technology platforms and managed services, has announced the acquisition of Mobytec, whose technology platform powers the award-winning Mobyko social aggregation service. As a result of the deal, Mobytec will be offered by IMImobile as a revenue-generating, fully managed, white label service for mobile network operators. Mobyko will continue as an independent company offering mobyko.com branded services.
Mobytec empowers the phone book for digital social lives. Users can synchronise and store social media content such as contacts, photos, texts and videos, from their mobile phones, in a single, secure online hub, and share rich media content with friends across online and mobile ecosystems. The platform integrates with social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter; aggregating live feeds, synchronising events, downloading profile photos to the contact address book, and displaying the latest Tweets from friends. 
For operators, Mobytec is a carrier-grade, fully managed service, and a ‘sticky’ interface between online and mobile activities in the expanding consumer social aggregation sector. By positioning the mobile address book as the natural hub for consumers’ online and mobile activities, says IMImobile, Mobytec presents a compelling revenue-generation and customer retention proposition.
“We believe that social aggregation tools are going to play an increasingly important role in the operator/consumer relationship,” says IMImobile CEO and Founder, Vishwanath Alluri. “Applications that add value to the customer and provide operators with a converged service, bridging the gap between online social networks and the mobile phone, are vital. Mobytec’s proven ability to deliver a world class user experience, combined with IMImobile’s robust and scalable back-end infrastructure, provides a powerful proposition within the market.”
The acquisition represents another step in IMImobile’s growth plans, following the acquisition of dx3 technologies, the M2Y platform from Nokia Siemens Networks, and the recent launch of IMEXmobile in the UK.

Aepona Buys Valista

Aepona, a global provider of telecoms software products and services headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has announced the acquisition of Valista, a Dublin, Ireland-based provider of payment, settlement and service lifecycle management solutions to mobile and broadband operators worldwide. The acquisition creates an independent vendor, operating under the Aepona brand, with a complete solution for the ‘Network as a Service’ (NaaS) business model that Aepona says now being embraced by Telcos globally.
With the NaaS model, mobile and broadband operators treat their network and informational assets as marketable resources that can be made available to third party application developers, upstream service providers and enterprises. These organizations can then enhance their applications, services and business processes with telco capabilities such as voice, location, messaging, profile, billing and so on.
The new Aepona offers telcos an end-to-end solution for the NaaS model, including Open APIs towards core network capabilities; third party relationship management; monetization;billing mediation and settlement; and service lifecycle management. Following the acquisition, Aepona’s client list now includes some of the world’s largest mobile and broadband operators in North America, EMEA and Asia. 
 “For some time now, operators have recognized the need to adopt a more collaborative approach to working with organizations such as enterprises and web-based service providers”, says Aepona CEO, Al Snyder. “The rise in ‘Over-the-Top’ services has made them realize that in order to compete effectively, they need to leverage their assets to the fullest extent possible, and this means opening up these assets towards third parties in a secure, controlled and billable manner.”
Snyder notes that while Aepona has secured several contracts with Tier 1 operators to implement their Open Network API programs, the company has, until now, lacked the monetization and settlement capabilities that are required for a true NaaS offering.
“With the acquisition of Valista, we can now offer telcos the means to monetize their Open API initiatives, as well as offering third parties a convenient way to bill end-users for their services,” he says.
Valista CEO Kevin McGrath describes the acquisition as: “a major step forward in the evolution of Valista’s business. The combination with Aepona creates significant benefits for the customers of both companies, providing them with a more complete solution from a single, independent entity that has the operational scale to serve our large operator customers at a global level,” he says. 

Voda's T-Mobile Bid Could Succeed, says Law Firm

A report in this morning’s FT suggested that Vodafone was weighing up a bid for T-Mobile after T-Mobile UK’s owner, Deutsche Telekom, appointed JPMorgan to advise on the strategic options for the business.
The report in the FT notes that any bid runs the risk of being blocked by the regulators, since the firm created would have create a 40% market share. But Mark Hodac, a Partner at technology and corporate law firm, White & Black Legal believes the mobile phone industry, which has not been immune to the economic downturn, may well welcome the news, on the basis that a reduction in the number of players in the market could allow the remaining operators to achieve healthier margins. Hodac adds that there are precedents for one company enjoying such a dominant position. He says:
“Whilst consumer groups will be concerned, it is by no means certain that regulators (in particular the European Commission) will block the deal, as circumstances already exist in other EU member states (Italy, France and Spain) where one mobile operator holds at least a 40% market share.
“Furthermore, our experience shows that network coverage is as, if not more, important to customers than pricing, and T-Mobile’s customers may welcome the increased capacity for infrastructure expenditure that Vodafone (as the world’s largest mobile phone operator) could offer.”
More news on the deal as we have it.

IGT Restructures

IGT-UK Group is restructuring its mobile and Internet gaming operations following its acquisition of Million-2-1 and the subsequent integration of the UK division of WagerWorks.
As a result of the restructure, the UK division of WagerWorks will take responsibility for the sale and distribution of Barcrest Group game content in remote gaming markets, including interactive TV, mobile gaming and Internet gaming markets; and IGT game content in mobile gaming markets, developed utilising the Million-2-1 mobile gaming platform.      
WagerWorks’ game development strategy has been to supply a mixture of well-known consumer brands coupled with Internet versions of popular IGT brands, such as ‘Cleopatra’. WagerWorks will now also leverage online versions of successful game titles from Barcrest Group, offering streams of game content in interactive digital television, mobile gaming and Internet gaming markets.
Million-2-1 will continue to focus on interactive services for media organisations and land-based retailers, using mobile solutions to deliver new revenue streams. This includes prize competitions, mobile marketing campaigns and lotteries for the UK and international markets.
The company has also announced the appointment of Simon Murphy as Head of Business Development for WagerWorks. Murphy joins WagerWorks from Million-2-1 and will be responsible for developing commercial relationships with key clients across mobile gaming and Internet gaming products.
“This restructure streamlines our current sales and distribution process and enables us to offer an integrated remote gaming solution to our partners through one business relationship,” says IGT-UK Vice President, Robert White. “It is also consistent with our game development strategy of offering great game content across multiple channels, including mobile and Internet. By developing new branded content and continuing to access the best games from land-based environments, I am confident we can further strengthen our games portfolio and our position as a leading content supplier.”

Telecom Express and IMIMobile Launch IMEXmobile

Telecom Express, which provides interactive services to UK media companies, and IMImobile, the mobile technology platform and services company, have announced the launch of IMEXmobile. The joint venture company has been set-up to provide major media groups with an end-to-end solution for the implementation of interactive mobile services.
IMEXmobile unites Telecom Express’s 20 year track record in the delivery of interactive services to media clients with IMImobile’s proven service delivery platform. Telecom Express currently provides services to many of the UK’s leading media companies including News International, the BBC and Telegraph Media Group, while IMImobile provides mobile technology platforms and services to network operators and media companies such as Vodafone, Airtel, Virgin Mobile, Yahoo and Reuters in 40 countries around the world.
The companies say that IMEXmobile removes the need for media owners to work with a host of small and disparate suppliers. The company provides a complete service that incorporates the expertise, relationships and technology necessary for successful campaign and product development, implementation and account management, with a single partner. IMEXmobile says it delivers the tools that enable its partners to significantly increase mobile revenues whilst reducing the cost of service management.
“IMEXmobile was created from the ground up to meet the demands and address the opportunities of our media partners,” says Telecom Express CEO, Damon Russell. “The established response mechanism will always have a place in consumer interaction, but mobile offers huge opportunities if it’s imaginatively and efficiently exploited.”
IMImobile CEO, Vishwanath Alluri, adds:
“Businesses which effectively embrace mobile are able to create truly personal relationships with the end user and benefit from the associated revenue such a relationship can bring.”

Mediaburst Buys Promptext

Mobile marketing firm Mediaburst has announced the acquisition of the UK operations of Promptext, which delivers SMS messaging services. Mediaburst says the deal will enable it to consolidate messaging volumes and to provide Promptext customers with an enlarged product range.
“Promptext customers now have access to an enlarged product range and to first class customer services and technical support,” says Mediaburst Managing Director, Gary Bury. “This acquisition represents a significant development for Mediaburst and demonstrates our ability to simply plug-in additional customers and consolidate mobile messaging volumes.”
For the financial year 2008/09, Mediaburst reported operating profits double those of the previous year, generated from brands such as Kellogg's, Bostik and Nurofen introducing mobile marketing campaigns into their digital strategies, and from an increasing numbers of businesses using text messaging to communicate with their customers and staff.

2ergo Buys Wapfly

2ergo has acquired Australian mobile marketing firm Wapfly Technologies for an undisclosed sum, as part of a move to extend its global reach into the Asia-Pacific region. Wapfly specialises in developing mobile Internet sites, mobile applications and mobile marketing services for brands, broadcasters and agencies, and has developed close links with mobile network operators and full service agencies in Australia. 
As a result of the acquisition, the Group provides media giant ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) with its mobile Internet solution, which was developed by Wapfly. In its first week, the ABC Apple iPhone application was downloaded by more iPhone customers than any other and was ranked the number one iPhone application in Australia in just three days. News on the site is refreshed constantly and content varies by region through the deployment of location-based services. TV and radio shows are broadcast to the mobile with internal advertising featured on the site. 
“This is a significant deal for both businesses as we can offer each other real competitive advantages,” says 2ergo Joint CEO, Neale Graham. “We have been looking to invest in the region for some time and this deal provides a platform for further investment and the growth of 2ergo in Asia Pacific. Wapfly brings with it a dedicated mobile applications team which compliments 2ergo’s portfolio of mobile-enabling technology. Its high-end mobile publishing and content software is compatible with our core enabling technology platform, Multiserve, which means that we can quickly launch new, world-class products across the Group.”
2ergo provides the enabling technology behind major mobile marketing, customer relationship management and entertainment and media campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands including, Yahoo, O2, Microsoft, Fox News and AT&T.

Velti Buys Ad Infuse

Mobile marketing firm Velti has acquired Ad Infuse, which specialises in personalised mobile advertising. Velti says the acquisition will enable the company to strengthen its position in the US market and sustain its growth over the coming years. Velti will immediately integrate Ad Infuse’s management team, award-winning technology and prestigious customer base into its global operations. Ad Infuse CEO Brian Cowley will assume the position of General Manager of Velti North America,
Ad Infuse’ s mobile ad serving and routing technology platforms enable advertisers, publishers, brands, and operators to place mobile ads on multiple networks and manage them in real-time. Ad Infuse works with leading advertisers, publishers, and operators in the US and Europe.
The integrated company will comprise over 400 people across its operations in the US, Europe, China, India and Middle East. Velti says it is already the world’s largest mobile advertising and marketing company,y with operations in 35 countries, and some of the world’s leading advertising and media agencies, brands, operators and publishers as its customers, including Microsoft, Disney, Unilever, Orange and MasterCard.
“The acquisition of Ad Infuse will broaden our US team and enhance our global product offering,” says Velti CEO,Alex Moukas. “Mobile advertising and marketing continues to enjoy significant growth even in today’s environment: the marketing landscape is changing and mobile is the catalyst for this…This transaction provides us with a proven management team,a strong client base, and proven technology that will help us further accelerate our global growth.”
The integration of Ad Infuse’s personalisation and ad routing/serving technology within Velti’s Mobile Marketing Platform (MMP) will provide ad agencies with an end-to-end solution for mobile media planning, campaign management, optimisation, execution, analytics and hosting of mobile advertising and marketing campaigns.
Velti says this new offering addresses a key problem that advertising agencies currently face of having to communicate with multiple suppliers to run an integrated campaign. Additionally, Velti’s enhanced platform will provide a single point for  media planning across quality mobile inventory providers; tracking across any media channel that converts to mobile (including TV, print and outdoor); post-response interactivity, with over 90 proven scenarios; and creative media utilisation, including rich content, such as mobile Internet sites, applications, games and video.
Velti recently announced 2008 revenues of  $70 million, with an EBITDA of $17 million. It says that revenues in the first quarter of 2009 are expected to be more than 50% higher than Q1 2008.

Oxygen8 in Caribbean Acquisition

Interactive communications company Oxygen8 Communications is continuing its global expansion across English-speaking territories with the acquisition of Caribbean Multimedia Services (CMS). CMS has connectivity throughout the Caribbean region and has contracts with many of the key media groups in this market.
As a result of the acquisition, Oxygen8 Communications now operates in 36 markets worldwide and is directly connected in 33 countries. It says it now has unprecedented access to the English speaking world (the English Caribbean alone adding 7.5 million people) and an increasing penetration of the Hispanic market.
The company provides services to some of the world’s leading companies, portals, national broadcasters, national and regional publishers, international carriers, network operators and independent telecommunication companies. It has offices in the UK, Ireland, Australia, the US, South Africa, and East Africa.
At the heart of Oxygen8’s offering is its Oxygen platform, which enables UK brands with to create fully integrated interactive communications services utilising a variety of different technologies, including WAP, web, voice, video, SMS and MMS. The platform was designed to meet the requirements of customers who need to be able to roll out new services quickly and easily, both locally and internationally. Self-provisioning is at the core of the design of the platform, which means that brands have the option to develop and maintain services themselves. It also enables new applications to be rolled out in “minutes”.
“Oxygen8 is looking to quickly expand its business worldwide, and our acquisition of CMS is an important part of this process,” says Oxygen8 Communications Group CEO, Shane Leahy. “Increasingly, our clients are international in their focus, especially our major customers operating via the web. It also means that we are able to offer penetration in many markets that no other aggregator has access to, in fast developing regions such as Africa and the Caribbean. The acquisition also further strengthens our international management team.”     

VISTO Completes Good Acquisition

Push mobility solutions provider VISTO has completed the acquisition of Good Technology from Motorola. Going forward, the combined companies will operate together under the name Good Technology.
VISTO says its acquisition of Good Technology from Motorola is the catalyst to create a powerful new integrated mobility solutions company with strong enterprise, government and consumer offerings. 
VISTO’s patented underlying technology provides an open, real-time synchronization platform for a broad range of applications, including collaboration and social networking solutions. The addition of Good’s platform expands the breadth of the combined company’s portfolio, offering the whole spectrum of device-independent solutions to operators, handset manufacturers, large, medium and small enterprises, governments and consumers.
“We have doubled our market penetration and are the clear alternative to closed, vendor-biased solutions from Microsoft and RIM,” says CEO Brian A. Bogosian. “We now provide one global, open and secure platform that gives Government, IT (sic) and consumers complete freedom of choice around handsets and OS in a fragmented mobile device market. This strategic initiative places the new Good at the forefront of this rapidly expanding market, with access to any messaging, collaboration software, media, enterprise application or consumer content.”
The combined company will have a significantly extended global reach. With the benefit of Good’s strong relationships with US operators, and extensive base of enterprise customers, including a high concentration of the Fortune 50, the new Good Technology will serve leading operators and enterprise customers throughout the US and in more than 100 different countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

VISTO Makes Good Acquisition

VISTO, which provides a mobile push and synchronization platform for service providers, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Good Technology from Motorola, VISTO says the acquisition immediately positions the company as a global leader in the delivery of a full range of secure, mobile messaging solutions for enterprises through mobile operators and OEM handset manufacturers. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The parties intend to close the transaction by the end of February.
“This transaction marks another important milestone in VISTO’s emergence as a worldwide leader for mobile access to applications and content, especially messaging and collaboration data,” says VISTO CEO, Brian A. Bogosian. “Good’s robust enterprise and government solution will complement VISTO’s strong operator presence in business and consumer markets. As a result of this transaction, VISTO will now provide customers in over 100 countries an open, robust and secure mobile experience for enterprise customers, on over 400 different mobile devices.”
Good Technology specializes in offering wireless messaging, mobile VPN data access, device management and handheld security for enterprise customers worldwide. The addition of Good’s extensive service offerings in the US, Europe and Asia will enable VISTO to provide its government and enterprise customers with the benefits of a broader range of solutions and best-in-class secure mobile offerings.
VISTO has extensive relationships with mobile operators throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. Good, through its relationships with US mobile carriers, has implementations with thousands of enterprises, including many of the Fortune 500 with a high concentration of the Fortune 50.
“We believe that this transaction is in the best interest of our customers, employees and shareholders,” says Gene Delaney, President, Enterprise Mobility Solutions at  Motorola. “VISTO’s acquisition of Good will allow Motorola to continue to concentrate on providing best-in-class business-critical applications, secure management platforms and mobility services that empower the individual with the right information at the right time to streamline business processes and improve results.”

IMI Buys dx3

IMI, the India-headquartered global provider of mobile value added services (VAS) for content providers, mobile operators and media agencies, has announced its acquisition of dx3, the London-based digital content delivery services provider which pioneered the first legal digital music downloads in Europe, for an undiscllosed sum. The acquisition is effective immediately.
Already established in over 40 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, IMI says its acquisition of dx3 is the first step in an aggressive European expansion plan designed to establish the company as one of the largest managed service providers for digital content and converged VAS in the region.
The acquisition will combine IMI’s experience in the mobile sector, where it already enables 80 operator deployments globally to drive profitable new revenue streams, with dx3’s expertise in the web domain. dx3 has relationships with all of the world’s major music labels, and a library of over two million music tracks. It provides marketing solutions to major brands and creative agencies, including members of WPP and OMD. The arrangement will bring the combined services of the enlarged group under the IMI brand and see its carrier-grade DaVinci platform used as part of a managed service offering to power the mobile and online digital marketing initiatives of major brands, publishers and retailers across Europe.
“We see two key growth areas emerging,” says IMI CEO and founder, Vishwanath Alluri. “Firstly, converged media campaigns that use both mobile and online platforms. Secondly, off-deck, direct to consumer mobile and fixed-line operator promotions, working with big name brands to offer innovative offers and marketing inducements to their subscriber base. We are well positioned to exploit this growth with our innovative technology platforms and considerable experience in driving new revenue streams for our global customers.”
Anu Shah, formerly Executive Director of dx3 and now CEO of IMI Europe, says the  acquisition gives the company fantastic access to a converged online and mobile platform that can glue together growing areas of the market, such as digital music, social networking, advertising, user-generated content and subscription services.
“dx3 and IMI believe offering these products under a managed service model offers the best risk/return profile for our clients as evidenced by our growth over the last year,” says Shah. “Together, we are now in a great position to design and deploy compelling new products and services on a pan-European basis.”

Voda Makes Russian Move With MTS Deal

Vodafone and Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS, have announce a strategic, non-equity partnership to provide customers with communications services and to collaborate jointly on future technological developments.
Under the agreement, MTS will have exclusive access to a range of products, services and devices from Vodafone for its markets of operation in Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Armenia. In addition, MTS will be able to draw on Vodafone’s expertise in building and developing 3G networks and mobile broadband products, working with leading global equipment providers.
The partnership with MTS will give Vodafone valuable insight into the opportunities of the important telecommunications markets of Russia and the CIS, which are among the fastest growing in the world. Vodafone’s products will be made available to MTS’s 87 million subscribers, including more than 60 million customers in Russia.
Vodafone's products and services will be marketed in Russia and the CIS under a co-branded approach. Vodafone will also open a representative office in Moscow to co-operate more closely with MTS on future offerings and customer services.
“A partnership with Vodafone will allow MTS to bring tangible benefits to both its customers and shareholders,” says MTS President and CEO, Mikhail Shamolin. “This groundbreaking agreement will give our customers the most innovative products and services from around the world.  At the same time, Vodafone’s commercial insights and technical expertise will translate into significant operational efficiencies for MTS over the long-term as we transition our networks to 3G and beyond.”
Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao says:
“Our agreement with MTS is an opportunity for Vodafone to build its presence and work with the leading operator in these important markets. By combining the geographical reach of the company’s respective networks, we can give customers greater roaming capabilities and extended coverage. We are delighted that MTS has joined our successful Partner Markets community, which will be much stronger with the addition of Russia and the CIS.” 

Nuance Completes SNAPin Acquisition

Speech solutions provider Nuance Communications has closed the acquisition of SNAPin Software, which provides on-device self-service software for mobile operators.
The SNAPin software solution mobile allows operators to interact with their subscribers in real-time and in the context of current mobile behavior. The company says its handset-based SelfService product suite enables the delivery of interactive promotions, the resolution of most customer support problems, and allows operators to deliver a branded service experience to their subscribers.
“The combined capabilities of Nuance and SNAPin broaden the market opportunities for mobile care worldwide,” says Robert Lewis, a Vice President in Nuance Mobile Care and former CEO and President of SNAPin. “With Nuance’s global reach, extensive expertise and worldwide carrier and customer relationships, we have an opportunity to truly redefine the customer self-service market.”

Connect2Media Acquires RayFusion

Connect2Media, the recently formed multi-platform entertainment company, has acquired RayFusion, a global distributor of mobile content. The deal will enable RayFusion to facilitate expansion of its distribution network to include major carrier accounts in the EMEA, Asian and Latin American regions.
Israel-based RayFusion will continue to operate as a standalone entity with operational independence from Connect2Media. It will retain its name and corporate identity and there will be no changes to its personnel or operations. However Connect2Media’s support will enable RayFusion to refine the development of its mobile content technology set, which the company says will create a real point of differentiation for RayFusion content suppliers and raise the bar on service levels and transparency.
“Connect2Media is an exciting forward looking company and we are enthusiastic about what we can achieve together,” says RayFusion CEO, Doron Kagan. “Connect2Media has excellent relationships with major carriers around the world which will allow us to broaden our already significant distribution network and cement our position as a leading distributor of mobile games.”
Connect2Media publishes, develops and distributes games and services across multiple platforms including mobile, web and interactive TV. In August 2008, Connect2Media received investment from Acuity Capital and from Hands-On Mobile, which injected the majority of its EMEA assets into the company. These assets include a global distribution footprint that includes EMEA, Latin America and SE Asia. Connect2Media continues to work with Hands-On Mobile as the exclusive publisher of mobile games such as ‘World Poker Tour 2’, ‘Guitar Hero III’ and ‘Marvel’.

Medio in AdMob Tie-up

Mobile search company Medio Systems has announced a partnership with mobile ad network AdMob. As part of the agreement, AdMob will deliver targeted mobile search ads to consumers, using Medio's analytics-driven mobile search service. Medio says it is partnering with AdMob to ensure consumers see high quality ads, and to make it easier for advertisers to reach consumers on their mobile phones.
“AdMob's unmatched quality advertising traffic means we can present the industry's most targeted and relevant ads to both our operator partners and publisher network, while enabling AdMob's advertisers to reach consumers in that 'last mile' with analytics-driven, targeted search ads,” says Medio CEO, Brian Lent.

Synchronica Acquires AxisMobile

Synchronica, which provides mobile email and synchronization solutions, is acquiring consumer mobile email specialist AxisMobile for $4.9 million (£2.6 million) in new Synchronica shares. Synchronica has also raised additional funds of $10million, from new and existing institutional investors, which brings the total funding secured in 2008 to $18 million. The company says the additional funds will be used to accelerate product integration and fuel the growth of the combined business in emerging markets such as China, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
The AxisMobile acquisition aims to make Synchronica the leading player in mass market mobile email and synchronization middleware for mobile operators and service providers. The addition of AxisMobile’s complementary technology, customer base and routes to market, combined with the injection of $10 million of additional funds, will enable Synchronica to provide mass-market mobile email solutions that work on more than three billion mobile phones in the market today.
AxisMobile’s consumer mobile email platform complements Synchronica’s award-winning Mobile Gateway software by adding ‘email to SMS’ and ‘email to MMS’ gateways, as well as a client-less solution for WAP/xHTML browser access. AxisMobile’s patented Optimizer email transcoding gateway also adds the ability to display a large variety of attachments such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint presentations on standard feature phone handsets that would otherwise be unable to support such functionality.
Synchronica says that the AxisMobile acquisition will also enlarge its footprint in emerging markets, by adding a strong sales force and key customer contracts in the relatively untapped areas of Eastern Europe, CIS and Russia, to Synchronica’s existing sales presence in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Currently AxisMobile has eight live customer installations with major mobile operators, predominantly in Central and Eastern Europe and China. Customers include  MTS, the largest mobile operator in Russia and CIS with 84 million customers; Megafon, a Russian mobile network operator with 34 million customers across 88 regions of the Russian federation, including its Moscow subsidiary Sonic Duo; T-Mobile; and E-Plus, Germany´s third largest mobile network operator with 13.6 million customers. AxisMobile has also secured contract wins with a leading Ukrainian mobile network operator, a further leading Tier 1 Russian mobile network operator, and a leading Swiss mobile network operator.
Forecasts point to emerging markets as a breakthrough area for mass-market mobile email. Informa predicts that there will be 4.81 billion mobile phone subscribers by 2012, with the next billion subscribers coming from emerging markets, where PC and fixed-line penetration is low.
“The fundraising and the acquisition of AxisMobile is a dramatic acceleration for Synchronica and I believe that it will build value for our shareholders,” says Synchronica CEO, Carsten Brinkschulte. “We aim to build a world leader in the market of consumer mobile email and synchronization solutions, and this acquisition is a key milestone that will improve our competitive positioning and accelerate our commercial growth. It will increase our ability to sell to customers, particularly to those in emerging economies, where we see the largest potential growth for mobile email and synchronization. With the fundraising and the acquisition of AxisMobile, Synchronica now has sufficient mass and funding to take advantage of the outstanding opportunity to exploit the commercial potential of mass-market mobile email.”
Synchronica’s Mobile Gateway delivers push email and mobile synchronization of calendar and contact data targeting consumer and business users with connectors to mass-market mailboxes such as Yahoo or Gmail as well as business mailboxes such as Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Domino. Mobile Gateway does not require users to install additional software on the handset or behind the firewall and instead uses the dominant open industry standards push IMAP and SyncML to synchronize the built-in email and PIM applications pre-installed on more than 1.5 billion handsets in the market. With the injection of AxisMobile technology, even the most basic phones will be able to send and receive email, further expanding the addressable market for Mobile Gateway in the consumer sector and in particular in emerging markets where low-end devices are dominating the market.

Nuance Snaps Up SNAPin

Nuance Communications has announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held SNAPin, which provides mobile device and server self-service technology, for $180 million (£97 million). With the strengths and resources of Nuance and SNAPin, the company says, the combined organization can deliver innovative, highly-scalable mobile customer care solutions that transform the way mobile operators and enterprises interact with consumers in real-time on mobile devices.
SNAPin is a pioneer in the field of on-device self-service and customer care, with patented technology that provides mobile operators with solutions that help subscribers automatically resolve common problems directly on their handset. Additionally, the software delivers interactive offers and promotions in a relevant, context sensitive way based on how the handset is being used in order to help mobile operators boost usage levels, increase revenue and enhance loyalty.
With this acquisition, says Nuance, it is uniquely positioned to address the significant global opportunity in customer care as it converges around the mobile phone as the primary consumer access point. Companies worldwide will employ more than 6 million agents and spend more than $100 billion in customer care in 2008. In addition, says Nuance, estimates suggest that more than 200 billion calls are placed into customer service numbers around the world every year. An estimated one-third of those calls are placed from mobile phones and the number is expected to grow to two-thirds before the end of the decade. A Nuance and SnapIN combination can deliver effective care for cents-per-call compared to agent-assisted calls that approximate $4.50 per call on average.
“The integration of Nuance’s mobile solutions and enterprise speech solutions allows Nuance to sharply reduce the costs of customer care and improve the quality of customer experience for mobile operators and large enterprises,” says Steve Chambers, President of Nuance’s Mobile and Consumer Services Division. “Leveraging the proliferation of mobile devices worldwide, Nuance’s solutions, combined with powerful technology from SNAPin, enable Nuance to deliver the economies of web-based self-service to the growing expanse of mobile consumers.”
By combining SNAPin’s key intellectual property, mobile expertise and established device and operator relationships with Nuance’s capabilities in customer care and handset solutions and longstanding mobile and enterprise relationships, says Nuance, the combined company is positioned to deliver superior mobile care solutions and fulfil a significant global opportunity that has captured the interest of the world’s largest mobile operators.
“We are excited to join Nuance, a dynamic company that shares our commitment to deliver innovative technology and compelling user experiences for the world’s mobile consumers,” says SNAPin President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Lewis. “Joining Nuance will help accelerate the adoption of our mobile care technology by providing us deeper relationships with carriers and every major handset vendor, access to expansive complementary mobile technologies, broad intellectual property, deep mobile talent and experience from thousands of successful care implementations worldwide.”
Vodafone is one of the operators using SNAPin’s software to provide its customers with the ability to automatically resolve common requests, diagnose and repair configuration problems, make account inquiries and solve problems, direct from the handset.
“Delivering a superior customer experience at all touch points for our subscriber is key to how we acquire and retain loyal customers,” says Adam Spence, Group Self Service Development Manager for Vodafone Group. “We are excited by the joining of Nuance and SNAPin, as it reinforces our strategy to offer our customers the most innovative and powerful mobile self-service experience across all of our established and emerging markets.”
Nuance expects the acquisition in fiscal 2009 to add between $29 million and $32 million in non-GAAP revenue; $19 million and $22 million in GAAP revenue after adjusting revenue lost to purchase accounting; non-GAAP earnings between $0.01 and $0.02; and a GAAP loss between $(0.05) and $(0.06) including amortization and stock-based compensation.
SNAPin solutions are delivered through the handset in a revenue model based on the value of transactions or calls served on the handset. Nuance has experienced rapid growth in its mobile business for the last several years and now anticipates combined mobile revenues in Fiscal Year 2009 between $260 and $275 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, consideration for the transaction is approximately $180 million in Nuance common stock. SNAPin’s shareholders will be eligible for additional earn-out consideration based upon the achievement of certain financial and operational milestones. The transaction is expected to close in October 2008, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals, and is expected to be accretive in fiscal 2009.
You can see a demonstration of SNAPin’s solutions here.

Siano in the Money

Mobile TV chip maker Siano Mobile Silicon has secured a third round of funding amounting to $17.5 million (£9.3 million). DFJ Tamir Fishman Ventures (DFJTFV), led the funding round, and was joined by all of the existing investors from previous rounds - JVP, Star Ventures, Walden Israel, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Inventec Appliances. Siano has now raised $52 million in three rounds of funding.
Over the past 12 months, Siano has expanded its footprint in the Asian Mobile TV market, opening offices in Korea and Japan, and launching its SMS1180 receiver chip in China, in support of the Chinese Mobile TV technology that is currently making its debut at the Olympics Games. Earlier in the year, Siano launched its latest multi-standard chip, the SMS1130, which added the support of ISDB-T, the Mobile TV broadcasting standard used in Japan and Brazil, to the mobile TV technologies supported already in previous products: DVB-T, DVB-H and T-DMB.
“The consumer market is now starting to fulfil the vision that gave birth to Siano back in 2004,” says Siano CEO Alon Ironi. “Namely that within just a few years, practically every single non-tethered consumer device with a colour LCD would include digital TV function. We are witnessing massive embedding of our products into a surprisingly wide range of devices, from mobile phones and notebooks to navigation devices, portable media players and even boom-boxes and digital photo frames. The new capital will help Siano expand its sales and customer support facilities worldwide, build adequate silicon inventory to match the increasing demand for its products, and continue developing state-of-the-art solutions for the mobile TV market.”

ROK in Push Email Joint Venture

ROK Entertainment Group has announced a Joint Venture with media group YuuZoo Corporation to market ROK's recently-announced mobile push email solution, which will now be known as YuuROK.
In soft-launch for the past six weeks and available for free online or from mobile phones at www.yuurok.com, YuuROK, has already generated over 100,000 users. Half of these are located in China and Asia, with the remainder coming from India and the US.
“Our user base has really taken YuuROK to its heart with this phenomenal uptake and we are now moving quickly towards our immediate goal of 1 million users worldwide,” says YuuZoo President, Ron Creevey. 
YuuROK push email provides a unique email account and also lets users add their existing email addresses into one place on their mobile. Users receive notifications from any of their email accounts that an email has been received, which they can read and reply to, seamlessly, from their mobile phone.
The YuuROK mobile push email service is compatible with all WAP-enabled handsets and, being advertising-supported, is entirely free to use providing the user has a data package included in their mobile tariff.

US Firms in Joint Venture Move

US Internet and affiliate marketing agency Pepperjam, and full-service mobile marketing agency M3 Mobile, have announced the creation of a joint venture that will give advertisers a one-stop-shop for Internet and mobile marketing. The venture will be named pepperjamMobile Powered by M3 Mobile.
The venture will incorporate the services of both parent organizations, and will also develop new, integrated services. The joint venture is currently working on a proprietary technology which will combine the two sets of marketing tools into a single platform, helping advertisers simplify and integrate their marketing programs.
Pepperjam has made the initial investment towards the venture, while M3 Mobile will build and manage the technology for the new service. The two companies have worked in partnership in the past to offer their respective products to advertisers, and saw the need to give advertisers capabilities in both mobile and Internet marketing.
“Advertisers today need both mobile and Internet marketing tools and we are excited to be working with Pepperjam to deliver a comprehensive suite of digital marketing products that will drive innovation in our respective industries,” says M3 Mobile CEO, Gary Ackerman. 

Yahoo! to Sell 3 UK's Ads

Mobile operator 3 UK and Yahoo! have announced a deal which will see Yahoo! exclusively sell 3 UK banners and sponsored links inventory. Yahoo! will sell the inventory for the 3 UK portal, with ads sold by Yahoo! going live later this month.
The Yahoo! sold adverts will be seen by visitors to Planet 3, which reaches a group of customers who have already demonstrated interest in mobile Internet services. For example, 3 UK’s ad-funded music video service offers subscribers free music videos in return for watching a short, targeted video ad, and already has more than 1.4 million registered users.
“With the ever-increasing popularity of the mobile Internet, more and more people are coming to the 3 portal,” says 3 UK Head of On-portal Advertising, Neil Andrews. “We’re in a great position to help brands reach our subscribers with a targeted and relevant advertising message. We believe Yahoo! has the experience to help us take full advantage of our advanced portal and unique all 3G subscriber-base. 
3 UK was one of the first entrants into the mobile advertising space and says it has the highest percentage of subscribers accessing mobile Internet services of any operator. In a recent survey by M:Metrics, 3 was ranked second only to Facebook for the amount of time users spent browsing. 3 was the only network ranked in the top five. The portal is prime advertising real-estate which 3 says has already been successfully used by leading brands to reach key audiences as part of integrated digital advertising campaigns.
Geraldine Wilson, VP of Connected Life, Yahoo! Europe, says 3 UK is a great new addition to the Yahoo! portfolio of mobile advertising partners.  She says:
“Their commitment to bring the best of the mobile Internet to their customers, coupled with the high volume of traffic the portal gets, presents our portfolio of advertisers with a very attractive opportunity.”
Yahoo! currently offers mobile display advertising in 23 territories across Europe, Asia and the Americas. The company is focused on creating the monetization engine for the mobile Internet, enabling publishers to monetize their services and advertisers to reach their target audiences at large scale.

Tele Atlas Googled

Tele Atlas, which provides digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, has revealed that Google has signed a long-term licence agreement with the company that gives Google access to Tele Atlas maps and dynamic content in more than 200 countries around the world.
The agreement spans Google’s current and future map-based services and navigation offerings across mobile, online and desktop environments. These include the Google Maps and Google Earth  services and mobile applications such as Google Maps for Mobile. The agreement also gives Tele Atlas access to edits for its maps from Google’s community of users, whose suggested changes can help the company further increase the quality and richness of Tele Atlas maps.
“Google’s innovation and leadership is undisputed, and we are proud to have the opportunity to be the map foundation for one of the world’s most progressive web companies,” says Tele Atlas CEO, Bill Henry. “This agreement is important too because it gives us access to input from a significant online community of map users, whose feedback can help us keep our maps fresh and accurate.”
John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Google Maps adds:
“Geospatial data enhances global search significantly by organizing data and delivering results based on location. Tele Atlas’ map quality and the company’s innovative approach to business were the key drivers for our decision.”
Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Nokia to Acquire Symbian in Open Source Move

The Symbian operating system is to become open source in a move which will see Nokia acquire the 52% of Symbian that it does not own from Ericsson, Sony Ericsson, Matsushita, Panasonic and Siemens, for £204 million. Having acquired the company, it seems that Nokia will then donate it to a newly-formed Symbian Foundation.
With one eye on Google’s Android, and the other on the Linux-based LiMo platform, Nokia plans to work with Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DoCoMo to unite the Symbian S60 interface with the UIQ and MOAP(S) versions to create one open mobile software platform. Together with AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone, they plan to establish the Symbian Foundation to extend the appeal of the platform. Membership of the non-profit Foundation will be open to all organizations. The initiative is supported by current shareholders and management of Symbian, who have been actively involved in its development.
While Nokia will contribute the Symbian and S60 software to the Foundation, Sony Ericsson and Motorola will contribute technology from UIQ, while DoCoMo has indicated its willingness to contribute its MOAP(S) assets. From these contributions, the Foundation will provide a unified platform with a common UI framework. A full platform will be available for all Foundation members under a royalty-free licence, from the Foundation’s first day of operations. Membership of the Foundation will cost $1,500 (£750).
Contributions from Foundation members through open collaboration will be integrated to further enhance the platform. The Foundation will make selected components available as open source at launch. It will then work to establish the most complete mobile software offering available in open source. This will be made available over the next two years and is intended to be released under Eclipse Public License (EPL) 1.0.
The Foundation’s platform will build on the leading open mobile software platform, with more than 200 million phones, across 235 models, already shipped by multiple vendors and tens of thousands of third-party applications already available for Symbian OS-based devices.
“10 years ago, Symbian was established by far sighted players to offer an advanced open operating system and software skills to the whole mobile industry”, says Symbian CEO, Nigel Clifford. “Our vision is to become the most widely used software platform on the planet and indeed today Symbian OS leads its market by any measure. Today's announcement is a bold new step to achieve that vision by embracing a complete and proven platform, offered in an open way, designed to stimulate innovation, which is at the heart of everything we do.”
Nokia CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, describes the establishment of the Foundation as: “one of the biggest contributions to an open community ever made.” He says:
“Nokia is a strong supporter of open platforms and technologies, as they give the freedom to build, maintain and evolve applications and services across device segments and offer by far the largest ecosystem, enabling rapid innovation. Today’s announcement is a major milestone in our devices software strategy.”
The Foundation is expected to commence operations during the first half of 2009, subject to the closing of the acquisition of Symbian by Nokia.

O2 Adds More Hotspots for iPhone Users

O2 has announced a deal with BT Openzone to enhance the unlimited wi-fi package offered to all iPhone customers. From 11 July, iPhone users will have access to more than 3,000 BT Openzone wi-fi hotspots as part of their monthly tariff, for no extra cost.
The addition of BT Openzone to O2’s existing arrangement with The Cloud brings the total number available public wi-fi hotspots for iPhone customers to over 9,000. Both the iPhone and new iPhone 3G automatically choose the fastest network available and will seamlessly switch to wi-fi when the customer enters either a Cloud or BT Openzone hotspot. The hotspots enable high-speed web browsing and access to other data services. All O2 iPhone customers receive unlimited access to these public wi-fi hotspots as part of their monthly tariff, subject to an excessive use policy.
BT Openzone is available at more than 3,000 premier hotspots in the UK, including 13 BT wireless city centres, coffee shops, railway stations, airport lounges, motorway service stations and marinas. It also gives easy-to-use broadband Internet connectivity, allowing users to browse the web, access their corporate networks and send and receive emails while on the move.
“The availability of BT Openzone on the iPhone 3G is in direct response to strong customer demand for a quality wi-fi service on their device,” says BT Wireless Broadband Director, Dave Hughes. “BT aims to keep customers best connected, any time and any place. With the iPhone set to become even more popular, BT is providing high-speed Internet access at premier locations in the UK.”

Symbian Licenses Scalado

Symbian has signed a licensing agreement with Scalado for its mobile imaging software. Symbian says that Scalado’s solution for Symbian OS will significantly improve Symbian’s imaging performance for higher megapixel images. It will deliver faster rendering, scaling and rotation and superior image editing features , with the added benefit of reduced memory consumption. Importantly, Scalado’s patented Random Access JPEG technology allows imaging operations to occur while the image is in compressed form, greatly reducing RAM consumption.
Retroactive to Symbian OS v9.3 and v9.4, the three year licence ensures benefits for end-users and handset manufacturers alike and is free of any additional royalties. End users will enjoy higher usability, while handset manufacturers will see a cut in hardware costs, says Symbian. Under the terms of the deal, Symbian and Scalado will create a joint team of skilled imaging and camera engineers to enhance and extend Symbian's camera and imaging offering.
“Consumers today expect mobile phone cameras to perform just as well as digital still cameras,” says Scalado CEO, Mats Jacobson. “Building on our existing long and fruitful partnership, this new initiative sees Symbian and Scalado working together to ensure that the leading mobile OS will deliver the beauty of high quality and high speed image handling, with full connectivity and sharing options to consumers.”
Jørgen Behrens, Executive Vice-President, Marketing at Symbian, says the agreement will benefit both handset vendors and end-users, reducing cost and memory consumption in handset development, and offering advanced image handling capabilities in high megapixel camera devices to end-users.
“It's another great demonstration of our commitment to offering the best mobile technology possible in Symbian OS and to helping the mobile industry succeed,” says Behrens.

Partnership Promises Rapid Mobile Surveys

Mobile surveys company, OnePoint Surveys, has partnered with market research agency Dipsticks Research, to launch OmNow, which the companies claim is the first nationally representative mobile omnibus to deliver results within four hours, provide real-time access to survey responses and use both SMS and WAP technology. 
“OmNow is a real first,” says OnePoint Surveys Managing Director, Neil Jessop. “The combination of OnePoint’s cutting-edge mobile survey technology, fused with the research and panel expertise at Dipsticks Research, provides researchers with a powerful and cost-effective omnibus tool. By utilising the mobile phone, OmNow produces accurate and insightful responses - both qualitative and quantitative - within four hours, which is significantly faster than other methodologies, and other omnibus services."  OmNow enables researchers to keep their finger on the pulse in a non-intrusive way. This, the company says, is the reason why the out-of-home media company Titan Outdoor, recently used OmNow for a major food brand client. Titan was seeking to measure the penetration and awareness of a series of ad campaigns across the rail network, as well as assessing consumer awareness of its own brand in this space.
“We saw a benefit to choosing mobile phone research for a project that had a very tight turnaround and where we were lacking some crucial research findings only two days before our deadline,” says Joe Hall, Head of Insight at Titan Outdoor. “The speed of deployment and turnaround of results using the OmNow service was staggering, and provided us with the perfect solution to obtain a UK nationally representative snapshot at the 11th hour. OmNow delivers great value for money with outstanding service and turnaround, so we'll definitely be engaging their services to complement our existing research techniques.’’
OmNow results can be viewed, downloaded and exported in real-time, through a secure web portal, aiding rapid project turn-around times. Surveys are not limited to pre-coded text-only content, but offer open questions, and visual stimuli, in addition to traditional closed questions.

ICUE Teams Up with BookRabbit

BookRabbit.com, a new online bookshop that connects readers, authors and publishers through the books that they own, has entered into a partnership with ICUE, which provides mobile services to the publishing industry, to be the sole purchasing partner for ICUE’s ‘First Chapter Previews’ which sends chapter samplers directly to the mobile phones of customers interacting with the poster advertising of a book.
Publishers who partner with ICUE include a short phrase, keyword and shortcode on any advertising, such as outdoor posters, on books they are promoting. For example a consumer might see: “Text ‘GERI’ to 64888 to read an extract from Geri Halliwell’s new book ‘Ugenia Lavender’”. Once the free chapter has been downloaded onto the consumer’s phone, they will then have the option to link directly to BookRabbit to buy the book.
BookRabbit Managing Director Kieron Smith says:
“I’m extremely pleased that ICUE and BookRabbit can work together on this project. We believe BookRabbit customers enjoy unearthing fantastic reads wherever they find them, and if we can help them find one and buy it whilst they’re waiting for the bus, then that’s great.”
ICUE’s system allows users to pause, rewind or fast forward while reading a book, either one word at a time, by sentence, paragraph or chapter. If the reader wishes to stop at any time or is interrupted by a call or text message, the system automatically bookmarks the position, and resumes in the same place when the application and book are re-opened.

Voda Buys ZYB for £25 million

Vodafone has agreed a deal to acquire 100% of ZYB, the privately-owned Danish company that operates a social networking and online management tool enabling mobile phone users to back-up and share their handsets’ contact and calendar information online. Vodafone Europe BV, a holding company of Vodafone Group is paying €31.5 million (£25 million) for the company.
Vodafone says the acquisition of ZYB is a further advance in the implementation of its ‘Total Communications’ strategy, which the company says is delivering new revenue growth around fixed broadband, mobile advertising and a rich set of Internet services that integrate the mobile and PC customer experience. Vodafone says that ZYB fits into this strategy by enhancing the range of communications services the network operator can provide to its customers.
ZYB is designed with the mobile device at its heart, allowing customers to share information and messages between their friends and colleagues who are held in their mobile phone’s address book.
ZYB enables users to send messages and images from their PC to multiple mobile devices in their mobile community, as well as taking advantage of the functionality of an instant messaging service.
“Vodafone understands that the core of any customer’s personal and business network is the set of contacts they hold on their mobile phone,” says Vodafone Group Internet Services Director, Pieter Knook. “Using a web portal as a link between the PC and the mobile device, ZYB provides an interactive way for people to nurture, contact and develop their relationships with their most important friends and colleagues and builds links with those contacts’ wider networks. This is Web 2.0 in action.”
ZYB will remain based in Denmark and upon acquisition, will be incorporated into Vodafone’s Internet Services Division.

Voda and Entel In Chilean Alliance

Vodafone and Entel PCS  have signed a Partner Market agreement; a strategic alliance which will see the introduction of an exclusive range of Vodafone products and services made available for Entel PCS customers in the Republic of Chile.
Under the terms of the agreement, Entel PCS has access to specific Vodafone knowledge and expertise, and will be able to provide its customers with selected Vodafone roaming, and eventually, business and consumer products. These products and services will include a range of push-email devices and Vodafone branded handsets.
In addition to Entel PCS’s current product portfolio, the company will be able to offer a series of Vodafone-branded mobile broadband USB modems, which will enable customers to access the Internet from their laptops at broadband speeds over Entel PCS’s mobile network.
Vodafone's products and services will be marketed in Chile under Vodafone’s global brand, enhancing Entel PCS’s nationally recognised brand. In addition, the two companies will also work closely on information and best-practice sharing in order to enhance future offerings and customer services.
Commenting on the agreement, Hatem Dowidar, CEO, Vodafone Partner Markets, says:
“Through this agreement with Entel PCS, Vodafone will be able to increase its brand recognition and extend its product range to one of the most developed markets in Latin America. Chile is a leading market for mobile communications in the region, and Entel PCS is in a stronger position to improve the provision of enhanced voice and data products, including Entel PCS’s current HSDPA internet access mobile network for customers eager for greater access to international products and services.”

Sun Ties Up with On2 to Add Video to JavaFX

Sun Microsystems has entered into a multi-year agreement with On2 Technologies to add comprehensive video capabilities, using On2 Technologies’ TrueMotion video codecs, to Sun's JavaFX, a family of products for creating Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) with immersive media and content across “all the screens of your life”.
The companies note that consumers are demanding a rich video experience across multiple screens, and say that this deal compliments the Java platform for RIAs by adding On2 Technologies TrueMotion codecs to deliver the essential technologies and services that are designed to power compelling video applications. With JavaFX rich client technology, the same high resolution video and media applications can run across the billions of devices that use the Java platform, including browsers, desktops, mobile and embedded devices. The first availability of On2 video codec for JavaFX software products is scheduled for autumn 2008.
“The JavaFX runtime environment is designed from the ground up to support high fidelity media, empowering content authors to deliver media-rich content and applications across multiple screens,” says Rich Green, Executive Vice President, Software at Sun. “On2 shares Sun's vision of driving video convergence across desktops and mobile devices and we look forward to working with On2 to deliver this capability as part of the JavaFX family of products.”
The Java platform powers billions of devices, from desktop browsers and computers (91%) to mobile phones (more than 2 billion), Blu-ray Disc players (13 million), TVs (9 million) and other connected consumer products. On2’s TrueMotion video codecs are deployed on more than 2 billion desktops and 200 million mobile devices worldwide.

Greystripe Signs Up Sega

Ad-supported mobile games and applications distributor Greystripe has signed a deal with Sega to deliver free mobile games.
Three classic game titles from the Sega collection will be delivered across mobile phones worldwide through all 50 of Greystripe's Catalog Platform partners in addition to GameJump.com, the world's largest ad-supported mobile game portal. Additionally, Sega will monetize its mobile game content via Greystripe's AdWRAP advertising network, which includes brands like Diet Coke, Yahoo!, New Line Cinema and eBay. The three games available initially are ‘Sonic Jump’, ‘Afterburner II’, and ‘Golden Axe’.
“Sega has selected to be a part of the Greystripe’s distribution network of sites as it opens up the category to a whole new market of consumers,” says Linda Chaplin, VP of Mobile at Sega. “The ‘free games’ proposition allows consumers to try mobile games without risk, and we’re confident that our brands and commitment to quality will convince consumers to stay and continue gaming on their mobile phones.”
Greystripe CEO Michael Chang adds:
“Besides being the biggest name in gaming, Sega has incredible IP and truly understands the move to mobile with their classic game titles. Our partnership with them is a huge win for our end users and demonstrates that Greystripe is able to bring the biggest brands to the mobile gaming audience.”
Greystripe recently celebrated 50 million game downloads, including titles from Sega, Digital Chocolate, Vivendi Games Mobile and Hands-On Mobile, downloaded from GameJump.com, Greystripe’s proprietary mobile game portal.
Greystripe's patent-pending AdWRAP technology automates the process that enables ads to be wrapped directly with mobile games and applications without any complex coding and development for the content owner.

ROK Buys Jalipo

ROK Entertainment Group has acquired IPTV firm Jalipo for total consideration of 600,000 ordinary shares. Jalipo Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jalipo and the only operating function therein, is a UK-registered IPTV company which offers live streaming of TV content over the Internet. According to ROK, Jalipo is the first online marketplace for TV and video, allowing content owners to use the Internet to offer their channels, video-on-demand and live events direct to viewers around the world.
"This acquisition is of great strategic importance to ROK, as it furthers our presence in the Mobile TV market,” says ROK CEO, Laurence Alexander. "There are significant synergies between Jalipo's product offering and our own, which we look forward to incorporating within and, as a result, enhancing, ROK's delivery portfolio."

Voda Gets the iPhone

Vodafone has signed an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in 10 of its markets around the globe. Vodafone customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey will be able to get their hands on the iPhone “later this year” according tor Vodafone.
We just called Vodafone to get more details. Three questions, three two-word answers, all beginnning with 'N'. Not much more to say then, but rest assured, we'll bring you more news on the deal as and when we have it.

Microsoft Abandons Yahoo! Bid

Microsoft has abandoned its bid to buy Yahoo! after the two companies failed to agree on a sale price. Microsoft had increased its original $44.6 billion (£22.5 billion, $29.4 per share) offer to $47.5 billion ($33 per share), but Yahoo! was holding out for $53 billion ($37 per share), and in any case, had been extremely reluctant to enter into any deal with Microsoft. The news comes just a couple of days after rumours suggested that the two sides were close to agreeing a deal somewhere between these two valuations.
Since it launched its bid on 31 January, however, Microsoft had grow increasingly exasperated by Yahoo’s refusal to play ball. On 5 April, Microsoft threatened Yahoo! with a proxy battle to remove the existing Yahoo! board if it didn't agree to a deal by 26 April, just over a week ago. Microsoft was also unhappy with Yahoo’s plan to respond to what it saw as a hostile bid for the company by seeking to outsource key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! to Google. Such a move, Microsoft believed would “fundamentally undermine Yahoo!’s own strategy and long-term viability by encouraging advertisers to use Google as opposed to your Panama paid search system.” The move would also fragment Yahoo’s search advertising and display advertising strategies and the ecosystem surrounding them, said Microsoft. 
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer formally withdrew the offer in a letter to Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang. In the letter, a clearly disappointed Ballmer says:
“Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal.”
The letter concludes:
“I still believe even today that our offer remains the only alternative put forward that provides your stockholders full and fair value for their shares. By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table. But clearly a deal is not to be.”
The news may not be the end of Microsoft’s interest in Yahoo! however. With Jang already coming in for plenty of criticism on the blogoshpere for rejecting the Microsoft approach, all eyes now will be on the Yahoo! share price, currently $28.67. With many analysts predicting that it could drop in to the mid-teens if Yahoo’s turnaround efforts fail, the company’s days as a takeover target may not be over yet.

Qualcomm and Sky Link in Russian Tie-up

Communications provider Sky Link, the largest CDMA operator in the Russian Federation, and Qualcomm, which develops advanced wireless technologies and data solutions, have signed an agreement to commercially launch BREW wireless data services in 31 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as in countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Europe, including Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Under the terms of the agreement, Sky Link will deliver BREW services to subscribers within its network of licensed territories, and also host BREW services on behalf of regional operators to deliver advanced mobile content to millions of consumers.
Sky Link launched BREW services on a single device to its subscribers in Moscow and Saint Petersburg in November 2006.  In 2007, Sky Link recognized the growth in popularity of non-voice data services in other regions of Russia and saw profits from all of its high-speed mobile data services grow to 35% of its annual revenue. With this latest agreement, BREW data services will be launched within Sky Link’s network and partner operator networks by Q3 2008 on a number of BREW devices. Leveraging its CDMA450 network and advanced BREW applications and services, Sky Link will provide its subscribers with access to the latest in mobile content, including mobile games, ringtones, media players and mobile business services.
“Since launching BREW in Russia in late 2006, we’ve had very successful results in offering data services to subscribers in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, with the popularity of non-voice data services greatly increasing in other regions of Russia,” says Sky Link CEO, Gulnarah Hasianova. “This new agreement greatly expands BREW data services, enabling us to provide content to our subscribers in Russia, as well as to the operators we provide voice and data roaming to in Eastern Europe and other regions of the Russian Federation. In addition, with our planned future launch of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. A technology, we will be able to offer video services to our subscribers.”
Qualcomm Internet Services enables mobile retailing solutions and Internet services that accelerate consumer adoption and usage of mobile data worldwide for its operator, brand & affinity and content provider customers. Its BREW and BrandXtend solutions are aimed at customers seeking to bring high-value wireless services to market and enhance the mobile experience for consumers. Customers also can benefit from a portfolio of adaptable, modular products that can be used to address specific mobile retail needs, from general merchandizing to personalised recommendations.

Sybase 365 Targets Call Centres

Sybase 365, a subsidiary of mobile messaging company Sybase, says it has identified the call centre industry as a key market for the company’s SMS messaging services. As part of its strategic move into the industry, Sybase 365 has formed a partnership with Datasquirt, a New Zealand company specialising in mobile solutions and multi-channel contact management, with offices in Australia, North America, the UK and Germany.
Targeting contact centres worldwide, the partnership will bring together Sybase 365’s expertise in mobile messaging delivery and Datasquirt’s hosted software solution for contact management, ‘CONTACT’.
“Text messaging has become the preferred form of communication for many consumers, and more and more enterprises are beginning to embrace mobile services as an effective tool to improve customer satisfaction in the face of changing consumer attitudes,” says Howard Stevens, Senior Vice President, International Operations at Sybase 365. “Our partnership with Datasquirt is a milestone in our strategy to offer messaging solutions to the global call centre industry. It is a testament to Sybase 365’s commitment to strengthen its foothold in this industry and is the first of other application partnerships to come.”
The bundled solution will enable call centres to utilise SMS as a two-way real-time communications channel, to improve both inbound and outbound customer interactions. Datasquirt’s platform complements existing ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) systems with the distribution of text messages to pre-defined segments of a corporate customer base, and management of customer enquiries and feedback through the SMS channel.
“Text messaging has become a central part of people’s lifestyles, and contact centres can’t afford to be left behind and ignore changes in consumer behaviour when executing their customer service and marketing campaigns,” says Datasquirt CEO, Aaron Ridgway. “We see great potential for our solution, and are excited to partner with Sybase 365 to deliver reliable SMS functionality to call centres worldwide."

Sony Ericsson and Def Jam in Walkman Tie-up

Sony Ericsson and The Carphone Warehouse have teamed up with record company Def Jam Records to offer customers a limited edition white and gold W910i Walkman handset and matching MPS 75 speakers in black and gold.
The “hip-hop heavy” handsets containing exclusive Def Jam label content will be on sale exclusively at The Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK from today. The partnership represents the first time a major record label has teamed up with a mobile phone manufacturer to offer customers a collection of exclusive content from a number of artists on one label in the UK.
The special edition handset will come preloaded with seven music tracks and six music videos, featuring an assortment of chart-topping Def Jam artists, including Kanye West, Rihanna and Mariah Carey. Consumers will also be also able to enter a competition to win “one-off” customized W910i white and gold Walkman handsets (plural? Ed), designed in collaboration with Def Jam.
“As a powerful portable music device, the W910i is the perfect suitor for a Def Jam makeover,” says Sony Ericsson, UK & Ireland Head of Marketing, Dave Hilton. “The content Def Jam has supplied looks and sounds fantastic and somehow just fits perfectly with the white and gold exterior. We're hoping it will help make the W910i a Carphone Warehouse chart-topper."
George Dymond, UK Trading Director at The Carphone Warehouse adds:
“Our customers regularly tell us just how much they love music. Mobile Life research reveals that nearly 40% of people download and listen to music on their mobiles, rising to well over half of young people. We are excited to bring them such a great range of Def Jam content on the W910i.”
The first Walkman phone was launched in August 2005. By the end of Q4, 2007, 57 million Walkman handsets had been sold worldwide.

PwC Offers M&A Insights

Africa and the Middle East are poised for increased M&A activity and consolidation in the telecoms industry following a global decline in deal value and volumes in 2007. That’s the conclusion of a study, ‘Telecoms M&A Insights’ from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which reveals that the total global disclosed deal value fell from €332 billion (£262 billion) in 2006, to €185 billion in 2007, while deal volumes declined from 1,260 in 2006 to 1,190 in 2007.
One of the principal reasons for the decline in deal value in 2007 was the lack of mega-deals compared with 2006. The only deal in 2007 that exceeded €20 billion was the €23 billion merger of America Telecom with America Movil in Latin America, whereas in 2006, there was the Bell South acquisition by AT&T for €58 billion plus a number deals greater than €10 billion. The much-discussed €25 billion acquisition of Bell Canada has yet to complete, though recent regulatory approvals are encouraging.
“Last year was a curate’s egg in the telecoms deal market, with funding conditions in the first three quarters promoting a high level of activity, particularly by private equity, followed by the black cloud of the credit crunch in the fourth quarter,” says Philip Shepherd, Partner and TMT Strategy Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “Private equity transactions led the way, reaching a high of nearly 30% of the total value, but this activity has all but ceased now.”
There was surprisingly limited activity from the major operators other than Vodafone, though interestingly, the proportion of deals transacted in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Middle East and Africa regions actually grew as a proportion of global deal activity since 2005, accounting for 22% of all deals in 2007, compared with 11% in 2004.
“As consolidation in the developed markets of the US and Western Europe appears to have largely played out for now, it will be Africa and the Middle East that will see the greatest growth and potential for acquisition and consolidation, with interest in wireless being the principal driver,” says Shepherd.
PwC notes that some of the largest operators in the Middle East have been rapidly consolidating their presence across the region. Kuwait’s Zain (formerly MTC Group) has expanded its operations in the region, securing the licence to launch a third wireless operator in Saudi Arabia for €4 billion. It has operations in six countries in the Middle East and 14 in Africa, joining Etisilat and the South African companies of Vodacom, MTN and France Telecom as the key players in Africa. Qtel and Saudi Telecom have joined the fray with Qtel’s acquisition of Watanyia, which, at €2.8 billion, was the largest in the region, and Saudi Telecom’s acquisition of a 35% stake in Oger Telecom.
Elsewhere in developing markets, India has finally been cracked by a western operator, with Vodafone’s acquisition of Hutchison Essar. It is the potential of the enormous Indian and Chinese operators to make moves outside the region, however, which is most intriguing. While there has been nothing of note yet, says PwC, there is a changing sentiment amongst businesses in both countries encouraging overseas acquisitions. The firms adds that the credit crunch will have a significant impact on the market in the future, with private equity the hardest hit, as its ability to leverage large deals will be severely constrained.

V-ENABLE Gets the buzzd

V-ENABLE, which offers local mobile search and directory assistance services, has announced a strategic partnership with buzzd, an emerging location-based mobile entertainment service that provides real-time information for bars, clubs events and restaurants.
The partnership will combine V-ENABLE's popular mobile local search services with content from buzzd's unique mix of user generated content (UGC), and all the best listings from CitySearch, Flavorpill and Time Out Magazine, among others.
Currently, V-ENABLE's popular Mobile411 search application is available on carriers such as MetroPCS, and Alltel. The Mobile411 app gives mobile searchers all the best in local listings, whether it's residential, category or location-based directions/map searches.
“What's so natural about this partnership is that both V-ENABLE and buzzd serve consumers on the go who are looking for something local,” says V-ENABLE Executive VP and CMO, Craig Hagopian.
Earlier this week, V-ENABLE announced the launch of its Web Services API, which the company says is the first stage of an expansion into new off-deck local search services. buzzd will be using the Web Services API in addition to specific and strategic content arrangements with V-ENABLE to allow users to benefit from the best of both services.

Advantage, Traders

Blue Systems, a London-based provider of global financial information software, and Advantage Cellular Communications, which provides mobile telecoms solutions, have entered into a partnership to bundle a complete package combining Blue Systems’ blue mobile application, a Smartphone and mobile data, plus voice and text options if required.
blue mobile provides professional and retail investors with access to global stock market information in their offices, at home, or on the move, 24/7. The application is data hungry and, says Blue Systems, runs only on “the latest phones”. Network operators are able to increase revenue from the adoption and upgrade of data tariffs and device manufacturers have a compelling and sticky application with which to generate Smartphone sales and upgrades.
Advantage supplies devices from Smartphone manufacturers, including RIM (BlackBerry), Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and HTC, as well as data, voice and text packages from all the major network operators to corporate customers and individuals. The partnership means that customers of both companies will be offered a choice of devices pre-loaded with blue mobile, along with the data, voice and text packages.
“Typically those who trade spend more than 95% of their day analysing their positions and less than 5% actually trading,” says Blue Systems CEO, Sulim Malook. “Mobile data can be very confusing to these heavy data users, especially with continuously changing tariffs. Our partnership with Advantage will ensure that our customers get the best deals available at any time, and also keep abreast of the ever-changing marketplace. They are an important part of our growth strategy, and their expansion plans complement our own ambitions perfectly.”

Local News

Local Matters, a US-based media technology solutions provider, and local mobile search and advertising company mobilePeople, have entered into a Share Purchase Agreement, under the terms of which Local Matters will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of mobilePeople in exchange for a combination of cash and Local Matters stock. The combined company will provide directory publishers, media publishers and directory assistance providers with media technology solutions that connect consumers and advertisers across digital channels including the Internet, wireless and voice.
There are now more than 3 billion mobile users globally, and local search ranks among the top content categories that consumers use on their mobiles. Publishers are increasingly extending into Internet and mobile to capture users and local advertisers.
“We chose mobilePeople because we believe they have the best technology to create a mobile distribution presence for publishers,” says Local Matters CEO Perry Evans. “Its expertise, its track record and its innovation cycles set them apart from the many other companies in this space. Our aim now is to be the preferred one-stop shop for directory publishers and directory assistance providers for outsourced media technology solutions online, on wireless and on voice.”
The two companies formed a business partnership in 2006 and have several joint initiatives in progress. The closing of the transaction is subject to additional closing conditions and is currently expected to close in the second quarter of 2008.

KPN Ties Up with Artilium for User-generated Apps

KPN Mobile International, which provides next-generation telecommunications services, has announced a partnership with Artilium, which develops software for mobile network operators, to create new opportunities for user-generated applications on KPN’s mobile networks.
At the heart of the partnership is Artilium’s ‘Real-Time Architecture (ARTA) for Connected Mobile Services’ software, which is designed to facilitate rapid creation of new mobile applications, packaged as services. ARTA is designed and developed by Artilium on the Microsoft Platform.
The partnership includes a licensing agreement, allowing KPN deployment of ARTA as a platform for next-generation converged services across its growing base of over 27 million mobile subscribers in the Benelux, Germany and Spain.
“This agreement is a major boost for KPN’s strategy on MVNO’s (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) in Europe,” says KPN Mobile International CEO, Stan Miller. “Artilium software allows KPN to surge to the forefront of mobile/web innovation. We are able to open our network to developer communities worldwide to deliver an infinite range of differentiated services and an exciting new level of personalisation and interactivity for subscribers. In doing so, we begin to transform the very essence of our business, creating new service-centric business models across a broad value-chain that includes developers, advertisers and our commercial partners.”   

Free Games for Me and You

Mobile entertainment company MoConDi has announced a partnership with Greystripe to make over 800 free mobile games available to members of the MoConDi-run ‘MeYou’ Community.
The deal means that MeYou users can browse through the Greystripe catalogue and download desired games, recommend them to other users, or share them web-to-mobile or mobile-to-mobile with one click for free. Friends receive mobile message recommendations that contain a message from users, a download link for the content and a link to install the MeYou application.
“Mobile social networks are an ideal place for users to discover and share ad-supported mobile games and we are thrilled to provide MoConDi’s users with our catalogue.” Says Alvaro Bravo, VP of Business Development at Greystripe. “By implementing our AdWRAP Catalog Platform, they are joining a worldwide movement of shifting from for-pay mobile content to one that is entirely ad-supported.”
Greystripe notes that ad-supported content has been shown to increase user stickiness, while providing a new, scalable revenue source. MoConDi will now be able to offer its MeYou users the largest collection of mobile games from top tier publishers such as Vivendi Games Mobile, Hands-On Mobile, Skyzone, Punch Entertainment, and Digital Chocolate. Greystripe’s games, in turn, will benefit from the viral distribution of mobile content through the users of the MeYou social network. The partnership allows Greystripe to extend its products and services into an on-device portal, exposing free games to more consumers than traditional off-deck markets.
“We are thrilled to enter into a partnership with Greystripe,” says MoConDi CEO, JT Klepp. “They are pioneering ad-supported mobile games and provide the best quality and quantity of entertainment for our audience. The initial response from our community is overwhelmingly positive.”

LiveWire Completes Groove Acquisition

LiveWire Mobile, a subsidiary of NMS Communications Corporation, has acquired privately-owned Groove Mobile, the mobile music solutions provider based in Bedford, Massachusetts. LiveWire says the acquisition will enable it to meet operators’ growing demand for a portfolio of managed services, including ringback tones, ringtones, and full track music and video downloads, delivered through an integrated storefront.
LiveWire notes that its acquisition of Groove Mobile triples its addressable market, and gives it the ability to deliver an integrated music and video solution. It also enables the company to tap into Groove Mobile’s significant customers and strategic relationships, and gives it increased scale and an accelerated path to profitability
NMS announced the creation of LiveWire Mobile as a separate division delivering mobile personalisation services to operators in December 2007. NMS has now created a new subsidiary, LiveWire Mobile, Inc., to which it will transfer all the people and contribute all the business assets, including the cash required to fund theacquisition, related liabilities and intellectual property rights associated with the LiveWire Mobile business.
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, LiveWire Mobile acquired all the outstanding shares of Groove Mobile for the purchase price of $14.5 million, and Groove Mobile shareholders were required to retire all previously outstanding non-trade indebtedness. LiveWire Mobile will hire most of the Groove Mobile employees and the two companies will consolidate office locations.
“With the acquisition of Groove Mobile, LiveWire Mobile gains significant new customers, enhances its value proposition to operators and improves its financial profile by adding a rapidly growing base of managed services revenue and accelerating its expected time to non-GAAP profitability into the fourth quarter of this year,” says NMA CXChairman and CEO, Bob Schechter. “Over the past year, we have taken a series of steps to more clearly delineate and enhance the value of each of our LiveWire Mobile and NMS Communications businesses. Ultimately, we believe the best way to realize value is to separate the two businesses and we are exploring options to do so in the most effective way for our shareholders.”
Groove Mobile provides fully-managed, turnkey mobile music solutions for operators and record labels. It has 12 global mobile operator customers, including Sprint, 3 UK and Bell Mobility, as well as relationships with the major music labels, including EMI, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.
“This acquisition represents a major milestone in solidifying LiveWire Mobile’s early leadership position in the large and rapidly growing market for mobile personalization services,” says  LiveWire Mobile President, Joel Hughes. “LiveWire Mobile now delivers the industry's most complete suite of personalization services, spanning the traditional service silos that exist today.”
With the addition of Groove Mobile, LiveWire Mobile’s personalization products and services are now deployed in 42 operators around the world reaching more than 260 million subscribers, including 15 million active subscribers.   

Jinny Makes Middle East Move

Jinny Software, which provides personalised messaging and media solutions to the mobile industry, has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Dubai-based communications company, MCN Holding,  one of the Middle East’s best-known full-service advertising, marketing and media groups, which has numerous affiliates and subsidiaries throughout the Middle East and Africa.
Under the terms of the deal, MCN will work exclusively with Jinny and its Advertising Engine when it seeks to buy mobile network advertising space on behalf of its clients. This will apply to SMS, MMS or other emerging, messaging-based advertising methods. Jinny Software will, in turn, utilise the expertise of MCN as it seeks to deliver guidance and overall direction on mobile advertising to its existing customer base, as well as new clients throughout the region.
“The use of mobile communications for the delivery of targeted and effective advertising campaigns will grow rapidly, and is likely to become one of the most important media of the 21st Century,” says MCN Media Vice President, Oussama Jamal. “Our agreement with Jinny Software will make mobile advertising easier for operators and advertisers. Jinny’s technology allows us to go directly to our target audience, but, more importantly, allows us to show our clients exactly who has responded to a campaign, in real-time, something which has not existed in the industry before now.”
Built on Jinny’s messaging and filtering technologies, the Jinny Advertising Engine has the power to deliver tailored advertising in a variety of ways. Ads can be inserted into any type of peer-to-peer messaging traffic, in real-time, and with sophisticated internal algorithms, the solution ensures that the ad is relevant and useful to its audience. Employing easy-to-use tools to allow advertisers to deliver tailored advertising, Jinmny says the Advertising Engine makes it easy for advertisers to send their messages to a large number of targeted consumers via mobile networks.
“It is clear that in the early stages of this new business model for advertisement delivery, strategic partnerships are going to be crucial,” says Declan O’Mahony, Jinny Software Chief Commercial Officer. “Mobile operators have not had a lot of experience selling their multiple media channels to advertisers. With this agreement, MCN and Jinny can assist in bridging the gap between the advertisers and mobile operators.”

Ozura in Vinamob Tie-up

Mobile entertainment publisher Ozura Mobile has announced a strategic partnership for the distribution of mobile games with Vinamob Venture Company, a leading Vietnamese mobile content publisher. Vinamob has been officially assigned as Master Content Provider (MCP) of Ozura to publish and distribute Ozura’s mobile games to all mobile subscribers in the Vietnam market.
As part of the agreement, Vinamob will market and distribute all Ozura's new games, including ‘Beijing 2008’, ‘Music Revolution’ and ‘Cubix’ to mobile subscribers, through its distribution network, including Vietnam’s three main mobile operators, Viettel Mobile, Mobifone & Vinaphone, which together serve more than 35 million mobile subscribers. Vinamob will also sell Ozura’s mobile games directly to consumers through the Piggymob brand.
“The last three years have seen Vietnam's mobile phone market grow beyond the 8% average growth rate of the economy and registering the highest growth rates of mobile users globally,” says H.E.Mah, Chief Marketing Officer at Ozura. “We are excited about the collaboration with Vinamob to launch our new games to the market.”

3BILL Snaps Up Faces.com

Hot on the heels of its acquisition of social networking platform Profile heaven, 3BILL, the mobile division of Symbios Group, has acquired another social network platform, Faces.com.
The acquisition includes all the assets owned by the company, including the transfer of the domain www.faces.com, the site’s user base and the intellectual property operating the platform. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Faces.com offers social networking with a focus on music, blogging and photos. The site is designed to allow members to view each others profiles, communicate with old friends and meet new ones. Users can share photos, blog, display classified ads and express their interests via their own bespoke faces.com page.Customisable themes and profile pages are also available on the site, via open features, allowing users to explore each others media, based on tags, ratings and searchable content.
Originally launched in 2004, Faces.com has raised millions of dollars in funding to develop the its platform, which comes packed with widgets such as TuneFeed, a Flash-based player which can be used on external sites such as MySpace.
“Social networking has really taken off globally,” says 3BILL CEO, Martin Montague. “Literally hundreds of millions of people around the world are visiting social network sites each month, many on a daily basis. With such a great brand and domain name such as www.faces.com this targeted acquisition will help us reach critical mass quickly, and give us a great rolling start to centralise our assets into one new dynamic social network platform rich in web, mobile and music content – all to the delight of our users.”
3BILL’s plans for the site include the amalgamation of the recent acquisitions into a ‘super community’ with a wide range of previously- unseen features that will coincide with a re-launch mid 2008. The company will not include TuneFeed in the platform initially due to license constraints, but will make use of its proprietary mobile software and expertise online.

Qualcomm Bags Xiam

Qualcomm, the developer and innovator of advanced wireless technologies and data solutions, has acquired Xiam Technologies, an Ireland-based pioneer of wireless content targeting solutions, for around $32 million (£16 million). Xiam’s My Personal Offers System (MPOS) provides targeting and personalisation technology that accelerates discovery and individualises the user experience by presenting relevant content offers and advertisements to consumers. 
Xiam’s MPOS technology enables mobile operators and brands to make personalised recommendations to individual consumers that are tailored to their unique tastes and preferences, using advanced profiling techniques. Consumers can receive personalised offers of new and relevant content over wireless and web channels, both before and after purchase. MPOS also leverages demographic, contextual and behavioural profiling to enable true one-to-one mobile advertising. Coupled with the global reach of Qualcomm’s ecosystem, MPOS will provide a powerful way for operators and brands to quickly and easily target their customers with relevant content offers and advertisements, Qualcomm says.
Qualcomm plans to continue to offer MPOS as a standalone product through Xiam as a wholly-owned subsidiary, as well as offering the targeting technology as part of its core solutions and products to present operators and brands with powerful subscriber intelligence and personalization tools that help spur wireless data growth. 
“Qualcomm’s acquisition of Xiam provides us with advanced content discovery and recommendation technology that strengthens Qualcomm’s services portfolio,” says Andrew Gilbert, Executive Vice President of Qualcomm and President of Qualcomm Internet Services, MediaFLO Technologies and Qualcomm Europe. “With this acquisition, we are excited to further demonstrate our ongoing commitment to operators, brands and consumers worldwide.”
Xiam CEO Colm Healy adds:
“Qualcomm and Xiam are both committed to helping operators and brands reach their customers more effectively by providing them with the technology to make informed and relevant content recommendations. Qualcomm’s suite of solutions and products are designed to help operators and brands deliver a wide range of content quickly and efficiently, and the addition of MPOS will only make that process more intuitive as consumers receive highly personalized offers attuned to their unique interests.”

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.”