WeFi Strikes Mobile Video Deal with Qik

Community-based, global wi-fi network WeFi has entered into an agreement with Qik, the live mobile video streaming platform, under which the two companies will enable high-speed Internet access for Qik users on WeFi’s network of over 50 million wi-fi access points worldwide. In turn, WeFi will be able to expand its network to more hotspot locations, as Qik users are streaming live mobile video from over 160 countries and will discover and connect to wi-fi in new locations.  
WeFi provides users with easy, automated and free access to millions of wi-fi hotspots from their mobile devices, offering Qik users higher bandwidth, which WeFi notes is especially important for activities such as streaming high quality video live, and particularly at crowded locations such as tradeshows, sporting events or central transport stations. The Qik streaming experience is enhanced by WeFi’s technology, providing for a smooth, fast, and seamless broadcast. 
WeFi automatically connects the mobile user to the best wi-fi connection available, and seeks to connect users to wi-fi access points where Internet access has already been verified by other WeFi-enabled devices - dubbed ‘community-verified spots’ - in a growing network of over 50 million recorded access points. In addition, WeFi recently released its first generation of carrier-grade solutions for offloading mobile Internet traffic from congested 2G, 3G and in the future 4G networks onto wi-fi access points. 
WeFi’s network is currently accessible on phones using Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian operating systems.
"A majority of Qik users today use devices with wi-fi support,” says Qik CEO, Vijay Tella. “This integration with WeFi will enable Qik users to more easily locate and connect to hotspots around the world making their mobile video sharing experience even more compelling.”

Mobile Commerce Creates AA 'Best of Britain' App

Location-based Service (LBS) and mobile content integration firm Mobile Commerce has partnered with the UK motoring organisation and travel publisher, the AA, to create the AA ‘Best of Britain’ iPhone application. The app provides all the information the user needs to find and book a weekend, or week, away in Britain and acts as a guide locating local entertainment and points of interest.
Best of Britain offers a guide covering every aspect for planning leisure pursuits, from hotels, pubs, guest houses and restaurants, to days out, golfing, caravanning and camping. The app features over 14,000 inspected, selected and recommended establishments.  
Entries include detailed descriptions, pricing information, opening hours, more than 5,000 images, phone numbers, links to websites and detailed search options. The user is able to search around their current location or enter a location of their choice, with the results displayed on an embedded Google map.
The AA Best of Britain app is available from the Apple App Store for £4.99.

MMA/Lightspeed Report Looks at Mobile Banking

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and its research partner, Lightspeed Research, have announced the launch of the first ‘Consumer Briefing’ reports for the UK, French and German markets. The report reveals that 14% of UK adult consumers and 9% of French and German adult consumers are already using mobile banking services. Projected interest levels also suggest that usage will rise by between 3 and 11 percentage points within the next year, with UK consumers leading the way.
The reports are designed to provide insight which will improve market understanding of consumer feelings towards accessing banking services via the mobile device and will help in the design and development of those services. The reports, which are available to MMA members, highlighted other key findings. In all three countries SMS is currently the most popular medium for the delivery of mobile banking services and information, followed by the mobile Internet. These will remain the most popular delivery and access points in 2010/2011.
In line with the growth of Smartphones and app stores, between 1 and 3% of consumers have used downloadable applications which allow for a more complete mobile banking service. These figures are expected to double in 2010/11 in the French and UK markets.
Consumers in all three markets were most interested in viewing account balances on their mobile phone (38% in the UK, 37% in France and 32% in Germany), while branch or ATM locators; using the mobile phone to make in-store payments; and deposit or withdrawal notices were all of interest over the coming year.
Young consumers are the most likely to use mobile banking, with 24% of 18-34 year olds in the UK, 20% of the same age range in Germany and 9.5% in France already engaging. French consumers feel that security is of the most importance when deciding on whether to bank using a mobile phone, with 82% citing it as an important factor, while this was less of an issue – though still important - for German and UK consumers at 69% and 66% respectively. 
“The study shows an unmistakable interest in, and demand for, mobile banking services in key European markets,” says Dr. Peter A. Johnson, the MMA’s Vice President of Market Intelligence. “Financial institutions across France, Germany, and the UK clearly have a significant opportunity to use secure mobile technologies to expand consumer access to banking services that they value.”
Conducted between 21 – 25 January 2010, the survey asked a variety of questions regarding mobile phone and media usage, including handset manufacturer; current mobile phone operator; message (text) plan used; current and future interest in specific mobile banking activities; the importance of security in the decision to use mobile banking; and interest in downloading secure mobile banking applications.
A monthly online survey of British, French and German consumers’ mobile marketing behaviours and opinions conducted on the Lightspeed Research omnibus, the MMA Consumer Briefing features input from over 1,000 adult consumers in each market, screened to be demographically representative of the adult consumer population as a whole. Each Consumer Briefing includes a 2- to 3-page executive summary, all survey questions and up to 50 tables of detailed results. Survey responses are provided both in aggregate and in cross-tabulation by standard audience demographics, such as age, gender and income, as well as wireless carrier and handset manufacturer.
MMA Consumer Briefings on this topic are also available for the US market.

GyPSii and Telmap Partner for Location-based Social Networking

GyPSii, which describes itself as a “mobile digital lifestyle application and geo-mobility social media platform”, and Telmap, the mobile search, mapping and navigation firm, have announced a partnership to develop advanced location-based social networking as part of Telmap’s Mobile Location Companion solution. 
As part of the agreement, Telmap will introduce social networking and user-generated content to the Telmap5 Mobile Location Companion, using GyPSii’s Open API, OpenExperience. Telmap5 will offer users access to all their networks of friends across social networks including Facebook and Twitter. The companies say that the integration with GyPSii’s Open API will empower Telmap5 mobile users to connect the real world with the digital world, accessing and contributing location-aware content; sharing locations; reading and posting recommendations, videos and pictures; finding friends, events, and places; geo-blogging, and more.
They add that the new Telmap5 offers mobile operators an opportunity to introduce a richer location-enabled solution to their subscribers, arguing that a single app combining key social media, navigation, search, and mapping features provides a compelling experience for users. 
GyPSii’s OpenExperience Open API offers Telmap transparent integration of its patented technologies in mobile user-generated content creation, friend-finding and a robust suite of development toolkits that support rapid development, fast-track product enhancements, and easy app localization.  OpenExperience also delivers a contextual advertising solution for ultra-targeted commercial messages, including advertisements and coupons with a high value to the end user.
“The Telmap-GyPSii enabled offering is fully supportive of people’s desire to explore their surroundings and interact with friends around them not only while at home, but also while on-the-go,” says Telmap CEO, Oren Nissim. “GyPSii and Telmap share a vision to offer operators the ultimate location companion they need in order to maintain their subscriber’s loyalty through an excellent solution and a superior user experience, and we are sure that this new cooperation will open up additional opportunities for operators to achieve just that.”

4th Screen Powers O2/Shazam Priority Ticket Service

O2 has entered into an exclusive sponsorship deal with mobile music discovery service Shazam which will enable it to deliver highly targeted ads for its Priority Tickets service to Shazam users. Customers will be served relevant ads for O2 Priority pre-sales based on the music they have tagged through Shazam’s iPhone application. The dynamic ads will be delivered using 4th Screen Advertising’s ad serving platform, Mpression.
O2 Priority Tickets is a unique offer for O2 customers which gives them the ability to buy tickets for gigs at The O2 and O2 Academy venues up to 48 hours before they go on general sale. O2’s sponsorship of Shazam’s iPhone app means that customers will only see ads for pre-sales which they might be interested in, based on the artists or tracks they have tagged using Shazam. For example, if a Cheryl Cole pop song is identified and she’s performing at The O2 or one of the O2 Academy venues, the ad will promote the gig. 
These relevant and contextual ads will be delivered using a variety of formats,  including standard banners and integrated links. Shazam’s iPhone app is free to download via the App Store.
“We’re always looking at innovative ways in which we can engage customers with Priority Tickets and make sure they hear about pre-sales for their favourite bands,” says Shadi Halliwell, Head of UK Brand Communications at O2. “Shazam is one of the most popular apps on the iPhone, and a perfect way of reaching potential customers.”
4th Screen Advertising Managing Director Mark Slade describes the campaign as: “the most integrated and engaging campaign 4th Screen has run as an agency in our four years of trading”. He adds: “It’s great to see forward-thinking brands, like O2 and Shazam, leveraging our new rich media formats. We will be launching a number of innovative new formats in 2010, plus we’ll be looking to replicate this model in other markets.”
Jonathan Symons, EVP of Business Development at Shazam, says there is a perfect fit between Shazam’s consumer base of music fans and the objectives of the O2 Priority campaign.  
“The use of rich media and highly targeted campaign messages results in an engaging and rewarding experience for Shazam users,” says Symons. “This is a first for us, and we will be taking this model and new ad formats to other markets.”
Shazam currently has over 50 million users to date. 4th Screen Advertising secured a Europe-wide mobile advertising deal with Shazam in October 2009.

F-Secure to Protect Vodafone Customers

F-Secure and Vodafone have signed a global framework agreement (GFA) to provide Internet protection for Vodafone’s business and consumer customers. Vodafone PC Protection and Vodafone Security for Smartphones will be available as a monthly subscription service.
F-Secure says that Vodafone PC Protection provides a complete security solution for PCs and netbooks against all Internet threats. It includes includes real-time antivirus protection, firewall, anti-spyware and anti-theft features. The solution is light on memory use and overall system impact, but fast in detecting and blocking malware. Vodafone PC Protection is already being used by customers in 15 countries.
“We are proud to have signed this global framework agreement with Vodafone and are committed to ensuring the safety of consumers and business customers every time they enjoy access to the web and connect with one another,” says F-Secure CEO, Kimmo Alkio.

Operators Losing Out to Web Brands on the Mobile Internet

A survey from CCS Insight reveals that while a significant proportion of young Europeans now access the Internet from their mobile phones on a frequent, often daily, basis, most of them ignore the services offered by mobile phone companies in favour of more-familiar names from the web. While the research suggests ways for network operators and handset-makers to maximise uptake of the mobile Internet, results indicate many of these opportunities are being overlooked.
Key findings of the report, Mobile Internet Usage in Europe, 2009’, include:

• Up to a quarter of young people now access the mobile Internet every day
• Mobile operator portals and services such as Nokia's Ovi are losing out to familiar web brands like Facebook, Amazon and Twitter
• The success of local-language networking sites shows there is life beyond Facebook. Around half of mobile social network users in Germany access StudiVZ on their mobile phone, while 62% in Spain access Tuenti
• About two-thirds of Italian and Spanish women under 36 have never accessed the Internet on their mobile phones, partly because mobile operators are failing to deliver services that appeal to this untapped market
• Increasing use of phones to access social networks, coupled with demand for mobile gaming, creates an opportunity for a new mobile social gaming phenomenon
• As multiple e-book readers descend on Europe, mobile phones still have a role as the preferred way to access e-publications

“Our survey reveals the true picture of mobile Internet usage among young consumers in Europe's top five markets. It shows that as Smartphones become more affordable, people are using them to access the sites they know and love on their PCs,” says Martin Garner, Director of Mobile Internet at CCS Insight and one of the report's authors. “Mobile network operators and handset manufacturers are losing the battle to define the mobile Internet experience, despite the huge sums they're pouring into sites that compete with the familiar web names." On the eve of the industry’s biggest gathering in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, CCS Insight's report highlights some key lessons still to be learned.
While the survey shows that over 60% of mobile Internet users in Europe's five largest markets prefer to ignore operator portals, it also reveals that mobiles have a role to play in other current consumer trends. For example, in Italy, over 40% of young people who expressed an interest in e-newspapers said they would only read them on their phone. This finding, coupled with data from other countries in the survey, suggests that despite excitement around the launch of several e-book readers, the mobile phone is still the device of choice for many consumers accessing multimedia content.
The report also found that although many young people are reluctant to pay for music or video downloads on mobile phones, 39% do pay for mobile games, and a further 19% of respondents would be willing to. Combined with the popularity of social networking sites for mobile Internet users, this suggests a big opportunity to drive mobile Internet traffic through popular social gaming applications, CCS Insight says.
In contrast to the general reluctance to access networks' mobile Internet portals, over half of all mobile Internet users surveyed said they access Facebook on their phone, while 10% access Twitter. The most popular mobile Internet application is email, with 61% of young mobile Internet users in Europe's top five markets accessing email on the move.
“Despite the warnings for the mobile industry, the opportunities are there,” says
Paolo Pescatore, Director of Operator Strategy at CCS Insight and co-author of the report. “Network operators, phone-makers and media companies need to focus less on what they want to sell and more on what consumers want to access on their mobile phones. The alternative will be to sit back and watch the large web brands continue to define the future of the mobile Internet.”
There’s more information about the report here.

SMS to Boost Valentine's Day Trade, says Clickatell

Businesses large and small looking to reach customers effectively for Valentine’s Day are turning to the ubiquity of SMS marketing on the mobile phone. So says messaging firm Clickatell, which has published its latest guide, the ‘2010 Valentine’s Mobile Marketing Handbook’.
Clickatell notes that according to this year’s National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Valentine’s Day survey, the average consumer will spend $103 (£66) on traditional Valentine’s Day merchandise, up from $102.50 in 2009. The NRF also predicts that US consumers will spend a total of $14.1 billion on Cupid’s holiday this year. Last year, more than 1.06 billion messages were sent on Valentine’s Day.
Clickatell notes the ongoing popularity of SMS, citing a recent study from Portio Research that predicted that worldwide messaging revenues would reach $233 billion by 2014, and another from Dialogue Communications that found that 67% of mobile users would like to receive text alerts for everything from medical appointments to bill payment.
“This Valentine’s season, the most popular forms of social media, SMS and Facebook, will help retailers generate more awareness and buzz about brands, products, services, and special offers instantly and effectively,” says Clickatell CEO, Pieter de Villiers. “Retail offers can be delivered to more than 4 billion consumers via SMS, including more than 500 million Facebook users instantaneously, making it that much easier and natural for offers to be passed along virally. Never before has it been so easy and effective to reach billions with relevant, targeted, opt-in based offers.” 

InMobi Strikes Thai Deal with hi5

Mobile ad network InMobi, which has operations in 37 countries and serves over 7.5 billion ad requests monthly, has announced an exclusive partnership with global social entertainment site hi5 to serve ads on its mobile web site in Thailand. hi5 is available in 50 languages and is Thailand’s largest social media property, reaching over 50 million monthly visitors worldwide. InMobi says the partnership further extends its dominant position in the Asia Pacific region, where the it now receives over 5 billion ad requests monthly.
InMobi was awarded the exclusive partnership based on the combination of its scale in Asia Pacific and its local market knowledge, leading to more relevant ads, and an immediate positive impact on hi5’s mobile advertising revenue.  InMobi says this combination has already proven beneficial, resulting in a 200% growth in ad requests in just the first two months of the partnership.
“InMobi’s local language support and local sales efforts have dramatically increased the ad revenue for our mobile, site while simultaneously offering our consumers locally relevant advertising,” says hi5 Senior Director of Ad Operations, Cathy Meyer.”

Nissan Turns to Social Skiing App for Brand Engagement

DNA and Phonevalley have announced the launch of Nissan Europe’s ‘Ski Challenge – Prove It' application, which they claim is the first social media iPhone app dedicated to the skiing and snowboarding community.
Ski Challenge – Prove It creates a live community for skiers and sbnowboarders. They can take advantage of the iPhone’s geolocalization features to follow their friends on a 3D map of the slopes, access a guide to their resort, schedule meetings, record videos and publish them on Facebook, and share their best tricks with the rest of the PROVE IT community.
The app includes interactive 3D maps of 45 European ski resorts, including Tignes, Chamonix and Mayrhofen. iPhone users can turn around, zoom in, zoom out, and locate themselves as well as their friends on the slopes. The application’s resort guide, based on Google maps, includes a description of the ski resort, its services and its hot spots for day and night life, including pharmacies, bakeries, taxis, restaurants and bars. There’s also an emergency contact button that allows skiers to call for help in case of an accident.
Users can also send photos and videos to Nissan’s Prove-It platform on Facebook. Users can then participate in the Prove It challenge by proving they are ‘tough like Qashqai’ (a Nissan vehicle brand) and thus gain a chance to win a new Qashqai online.
Using the iPhone’s inbuilt GPS function, users can also record a run down the piste and then look back at a detailed map of their descent, including altitude, distance and speed. Users can check their performance on 3D maps, and compare it in terms of distance, speed and height with the whole Prove It community.
The app also enables users to check the Qashqai & Qashqai+2 models in 3D, through  interactive 360° spins and photo galleries. A mobile site has also been developed on m.nissan-proveit.com for non-iPhone users.
“Nissan Europe’s objective is multi-faceted: to support the umbrella Prove It campaign, not only to raise awareness of Qashqai among its core and wider audience and to create positive engagement, but also to enable these audiences to interact among themselves as a community, and ultimately develop sales leads among in-market car buyers” says Vincent Druguet, Deputy Client Service Director at DNA.
The Ski Challenge - Prove It application is available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It’s available for download here.

FancyFon Announces Android Support

FancyFon has announced that its FancyFon Mobility Center, FAMOC centralized mobile device lifecycle management platform has been extended to include support for Android devices.
FAMO now enables customers to manage a fleet of mobile phones over multiple platforms, including Symbian S60, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, UIQ, Java-based feature phones, and now Android, in real time, over the air.
FancyFon has provided Android remote support since February 2009, empowering mobile operators, enterprise customers and government organizations to operate Android devices remotely - and independently if they are Android version 1.x or 2.x users - by enabling access to end users’ phone screens, keyboards, applications and files via over-the-air diagnostic tools.
Going forward, Android customers will be able to benefit from the full functionality portfolio from FancyFon, including the five key areas of mobile device lifecycle management: device asset management, configuration management, application management, security management and remote support. With a common GUI (Graphical User Interface) and a centralized point of control, says FancyFon, the platform provides a simple and cost effective management solution for Android.
"As mobile technology evolves, Android is gaining market share and is being viewed as an increasingly important player,” says FancyFon COO, Dietmar Fuchs. “FancyFon has reacted to this by extending its support of Android functionality, to satisfy the growing market demand."

Derdack Takes App Store Concept to SMS

Derdack, which provides mobile messaging platforms, has unveiled the latest version of its message master nx solution. Derdack says that message master nx enables mobile operators to transfer the successful application store concept pioneered by Apple to SMS/MMS messaging, allowing mobile users who don’t have a Smartphone to connect to their favourite Internet applications through SMS.
Using message master nx, mobile operators can create and host an SMS/MMS-based app store which provides greater control of the mobile messaging value chain and the potential to secure a larger share of the resulting revenue stream. This is particularly useful in developing markets, says Derdack, where rapid growth in SMS/MMS messaging is driven by non-Smartphone handsets.
“We have taken the established App Store idea pioneered by Apple and transferred it to the world of mobile messaging,” says Managing Director Matthes Derdack. “message master nx provides operators with an entirely new approach to capitalising on the value of SMS/MMS messaging by building an application platform for running and hosting multiple in-house developed or third party applications. Feedback from existing customers, the operator community and analysts has validated the business concept and confirmed that message master nx offers a genuinely innovative strategy for operators to significantly increase revenues generated by the SMS/MMS channel.”
message master nx uses a browser-based graphical design tool to enable operators to rapidly build and test SMS and MMS services. By eliminating reliance on external developer skills, operators gain added flexibility and lower application design costs. Access can also be granted to third party developers to create value added services in a ‘sandbox’ environment (in which code or content changes can be tested without affecting the original system). The operator can review third party applications before transferring them to the app store. 
Subscribers can sign up to the applications that are of interest under a self-service model, or they can be provisioned by the operator. As the platform for the app store is managed by the operator, it enables greater control and visibility over service content and billing.
message master nx is available with a range of proven applications including bulk messaging, SMS community messaging, MMS marketing and Corporate Outlook SMS. Derdack says that building and deploying new applications such as MMS-to-Facebook (or any other social networking site), at an extremely low cost, is also straightforward.

Pursway Gets Social with Network Operators

Influencer Marketing company Pursway (formerly Datanetis), says it is helping a growing number of consumer companies improve the effectiveness of their customer relationship strategies, boosting customer acquisition, retention, and cross-selling outcomes. Companies working with the Pursway solution include Vodafone Group, Orange, and other leading mobile network operators, as well as companies in the retail, financial, and travel and hospitality sectors. Off the back of major customer wins, Pursway is expanding its operations in Europe and N. America with a $6 million (£3.85 million) Series A investment from Battery Ventures. 
Based on a combination of patent-pending algorithms and influencer marketing expertise and success metrics developed in over 100 customer implementations, Pursway claims to offer the first and only solution that enables companies to leverage social influence in a scalable and measurable fashion.  
“It is well-documented that most buying decisions are made as a result of recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues,” says Pursway CEO, Elery Pfeffer. “Our solution enables companies to close the gap between how they market their products and services and the way consumers really make their buying decision. Working with some of the leading global retail, financial, and telecommunication companies worldwide, the results show 5-10 times improvement in marketing ROI in as little as three months.”
The Pursway solution enables companies to identify the influencers and followers for each product or offer within their customer database. They can then create campaigns that utilize this information in a measurable fashion that can be tied to success metrics. 
“Helping the launch of social network analysis initiatives in several European mobile network operators, Pursway has been able to expand the operators’ knowledge of the subscriber base and identify a large number of influencers not considered in previous analyses,” says Saverio Romeo, Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “The effect of the influencers on the campaigns has also been significant. On average, each influencer has caused three to seven followers to respond to the campaign that, in turn, has strongly increased product uptake.”
Rather than searching for opinion leaders in social media conversations on Twitter and Facebook, Pursway’s method enables companies to identify the millions of “everyday influencers”, using only data that already exist in their customer database, and without infringing on the privacy of online conversations. 
“Our findings from over 100 customer projects show that people who talk the most, post the most, or have the most connections are not necessarily the real influencers when it comes to actual buying behavior,” says Pfeffer.

Vodafone Wins Oracle Enterprise Deal

Vodafone Global Enterprise has been appointed by Oracle to manage its mobile service needs in its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in a four-year deal
Under the agreement, Vodafone Global Enterprise, the dedicated division of Vodafone that manages the communication needs of its largest enterprise customers, will supply mobile services management, mobile voice and data services to over 16,000 Oracle employees in the EMEA region, billed on a fixed-fee, per-user basis.
For Oracle, the deal will offer the potential for significant savings as well as enhanced efficiencies, through Vodafone Global Enterprise’s managed services platform.
Under the agreement, Oracle is set to achieve greater cost efficiencies, benefiting from the enhanced transparency offered from predictable flat rate fee structures for mobility and managed services. The flat rate fee structures have been designed to encourage worry-free mobile voice and data usage among employees to boost productivity, while ensuring that managers are able to accurately predict expenditure. 
Vodafone Global Enterprise will also combine and simplify the management of mobile services within the company to drive standardisation and provide enhanced levels of control.
“Oracle has been impressed by Vodafone Global Enterprise’s straightforward and transparent approach to pricing communications, and we anticipate this will deliver greater cost efficiencies,” says Carol Kelly, Vice President, Global Revenue and Procurement Operations at Oracle. “As well as greater convenience, we expect that this partnership will deliver enhanced services to our employees through Vodafone’s market leading solutions.”
The benefits will be delivered through Vodafone Telecoms Management, a fully hosted service designed to remove the operational complexity of managing the mobile phone environment for multinational businesses.

Hockey App a Hit with Maple Leafs Fans

Polar Mobile has revealed that the Maple Leafs Mobi application that it created for the Toronto Maple Leafs National League hockey team has attracted over 100,000 users in the 12 months since launch. The app is clocking up almost 3 million page views per month and has been opened over a million times in the past three months.
Maple Leafs Mobile is available for the iPhone, iPod touch and BlackBerry, and is an extension of the Toronto Maple Leafs digital and interactive content brand. Powered by Polar Mobile’s SMART Platform, the app delivers real-time content to fans, including up-to-date stats, video highlights, interviews and news. Other features include home screen notification of updates, a real-time scoreboard of live games, as well as an offline-supported, quick browsing experience.
Maple Leafs fans are evenly distributed when it comes to their mobile device of choice when it comes to accessing Maple Leafs Mobile, with 35% iPhone users, 35% BlackBerry users and 30% on iPod touch. BlackBerry users open the app on average 17 times per month, whereas iPhone/iPod touch users open the app on average 9 times per month. 17% of BlackBerry users have also shared Maple Leafs Mobile with a friend via email.
“We felt it was important for the Maple Leafs to be one of the first teams in the NHL to have their own mobile application and we're excited about the increasing popularity of our app since it launched a year ago," says Chris Hebb, Senior Vice President of Broadcast and Content for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. "Maple Leafs Mobi is an all-access app that lets Leafs fans consume the latest information about their favourite team, including blockbuster trades, where they want and when they want.”

Report Explains How Operators Can Slash Data Costs

Operators Could Slash Mobile Data Costs by 60% per annum. That’s the key finding of a study released today by Bridgewater Systems into the mobile data surge.
The report, ‘Towards a Profitable Mobile Data Business Model’, highlights the impact of growing 3G penetration, lower cost Smartphones and USB dongles, new tablets like the iPad, and the popularity of mobile applications on the growth in mobile data volumes traversing operators’ networks.
It investigates the causes of mobile network congestion and the best methods to alleviate it, based on exclusive research conducted by independent research firm Chetan Sharma Consulting. It also provides insights into new service models, underpinned by Bridgewater’s deployment experiences with operators, and customer case studies from Ovum and Morgan Stanley.
The report looks at both network congestion management strategies and operator data pricing models. It concludes that policy control could contribute substantial annual cost savings of over 10%, equating to more than $15 billion (£9.6 billion) in annual cost reductions by 2013 in the US market.
The report also says that operators deploying a data traffic offload strategy to wi-fi, femtocells or 4G could expect savings of 20 to 25% per annum by 2013, representing $30 to $40 billion in the US market. And the evolution to HSPA and LTE could save just under 20% in network costs by 2013, saving US operators $25 billion by 2013.
Bridgewater says that flexible, dynamic, and personalised pricing models that reflect subscribers’ preferences and context, bandwidth and application usage, and network conditions, will better align data revenues with network costs for the first time. New models include tiered and usage-based models that take a smarter approach to service personalization and fair usage; application-specific charging, to generate appropriate revenues from high-bandwidth services; time-based models that charge based on time spent on the network; and mobile advertising- and mobile commerce-funded approaches.
“Our new report highlights the importance of implementing a multi-pronged strategy to reduce mobile data costs and network congestion, including policy control, data traffic offload, and migration to 3G and 4G,” says Bridgewater Systems Senior Vice President, David Sharpley. “By coupling this strategy with personalized service models based on subscriber usage, operators can benefit from a more profitable mobile data business model.” 
You can download the report here.

Buongiorno Rolls Out Mobile Loyalty Program for Proximus

Mobile entertainment firm Buongiorno has announced the launch of a loyalty program for Belgacom’s prepaid mobile customers (Proximus) in Belgium, called Play&Gold. The service, which launched on 28 January, uses the same CRM platform that Buongiorno already uses successfully with Telefonica O2 Top-Up Surprises in the UK and Telecom Italia Mobile.
Buongiorno applies its proprietary technology and know-how to improve network operators’ CRM systems. Operators implement Buongiorno’s real-time solution, called Intelligent Mobile Marketer (IMM), to better understand their customers, reward loyalty with prizes redeemed in real-time, and in turn increase retention and customer satisfaction.
Play&Gold offers Proximus customers an instant reward every time they top-up their account with €15 (£13) or more. Once a customer has recharged their mobile account, they receive a text message containing a unique code and directing them to the relevant Proximus website to discover and redeem their prize.
Depending on the amount topped-up, the customer is eligible for different prize pulls: Silver or Gold. Everyone who tops-up more than €15 is eligible to play, and everyone that plays is guaranteed a reward.
Rewards are varied and changing. They include mobile-related prizes such as free texts or voice minutes, as well as physical prizes such as digital cameras, shopping vouchers, cinema tickets, race day tickets and spa experiences. Every recharge of more than €15 grants the Proximus customer a prize and each Euro recharged gives the chance to win the grand prize of a home cinema system, with the draw taking place in February.
IMM, is playing an increasingly important role within operators’ offerings, says Buongiorno. “Due to the heightened competitiveness of the market and challenging economic conditions, operators are increasingly seeking ways to reward and retain valuable customers, putting them first and improving their direct relationship with them.
“Within the European operator market, we recognised a need for our partners to find a new way to differentiate themselves by motivating and rewarding their customers,” says Adhish Kulkarni, Buongiorno’s Global Head of Products and CRM. “Buongiorno invested in developing a unique CRM platform, and this investment has now enabled us to become the specialist CRM partner as we roll it out for more operators, supporting them in developing bespoke reward programs, increasing ARPU and reducing churn of loyal customers.”

Incentivated Powers BA Flight Info Service

Mobile agency Incentivated is launching an SMS flight information service for British Airways, to give passengers, and those dropping them off and picking up from airports, the latest flight information on their mobile phones.
British and American passengers can use the service whilst roaming in other countries and access information on all BA flights. BA says it plans to extend the service to other nationalities. The mobile offering will complement BA’s flight information call centre service, which handles 1.5 million incoming calls each year.
The service, available for UK- and US-registered mobile phones, enables users to get up-to-the-minute flight information for yesterday, today and the next five days. Users text D for Departures or A for Arrivals followed by a space, the departure date of the flight (in the form DDMMYY or MMDDYY for the US) and the British Airways flight number (eg BAXXXX) to 60747 in the UK, 70615 in the US.
A spokesperson for British Airways says:
“BA has used outbound text messaging as a reliable, cost effective channel to send immediate flight disruption alerts and check-in reminders to our passengers and communicate with staff for five years. It’s a logical extension for us to launch this inbound FAQ text service for all flights.”

Movirtu Solution Seeks to Connect the Poor

Movirtu, which supplies innovative network infrastructure solutions for mobile operators servicing rural poor communities, says it will bring communications capabilities to a major new market with the launch of its MXInfo solution at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.
Movirtu notes that while wireless technology today can be used in emerging markets to enable people to communicate with family and friends, and to find information about crop prices, and access agricultural and health information, 80% of the people living below the poverty line do not own a phone required to access these services. They do, however, often share other people’s phones. 
MXInfo enables Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and welfare organisations to provide personalised information services through the mobile operator to people living on less than $2 a day, without the need for them to own their own mobile phone.
MXInfo makes it possible to have an active and a passive way of information gathering for the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ mobile communication users. It enables NGOs to provide personalised information via a simple menu structure which is accessed by an individual username and password on any phone available.
The system also enables users to enter information into local bulletin boards, and through the use of tagging, enables users to access specific local information.
“Information is power,” says Movirtu CEO, Nigel Waller. “By making information accessible to the poor, we are empowering them to escape poverty”.
MXPay will be available initially for hosting by mobile operators located in Africa and South Asia.

Mippin Readies Buzz Deck for the iPhone

Application developer Mippin is planning an iPhone version of its Buzz Deck application, which won Google's 2009 global app challenge in the ADC2 (Android Developer Challenge 2) Media Category. The iPhone app has been submitted to iTunes and, says Mippin, should be live within a few weeks. 
Buzz Deck brings together content from over 90,000 websites, from Reuters to Perez Hilton, with the content organized into channels including News, Music, Business, Fashion, Sport and others.
Buzz Deck also offers access to accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bebo, MySpace and many more social networks simultaneously, plus other web services like eBay, Picasa and G-Reader are included. Users can navigate, use and explore multiple web content and services at the same time, without having to switch applications within the iPhone. Buzz Deck is also designed to be customised, so that users can choose their own version of the available content to match personal preferences and interests.

Survey Highlights iPad Confusion

An online survey conducted by YouGov in the days following the launch of Apple’s iPad shows that awareness of the product is high, but that there remains some confusion about its features and capabilities.
YouGov surveyed 2,047 adults between 29 January and 1 February. 70% of those surveyed, when shown an image and provided with a brief description of the Apple iPad, claimed to have heard about it. 72% of respondents recognized that the iPad has a touch screen, 68% that it can send and receive emails, and 65% that it can connect to the Internet via wi-fi.
The e-reader capabilities of the product are also well recognized with 64% thirds (64%) of respondents expecting to be able to read electronics books and magazines on the device.
Specifically and erroneously, significant numbers of respondents believed that the iPad can make telephone calls (37%); has a camera (38%); and most importantly has a fully functioning, multi-tasking operating system (54%). This figure rises to 61% among the key demographic for products of this type - those aged 25 to 44.
Marek Vaygelt, Head of Technology and Telecoms Consulting at YouGov, points out that misunderstanding of the iPad’s operating system capabilities is greater among existing Apple customers.
“Apple customers who own three or more Apple products have a very high awareness of the iPad but are way more likely than the population as a whole to believe it has a multi-tasking operating system,” he says. “While this is a software rather than a hardware feature, it suggests Apple’s core market might want to wait for an upgraded version.”
Despite this misunderstanding, while only 7% of total survey respondents believe they will probably or definitely buy an iPad, 23% of owners of three or more Apple products believe that they will do so.
With 40% of British adults owning at least one Apple product, YouGov estimates that the vast majority of iPad sales will come from existing Apple customers, with iPhone and Apple iMac customers the most likely purchasers.

Partnership Focuses on M2M Innovation

Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile and Telit Communications have signed a strategic collaboration agreement which will see the three companies working together, worldwide. The companies say they plan to identify relevant target markets in the telematics, fleet management, navigation, smart metering (remote metering), vending machine and security segments.
Telit is a leading provider of technologies for mobile machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. The partners in the venture will be working closely together on sales and marketing in their target markets and plan to jointly develop innovative M2M products and services. They say that customers will benefit from integrated solutions for the networking of vehicles, machines, measurement and control modules and other objects, as well as a comprehensive range of customised services.
“As the operator of an extensive, mature mobile phone network, the M2M market offers us enormous potential for growth,” says Mark Büsgen, Head of Business Development for Corporate Clients at T-Mobile Deutschland. “Partnering with Telit will enable us to exploit this potential even further and lastingly expand our customer base. Telit understands what users need and therefore represents an important partner for us."

Voice SMS a Hit in Uganda

Ugandan mobile operator MTN says it has seen impressive take-up of its recently-launched Voice SMS service, and has ordered an upgrade to triple the capacity of the Voice SMS system.
MTN launched Voice SMS using technology from Kirusa, a developer of mobile Value Added Services. 11% of MTN Uganda subscribers have taken up the Voice SMS service in the three months since launch.
Voice SMS enables subscribers to send messages by voice, eliminating the need to type. It enables subscribers to communicate faster, with greater ease, and convey emotions as compared to limitations of text messages. Use of Voice SMS by mobile subscribers is gaining global relevance for its benefits in surpassing the limitations of text messages.
Users dial * followed by the number to record and send a message. The recipient receives an SMS notification for each new Voice SMS and can listen to the messages by dialing *0* or a ‘DirectListen’ number embedded in the SMS notification. Users can send messages to other MTN users, as well as to subscribers of other mobile carriers in Uganda.
“We are delighted with the success of Voice SMS service with our subscribers,” says  MTN Uganda Chief Marketing Officer, Isaac Nsereko. “The service has been receiving an overwhelming response from our subscribers since its launch as they have found it an innovative medium to communicate. The richness of the Kirusa solution and the support from the Kirusa team has been instrumental in achieving this success.”

GeoVector Updates World Surfer App

GeoVector Corporation, which develops mobile technology that links digital information with real-world places, has unveiled Version 2.0 of its GeoVector World Surfer 2.0 iPhone application, which provides enhancements to GeoVector’s popular directional search and pointing application. The app is available for download from the Apple App Store. Version 1 of the app is available from Android Market for Android handsets, with an update due in the next few months.
Developed for compass-enabled GPS Smartphones, World Surfer allows users to point their phones in a particular direction to search for retailers, restaurants and other points of interest. The app includes free text search and the ability to save favorite searches. Version 2 also incorporates camera view Augmented Reality (AR) as a guidance enhancement to help users verify the distance, location and direction of their destinations.

Nimbuzz Strikes Indonesian Deal

Next-generation mobile messaging service Nimbuzz has announced a partnership with Indonesia’s largest mobile operator, Telkomsel, that will sees Nimbuzz delivered to more than 82 million Telkomsel subscribers via a new mobile data subscription plan.
The partnership is Nimbuzz’s first as part of a monetizable program, with Telkomsel using the added value offered by the Nimbuzz application to generate revenue via a Shortcode subscription service. It forms a core part of Telkomsel’s newly-formed Social Networking Portal, which will make Nimbuzz available free to subscribers as part of a flat-rate data package.
With subscribers able to enjoy unlimited use of the Nimbuzz application, the partnership is aimed at a mass market audience, and, says Nimbuzz, can be seen as an example of how Nimbuzz’s always on service supports operators in accelerating the take-up and consumption of mobile data services.
“Nimbuzz is the perfect application for the mobile services that our customers demand, especially our youth customers,” says Jajang Munajat, General Manager, Value Added Services at Telkomsel. “The launch of Nimbuzz services within Telkomsel Social Networking Services allows us to address (the) youth segment better, both for customer loyalty as well as for customer acquisition.”

DropZap Tops Chorus Paid App Chart

Social networking software developer envIO networks has released user data based on activity from its Chorus iPhone Application. The report focuses on the most popular free and paid socially recommended apps within the Chorus community.
Since its launch in November of last year, Chorus users have invited on average 75 friends. Chorus users are active and engaged, with over a third of the daily users generating activity, such as rating, reviewing and commenting on friends’ activities. envoi says that the Chorus community, which is based on shared interests and the discovery of applications, is booming, as people try to manage the vast amount of iPhone apps to hit the market.
Chorus is currently available on the iPhone and iPod touch, and envIO is also developing versions for other leading Smartphone platforms. 
Based on the latest data, the most popular free and paid apps for December were IMDb and DropZap, which took over from FunMail and Touch DJ respectively. Not one of the top recommended apps from November made it on to December’s top ten list.
The 10 most heavily recommeded apps in December were:  

1. IMDb
2. Accuweather
3. Dragon Dictation
4. AT&T Mark the Spot
5. redbox
6. Bing
7. fring
8. Ustream Live Broadcaster
9. Background Check App
10. Order Pizza

The top five free apps were IMDb, AccuWeather, AT&T Mark the Spot, Background Check App and Dragon Dictation. The top five paid apps, based on buy attempts, were DropZap, Santa’s Run (both $0.99), 1Password Pro ($7.99), Garters & Ghouls ($2.99) and AppButler – App Organiser ($0.99)
“Chorus has become an extremely popular and valuable tool among app users, helping them connect with the people they trust most to discover apps that are most relevant from the thousands of choices available,” says envIO VP of Marketing and Business Development, Vladimir Edelman. “Social recommendation of relevant apps is a paradigm shift in the discovery process, helping users save time and money. For app publishers, Chorus and its Social Genome engine represent an innovative way to track and reach their most avid fans and their friends.”

Android Overtakes Apple in Smaato Ad Metrics

Smaato has published its Mobile Advertising Metrics Report for January 2010. January’s metrics show a significant improvement of Android device clickthrough rates compared to December, rising from 65 to 163, but Symbian handsets remain top of the list. The metrics also reveal the average response time of ad networks worldwide as 256 milliseconds (ms). The fastest response time was 43 ms, the slowest, 887 ms.
Smaato’s metrics are based upon 35 mobile ad networks and over 4 billion ad requests served in the Smaato Network of more than 2,300 registered mobile publishers in January 2010.
The boost in Android clickthrough rates comes on the back of a large uptake in Android ad requests in the Smaato network and newly-introduced Android devices, including the Google Nexus One, Motorola Droid and operator-branded handsets. Smaato believes the increase in Android clickthrough rates could also be partly attributable to new owners of Android handsets, who are curious about responding to mobile advertising.
Symbian handsets still hold the highest clickthrough rate of 173, compared to the averaged Index of 100, an increase on the figure of 161 in December. The iPhone and iPod touch score 104, down from 119 in decemberm, but this is still enough to put Apple in third place in the Smaato Index.
The report also measures the fill rate of ads across different mobile advertising networks. This is defined as the percentage of ads delivered per ad request, and varies by factors such as country, device and content type. The ad networks are not named in the monthly Smaato metrics, but are revealed in the dashboard of registered Smaato publishers reporting and analytics tools.
The top performing mobile ad network worldwide had a fill rate of 89% in January 2010, a 10% increase compared to the best-performing ad network in December. Despite this increase, the average worldwide ad network fill rate fell from 35% in December to 29% in January. This confirms that mobile advertising had a very strong holiday season in 2009. In the second half of January, the industry saw higher fill rates as campaigns and advertisers returned to business.
The average fill rate of mobile ad networks in the US was 47%, compared to 55% in December 2009. The fill rate figure for the UK is very low at only 7%, with the top-performing mobile ad network achieving a fill rate of 33% In India, the fill rate was only 8%, despite the presence of one very high performing network.
There’s more information about Smaato’s mobile advertising metrics in a Whitepaper, ‘Global Choices in Mobile Advertising’, which is available for download here.

GSMA Launches Mobile Media Metrics Service

The GSM Association (GSMA) and comScore, in partnership with operators O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and 3UK, have announced the official UK launch of the GSMA Mobile Media Metrics (MMM) product, a census-level solution for mobile media reporting. Taking irreversibly anonymised mobile Internet usage data from all five UK mobile operators, the service aims to provide comprehensive insights into mobile media consumption, empowering brands and agencies to plan effective and focused campaigns for the mobile medium.
“On behalf of our operator partners, comScore and the GSMA, we are excited to be launching Mobile Media Metrics in the UK, our first market, and we anticipate that it will accelerate growth in the mobile advertising market,” says GSMA CEO, Rob Conway. “The underlying principle of Mobile Media Metrics is to deliver valuable and actionable reporting tools to the media industry, while respecting the privacy of individuals. Access to transparent measurement is essential in establishing mobile as a legitimate advertising medium, and Mobile Media Metrics is a critical element in advancing this process.”
The GSMA Mobile Media Metrics service is based on anonymised, census-level data for mobile Internet usage across mobile networks, which is augmented with demographic data that has been collected with the consent of a representative sample of mobile Internet users. The service provides an aggregated view of mobile Internet usage behaviour, enabling market-level analysis of site visitation and engagement metrics, such as page views, time spent on specific sites, and device types and features.
“The initiative undertaken by the GSMA and comScore is a great step forward for mobile media,” says Richard Foan, Managing Director of ABCe and Chair of JICWEBS. “Based on ABCe’s independent validation of Mobile Media Metrics, advertisers, agencies and media owners can rest assured that key metrics are compliant with and endorsed by the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS).”  Based on pre-production data from three operators, as the operators ramp up to full delivery of anonymised data to comScore, 16 million people in the UK accessed the Internet from their mobile phones in December 2009, viewing a combined total of 6.7 billion pages and spending an aggregate of 4.8 billion minutes online during the month. The top 10 sites accounted for 70% of both total pages viewed and total time spent online on mobiles during the month.
The top 10 sites and number of visitors were:

1. Facebook.com (5 million)
2. Google sites (4.6m)
3. Telefonica Mobile Networks (3.7m)
4. Orange Sites (3.6m)
5. Vodafone Group (3.3m)
6. Yahoo! Sites (2m)
7. BBC Sites (1.9m)
8. Microsoft Sites (1.6m)
9. Apple (1.5m)
10. Nokia (1.1m)

When viewed by the number of minutes spent on the site, the list looks pretty similar, but AOL (including Bebo),makes it in at No.5, and Flirtomatic is in at No.9. Telefonic and Nokia do not feature in the top 10 by minutes spent on the site.
GSMA MMM Core Reports is the foundation of comScore’s GSMA MMM suite of reports on mobile browsing. Full production data for the MMM Core Reports will be released in March 2010 based on February data. The GSMA and comScore say they are planning a full complement of additional MMM products to measure mobile usage of applications, search, reach and frequency, ad tracking, and ad effectiveness, as well as linkage of the MMM database to Kantar Media’s Target Group Index (TGI). The MMM service will also be expanded to include wi-fi traffic through site-centric measurement of publishers’ and ad networks’ sites, using comScore’s Media Metrix 360 solution, for a de-duplicated view of the online and mobile Internet. comScore says that pre-production data for January from four operators will be delivered later in February 2010, and that full production data from all five operators is anticipated early in Q2 2010.
All the operators are, not unnaturally supportive of the initiative. For 3UK, Neil Andrews, Head of Portal Advertising, says: “Network operators have long sought the independent verification which will allow them to monetise mobile Internet usage on their networks. Media buyers have also been excited about mobile for years, but have never had access to the independent statistics to justify large ad spend; hopefully Mobile Media Metrics will change all this. 3 is very excited about the opportunity provided by this initiative and we look forward to helping media buyers generate a higher ROI through the use of mobile advertising.”

Friendticker Unveils Check-in-based Mobile Ad Solution

Friendticker, which describes itself as “the first mobile customer loyalty platform to apply virtual check-in technology exclusively for brands and small-scale advertisers”, has announced the impending launch of its iPhone application in public beta mode at Mobile World Congress on 15 February.
The company says the app enables advertisers and marketing managers to identify the most useful data for a specific individual at a specific time and place. The platform provides advertisers with the ability to increase customer retention rates by adding virtual check-ins to a brand or venue.
Friendticker says it transforms the social media check-in concept and applies it as a marketing tool to directly interact with brands, and rewards interaction with the brand instantly. The app adapts the game-based, virtual check-in technology of current social applications to make it specific for a mobile marketing platform that brands can use to target their own customers within their virtual local community.
The company notes that in current social network companies that focus on virtual check-in, a badge has no real-life value. In the Friendticker model, instead of badges, the platform lets advertisers provide items of the advertiser’s choice. With Friendticker, each user receives items for his action and interaction with the brand, and the item becomes a representation of the real-world item. This allows the advertiser or marketer to define what the user receives and which items are exchangeable for real-world goods. There is no limit to the amount of items that a user can receive and the items could represent a free drink n a cafe, for example, or a money-off coupon. Friendticker is sold on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) and CPL (cost per lead) model.
“Current virtual check-in applications are only scratching the surface of what's possible for local businesses through mobile,” says Friendticker Co-founder, Florian Resatsch. “Friendticker gives real-life value to a customer's mobile actions beyond the gaming aspect of first generation virtual check-in technology. By combining social networks, geo-placement and real-time search to add value on top of who you are,
what you are doing and where you are, local and small scale advertisers can create and launch mobile campaigns that reach their target audience."

185m and Counting for Camiant

Camiant, which provides policy control technology, has revealed that its PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function) deployments have surpassed the 185 million-subscriber milestone with its Multimedia Policy Engine (MPE). 
To date, over 30 operators around the world have selected Camiant’s policy control solution for dynamic management of Internet/broadband networks, supporting a wide range of applications including tiered Internet services, fair use management of congested networks, quality of service (QoS) for Voice and Video over IP services, and EU roaming controls. 
Camiant’s MPE platform enables operators to roll out a wide range of Internet-based services, with high levels of per subscriber customizations, and the ability to control usage, charging and quality of service on a per-application basis. The real-time control platform balances the needs of the application, the subscriber’s entitlements, and the network conditions, to proactively manage network congestion. 
Camiant’s IOT (Inter-Operability Testing) ecosystem has also grown and now includes interworking with over 35 applications, network elements and other gateway vendors, including Bytemobile, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Juniper Networks and Nokia Siemens Networks. As an independent policy control vendor, Camiant says it ensures integration with the widest variety of leading application and equipment providers, enabling operators to attain new levels of performance, reliability and control over next-generation networks.

Colibria Links Facebook to Mobile Services

Colibria has launched its Facebook Canvas application. It’s an operator-branded portal that allows users to communicate with their mobile phone contacts directly from Facebook. By integrating key operator services within the social network, the Facebook Canvas provides a link between the operator and the 350 million strong online community.
The app presents a dashboard view of the user’s mobile contacts within Facebook, allowing them to communicate with these contacts instantly, using operator services such as SMS, IM and VoIP. Users can also see their friends’ status and their location on a map, and are able to update their own status. The app also gives access to features that the customer may not have on their mobile device, such as birthday reminders, proximity alerts and the ability to send pokes.
Colibria says that the app, carrying the operator’s brand, will spread virally throughout the social network as users invite their friends to use it. Once added, the app is embedded on the user’s profile, making it visible to their entire network of friends. When the user interacts with the app, automatic updates are posted to their profile, further exposing the service.
Colibria says that the Facebook Canvas app gives mobile operators the chance to capitalise on the popularity of social networks, while also driving mobile usage. According to a recent survey carried out by YouGov, 30% of British 18 to 24 year olds spend five hours or more a week on social networks. Furthermore, 60% of all British social network users use applications, with 21% using them daily. The demand to deliver mobile services through social network applications is high, with 27% of social network users saying they would like to be able to access their mobile phonebook contacts and communicate with them from within social networks.
“There is a lot of innovation in the industry, but our Facebook Canvas Application demonstrates functionality that both excites the user and provides value to operators,” says Colibria CEO, Keith Gibson. “While operators do recognise that social network integration is important to the user, they also need to look at ways to harness the power of these sites for business. Apps are a great way to drive mobile usage, encourage customer loyalty and even win customers from the competition.”

GetJar Launches DIY App Store Solution

Independent app store GetJar has unveiled App Catalogue Express (ACE), a white-label mobile application catalogue for networks, aggregators and partners to launch their own app stores quickly and easily.
ACE expands and builds on GetJar’s experience launching branded app store solutions with over two dozen global partners, including Sony Ericsson, Vodafone, 3UK, Virgin France and Opera Mini.
One of ACE’s launch projects is a mobile app store being created for mobile phone retailer The Carphone Warehouse by Spare Backup. The company has used ACE as part of the build for The Carphone Warehouse’s new customer portal, which includes a mobile app store. The Carphone Warehouse portal offers a selection of mobile apps to customers in the UK, including GetJar’s most popular apps, which are available for all major platforms and devices.
“The ability to integrate a multitude of cross-platform apps directly into a new app store, via GetJar’s App Catalogue Express, has allowed us to quickly and easily deliver mobile app store content to clients including The Carphone Warehouse,” says Spare Backup CEO, Cery Perle. “As the apps market gathers pace, we have experienced a surge in demand from clients requesting assistance in creating and launching a mobile app store, and we fully intend to incorporate GetJar’s App Catalogue Express into future projects.”

MoMac Launches Reseller Program

Mobile publishing platform provider MoMac has launched a Global Reseller Program (GRP), and created a new Reseller Division that is tasked with managing the growing number of international partners using MoMac’s GoMedia platform. The reseller program will see MoMac extend its reach worldwide, partnering with best of breed mobile technology and marketing organizations who will use the GoMedia Platform to service local media, web brands and mobile operators. All modules of MoMac’s mobile Internet suite are being made available through the program, enabling partners to replicate MoMac’s mobile operator and media relationships in new territories.
MoMac says the GRP is being launched after initial trials with partners in new territories exceeded expectations. In one such trial in S. Africa, MoMac’s partnership with a local mobile marketing company has helped create a rapidly expanding mobile Internet business, servicing a number of major media brands two mobile network operators. In 18 months, MoMac’s domain has become the 5th most visited off-portal domain in S. Africa, according to browser firm, Opera Software.
MoMac’s Reseller Division, which will initially be located across the company’s London and Rotterdam offices, will focus first on EMEA, with plans to expand into Asia and S. America later this year.
The Global Reseller Program is a key part of MoMac’s strategy to rapidly expand our geographical presence globally,” says MoMac UK Managing Director, Sham Careem. “We have built robust relationships with media and mobile operators in our domestic territories due to the quality and flexibility of our platform and services. Our challenge was to replicate this in new markets. The demonstrable success of our current reseller partnerships clearly indicates that MoMac’s technology can be rapidly deployed in a new territory with exceptional results.”

Amdocs Report Highlights Smartphone Support Issues

Amdocs, which provides customer experience systems, has released the results of an independent survey that examined customer care issues associated with Smartphones and the impact these have on user adoption and customer satisfaction.
The survey found that while Smartphones are becoming increasingly complex, the majority of customer support calls pertain to basic issues that can be resolved remotely, requiring little or no technical support. 
The survey polled more than 4,000 wireless device users from the US, Canada and the UK late last year. Those respondents who had contacted a call centre classified the reason for doing so as a “technical support” issue, even though the majority of these issues were basic “how to” enquiries such as device configuration (e.g., how to set up email); or menu navigation (such as how to enable wi-fi access). Amdocs notes that these enquiries could have been resolved quickly via web self-service, by Level One customer care agents, or by training the customer on basic usage at time of sale, saving service providers time and investment in support resources. In addition, a majority of the respondents who had difficulties in using their Smartphone stated that they had strongly considered returning their device because they could not resolve these basic issues.
The survey reveals that the call centre remains the first port of call. More than 50% percent of those surveyed made a call to the contact centre to resolve basic support issues, taking an average of  two calls to close their issue. On average, the report says, support calls lasted 17 minutes, indicating that call centre agents lack the technology and training necessary to resolve these basic customer inquiries at the first instance. As a result, consumers were frequently transferred to more costly technical support agents requiring more time, resources and cost. Notably, just 5% of those polled consulted the service provider’s website for support, indicating that Smartphone web self-service resources are underutilized.
The survey also found that unresolved issues often result in a return trip to the retail outlet, or product abandonment. 30% of consumers surveyed returned for customer support to the retail outlet where they bought their Smartphone, and one in three consumers considered returning or exchanging their device due to the inability to resolve issues. 65% stated that they prefer self-help alternatives and identified “knowlegeable sales representatives”, “faster procedures” and “web-based solutions” as ways to improve their customer service experience. 
One out of six consumers were unaware of their Smartphone’s advanced features or did not know how to use them. More than 70% said that it would have been beneficial for a sales representative to explain all the features at the time of purchase. The data suggest that with in-store tutorials or after-sale activities, service providers can drive additional application and data usage, Amdocs says. 
“The survey underscores that by equipping Level One agents and retail staff with the relevant technology and information, service providers can quickly address basic customer inquiries, reduce call handling time and increase customer satisfaction,” says Amdocs Vice President of Product Marketing and Solutions, Seth Nesbitt. “As devices become more sophisticated, service providers must ensure they have the technology to handle all types of inquiries to quickly and efficiently resolve basic or more technical issues via multiple channels.” 

SCCOPE Launches on Vodafone 360

Mobile Shopping tool SCCOPE has launched in the Vodafone 360 superstore for Vodafone 360 customers in the UK. To compare prices from 100 leading UK retailers, customers simply need to install the SCCOPE application, either by clicking on the ‘Shop’ icon on their 360 phone, and searching for ‘Sccope’, or they can get the app from the web shop at 360.com, which will then synchronise with their phone
SCCOPE provides consumers with immediate detailed information on prices and stock from leading UK retailers. The app focuses on electronics, games, books, DVDs and toys but also includes clothes and other categories. The site carries 280,000 separate product numbers and 4 million different price points.  Shoppers can also review hot deals and register for stock availability and price drop alerts, and receive filtered search results.

Open NFC Goes Open Source

INSIDE Contactless, which supplies open-standard, contactless chip technologies, is making its Open NFC commercial-grade NFC protocol stack (formerly MicroRead Software Foundation) available in a free and open source edition under the Apache Licence, Version 2.0. Open NFC 3.4 is available now for WinCE 6.0 (compatible with Windows Mobile 7 and Linux 2.6 platforms), while an Android implementation will premier with the planned release of Open NFC 3.5 at the end of March. 
“Our decision to release Open NFC under the Apache licence demonstrates our willingness to lead the way in bringing high quality, well documented NFC software into the open source arena,” says Philippe Martineau, Executive Vice President of the NFC business line for INSIDE Contactless. “Open NFC fits right in with the trend toward open platforms in the mobile industry, and will benefit device makers as well as software developers and others in the mobile ecosystem in several ways, providing greater impetus to implementing NFC solutions across a broad range of consumer products.”
Martineau adds that the availability of an open source NFC protocol stack should also improve the interoperability of NFC devices, and thus accelerate market adoption.
The Open NFC protocol stack provides a complete NFC middleware solution for mobile phones, embedded products and other devices. Open NFC supports several levels of functionality, from low-level RF control to high-level NFC Forum tag handling, plus peer-to-peer communications and Bluetooth and wi-fi pairing, as well as interactions with single-wire protocol SIMs and other secure elements, and compatibility with smart cards and RFID tags based on Felica, Mifare and ISO 14443 standards.
“Having an open-source NFC stack like Open NFC is a game-changing development, providing greater flexibility in sourcing NFC controllers and a consistent programming interface,” says Gary Koerper, Vice President of Engine Systems at  Motorola Mobile Devices. “We congratulate INSIDE Contactless for their contribution to the open source movement."
And John Elliott, Senior Director of Emerging Connectivity Technologies at Qualcomm CDMA Technologies says: "Qualcomm understands the increasing importance of open source and community-driven software to the mobile industry, and is pleased to see INSIDE Contactless taking this bold move to bring NFC into the open source movement. Qualcomm is already optimizing two of its UMTS and CDMA2000 NFC handset reference designs for use with the Open-NFC stack, and continues to invest in a number of open source initiatives as customer demand for open and flexible software coupled with powerful mobile hardware platforms continues to increase."
Open NFC was originally developed for INSIDE's third-generation MicroRead NFC chip that provides the broadest range of NFC options, enabling numerous new contactless applications, and was the first NFC solution to support the single-wire protocol (SWP). The award-winning MicroRead suite combines third-generation silicon, a full set of interfaces, NFC software libraries and APIs, a field-proven reference design and robust standards support to provide a turnkey contactless reader solution.
According to a report from Juniper Research, open source operating systems are now running on 60% of the Smartphones on the market, and the number of Smartphones shipped with open source operating systems will increase from 106 million in 2009 to 223 million by 2014.  

Opera Report Looks at In-car Browsing

Opera Software has released a report entitled ‘Web on Wheels’ which looks at bringing the web to in-vehicle computer systems. The report focuses on Opera’s partnership with Ford Motor Company to bring in-dash web browsing to Ford trucks and vans. While Ford is Opera’s first browser-to-car deployment, the company predicts a growing need for remote access to the office while on the road.
According to the analyst Strategy Analytics, almost 90% of vehicles produced in N. America and Europe will have some form of wireless connectivity in 2016.
“The rapid market adoption of Bluetooth, 3G, GPS and Smartphones will drive huge growth in the demand for connected infotainment in the vehicle”, says Jo Blight, Director, Global Automotive Practice at Stretagy Analytics. “Our surveys show email, maps, navigation, music and radio are the top priorities for consumers, but it will be in HMI (Human Machine Interface) and software where the automotive competitive battles are set to be won and lost.”
The report notes that using a traditional PC while driving is not safe without specific modifications for in-car usability and safety (in case you were wondering – Ed). While the experience can create an approximation of the full home or office web experience and should be comfortable and useful for the driver, it states, a driver may not actually need the full array of functions s/he has when not on-the-go.
There’s more information on the Ford deployment here. And you can access the report here.

Preloads Pay, says Accumulate

Accumulate UK, which provides flexible pricing solutions for mobile retailers, says that it can guarantee an increase in content revenues for mobile operators that choose to use its Flexion service for preloading mobile games. Accumulate says it is making this guarantee based on its experience of successfully running a number of preload programmes for major global operators over the past two years. Accumulate already enables preloaded content on 3UK, O2, and on handsets from Sony-Ericsson.
“We guarantee that any operator or device manufacturer will see a surge in content revenues by enabling preloaded games with Flexion,” says Accumulate Managing Director, Jens Lauritzson. “It is simply not a viable option to preload content without this kind of technology any more and we can show how much more revenue a Flexion preload programme can generate.”
The Flexion preload service allows mobile operators and device manufacturers to preload full versions of Java and Android games and apps onto handsets and to then offer free trials. These preloaded items feature in-application billing and operators also have the ability to offer games on a ‘Try & Buy’ basis, and to offer multiple pricing options.
Accumulate says that the “simple and seamless” user experience increases conversion rates compared with traditional demo versions, while at the same time enhancing user satisfaction and generating extra income without additional effort. Each preloaded item can also be configured to feature Flexion Discovery, an in-wrapper browser to enable on-device up-selling. Flexion Discovery promotes appropriate content at the point of purchase, createing additional revenue opportunities.
 “Our experience shows that if four or five games are preloaded on a device, at least one will be purchased within 12 months,” says Lauritzon. “Not only that, but Flexion will also promote additional content, effectively turning the preloaded game into a fully functioning shop. It is all about on-device retailing and making it easy for the customer to find and buy content."

Lightspeed Handed MMA Research Brief

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has appointed Lightspeed Research as its official European research partner. Under the terms of the agreement, the MMA will use the Lightspeed Research Panel to conduct monthly primary research into consumer attitudes on topics affecting marketers, enabling the provision of regular high quality research insight to its members.
The data, covering the UK, France and Germany, will be jointly promoted by Lightspeed Research and the MMA to provide insights into mobile usage and behaviour, extending the MMA’s series of monthly ‘Mobile Consumer Briefing’ reports to three of the most important markets in Europe. These reports provide up-to-date insights into the latest behaviour of mobile consumers. The first Mobile Consumer Briefing report will be on the subject of mobile banking. 
As an official research partner of the MMA, Lightspeed Research will provide expert advice to the Association on emerging issues in market and media research that affect the mobile industry and sit on the organisation’s committees to help facilitate best practice. 
“We are delighted to name Lightspeed Research as an official research partner,” says Paul Berney, MMA European Managing Director. “They have extensive experience in researching the mobile market and as such, will enable us to deliver timely, relevant and highly meaningful insights to our European membership base.”

Vodafone UK Opens Small Business Store

Vodafone UK has become the first mobile operator to open a retail store dedicated to small business customers.
The store, in London’s Cheapside, is the result of local small businesses sharing what they want from their mobile operator and builds on the network of dedicated business advisers Vodafone UK has in its customer call centres, 150 of its 400 retail stores nationwide and its online store.
The business store offers support workshops and seminars to help small businesses manage their fixed and mobile communications needs; in-store technical support;  advisers, dedicated to small businesses; live device demos; and an appointment service to suit business schedules.
The store was officially opened yesterday by the former head of the Confederation of British Industries, Lord Digby Jones, who said: 
“Small businesses are always looking for an edge and always looking to get that little bit more value for money. Vodafone's move to offer a dedicated service to the local business community will help to ensure that businesses get the most out of their communications needs.”

Besen Group Launches MVNO Seminar

The Besen Group, an international mobile data industry management consulting practice, has announced a one day Mobile Data MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) seminar titled ‘Mobile Media - A Cornerstone for Convergence’.
The seminar, which is delivered on the client's premises to an unlimited number of delegates, includes an MVNO Business Guide, MVNO case studies, and a session on Mobile Data Fundamentals, which promises to provide an insight into  mobile networks, convergence and mobile broadband technologies and applications.
Companies featured in the case studies section include Dell, Apple, Nintendo, Nokia, BMW and Google.
There’s also a workshops looking at strategy and business case development, including a brainstorming session that will review a client’s mobile strategy, partner selection, competition, and service offering. 
“With mobile broadband technologies, mobile media is paving the way for digital consumption and offers a new channel to promote, deliver and enhance services by flexible use of spectrum,” says Besen Group Founder, Alex Besen. “Our Mobile Data MVNO seminar is the only seminar of its kind in the world and provides a closer look at the mobile strategy of selected organizations.”
There’s more information about the event here.

SpiderCloud Raises $40m

SpiderCloud Wireless, a developer of wireless technologies and creator of the Enterprise Radio Access Network (E-RAN) platform developed for mobile operators, has announced the closing of its Series B financing round. The $25 million (£15.7 million) round was led by Opus Capital, along with new investments from Shasta Ventures and existing Series A investors, Charles River Ventures and Matrix Partners.
The company has also announced the addition of Behrooz Parsay as its new Senior Vice President of Engineering and Operations. He has over 20 years experience in bringing wire-line and wireless products and systems to market and has previously held RF engineering and management positions with Aperto Networks, Ericsson, DIVA, Kestrel, and Lantern Communications.
SpiderCloud’s E-RAN platform is a scalable system comprised of a SmartCloud Services Node (SCSN) and Radio Nodes (SCRN). Advanced features bring ‘zero touch’ installation and low-cost routing options for voice and data to the world of mobile radio access networks. The result is a purpose-built and self-organizing wireless network capable of extending the enterprise’s full suite of voice and data applications and services to any standard handset or computing device. According to SpiderCloud, E-RAN brings together the functionality and security of cellular networks with the utility and economics of enterprise wi-fi data networks.

Mobile Ticketing to Boom, says Juniper

Almost 15 billion tickets will be delivered to subscribers' mobile devices worldwide by 2014, compared to just over two billion this year, according to a new study from Juniper Research. Western Europe will be the leading region in 2014 based on the number of mobile tickets delivered, taking over from current leader, the Far East & China region.
Juniper’s Mobile Ticketing report found that services are developing fastest in the transport sector, with SMS, barcode and, increasingly, app-driven services being offered by rail and metro companies and airlines.
But the potential of mobile ticketing does not stop there, Juniper believes. Major cinema chains, concert organisers and sports teams are latching on to the commercial viability, which is driven by both cost savings and the up-sell revenue potential, not to mention the added convenience for the user. There are also new entrants from a variety of angles such as apps start-ups and mobile commerce providers seeking to grasp the opportunities they can see.
“Although 15 billion sounds large, it is in fact it a small percentage of total tickets issued; there is plenty of scope for innovative solutions to penetrate this market,” says report Author Howard Wilcox. “Next steps will see more widespread purchasing on mobiles, as well as use of NFC tickets. Currently, however, there are only limited examples of NFC ticketing usage outside of the Far East, owing to the lack of device availability.”
Juniper interviewed leading mobile ticketing operators, application developers, consultants and vendors for the report, which includes a detailed, six -year market forecasting suite covering key market parameters.
There’s more information about the report here.

Iraqi Operator Turns to RoutoMessaging for Global SMS

Messaging firm RoutoMessaging has revealed that Iraqi fixed wireless voice and data provider, Itisaluna Abr Al Iraq, has begun using its global SMS services to enable subscribers to send and receive texts to and from people anywhere in the world.
Itisaluna began operations in 2008 and offers subscribers a range of products and services, including 3G and broadband, and SMS2TV, which enables users to interact with their favourite television programmes via text.
RoutoMessaging points out, however, that with more than 700 operators in more than 200 countries, the time and effort in establishing a global 2-way text messaging service could be considerable, so instead, Itisaluna has tapped into the company’s termination rates with mobile operators worldwide.
“Itisaluna aims to provide subscribers with the most compelling products and services on its state-of-the-art network,” says Itisalune CEO, Laoy Almalaeika. “Partnering with RoutoMessaging to provide customers with worldwide text coverage at competitive rates positions Itisaluna ahead of its Iraqi rivals, and augments our drive to remain the premier service provider in this country.”

Registration Opens for Voda 360 Developer Conference

Vodafone has announced the next phase of its engagement with the international developer community following the launch of its €1 million (£875,000) ‘Vodafone App Star’ prize fund to reward developers of the best app in Europe.
Registration is now open to the Vodafone 360 Developer Conference, to be held at Mobile World Congress on Monday 15 February. All developers who register now will also receive a free 4-day pass to Mobile World Congress.
Mobile and web developers can audition their app at the show, where the winners will be rewarded with prizes including €1,000, a Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 and other Smartphones. They will also automatically be entered into the Vodafone App Star competition with a further chance to win up to €100,000.
The Vodafone 360 Developer Conference will host interactive discussions on developer topics with a range of industry experts, and provide tips on how to create and publish apps across Vodafone 360 devices. To highlight the cross-platform reach of its apps developer platform, Vodafone will also be the headline sponsor of the App Planet developer zone at Mobile World Congress. 
In the three months since the launch of Vodafone 360, over 7,000 apps have been made available for download from the Vodafone 360 Apps Shop across eight European markets. By March 2010, Vodafone expects to have shipped more than 2 million devices across 50 different handset models that are capable of accessing the Vodafone 360 Apps Shop. 
“The sheer volume of applications that have been submitted and approved to ship in our Vodafone 360 Apps Shop is testament to our continued commitment to open web standards,” says Lee Epting, Director of Content Services at Vodafone Group. “Whether it’s helping to reduce development time or increasing the breadth of handsets on our platform, we are trying to make it as easy and as lucrative as possible for developers to work with us and deliver the most relevant, local applications for customers across our markets.”
You can get more information and register for the Vodafone 360 Developer Conference here.

SwissQual Tests Reveal LTE's Speed

SwissQual, the independent Swiss network quality measurement company, has carried out drive testing on the new TeliaSonera LTE network in Stockholm. The measurements were made using the Samsung Kalmia LTE 4G modem mounted in the SwissQual Diversity Optimizer platform. The Diversity Optimizer, in common with all of the probes in the SwissQual Evolution range, has been designed to easily integrate new handsets and modems for emerging technologies such as LTE.
The drive test revealed downlink data throughputs up to 47Mbps and TCP latency as low as 20ms from the new TeliaSonera 4G data service. This is approximately five times better than the performance typically seen in 3G HSPA+ networks.

emoze Powers Pelephone's Smart Mail Service

Pelephone, Israel's largest mobile operator, has launched its Smart Mail mobile email service, powered by emoze.
Smart Mail is a push email service that enables both personal and business email messages, including attachments, to be pushed in real-time to the subscriber's handheld device, even if it is not a Smartphone. Smart Mail is supported on over 13 Symbian and Java devices, including several Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets, with dozens more to be added in the coming months.
Pelephone notes that the rapid development of cellular broadband is fast closing the gap between the number of emails sent over the Internet and the number sent via mobile phones.
“Currently, there are more than 65 million emails sent daily in Israel alone via the Internet, but only half a million emails are sent via cellular phones,” says Pelephone Senior VP, Guy Bauman. “We believe that within three years we will witness the number of emails being sent via cellular phones increasing to about 10 million messages a day. We are focused on mobile broadband and mobile-mail is definitely an area of significant value for both the mass market and the business sector. We are confident that cooperation with emoze will assist us in reaching this untapped market, and significantly expanding our broadband customer-base.”

Handmark Launches TweetCaster for Android

Mobile applications and services developer Handmark has released TweetCaster, a feature-rich Twitter application available for Android phones.
TweetCaster is designed to make tweeting from Android-based Smartphones fast, easy, and fun. In addition to standard features, TweetCaster also offers multiple Twitter account support; integrated retweets and Twitter lists; offline tweet caching; push notifications for tweets, mentions and direct messages; URL shortening and previews; photo attachment; and threaded direct messages
“Handmark continues to enhance the mobile experience for customers around the world with the best connected applications,” says Handmark EVP of Marketing, Evan Conway. “TweetCaster delivers a fantastic experience for Twitter users looking to fully extend their experience to their Android Smartphone.”
A free, ad-supported version of TweetCaster is available here in exchange for a tweet about the application. TweetCaster Pro, a premium version of the application without ads, is also available for $4.99 (£3.13) in Android Market. For customers who download the free version of TweetCaster and wish to upgrade to TweetCaster Pro, an Upgrade Key will also be available in Android Market.

MMA Restructures

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has announced a restructuring of the organization, in which its four operating regions - Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America and North America - will be transformed into business units. As part of this shift, the roles and responsibilities of Managing Directors in these regions will expand to better address regional and local needs, and ensure global scalability.
Managing Directors will continue to foster strong member communities, launch new in-country local councils and perform MMA Forum events with full profit & loss responsibility, while overseeing adherence to the MMA’s Consumer Best Practices (CBPs) guidelines. 
The MMA says that these expanded responsibilities guarantee the business units will operate according to its vision, maintain consistency, and encourage the exchange of success cases and best practices across the globe. In addition to Paul Berney in EMEA, Rohit Dadwal will assume the role of Managing Director, APAC, while Michael Becker will becomes Managing Director, North America Branch. The managing directors will report to the MMA’s interim CEO, Federico Pisani Massamormile. He says:
“The restructuring enables us to address the growing popularity of mobile marketing and our increasing membership all over the world, while enabling a measure of ‘geographic specificity’ to how the organization operates. Each of the managing directors will assume financial management for their respective regions, enabling greater flexibility to achieve their business goals.”
In conjunction with the restructuring, the MMA has engaged executive search firm Diversified Search Ray & Berndtson continues to pursue a new CEO for the organization.

ROK Launches Free Mobile TV for UK Viewers

ROK Entertainment Group has announced the launch of ROK TV UK as a free download to UK viewers.
ROK TV streams TV channels in high quality over 2.5G and 3G networks, and via wi-fi. The service currently offers four channels: BBC One, BBC Two, E4 and ROK Tube. ROK says that more free-to-air channels will be added shortly.
So long as the viewer has a GPRS data package in their mobile tariff, or watches ROK TV over wi-fi, the service is free to watch.ROK TV will be launching in the US with US channels in the next few weeks.
You can register your phone and get a WAP Push link for ROK TV here.