weComm Powers BBC Radio Mobile App

weComm, which specializes in interactive mobile data solutions, has revealed that it was behind the design of the downloadable mobile application currently being used in the BBC's ‘radio visualisation’ trial, giving users synchronised access to relevant images, ‘now playing’ and artist information, news, entertainment and sports feeds on thier mobile, as well as the ability to interact directly with the programme.
The mobile application, which is built on weComm’s wave On-Demand Mobile Application Platform, delivers live radio broadcast for radio shows involved in the trial. The trial includes The Chris Moyles Show, Zane Lowe and Switch on BBC Radio 1, Material World on BBC Radio 4, and a selection of The Hub sessions on BBC 6 Music.
weComm’s wave platform uses a client-server infrastructure to deliver high-quality, interactive mobile data services, optimized to all major mobile operating systems. The technology delivers content and applications to handsets on-demand, giving the richness and interactivity of an on-device application combined with the flexibility and freshness of an online service.
“The radio visualisation trial is ideally mapped to weComm’s push technology, highlighting our ability to deliver synchronised real-time interactivity in a rich and compelling manner,” says weComm VP, Business Solutions, Steven Tan.

Adfonic Launches Mobile Ad Exchange

Adfonic has announced the release of its mobile advertising exchange of the same name. Adfonic will enable advertisers and agencies to bid for advertising on mobile sites and applications, creating a new revenue stream for mobile publishers. Adfonic’s self-service global mobile advertising platform will address the advertising community’s increased demands for more sophisticated mobile campaign management and maximise the earning potential for a new generation of mobile Internet sites and applications worldwide.
Adfonic says that advertisers and publishers will benefit from “the most advanced targeting capabilities in the market, detailed web-based real-time reporting and analytics, and an intuitive user experience”.
“We are creating a transparent marketplace for advertisers to buy mobile inventory using a bidding model which will keep costs low whilst protecting their brand,” says CEO Victor Malachard. “Mobile has the potential to be the most powerful channel in the marketing mix. Our goal is to turn that potential into reality.”
Adfonic says its campaign management tools have been designed from the ground up to allow advertisers and agencies to connect with their desired audiences. Targeting options include location, device, mobile operators, demographics and day-time parting Web 2.0-style ‘tag’ approach further helps advertisers reach a contextually relevant set of publishers, who in turn benefit from increased earning potential.
Harry Dewhirst, operations Director at mobile media planning and buying agency RingRing Media, has welcomed the launch of Adfonic. He told Mobile Marketing Magazine:
“I think Adfonic is a great startup. They have already been in to demo the platform to the Account Management team at RingRing and we were all very impressed. In terms of functionality, its right up there with Admob. The blind network space is competitive, but providing they get quality publishers within their network, which I’m sure they will, then the advertisers (and agencies) will follow. RingRing Media are already planning some campaigns with Adfonic and look forward to great success.“
Mick Rigby, Chairan of media agency Yodel, also feels the company has a decent offering. He told us:
“The founders each have excellent mobile pedigree and have done an awful lot of research on other mobile ad networks prior to launching Adfonic, so hopefully it will live up to its billing as having the most advanced targeting capabilities and bringing something new to the mobile ad market.
“The risk they take is becoming a ‘me too’ to the likes of Admob and BuzzCity who are already established. The key to their success will be the publisher partnerships they manage to establish. To really get Yodel excited they’ll need to get on board the big consistent traffic sits as well as some of the premium publishers that aren’t currently in blind networks.
“Their targeting capabilities, especially the daypart and the keyword tagging, do offer something that we’ll find really useful. Lower CPC’s are beneficial to the advertiser but are only worth the money if the click turns into a conversion; better targeting tools will allow agencies to focus on the right audiences and help optimise the campaign conversions."
The Adfonic platform will serve display advertising to mobile sites and applications at launch, and publishers and advertisers can create an account for free in minutes here.
The interface is designed for companies ranging from larger brands and established mobile destinations to bloggers and small developers seeking to monetise or drive traffic to their sites and iPhone applications.
The three co-founders of Adfonic – Victor Malachard, CEO; Wesley Biggs, CTO; and Paul Childs, CMO – collectively bring 40 years of mobile marketing, mobile technology and start-up experience to their roles. Adfonics says the company is founded on the principles of trust, openness, flexibility, innovation and continuous improvement, which it says are essential elements for the development of a vibrant mobile community.

WiMAX First for Red Bend in Japan

Red Bend Software, which specialises in Mobile Software Management (MSM), has revealed that Fujitsu Microelectronics has licensed its standards-based device management (DM) software for Fujitsu’s WiMAX SoC and WiMAX chipsets. Fujitsu Microelectronics specializes in the design and manufacturing of semiconductors for WiMAX devices, such as mobile handsets, PC modems, mobile Internet devices and netbooks.
Under the agreement, Fujitsu Microelectronics has pre-integrated Red Bend’s device management software in its WiMAX SoC and chipset platform, enabling Fujitsu customers to quickly and efficiently implement standards-based device management in their WiMAX-enabled products. Red Bend provides the an independent DM client that is interoperable with DM servers supporting standards from the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), including the WiMAX Management Object that is used by the WiMAX Forum, and that has been adopted by leading WiMAX operators worldwide. Fujitsu Microelectronics is a founding member and board member of the WiMAX Forum.
“This agreement with Fujitsu Microelectronics represents the first WiMAX deal for Red Bend in Japan, and continues the rapid adoption of our device management solution by WiMAX chipset vendors, device manufacturers and operators worldwide,” says Kazuhiro Abe, President of Red Bend Software Japan KK. “Fujitsu Microelectronics selected Red Bend for its leadership in mobile software management and built-in support for WiMAX, making it easier and more cost-effective to integrate OMA DM functionality into any WiMAX-enabled device.”
Red bend notes that WiMAX service providers face myriad challenges in provisioning millions of new subscribers, as well as managing millions of devices that will operate on the network, often temporarily. It adds that its device management software has been proven in tens of millions of mobile devices already in the market, and is rapidly being adopted by WiMAX service providers, chipset makers and equipment manufacturers in the United States, Japan and EMEA.
Red Bend’s standards-based OMA DM solution is used to provision new subscribers, configure applications and network settings, manage software, and retrieve device information over the air. It has been deployed across multiple platforms, operating systems and memory types on mobile phones, wireless devices and machine-to-machine (M2M) modules.

Take Our Survey and Win a £250 Bose Sound System

With more and more people using their phone to access their email, there are some important implications for brands looking to reach people via email marketing campaigns. 
Email marketing company Experian CheetahMail wants to look at some of these in more detail, and as a starting point, it is conducting a survey to find out about mobile email usage.
The survey will take less than a couple of minutes to complete, and everyone who enters will have the chance to win a Bose SoundDock digital music system worth £250. This great piece of kit turns your iPod or iPhone into a hi-fi system, and even charges the device at the same time.
To take part in the survey,click here.

Incentivated and RAPP Launch Bowtime Loyalty Campaign

Cider brand Strongbow is launching a mobile loyalty campaign to reconnect with customers who took part in last year’s multiple award winning 6-month ‘Bowtime’ campaign. 
Bowtime is Strongbow’s new through the line communication idea which was seeded in through 2008 and integrated into the wider above-the-line campaign in 2009. In 2008, mobile was the core channel used, as the campaign was managed and delivered by RAPP and mobile agency Incentivated.
Over 80,000 customers signed up for the campaign, which included mobile barcodes and a pub locator, on-pack promotions, and a promotion on social media site Flirtomatic. All participants were entered into a 4-month CRM campaign, featuring free pint and festival ticket offers, MMS animations and ‘wind-up-a-mate’ promotions.
The campaign prompted a 39% response rate, and following the campaign, research conducted by Millward Brown among those who had received the CRM activity versus those who had not, showed that the campaign had a statistically significant impact on purchase. For the CRM group, claimed purchase increased by 44%, and brand preference increased by 8%. This compared with decreases in claimed purchase of 4% and decreases in brand preference of 10% for those who had not received the CRM messages.
This will be the third year that Strongbow has used mobile to connect with customers. The loyalty campaign, which launches on 10 July, integrates mobile, email and web elements. A series of text & win competitions invites drinkers to win 60 prizes a day for 60 days, including both high- and low-value prizes like JVC DVD Home Surround Sound Systems, Tangent DAB Digital Radios, iPod nanos, iPod docks and Sharp 19” LCD TVs, as well as Strongbow-branded merchandise.
Strongbow has been building a detailed CRM database, including customers’ interests, consumption behaviour, ages, mobile numbers, email and postal addresses. This information will be used as the basis for targeted outbound campaigns in 2010.  
“The Bowtime campaign proved that mobile is an exciting and effective way to connect with our customers, providing interesting and engaging branded content and competitions,” says Strongbow Brand Manager, Fiona Seath. “This creates a platform for us to deepen customer relationships and build loyalty throughout the peak summer months.”
Incentivated Commercial Director Robert Thurner says that in 2009, the company is witnessing a growing number of clients focusing on the rich data mobile delivers and converting it into highly targeted and relevant campaigns which keep their brands front of mind.
“I expect this will pave the way for more expansive, integrated campaigns as market conditions improve later this year,” he says.

Mobile Advocacy Coalition Fights for Mobile Marketing's Future

A body called the Mobile Advocacy Coalition has been formed in the US to, in is own words “lobby the FCC (Fenreal Communications Commission) and protect the future of mobile marketing”.
The Mobile Advocacy Coalition was formed in response to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's ruling in the case of Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster, Inc. The Court's decision to remand includes instructions that the group says twist the meaning of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 in a way that imperils the entire mobile marketing industry. According to the decision, any computer that sends texts is effectively considered an auto dialer, which puts any mobile marketing campaign on the wrong side of the law.
The Mobile Advocacy Coalition is comprised of mobile marketing firms, mobile software providers, and SMS aggregators, all working together to lobby the FCC to issue a Declarative Order establishing our industry partners as “mere conduits” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.
“Fax broadcasters and the cellular carriers have specific exemptions from the FCC as they are considered to be ‘mere conduits’,” says Shane Neman, CEO of Ez Texing and Mobile Advocacy Coalition Founder. “We too are merely the technology providers, and yet still can be liable under the law because no specific exemption is exists for us.”
How could the Court interpret a computer that sends text messages to be an auto dialer? The court found that because a computer has the capability to generate a random list of numbers - like an auto dialer - it is an auto dialer. The group asks anyone who does not see the issue with this interpretation to consider that their mobile phone is a computer). So, it doesn’t matter whether the mobile marketer adheres to MMA Best Practices or ensures that a list of numbers is opt-in; the interpretation, and thus liability, rests on the issue of capability.
The Court of Appeals has remanded the case to the District Court for further litigation, as it did not agree with the District Court's finding that a computer sending opt-in texts is not an auto dialer. If this interpretation stands, anyone who sends out an SMS-based mobile marketing campaign will be in violation of the TCPA.
The Mobile Advocacy Coalition is currently building a broad coalition of industry participants to lobby the FCC for a Declarative Ruling. It is working with Scott Delacourt, a lawyer at Wiley Rein LLP, who has worked extensively with the FCC, representing the mobile industry.There’s more information here.

Flirt-words Are Go

Mobile and online dating service Flirtomatic has announced the launch of its Flirt-word service. The new service gives users the opportunity to buy the rights to a certain word for a 24-hour period, giving them the chance to be ‘hot’, ‘cool’, ‘London’ or anything else for the day.  
For the last six weeks, Flirtomatic has given users the ability to profile search, generating over a million Flirt-word searches. Now it’s expanding the search by giving users to chance to buy targeted exposure and attach themselves to a word in order to be found quicker by other users.
Buying a word makes users appear at the top of every search of that specific word, much in the same way as a sponsored link appears at the top of results in any of the major search engines on the web. For example John might buy the exclusivity to the word ‘London’ and if anyone performed a search on Flirtomatic for the word ‘London’ John would appear at the top of the search results for 24 hours.
Noting that some words are going to be more popular than others and to account for this, Flirtomatic has built an automated pricing adjustment system.The price of words will be calculated on a day-to-day basis in relation to customer demand. So the most sought after words should naturally move to a higher price point. In addition, the Flirt-words service will automatically produce banners promoting users and their exclusive word across the network. For example one could read – “Look who’s ‘hot’ today”.
“We know that users love to advertise themselves on the site and the Flirt-words service gives them a new and targeted way to get instant exposure,” says Flirtomatic CEO, Mark Curtis. “Think of it as Google Adwords for the flirtatious.
“It’s an extremely interesting experiment for us, and as the majority of our users seem to realise the value of screen real-estate on mobile, it seemed like a natural progression in profile search capability. It’s a simple concept over perhaps a bidding system, but let’s see what our users think of it.”

Alcatel-Lucent Targets Operators with Mobile Ad Solution

Alcatel-Lucent has launched its Advertising Selection Server through its subsidiary Gettings and unveiled EPlus group in Germany as the first customer for the service.
The Advertising Selection Server features advanced targeting algorithmsa , and is designed to help mobile operators sell advertising inventory across a variety of formats, including SMS and MMS Push, mobile websites, Ringback Tones, pre- and post-roll video ads, and in-game advertising.
The solution is a key element of the Gettings business model around mobile advertising which was developed through extensive collaboration between Alcatel-Lucent and E-Plus group in the creation of new service features and system testing. Gettings enables advertisers to deliver targeted mobile advertising campaigns to all customers of the E-Plus group in an opt in model.
In the Gettings application E-Plus’ consumers choose between three packages - S, M and L - where they will receive between 10 and 25 mobile ads per week, in return for €1, €1.5 or €2 of credit. The Advertising Selection Server enables users to provide their preferences so they receive only mobile ads that interest them.
“Advertising must not be perceived as a nuisance. This is especially true for ads on a mobile phone,” says Daniel Euler, managing director of E-Plus’ Gettings. “Mobile Advertising only works if it strictly centres around the recipients' interests.”
The Advertising Selection Server provides mobile service providers with a single platform that is able to deliver a mix of push and pull targeted advertising campaigns tailored to an individual subscribers’ opt in preferences. The solution also offers a user-friendly interface for inventory and campaign management and acts as a single front-end for advertising players, with a suite of APIs for tight integration with third party services, profiling, and billing systems. The solution is generally available worldwide as a turnkey product, or as a hosted service.
Alcatel-Lucent says the Advertising Selection Server supports its broader personalized content and advertising strategy, which is geared toward enabling the delivery of relevant, interactive and personalized advertising to consumers over communications networks of all kinds.

Roaming Warning

With the new data roaming regulations that came into force yesterday, much of the talk has centred on the welcome news that it’s going to cost less to go talk, text and sruf the mobile web on your phone in the EU from now on. But independent consumer website Broadband Genie has issued a warning, reminding consumers of the cost of using USB dongles to surf the web on your laptop abroad. It points out that downloading one TV show via mobile broadband while abroad on holiday could cost more than the rest of the trip combined.
As of yesterday, the wholesale cost of data in the EU (ie, what suppliers pay each other) was capped at €1 euro per MB by the European Commission. UK mobile broadband providers 3, T-Mobile and Vodafone have all reduced prices to £1.50 per MB or less for EU roaming. However, this is still much more expensive than UK data roaming, while non-EU roaming can still cost more than £6 per MB. There’s a full list of data roaming charges here.
Broadband Genie notes that a single TV episode can comprise between 200MB - 550MB of data, depending on sound and picture quality. A film will be anywhere from 700MB to more than 1.5GB. At £6 per MB then, that must-see episode of ‘The Wire’ (at, say, 350MB) could set you back more than £2,000, while a DVD quality film could cost around £9,000 in data charges. Even at Vodafone's market-leading rate of £9.99 for 50MB in the EU, a 350MB show would cost £70, while customers on 3 or T-Mobile would be looking at an EU bill around £500.
“The most popular services such as the BBC iPlayer and Sky Player only work in the UK, but there are many ways to download shows and films online,” says Broadband Genie Editor, Chris Marling. “If you feel you have to take a UK mobile broadband dongle on holiday, make sure everyone understands it's for basic browsing only. Otherwise, you could be in for a nasty surprise on your return.”

Isomob Celebrates Flirtfinder Success

Mobile communities and content company Isomob reports that, following the launch of its Flirtfinder.mobi mobile dating solution, it has seen a doubling in the nuber of messages exchanged between users during ther month of June.
Contrary to the current vogue for free or nearly-free mobile social networking platforms, Flirtfinder.mobi charges users to send messages to each other using the PayForIt billing solution The company believes the success of the service is due to its ease of use, which, coupled with convenient micropayments, enables it to fill the gap between casual flirting and serious dating.
“While we have worked hard to get the database to critical mass, the weather certainly made the job much easier,” says Isomob Commercial Director, Alisdair Anderson. “It seems the hot snap has people feeling frisky! Being out and about with a mobile phone gives members the ideal opportunity to interact with one another.”
Towards the end of 2008 Isomob announced a partnership with social networking company 4D Interactive, as part of its strategy to work with leading service providers who have not developed mobile dating platforms in-house. 

Bango Launches Bango Enterprise

Bango has launched Bango Enterprise, describing it as a service that is tailored to the specific needs of the world’s largest content providers. Bango Enterprise comprises a comprehensive service package and support to complement Bango’s mobile billing platform. Bango Enterprise is designed for the growing number of large music, games, video and social networking brands who are switching their businesses to use the mobile web.
Bango says its payment technology delivers unique capabilities developed through 10 years of innovation and experience alongside the company’s strategic partners, including leading mobile operators. The new Enterprise service gives big brands direct access to this experience, encompassing technical, marketing and commercial know-how. Bano notes that many of the most successful brands on the mobile web, including Buongiorno, Dada, Flycell, EA Games and Gameloft, already use Bango for mobile billing and analytics, and says that large brands that have built their businesses on the full-fat web are now following in their footsteps.
To deliver this Enterprise service, a team has been established to provide dedicated account management across multiple countries and billing routes. Enterprise customers benefit from worldwide customer service, pro-active account management and early access to new technologies, while a Service Level Agreement provides uptime guarantees.
“Bango mobile products enable everyone from start-up to global media brand to have a successful mobile web business,” says Bango VP Customer Services, Elaine Davies. “Increasingly, the world’s biggest brands, generating millions of dollars in revenue every month, are putting their mobile payment business through Bango, and in response to this trend we’ve developed an Enterprise service to support their special requirements.”
Users of the Enterprise service will get direct access to Bango’s product roadmaps and beta programs. In addition they also have a single point of technical integration for their mobile billing and mobile analytics needs, with the ability to integrate their own systems and existing third party solutions to Bango if they wish.
There’s more information about the Enterprise service here.

Times Mobile Supplement Available Online

If you didn’t manage to pick up a copy of The Times yesterday, complete with 16-page Mobile Marketing supplement produced by Raconteur Media and edited by our own Ed, David Murphy, you can now access the publication online.
The supplement serves as a useful introduction to mobile marketing, covering advertising, apps, search, CRM and QR Codes, and looking at the rapid development of mobile marketing in emerging markets, where consumers who don’t have access to a PC are using their mobile to get online.
You can access the supplement here.

Operators Missing Out on Roaming Revenues, says Acision

Research released by messaging company Acision suggests that the EU roaming legislation which came into force yesterday will be widely embraced by consumers, since only 12% of people currently use their mobile abroad as much as they do at home.  
Acision commissioned Toluna, the online market research panel provider, to carry out the research among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK mobile phone users aged 16 and over from 12 – 13 June 2009.
Operators are missing crucial revenue opportunities, the company says, as the research reveals that consumers are abandoning their usual mobile habits, despite their appetite for browsing the Internet, updating their social networking status, and talking and texting when holidaying. Over two thirds (62%) of consumers admit to not knowing how much it costs to use their phone abroad and only one in 10 feel they are being charged a fair price. Acision’s Flexible Charger is designed to overcome this issue by allowing operators to provide real-time billing transparency for their customers.
The research shows that if consumers were able to set a limit on their spending when using their mobile phone abroad, 42% would use their mobile more. Similarly, if operators were to offer more specific bundles for subscribers when abroad, targeted at individual usage patterns, 67% of consumers would buy a bundle to phone or text those at home. 30% would buy a bundle to talk and text with fellow travellers, while 11% would buy a data package to access the Internet.
 “The EU roaming legislation is a step in the right direction, but for a growing percentage of consumers, this isn’t going far enough, as they want to access data services such as mobile Internet and social networking applications just like they do at home, and this remains costly,” says Mike Beech, VP, Product Management at Acision. “Our research reveals that consumers would be put at ease and would actually use their mobile phone more when abroad if they were able to view their real-time spending.”

Mobile-related Complaints Down 57%

PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid services regulator, says that complaint figures concerning mobile services are down by half, one year on from the introduction of new rules that came about following its 2008 Mobile Review. The new regulation was introduced in response to a worrying rise in consumer complaints regarding mobile services which, on average, account for some 90% of all calls to PhonepayPlus' Contact Centre.
The Mobile Review set out new rules for the mobile phone-paid services sector. It stated that services could not be advertised as free unless they were free from any associated charges; set new rules around trading of third party marketing lists; and introduced a prior permissions scheme for subscription services costing upwards of £4.50 in any given week. The Review also reinforced PhonepayPlus' zero tolerance of any failure of the 'STOP' command for opting out of receiving unwanted contact by text message.
The regulator released the figures at the industry launch of its Annual Report in London yesterday, where it also announced that its Chairman, Sir Alistair Graham, has accepted an invitation to stay in post for a further three years.
PhonepayPlus' complaint figures show that:

• Total complaints regarding mobile services are down 57% from June 2008 compared to May 2009 (2,125 vs 919)
• Consumer complaints regarding mobile subscription services have almost halved since the introduction of the new rules (1,207 vs 651)
• Consumer complaints about unsolicited text messages are down by 85% from the first half of 2008/9 compared to the second half (1,538 vs 230)

“These results show that we are heading in the right direction and sorting the good from the bad in mobile services,” says PhonepayPlus Chief Executive, Paul Whiteing. “It is early days, and we are still analysing the various impacts on our complaint numbers, but these are an encouraging set of results that appear to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new rules, as supported by responsible providers in the sector."
But Whiteing says the regulator is not complacent and remains vigilant for any new opportunistic activity that may result in consumer harm. “This risk is especially acute since, with a country in the midst of recession, we expect the PRS (Premium Rate Services) industry to be attractive to unscrupulous operators looking for ways to make a fast profit. We remain committed to being proactive in preventing non-compliant services from making it to market.”
Commenting on the findings, Suhail Bhat, Policy & Initiatives Director at the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) says:
“MEF warmly welcomes the mobile services complaints figures released by PhonepayPlus, one year on from the introduction of new rules following its 2008 Mobile Review. The fact that total complaints regarding mobile services are down by over half since June of last year is wonderful news for mobile entertainment and reflects the hard work MEF and the wider industry has undertaken to increase transparency and improve the consumer’s experience.
"The findings are mirrored in the Consumers and Convergence study recently undertaken by KPMG in association with MEF, in which we found that consumer satisfaction with mobile entertainment services has grown from 26% in 2007 to 66% in 2009.”
You can access the PhonePayPlus Annual Report here. And you can see the PhonepayPlus Mobile Review here.

MMA Updates US Best Practice Guidelines

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has released the latest version of its ‘U.S. Consumer Best Practices (CBP) Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services’. Updated regularly, the guidelines are the industry standard for cross-carrier mobile content services such as text messaging (SMS), multimedia messaging (MMS), shortcode programs, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and mobile web.
The new, version 4.0 guidelines are the first to consolidate the individual mobile marketing guidelines and codes of conduct – known as ‘carrier playbooks’ – of the four largest US wireless service providers: Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA. Announced in March 2009, the MMA says this agreement is a milestone toward the continued growth of mobile marketing and will achieve operational efficiencies for the industry upwards of $200 million (£121 million) annually.
Produced by the MMA’s CBP Committee, the guidelines provide measures of acceptable and unacceptable practices for all players in the US ecosystem. At 100 pages, the new CBP document is significantly more comprehensive than the previous edition, but the MMA says it provides the industry with the first concise, inclusive set of guidelines, by eliminating the need to refer to four separate carrier playbooks.
In addition to incorporating carrier standards, the new guidelines include revisions and additions to key areas such as standardizing the language; allowing for more flexibility with PIN location in message-terminated (MT) messages; and modifying the STOP requirement in Opt-in MT messages.
The guidelines also feature a new reference ID system designed to make it quick and easy to navigate the document and find information. The guidelines help standardize practices across the industry which provides a better experience for customers by ensuring the consistency of mobile marketing campaigns across the four major US  carriers. 
“The latest MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines are an industry milestone toward meeting the ecosystem’s need for a concise yet comprehensive set of rules at a time when rapid growth increases the challenge of following multiple playbooks,” says MMA CEO and President, Mike Wehrs. “By providing a single, industry-standard reference, the new guidelines free carriers, technology companies, brands, media companies and consumer advocates to focus on protecting consumers, providing the optimal user experience and continuing the mobile channel’s growth.” 
The guidelines are available for download here.

Netsize Launches SMS Plug-in for Microsoft CRM App

Mobile commerce and communications enabler Netsize has launched an Netsize SMS plug-in for Microsoft Dynamics CRM on Microsoft’s open source platform,CodePlex.
The Netsize SMS plug-in enables users to launch SMS campaigns to target contact lists and also generate SMS alerts triggered by any user-defined events such as lead creation and entity modification. The Netsize mGateway messaging platform covers 200 countries globally.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM and the Netsize messaging platform will enable Microsoft customers to easily create and send SMS campaigns to a targeted audience. In addition,  says Netsize, seamless integration of the messaging platform with Microsoft Dynamics CRM will deliver value0added features such as the ability to define SMS alerts based on business events set with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
“The mobile channel enables a true two-way and real-time, event-driven relationship with the customer,” says Netsize Chairman and CEO, Stanislas Chesnais. “Mobile has become a critical CRM tool. Netsize mGateway provides users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM with a fast, reliable and secure infrastructure for any type of mobile messaging application.”
Microsoft Dynamics CRM customers and integration/distribution partners can download and install the Netsize SMS plug-in from Microsoft's open source project hosting website here.
Customers can contact Netsize directly to enable their Microsoft Dynamics CRM mobile messaging account.

WIN Partners with Tech Mahindra

WINplc, which provides interactive mobile information and entertainment services, has agreed a strategic alliance with global systems integration and business transformation company, Tech Mahindra.
Under the terms of the initial agreement, Tech Mahindra will work with WIN to develop the company’s next-generation mobile platform. As a first step in a broader strategic alliance, the two companies will also look to develop joint go-to-market strategies in key territories, notably the Asian market, where Tech Mahindra’s is well established.
The new platform that Tech Mahindra will develop for WIN will provide increased functionality, new payments solutions and faster throughput of transactions across a broad range of media services. It will also build on the investments WIN has made in the last two years in web- and WAP-based services and portals, video streaming, audio, entertainment content and online storefront management tools.
“This is an exciting investment in the future by WIN,” says WIN CEO Graham Rivers. “The initial project with Tech Mahindra will extend WIN’s market leadership by providing improved service set-up and monitoring capabilities, enhanced transaction reporting and analysis, with significant improvements in capacity and throughput to support even more media and feature rich services. We plan to migrate all our existing customers across to the new platform in the next 12 months, and at the same time embark on a programme with Tech Mahindra to take our extended capability to a wider audience.”
As part of the broader agreement, WIN will have access to Tech Mahindra’s applications and outsourcing service, including development resources for large scale projects. WIN says this will enable it to focus its own development team on core product and service enhancement.

Is There an App for That?

Applause to Vodafone for its attempt to bring some clarity to data roaming charges (see story below). In its press release to publicise its new data roaming tariffs, it not only points out the costs, but also, the amount of data they include. It then goes further, explaining what this data actually means in terms of data roaming activity. So receiving and replying to a short email, it says, would use around 100kb of data, and cost 50p. This is very good. Now you know if you only need to look at four or five emails a day while you’re out of the country, it’s going to cost you £2 - £3 to do so.
Vodafone then goes on to explain what the £4.99, 25MB daily data tariff gets you. And a detailed explanation it is too. 25MB, says Vodafone, would be enough data to browse approximately 250 Internet pages, read and reply to 25 emails, find your way to a restaurant on Google Maps, read eight news stories on the BBC website, change your status on Facebook, and watch three 90-second videos on YouTube. It even takes the trouble to point out that for the purposes of its data roaming tariffs, a day is classified as midnight to midnight UK time. This is useful to know if you’re in a different time zone, and will help prevent customers spending more than they anticipated.
And yet, for all Vodafone's efforts, which are indeed a major step in the right direction, I still can’t help feeling this isn’t enough. Because let’s be honest, who out there counts the number of web pages they browse, or emails they read and reply to, or the number of videos they watch?
When I plug my Vodafone USB dongle into my laptop, not only do I get fantastic mobile broadband coverage, I also get a fuel gauge telling me how much data I’ve used. I’ve never come close to busting my monthly allowance, but it’s nice to know I can check on it at any time. My question to Vodafone and the developer community is simple: why can’t you offer the same sort of fuel gauge for the phone? Then when I go abroad and need to go online, I’ll know exactly how much data I’m consuming. There may be some rational explanation as to why this isn’t possible, but that’s the beauty of not being a tecchie yourself; you can ask questions like this in complete ignorance, in the hope that someone out there might have the wherewithal to make it happen.
As Apple is fond of saying in its ads for the iPhone, there’s an app for that. Well at the moment, it seems, there isn’t. So who's up for the challenge of producing one?

David Murphy
Editor

Voda Cuts the Cost of Data Roaming

Vodafone UK  has launched new European data roaming tariffs for customers. Vodafone customers can now access the Internet from their mobile phone for £4.99 per day with a 25MB cap. Those who keep their usage below 1 MB will be charged on a per kb rate. Vodafone says that receiving and replying to a short email would  use around 100kb of data, and cost 50p.
Once a customer breaches the 1MB threshold, the £4.99 tariff kicks in, but that gives the customer 25MB of data to play with. Vodafone says that this would be enough data to browse approximately 250 Internet pages, read and reply to 25 emails, find your way to a restaurant on Google Maps, read eight news stories on the BBC website, change your status on Facebook, and watch three 90-second videos on YouTube. Any further Internet usage will be charged at £4.99 for each additional 25MB.
This greater clarity has also been introduced for laptop users who want to use the internet when they are abroad. Customers with their laptops in Europe will receive 50MB for £9.99.
For the purposes of roaming, a day is classified as midnight to midnight UK time, so customers need to be aware of their time zone. Outside Europe, customers will be charged £14.99 for each 25MB when accessing the Internet via their mobile and £29.99 for 50MB through a laptop.
Vodafone is currently the only UK operator to offer per day data roaming charging, which, when broken down, equates to 20p per MB in Europe. Later in the summer, customers will receive real time alerts as they approach the end of their data allowance.
On 1 June Vodafone UK abolished roaming charges for Vodafone Passport customers in 35 countries across Europe for the summer, Until August 31, Vodafone Passport customers can call, text and send picture messages from overseas for the same prices as they would at home.
There’s more information on Vodafone’s data roaming charges here. 

IAB Study Finds Mobile Ads Increase Brand Awareness

A research study from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and research company Brand Driver, in conjunction with Kit Kat, has found that mobile display advertising can increase brand awareness and recognition.
The UK’s first publicly available mobile brand study to cover effectiveness across a range of mobile properties used a sample of 600 mobile Internet users. Respondents were exposed to banner ads for FMCG brand Kit Kat across four major mobile sites – Orange World, O2 Active, Planet 3 and Heatworld - which promoted free downloads or the chance to win an ipod.
Respondents who clicked on the ads were sent to the relevant page within the Kit Kat mobile Internet site, where they could enter the competition or download free mobile games or wallpapers.  
The results of the study have formed the basis for a new set of five IAB guidelines, designed to increase the effectiveness of mobile ad campaigns:

1. Use mobile to raise awareness
The mobile ad campaign had a positive impact on raising awareness of the brand, with a 36% increase in spontaneous awareness levels of Kit Kat and 267% increase in first mention - people spontaneously mentioning Kit Kat before any other brands. Furthermore, 76% of those who had clicked on any Kit Kat banner ads said they would be likely to buy the product.

2. Mobile advertising can be effective across all demographics, but especially 18-34s
The campaign resulted in uplifts across all age groups, and for both men and women. The results were most impressive though among 18-34 year olds. Spontaneous awareness increased by 50% compared to a 21% increase for 35-44 year olds.

3. Brands and mobile Internet sites should put the user experience first
The research found that the context of mobile advertising is extremely important. People that enjoyed the site they were surfing were 76% more likely to recognise the ad. Heavy mobile Internet users were also more receptive to the advertising, and were 80% more like to recall the ad..  

4. Mobile display advertising needs a clear focus
The mobile campaign improved perceptions of Kit Kat across all statements asked, particularly “is a product perfect for a break” but the uplift amongst some of the other statements was minor. This means with just one banner creative, you are unlikely to change a vast array of brand metrics, therefore the creative needs to be focused and streamlined according to what you want to achieve.

5. Mobile is more effective when something of value offered
One in four people who saw the Kit Kat banner ad clicked through to the mobile site. Of those who clicked through, 43% had done so because of the competition to win a free iPod. 51% of respondents said they were more likely to interact with mobile advertising if something was offered to them. The results also highlighted the need for mobile creative to be eye-catching and engaging: 41% of respondents who clicked through were simply interested in the advertising.

The research also looked at general attitudes and mobile Internet behaviours. In terms of attitudes to mobile Internet advertising, 72% of respondents expect the amount of advertising on mobile sites to increase over the next couple of years, and 53% would be happy to receive advertising in return for free content.
According to the first IAB-PricewaterhouseCoopers study of mobile ad revenues, expenditure on mobile advertising in the UK exceeded market expectation in 2008 to reach a total of £28.6 million. The market doubled in size on a like for like basis in 2008, increasing by 99.2% year on year. 
“Mobile advertising is still in its infancy and consumers are yet to be fully sold on it because marketers need to learn the emerging rules of engagement,” says IAB Head of Mobile, Jon Mew. “What the Kit Kat research tells us is that most effective mobile campaigns follow five simple steps, and we hope that publishing these basic guidelines will help accelerate investment in the medium.”

The End of the €46,000 Download

Today is the first day of cheaper texting, calling and surfing the web while abroad within the EU, with bthe introduction of new European Commission rules.
From today, sending a text message from abroad in the EU will cost a maximum of €0.11 (£0.09), almost three times cheaper than the previous EU average of €0.28 (excl. VAT). To make a roaming call in another EU country must not cost more than €0.43 per minute, and to receive a call, no more than no more than €0.19. Outgoing roaming calls will be charged by the second, after the first 30 seconds, rather than by the minute, and incoming calls will be charged by the second from the first second.
Holidaymakers and business travellers can also use data roaming more without fear of bill shocks, the EU says, thanks to a wholesale cap of €1 per megabyte (MB) downloaded. The new rules also include a cut-off mechanism once the bill reaches €50 Euro, unless the mobile user chooses another cut-off limit (A German consumer who downloaded a TV programme while roaming in France recently came home to a bill for €46,000.) The EU says that these measures combined are expected to cut roaming charges for EU consumers by a further 60% and increase mobile phone use.
“From 1 July, all Europeans making calls or sending texts with their mobiles can experience the EU's single market without borders,” says EU Telecoms Commissioner, Viviane Reding
“The roaming-rip off is now coming to an end thanks to the determined action of the European Commission, the European Parliament and all 27 EU Member States. I expect the new EU roaming rules to make it much cheaper to surf the web on your mobile while abroad in the EU.”
Noting that the EU rules are limited to reducing inter-operator charges, Commissioner Reding is also calling on the mobile industry to pass these savings on to data roaming customers swiftly.
“The Commission and national regulators will monitor data roaming charges very carefully and assess next year whether the roaming market is finally becoming competitive,” she says.

What You (may have) Missed – Part 44

Another month seems to have flown by in a flash. Time, then, for a look at some of the highlights.
There was the usual frenzy as the latest iPhone hit the streets, offering a raft of improvements over the previous model, and clocking up sales of a million in the first three days. Shunning the iPhone’s appeal, however, Orange announced that it would be launching the HTC Hero, its first Android phone, early in July. 
Mobile content storefront specialist FoneStarz Media was appointed by Vodafone Egypt to manage its  content downloads portal. The deal will also see FoneStarz managing the App Store for the Vodafone network in Egypt. And Sony Ericsson revealed that it was adding app store GetJar’s library of over 45,000 free applications to its PlayNow arena service. It was a good month for GetJar, in fact, which was also asked by Virgin Mobile France to provide its entire catalogue of free mobile applications for its newly announced mobile app store.
Mobile search engine Taptu revealed that it is now carrying out more than 1 million searches on a daily basis. The service attracted 3.4 million unique users in April. The company also found time to unveil an iPhone app version of its mobile search solution.
Meanwhile, Flytxt announced a move into S. Africa, and 2ergo said it was expanding into China, via a strategic partnership with telecommunications business development company, Intralink. China has an estimated 592 million mobile phone users, and 2ergo says it will leverage its partnership with Intralink to focus its business efforts primarily on forging relationships with major broadcasting companies and mobile network operators in China.
QR Codes were in the news not once, but twice. First HarperCollins Publishers and Melbourne-based mobile marketing firm QMCODES announced plans for a campaign using QR Codes on book jackets and marketing materials which would take readers to a mobile site with information about the author and the book when scanned by a phone with a code reader. Then Arena BLM unveiled a QR Code campaign to support the launch of Pathé's ‘Blood: The Last Vampire’, which opened in UK cinemas on 26 June. Again, the code links to a mobile site with a trailer, themed wallpapers and more mobile goodies.
Orange extended its Orange Wednesdays 2-for-1 cinema ticket offer to include a similar deal for meals at Pizza Express, while The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and IBM unveiled two smart mobile applications, including the Seer Android beta, which uses location-aware visualisation technology to act as a real-time guide and interactive map of the 2009 tournament for G1 users.  
Elsewhere, Vodafone launched the Vodafone Access Gateway service, designed to improve reception indoors for Vodafone customers. So it’s a femtocell, but sensibly, Vodafone avoiding using that particular tecchie term. BuzzCity launched a community translation service across its mobile social network, myGamma, enabling myGamma users to help expand the network’s reach to include smaller language communities and speakers of regional dialects. And the winners of the sixth annual Meffys awards were revealed. Nokia, GetJar and Flirtomatic were among those picking up the gongs.
Finally, after a brave but ultimately doomed attempt at making some money from the site via a paid subscription, we decided to carry on doing it for (next to) nothing, though as ever, we welcome all enquires from advertisers looking to reach a mobile-savvy, business-focused audience.
Stay tuned throughout July for all the latest mobile marketing news.

David Murphy
Editor

Last-minute Call for App Contest Entries

Forum Nokia, Nokia’s global developer programme is chasing up last-minute entries for its "Calling All Innovators" contest for apps that run on Nokia devices, with cash prizes of up to $30,000 and business opportunities with Nokia.
There are four categories: Flash; Internet Innovation; Emerging Markets and Mobile Necessities; and Apps on Maps, but the closing date for entries is today, which begs the question, how long does it take to design a decent mobile app? We assume Nokia is look for apps that are already in existence from developers who didn’t know about the competition. In any event, there’s more information here.

Mobile Marketing in The Times

If you pick up a copy of The Times tomorrow, you’ll find a nice-shiny 16-page supplement on mobile marketing to enjoy. It’s been produced by Raconteur Media, and Mobile Marketing Mag Editor David Murphy has been closely involved as an editorial consultant on the project, writing a couple of pieces, advising on content, and generally trying to make the thing as useful as possible to anyone picking it up who can’t quite get their head around what mobile marketing is.

Saffron Handed PlayNow Clips Task

Sony Ericsson has chosen Saffron Digital to provide the technology behind its new venture, PlayNow Clips.
PlayNow Clips is a short-form mobile video service, which brings together videos for music, film and TV into a single mobile site, which users can access easily from their Sony Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Content is coordinated from sister companies Sony Pictures and Sony Music to include premium made-for-mobile minisodes and content, as well as film previews, new releases, music videos and TV clips.
Saffron Digital is responsible for creating the site, video encoding and delivery, as well as the management of back office procedures. Saffron’s proprietary download platform provides optimised video to ensure a fast, high-quality service on the handset.
“Saffron Digital’s advanced technology is ideally suited for processing a wide variety of multimedia assets – as the site demands,”
Saffron Digital delivers mobile services to consumers on behalf of a wide range of clients, including 20th Century Fox, Disney, IPC Media, Motorola, O2, Orange, The Sun and Vodafone.

Kilrush Launches CSI Miami Mobile Site

FIVE has announced the launch of a mobile Internet site, built and hosted by Kilrush, the newly-formed division of Mobile Interactive Group (MIG), to promote the launch of the new series of ‘CSI Miami’ which premieres on Tuesday 30 June at 9pm on FIVE, marking a first for the broadcaster.
The site, powered by Kilrush’s proprietary mobile publishing technology, features exclusive made-for-mobile content, including a David Caruso ringtone, a selection of wallpapers, video previews and a gallery of images. Every week, the mobile site will be updated with a synopsis of the coming week’s episode.
The site will be marketed across a number of channels to ensure maximum exposure. These includes SMS pushes to FIVE’s opted-in database; online at www.five.tv/csimobile with a clear call to action text MIAMI to 80876; and on air on FIVE, again with the clear call to action to text in to receive a link to the site direct to the viewer’s handset.
“This is the first time we’ve opted to integrate a mobile site to promote the launch of a new series of any FIVE programme,” says FIVE’s Marketing Campaign Manager, Tessa Cannon. “CSI Miami has a broad viewing base and we wanted to provide a more integrated approach to promoting programmes on FIVE. The Kilrush team worked closely with marketing and the digital, technical and creative teams to deliver a great site and we’re planning to integrate more mobile Internet activity for other FIVE programmes throughout the coming year."

Don't Call Me, and I Won't Call You

A multi-country study released today by research firm Lightspeed Research shows the increasingly prominent role that mobile phones are taking in our lives, and highlights the fact that for some people at least, the ability to make voice calls is now a redundant feature.
With ownership of mobile phones so high and so many different functions now available, Lightspeed says it is increasingly important to understand how people are using their mobile phones and what future opportunities there might be for new applications. To this end, the company surveyed 1,000 respondents online in each of four countries - the UK, France, Germany and the US  - between 11 and 15 June.  
Of the four countries surveyed, it was Americans (49%) and Britons (30%) who were most likely to agree that their mobile phone was now an essential part of their daily life and they’d be lost without it. 46% of people in Britain said they carried their phones with them most of the time, though surprisingly, it was 55-64 year olds who were most likely to do so. (I wonder how many brands are targeting that demographic via mobile – Ed.)
Younger respondents (18-34) were the most likely to feel their mobile was an essential part of their daily life and that they would be lost without it”. And two thirds (67%) of Brits leave their mobiles on at night - and only 14% of those switch it to silent.
Perhaps the most interesting finding from the survey is that in some markets, there are users who never make phone calls from their mobile. In the UK 11% of respondents never make calls; that figure is higher in the US at 13%. 33% of UK and 18% of US respondents make no more than two calls a week. Texting is hugely popular in the UK with half (49%) sending at least one SMS per day and 2% sending a picture or video message (MMS) daily. Women like to send more text messages than men – with 56% compared to 42% sending at least one text per day; men make more daily voice calls – 41% compared to 32% of women. 

Picture this
Mobile phones have evolved with new features such as cameras, games, Internet access and music now commonplace on basic handsets while Smartphones offer even more sophisticated applications such as video. And the results of the survey show that in fact these functions are becoming increasingly popular. In the UK, the most popular daily function is browsing the web at 9%, whilst on a weekly basis it’s taking photos (38% of respondents), followed jointly by browsing the web and playing games (22%) and sending a photo or video (18%).

Have mobile, will travel
Respondents were also asked about a number of new functions that they might like on their phone. In all countries a satellite navigation system was the top choice, with 49% of French, 44% of German, 43% of British and 38% of American respondents choosing that option. Being able to locate friends, family and children in real time through GPS functionality was the second preference in all markets except for Germany, where concerns over privacy prevailed. However it seems that the Japanese system of using the mobile phone to pay for public transport (like an Oyster card) isn’t a popular option – this failed to generate interest everywhere except Germany. Amongst the reasons given for rejecting this function included worries about making the phone a target for theft, concerns about cost, and fears of giving too much data to the phone company.
Commenting on the results, David Day, CEO of Lightspeed Research says:
“There is no question that the mobile phone is an important tool for daily life for many of the people we surveyed, and that many people use the additional phone applications such as photos, video, music and the Internet. However, when we look at take up of some of the current functions, as well as those we may have in the future, consumers do express some concerns. There is real fear around data security and the increased risk of theft, and this is something the industry as a whole will need to address to encourage consumers to try new functionality such as mobile commerce.”

Oxygen8 Unveils Club Mobi

Interactive communications company, Oxygen8 Communications, has launched a mobile content portal, Club Mobi, which provides UK brands with access to thousands of ringtones, logos, picture messages and colour images, creating significant new revenue opportunities for businesses without requiring any upfront investment. 
Club Mobi is available as a fully managed solution, or alternatively, businesses can manage the site themselves. Oxygen8 says it will also manage all billing requirements, meaning that companies are free to stay focused on marketing the site to opted-in customers, rather than having to worry about the underlying technical infrastructure. 
Club Mobi currently offers over 11,000 logos, 4,000 picture messages, 2,000 colour images and 1,900 text and animated images, as well as hundreds of polyphonic tones and thousands of true ringtones.
The site is underpinned by Oxygen8’s core technology, the Oxygen platform, which provides UK brands with a ‘one-stop-shop’ solution, enabling them to create fully integrated interactive communications services utilising a variety of different technologies, including WAP, web, voice, video, SMS and MMS. The platform was designed to meet the requirements of customers who need to be able to roll out new services quickly and easily, both locally and internationally. Self-provisioning is at the core of the design of the platform, which means that brands have the option to develop and maintain services themselves, and new applications can be rolled out in just minutes.
“As marketing budgets are reduced and the marketing director comes under increasing board level scrutiny there is a growing demand for highly measurable tools that enable direct consumer interaction without incurring a massive investment,” says Oxygen8 UK CEO Colin White. “Club Mobi enables you to do just this; by using our online WAP Building tool and our vast database of content, you can create the look and feel of the perfect mobile entertainment site, without incurring any major upfront costs.”

Analysis Reveals Top Global Operators

New analysis from Wireless Intelligence reveals that the top 20 mobile operators and operator groups ranked by total connections represented over 58% of global mobile connections in Q1 09. This collective footprint totals 2.4 billion connections and spans 118 of the 223 global markets tracked by Wireless Intelligence.
In first position is China Mobile, which accounts for 11.5% of the total global connections across its fully-owned interests in China and Hong Kong. With a combined 479 million connections, China Mobile surpasses any other aggregated group in the global study by a factor of two.
Vodafone Group takes second position with 247 million total connections across the 19 markets in which it holds a majority stake in an operator. Vodafone's most recent expansion comes via Ghana, India and the imminent commercial launch in Qatar. UK-based Vodafone has majority-holdings in 10 markets in its home region of Western Europe, the remainder falling across Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.
Two groups are in close contention for third and fourth place: Spain's Telefónica and Mexico's América Móvil. The two groups’ respective footprints outline the intense competition between the two; Telefónica and América Móvil operate in 13 of the same markets in Latin America, with the latter running a close second place for connections worldwide, despite Telefónica’s heavy European presence.
Overall within the top 20, the study found that the next-generation connections base represents less than 20% of total connections. This is due to two main factors. Firstly, certain groups have footprints in regions where next-generation network deployment is at an early stage (China), or the majority of licence awards have yet to take place (India). Secondly, it highlights the expansion of the predominately European-based groups into the emerging markets.
“High penetration in mature markets is slowing the opportunity for organic growth, as operators push for multiple connections per customer and secondary data connections,” says Wireless Intelligence Analyst, Will Croft. “At the other end of the spectrum, the emerging markets still produce lucrative profit-making ventures and phenomenal growth. We are seeing more consolidation than ever before, as mergers and acquisitions drive non-organic growth in the mature markets, while expansion into the emerging markets remains a key priority for the larger operator groups.”

As You Were...

In recent weeks, we may have given the impression that we were going to end free access to the site, and start charging an annual subscription fee. As indeed we were. But it seems we underestimated the reluctance of the majority of our readers to start paying for something you have previously enjoyed for free.
So the good news, for our readers at least, is that it’s business as usual. No annual subscription, free access, and perhaps a more concerted effort on our part to monetise the site in other ways.
So call it an embarrassing climbdown or a reality check as you prefer, but we have no regrets about trying to move to site to a subscription model. As we said when we announced the plan, it would have given us more time to devote to the site and enabled us to go both broader and deeper. Equally, we have no regrets about backtracking. If there’s one thing we’ve learned talking to companies in the mobile space, it is that the business model you start out with isn’t always the one you end up with, certainly not if it means losing most of your audience. And the exercise has not been completely futile. It’s led to some discussions about various other projects, at least two of which look like they might have legs.
In making this announcement, we would like to thank those individuals and companies who did take out a subscription, and of course to reassure them that their subscription fees will be refunded. In fact, until we saw how things panned out, we left the cheques unbanked, but those companies that made a direct payment to our bank account will be reimbursed. 
And in the meantime, we’ll be here doing what we’ve been doing for the last three and a half years. We hope you enjoy our continued coverage of the global mobile marketing scene.

David Murphy
Editor

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

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

Bluestar Launches Mobile Site for The Indy

Bluestar Mobile, a YOC Group Company, has signed a deal with Independent News and Media to create a mobile site for The Independent newspaper. The Independent mobile site will help the newspaper to capitalise on the growth of the mobile Internet, extend its reach, diversify its revenue streams and attract new mobile customers to the brand and content. The deal is the first to result from YOC’s acquisition of Bluestar Mobile, combining Bluestar’s customer portfolio -  which includes newspapers such as The Sun, The Times, The News of the World, The Mirror and The Guardian - and its range of services, with YOC’s technology offering, media network and ad sales operation. YOC’s media network currently serves over 170 million page impressions each month
Bluestar will design, build and manage the mobile site for The Independent, creating mobile marketing campaigns to generate awareness and drive traffic to the site.
The mobile site will provide content tailored specifically for the mobile channel and, says Bluestar, will enable The Independent to cater for its readers’ increasingly time pressed and mobile lifestyles, as well as allowing it to extend into new demographics. Ads on the site will be targeted to the individual reader, the company adds.
“The growth of the Internet has invoked an enormous change in the world of publishing, and now the ubiquity of mobile handheld devices and the evolution of the commercial model surrounding them has finally made the medium a viable one for publishers,” says Bill Swanson, Digital MD at The Independent. “We’re keen to meet this evolution head on with the launch of our mobile site, allowing our readers to access our news and content anytime, anywhere.”
YOC’s recent acquisition of Bluestar Mobile, which already counts newspaper titles such as The Sun, The Times, The News of the World, The Mirror and The Guardian among its customer portfolio, has enabled the mobile marketing agency to marry Bluestar’s impressive portfolio with its extensive UK media network which serves over 170 million page impressions each month, offering its clients enormous reach and great targeting capabilities.

NSN Powers Vodafone's Indian Expansion

Vodafone Essar has completed a rapid service expansion into seven new regions across India. People living in or travelling to Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, North East and Orissa will now be able to use services provided by India’s second largest GSM operator. Nokia Siemens Network (NSN), Vodafone Essar’s existing infrastructure partner in 12 regions, undertook the new network roll out in just 10 months.
The planning and building of the seven networks was undertaken as in the first phase of a three year expansion contract awarded to NSN in 2008. Further expansion will carry on through 2010.
NSN has a strong track record in speedy network roll out, and in India alone, it sets up 5,000 base stations a month. With this contract, the company has emerged as the largest network implementation partner for Vodafone in India, with more than 80% of Vodafone’s subscriber traffic in the country flowing through infrastructure set up by NSN.
“We are proud to partner with Vodafone Essar as it charts an aggressive growth strategy and are committed to helping it realize its goals,” says C B Velayuthan, Head, Vodafone Customer Team, Nokia Siemens Networks. “India’s vast geography and varied topology, in addition to the acute power shortage in remote areas, make network expansion a challenging task. Our Flexi Base Station and services capabilities are the ideal solution for service providers who want to achieve more, with less.”

O2 Opens up BT Openzone to Mobile Broadband Customers

O2 is offering its mobile broadband customers access to thousands of BT Openzone wi-fi hotspots for the first time. The partnership, which existing customers will see come into effect today, coincides with an upgrade to O2’s Mobile Broadband Connection Manager software, enabling users to manage their data consumption more effectively.
Existing customers can upgrade their software for wider wi-fi access from 29 June. New customers will automatically receive the new software and wi-fi access when purchasing from late July onwards. The upgrade is currently only available for use with Windows software.
The deal with BT Openzone offers an additional 3,000 hotspot, including most branches of Starbucks, and builds on the unlimited wi-fi all O2 customers receive as part of their O2 mobile broadband tariff.
As a result of the upgrade, O2’s Connection Manager software will automatically copy existing wi-fi profiles from a customer’s laptop into Connection Manager during the initial installation process. This will seamlessly connect users to their home or business broadband wireless networks, without the need to manually enter security codes.
The upgrade will also see the addition of a data counter, enabling users to monitor and control their data consumption more easily. The data counter will provide accurate usage information for individual sessions and link through to an overall usage page. To add extra peace-of-mind for consumers, an automatic notification will be sent to the Connection Manager when 75%, 90% and 100% of their data allowance has been reached.
“We appreciate that our customers want to get the most from their mobile broadband service and we continually look to provide value-added services for them,” says O2’s Head of Pay Monthly, Jonathan Earle. “E2xpanding our Unlimited wi-fi proposition by introducing BT Openzone wi-fi hotspots allowing our customers to stay connected to the people and things that matter to them most. Secondly, we know that customers want to be able to track how much data they have used. Our simple data counter gives the control that our customers want.”

Ukrainian Brief for Out There Media

Mobile advertising firm Out There Media has been appointed as the mobile advertising partner for Kyivstar, Ukraine’s number one mobile operator, with a customer base of more than 22.7 million mobile subscribers. Out There Media will provide Kyivstar with its multichannel mobile advertising solution, Mobucks, as well as operations, sales and business development services, in order to enable the mobile operator to monetise its mobile inventory effectively on a non-exclusive basis. In particular, Out There Media will enable Kyivstar to offer SMS and Mobile Portal Advertising, with the latter being a unique offering to advertisers in the Ukrainian market. Out There Media opened an office in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, earlier this year.
The partnership kicked off with a mobile ad campaign for Sony Ericsson that launched earlier this month. The campaign was supporting the launch of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, a premium Smartphone. The campaign was targeted at customers who were directed to a custom-developed mobile mini-site through text messages and mobile banners within Kyivstar’s on-deck mobile portal, Starport. On the mini-site, customers were able to find information and technical specifications for the phone. They also had the opportunity to take part in a prize draw to win the an Xperia.
The campaign ran for two weeks, and produced a total of 1.55 million page impressions, with a 5% clickthrough rate of 5%, making it one of the most successful mobile ad campaigns Out There Media has executed in Central and Eastern Europe to date.

Informa Charts Latin American 3G Growth

Latin America’s mobile operators are pushing data services in order to offset falling voice revenues and satisfy consumers’ growing hunger for value-added products. That helped make 2008 the year of 3G in Latin America, where virtually every Latin American mobile operator launched 3G services. So says Informa Telecoms & Media, which notes that there were more than 6.8 million active WCDMA connections across Latin America at end March 2009, up 50% in just one quarter. Possibly the most striking growth of all has been in Brazil, where there were 3.8 million WCDMA subscriptions at end-March 2009, up from 2.2 million three months earlier.
“We can expect that number to continue to accelerate, because America Movil has made it clear that its investment priority in the region for 2009 concerns its 3G network,” says Informa Senior Research Analyst, said Eva Benguigui.
Informa says it expects investments in 3G networks will accelerate across Latin America. For instance, there will be more than 15 million WCDMA subscriptions in Latin America at end-2009, or less than 3% of the total 522 million mobile subscriptions in the region. However, WCDMA subscriptions will grow to 320 million at end 2014, or 46% of the region’s 689 million total mobile subscriptions at that time.
While the region’s operators are focused primarily on 3G today, Informa believes that mobile broadband technologies such as HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE will be on their technology migration paths as they continue to expand next-generation services in order to offset falling voice revenues with higher data revenues.
However, LTE deployments in Latin America are expected to be a challenge since spectrum is congested in many areas. Nonetheless, operators across the Americas are expected to continue aggressively rolling out mobile broadband networks over the coming years where they have adequate spectrum availability, graduating from today’s 3G and 3.5G networks to faster offerings promised by LTE and, in some cases, WiMAX.

Threatening Behaviour

Jay Seaton, Chief Marketing Officer at Airwide Solutions, look at the increasing threat to mobile users as they use their phones to go online and download applications, and at possible solutions

In less than 12 months, the Apple App Store has revolutionised the global mobile industry. It has helped usher in a new wave of applications and services which, combined with the greater availability of open mobile networks, lower mobile data costs and the wider variety of Smartphones, has helped create a new type mobile communications experience…one dominated by a new generation of content, entertainment and social networking.
However, the industry is realising that while the opportunity is vast, the new channels of communication can be exploited very easily. This is not only of concern to the mobile operators, application developers and end users, but also to the brands wishing to use these channels to influence the consumer. Unless appropriate controls are put in place to protect people from harassment, unsolicited messaging, inappropriate content and fraud, these concerns have the potential to inhibit the growth of mobile marketing and the usage of messaging and data. Without the ability to preserve privacy by managing content and access, a user has one choice - suffer or switch off the service.

So what are the biggest threats?
As the mobile ecosystem evolves, the threats (namely fraud, theft, virsues and spam) have become more numerous and more aggressive. Almost every day there are reports of new security loop holes being breached but what is making them extra concerning is the ease of which they are being exploited.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported a scam allowing criminals and hackers to send spoof text messages to mobile phones under the guise of a user’s mobile operator. If accepted, the message was able to change the phone’s settings, making it vulnerable to further intrusion. Hackers were able to access sensitive information (such as account details or PIN codes used for mobile banking, confidential company information or personal details), steal data, install or remove programmes, inject malicious worms and even access internal mobile operator network resources.
Similar SMS spoof threats were also reported earlier this year – such as a threat to the social media tool Twitter. Here, according to tests run by Heise Security, hackers were able to post fake status updates on users’ private Twitter-feeds, via an SMS faking service.
Although these risks seem relatively small at the moment, with mobile becoming a recognised space of rapid growth – particularly with the rise of Smartphones and uptake of external content via applications and enhanced services – the problem is becoming more acute. Unless protective procedures are put in place, security flaws like this latest one will leave billions of mobile phones at risk of fraud.

Encryption mechanisms
So how can we protect ourselves against these heightening mobile threats? While there should always be a degree of responsibility for handset manufacturers to provide encryption mechanisms in order to protect their users, we should also recognise that handset based solutions can be limited as they only protect a relatively small number of mobile users from a certain subset of threats. Also, with mobile devices constantly being upgraded and replaced with higher specification devices, security software is often quickly outdated.
There is also of course the risk the subscribers pose themselves. Although most people interact with their mobiles in a responsible way, there is a possibility for users to unwittingly accept a fraudulent installation of new settings if they believe it is coming from a trusted network provider.
One of the most effective answers instead lies with the mobile operators, as mobile security solutions which are deployed on a network level are both controllable and easily upgraded. Currently, many network operators voluntarily police potential fraudsters, but as messaging services continue to grow and become more complex, networks need a comprehensive range of features, such as anti-spam and virus filtering software, EIR systems and blacklisting, anti-spoofing and anti-flooding technology.

Mobile security technologies
Using a variety of mobile security technologies, including anti-spam, anti-spoof and anti-flooding, along with next generation gateways, operators can detect abnormal patterns in messaging traffic, confirm legitimate senders, filter content and block suspicious messages. 

In the case of these latest scams, deploying a combination of spam filtering and anti-fraud techniques would help operators not only block the fraudulent messages, but also disable bypass mechanisms, ensuring they always have full control over the access channel to the subscriber. Filtering content also helps the fight against the spread of viruses and trojans. Blacklisting permits users to block certain phone numbers and incoming messages coming from these phones, whilst EIR systems have proved to be a very useful tool in handset fraud prevention.
With appropriate security measures in place, mobile operators can protect their subscribers and their networks from potentially damaging security risks. As the rise of applications and services continues, they can also protect their revenues, without fear of jeopardising them through malicious attacks. Once customers feel assured they will not receive a barrage of potentially dangerous unwanted messages if they download an application, they will feel more confident about downloading content and services in the future

Smaato Launches Mobile Advertising Whitepaper

Smaato has published a whitepaper on Mobile Advertising, titled ‘Higher Revenues with Mobile Ad Optimization & Global Ad Network Aggregation’.
The whitepaper outlines the opportunities available to mobile publishers and developers to monetize their inventory worldwide. It explores how different mobile fill rates can be expected from mobile ad networks and what types of pricing tiers there are for mobile inventory. It also explains how ad revenue optimization works, and helps to realize the true potential of mobile inventory.
Publishers of mobile websites and developers of cool mobile apps face the growing challenge of matching their expanding global popularity with the daunting task of filling their ad inventory associated with those very services, says Smaato. The company is capitalizing on the provision of global mobile ad optimization using its SOMA platform.
You can download the whitepaper for free here.

BrandZ Report Launches as an iPhone App

Research company Millward Brown Optimor has released its ‘The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2009’ report, which is published annually, as a free iPhone app. The company says this is the first time that a major research study has been available in this format. Within hours of its release, the app went to number nine in the free business applications rankings. 
The iPhone app, created by iconmobile, contains the standard listings for the Top 100 brands across 17 categories. By shaking the iPhone, the user is presented with a brand cluster for a particular category, which they can then drill down into for further detail.
“The BrandZ Top 100 study is an essential benchmark for business leaders about the value of their brands,” says Millward Brown Optimor Global CEO, Joanna Seddon. “I’m delighted that by partnering with iconmobile, we are able to put our research into people’s pockets in this new and innovative format.”
Plans are now in place to develop the application for other mobile platforms, including BlackBerry. The iPhone app can be found by searching “BrandZ Top 100” on the iPhone/iPod Touch, or by visiting Apple’s App Store.

Case Study: Mobile Campaign is Picture Perfect for Kodak

Objectives
Kodak is a leading global provider of innovative solutions for conventional, digital and blended photo print production environments, with a brand that is recognized worldwide. Kodak Express outlets, located in cities around the world, are a one-stop destination for photo printing, products, and accessories, as well as photo customization and personalization.
Seeking ways to both increase foot traffic to stores in India, and gather and consolidate user profile and preference information from Kodak Express customers, Kodak decided that a mobile advertising campaign would be the best option.
The advantages of mobile for the campaign were clear. Usage of the Internet on mobile phones is huge in India. At the end of last year, there were more than 346 million Indian wireless subscribers, and the market was growing at the rate of approximately 10 million new subscribers per month. Much of the growth of the mobile Internet in India follows a trend seen in many countries throughout the world, where the mobile web is used as a primary Internet connection by people who do not have access to a PC at home. 

Strategy
To execute its mobile campaign, Kodak turned to the BuzzCity Global Mobile Advertising Network. In addition to providing a platform, BuzzCity helped devise a strategy that allowed Kodak to effectively execute the campaign and get the most out of its budget. 
“We brought some specific experience to the table that was particularly important to Kodak,” says BuzzCity CEO, KF Lai. “First of all, and perhaps most significantly, the BuzzCity network is global, and we have extensive experience serving the Indian market. In fact, the Indian market is currently number two in total mobile advertising page views generated though the BuzzCity network. Secondly, our system allowed Kodak to run a highly-targeted campaign. The company had the ability to target ads by geographical area, makes and capabilities of handsets, and more specific demographics like age and interests.”
Kodak decided to target mobile internet users in the ‘Community, Entertainment and Lifestyle’, ‘Information’, ‘Mobile Content (news and related content)’, and ‘Search/Portal Services’ categories. Additionally, the BuzzCity network allowed Kodak to utilize different types of mobile ads and easily implement a mobile survey that would allow it to gather information from users.
Kodak wanted to attract a broad range of potential customers, which was reflected by its tactical approach to the campaign. It decided to run both text and banner ads and target its campaign broadly to men and women between 15 and 40 years-of-age throughout India, with no specific city or regional targeting. For its ads, Kodak went with simple, concise messages, such as: ‘Kodak Express Shoot It Win It!’, and ‘Print them now. Win them now!’
As an incentive to complete the survey, the company devised a contest that required users to make 50 prints at a Kodak Express outlet from a digital camera or cameraphone. Once potential customers completed the survey, they were entered into a draw to win a 2GB iPod Nano or a 1GB memory card. In order to complete their contest entries, they were prompted to enter their name, mobile number, and camera capacity. They were then redirected to the nearest Kodak Express outlet to complete the process by ordering the 50 prints. 

Results
The results of the campaign were impressive. In one month, it generated 11 million visits to the survey landing page, with a clickthrough rate of 1.7%. But beyond the numbers, Kodak also gathered important information for future interaction with its customers through the survey component. The Kodak team also gathered mobile numbers it could use for future SMS marketing, and was able to gather information about its customers’ camera capacities and functionality so it could better serve them in the future.
There were a couple of distinct takeaways from the campaign that advertisers can take to heart.  The first is that engaging potential customers in a multi-faceted mobile marketing experience is essential for strong results. In this case, contact with the Kodak brand started with the ad banner, which redirected customers to a landing page that allowed them to take the survey, enter the contest, prompted them to find the nearest Kodak Express outlet from the ‘store locator’, and finally, encouraged mobile web users to become customers - thus completing the cycle of customer engagement. The second lesson is comparatively simple but no less important: use clear, straight-forward marketing messages - a particularly important piece to mobile marketing campaigns because of the inherent limitations of the screen size.
The success of the mobile campaign was validated Kodak’s choice of mobile for its Kodak Express initiative,” says Lai. “But even more significantly, the results validate the strength of mobile advertising’s value proposition and its potential, if well executed, to help brands achieve an unprecedented level of bang for the advertising buck.

AdMob Report Examines Apps Usage

Mobile ad network AdMob has released its Mobile Metrics Report for May 2009. The report examines the distribution of consumer usage of iPhone applications, noting that in less than one year, the Apple App Store has grown to more than 50,000 applications and given consumers access to applications with broad consumer appeal, as well as a long tail of niche applications that serve specific segments.
The report reveals that some of the top apps were accessed by more than 1 million users in May.  Few applications may reach this level of success, says AdMob, but there is also significant percentage of popular applications have built a strong base of tens of thousands of users. The long tail of applications that make up the majority of the App Store generated a minority of the total usage. 
“While the growth in the number of applications in the Apple App Store over the past year has been nothing short of dramatic, it has made it increasingly difficult for iPhone developers to drive consumer discoverability of their apps,” says Thomas Schulz, AdMob’s Vice President and Managing Director, EMEA. “AdMob offers developers the ability to monetise their application, and to create awareness of it with a targeted ad campaign.”  
Highlights from the report include:

• 5% of applications had more than 100,000 active users in May 2009, representing 116 applications in AdMob’s iPhone network.
• 14% of applications had between 10,000 - 100,000 active users, representing 322 applications.
• 54% of applications had less than 1,000 active users, representing 1,244 applications. 
• The average iPhone user in AdMob’s network accessed four applications in May.
• Five days after its launch, the iPhone 3.0 Operating System (OS) represented 44% of iPhone ad requests. In contrast, only 1% of iPod Touch requests came from devices running the iPhone 3.0 OS.
• AdMob reached 15.1 million unique users on iPhone and iPod touch devices on 2,309 applications in its network in May, the vast majority of which were free to download. 

You can access the full report here.

 

iome Powers BT's London Mobi-Guides

iome, which provides location-based digital lifestyle services, has launched a series of free video 'Mobi-Guides' for London, developed and presented by BBC personality Dan Snow. The Mobi-Guides are available on BT MyPlace, a service that presents people with information based on their preferences and location, within central London and the West End. The service is free to access via any outdoor BT Openzone Westminster wi-fi hotspot and is located at www.btmyplace.com/dansnow
The service, which is powered by iome, enables consumers to download the most relevant Mobi-Guide based on their location, at any time, via an Internet-enabled mobile device or PC. There are 20 free-to-access guides in total, each offering a combination of history and trivia on London, together with Dan Snow’s personal insights. “For anyone planning to visit London, these video Mobi-Guides provide a real insight into the history of our capital city,” says Snow. “The great thing is that by offering these tours via BT MyPlace, you can be stood near Nelson's Column, for example, and the relevant Mobi-Guide is instantly presented to your digital device, as the service calculates your current location.”
The guides provide a new perspective about areas from Westminster to Waterloo through a combination of history and trivia. Among the gems of useless information are the following nuggets:

• Waterloo Bridge was built by women and is self-cleaning.
• London’s smallest police station used to be inside a lamp post in Trafalgar Square.
• Parliament Square became Britain’s first official roundabout in 1926 – it was called the new gyratory system. It’s also the site of London’s first set of traffic lights.
• The statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square has a small electrical current running through it to stop pigeons landing on it and creating a mess. (Can I get one of those for the swings in my garden – Ed).
• The second London Bridge was moved to Havasu City in Arizona in 1971 where it is now the main attraction in a tourist resort.
• There is a black spot above the number two on the clock face on the tower of Horse Guards. It indicates the time at which Charles I was executed in front of Banqueting House opposite.
• The timing of Big Ben is fine tuned by adding or taking away penny coins that rest on its pendulum.
• The friezes at the base of Nelson’s column are made from melted French and Spanish cannons seized at the battle of Trafalgar.

BT MyPlace also delivers targeted, sponsored services including restaurant, bars and shopping recommendations, plus audio downloads including books and walking tours.
There’s more information about iome here, and more information about BT MyPlace here.

Billing Revolution Powers Mobile Donations

Mobile payments and billing solutions company Billing Revolution has annjuonced a partnership with Call2Give Network, a non-profit organization that mobilizes people to donate and volunteer. Under the agreement, Billing Revolution will provide Call2Give with a mobile payments platform for donors to give and volunteer through their mobile phones at www.Call2Give.mobi
Through the partnership, Call2Give will offer a turnkey solution for donor-driven organizations as an adjunct to their other channels.The technology is designed so that individuals and organizations can register through their phone or their computer and begin using the platform today.
The solution was first used last month at the inaugural Sounds of Service event hosted by the American Red Cross of Central Maryland, enabling attendees to use their phones to join Call2Give and either volunteer for, or donate to, the Red Cross.  
“We’ve all felt the call to give and wondered ‘What can I do?’ Now when we feel the desire to give, we can, and the answer is in the palm of our hands,” says Call2Give Co-founder, Brian Meshkin
Billing Revolution’s ‘single-click’ technology platform will handle the payment processing using credit or debit cards. Through a secure interface accessible on a mobile phone or over the web, donors can make a donation of between $5 (£3) and $2,000 to any organization they choose, and Call2Give provides the necessary legal and tax documentation to both the donor and organization. Billing Revolution directly transmits the donations to the organization and Call2Give creates the network of donors and volunteers with organizations they support.
Anyhone interested can join Call2Give by texting GIVE to 51684 or visiting www.Call2Give.mobi on their phone or www.Call2Give.org on the web. Call2Give Network charges a 10% fee for processing the donation and a $0.50 transaction fee per donation.

Techneos Upgrades Entryware Mobile Survey Solution

Techneos Systems has announced an upgrade for its ‘Entryware’ mobile survey software. Techneos says the upgrade, which will be released on 8 July, will open up new capabilities for mobile research. It features a new survey engine for Windows Mobile devices, and also provides an enhanced user experience for conducting mobile surveys on Windows 98/XP/Vista, Palm OS and webOS devices.
Techneos says the Entryware platform handles long, complex questionnaires with ease, enabling sophisticated consumer feedback on mobile devices ranging from entry level PDAs to the latest Smartphones and Windows-based Netbooks. With support for over 200 languages, Entryware can be used for face-to-face interviews, mystery shopping and diary studies.
Building on the notification system and scripting language already used by some of the world’s leading research organizations, the new release of Entryware software provides new capabilities to support self-completed research such as consumer diaries. Photo support and ‘lockdown’ mode, already available for Entryware customers on Palm OS devices, are now available on Windows Mobile as well, allowing researchers to turn a wide range of PDAs and Smartphones into personal survey appliances. Enhanced project automation is also supported to simplify the user experience for self-completed surveys.
Other features include an improved look and feel for surveys, including high-resolution graphics for Windows Mobile VGA screens, and 5-way navigation for quicker and easier movement through a survey.
 “Techneos has been on the leading edge of mobile trends for well over a decade,” says Techneos Systems Co-founder, Mark Cameron. “Expanding our support to a broader range of Windows Mobile and Palm devices represents a direct response to our clients’ needs, and is an important piece of a very exciting product roadmap. Over the coming months, we will be announcing additional innovations that reaffirm our leadership in the mobile research space.”
Techneos mobile survey software is used by companies in over 50 countries to conduct questionnaires on a wide range of mobile phones, PDAs, Ultra Mobile PCs, Tablet PCs and laptops. The company’s Entryware and SODA software platforms can be licensed as stand-alone systems that integrate into the customer’s technology infrastructure, and are also available as a hosted, software-as-a-service offering.

Opera Reveals Mobile Web Trends

Browser company Opera has released its latest ‘State of the Mobile Web’ report, which charts the top global trends on the mobile web among Opera Mini browser users. In addition to the top trends and country snapshots, the report highlights trends in Southeast Asia and looks at search engine usage on the mobile web.
Global trends: 

• In May 2009, Opera Mini had nearly 25.4 million users, an 8.4% increase from April 2009 and a 136% increase on May 2008. These numbers reflect only the Opera Mini users who have specifically chosen to install the browser on their phone.
• Those 25.4 million Opera Mini users viewed over 9.6 billion pages in May 2009. Since April, page views have gone up 11%. Since May 2008, page views have increased by 227%.
• Opera Mini users generated almost 160 million MB of data for operators worldwide in May 2009, a 5.6% increase on the figure for April, and a 254% increase on May 2008.

Mobile Search trends:

• Google continues to assert itself as a global leader in search, but Yandex and Baidu continue to be the top players in Russia and China, respectively, while Yahoo is strong in Indonesia and Nigeria.
• Opera Mini users in India and Nigeria are the biggest users of search portals. In India, 16.3% of page views are from search portals, and users view an average of 63.7 search portal pages per month. In Nigeria, 26.6% of page views are from search portals, and users view an average of 49.6 search portal pages per month.

Southeast Asia trends:

• The top nine countries using Opera Mini in Southeast Asia are Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos.
• Between May 2008 and May 2009, overall page views in the top nine countries increased 459%.
• Growth rates in Southeast Asia remain high: Vietnam leads the top 9 countries with 412.9% growth in users this year, followed by the Philippines (353.6% growth) and Malaysia (249.6% growth).
• Nokia handsets continue to be dominant in Southeast Asia, followed by Sony Ericsson.

UK Snapshot - Top 10 sites in the UK, based on the number of unique users: 

1. Facebook.com 
2. Google.com 
3. Yahoo.com
4. BBC.co.uk
5. Live.com
6. Wikipedia.org
7. Bebo.com
8. Youtube.com
9. My.opera.com 
10. Hotmail.com

“Searching the web via a mobile device presents an enormous opportunity for both search engines and consumers,” says Opera CEO, Jon von Tetzchner. “Almost all search engines are moving forward to offer relevant and timely information based on location. Yet, consumers prefer services from the search engines they already know and use. As the mobile web becomes more pervasive and more people have their first experience on the web from a mobile device, it will be fascinating to see how these habits might change.”
You can download the full report for free here.

GSMA Launches Mobile Money Exchange

The GSM Association (GSMA), has announced the launch of the Mobile Money Exchange initiative, and unveiled Visa and Globe Telecom asthe first two founding partners.
The initiative aims to engage with new stakeholders and sectors that are entering the mobile ecosystem, providing a common voice and formal business forum for business collaboration. The ethos behind the formation of the Exchange is for best practise and innovations to be highlighted and shared, both across industry and inter-industry. The Mobile Money Exchange will feature an online knowledge portal, with social business networking and community functionality designed to advise and serve the interests of the mobile money industry.
“Mobile Money Exchange builds on the Mobile Money Programme that the GSMA launched in 2006 and which has been a tremendous success in terms of building a global community,” says Bill Gajda, Chief Commercial Officer at the GSMA. “Through the Mobile Money Exchange, fundamental principles and requirements which are not currently being met, such as fragmentation and therefore lack of ability to scale, will be addressed, and the Exchange will advance, advise and serve the interests of the mobile money market.”
The Mobile Money Exchange is open to any organisation and seeks to establish a broad-based stakeholder community that comprises key areas of mobile money including mPayments, mBanking, MMU (Mobile Money for the Unbanked) and MMT (Mobile Money Transfer). It will facilitate new partnerships and business models, drive thought leadership, champion innovation and knowledge transfer through engaging all elements of the mobile money industry.  The Mobile Money Exchange will have an Advisory Board consisting of a select number of thought leaders to shape and develop the Exchange, working alongside discussion groups and committees who collaboratively set guidelines, standards and best practise.
For more information about partnerships or sponsorship opportunities send an email to: mobilemoneyexchange@gsm.org

Orange Unveils an Android Hero

Orange says it will launch the HTC Hero, its first Android phone, early in July. The handset will  be available for free on selected price plans and will be exclusive to Orange in a Graphite colour.
The phone offers users a choice of seven user interface options and comes with a 5 megapixel camera, gravity sensor, AGPS and 512 MB of memory with space for a 16Gb MicroSD card. It’s 3.2 inch HVGA display features an anti-fingerprint screen coating for improved smudge resistance.
Orange is offering the HTC Hero for free to customers who take out a £39.15 per month, 24 month contract. The package includes 1200 any network call minutes and unlimited texts, as well as inclusive anytime Internet browsing.
“The first of several Android devices you can expect from us this year, we believe the Hero is a great all round device which will allow consumers to get to grips with all the things they love about the Internet, whilst on the move,” says Orange UK Director of Devices, Francois Mahieu. “We expect it to be extremely popular when it hits shelves this summer.”

NeuStar Makes IM Move

NeuStar has unveiled the NeuStar Subscriber Growth Service and its corresponding Best Practice Guidelines, which are designed to enable participating mobile operators to increase their mobile Instant Messaging (IM) subscriber uptake by up to 40% each year.
The Subscriber Growth Service has been created to help participating operators improve existing mobile IM services considerably and capitalise on the huge market for mobile IM, which, according to comScore’s March 2009 Mobile Market Report, grew by 83.3% in 2008 in Western Europe. Operators who adopt the Subscriber Growth Service will work with NeuStar’s Strategic Services team throughout the process of launching, marketing, and running an IM service, and will receive consultancy on how to build successful new IP business models, based on NeuStar’s track record of increasing the level of subscriber uptake.
With access to the only database of real-time subscriber IM behaviour on the market, NeuStar says it is able to tap into each operator’s subscriber base to break down which users are engaging with mobile IM, which handsets they use, how regularly they communicate via IM, and how much they spend, and help the operator use this information to optimise the service. By analysing each of the mobile IM services that it has launched since 1999, NeuStar has created the market’s first Best Practice Guidelines and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with the aim of supporting operators to effectively launch, market, and drive additional IM services to their subscriber base.
“With the Subscriber Growth Service, we can work hand-in-hand with our customers, providing a consultative, analytical service tailored to their market that will deliver long-term business benefits and allow operators the privileged, granular view of subscriber experience they need to increase uptake and profitability,” says Guenter Krauss, Senior Vice President and General Manager of NeuStar Next Generation Messaging (NGM). “We believe that we can increase an operator’s IM subscriber base and help them to generate incremental revenues from compelling next generation messaging services.”
Building on NeuStar’s established relationships with operators worldwide, the Subscriber Growth Service will help participating operators to substantially grow their existing subscriber bases, by advising them of the best handsets and price plans, customer lifecycle management and user experience, throughout the lifecycle of the service. With only 19.2% of mobile IM users aged between 18 and 24 years old, and 20.3% aged between 35 and 44 years old, NeuStar says it has the internal data and real-time analysis capabilities to advise operators how to effectively launch and market a range of IM services to affluent age groups beyond the youth segment. By harnessing this data and analysing IM activity on a daily basis, NeuStar says its customers will be able to develop a loyal base of mobile IM users and also pave the way for new presence-enabled services.
As an example, NeuStar says its data on IM usage suggests that in many instances, users prefer accessing IM via a downloadable client, as opposed to a mobile web-based service, because it delivers a better user experience.
“It is this type of data that we will feed back to our customers to help them develop the very best IM services, drive subscriber uptake and ultimately increase retention,” says Krauss.

Wireless Expertise Aims to Bridge the Gap

Ex-Tanla marketing chief Anuj Khanna has launched Wireless Expertise, a consultancy focused on the rapid development and delivery of mobile Value Added Services and applications to a wider global market. Founded with the intention of bridging the market gap and speeding up the delivery of mobile services, Wireless Expertise's offering will include international consultancy, service design and development solutions to help brands overcome barriers to reach out to their customers via the mobile channel.
The increased demand for handset applications, mobile broadband, mobile commerce and advertising services is encouraging mainstream brands to deliver their products through the mobile channel. With over 4 billion global consumers using wireless services, this market is still in its infancy, and has a lot of room for innovation and growth. However, Khanna believes that many companies are faced by limited knowledge, segmentation or expertise whilst designing, developing and deploying mobile services.
“Brands are hindered in delivering wireless services by poor user metrics, segmentation, development skills and product marketing expertise. Diverse handset operating systems and standards add to this conundrum,” he says. “Wireless Expertise has been founded to solve the problems of wireless service development, application design and systems integration. We aim to expedite the deployment of mobile services by bringing together cohesive solutions for our customers, and adding key competencies from the entire spectrum of the telecommunications, internet and IT solutions value chain.”
Over the last 12 years Khanna has worked internationally on mobile payments, managed content, applications and messaging services, with over 100 global mobile operators across 30 countries. He is also the author of five books on the mobile industry.

Shamzam Updates iPhone App for 3.0

Mobile music discovery provider Shazam has released an updated version of its popular music discovery application on the App Store. The new version uses the iPhone OS 3.0 enhancements to offer iPhone and iPod touch Shazamers expanded features, enhanced functionality and added social networking capability, including access to Twitter. 
Shazam was present at the launch of Apple’s App Store last summer and now has over 7 million users and has accrued over 100,000 user reviews worldwide. The Shazam iPhone app enables users to identify music playing on a hi-fi system, the radio or TV by holding the iPhone towards the music and tapping 'Tag'. Users can buy  music they hear through a link from the tagged songs to iTunes. They can also view related videos and other music content on YouTube; personalize their Tags with a picture; learn more about the music; organise Tags by artist, title, or date; and store  pending Tags for when they don't have a data connection.
The new features include:

• Tweet your Tag: Users can share the tagged song with their followers – enabling them stay up to date with the artist and track details they discover.
• Share a music moment: users can send their Tags as a Postcard to friends who share their musical taste so they can add the Tag to their own collection in Shazam, as well as preview and buy direct in iTunes.
• Track your music journey: Users can see their Tag on Maps inside Shazam, along with their Tag history, to remind them where they were when they tagged the song.

“Since launching on the App Store last year, Shazam has achieved a huge following with iPhone and iPod touch users” says Shazam CEO, Andrew Fisher. “We have listened and learned from our iPhone and iPod touch users over the past year and we are confident that the millions of Shazamers around the world will enjoy the enhanced functionality of this latest release.”
Shazam is available from the Apple App Store.