This site has an interesting post about Mobile 2.0 (From the post):

"Mobile 2.0 is almost as much about the end user as it is about the device or the service whereas Web 2.0 doesn’t exist with out the combination of the two. In a similar vein, Mobile 2.0 is morphologically amorphous - the form of the device is constantly changing and shifting. As Walter Mossberg said at a keynote last year, Mobile is the most important new technology but we have no idea what it is going to become."

What will mobile devices become in the future? Perhaps the closest answer lies with the pioneering work by Mark Weiser and Xerox Parc labs and their Ubicomp framework.

“Ubiquitous computing names the third wave in computing, just now beginning. First were mainframes, each shared by lots of people. Now we are in the personal computing era, person and machine staring uneasily at each other across the desktop. Next comes ubiquitous computing, or the age of calm technology, when technology recedes into the background of our lives.”

Video Capture Adoption Rates: US and Europe

According to research conducted by Telephia, nearly 8 million mobile users now use their mobile phones to record personal video clips. That is approximately 3% of all mobile users in the US.

This rate nearly doubles to 6% among new mobile subscribers. The US adoption rate pales in comparison to the rest of Europe. Spain lead the way with 15% adoption rate, followed by Italy with 14% and UK with 12%. Sweden is at 10%, France and Germany are both 9%.

Source: Telephia (PDF file)

US and European Mobile Phone Use

Recent research conducted by comScore indicates that Europeans are much more likely to use the web on their mobile phones than Americans. The research found 29 % of European Web users in Germany, France, Italy, UK & Spain regularly use their cell phones to access the Internet in comparison to just 19 % in US.

In the UK 24% of mobile phone users use the web on their mobile phones. Germany and Italy were top with 34% each.

In the USA, Google, MSN and Yahoo dominate the market having 74% mobile traffic. In Europe web portals don’t have anywhere near the same market share. The highest in Italy (34 %), followed by UK (31 %), Germany (29 %), Spain (28 %) & France (24 %).

The study also revealed that men are more likely to access the web through their cell phones than women. 55 % of mobile phone users that were surveyed were men.

The study also found that news websites were visited more often than commerce sites by mobile users.


Source: http://www.rncos.com/Blog/mobile.html

Mobile TV struggles to hit the mainstream.

Research firm, Ovum, have highlighted the key issues facing mobile operators trying to push mobile TV into the mainstream.

Ovums senior analyst, Eden Zoller, claims that while huge mainstream TV programs such as Lost are popular, they are not made specifically for mobile and so offer nothing new to the user.

Zoller also claims that the mobile specific content hasn’t fared that much better. One of the main problems was that mobile specific content is expensive to produce and it is difficult to challenge established mainstream television programs.

Zoller highlighted the mobile specific spin-off series of “24” and it would seem that this is probably the best method for mobile TV to capture an audience. Web episodes such as those created for “The US Office” would allow for lesser characters or story-lines to be developed and could also overlap with the major TV storyline.

The recent Lost Experience ARG also seems to indicate that there is a growing interest for cross-media promotion campaigns and mobile TV could certainly play a part in any future ARG type campaings
Source: (NMA 26/10/2006/, page 13)

Sega complain that handset manufacturers are stopping mobile game growth

Sega COO, Mike Haynes, has complained that the mobile games industry is waiting for handset manufacturers to release the necessary technology to enable next generation games to be played on them.

While Sega are still currently releasing mobile games, most notably, the ever popular Football Manager series, Haynes insists that mobile game development will not see a significant increase in growth until handset manufacturers release technology that is capable of playing next-generation games up to the standard to the Nintendo DS.

Source (NMA 26/10/2006/ page 11)

Microsoft Launches Windows for Mobiles

Microsoft has announced plans to launch Windows Live services for mobile phones. Currently in beta stages, the service will officially begin next month. Microsoft have created specific mobile pages and will initially sell “tenancy” advertising on their site, however, it’s expected that once user numbers increase they will switch to CPM advertising.

Source: (NMA 26/10/06/ page 1)

02 launch “made for mobile” videos

02 will become the first mobile operqator to release videos that were specifically made for mobile phones. Rather than use re-purposed video content, 02 feel that their “made for mobile” content is key and they are looking at increase their commitment with independent content producers. They hope that by using indpendant content producers, they can share the burden of production costs. Graeme Riddell, 02’ head of mobile content said,

“This may involve us commissioning content and providing joint funding to get ideas of the ground”

Source: (NMA 19/10/06/, page 11)

Brands can now offer free-text service.

Brands can now cover the cost of consumers replying to competitions or campaigns. Similar to the freephone number, brands can now make sure that end users don’t need to pay to enter competitions or other services. O2 launched the service last week. MX Telecom are the first company to use the service.

Source (NMA – 19/10/06, Page 2)

Paypal Mobile tries to lure customers with 1p Porsche

Paypal Mobile is offering the chance for users to win a Porsche for a penny in an attempt to increase the use of its text-to-buy service. Paypal have also announced that they plan to launch a WAP payment product. Paypals independent third party status and it’s ubiquity on the web,may mean that, rather than operators, it will become the number one payment choice for mobile users in the future.

Source: (NMA 19/10/06/, Page 3)

NMA say SMS Marketing is not dead

According to a recent NMA article, SMS marketing is only just beginning to be fully realised as a marketing tool. While sending out untargeted SMS ads will probably result in people trusting a brand less, targeted SMS ads actually have a 3-8% response rate.

Gone are the days of buying a database from a third party, now companies are compiling their own databases of people who have decided to “opt-in”, meaning they have a market who are only too willing to have relevant messages sent to them. Whereas before SMS messages were often perceived as spam, with targeted SMS messages there now exists the potential to directly reach consumers who are interested in what a company has to offer.

Source (NMA 12/10/06 p.25)

Mobile Internet usage expected to increase in 2007

Jupiter Research analyst Sharon Armbrust has outlined her thinking for an increase in consumer use of mobile internet next year. She claims that one of the main reasons for the slow uptake is “the widespread lack of opportunity consumers have had to sample mobile broadband, either at all or in any manner that renders a rewarding experience”. However, a host of new developments this year should lead to an ability for consumers to sample the mobile internet enjoyably, which should in turn lead to purchasing.Source: http://www.moconews.net/

Mobile Radio

Interesting article found via this blog on the future of mobile radio: From the article:
“It would let listeners use radio stations as a tool to explore music in a way that is impossible on other devices, they'd have their favourite DJ guiding them through a world of music they don't have time to sift through themselves.
And if the stations got a share of the purchase price from selling tracks as impulse purchases, this would give them an incentive to play a lot more new music, as larger playlists would offer more tracks to buy. Stations would put a lot more thought into the music they play, and it might even lead to an increase in the quality of music as they try to entice people into clicking on the "buy" button. It would also allow make them a lot more influential in the music business as they'd be frontline retailers rather than just promoters.”Click here for the full article.

Mobile Video Sharing

Cable and Wireless and Telecom Italia Sparkle have reportedly completed the first international mobile video sharing trial. “Mobile video sharing allows users to view live or pre-recorded video content together during a normal voice call. This means that consumers could resolve disputes over whether a goal went over the line, or a player was offside, by watching video clips on their mobile phone during a call - and continue the discussion after the video had finished.

Source: http://www.moconews.net/

Former Vodaphone director claims 70% of downloads is adult content

Former Vodafone Group’s director of global content development, Graeme Ferguson, gave a talk recently saying that adult content drives the mobile content market — “At Vodafone we denied this, but the fact is that 70% of downloads are of adult content.”He also gave some tips to small content producers: “Small producers with mobile content need to approach operators via content aggregators. Or, “Sell it to Yahoo instead. If you don’t have a big brand or marketing budget, the mobile user won’t find you.”

(source: http://www.moconews.net/_)

Disney say, "mobile TV will be huge"

"Industry analysts predict that mobile television could be a global market worth as much as $27 billion by 2010," Sweeney said, adding that 500 million new wireless connections have been made globally in the past year.
Disney already has deals in place with Vodafone Italy and Orange Mobile in the U.K. and has just finalized a deal to stream Disney Channel via France Telecom's Orange service. Disney has a deal to distribute the ABC hit "Lost" to 3.2 million mobile-phone customers in the U.K., and plans to bring the network's "Desperate Housewives" to 24 million Vodafone Italy subscribers.

Click here for the full article

"Classic" tracks to drive ringtone growth

While hip-hop acts may rule today's ringtone charts, yesterday's stars are introducing the format to a broader audience and drive tomorrow's growth.

Only about 10 percent of wireless subscribers buy ringtones today, primarily young adults purchasing hip-hop and R&B-themed content. Record labels and wireless operators are keen to expand their market, particularly as the dominant format shifts from polyphonic ringtones to master recording clips. Exploiting the vast library of catalogue music, they say, is emerging as a key strategy in that effort.

Acts like Devo, the B-52's, the Ramones, the Allman Brothers Band and Jimmy Buffett are generating healthy ringtone sales, and even Pink Floyd has found its way onto the mobile deck. Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" is one of the best-selling catalogue ringtones of all time, with more than 1.2 million units sold, and became the first licensed track to appear in a mobile videogame.

Click here for the full article.

Women Leading the Way For Mobile Downloads

Research conducted by M:Metrics indicates that women are now leading the way in terms of downloading content for phones. From the article:
“The number of females consuming ringtones and games grew by 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively, year over year. Corresponding numbers for males were growth of 15.4 percent in males downloading ringtones and a decline of 11.3 percent in the number of males downloading games. Females now account for a clear majority, or 55 percent, of ringtone purchasers. While males still have a higher propensity to download games, the ratio of male to female game downloaders has dropped from 61 percent male in 2005 to 54 percent male in 2006.”

http://www.mmetrics.com/

Sony BMG upbeat about mobile music

According to this article: “On average, 4.1 million, or 2.1 percent of the 190 million U.S. cellular subscribers, used their mobile phone as a music player in August, according to M:Metrics Inc. The research firm estimates that number slides in Europe to 649,490.”
At Sony BMG, digital music sales contributed 19 percent to U.S. revenues during the first six months in 2006. Korea led the way with 32 percent; Japan, 11 percent; Italy, 10 percent; United Kingdom, 8 percent; France, 5 percent; and Germany 4 percent.

Click here for the full article.

BP Looks to mobile to help build brand

BP’s coffee chain, Wild Bean Café, is hoping to build brand loyalty via mobile phone. Customers can get free products when they register their details online. Vouchers are sent to customers via SMS and which can be redeemed at stores nationwide.

Source: (NMA 05.10.06 / page 3)

Mobile games revenue expected to grow

From this article: “Juniper Research estimates that global revenues for mobile games will grow from $3bn in 2006 to $10.5bn in 2009. Looking further into the future, continued growth of mobile subscribers in developing markets and a continuation of the demographic shift will propel the global mobile games market to annual revenues of $17.6 billion. This will produce a cumulative revenue stream of nearly $57 billion over the six years. The Asia Pacific region has dominated the market since its inception, with the Japanese and South Korean markets in the vanguard. Asia Pacific is forecast to contribute 38% of cumulative revenues 2006 to 2011, Europe 31% and North America 22%.”

36.5 million people respond via SMS to adverts.

Mobile data company, M:Metrics has found that a large percentage of mobile subscribers are responding to short codes in advertisements or other media. Spain is leading the way with a response rate of 29.1%, next is the UK with 18.5%, France 10.1%. USA with 7% and Germany with 3.4%.

For full story click here.

Coca Cola to launch Barcode Mobile Game

Dutch/Swedish company, OP3 has signed a deal with Coca Cola to run a ShotCode promotion on 40 million bottles of Sprite in Mexico. “Once scanned a Sprite trivia question is automatically presented. Answer this question correctly and you’ll instantly know if you’ve won one of millions of prizes. The prizes range from free pizzas at Dominos Pizza to DVD’s at Blockbuster Video. Every winner receives his/her prize instantly in the form of a jpeg image. This image is a digital coupon that contains a unique code to claim your prize, an innovative mechanism introduced in this campaign for the first time.”

For more in-depth look at ShotCode, click here.

Ringtone sales will continue to fall.

Dodgy sales techniques, piracy and full-track downloads are all being blamed as the bottom falls out of the ringtone market. Research by MusicAlly tracks UK ringtone sales growing from £34.8 million in 2000 to £177.3 in 2005, but predicts that will fall to £143.5 million this year and £78.8 million by 2007. The report also claims that misleading sales subscriptions are also a factor because users often don’t trust ringtone services.M:Metrics data for Europe shows a 42 percent drop in sale.

(Source: MocoNews.net)

Social Network Sites and Mobile Devices.

Social networking sites, such as, Myspace and Bebo, are looking to add the ability for users to use mobile devices to update their profile and blogs.. As the number of users grows, so too will the desire to access blog and social networking spaces on the move," says Tim Cole, of mobile content specialist Tao Group. "Mobile phones are the obvious medium to facilitate this." From the article:

“…mobile operator 3 UK has signed up over 50,000 users to its Kink Kommunity in just two months since launching, who are making 350,000 postings a day, and submitting 80,000 MMS messages a month. However, most observers think the key will be partnerships between the mobile operators, and the online social networking sites”

Click here for the full article.

The writing is (literally) on the wall for text messaging.

From this story in the economist :

“New technologies allow text messages to be displayed on the sides of buildings, on public screens in cafés or on vast digital displays at sporting events and festivals. Such “digital graffiti” can be used in various ways: to capture the mood of a gathering, boost a brand, or to spark public dialogue”For more information check out Wiffiti (Wi-Fi Graffiti) or this article at the Chicagoist website.

Boost for The Open Mobile Alliance as key players sign-on.

The Open Mobile Alliance who aim to create a mobile gaming standard have been boosted by the news that leading industry players, such as, Nokia, Samsung, SK Telecom, Square-Enix, Symbian, Tao Group and Texas Instruments have all joined the initiative, which intends to streamline the development and delivery process for mobile gaming.

Full Article

MTV Europe launches quiz game

MTV has launched a new quiz game to coincide with the MTV Europe Music Awards due to take place in Novemeber. The quiz is available in 12 different countries and costs 3 Euros to play. High scores can be stored both locally and online

Full Article

Mobile TV Viewing Figure Times.

Prime time for mobile TV viewing (including video clips) has its prime time in the afternoon and early evening, between noon and 8pm. “According to Telephia’s Mobile Video Diary Report, 30 percent of mobile video users watch mobile TV and video clips on their cell phones during the hours of noon and 4 pm, and 31 percent watch during the early evening commute hours of 4 pm to 8 pm”. The rest of the time slots are about 9%, except for 2-6am which is just 3%. “Mobile video users claim nearly one-fourth (22%) of their viewing happens while they are at home. Similarly, twenty-two percent of their viewing is also done while they are commuting, sixteen percent while they are shopping, and 14 percent while they are at work.”There’s also a disproportionately high level of middle-aged viewers, as well as hispanics. For more detailed stats, please see the table above.

(http://www.moconews.net/#post-21667 )

Text messages break UK records in August

2006 has regularly seen record-breaking figures for text messaging in the UK with August no exception as the total number of text messages sent soared to over 3.6 billion. This is an increase of 100 million on the previous highest total recorded in July, according to figures released today by the Mobile Data Association (MDA).

Click here for the full article.

mBlox enables eBay’s new SMS re-bidding service

mBlox has announces that it is working with application service provider Dynetic to deliver an exciting new SMS re-bidding service to eBay in Spain. The service, which will enable users to be close to eBay whenever they need to, will be powered using mBlox mobile terminated and originated premium SMS services.

Click here for the full article.

Moblabber- launched mobile social networking site.

Feedtext has launched Moblabber - a social networking service that is optimised for both web and mobile phone interaction.

Because Moblabber is available through the web and optimized for viewing on mobile phones, subscribers of supported US carriers can register and make use of all the online services either through their web browsers or through a simplified text messaging version on their mobile phones. In addition, subscribers can opt to receive message alerts via text message when a new event has taken place such as group announcements, group replies and private messages.

“This is the advent of wireless community building,” says Vince T. Yamat, Chief Executive Officer of Feedtext, Inc. “The very fact that you can access your group of friends from anywhere with a cell signal opens up creative possibilities whether it be to find help-on-the-go or indulging in casual banter

Click here to visit the original source.

FreeBe TV offers free mobile music video promotion.

The worlds first free mass-market 2.5G GPRS multi-channel mobile TV service, FreeBe TV, has issued an invitation to independent record labels and bands to submit their music videos for inclusion on it's new You-Made-It channel.
FreeBe TV launched earlier this month and has already received more than 100,000 hits on it's website www.freebe.tv and more than 2,500 people are now enjoying free mobile TV worldwide.
"We'll be compatible with 100 major handsets by the end of the year" said Bruce Renny of FreeBe TV "but what's really exciting is that people are already viralling the news that free mobile TV exists to their friends, so uptake is growing exponentially day by day.
FreeBe TV’s “You-Made-It” is a mobile version of YouTube.com where users can upload their own video clips and perhaps signals a further step towards user generated content on mobile devices.

http://www.mobiletechnews.com/info/2006/09/29/144452.html

Music companies reach settlement over digital music delivery.

Companies representing a substantial majority of the UK digital music market have reached a settlement relating to the royalties paid to composers, songwriters and music publishers for the digital delivery of music for online and mobile use

The three-year deal has been agreed between the MCPS-PRS Alliance representing songwriters, composers and music publishers, British recorded music trade association the BPI, iTunes and four UK mobile network operators, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone. It sets a rate of 8% of Gross Revenue less VAT to be paid to composers, songwriters and publishers when their music is offered in a digital environment, with a lower rate (6.5%) for non-on-demand services. These rates are subject to minimum royalties.

(http://www.cellular-news.com/story/19630.php )

McDonalds and Sony BMG Announce Mobile Partnership.

Akoo and McDonald’s at Woodfield Mall today announced the launch of m-Venue™, a patent-pending entertainment and marketing platform that enables McDonald’s customers to search, select, and “activate” in-store digital content -- including music, music videos, and movie previews -- with their mobile phones or Internet-connected mobile devices.
m-Venue allows patrons to choose a wide variety of audio and video content from Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Sony Pictures, among others, via text messaging (SMS), the mobile Internet, or a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. Selections are performed on demand in designated multimedia zones within the restaurant or placed into a queue if another selection is already playing. For a limited time, the service is available at no cost to customers, compliments of participating McDonald’s locations.

(http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060925005576&newsLang=en )

Social Networking continues to grow on mobile devices.

3UK has reported that over 50,000 users have signed up to its social networking site Kink Kommunity in the two months since its launch, at 20p a day or £1.49 a month. Also, “its You Tube-like video sharing service SeeMeTV has now reached 12m downloads”.It’s also released some statistics: “Since its July launch, Kink Kommunity has seen an average of 350,000 postings a day, with 80,000 MMS submissions a month…80% of users choose the monthly option, women are the most active users, and usage is evenly spread across the 18-29-year-old age range. Over 15,000 subscribers are over 30.”3 is also in the process of integrating this service into the rest of its offerings, such as allowing people to chat about the content they’re buying. (http://www.moconews.net). User generated content for mobiles was also given a further boost by the news that Webaroo has now included wikipedia content onto mobile

Furthermore, Vodafone will launch its own version of MySpace on mobile phones by mid October. Though the telco is coy on the details, the service will likely be similar to existing websites such as MySpace and Bebo, but designed for the small screens of mobiles

(http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3807071a28,00.html?source=email)

Mobile TV Revenue Surpasses Ringtones.

Vodafone – Mobile TV more successful than ringtones. Half of all Vodafone customers now subscribe to mobile TV. This sector looks set to continue growth with IMS Research forecasts that by the end of 2011, nearly half a billion people will be watching TV on their cellular handsets. Driven primarily by the adoption of broadcast-based services such as DVB-H, mobile digital TV will experience 50% year-on-year growth through 2010 (NMA/ 21.09.06/p.1)

(http://www.w2forum.com/i/446_Million_Watching_TV_on_Their_Cell_Phones_By_2011_IMS_Research)

MMA (Mobile Marketing Association)

Advertising standards committee for marketing and mobilesThe MMA is a global organization with representation in over fourteen countries. MMA members include agencies, advertisers, hand held device manufacturers, carriers and operators, retailers, software providers and service providers, as well as any company focused on the potential of marketing via mobile devices.

(Marketing/ 20.09.06/p.2) (For more information about the MMA visit:
www.mmaglobal.com

Games Revenue On The Rise

Only 5% of mobile users currently download games for their mobile. However, revenue for games is expected to increase over the next few years.Total revenue for mobile games for 2006 will reach over a $2.4bn / £1.27bn for mobile games. This trend is set to contine, and by 2011 it is expected to reach $7bn (£3.81bn). Of games downloaded 70% come from mobile phone networks themselves (orange/o2 etc..) 10 % of games come from “off-site” portals.

(source: Informa) (NMA/ 14.09.06/ )

Vodafone first to completely knock down “garden wall”.

Vodafone has embarked on a three year strategy that will see them fully integrate Vodafone Live! With its third party business providing wholesale services for content providers.

Vodafone is the first operator to fully merge its portal and third party teams. The strategy will see Vodafone Live! Opened up to third parties through advertising and directory placement. (NMA/)
(NMA/ 213.09.06/ p.15) (NMA/ 21.09.06/ p.11)

Mobile content revenue news

Mobile Content News Mobile content revenue is set to reach £15bn (EUROS 23.4bn) per year by 2011. Half of all 16-25 year olds are happy to receive ads through their mobile phones in exchange for content. While Mobile Content looks set to continue to increase in revenue, there are less positive signs regarding mobile music. In a recent survey only 4% of respondents considered themselves likely to start downloading music.
While numbers of people interested in downloading music of their mobile has risen from 21% to 25%. 4/10 people claim they are not interested at all in downloading music for their mobile. (NMA/ 21.09.06/ p.11)