Meffies Winners Revealed

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) last night unveiled the winners of this year’s Meffys awards at a gala dinner in Cannes. The Meffys, sponsored by Nokia for the second year running, were hosted by TV presenter and Gadget Show guru Suzi Perry.
The winning entries of the fifth annual awards once again provide a snapshot of the range of products and services, from the mainstream to the advanced, that are entertaining consumers on the go. In recognition of the industry’s efforts to offer consumers value for money and easy access to a wide choice of mobile entertainment, two new categories, Quality of Experience and Off-Deck Service, were introduced this year. A further new award, Emerging Markets, highlights the exciting new possibilities for engaging content creators and consumers alike in developing regions.
This year’s winners were selected from more than 200 submissions from 21 countries covering four continents, underlining the universal appeal of mobile entertainment. 
“A focus on discoverability, interactivity, usability and affordability were the common strands shared by this year’s winners,” says MEF Executive Director, Rimma Perelmuter. “Above all, the companies selected by the Meffys judges clearly focused on putting the consumer first; attracting and entertaining subscribers though a variety of appealing offerings, including innovative new ad-supported, communities and subscription-based models.”
Here’s the full list of all the winners:

The Games Award: Nokia – Hooked on: Creatures of the Deep 
Shortlisted:
Hands-On Mobile – World Poker Tour: Texas Hold ‘Em 2
Konami Digital Entertainment – Metal Gear Solid Mobile
Konami Digital Entertainment – Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Player X – Hollywood Hospital

The Music Service Award: mBlox & Myxer – Myxer Mobile Music
Shortlisted:
Gracenote – Gracenote Mobile Music Platform
Omnifone – Vodafone MusicStation
Shazam – Shazam iD
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications – TrackID

The Artist Campaign Award: Absolute Marketing & Distribution – Wet Wet Wet SMS Pre-order Campaign
Shortlisted:
Mozes – Rascal Flatts Mobile Campaign
Parlophone & New Visions – Kylie Konnect
RCA Music Group – Cassidy B.A.R.S. Campaign
Telenor –Bigbang Fan Blog

The TV & Video Service Award: Rhythm NewMedia and 3UK – Free Video on 3UK
Shortlisted:
Clippz – Clippz.com
inLive Interactive – Interactive Mass Participation
Rubberduck Media Lab – Studio 1: Mobile TV Platform
Vantrix – Ad-Supported Video Weather Forecasts

The Technology Innovation Award: Zeemote – Zeemote JS1 Controller
Shortlisted:
Bango – Bango Analytics
Kyte – Kyte
MMCast – MMCast
Qualcomm MEMS Technologies – mirasol displays

The Content Award: Fun Little Movies – Fun Little Movies Channel
Shortlisted:
BBH – Cippi’s Trump Selecta!
MTV Networks International – Digital Originals
Orange Israel and Donna Productions – Undercover
Yam112003 – Quasi TG

The Communities & UGC Award: Flirtomatic – Flirtomatic
Shortlisted:
Dada – Dada.net, Powered by Me
Gofresh – itsmy.com
Juice Wireless – JuiceCaster
UTEL – Fotochat

The Search & Discovery Award: Gracenote – Gracenote Mobile Music Platform
Shortlisted:
AquaMobile – Clic2C
JumpTap – SmartComponents
kannuu – kannuu
MCN – Yahoo! Mobile Japan DigiCon Search

The Marketing Campaign Award: Orange – Frank TV
Shortlisted:
BBH – Cippi’s Trump Selecta!
BBH – Lynx Get In There
Orange – Wannabe Wicked
Que Pasa Communications – V Festival Cross Platform Project

The Handset Application Award: fring – fring
Shortlisted:
Handmark – Pocket Express
Juice Wireless – JuiceCaster
MMCast – MMCast
Picsel Technologies – Picsel CUI Browser

Quality of Experience Award: Zeemote – Zeemote JS1 Controller
Shortlisted:
News International – Times Mobile
NXP Software – SportsDJ
Picsel – ePAGE/File Viewer
Surfkitchen – Cincinnati Bell ‘My Phone’

Off Deck Service Award: Thumbplay – Thumbplay
Shortlisted:
Dada – Dada.net for Web & Mobile
Hungama Mobile – FTV
mywaves – mywaves
Refresh Mobile – Mippin

The Emerging Markets Award: Celtel/Zain & Inmobia Mobile Technology – Rock Your World!
Shortlisted:
Geodesic – Mundu Radio: Comprehensive Internet Radio Solution
IMImobile – IMImobile UnIspace
Tata Indicom & Opera Software – Opera Mini for Low Cost Handsets
Telenor Serbia – Telenor WAP Portal Project

The Innovative Business Model Award: MMCast – MMCast
Shortlisted:
Amobee – Amobee Media Systems
Nokia – N-Gage First Access
Reitek & Comdata – Fiat Multi-channel Customer Caring
Yam112003 – Quasi TG

The Handset Award: Nokia – N95 8GB
Shortlisted:
Motorola – MOTO Z10
Samsung Electronics – Soul SGH-U900
Sony Ericsson Italy – Sony Ericsson W910i

The Operator Award: Orange – Orange
Shortlisted:
3 UK – 3 UK
T-Mobile International – T-Mobile’s web’n’walk 3.0

Meffys Special Recognition award: Greg Clayman, Gordon Gould and Alex LeVine.
The three founders of ‘Upoc’ received the award for the creation of Upoc, the first mobile community, in 1999. 

Is It Zit or Is It Shazam?

Shazam has been in touch to point out that the videogame ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’, released earlier this week by Rockstar Games, features an in-game service called ‘Zit’ which bears an uncanny resemblance to Shazam’s mobile music discovery service.
“This illustrates a key moment in mainstream culture, as mobile music recognition becomes an established way to discover and buy new music, says Will Mills, Head of Music at Shazam. “Following on from Guitar Hero and Rock Band, videogames are now developing into a new channel to discover and purchase music. As one of the most innovative players in the gaming industry, Rockstar has been quick to spot that mobile music discovery is a brilliant path for consumers to buy new music, so it’s very flattering that GTA features a spoof of Shazam with its in-game service.”
Shazam enables consumers to ‘iD’ their favourite tunes with their mobile phone. Just  hold up your mobile and dial 2580 to sample a track for five to 10 seconds. Shazam will identify the track and immediately text back the name of the artist, song title and option to buy the music. 

Madonna on Your Mobile - Live

Vodafone customers in 14 countries will be able to watch a live, one-off show by Madonna on their mobile today, thanks to a tie-up between Vodafone and Warner Music International (WMI). Streamed live from New York's famous Roseland Ballroom exclusively outside the US to Vodafone customers, the performance will celebrate the release of Madonna’s new album, ‘Hard Candy’, which was released on Monday. The concert begins at 7pm local time.
Vodafone customers in the UK, Cyprus, Egypt, France (SFR), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, South Africa (Vodacom) and Spain and will have access to the show via their mobile phones on Vodafone live! There's also a PC stream. For details of how to access this, click here.
Vodafone customers will be able to do more than simply view the performance. They will be able to interact and share their emotions with other online show-goers and select camera angles to move around the stage to get the best view.
“As a leader in the digital music industry, we’re providing our customers closer access to music from  top artists and events, allowing them to enjoy their favourite content both on their PCs and mobile phones,” says Vodafone Group Global Chief Marketing Officer, Frank Rovekamp. “Vodafone’s strategy is to offer different music flavours and innovative formats allowing customers to experience music on their mobile in any way they wish.”
John Reid, Vice Chairman, WMI, and President, Warner Music Europe, says the company continues to explore innovative ways of deepening the connection between artist and audience. 
“Offering millions of fans around the world live, interactive access to a unique, intimate Madonna show is a powerful way to showcase a new album,” says Reid. “Building on the mobile première, this special broadcast will further heighten the sense of event and excitement during Hard Candy’s much-anticipated launch week.”
The performance will be the first time Madonna plays live songs from the album. Last week,  Vodafone customers in Spain, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Romania, Hungary, Netherlands, Belgium (Proximus), UK, New Zealand, South Africa (Vodacom), Iceland and India were given access to seven tracks from the album prior to its launch. Each track remained live for 24 hours for download before being replaced by the next one.
The first single from the album, '4 Minutes' has already jumped to the number one spot in many countries and has broken Vodafone UK’s previous full track sales record by a wide margin, becoming the biggest ever single downloaded track on Vodafone live!

phling! Achieves Java Verified Status

Oxy Systems, which develops advanced platforms for mobile applications and services, has revealed that its award-winning phling! MusicLounge solution has been ratified by the Java Verified Program.
Being Java Verified ensures that phling! has met stringent quality standards following industry- recognized test criteria. For consumers, this accreditation is assurance that phling! is an application of the highest standard and will work across numerous devices.
“We are delighted to have met the strict testing process to achieve accreditation from the Java Verified Program,” says Oxy Systems VP of Marketing, Graeme Smith. “2008 will be a defining year for the mobile music industry and we intend to continue our expansion both domestically in the US and Internationally across Europe.”
Oxy Systems’ phling! MusicLounge transforms mobile music from the traditional solo listening experience into a music-based social experience. Providing real-time mobile access to a subscriber's own PC-based music and media collections, it also offers access to new music and the opportunity to share and discover, all in a social networking environment and all from the mobile phone.   
While listening to music, phling! users can browse other users’ profiles, their music libraries, and what they are currently listening to and exchange messages via personal bulletin boards. Users can also view song ratings, submit song ratings, find the most popular songs, what’s been most recently played and find out who has recently joined the global, cross carrier, international phling! community.

phling! Interview.  Read. 

Hard Candy Made Easy

Vodafone UK is making exclusive tracks from Madonna’s ‘Hard Candy’ album available to its customers this week. The promotion, which began on Monday, offers Vodafone customers the opportunity to download one track each day. Today’s track is ‘Give It 2 Me’ tomorrow’s is ‘Heartbeat’ and Friday’s is ‘Beat Goes On’. On Saturday it’s ‘Devil Wouldn't Recognize You’ and on Sunday, ‘She's Not Me’.
The first single from the album, '4 Minutes' has already jumped to the number one spot in many countries. Vodafone customers can also enjoy the exclusive underground remix by Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, which is available now on Vodafone live!

Meffys Shortlist Revealed

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) has announced the shortlist for the 2008 Meffys, with this year’s entries revealing a true global diversity. Submissions have poured in from more than 20 countries spanning four continents, with Technology Innovation category attracting the most entries, closely followed by the Marketing Campaign and Content categories.
Now in their fifth year, the Meffies are independently judged by national media and leading trade journalists and analysts (including Mobile Marketing Magazine). The entries for the newly-introduced Meffys Quality of Experience Award faced an even sterner test and were put through their paces by consumer focus groups, carefully selected by CADinteractive, an agency specialising in usability testing.
“This year's shortlist provides an excellent snapshot of this cutting-edge industry and an insight into what we can expect in the near future,” says MEF Executive Director, Rimma Perelmuter. “The 2008 Meffys nominees focused on providing analytics, addressing usability concerns and tackling merchandising and pricing issues, which all goes to prove that the mobile entertainment industry is maturing. The stage is now set for an exciting awards show in Cannes, appropriately timed to precede the world-famous Cannes Film Festival.”

MeM08 Set for Cannes

The Mobile Entertainment Forum’s (MEF) eighth annual MeM conference takes place on 8 and 9 May at Hotel Palais Stephanie in Cannes, France. Produced in partnership with Informa, MeM is MEF’s official annual event, and, the MEF says, the only conference dedicated to mobile entertainment, developed by the industry for the industry. 
With mobile entertainment revenue predicted to exceed $38 billion (£19 billion) by 2011, according to Informa Telecoms & Media, and building upon the MEF’s initiatives for accelerating the industry’s growth, the MeM agenda will cover all the critical issues and developments affecting the mobile entertainment market. Topics include communities and social networking; regional trends in emerging markets; improving the user experience; search & discovery; personalization; and off-portal versus on-portal. The 2008 format brings the essential value-chain players together in panels to create the optimal debate format for helping the industry to meet its revenue goals.
Keynote speakers include Rick Costanzo, VP, Commercial Operations Europe, Research in Motion (RIM); Javier Foncillas, Consumer Product Marketing Director, Vodafone Group; Tom Eslinger, Worldwide Creative Director, Interactive, Saatchi & Saatchi; Lee Fenton, COO, Jamba; Mark Selby, Vice President, Industry Liason & Collaboration, Nokia; and Matthew Postgate, Controller of Mobile at the BBC.
MeM08 will also provide the backdrop to the fifth annual Meffys awards ceremony, being staged in association with Nokia for the second year running. This will take place on 8 May at the  InterContinental Carlton in Cannes, celebrating the outstanding achievements of companies and individuals who are helping to grow the industry.
For more information on the Meffys Awards Gala Dinner please email: telebookings@informa.com   

Mobile Entertainment Under the Spotlight

Juniper Research  has released its report, ‘Mobile Entertainment Markets, Opportunities & Forecasts 2007-2012’, which looks at the current and future potential of technologies and services within the mobile entertainment marketplace, forecasting subscriber, product sector and regional revenues across eight key geographical areas over the next four years.
This second edition of the report covers mobile music, games, User-generated Content, gambling, infotainment and Mobile TV. Forecasts for each market sector include mobile market growth, and consolidated market projections for total end user generated revenues, as well as more in-depth product sector forecasts, such as total wager and gross win from mobile gambling.
The report looks at the current and future size of the mobile entertainment market; what strategies operators, vendors and publishers should employ to maximise their respective returns in the mobile entertainment market; what are the major hurdles to greater adoption, and usage, of mobile entertainment services; and at how the mobile entertainment value chain is developing.
The report costs £1,490 for a hardback copy; £1,990 for a multi-user licence; or £2,990 for an enterprise-wide licence.
You can get more details here. A brochure here.  And a free Whitepaper here.

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.

3 Customers Get Rhythm - for Free

Mobile operator 3 UK  has launched what it says is the first ad-supported, commercial mobile music video service, in conjunction with Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK). The service, powered by Rhythm NewMedia, is available to all 3 UK customers and is accessed through 3’s music homepage. Customers can now watch their favourite music videos from artists on their mobile phones anywhere and at any time.
The new Sony BMG video collection is the latest addition to 3’s existing free mobile video service. The service is offered to customers with no data charges and is supported by short, targeted video ads. Rhythm NewMedia both sells and delivers a targeted and personalised video ad before the music video based on demographic data collected. This new service complements the existing 3MusicStore, and will also offer links to purchase products.
“We are excited to be offering this first-of-a-kind service to all 3 UK customers. Rhythm NewMedia is a leading force in ad-funded mobile video entertainment, and it is a key part of our mobile strategy to make our artists’ music videos more widely available on the mobile platform,” says Alex Vlassopulos, Head of Business Development, Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK).
3 UK Head of on Portal Advertising, Neil Andrews, adds:
“We know that our customers want to receive high-quality content on their mobiles and that they’re happy to view ads in order to receive it. This agreement with Sony BMG and Rhythm NewMedia enables us to meet that demand with some of the best music content around.  We were the first to market with an ad-supported mobile video service and now we’re building on that with the industry’s first mobile music service.”

MSN Mobile Looks to the Stars

MSN Mobile has announced the launch of a Horoscope channel. Created in partnership with Astro Interactive, the channel will feature daily, weekly and monthly horoscopes as well as interactive Tarot Reading, I-Ching and Angel Cards. A special love section incorporating Love and Romance horoscopes has also been included.
Astro Interactive has been providing Horoscope web content to MSN for the last 18 years.  The content is presented by the astrologer, Russell Grant.
“With our existing relationship with MSN, it was a natural progression for us to work with the team to develop a new, unique and mobile Horoscope offer as both companies seek to push the boundaries of innovation in both PC and mobile Internet,” says  Kevin Parker, International Sales Director at Astro Interactive.
Hugh Griffiths, from Director of Mobile, Microsoft Online Services Group adds:
“Just as we seek to bring our web viewers the most entertaining and informative content online, so we plan to become a leader in mobile content. We will evolve the most popular features of our core site - such as Russell Grant's Horoscopes - and expand these into MSN Mobile with new, interactive and engaging features like the Tarot Reading."
You can find MSN on your mobile at: msn.co.uk

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.   

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.”

Bango Gets Animated About Footie Content

Mobile sports content company AnimationFC  has been working with mobile payment company Bango to give the UK’s top football clubs a winning appearance on the mobile web. Currently helping to develop mobile web sites and deliver content for over 90 Premiership, Championship and League clubs, AnimationFC has revealed the top five best performing sites: Aston Villa, Glasgow Rangers, Leeds, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
“Data collected from all of the football sites with the help of Bango Analytics show that the clubs who use instantly-visible animated promotions on their club’s PC web homepage generate the most sales,” says AnimationFC Director, Gavin Skelhorn. “Teams like Tottenham Hotspur often accompany features on its star players with links to download mobile photographs and cartoon animations. Features about mobile content online or in matchday programmes also have a big impact on visitors and content sales.”
AnimationFC creates and supplies content to UK League football clubs, including its unique brand of player animation images and videos that can be downloaded and paid for by fans anywhere in the world. The mobile club sites are powered by Bango’s global payment system to provide fast, easy access and charging for content using a variety of methods from on-bill payment to PayPal and credit or debit card.
AnimationFC also provides other official mobile content, including screensavers, wallpapers and realtones, tailored for each club.
“Mobile browsing is still a pretty new experience for most football fans so it’s all about getting their attention and showing them what the mobile web offers,” says Skelhorn. “Visitors need to see what they are going to purchase. For example, if the PC internet promotion offers new 3D-mobile content using static images, fans may simply not click through. That’s why the top performing sites are using real animation with easy-to-understand instructions to get people to go mobile. Importantly it shows the product for what it is.”
There’s more information here.   

O2 Ties Up with Napster for Music Download Service

O2 is partnering with Napster to offer the UK’s largest full-track mobile music download service, following a similar deal in Ireland. Available exclusively on mobile through O2 Active, the Napster Mobile service launched over the weekend and provides access to over 5 million songs and dual delivery of tracks to both the customer’s mobile phone and PC.
O2 says it has chosen to partner with one of the biggest brands in digital music, in order to make the best mobile music experience available to its customers. The deal brings together one of the largest digital catalogues in the music industry with the UK’s largest mobile portal.
Single tracks will be priced at 99p for an initial promotional period, with bundles of five tracks going for £4. Once a song is purchased on the mobile phone, a copy will be automatically sent to the email address of the customer’s choosing. The Napster service will be accessible through O2 Active on over 30 different handsets.
“This is another great example of our strategy of creating deep-level partnerships with the best companies in the world to deliver compelling services to our customers,” says O2 UK Marketing Director, Sally Cowdry. “Working with the right partners at O2 UK is crucial to our success, and we have joined forces with a leader in this space to bring our customers a high quality, great value music service with the widest choice of songs available on mobile.”
Napster President Brad Duea says the company is excited to be working with O2. He says:
“We look forward to delivering a superior mobile music experience to O2 UK’s customers, along with the largest mobile music catalogue available. It’s the perfect extension of Napster’s online service in the UK.”

Mobile Entertainment Under the Spotlight

Juniper Research has released its report, ‘Mobile Entertainment Markets, Opportunities & Forecasts 2007-2012’. The report assesses the current and future potential of technologies and services within the mobile entertainment marketplace, forecasting subscriber, product sector and regional revenues across eight key geographical areas over the coming five years.
This second edition of the report includes an in-depth study of major industry players, and an exploration of the key market drivers and hurdles to adoption, with recommendations for maximising revenues within each major mobile entertainment market sector, including music, games, User-generated Content, gambling, TV, adult services and “infotainment”.
Forecasts for each market sector include mobile market growth, and consolidated market projections for total end user generated revenues, as well as more in-depth product sector forecasts, such as total wager and gross win revenues from mobile gambling.
The report considers the current and future size of the mobile entertainment market. It also investigates what are and will be the most lucrative mobile entertainment services, and what are the key drivers in the mobile entertainment market. It looks at the impact of 3G on the mobile entertainment market, and at the major hurdles to greater adoption, and usage, of mobile entertainment services. And it identifies the companies that Juniper believes have done most to benefit the development of the mobile entertainment market during 2007.
The report costs £1,490 for a single-user PDF or hardback copy; £1,990 for a multi-user licence; or £2,990 for an enterprise-wide licence.
You can get more details here. A brochure here. And a free Whitepaper here.

Skins Goes Mobile on WeGlu

Channel 4’s digital youth channel E4 has launched its award-winning youth drama ‘Skins’ into the mobile social network WeGlu. Fans of the show, currently enjoying a second successful series, can receive updates and exclusive content from the show during and between episodes. Viewers can download WeGlu to their mobile and find Skins in their address book alongside all their other friends. E4 can then send content from the series, including unseen footage and preview material, to create anticipation about the next episode.
WeGlu is a social networking service designed for the 50 to 100 million young people worldwide that have modern mobile phones. It also provides any organisation, such as media companies, sporting clubs and music companies, with web 2.0 communication tools that engage this web- and mobile-savvy audience. 
“Being able to have a dialogue with their fans is key for these organisations”, says WeGlu Co-founder, Paul Phillips.  “Getting into fans’ address books is permission-based, so they are telling you: ‘I’ll give you the right to communicate with me as long as your stuff is entertaining or useful.’”
Cameron Saunders, Head of Marketing for Digital Channels at Channel 4, says
“We have been very successful at extending Skins into social networks on the web. WeGlu gives us the ability to have richer conversations with Skins fans and to weave our content into their conversations, wherever they are".

Mobile Music Under the Spotlight

Juniper Research has released its report, ‘Mobile Music, Ringtones, Ringbacks, Full Tracks & Payment Models 2007-2012’. The 175-page report assesses the current and future potential of mobile music technologies and services, forecasting usage, download traffic and revenues across eight key geographical regions over the coming five years.
This is the fourth edition of the mobile music report, and includes one-on-one interviews with leading players in the mobile music market, covering ringtones, ringback tones, OTA (Over the Air) full track downloads, and subscription-based rental services and streamed radio.
Forecasts for each category include the number of mobile users of each service, average revenue per user data, and the percentage of mobile users who use each service, as well as the average price paid per service used.
The report considers key issues, such as what strategies operators, vendors and aggregators should employ to maximise their respective returns in the mobile music sector; what the prospects are for the rental music market; what further opportunities for growth exist in the ringtone market; what impact 3G has had on the mobile music market; and what the major hurdles to greater adoption of mobile music are.
You can get more details here. Download a brochure here. And a free Whitepaper here.

O2 Hits the Right Note with NME Gig Clips

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

Indie Meets Reggae in Mobile Music Deal

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

Survey Casts Doubt on Enthusiasm for Mobile Music

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

Shazam Launches Facebook App

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

Oxy Signs Nokia Deal for phling! MusicLounge

Oxy Systems, which develops advanced platforms for mobile applications and services, has revealed that its  announced that its phling! MusicLounge service is to be made available this year via the Nokia Download! application.
According to Oxy Systems, the phling! MusicLounge transforms mobile music from the traditional solo listening experience into a music-based social experience. Providing real-time wireless access to a subscriber's own PC-based music and media collections, it also offers access to new music and the opportunity to discover, and share, in a global, cross carrier, social networking environment, and all from the user’s mobile phone.   
The phling! MusicLounge is host to Internet radio, along with international indie bands and labels who showcase their music for free and use phling! as a promotional channel to grow their following in the mobile community.   
“This agreement with Nokia, the world leader in mobility, ensures that our distribution strategy of getting phling! into the hands of mobile consumers world-wide is gathering momentum,” says Oxy Systems President and CEO, Mike Krasner. “Consumers are not interested in renting digital music they already own. They simply want to be able to listen to their existing library on their mobile, share with their friends, and discover new music and friends. The phling! MusicLounge does just this, enabling consumers to stream their existing music library to their mobile as well as accessing the libraries of their friends.”

Bango Behind Book Service

Bango has revealed that it is powering a new service that turns the mobile phone into a personal ‘on the go’ library. Bango's billing and digital fingerprint technologies have enabled Macmillan Publishing Solutions (MPS)  to create ‘The Global Reader’, which gives consumers access to books, articles, newspapers and other print content on their mobile phones easily and inexpensively.
Bango says it expects the service to “shift the publishing world”, as it offers a new distribution channel and provides a direct link with consumers, via the mobile web. Bango technology enables consumers on any mobile network, anywhere in the world, to browse content on the Global Reader and make purchases via their phone bill, by credit card, or PayPal.
MPS worked with Bango partner Fli Digital, which developed a custom content management system, mobile specific user-interface intended for WAP, and integrated it all with Bango's identification and payment services specifically for the Global Reader mobile experience. The ability to authenticate users means consumers can assemble a library of free and paid-for books. Additionally, given that some content is lengthy, the mobile site has a bookmark feature, which allows the reader to save their spot online for each of their books.
“We never envisioned people would want to read War and Peace on their phones,” says Bob Kasher, one of the developers and originators of The Global Reader. “What we responded to was the idea that millions of people have mobile phones in their pockets.”
Those people, Kasher says, may want to read a couple of chapters of a book while travelling or commuting, instead of lugging the entire printed copy with them. He adds that Bango's understanding of the world of mobile networks was critical to the development of the service. “Bango helped us make the process of selling and buying books over the mobile web simple and fun,” says Kasher. 

Sony Ericsson Invites Record Labels to Play

Sony Ericsson has unveiled the next stage in the evolution of its 'PlayNow arena' over-the-air (OTA) download service. The company has announced deals with 10 major record labels, adding over 5 million new tracks to its extensive catalogue. The labels involved are Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo, and VidZone. Sony Ericsson says it is currently negotiating further deals with a host of regional labels to further broaden the variety of music available and bring a wealth of localised content direct to the consumer. The majority of the content is DRM-free.
Sony Ericsson introduced PlayNow in February 2004 as an easy way to pre-listen and then buy polyphonic ringtones directly to your phone. The service is now available in 32 countries around the world, with annual free and premium downloads through both PlayNow and Fun & Downloads having reached more than 200 million.
Since launch, the scope of the service has expanded to mirror the functionality of Sony Ericsson’s phones to include mastertones (MP3 ringtones), games, full music tracks, themes and wallpapers. In November 2007, the handset maker announced its intention to further develop its PlayNow service with PlayNow arena, offering access to a greatly expanded range of content and combining the power of the PlayNow catalogue with innovative applications like TrackID, which identifies songs and allows them to be downloaded directly to your phone or PC.
With mobile games remaining a key focus, Sony Ericsson has also added 250 new games through existing deals with leading games manufacturers such as EA Games, Gameloft, THQ, Glu, Digital Chocolate and I-Play. According to statistics from M:metrics, Sony Ericsson users download more games to their phones than users of any other mobile phone brand.
In addition, Sony Ericsson has launched PlayNow Uncut (formerly M-Buzz) a music promotional space for new, unsigned and emerging artists via Sony Ericsson’s product, content and marketing channels. PlayNow  Uncut showcases selected, previously unreleased tracks, videos, artwork, interviews, tour dates and other artist information on Sony Ericsson mobile phones and the web
Sony Ericsson says the rebranding and alignment with PlayNow opens up new channel opportunities for artists and enables the site to target consumers worldwide, including the US, for the first time. With an international reach, the service has always been about presenting the best new talents from around the world, whatever their style or native language. Apart from the current streaming possibilities, the highest rated and most listened to tracks will be made available for sale in the music section of PlayNow arena. For artists, this will add revenue possibilities to the already extensive promotional benefits of appearing there.

Zodiac Launches Mobile Content Search Engine

Zodiac Interactive, an Emmy award-winning developer of software for interactive television, has launched a mobile content search engine called Zodigo, which the company says is similar to a ‘movies-on-demand’ TV service.
Zodigo is navigated either by remote control or by keyboard and mouse and includes “revolutionary” features that make it easy for consumers to discover and download mobile content instantly to their mobile phones.  In addition, says Zodiac, Zodigo is the first and only software platform built for release on digital TV systems, Blu-ray & HD-DVD players, all next-generation gaming consoles (including the Wii, Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3), as well as at Zodigo.com and many other web distribution partners.  Perhaps most importantly, says Zodiac, Zodigo is an intelligent system that quickly and automatically learns about users' preferences, as well as their exact mobile phone type, and recommends only content that works for that phone.
“Consumers are beginning to experience an explosion in the breadth and diversity of content and applications available for the mobile phone, and, until today, have not had an adequate content discovery solution,” says Matt Johnston, Zodiac SVP of Strategy, and CEO of the newly-formed Zodigo operating company. “Part of the problem is that content directories, for the most part, have only been available either on the mobile phone through existing mobile operators, through cluttered teen-targeted websites, or directly from individual, fragmented publishers. Zodigo was developed with a better shopping experience in mind and the result is an easy-to-use search experience that helps create a truly long-tail of mobile content discovery."

Riveraire Take Mobile Content Prize

voeveo, the community website for mobile content, and record label Aardvark Records,  have revealed that London-based act Riveraire has won the grand prize in the audio category of the voeveo Incubator mobile content competition. The competition formed part of the voeveo’s UK launch celebrations in October 07. It aimed to suppor and help creative people learn skills to build their mobile business. Entrants were invited to submit a full-length audio clip as part of the audio incubator competition. voeveo members and sellers then voted on all clips submitted and Riveraire's song came out on top.
The winning mobile fulltrack was ‘Down To The Ground’, a rousing acoustic pop track with a bittersweet lyric. Riveraire wins global digital distribution and promotion with the Cornwall-based independent record label Aardvark Records as part of the audio Grand Prize. Aardvark will license the winning track, which will be distributed globally through Aardvark’s digital distribution network, including iTunes, MSN, Napster, eMusic and numerous other household digital music brand names.
“As far as we’re aware, this is the first deal of its kind in the music industry,” says Aardvark Records Head of Communications, Alex di Savoia. “A label scouting and working with an artist based on the strength of their audio productions for mobile telephones shows just how much the music industry is changing.”
Annabel Youens, Community Director of voeveo adds:
“It's been quite amazing to see the Incubator succeed. It was always our vision to help independent artists form new relationships and build their skills by partnering them with industry mentors. We built voeveo to empower bands, musicians and other creative artists to manage their business how they want and tap into explosive mobile market. It's been a real pleasure to see Riveraire win and connect with Aardvark Records.”
Riveraire is an accomplished acoustic pop songwriting trio, bringing together the talents of London-based Australian writer and performer Caroline Loftus and British songwriters Paul Carr and Paul Nolan. Their name harks back to the two Pauls’ northern roots and the river Aire in Yorkshire. Since meeting in London seven years ago, the team has been carefully crafting a catalogue of songs that combine soaring melodies, heartfelt words and Caroline’s rich and luscious vocals.
“We’re really thrilled and excited about winning the Incubator Competition and for the opportunity to connect with a wider audience with the help of voeveo and Aardvark Records,” says Loftus. “As independent artists, it’s fantastic to receive mentorship and support at a grass roots level. It feels like a real boost for us and fellow independent artists who are striving to make their mark in the mobile and digital arenas."

UK Debut for Myxer

Myxer, which specializes in ad-supported mobile content, has announced the launch of its European operations with the debut of www.myxer.co.uk.  The website is home to a sizeable library of ad-supported digital content for mobile phones, including ringtones, wallpapers, videos and images.
Powered by the company’s technology platform, the Myxer site also enables users to create their own content and move it from the web to their mobile phones, almost instantly. The platform enables any website to deliver existing audio, video or image files to any web-compatible mobile device by converting page content into mobile products, such as ringtones, wallpapers or video clips. The content is then immediately made available from the originating website, a dynamically-generated mobile website, via SMS or the Myxer catalogue.
With over 4.5 million mobile users and 10 million mobile downloads a month, Myxer says it is the largest and fastest growing website for mobile content in the US. The company says it is seeking to bring the same unique blend of freedom, simplicity, ease of use and fun to consumers throughout the United Kingdom with this business expansion. 
The Myxer site features offerings from 13,000 bands - both UK and global - along with a wide variety of comedy, sports and political content. There are no subscription fees or hidden user costs, and all content can be mobilized using Myxer’s platform technology, which the company says is compatible with virtually any handset and network. The site also features premium selections for a nominal fee.   
The Myxer UK team will focus on further expanding the Myxer catalogue to include more UK-based independent bands and labels, as well as working with UK content providers and advertisers, to leverage the Myxer platform as a commercial tool to help promote new artists or consumer brands. With Myxer, everyone has the ability to distribute their own content.
“The demand for free, ad-supported mobile content is growing at an unprecedented rate,” says Myxer UK Managing Director, Ian England. “Ringtones, music, video and photos are part of a continuing trend to personalise mobiles as a form of self-expression. People want to be able to take the things they care about most with them wherever they go and they want it to be easy. At Myxer, we think it should be too, so we created a business that leverages the best of the Internet and mobile to make digital content simple to share and access anywhere you are.”   

QuickPlay Launches Video Streaming for the Blackberry

QuickPlay Media, which specialises in Mobile TV and video solutions, has announced the launch of VideoStreams, which it says is the first free video streaming service for the BlackBerry (though network data charges may apply). The service features a variety of entertainment content, including music videos, comedy, horoscopes and extreme sports, and is available immediately to customers in the US and Canada.
VideoStreams is initially available on the BlackBerry Pearl  8130 Smartphone to subscribers on North American wireless carrier networks that support EVDO, such as Sprint Nextel, Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility and Alltel Wireless.  Eligible customers can visit www.videostreamsmobile.com using the BlackBerry browser to download the VideoStreams application over the air and start using the service right away.  Videos are streamed to the device, so there is no long wait to view the content, and unlike download services, no additional on-device storage is required. The service also includes a ‘Send to a friend’ feature that enables users to share video clips with friends and family. 
QuickPlay currently offers streaming audio services for BlackBerry Smartphones via QuickPlayer Audio, the first audio streaming service introduced for the BlackBerry platform. QuickPlay also offers a white-label video streaming solution for mobile operators that enables them to provide a custom, branded service to their customers with content from their partners, from QuickPlay partners, or from a combination of both. 
“The mobile market is exploding - with new applications, devices, and services introduced to the world each day - and RIM is a company at the forefront of this rapidly changing marketplace," says QuickPlay Media CEO and Co-founder, Wayne Purboo. “We are excited to continue our history of innovation by being the first to offer BlackBerry Smartphone customers free access to our high quality video services."
Jeff McDowell, Vice President, Global Alliances at Blackberry maker, Research In Motion, adds:
“BlackBerry Smartphones are attracting a wider range of mobile customers who want to use more personal applications and entertainment services. In turn, this trend is attracting a new class of developer partners, like QuickPlay, who are creating consumer and lifestyle applications that deliver new experiences for BlackBerry Smartphone users."
QuickPlay says that the VideoStreams service will be made available worldwide to more regions and mobile operators as additional BlackBerry Smartphones that support streaming video are rolled out on various wireless networks.

Report Looks at Mobile Music Prospects

Juniper Research has released its report, ‘Mobile Music, Ringtones, Ringbacks, Full Tracks & Payment Models 2007-2012’.  The 175-page report assesses the current and future potential of mobile music technologies and services, forecasting usage, download traffic and revenues across eight key geographical regions over the coming five years.
This is the fourth edition of the mobile music report. It includes one-on-one interviews with leading players in the mobile music market, and analyses ringtones, ringback tones, OTA (Over The Air) full track downloads, and subscription-based rental services and streamed radio.
Forecasts for each category include the number of mobile users of each service; average revenue per user; and the percentage of mobile users who use each service, as well as the average price paid per service used.
The report details opportunities and strategic recommendations, based on key service drivers and real-world deployments. It considers the strategies that operators, vendors and aggregators should employ to maximise their respective returns in the mobile music sector. It also looks as the prospects for the rental music market; the impact of 3G on the mobile music market; the major hurdles to greater adoption of mobile music; and at whether advertising will provide a viable primary revenue stream for content providers.
The report costs £1,490 for a single-user PDF or hardback copy; £1,990 for a multi-user licence; or £2,990 for an enterprise-wide licence. You can get a free Whitepaper here. Download a brochure here. Or order the report here.

i-Free Secures Sony BMG Deal

i-Free, the Russian provider of mobile value-added services, has been chosen by Sony BMG to be its exclusive partner in Ukraine. The deal gives i-Free-Ukraine access to music from the Sony BMG catalogue to be used in mobile content.
“We've known i-Free for years, and have worked successfully with that company in Russia, so we have decided to let i-Free promote our music catalogue in Ukraine," says Leonid Agronov, Director of Digital Sales at Sony BMG.
Meanwhile, in Russia, i-Free has launched exclusive mobile content from top Russian pop-singer, Dima Bilan.

Sony Ericsson Reveals Content Award Winners

Sony Ericsson has revealed the winners of its first-ever Content Awards in a virtual ceremony hosted on the company's website. Nominated in the categories of Gaming, Imaging, Productive Mobility, Music & Audio and Themes & Graphics, the winners of the 2007 Sony Ericsson Content Awards were chosen by a jury of content industry professionals and judged on ease-of-use, entertainment factor, mobile innovation, functionality and audio performance. Sony Ericsson also announced the winner of a ‘Special Recognition Award’, honouring a content creator who made the best use of the functionality within the company's mobile phones.
The winners of the 2007 Sony Ericsson Content Awards are:

Gaming: RealNetworks' Mobile Games Studio: ‘Mr.Goodliving - Playman Extreme Running’

Imaging: BitCycle – ‘Pull Face Image Manipulator’

Productive Mobility: Opera – ‘Opera Mini 4.0’

Music& Audio: Gracenote – ‘Track ID’

Themes & Graphics: Metronize/Clavitones – ‘The Geeks themes and graphics’

The ‘Sony Ericsson Special Recognition Award’, honouring the best use of the functionality available in Sony Ericsson's phones, was given to Vringo for its "Video ring signals’ application within the Imaging category.
“Looking at all the award nominees has been extremely interesting and the excellent work that we have seen proves that the third-party content industry is thriving and full of innovation and drive,” says Ulf Wretling, Head of Sony Ericsson Developer World and Communications. “Today, a mobile phone is more than just a communications tool; it is a multifunctional lifestyle device. In working with the most creative and innovative third-party content creators in the world, Sony Ericsson continues to give consumers unparalleled access to a broad variety of engaging and user-friendly content. We look forward to hosting next year's awards and seeing the continued mobile innovations."
This year's winners, and many of the nominees, have been chosen to be pre-loaded on selected Sony Ericsson phones. In addition, these applications are available through the company's PlayNow Over-the-air download service, as well as the online retail channels, Fun & Downloads and the Sony Ericsson Application Shop.

MEF Asia Appoints New Board Members

Representatives from global entertainment company Sony Pictures Television, India’s fastest growing telco provider, Tata Teleservices and leading global aggregator, mBlox, were voted onto the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Asia board at its annual general meeting in Hong Kong last week.
Re-elected for a further two-year term were Hungama Mobile’s Neeraj Roy, Streamezzo’s Alexandre Olmedo, and Sun Microsystems’ Stefan Rust. The new appointments were Faissal Houhou, VP Business Development at mBlox Asia Pacific; Pankaj Sethi, President, VAS Business Unit at Tata Teleservices; and Rosemary Tan, Director, Mobile Entertainment at Sony Pictures, Asia Pacific.
The returning directors and newly-appointed representatives join existing board members Richard Robinson from Dada and Jay Kim from WiderThan. The new board subsequently voted to re-elect Stefan Rust as Chairman and to appoint Neeraj Roy as Vice-Chairman.
The week kicked off with the Mobile TV CXO Summit between MEF and Casbaa (Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia); MEF LIVE, MEF’s official annual event for Asia’s mobile entertainment industry; and the MEF LIVE party featuring the CDG (CDMA Development Group) Awards, applauding the industry’s best.
“The new Asia board will work to ensure that MEF’s global initiatives bring a fresh perspective to local Asian markets, but also impart Asia’s unique learnings to encourage cross-pollination of new business models and best practices around the world,” says MEF Asia Chair, Stefan Rust. “We also expect to support local initiatives in Asia with various regional and local cross-industry bodies similar to the activities around Mobile TV with the Casbaa to further advance the mobile entertainment industry.”
MEF Chairman Patrick Parodi adds:
“Based in Beijing, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Seoul and Singapore, the new Asia board represents some of Asia’s hottest markets and unites leading players across content, operators, communities, D2C, advertisers and technologies to guide the mobile entertainment industry with a focused agenda. I look forward to working with the Asia board to grow the mobile entertainment industry in a responsible and healthy fashion across this exciting and diverse region.”

Groove Mobile Adds PayForIt Compliance

Mobile music service provider Groove Mobile has announced that its UK direct-to-consumer off-portal music service is now PayForIt-compliant across all UK network operators, simplifying the billing process for mobile music consumers. In addition, customers of TMobile UK, 3 and Vodafone can benefit from flat-rate data tariffs,  ensuring music from the off-portal service is delivered without hidden costs or ‘bill shock.’
Developed through a strategic UK cross-mobile network operator initiative, PayForIt improves the consumer experience for one-time and subscription services purchased via the mobile Internet by introducing a secure and unified approach to mobile purchases. Users can easily purchase full track Over-the-Air (OTA) downloads from their favourite artists on the mobile web without having to leave the session for billing purposes, regardless of their network operator or phone type.
“Growth in off-portal content sales has been slowed by multiple billing practices across different carriers,” says Groove Mobile Chief Marketing Officer, Adam Sexton. “With its PayForIt compliance, Groove Mobile assures that its mobile music customers in the UK are billed accurately and consistently for the content they purchase.”

phling! Partners With EuropaMP3

Oxy Systems has announced that its phling! MusicLounge service has extended its relationship with EuropaMP3.com to enable music fans to listen, share and discover indie bands using their mobile phone and virally spread their favourites through the MusicLounge social networking environment. Oxy Systems says the phling! MusicLounge offers wireless subscribers the first fully integrated mobile music social networking service. 
This new form of mobile music distribution enables up and coming bands to showcase their work to a growing network of music aficionados, who also use the MusicLounge to provide real-time wireless access to their own PC-based music, media collections and Internet Radio, as well as access to the music of their friends. phling! enables bands to promote their music, gigs, news and events directly to their fan base via their mobile phones.
With 2,000 artist members, EuropaMP3 is one of Europe’s leading catalogues of un-signed music talent. The opportunity for these bands and musicians the ability to virally spread their music via the mobile significantly enhances the platform’s appeal.
“The phling! MusicLounge service turns a subscriber’s mobile phone into much, much more than a basic music player,” says EuropaMP3.com’s Bernard Barut. “Quite simply, phling! unlocks the potential of the mobile as a new promotion and distribution channel.”
EuropaMP3.com recently announced its wikisik music widget service that enables bands and their fans to add songs to their own websites using the wikisik code. phling! helps bands to promote their music and drive fans to EuropaMP3.com to obtain the wikisik widgets.
“phling! is the first fully integrated mobile music social networking service,” says Oxy Systems President and CEO, Mike Krasner. “Uniquely, phling! enables users to not only listen but share and discover music as well, all while they are on the move. Partnering with music sites like EuropaMP3.com offers our subscribers access to up and coming bands and ensures our community continues to grow.”
Currently deployed with Oxy Systems partner, The Edipresse Group, the phling! MusicLounge is available to subscribers of Switzerland's three leading carriers, Orange, Swisscom Mobile, and Sunrise for 7CHF per month. To sign up, users simply text EDI Music to 979. 
Anyone in the UK on an all-you-can-eat web data package can download phling! today for free here.

Mobile Money Down the Drain

The mobile entertainment industry is throwing away up to 10% of its gross revenues, due to inconsistent and inaccurate content sales reporting, according to research from the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF). The findings were unveiled yesterday as part of MEF’s global Content Sales Reporting Initiative.
An overwhelming 93% of industry members surveyed across the mobile ecosystem believe accurate content sales reporting is critical to the long-term success of the industry. Currently, says the MEF, different reporting styles are a key issue affecting business across the value chain, from operators to service and content providers. One in two respondents said they receive up to 50 different types of reports, and this confusion is exacerbated by the fact that there is no clear reporting line within the value chain.
Further to this, 42% said their reports are not accurate. Most respondents cited loss of revenue, wasted resources and reduced investment in mobile content as common results of poor content reporting.
To combat these issues, MEF is working with key industry stakeholders to create best practice guidelines for content sales reporting that can be adopted within the industry. The initiative is designed to address specific issues around timeliness, relevance, accuracy and consistency of reports.
According to the MEF, the challenge will be to find some common ground between all the different parties involved and their individual needs. For example, when asked how often they would like to receive reports, 37% of respondents said they want real time statistics, 15% want them daily and 22% want weekly and monthly reporting.
“These results show how acutely the industry is affected by the lack of reporting guidelines,” says Jason Wells, Senior Vice President, Mobile Entertainment at Sony Pictures Television International. “It is clear that we need to pull together to resolve the issues and implement best reporting practices, and MEF’s best practice guidelines will lead the way. Standardised reporting will give us an extremely accurate and clear picture of how content is delivered and used, which will benefit all the players in the value chain.”
Suhail Bhat, Policy and Initiatives Director for MEF, believes the consultation is a major step in uncovering the depth of the issue, and how it directly affects revenues across the board.
“The mobile entertainment market is now a huge global force, with revenues exceeding $25 billion (£12 billion) yearly,” says Bhat. “Our systems and processes need to reflect this in order to take the industry to the next level.”
The results of the survey will be used to inform the MEF’s Content Sales Reporting Best Practice Guidelines, which are due to be released in Q1 of 2008.

Shazam Launches Shazam iD

Shazam, the mobile-to-web music services provider, has announced the release of Shazam iD, a mobile application which it says takes its award-winning mobile music recognition service to a new level of interactivity.
Shazam iD is a Java application that can be downloaded for free to mobile phones (though data charges apply), giving users more features and flexibility to discover and experience music. Shazam iD incorporates Shazam's native mobile music recognition technology as a primary function, but enhances the end-user experience by delivering a richer, more engaging music experience. The application prompts higher levels of repeat usage, which the company says should naturally result in increased data revenues for all network operators.
Once downloaded, the application sits on the handset’s main menu and offers the user one-click initiation utilising GPRS connectivity. At the touch of a button, users can 'iD' the music they are hearing and go on to access related information, including artist biographies and  recommendations, and ultimately purchase associated products from a range of integrated vendors.
"We have long recognised that the mobile device was set to become the centre of users' music experiences, as evidenced by the 11 million Shazamers who have used our services," says Shazam CEO, Andrew Fisher. "With the rapid adoption of more sophisticated handsets, we are delivering a greatly enhanced user experience via Shazam iD, that provides vastly optimised music discovery, transaction and community features to users worldwide."Shazam iD is compatible with 22 Java-enabled handsets in the UK and there is a rapid additional handset rollout programme planned for early next year. Initially offered with a free, 3-day trial period, Shazam iD is based on a monthly subscription service of £2 per month, which gives unlimited use of the service.
Shazam says that the new service offers a faster music recognition experience, and one-touch initiation means there is no need to dial the 2580 number. On-device audio fingerprinting provides the ability to initiate recognition of the music regardless of mobile network coverage. If there is no network coverage, the sample is held on the device and then ‘pushed’ via GPRS to Shazam once coverage is available. 
To download the application, text SMART to 80805 and follow the link provided by return. 

Seconds Out - on Mobile

Mobile entertainment community Cellufun has launched ‘The Mobile Ring’, a free boxing game for mobile phones that pits US political heavyweights against one another in the ring. 
Mobile phone users can use their handsets to take out their frustrations on their favourite, or least favourite, 2008 election political candidates, without fear of prosecution. Thanks to the new Mobile Ring game from Cellufun, players can pit different candidates from either party against each other in an evolving virtual environment directly affected by their gameplay.
According to Cellufun, “unscientific research” shows that 98% of Democrats would love to bash the smirk off of Rudy Giuliani’s face and that 97% of Republicans want to severely muss up John Edwards’ $400 (£200) haircut. Further unscientific research suggests that 100% of apathetic independents who are sick of the talking heads that round out the current campaign field, would just like to bash everyone and anyone they can get their (virtual) hands on, free of charge. This is why Cellufun believes the Mobile Ring game might just take off. 
Cellufun CEO, Arthur Goikhman, is confident of the new game’s mass appeal. He says:
“Not all of us bother to vote, but it’s hard to find someone in America, or the world, for that matter, who hasn’t felt like slugging it out with at least one of our candidates.”
Players can choose to play the game as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, Tommy Thompson, or a slew of other contenders. Aside from being an exercise in catharsis, says Cellufun, there is a populist strain in the Mobile Ring game. Players can help their favourite long-shot candidates by uploading their high scores to Cellufun and affecting their performance in the game.
The initial release of the game will give each candidate a rating based on their current real-life poll position. Subsequently released updates of the game will take into account not only the real-life poll numbers, but actual performance by Mobile Ring players and which candidates got more wins or losses in the field. 
Essentially, players of Mobile Ring can help their favourite politician’s campaign by voting with their thumbs, the companyb says. On the Cellufun website, users can vote on other characters for inclusion in later releases; either dark-horse candidates, cable television pundits or perhaps currently elected white house officials.
The Mobile Ring release marks not only the first political boxing game available for free on a mobile phone, but the first mobile action game whose character's strength changes based upon real-world events.
You can download the game for free at http://wap.cellufun.com

Meet the mixibodz

mixipix, which operates a mobile cartoon messaging service, has launched mixibodz, an “animated avatar builder with attitude” which enables users to create, dress, pose and bring their avatar to life on social networking sites and on mobile.
mixibodz lets users create, dress and accessorize their avatar, and then choose from a wide range of animations to bring their creation to life. Once the user is happy with their creation, they can export their mixibod to social networks including FaceBook, MySpace and Blogger, or send it to their friends and family to use on their mobile.
The content posted includes a mobile sending application that allows users to download and send each others creations from their profile pages.
Users can create and save multiple characters, personalities, outfits and animations and save them on their own personal page within the mixibodz website. They can be loaded, changed, saved, sent and exported with a few mouse clicks, ensuring users can keep their mixibod as up to date as their own wardrobe, or expressing their owner’s reaction to events, as they happen.
“User-generated content is having a massive impact on the Internet,” says mixipix CEO, Lesley Keen. “There is a huge appetite for services which allow consumers to create and customize their own content.”
Keen adds that the mobile delivery feature within the mixibodz site introduces a whole new level of interaction for avatar applications. She says:
“Users can send one of the animated avatars to their friends, complete with an attached message. The recipient can then save the animation and use it as a wallpaper, ring alert or screen saver. It moves the avatar outside the purely online world and into the user's everyday life.”
mixibodz.com will be regularly updated with new outfits, fashion accessories and interactive features to ensure users always have something new to try. mixipix says the site will also introduce new features and support for more online networks and Internet services.
Users worldwide can sign up for free by visiting mixibodz.com and start designing, creating, dressing and animating their very own avatars. Animated picture messages can currently be sent to UK mobile phone users only. Mobile downloads and sends cost 25 pence each and are billed through the sender’s handset.

Bitter Barney goes Mobile

ZAC Toons, an animation studio, producing multi-platform entertainment properties for mobile, online and TV, has signed an exclusive partnership with ITV Mobile in the UK, part of ITV plc. The deal will see the launch of new and exclusive mobile content from ZAC Toons’ ‘Bitter Barney’ property. Bitter Barney will make his first appearance on ITV Mobile in the lead up to Christmas.
The new Bitter Barney content is destined to amuse fans with 40 comical video shorts, along with animated greetings, wallpapers and voice tones, offering consumers and ITV Mobile a complete content package.
Bitter Barney, who is a thwarted, vertically-challenged egg, is a twisted, distraught individual who finds it hard not to be offensive. Fortunately for Barney, his outbursts have comical undertones and paralleled with his flatulence problems, he is surprisingly likable.
“We are very excited about the relationship with ITV Mobile,” says ZAC Toons Co-founder and Managing Director, Troy Zafer. "Bitter Barney has already managed to capture an audience,and we believe the collaboration with ITV Mobile will extend our reach across a wider audience. Each of our entertainment properties are developed with a long term strategy in mind and Bitter Barney is the perfect example of this at work.”
Melissa Goodwin, Head of Mobile ITV Consumer, adds:
“This is a perfect example of the kind of made-for-mobile content which sits brilliantly amongst the wealth of clips, downloads and information on our portal. I am aiming to build one of the best mobile sites around the genres of comedy, entertainment, music and celebrities, and Bitter Barney is a fantastic start.”

End2End Acquires Terraplay

End2End, which provides managed service solutions for mobile data, has announced its acquisition of Terraplay, which provides connected-gaming services. End2End says the deal substantiates its position at the forefront of developments in the mobile gaming space, and allows it to offer operators market leading solutions in connected and multiplayer gaming, and a fully managed mobile gaming offering, in addition to its full mobile content delivery platform.
Terraplay has been an innovator in developing solutions which allow operators and games publishers to connect their mobile gaming communities. The company's expertise covers community tools, multiplayer functionality, in-game micro billing and in-game advertising, with many leading publishers among the customers that have already adopted Terraplay's technology.
The acquisition of Terraplay will see End2End become a world-leading mobile gaming specialist, the company says, with a wealth of experience in delivering outsourced solutions for mobile data. End2End says it is now perfectly placed to help operators increase revenues by effectively managing their mobile gaming offerings.
“We expect connected gaming to be major factor in the dramatic growth of the mobile gaming market, and Terraplay are the best in the business,” says End2End Managing Director, Bernadette Lyons. “Connected gaming can transform the experience for the gamer, with features such as multiplayer, competitions and buddy lists, but it can also have a major impact on operators, creating opportunities for flexible business models such as pay-per-play, rental and advertising."
Terraplay CEO Sven Hålling adds:
“By combining Terraplay's expertise in connected gaming with E