Mobile Internet Continues To Grow

The number of mobile phone users accessing the Internet on their handsets is rising. According to figures announced by the Mobile Data Association (MDA), a total of 40.7 million users were recorded as having used their phones for downloads and browsing the mobile Internet in the UK during the third quarter of 2006.

The total number of users recorded in July was 13 million, which had increased to 14 million by September.

According to research from Nielsen/NetRatings, a WAP-enabled mobile phone is the second most popular digital device owned by Britons, after the PC, with 57% of the survey owning a phone that could access the internet. (source: BBC.co.uk) Click here for the full press release.

Mobile Internet Continues To Grow

The number of mobile phone users accessing the Internet on their handsets is rising. According to figures announced by the Mobile Data Association (MDA), a total of 40.7 million users were recorded as having used their phones for downloads and browsing the mobile Internet in the UK during the third quarter of 2006.

The total number of users recorded in July was 13 million, which had increased to 14 million by September.

According to research from Nielsen/NetRatings, a WAP-enabled mobile phone is the second most popular digital device owned by Britons, after the PC, with 57% of the survey owning a phone that could access the internet. (source: BBC.co.uk) Click here for the full press release.

Text To Buy

Magazine publishers, tired of being lumped in with "old media," are embracing one of the newest media, mobile text messaging.Thanks to a new technology from a New York firm called ShopText and eBay unit PayPal, consumers this holiday season have the option of buying and sampling some products with their cell phones.

Magazines like Details, CosmoGIRL!, Glamour and Brides are rolling out ads with short codes for text-to-buy transactions. ShopText also worked with Lucky magazine for a program in the publication's September issue.

Such text-to-buy technology is in its infancy this holiday season. "In 2007, this is really going to explode," said Mark Kaplan, founder/CMO of ShopText.Click here for the full article

Mobile TV Needs Time

Executives from ITV ON, Orange and Freemantle Media today said that to be commercially viable, mobile TV would need time to develop as a platform.Talking at the Next Gen TV conference in London, Nicholas Wheeler, managing director of mobile news service ITV ON said: "It's got to be allowed time to grow and we need to make the customer experience better." He said the platform needed to move away from "girls, gaming and gambling" content, to focus on content consumers actually wanted.

Click here for the full article

Mobile Video User Statistics

Mobile Video User Statistics
M:Metrics reports that although only one percent of mobile subscribers viewed video on their phones in September, there is pent-up demand for the service.
According to M:Metrics monthly Benchmark Survey, 6.1 million mobile subscribers said they were likely to view mobile video in the coming year. In comparison, 5.3 million downloaded a mobile game in September.

Mark Donovan, vice president, products and senior analyst at M:Metrics said. "Mobile video is still very much an early adopter phenomenon, with males under 35 demonstrating the highest propensity to have used it”

UK Video Stats:
Likely to subscribe to live TV service 6.4% Likely to download and watch video clips 6.0% Likely to stream video programs on demand 10.3% For more detailed statistics visit M:Metrics.

SMS generates more revenue than advertising

French televison company, M6 has found that revenue generated by SMS voting on shows actually surpassed revenue generated via traditional advertising. The company encouraged audience members to text in to influence the outcome of shows and the SMS voting.

SMS voting has become an important revenue stream fro French televison, with revenues generating 100m Euros in 2005.
Link to the referring article.Original Post: http://blog.brandexperiencelab.org/experience_manifesto/2006/10/french_televisi.html

Google Chief: Ad Supported Mobile Services Are The Future

Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, has said that in the future he believes mobile phones and mobile services will be free to users and will be supported by advertisements and sponsership.

According to this story: "Your mobile phone should be free...It just makes sense that subsidies should increase” as advertising rises on mobile phones. Schmidt says it enjoying early success in its strategy to win phone network allies in Japan, where TV viewing and shopping on phones is advanced...he did say his own company had no plans to directly give away phones itself, nor is he aware of any effort by partners such as phone makers Nokia or Motorola or mobile operators like Vodafone to make such a radical move.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/phones/2006-11-13-google-free-phones_x.htm?csp=34
http://www.moconews.net/entry/google-ceo-sees-ad-supported-mobile-phone-services

Vodafone and Yahoo team up to launch targeted ads.

Yahoo to deliver sponsored ads to U.K. users. The companies said they expect to launch the mobile advertising service in the first half of next year. Under the agreement, users who agree to accept targeted display ads on their phones will also save on certain Vodafone services. According to the press release, this proposition “could extend to key Vodafone mobile assets including the Vodafone live! portal, games, television and picture messaging services.” Earlier this year Vodafone said it would consider offering customers free mobile TV, cheap calls, free mobile web browsing or free games and music downloads if they accept adverts.

Original Sources: http://www.moconews.net/, http://www.mobiletechnews.com/info/2006/11/14/125938.html

m:Metrics report: short code response rates

Across the five countries for which it measures mobile content consumption, M:Metrics found that monthly use of text message short codes in response to ads was as high as 29.1 percent of mobile subscriber. For more detailed analysis, click here.

VoIP Company raise $20m to expand services

Swedish company, Rebtel have acquired $20m in VC funding to expand its services. International calls from a mobile will be considerably cheaper than making the same call using the mobile operators.

A quick explaination of how the service works:

For each contact number a customer enters on the Rebtel Web site, the company creates a local phone number the contact can call. So if a Rebtel user in Paris enters on the Web site the cellphone number of a friend in San Francisco, the person in Paris will be given a local number to call, and a San Francisco number the friend can call. To avoid the per- minute cost, the customer in Paris calls his or her local number, the person in San Francisco answers, then hangs up and calls back his local number.

Mobile company, T-Mobile remain sceptical about the service. Klaus Czerwinski, a spokesman for T-Mobile said, "We don't think this will be any more successful than other new services where you have to do several steps to make a phone call," "People prefer simplicity."

However, a small operation like Rebtel has the oppourtunity to make a huge impact in the mobile market as co-founder Hjalmar Winbladh explains, "For us, getting $1 a week for unlimited calls is a good business, but for somebody like T-Mobile, it's bad business because of all the costs the company has," We are an organization with 20 people - our entire cost base is probably less than what it costs T-Mobile to run the reception in their headquarters."

http://www.benchmark.com/news/europe/2006/10_02_2006.php

Yahoo Begin Beta Testing Mobille Advertising Platform

jgxglgkYahoo are currently beta testing a new advertising platform that will show both graphical banner ads and interactive sponsor messages that are specifically tailored to mobile devices.

The service is currently only available in the US, but the service is likely to expand into other countries.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2006/tc20061107_512323.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology

Samsung WI-Max 3- in One Phone

Samsung WI-Max 3- in One Phone

A new phone is to be realised Early next year in Korea that can be used as a phone, personal computer and video/music player. The device uses Wi-Max, which promises fast connections over long distances. If this product takes off it could revoltionise the notion of computing.

From the article:

The device weighs about a pound and contains a fold-out keyboard, 5-inch screen and 30 gigabyte hard drive. It runs the full version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system and also supports the CDMA mobile phone communications standard, which is used in South Korea and other countries including the United States.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/AR2006110700650.html?nav=rss_technology