Mobile Marketing Magazine

OnePoint Adds Images and Video to Mobile Research Offering

OnePoint Surveys, which specialises in mobile phone survey technologies and services, has expanded its mobile research platform to include the collection of video and picture messages. The company says the move significantly enriches the ‘in-the-moment’ insight captured by the mobile phone, enabling respondents to send a picture or video and share a more visual description of their activity.
“Not only can people share information about where they are, what they are doing and how they are feeling, they can now show what they are looking at, providing researchers with much richer insight,” says OnePoint CEO, Neil Jessop. “At OnePoint, we take pride in leading the way in developing the mobile phone technology to support the fifth research methodology. Our innovative approach to video and picture messaging enables this functionality to be easily deployed globally, irrespective of the respondents’ handset or the country that they are in, and without the respondent having to download an application to their mobile phone.”
OnePoints says that capturing pictures and videos has the potential to enhance the insight captured across a wide range of applications, whether it is part of voice of the customer, diary tracking, or in-store feedback.  In addition, OnePoint’s picture and video collection does not depend on the type of mobile phone being used; the only requirement is that it has a camera. All responses are accessible in one central area via the OnePoint secure web portal.

Secret Codes

When, if ever, will mobile barcodes take off in a big way? It’s a question that enthusiasts of the technology have been asking themselves for a long time. Indeed in our debut print edition, published in February - catch it online here - you could sense the frustration felt by one such enthusiast, Howard Furr-Barton, when he said: “QR Codes have not emerged because of the incompetence of the majority of marketing directors, who don’t see a fabulous asset when it’s staring them in the face."
Yesterday, I met with Iain McCready, CEO of NeoMedia Technologies, one of the leading exponents of mobile barcodes. He argued that things are starting to happen. Last year, it began licensing its technology to other companies. So far, it has signed up four, including two competitors, Scanbuy and Mobiletag, and one more complementary firm. Neustar. It has also licensed the technology to US mobile agency Renu, and is set to announce two Scandinavian agency licensees later today. 
Last year, McCready told me, over 200 campaigns were executed using NeoMedia technology, plus 80 more in the first quarter of 2010. These figures surprised me. If there are this many mobile barcode campaigns running, the people running are not making much noise about them. Why the secrecy?
There are several reasons for the acceleration in mobile barcode deployments, he told me. Firstly, there have been advances on the standardization front, with trade bodies such as the GSM Association and the OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) agreeing on the use of one of three mobile barcode types, QR, Data Matrix and Astec, though there are still proprietary codes out there, and some might argue that even three looks like two too many.
Secondly, the apps phenomenon means that the issue of not having a barcode reader on your phone is much less of an issue than it was a couple of years ago. Added to this, NeoMedia has convinced one handset maker, Sony Ericsson, to pre-install its barcode reader on all new handsets.
McCready conceded that there are still issues to be addressed around data costs and education. On data costs, he told me he’s in favour of the model used in Austria, where the advertiser pays for the costs of the data session initiated when a mobile barcode is scanned. On education, he told me: “I’d like to be in a position where I could show a mobile barcode to anyone in this café, and they would know what it was, but I know we’re not there yet.”
This education process will happen, he believes, as big brands, both offline, in the shape of FMCG companies using 2D barcodes on packaging, and online in the shape of web giants like Facebook and Google, start to deploy mobile barcodes, and consumers get used to interacting with them.
“I believe that by the end of 2010, first quarter of 2011, we will be seeing transaction volumes; it was always going to take that long,” he concluded.
No doubt some will argue that it might take a good while longer than that. But this is a technology that has the potential to tip if it catches on in the right circles, and the viral effect of social media takes hold. It hasn’t happened yet, outside of Japan at least, but it would take a brave man to say it won’t.

David Murphy
Editor

Portaltech Updates StripeyLines Shopping App

eCommerce systems integrator and consultancy Portaltech has enhanced its StripeyLines iPhone application with the official release of StripeyLines V1.0. Originally launched at the end of 2009 in beta, StripeyLines is a shopping companion for bargain people who want to ensure they are getting the best deal for a product, whether online or on the high street. 
StripeyLines enables shoppers to scan the barcode of goods in-store to compare pricing, or to check product and customer reviews. Shoppers can also use the app to create wishlists of products they want to buy at a later date. For example, a user could use the Wishlist function to create their weekly food shopping list by scanning everything they throw away. The app also links to Facebook and Twitter to share information with friends. 
The app can also be used to link a scanned CD to iTunes and listen to the CD in the shop via the phone. The customer then has the option to choose to buy in store, download the track to their iPhone from iTunes, or go to Amazon or Google to check pricing and customer ratings. 
All items scanned using the app can be synchronised with a dedicated StripeyLines website, allowing the user to continue their research online later. A recent report by Eurostat found that 64% of customers are using the Internet to research a product and 50% of customers use the Internet to browse before purchasing in store.  
Portaltech is reaching out to all major UK retailers to get involved in providing price and product data for StripeyLines. The company is keen to ensure that users of the application have all the latest retailer data, barcodes and pricing to inform their decision making process, turning browsers into purchasers.
The company says it can also build retailer ‘plug-ins’ to provide retailer-specific functions. This could be as simple as providing promotional pop-up ads or vouchers at the point of purchase, or creating a brand building, or m-commerce plug-in for apparel retailers who want to cross-sell a look or collection.
“The plug-in feature on StripeyLines means that retailers don't need to build their own iPhone application,” says Portaltech CEO, Andrew Walker. “Instead we can just create a web application as a plug-in to StripeyLines, which is then beamed to the StripeyLines iPhone app. For example, if a wine merchant wanted to have an application that recommended wine based on what an iPhone user had scanned in a supermarket, all they would need to do is create a website that compared wines. The location of this website would then be beamed to the iPhone and when the user scanned some wine, StripeyLines would give them the opportunity to run the plug-in. This system could be applied to any product category for cross-selling purposes.”
Portaltech believes that mobile will be an increasingly important channel in retailing. The company’s Head of Brand & Retail, Rachel Wilkinson, says: “Mobile phones are now being used for product information and browsing whilst shoppers are out and about or when sitting in a high street coffee shop. Retailers mustn’t ignore this adapting behaviour, or see price checking as a threat, but harness it.
“These are latent purchasers who simply need an enabler like StripeyLines to convert them from browsers to purchasers. Mobile phones and devices should be utilised to leverage this opportunity and to join up the multi-channel experience. We can help retailers to develop an engaging solution, whether that’s a standalone mobile commerce app or a plug in to StripeyLines.”

Google Maps on Android Gets Satnav

Google has launched Google Maps With Navigation (Beta) for phones running Android 1.6 and above.
Google Maps With Navigation (Beta) is an Internet-connected GPS navigation (satnav) system that provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps for phones running Android 1.6 and above. The application uses the phone's Internet connection to deliver the latest maps and business data.  Users don’t need to buy map upgrades or manually update their device because they are always served the most recent data from Google Maps.
Key features include Search by voice to find your destination; the most recent maps, businesses and live traffic from Google Maps; and street-level and satellite views. The traffic view has an onscreen indicator that glows green, yellow, or red based on the current traffic conditions along the route. A single touch on the indicator toggles a traffic view that shows the traffic ahead.
Google Maps with Navigation (Beta) is available now on Android Market.

Zavvi Attracts 10,000 New Customers With Sponge Mobile Campaign

Entertainment retailer Zavvi.com has attracted over 10,000 new customers with a re-launch mobile marketing campaign.
The campaign, created and executed by mobile marketing agency Sponge, encouraged people to text in and enter a draw to win £1,000. All entrants received a unique code sent to their handsets to obtain a £1 discount on any order placed on the Zavvi.com website. Posters throughout the tube network in London promoted the competition.
Over a one-month period in December 2009, 24,000 discount codes were issued, with over 19,000 redeemed, generating over £150,000 of revenue and adding more than 10,000 new customers to Zavvi.com's database.
Zavvi, which folded on the high street last year, re-launched online in November under new owners The Hut Group. The company appointed Sponge to increase consumer interaction with the Zavvi.com brand, and to drive people to the website. Sponge, which specialises in mobile marketing campaigns, high-end mobile websites and apps, also worked closely with Zavvi.com to use social media and offer forums to publicise the campaign.
"Sponge over-delivered in terms of creative planning of the project, and the quality continued throughout the campaign,” says The Hut Group Commercial Director, Richard Chapple. “I'd recommend the company to any retailer looking to penetrate the m-commerce space."
Over 10,000 campaigns by some of the biggest international retailers and brands have run across Sponge’s TG3 platform, resulting in hundreds of millions of interactions with consumers.
“Using a simple mechanic to engage Zavvi.com’s audience was key to the campaign,” says Sponge Chairman, Alex Meisl. “By offering an easy-to-enter promotion, which was quick and cost-effective to set up, Zavvi.com successfully generated a significant number of new customers in a short timescale at a low cost.”

INSIDE Releases Open NFC Stack

INSIDE Contactless, which provides open-standard, contactless chip technologies, is making its Open NFC protocol stack more widely available, placing the full source code and API documentation on SourceForge.net for free download. The source code for the core Open NFC version 3.5 software - including Android, Windows Mobile, Linux and Java (JSR-257) editions - and API documentation will be available on SourceForge.net from 15 May. There’s also a web site with more information on Open NFC here.      
The Open NFC protocol stack brings well-documented NFC software into the open source arena, providing a complete NFC middleware solution for mobile phones, embedded products and other devices. INSIDE says that it benefits device makers, software developers, and others in the mobile ecosystem in several ways, providing greater impetus to implement NFC solutions across a broad range of consumer products. Open NFC supports the trend toward open platforms in the mobile industry, and INSIDE says it welcomes contributions from the developer community.
Open NFC supports several levels of functionality, from low-level RF control to high-level NFC Forum tag handling, peer-to-peer communications as well as Bluetooth and wi-fi pairing, interactions with single-wire protocol SIMs and other secure elements, and compatibility with smart cards and RFID tags based on Felica, Mifare and ISO 14443 standards.
"INSIDE's Open NFC software has received support from a broad array of participants in the NFC ecosystem, including major handset manufacturers, developers and carriers, and we are already in discussion with major industry players to support Open NFC as the de facto standard NFC stack for the Android, MeeGo, Linux and Windows Mobile platforms," says Philippe Martineau, Executive Vice President of the NFC business line at INSIDE Contactless. "Open NFC offers a number of benefits to these stakeholders, including an open, consistent API across all NFC hardware, faster time to market and greater flexibility."
Martineau adds that INSIDE's Open NFC protocol stack will be proposed to the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) as the reference implementation for Android to sit on top of the hardware abstraction layer. The company expects to release an NFC chip simulator and board to developers by the end of the third quarter of 2010. 

The Mobile Movement Launches To Help Good Causes Using Mobile

A team of mobile specialists including MSearch Groove Founder Peggy Anne Salz, ex-MMA President Laura Marriott, and Carol Glennon, Founder and CEO of Renu Mobile, have launched The Mobile Movement, a coalition committed to bringing mobile capabilities to not-for-profit organisations to enable them to reach people in need by leveraging mobile devices, networks and innovative applications they will create in partnership with social entrepreneurs.
Peggy Anne Salz says she has sharpened her focus on ways companies can combine mobility, creativity and compassion to help organizations reach out to people in need ever since expanding the focus of the Netsize Guide, an analysis of mobile trends, to include mobility in verticals such as healthcare and education. She says a moment of clarity came during n interview with James E. (Jim) Nalley, Co-Founder and CEO of EmFinders, a US technology firm that has harnessed the mobile channel to provide new support to caregivers and new freedom to a growing population of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and a range of cognitive and developmental disabilities.
EmFinders facilitates the rapid location and recovery of wandering or missing adults and children through EmSeeQ, which combines a small, watch-like, wireless device without buttons or a screen, and a location service that uses triangulation through the cellular network – and with 911 emergency response systems – to accurately determine a person’s location.
“I was struck by Jim’s dedication to his work (more like his mission), stemming no doubt from his own personal experience with his father, who - like some 5.6 million other Americans - had Alzheimer’s disease,” says Salz. “His respect for his father’s quality of life and personal freedom inspired him to develop a solution that doesn’t track individuals like a Big Brother, potentially limiting their feeling of autonomy and self-worth. Instead, the EmFinders solution is designed to give some peace of mind to the caregivers and to the families, and ensure that – if the impaired person wanders off – then the service can recover them quickly.”
Since the interview, Salz says she has examined the needs of non-profits and explored how they might harness mobile to extend their reach and help people everywhere. “Fortunately, I was able to connect with other entrepreneurs, academics and humanitarians who share my passion,” she says.
In addition to Salz, Marriott and Glennon, other members of the advisory board include film maker and philanthropist Avis Richards; Cynthia Artin, Managing Director of Auster Capital Partners; social entrepreneur Kevin Patrick; Dr. Mary Cronin, Boston College professor of management, consultant and author of mobile and smart product strategy analyses; and Simone Schmidlkofer, Founder of Cause2Connect, global strategy and branding agency
“Thousands of non-profits are not yet using mobile messaging to serve their community because they lack the technical expertise and budget,” says Salz. “The Mobile Movement fills that gap by connecting non-profits with sponsors and – more importantly – tools such as mobile texting, mobile petitioning, mobile barcodes and mobile website creation/design, to achieve amazing results. We’re keeping it simple to scale quickly and have a positive impact on the causes that seek our innovation, support and collaboration.”
Anyone who manages a non-profit or would like to find out more about how to get involved, should email [email protected] or head for the Mobile Movement website.

SPB Launches Language App for Android

Mobile application developer SPB Software has launched SPB Flash Cards for Android. It’s an app, designed to help language students expand their vocabulary quickly and easily.
The Flash Cards app teaches users new words through the use of mental agility exercises and images. Available on all touchscreen phones running Android OS version 1.5, the app provides over 1,000 cards in 14 languages including English, French, German, Czech and Chinese, all dubbed by native speakers.
"Learning is a very individual process which people tackle in different ways," says SPB Software CEO, Sebastian Schmidt. "SPB Flashcards for Android lets the learner take a step back from the 'one size fits all' approach and explore techniques that work for them."

GetJar Measures Conversion of App Dowloads to Users

Independent app store GetJar says it is the first app store to enable developers to measure the conversion rate of mobile downloads to users across all open platforms, including Android, BlackBerry, Flash, Java, Symbian and Windows Mobile.
GetJar notes that developers want users, not downloads, but says that until now it was very time consuming to set up tracking codes and analytics to measure the conversion of app store downloads to users. GetJar has now automated this process, enabling developers to analyze the performance of their application by phone, country, and network. In addition, the Conversion API, used in conjunction with GetJar’s Pay per Download (PPD) promotion system, can help developers manage their cost per active user and optimize their marketing efficiency.
Traditionally, says GetJar, there was no inexpensive way for developers to test their app on every phone. There are over 2,500 different mobile phone models that can browse the web and download apps and each of these has different variations for operators over time. GetJar tracks 25,000 different variations in total. Even developers with the best intentions couldn’t possibly discover and test every carrier and firmware variation, the company says. Thus, users became defacto testers and were subjected to many apps that simply didn’t work on their phones.
“With GetJar conversion tracking, developers will know where their apps run, and where they don’t,” say GetJar VP of Product, Chris Dury. “This conversion data will allow developers to improve their apps, increase conversion, and gain an advantage over the competition, by increasing users, not just downloads.”
Developers can also host their apps on their own sites using GetJar App Download Page (ADP) and can track conversions for app downloads. ADP is a free, white-label hosting solution for mobile app developers to deliver app downloads from their own websites and convert their existing traffic to mobile app users. Consumers simply click a download button and ADP automatically detects the phone and downloads the appropriate app version.
To get started, developers simply add a conversion code into their apps published on GetJar. When the app is opened for the first time, it will notify GetJar. Developers can then see the results in the analytics on the GetJar developer site. For more information and complete documentation, you can create a developer account here.

Heathrow Offers Premium App for Free

Heathrow Airport is offering passengers a free version of its newly launched mobile application for the next four weeks to provide passengers with the latest information and updates on the status of flights operating in and out of the airport.
Heathrow’s first ‘Airport Guide’ app is designed for anyone travelling to, from or through Heathrow, and will enable passengers to plan their airport visit from the palm of their hand. There are two versions of the app: a free edition and a paid for premium pro version, which normally costs £1.79 per year but will be available to download at no cost until the end of May.  
The free version helps passengers locate and book the most convenient method of transport to the airport, and provides information on check-in procedures, airport news and terminal details. Once at the airport, the app provides detailed terminal maps, shop locations and retail offers.
The pro version also offers the ability to access flight information updates and to track flight progress. It contains six months of scheduled flight timetables for every airline at Heathrow, as well as five-day weather forecasts for over 220 global locations. 
The Heathrow Airport Guide app is available now for the iPhone and iPod touch, Vodafone 360 and Android, and is coming soon to Blackberry and Java-based Smartphones. There’s more information here.

ImpulsePay Launches Age Verification for Mobile Payments

ImpulsePay has launched an age verification service for online content. Using their mobile phone to pay for the content, similar to SMS billing, the purchaser has their age verified by the operator and is blocked from the purchase if they are not old enough.
Using ImpulsePay’s service, the content owner can be sure that any content that is targeted at over-18s won’t be accessed by people too young to view it.
To use the service, the content owner inserts an ImpulsePay 'Buy Now' button on their site. After clicking on the button, the buyer enters their mobile phone number and is sent a secure PIN by SMS. The PIN is then entered online and the operator checks that the user's handset is registered to someone aged 18 or over. If the user is not registered as over-18, they are sent to a help page. If the user is registered as over-18, the transaction is completed and the website updates automatically and redirects to the content.
ImpulsePay says the age verification service will create opportunities for a variety of new online content and services to be provided. It believes the service will appeal to gaming and other betting sites as, like SMS billing, the service is simple and easy to use and available to anyone with a mobile phone. However, the new age verification service will also allow certain films, games and music content to be safely sold, as well as other, more traditional 18+ content.
Previously, credit card payment was the main way that a content owner could ensure proof of age. However, not everyone has a credit card and even for those that do, ImpulsePay says its own research shows that using a mobile phone to pay for content is seven and half (7.5) times quicker than a credit card, requiring only 16 keystrokes, compared to 120 for a credit card.
“Our service, which combines the benefits of Payforit and SMS billing, has proven to be really popular with a wide variety of content owners and website users,” says ImpulsePay CEO, Chris Newell. “What we’re doing now is opening it up to all content providers. The age-verification service will allow content owners offering certain film or music clips, or games that are 18+ rated, as well as the betting and gaming sites, to accept mobile payments for their content or service.”
ImpulsePay’s service is based on Payforit – the payment service supported by all licensed UK mobile operators. Using Payforit, ImpulsePay collects payment directly from the user’s mobile phone bill, or available credit if on pay as you go, meaning that anyone with a mobile phone can buy content, make a donation or pay for a mobile application on their phone or online. Payforit works on any handset in the UK and across all networks. When accessed on mobile websites, users make a purchase in just one click, with no additional information that needs to be entered. Payforit allows simple hyperlinks to the payments page and once the transaction is complete, it returns the user to the relevant page to receive their content.

2ergo Launches Mobile/Email Solution

Mobile marketing and technology firm 2ergo has launched Campaign Manager V5, a multichannel marketing solution that combines text and picture messaging, email, voice and WAP push in a single offering. 2ergo says the solution enables marketers to easily deliver multichannel campaigns and benefit from a 360-degree view of customer behaviour.
Available as an off-the-shelf solution, Campaign Manager V5 uses a rich email client and mobile-to-email functionality. The solution integrates with third party systems, and according to 2ergo, offers: “the deepest level of reporting and campaign analysis currently available”. The company also claims that Campaign Manager V5 offers marketing professionals proven response rates of more than 25%, an average 30% reduction in customer services and processing costs, and a typical ROI of less than one month. The solution can send over 3,000 text messages per second and in excess of 45 million messages a month for a single customer. It can be used as a self-service product or as part of a managed solution.
“Campaign Manager offers companies an unmatched opportunity to take advantage of multichannel customer communications,” says Colin McCaffery, Director of Products at 2ergo. “The new attributes directly address the key challenges being faced by marketers today, putting their customers in more control of how and when they receive marketing messages. Now anyone can quickly and easily execute a truly multi-channel campaign to boost sales and strengthen customer relationships.” 
An upgraded API set allows flexible integration with third party systems and databases. It also offers a redesigned and upgraded ‘drag & drop’ campaign builder, live campaign preview view, and enhanced configurability, plus contact group and list management functionality, with the ability to segment customers into specific campaign groups to increase personalisation and improve response rates. The reporting and analytics engine delivers detailed behavioural analysis and customer insight.

Slug & Lettuce Launches Mobile Vouchers

Pub chain Slug and Lettuce has partnered with mobile phone application Vouchercloud to launch its first mobile promotional vouchers for the iPhone and iPod touch.
The application enables customers to download digital vouchers based on their location. Redemption is easy, with the offer displayed on the handset’s screen. Customers select to accept the offer, show their unique redemption code to the waiting staff, and the discount is applied to the bill.
“The move to digital redemption creates a new communication link with our customers, delivering a compelling offer that is free to access” said Lisa Stoddart, Head of Online for Town & City Pub Company, which operates the lug & Lettuce chain. “The unique code enables us to track redemptions and evaluate our offers on a regular basis. The Vouchercloud content management  system, which is self administered, also enables us to bring offers direct to both new and existing customers who are looking for deal in a flash – this opens up a whole new world of opportunity for us.”

Study Finds Smartphones Threaten Operator Profitability

The increasing popularity of smartphones is threatening mobile operator profitability, according to new research from WDSGlobal. The company cites research from Yankee Group that notes that a combination of expensive subsidies, fixed data tariffs, complex service set-up, and high support costs mean it can now take up to 16 months just for carriers to break-even on a subscriber.
WDSGlobal's own research found that consumers are increasingly looking to connect their Smartphones to their Internet, email and social networking accounts out-of-the-box. However, problems in setting up these more complex data services on Smartphones means that, on average, Smartphone support transactions take 30% longer to resolve than feature phone transactions (source: Nielsen).
The WDSGlobal survey of 1,000 UK consumers, carried out in March, found that almost one third experienced set-up problems with email; 21% experienced problems setting up the Internet on their device; 18% had problems with MMS. Almost 10% of those who ran into problems did not try to find a resolution, choosing instead to abandon, while 27% of respondents did not find any of the support options available to them to be effective.
 “It’s something of a perfect storm,” says WDSGlobal Vice President of Marketing, Tim Deluca-Smith. “The cost of selling and supporting Smartphones is significantly higher than it is for the traditional feature phone segment. Operators are therefore keen to ensure their subscribers maximise the advanced revenue-generating features of Smartphones. Unfortunately, a large percentage of consumers are struggling with the advanced functionality of the Smartphone, and are defaulting back to more familiar voice and SMS services. Combine these conditions, and it’s clear to see how operators’ margins are quickly being eroded.”
Smartphones already represent a third of all handsets sold, and are expected to overtake feature phones by the end of 2011, according to Nielsen. This consumer demand is driven by the desire to access a wide range of advanced content and services. However, this shift into the mass-consumer market creates problems for carriers – around half of people questioned make a purchasing decision based on price, which in turn has led carriers to heavily subsidise Smartphones.
“Consumers are being sold on the idea that smartphones can deliver complete connectivity, keep you entertained and offer exciting apps. Get it right and operators can build highly-loyal and highly-profitable subscriber bases. Unfortunately, the out-of-box experience can be very different,” adds Deluca-Smith.

3G iPad On Sale 30 April in US

Apple has confirmed that the 3G version of the iPad will be delivered to US customers who have pre-ordered the device on Friday, April 30. The 3G (+ wi-fi) iPad will be available in Apple retail stores the same day starting at 5pm.
The 3G/wi-fi iPads will sell for a suggested retail price of $629 (£410) for the 16GB version, $729 for the 32GB model, and $829 for the 64GB device. This is a $130 premium over the price of the equivalent wi-fi only model.
Apple says it will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders for iPad on May 10. The device goes on sale at the end of May in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Switzerland.

GoSpoken Offers Free Orange Prize for Fiction Book Extracts

The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman, has announced the shortlist for its 2010 award. To coincide with the publication of the shortlist, Orange is partnering with mobile book firm GoSpoken to offer free downloadable extracts of the shortlisted books direct to mobile phones. Text extracts from all six shortlisted books will be available to download for free from today by texting PRIZE to 60300 from any UK mobile. (Standard browsing rates may apply for non-Orange customers.
This year’s shortlist is:

• Rosie Alison - The Very Thought of You
• Barbara Kingsolver – The Lacuna
• Attica Locke – Black Water Rising
• Hilary Mantel – Wolf Hall
• Lorrie Moore – A Gate at the Stairs
• Monique Roffey - The White Woman on the Green Bicycle

The winner will be presented with a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze statue known as ‘the Bessie’, created by artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.

Astellia Secures Middle East Contracts

Astellia, which provides monitoring solutions for the optimization of mobile network Quality of Service and performance, has announced four new contracts with major mobile operators and equipment vendors in the Middle East.
Astellia will provide its probe-based monitoring solution for the optimization of a new 3G network. It will also enable a Tier 1 operator to improve the quality of service delivered to its most valuable subscribers with its VIP Care customer-centric application. In parallel, Astellia is developing its partnership with equipment vendors and managed services, allowing them to improve data service perception and usage and troubleshoot complex problems across multi-vendor and multi-technology networks.
“We are extremely pleased to have closed these major contracts in the Middle East”, says Astellia Regional Sales Director, Ali Wansa. “This region is very dynamic, with a large potential for high-value and high-quality data services, especially in the Gulf States which are considered as one of the leading markets in terms of mobile broadband subscribers. With a regional office in Beirut and presence throughout the Middle East, Astellia plays a crucial role in supporting operators to drive extremely fast mobile broadband growth towards new generation networks and deliver exceptional quality of service to their subscribers.”

T-Mobile Launches Movie Service for HTC Desire Users

T-Mobile is launching a video-on-demand (VOD) service for owners of the HTC Desire Android handset. The service will be powered by Saffron Digital, and will offer a selection of Warner Bros. Movies that users can watch, pause and resume playback between their PC and mobile phone. Saffron Digital already powers a video-on-demand service for T-Mobile called VOD+ which launched last year.
T-Mobile customers who buy the HTC Desire in the first month of its availability will get two free Warner Bros. movies from a list of eight titles, including ‘Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince’ and ‘The Hangover’. These will be available on a 48-hour rental basis, playable on the HTC Desire or on a PC. More Warner Bros. films will be added to the  service over the next few months, and will cost £3.49 for new releases and £2.49 for back-catalogue titles.
Working in partnership with both HTC and T-Mobile, Saffron Digital has created and will host a mobile Internet destination which T-Mobile customers who have bought the HTC Desire will be directed to, via an SMS mechanic and in-store posters. A follow-up email will also be sent to users who have activated their handset, but not used the promotion. The site will be linked to T-Mobile’s VOD+ site, also created and powered by Saffron, where a wide catalogue of films from Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. are available for purchase.
“We anticipate the Desire being one of our most popular handsets of 2010, and the VOD+ service makes it even greater value for our customers – giving them even more functionality on top of an already impressive features list,” says Nicola Shenton, Head of Handset and Device Marketing at T-Mobile. “As the service is unique to T-Mobile, it will also be a key differentiator for us as we compete with other networks.”

Orange Signs Eco-friendly MVNO Partner

Orange UK has signed C Mobile, a new, environmentally-focussed Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on the Orange Partner Platform, via Transatel, Orange’s mobile virtual network aggregator (MVNA).
C Mobile is an online mobile reseller that is ethically accredited with The Ethical Company Organisation. It will launch its Prepay MVNO nationally across the UK later this year with both SIM-only and handset deals, targeting the ethical and eco market. C Mobile gives consumers the opportunity to fund ecologically sustainable energy projects via profit-based grants. More details of the proposition will be revealed by C Mobile nearer the launch.
“We are extremely pleased to sign up to the Orange Partner Platform with Transatel for our UK MVNO operations,” says C Mobile Managing Director, Jon Lobb. “The ease of access to market which this opportunity represents is the first step in our growth strategy, and we look forward to working with both Orange and Transatel as we move towards our UK launch.”

The Strange Case of the Missing Next-gen iPhone

Technology blog Gizmodo claims to have unearthed the next version of the iPhone. It was found in a bar in Redwood City, California, just 20 minutes from Apple’s infinite Loop headquarters. According to the Gizmodo story, the device, disguised as an iPhone 3GS, was left in the Gourmet Haus Staudt bar by one Gray Powell, a software engineer at Apple working on the iPhone Baseband software that enables the device to make voice calls. Powell has been using the device to update his Facebook status from the bar.
The person who found the phone, having twigged eventually that it wasn’t a normal iPhone, tried to find out more from Apple, and when he was unable to do so, turned to Gizmodo instead, much to the blog’s delight. Its story contains numerous videos and close-up photos of the device, which has a flat, rather than rounded, back panel, and also features a front-facing video chat camera, a rear camera with a larger lens than the current version, and a flash. (That’s a flash, as opposed to Flash.) The device also weighs 3g more than the iPhone 3GS, and has a battery that is 16% larger than the current version.
While some of the comments filed by Gizmodo readers question whether the whole thing was a deliberate stunt set up by Apple, with some also suspecting Gizmodo’s complicit involvement, the blog itself seemed convinced the lost phone was genuine when it posted the story yesterday, even more so when it received a letter from Apple Senior Vice President and General Counsel Bruce Sewell, asking for the device back.
Whether it is for real, or some kind of promotional stunt on Apple’s behalf, with the story so far retweeted 28,938 times, Gizmodo won’t be complaining either way.

Report Analyses mHealth Market

Juniper Research has released its report, ‘Mobile Healthcare Opportunities: Monitoring, Applications & mHealth Strategies 2010-2014’. The report forecasts that revenues from remote patient monitoring using mobile networks will rise to almost $1.9 billion (£1.2 billion) globally by 2014, with heart-based monitoring in the US accounting for the bulk of early mobile monitoring roll-outs. But while mobile monitoring will contribute to healthcare cost savings in developed markets, the study finds that national wealth and the structure of the healthcare market in a given geographical region will have an important bearing on the extent to which it is rolled out.
The report also finds that the market for mobile health and fitness applications will thrive, and eventually spawn a new market for advanced apps which integrate sensors worn on the body. The report provides detailed analysis of the evolution of Smartphone apps, and the impact of the app store model on the healthcare industry.
The report provides five year forecasts for public sector savings attributable to mHealth monitoring, as well the number of health monitoring events per year, and service revenue from health monitoring. Other key forecasts include revenue and user forecasts from fitness and healthcare apps, as well as the number of users that downloaded lifestyle and healthcare apps.
The report assesses how much the public healthcare sector could save through cellular remote monitoring of individuals; what the future holds for mobile healthcare applications; which operators have the most progressive outlook towards the mHealth sector; and which regions will show substantial growth in mobile health monitoring revenues.
There’s more information about the report here.

GSMA Reveals Mobile Money Speaker Line-up

The GSM Association (GSMA) has revealed the speaker line-up for its Mobile Money Summit 2010 event, which takes place from 24-27 May in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Topics to be considered at the conference include  ‘Financial agents: coverage, liquidity and profitability’; Emerging Business Models; and Untapped Areas of Growth and Opportunities for Mobile .
Speakers include Antony Belpaire, General Manager, Mobile Wallet at Alcatel-Lucent; Staffan Ljung,  Director of Analytics and Payments at Ericsson; Geoff Iddison, Group Executive, e-Commerce and Mobile, at Mastercard; Richard Mwami, Head of Mobile Money at MTN Uganda; and George Held, Group Marketing Director, Products and Innovation, at Zain
"The Mobile Money ecosystem continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, creating fresh opportunities and introducing new participants across the entire value chain," says Gavin Krugel, Director, Mobile Money, at the GSMA. "More than ever, the Mobile Money Summit is an important platform for discussion and showcasing the latest developments and solutions in this rapidly evolving and dynamic marketplace."
Each morning before the main conference session, there will be free ‘Mobile Money Accelerator Classes’, with content tailored to that day’s conference topics.  Bankable Frontier Associates will be hosting the ‘Executive Regulatory Training for Mobile Operators’ event, a one-day, invitation-only workshop held on Monday 24 May, which explores how to assess the available mobile money business models, understand the regulatory environment, and choose the best model for a given country. On the last day of the event, the GSMA’s invitation-only Leadership Forum will bring together a large number of decision makers from mobile operators and Central Banks to discuss how to remove regulatory hurdles for mobile money.
There’s more information about the event here.

Monotype Adds To FlipFont Collection

Monotype Imaging has added nine comic book fonts to its FlipFont collection of downloadable typefaces for selected mobile phones. The new designs are available from http://www.flipfont.mobi for users of Monotype Imaging’s FlipFont application, which enables users of supported Nokia and Samsung phones to personalize their user interfaces, menus and applications with fonts.
The latest FlipFont additions were designed by the Founders of Los Angeles-based Comicraft & Active Images, Richard Starkings and John Roshell. The pair have been credited with fonts featured in comic books, magazines, toys, books, DVDs, video games and feature films such as ‘Toy Story 2’ and ‘Sky High’.
The nine new comic books fonts include the ‘Astronauts in Trouble’ font, described by Haley as a design with a mission to be easily read; the ‘Dave Gibbons’ font, based on the lettering of the comic book artist of ‘Watchmen’ fame; the ‘Dave Gibbons Journal Italic’ font, which combines capital and lowercase letters into a single, unicase font; the Tim Sale Brush font; plus five more fonts: ‘Forked Tongue’; Phat Boi’; ‘Spellcaster’; ‘Storyline Typewriter’; and ‘Zoinks’.

Bango Says Its Analytics Solution is OK with Apple

Following the furore over the recent changes to Apple’s iPhone Developer Program License Agreement – for more on this click here -  mobile payments and analytics firm Bango has issued a statement confirming that the use of Bango Analytics does not infringe the agreement.
The recent changes to the Apple developer license agreement state that: "Device Data may not be provided or disclosed to a third party without Apple’s prior written consent. Accordingly, the use of third party software in Your Application to collect and send Device Data to a third party for processing or analysis is expressly prohibited".
Bango notes that this clause makes it hard for developers to deploy analytics solutions and get the valuable insight they need to drive the success of their iPhone applications, since most analytics solutions need to extract and disclose detailed device data to the analytics vendor in addition to the developer.
“They require this data to function, but in doing so are in breach of the Apple rules,” the statement says. “Their dependency on platform specific code also conceals what information is being disclosed making it impossible to know whether you are in breach, right up until Apple rejects your app.
“Developers using Bango Analytics do not need to provide or disclose any device data to Bango in order to get precise measurement of app success and customer engagement. Bango uses an anonymous, server side ‘identifier’ technology that protects consumer and device information while delivering levels of accuracy not found in traditional analytics solutions. Applications, campaigns and websites are all measured using consistent web standard techniques, rather than complex platform specific code, which gives the app developer confidence and total control over the level of information they wish to record and ensures all data being disclosed is completely transparent.”
Bango CEO Ray Anderson says: “Developers are currently paralyzed by the new Apple rules and don’t know how to proceed. Bango’s unique approach using server based Identifier technology gives them a way to retain the detailed measurements they need for success, while remaining compliant with Apple’s constantly changing rules.”

The Text Works Launches Low-cost Bulk Messaging Offer

The Text Works has  launched a low-cost SMS broadcasting service for businesses. Mesages are available in bundles ranging from 200 to 100,000 messages, with each message charged at £0.04 for all bundles, and no monthly subscription charge or sign-up fee.
There’s more information about the service here.

Lonely Planet Helps Stranded Travellers with Free iPhone City Guides

In response to the widespread chaos caused by the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Lonely Planet is offering 13 of its European iPhone city guides for free.
 “Travellers stuck in unfamiliar places need access to practical information as well as suggestions on what to do whilst stranded”, says Lonely Planet Travel Editor Tom Hall. “That’s why we’re giving away iPhone city guides to major affected destinations.”
The 13 guides will be free until Thursday, 22 April from the iTunes app store. The cities covered are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Istanbul, London, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stockholm and Vienna.

What Car? Goes Mobile

What Car? has launched a mobile version of its website. Around 50,000 users a month already access the main What Car? website via their mobile device, and What Car? Publisher Haymerket Consumer Media says it expects this number to increase quickly with the introduction of m.whatcar.com.
“What Car? mobile provides an important route for car buyers to reach our content, and the response from our advertisers has been spectacularly positive” says What Car? Publishing Director, Andrew Golby. “The rapid emergence of Smartphones and the improved web browsing capabilities of all mobile phones means this will be an important platform for us.
The mobile site incorporates the key features of the main What Car? website, including the nine-point What Car? road test, including picture galleries; comprehensive used car road tests; a free used car valuation tool; advice and tips on buying, selling and running your car; and used car listings, plus contract hire deals, new car deals and a dealer search. All content has been adapted for a mobile phone environment with bespoke page layouts and rapid delivery of each page on the handset. The site has been created by YOC.
“Integrating mobile into its overall strategy is a wise move for What Car? as the channel perfectly suits both its loyal and mobile-aware readership and advertisers,” says YOC UK Managing Director, Oli Roxburgh. “The continued growth of the mobile Internet is a validation that mobile presents publishers with a flexible, interactive platform on which to diversify its revenue streams and broaden its reach.”

Futurlink Launches Mobile Site Creation Tool

Spanish mobile marketing firm FuturLink  has unveiled FuturLink dotmobi, a mobile website creation tool that it says makes it easy to create mobile sites customized for all mobile phones.
FuturLink dotmobi uses a web-based, drag & drop functionality interface. Only one version of the website is needed. Handset detection technology automatically adapts the website to each phone, taking into account the language mark-up, the device model, its firmware, screen size, and screen resolution. New handsets are automatically added to the handset database. FuturLink dotmobi also offers the option of hosting at a reliable, high-availability, load-balanced data centre.
FuturLink dotmobi allows you as well to offer the users the download of a multimedia file, automatically detecting the mobile phone characteristics and sending the correct version to each phone, ideal for mobile download stores.
FuturLink dotmobi allows users to define the look and feel of the website, including colours and fonts.  background, colors or font. Users can create a ‘master area’ to be reused for different pages; clone pages to use them as templates; request data from users through forms; offer downloads of multimedia content adapted to each mobile device, and monitor download numbers; and include click-to-call funcaiton ality on telephone numbers published on mobile sites.

Placecast Report Looks at Mobile in Retail

US-based mobile marketing firm Placecast has released a report titled ‘Retail Goes Mobile: Finding New Consumer Connections Through Mobile Devices’. The report, authored by by Kathryn Koegel, President of Primary Impact Research, focuses on the use of mobile marketing within the retail sector.
The report looks as changes in media consumption, including the shift from print to digital media with wireless access. It also considers the pros and cons of different mobile marketing tactics in the retail sector, and looks at the texting phenomenon.
“Mobile phones now have consumer penetration rates that surpass the Internet, and marketers need to grasp the implications of ‘go-anywhere media,’ which is what mobile phones represent,” says Koegel. “Consumers use their phones to do everything from research products to check competitor retail pricing – even from within store locations.”
Earlier this year, Placecast announced the launch of ShopAlerts, an opt-in program which delivers messages about sales to consumers as they enter a ‘geo-fence’ surrounding a physical location. A Placecast ShopAlerts case study, which is included in the Retail Goes Mobile report, found that 75% of users found messages somewhat to very useful, and that 73% would definitely or probably use ShopAlerts in the future.
Most recently, Placecast announced its Match API (Application Programming Interface) a free tool that enables location content providers and location-based application developers to refer to a location in any number of ways, and validate that those references resolve to one true location on the planet. The implications that ShopAlerts and Match have for the retail ecosystem are numerous, says Placecast, including an increased focus on improving location-based services and attracting marketing spend.
The report is available as a free download here.

NSN Wins £400m MBNL Network Contract

Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL), the 50:50 3G network infrastructure joint venture formed by T-Mobile UK and 3 UK to has awarded a £400 million contract for the provision of 3G radio network infrastructure, mobile network planning, implementation, optimization and maintenance, to Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). The provision of equipment and services is already underway.
The two operators are on course to complete their joint network infrastructure program by the end of 2010. When completed, it will be Europe’s largest shared network, and NSN points out that it requires fewer masts, consumes less energy and provides customers with a superior mobile broadband service. The HSDPA 3G network already offers outdoor coverage to more than 90% of Britain’s population. By the end of this year, the network coverage will be expanded to more than 98% of the population.
To date, MBNL has consolidated more than 7,000 sites out of a total of over 12,500 T-Mobile UK and 3 UK mast sites due to be brought together by October this year. When completed, the integration program will also result in more than 3,000 redundant sites being switched off
“Smartphone and mobile laptop data traffic growth in the UK has been unprecedented, and every sign is it will continue growing fast,” says MBNL Managing Director, Graham Payne. “With Nokia Siemens Networks, we are confident of providing the UK’s most Smartphone-friendly, high-speed 3G network to more people in the UK than any other operator, delivering exceptional services to both T-Mobile UK and 3 UK subscribers.”   
To ensure that both operators can enjoy the benefits of the MBNL network expansion, while continuing to function independently, NSN has implemented its Multi-operator Radio Access Network (MORAN) platform, which offers flexibility while merging two networks, enables the re-use of existing infrastructure, and allows a reduction in the number of sites.

What the iPad Means for Mobile Operators

John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult, argues that the launch of the iPad presents mobile operators with a unique opportunty to enter a new, lucrative market 

The media is currently full of stories about the launch of Apple’s iPad. But reading through the many stories, we noticed that very few focus on the iPad from an operator's viewpoint, and even fewer focus on how the iPad will influence content and the VAS (Value Added Services) market in non-Apple areas, outside the value chain controlled via App store.
May we start by pointing out that the iPad is just one of many devices that has the possibility of being online via the mobile operators’ networks. If an operator focuses on the iPad, they will only make money on the data traffic created by the iPad - there is no voice and SMS revenue like on traditional mobile phones. We have no doubt that most customers will purchase their mobile traffic where it is cheapest and that their choice of operator will be based on who can offer the most inexpensive mobile data tariff.
When you examine a device like the iPad and the way that operators will sell data, it corresponds to having a restaurant that offers an "all you can eat for a fixed price" menu. In the same way that restaurants hope people do not eat too much, operators will also hope that their customers do not use their mobile networks to send and receive too much data.

Dumb bitpipes
At this point, a smart reader would question why mobile operators and ISPs need to think twice - and how a device like the iPad could undermine the operators’ future business cases, resulting in mobile operators and ISPs becoming dumb bitpipes?
Strand Consult has never believed that mobile operators can use a walled garden strategy to achieve a central role in developing, marketing and selling services. Neither did we ever believe that operators in the future would develop into dumb bitpipes that only sell connectivity. If you read through the many research notes and reports we have published regarding this subject, you can see that we have always viewed operators as intelligent bitpipes, using an open garden strategy as their foundation.
When we look at Apple’s strategy and iTunes’ position in the music market - and the position they are starting to achieve in part of the application market and other markets - there is no doubt that Apple would like to handle the billing relationship in an increasing number of areas. According to Apple, the mobile operators’ primary function is to deliver cheap data traffic to customers.

Intelligent services
We believe that mobile operators around the world have many possibilities if they take advantage of their large customer bases, the billing relationships they have with their customers, and the intelligence built into their networks. This can be sold to service providers that can create, market and sell applications and services that are far more intelligent than those available today for devices like the iPad.
In fact, mobile operators and ISPs can use the launch of the iPad to enter a new market that is very close to the premium SMS market that mobile operators around the world today earn billions from. Moving from what is happening on mobile phones today, to what will happen on iPad's, portable PCs and many other online devices in the future, is only a short step.
In our report, ‘One API – Next Generation Value Added Services in the Mobile Industry’, we have analysed Open API and the possibilities that operators and service providers will have on the future telco market. We not only examine the actual standard, but also put forward a number of suggestions on how operators and content providers can optimise their business models.
There’s more information about the report here.

MMA/Lightspeed Research Shows Mobile Giving On the Up

In the wake of the recent earthquake in Haiti, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and its research partner, Lightspeed Research, have released the results of their latest ‘Consumer Briefing’ reports, which looks at mobile giving in the UK, French and German markets, and reveals that people are increasingly turning to mobile as a way of quickly donating to a cause. Following the disaster, 23.4% of all UK, French and German people surveyed donated to the Haitian Earthquake relief efforts. Of these donors, 21.4% pledged money via text, and 7% by visiting a charitable website from their mobile device. This total of 28.4% of donors using mobile to give money to Haiti demonstrates a clear trend towards its emergence as an important and instantaneous new way for people to help victims and charities.
France emerged as the market most likely to use mobile for charitable donations, with 30% of all donors choosing to text their financial support, making this the most popular way of contributing. Germany was a close second, with 26% of all donors using text – a strong choice behind PC-based donation.
The inclusion of donations made via a website accessed from the mobile device into statistics made mobile the most popular way to contribute in both France and Germany. Although UK consumers showed that they had a way to go until they caught up with their European counterparts, with 9% of all donors using text and 8.6% visiting a website from their mobile phone, UK mobile consumers described themselves as the most likely to donate by mobile in the future, with 19% stating that they were very likely or likely to do so, followed by the French at 16% and the Germans at 11%.
The report provide insight which will improve market understanding of consumer feelings towards using the mobile device for accessing charitable donation services and will help in the design and development of these services. A number of practices were identified that would encourage greater rates of donation via mobile in the future across the three markets. These included guaranteeing that mobile numbers would not be retained or used to contact the consumer again without their permission; making it clear how much of the money pledged actually goes to the charity; and not fixing the amount a consumer is able to contribute, so that the decision is theirs.
The report, which is available to MMA members, highlighted several other key findings. In all countries, it was the younger population that donated more via text, although this trend was more pronounced in the UK than in France or Germany, where there was less difference between age groups
There is no significant difference in popularity between genders, except in France where more females than males donated via text. When asked about previous charity campaigns, the results showed that both French and UK consumers reported relatively high levels of prior experience of texting as a means of donating or responding to ads. 16% of French and 14% of UK respondents indicated they had experience of texting donations or replying to ads, compared to 6% of German respondents
“The research shows that donating to charities using mobile phones is now popular, and with the high penetration and usage of mobile, this medium could provide an attractive new opportunity for charities to fundraise,” says Ralph Risk, Marketing Director, EMEA, at Lightspeed Research. “To help encourage more people to contribute, charities still need to educate people about how they can donate, while at the same time re-assuring them that the money will go to the nominated charity and that their phone numbers will not be used without their permission.”

Myxer Unveils GeoPix

Myxer has announced the launch of GeoPix, an Android application that brings geo-location technology to ordinary wallpaper images. The app enables users to choose a physical location for an image they want as their wallpaper, and then have it appear as they arrive at their destination. Users can set a location by sliding their finger around a map, or typing in their address.
GeoPix makes use of Android’s geo-location and background services technologies to monitor a phone’s physical location. The app enables users to save any number of locations, and to search and choose images from either their phone or Myxer’s wallpapers catalogue.
“This is another in a series of announcements that show our commitment to innovation and bold expansion beyond ringtones,” says Myxer CEO, Myk Willis. “In addition to developing a new generation of mobile apps, we’re expanding our consumer offerings this year to include over-the-air music downloads, mobile streaming video, and a host of other new services.”
Myxer works with more than 125,000 artists. To date, the company has enabled more than 1.2 billion content downloads and represents a powerful and active community of more than 34 million users who currently download more than 90 million pieces of content every month.
You can download GeoPix for free from Android Market, or by texting GEOPIX to 69937.

Dilithium Announces Streaming Video Support for iPad

Dilithium, which specializes in high-quality multimedia delivery over mobile and broadband networks, has announced support for live and on-demand video streaming for the iPad using the Dilithium Content Adapter (DCA). The move will enable service and content providers to provide their customers with access to live or on-demand video content, including Adobe Flash video, through the standard iPad Safari browser.
Dilithium says the DCA is unique in its ability to deliver live video and VOD to all iPads and iPhones (OS2 and OS3), using their built-in Safari browser. It supports all popular video formats, and performs on-the-fly and on-demand media formatting and codec adaptation. iPad users do not need to install any special applications to stream video to their device, which may be connected over wireless networks.
“The iPad has a larger screen, which requires special adaptation and bitrate configurations to meet customer’s viewing expectations in varying wireless network conditions,” says Marwan Jabri, Founder and CTO of Dilithium Networks. “As with the iPhone, the iPad does not support Adobe Flash video. The Dilithium DCA iPad solution solves these challenges with its patented technology, which has already been proven in a major large scale worldwide deployment that solved many of these challenges for the iPhone.”
Dilithium’s patented technologies and architecture allow on-the-fly smart media adaptation, as well as smart caching and content finger-printing. The solution supports the widest range of mobile phones and terminal devices through RTSP, HTTP, and HTTP Progressive Download. Dilithium says the DCA iPad solution is easily integrated into operator and content provider frameworks and workflows with its PHP-based API. The DCA has an advanced built-in caching feature, allowing significant reduction in unnecessary adaptation, while also providing support for ad-insertion.

Ocado Launches Android App

Online supermarket Ocado has launched an Android app incorporating voice search technology. Using the ‘Ocado On The Go’  app, shopppers can access Ocado’s fully-stocked virtual aisles by speaking their selections. As they do so, the the app pulls up a comprehensive list of individual products in that range.
Ocado’s range of over 21,000 products is stored locally on the handset, so users can keep shopping even when offline. Orders are automatically, and swiftly updated whenever the phone goes online. The app also integrates with Ocado’s website.
“Our continual motivation is to make food shopping as quick and painless as possible for customers; we’re thrilled to now be doing this via an innovative Android app,” says Ocado Co-founder, Jason Gissing. “Last summer we were the first UK supermarket on the iPhone, and going live on Android is the next step of a revolutionary journey to be available across several digital platforms.”
Ocado’s On The Go iPhone app launched last July. In February 2010, 4.4% of all Ocado orders were being placed or updated on it, equating to sales of over £15 million per annum.

Android Suffers in Smaato Ad Metrics Report

Mobile ad optimization firm Smaato has released revealed its latest metrics, looking at the global, mobile advertising market in terms of clickthrough rates and ad network fill rates.
The figures reveal that Android has been enjoying huge success in terms of clickthrough rates in South-east Asia, but on the global front, it has dropped by around 50%, and now stands in fifth place in Smaato’s  CTR (Clickthrough Rate) Index, with Symbian retaining top spot and feature phone handsets claiming second space. The metrics are based upon 36 mobile ad networks and over 4 billion ad requests served in the Smaato network of more than 3,300 registered mobile publishers in March 2010.
The performance of different operating systems in March shows Symbian’s lead decrease slightly, as feature phone handsets and Windows Phone make significant increases. The CTR Index ranges from 35 (Blackberry) to 156 (Symbian), compared to February where the spread was from 51 (Blackberry) to 147 (Symbian). The Index consists of the average CTR of all devices and this number is set to 100.
Android has suffered the most in the latest metrics, with a drop of almost 50% as its global CTR Index fell from 110 in February, to 58 in March. This is the second consecutive month that Android has dropped. Feature phone handsets have been building momentum since the first Smaato Metrics Report in December. Each month, they have made consistent gains on the competition in the CTR Index, from 84 in December, to 91 in January, to 107 in February and now at 123 in March. Symbian’s lead has shortened in the CTR Index table, but it remains the OS to beat with regards to CTR performance in mobile advertising. Apple remains consistent across February and March (89).
Smaato’s metrics highlight the performance of mobile ad networks globally, and also measure the fill rate, which is defined as the percentage of ads delivered per ad request, and varies by different factors, such as country, device and content type.
 The fill rates of the global top 10 ad networks, increased from February to March. The best performing mobile ad network in the Smaato worldwide Index had a fill rate of 93% in March 2010, an increase of percentage points compared to February. Despite the increases across the board, the average for worldwide ad network fill rate performance remains steady at 28% (from 29% in the previous month), with six of the top 10 ad networks performing above this average. Smato says that this data helps to prove that an ad network aggregation system can help partners achieve the best possible return and the highest possible fill rate, across the globe. 
The average fill rate of mobile ad networks in the USA rose to 41% in March, improving from February’s average of 35%. Five of the top eight ad networks performed above the average, and the US average fill rate remains significantly higher than the global fill rate of 28%. In line with the global fill rates, the top US ad networks experienced significant increases from February, with the strongest network’s fill rate rising from 78% to 94%.

mkodo Powers Sky Bet iPhone Gambling Service

Sky Bet has announced the launch of its mobile betting service, optimised for iPhone, and powered by mobile marketing firm, mkodo.
“We are delighted to be working on some exciting new developments coming out with the Sky Bet iPhone Sportsbook,” says mkodo’s Mark Gibson. “The mkodo platform provides the ability to deep-link to optimised iPhone betting markets from banner ads on Sky Bet’s other mobile applications – this makes the proposition very exciting from a targeted promotion and user-acquisition perspective.”
Sky Bet Mobile is accessible via www.skybet.mobi. No downloads are required.

paythru Launches In-app Payment Solution

Mobile payment firm paythru has launched an independent in-app payment service, in response to requests from companies at the World Congress in Barcelona (February 2010). The service enables consumers to pay for goods, services or upgrades without having to leave a mobile app. So, for example, if a customer wants to top up a game fee, or upgrade from a free app to a paid service, or access paywalled content from a news service via an app, they can do so without having to go through a separate payment site and risk degrading the app experience. The app developer keeps control of the payment process and the customer relationship. This can be done, for example, distributing a free app direct to customers, with an option to upgrade or pay for further use.
The ‘in-app’ payment service uses paythru’s secure mobile payments platform, which allows customers to spend what they want, when they want, where they want, through any Internet-enabled mobile phone and using any bank or credit card. Paythru points out that it is the only mobile payment platform that is Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, delivering the same standard of security as retail bank and card issuers, protecting both merchants and customers.
“The biggest discussions at Mobile World Congress were around how to monetise apps effectively,” says 
Paythru Managing Director, Keith Brown. “Applications have the potential to be great marketing or sales tools, but they’re no good if you can’t make revenue from them – either because you have no option to upgrade a free app to a paid service, or because you’re giving away a large percentage of  your download revenues to an app store. We were asked to help solve that problem, and so we developed the in-app payment system.”
Dataquest estimates that more than 4.5 billion mobile applications will be downloaded worldwide in 2010, bringing in some $6.8 billion to app stores worldwide. More than eight in 10 applications downloaded this year, however, will be free.
paythru’s service works internationally and provides a multi-currency option, enabling app developers to accept international and local cards and integrate with more than 40 banks worldwide.

Meffys Deadline Extended

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) has extended the deadline for its seventh international Meffys awards until Friday 23 April.
New Meffys categories for this year include Content Discovery & Personalisation; App Store Blockbuster; Innovative App; M-Commerce; and Mobile Connected Device
The MEF will be accepting entries for the 2010 Meffys awards until 6pm UK time on 23 April 2010. Entry costs have been frozen from last year at £100 per entry for MEF members and £300 for non-members.
There are more details, including information on how to enter, here.

Openwave Launches Analytics Express

Openwave Systems has launched Openwave Analytics Express, a cloud-based analytics solution which features analytics and a set of reporting tools designed to perform essential monitoring of mobile internet usage and behaviour, enabling operators to improve operational efficiency without significant infrastructure investments. Analytics Express is the latest addition in Openwave’s Analytics product family, which also includes Mobile Analytics: Mediation Edition, a fully featured solution launched in March 2010.
Analytics Express enables operators to gain key network- and usage-related insights across a wide array of operator data sources, and includes reporting functionality that can help mobile operators build profiles and segments, and leverage insights into new revenue streams.
As a hosted solution, Analytics Express is designed to provide these insights at a low-cost, with a low hardware footprint and rapid time to market. Openwave says the offering is also highly scalable and can address specific customer requirements with rapid customisation. Analytics Express is also jointly offered with Openwave Media Optimiser, which enables operators to analyse and measure their video optimisation initiatives in real-time, and helps them to proactively address network capacity issues.
 “Analytics Express is designed for operators who are looking for insights to solve immediate network capacity problems and who are interested in new revenue opportunities arising from a better understanding of data traffic patterns and subscriber usage,” says Openwave Diector of Product Management, Anand Chandrasekaran. “Analytics Express allows operators to quickly realise the benefits of operational insights in improving their network’s performance, with the option to upgrade to our fully featured Analytics offering as their needs evolve.”
 Key features of Analytics Express include reporting across devices, subscribers, destinations and data traffic; rapid customisation, with the ability to add reports based on specific metrics and key performance indicators rapidly; fast integration of new data feeds supporting diverse log formats and transactional data with custom reports; and seamless integration with other Openwave products.
Openwave Analytics Express solution is expected to be generally available through Openwave by the end of the Q2 2010.

Mobile Gaming Set For Growth, says comScore

comScore has released the results of a study on mobile gaming highlighting the potential for growth in the mobile gaming market, despite a 13% decline in the number of US  mobile gamers during the past year. This overall decline was driven by a 35% decline in mobile gaming among feature phone subscribers, who represent approximately 80% of the market, which contrasted with a sizeable 60% increase in the number of gamers using Smartphones.
“Although the number of mobile gamers has declined in the past year, there is reason for significant optimism about the future of this market,” says Mark Donovan, comScore SVP Mobile and Senior Analyst. “As the market transitions from feature phones to Smartphones, the dynamics of gameplay are also shifting towards a higher quality experience. As a result, we can expect to see a profound increase in adoption of this activity, both in terms of audience size and overall engagement.”
The inevitable ascent of the mobile gaming market depends not only on Smartphone subscribers’ higher propensity to play games on their mobile devices, but also their heavier gaming activity across nearly every dimension,” says comScore. Smartphone subscribers (47.1%) are three times more likely than feature phone subscribers (15.7%) to play games on their device at least once a month. They are more than five times as likely to play games almost every day, and far surpass their feature phone counterparts across various methods of game play.
Smartphone subscribers also install significantly more games on their devices, with 27.3% having installed at least one game, compared to just 5.6% of feature phone subscribers. A third of Smartphone subscribers with games have more than five games installed on their phones, while less than 1% of feature phone subscribers have that many games installed.
“Smartphones offer a more accessible and compelling mobile gaming experience that is enabling adoption of this behavior, even among consumers who have not traditionally been gamers,” says Donovan. “Marketers and advertisers ought to be paying close attention to the opportunity this presents for reaching consumers in new and engaging ways in a cross-platform environment. The potential for highly creative marketing efforts is exciting.”
Smartphone subscribers are more likely to play mobile games than feature phone subscribers across every gaming genre. The genre with the highest penetration among Smartphone subscribers is Arcade Puzzle games at 12.9%, followed by Card games (11.9%), Word/Number games (11.4%) and Casino games (7.6%). While casual game genres have higher penetration than hardcore genres (Sports, Racing, Action/adventure, First-person shooter), the hardcore genres exhibit significantly higher adoption among Smartphone subscribers. This finding, says comScore, highlights the importance of the Smartphone medium in driving adoption of higher quality gaming experiences.

Maserati Goes Mobile with 4th Screen Campaign

Premium mobile advertising agency 4th Screen Advertising has completed a deal with global media agency MEC for a mobile campaign for luxury car manufacturer Maserati, to support the launch of its latest model, the GranCabrio. 
Using 4th Screen’s rich media advertising format, iSlide, mobile advertising for the new car targets iPhone users across 4th Screen’s premium mobile advertising engagement platform, Mpression, to include high quality inventory in UK from publishers such as Guardian mobile and ITN. This is the first time that Maserati has used a mobile advertising campaign targeted specifically at Smartphone users, with bespoke rich media formats.
The iSlide expandable format is similar to online formats, where users can click on the banner which expands the ad to deliver a full screen, rich media display. The iSlide format also integrates seamlessly with the iPhone, enabling a direct connection to be made to a full blown ‘above-the-line’ advert. For Maserati, the expandable ad format features a hero shot of the GranCabrio, which links through to a dedicated micro site for the new car, enabling consumers to explore the car in more detail.
The mobile activity forms part of an integrated campaign to raise the profile of GranCabrio as it launches in the UK. The mobile activity will run alongside online and press. All media was planned and bought by MEC.
“Detailed analysis of TGI and Comscore, which provides information on target demographic groups and mobile behaviour, showed that Maserati’s customer base correlates highly with Smartphone consumers,” says 4th Screen Account Manager, Will Rusack. “More than this, new Smartphone demographics allow us to execute high-quality campaigns based on an array of campaign parameters and this is essential for Maserati’s brand. We are delighted to be working and engaging with such a premium brand. It is a sign of the growing maturity of mobile as an advertising channel."

Opera Mini Downloaded 1m Times on App Store Debut

Opera’s Mini mobile browser has got off to a flying start in the Apple App Store, with iPhone users downloading the app more than 1 million times on the first day of its availability in each market. Opera Mini is currently the number one iPhone app in the 22 featured Apple App Stores, as of 8am CET today. According to Apple’s download count, Opera Mini has been added to 1,023,380 Apple devices.
“Today, iPhone users have a choice, and, as the numbers show, they are eager to explore new and faster ways to surf the web on the iPhone, especially during heavy web traffic,” says Opera Software CEO, Lars Boilesen. “With any widely available and frequently downloaded Opera product, we are appreciative of all the feedback we are getting, as it helps us to continually improve our product and better meet the needs of our users.”
 

Goal.com on Your Mobile

In preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, football website Goal.com and Handmark have announced the launch of the Goal.com mobile application for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Nokia (S60 5th edition). The app supports content in four languages and comes in eight different editions:  International; English – UK; English – US; Spanish  Spain; Spanish – US; Spanish – Latin America; French; and Italian.
The app delivers instant real-time access to all the latest breaking football news, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and transfer activity. Handmark and Goal.com plan to release another update to the application in the coming weeks as well that will include additional features and functionality to support a premier mobile experience for tracking games during the World Cup.
The app updates automatically, even when not in use, to ensure that the user can access up-to-date information, which is available for offline reading. A ‘My Feeds’ facility allows football fans to customize the content to keep track of their favourite leagues and clubs.
The app is free and is available for download from the Handmark website or at http://m.goal.com/app on your mobile browser.

Muzicall Launches Ringback Tone Centre of Excellence

Muzicall, which offers ringback tone services, is launching a centre of excellence for the marketing of ringback tones to consumers, which will be led by Lourens de Beer, the company’s newly-appointed Chief Marketing Officer.
Muzicall says it will act as a dedicated resource for its managed service partners to deliver bespoke, innovative, multi-channel marketing campaigns that will increase awareness and discovery of ringback tones, as well as generating sales and enhancing customer retention.
“Lack of awareness is repeatedly cited as one of the reasons why so few consumers in Europe have ringback tones, but we are changing this with innovative marketing and unique content,” says de Beer. “Muzicall combines leading edge RBT technology and best in industry marketing knowledge to increase consumer awareness of RBTs and drive sales.”
Muzicall say its centre of excellence will offer its managed service partners substantial ring-fenced marketing budget and expertise to implement marketing strategies, including dedicated specialist campaign managers for each country, and bespoke marketing content tailored to each target country.
de Beer has been appointed as Muzicall’s Chief Marketing Officer following the company’s successful €9 million fundraising round in November, plus the additional €2.1 million of funds raised in February. As CMO, de Beer will be responsible for leading all aspects of marketing for Muzicall, as well as driving the marketing of ringback tones to European consumers in partnership with operators.
De Beer joins Muzicall after eight years at Net Mobile UK. Prior to that, he managed direct-to-consumer mobile marketing strategies in over 20 territories as CEO of Pitch Entertainment Group (now Playphone, EMEA) and as Head of Global D2C Marketing for iTouch Plc (now part of Buongiorno).

metaio Sees Strong Interest from junaio AR Developers

Augmented Reality (AR) firm metaio says that number of registered developers for its mobile AR browser platform junaio has rapidly grown since the company opened up its API (Application Programming Interface) four weeks ago, and has now passed the 200 mark. The open API, junaio gives developers and content providers the opportunity to create their own channels, complete with AR applications. metaio says that the open API is easy to use and does require only basic knowledge in programming, (e.g. XML and server side programming, such as PHP) to create state-of-the-art AR applications.
"We are very pleased with the number of developers. The feedback we receive is that junaio is a great opportunity for developers to create state of the art applications without spending any money", says metaio CTO, Peter Meier.
Metaio lists AR Mashups, multiplayer games or scavenger hunts, interactive, indoor and outdoor exhibitions, tours with animated 3D characters, edutainment and location-independent gaming as some of the potential applications for AR.  The company is also offering a cash prize of $5,000 for the developer who creates the best channel. Anyone who registers as a developer and sets up a channel before 16 June, 2010 will be entered into the competition automatically. The five channels with the most subscribers will be shortlisted. An independent jury with AR- and IT-business experts will then select the winner. Among the jury members are Robert Scoble; ReadWriteWeb´s Chris Cameron; Mobile Consultants Christine Perey and Ken Blakeslee; Industrial AR expert, enthusiast and blogger Thomas Carpenter; and Prof. Dr. Geiger from Duesseldorf University of Applied Sciences Department of Media Mixed Reality and Visualization.
Developers can register via the junaio website.
metaio is also running a Developers camp at the AR DevCamp in Berlin on 24 April. The junaio team will give an insight in what developers can do with the new junaio API in free and moderated coding sessions. In addition, ideas for new channels will be collected discussed. There’s more information about ARDev Camp, including venue and registration details, here.

Glasgow Tours Go Mobile with QR Codes

3GVision, which makes the i-nigma mobile barcode reader, has revealed that, from this weekend, visitors to Glasgow will be able to take part in a trial using two-dimensional barcodes to download architectural tours of Glasgow direct to mobile phones. It is thought to be the first time the technology has been used in this way to deliver a tour in the UK.
Three tours have been created by the Mackintosh Heritage Group to help visitors discover some of the great architectural works of Glasgow, including those by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson.
The tours are accessed by using a QR (Quick Response) Code reader on their phone. Users scan the image with their barcode reader, which decodes the pattern and automatically downloads their choice of tour as a PDF.
The three tours have been created with the assistance of writer and architectural historian Gavin Stamp. Each tour takes around one and half hours. The Glasgow Style and Modernity Tour starts in the city centre looking at the buildings created by Mackintosh and his contemporaries around 1900. The West End Tour looks at the residential suburbs which emerged to the west of the city centre as it expanded during the prosperous Victorian period. The Second City Tour examines some of the city centre’s best examples of Victorian and Edwardian commercial architecture.
Within the next few days, the codes will be distributed on cards to visitors to the Mackintosh attractions in Glasgow and other key spots for tourists. The cards contain a QR Code image alongside easy instructions on how to get hold of the required software for their phone while on the move.
The group is also working on promoting the codes on posters and stickers inside the venues. The Mackintosh Heritage Group website has printable versions of the tours if visitors don’t have a compatible phone.
“People are often unaware of the history and artistry that surrounds them,” says Stuart Robertson, Chair of the Mackintosh Heritage Group. By delivering these tours directly into people’s hands, we can help them discover the legacy of Mackintosh and other great Glasgow architects.”

Apple Delays iPad's International Launch, Voda and O2 to Offer Price Plans

Apple has put back the international launch of the iPad by one month, citing “surprisingly strong US demand” as the reason. The company has issued a statement which reads:
“Although we have delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week, demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks as more people see and touch an iPad. We have also taken a large number of pre-orders for iPad 3G models for delivery by the end of April.
“Faced with this surprisingly strong US demand, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the international launch of iPad by one month, until the end of May. We will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders on Monday, May 10. We know that many international customers waiting to buy an iPad will be disappointed by this news, but we hope they will be pleased to learn the reason - the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far.”
In a separate move, both O2 and Vodafone have revealed that they will offer dedicated iPad price plans from the end of May.Both will offer the tariffs in the UK, while additionally Vodafone will offer iPad price plans in Germany, Italy, Spain and Australia.

Adaptive Issues Update Data Cost Advice

With Microsoft issuing its monthly set of Windows patch updates yesterday, and Adobe and Oracle both releasing new security updates, mobile security firm AdaptiveMobile is warning Smartphone and 3G dongle users to be wary of the unexpected data costs associated with background software updates, particularly when using data roaming.
“The way we are accessing and using the web is evolving fast, with more and more consumers and business users accessing the web on the move via a mobile handset or with a 3G dongle,” says AdaptiveMobile COO, Gareth Maclachlan. “Unfortunately this shift towards a reliance on mobile data means users must also become increasingly aware of how their data allowance is being used and which online activities are causing unforeseen data costs to build up automatically.
“As data usage has sky-rocketed over the past three years, bill shock has been a hotly discussed issue in the media. However, despite awareness of the risks increasing, we are seeing time and again that consumers are still being hit by huge data bills – most of which can be avoided. One of the biggest culprits we see is automatic software updates. For example, a set of Window’s patch updates can be upwards of 40MB in size, iTunes updates are around 100MB and Apple’s latest OS update runs at over 700MB, all of which seriously drain data allowances and can lead to substantial costs for consumers.
AdaptiveMobile notes that there are some simple steps that consumers can take to avoid unexpected data costs. If users switch their updates to ‘alert’, rather than allowing automatic background updates, software downloads can be delayed until a later time when the user’s device is connected via wi-fi or fixed broadband. Similarly, for enterprise travellers who may be racking up huge bills through data-roaming, IT managers can liaise with their mobile operator to set specific network-level controls, avoiding the headache of coordinating individual controls on each employee’s handset or mobile broadband-enabled laptop. Forward-thinking mobile operators are now providing web-based self-care for consumer and corporate subscribers, ensuring that mobile access is used for valued activity, and not for hidden updates.
“The recent Europe-wide ruling on data charges also means that users can now ask their network providers to cut them off after they reach a predetermined amount on their bill and while this is certainly a step in the right direction, it can be counterproductive if a user is blocked from sending that important time-critical email to their customer just because their laptop has decided to update Windows,” says Maclachlan. However, if users are to avoid the pain of unexpected data costs - both in the UK and abroad - they absolutely must get data-savvy and ask their operator for the tools to take charge of their data usage.”

LUXE City Guides Go Mobile

LUXE City Guides has announced the release of its Mobile edition, which is available for the iPhone and Blackberry, plus handsets from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and HTC. The apps cost £5.99 and come with a year of free updates sent directly to the phone, plus the second year’s subscription for half price.
LUXE City Guides, written by resident city editors, deliver opinionated, informed information, with no ads, and the company says it is bringing the same no-nonsense approach to mobile. The mobile apps initially cover 10 popular destinations - New York, Hong Kong, Paris, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Rome, Bali, Sydney, and Bangkok - with 20 more international destinations coming soon.
You can download the Guides here.