First In-App Mobile Advertising Platform for iPhone SDK Developers

Smaato – provider of the SOMA (Smaato open mobile advertising) platform will preview "iSOMA" at the CTIA show next week in Las Vegas.

This new addition to award winning SOMA platform comes now with support for the iPhone SDK . In the past weeks since the official introduction of the iPhone SDK Smaato has developed a new way to monetize mobile applications for the iPhone through mobile advertising.

The SOMA API is provided free of charge to the fast growing mobile developer community which generated more than 100,000 downloads of the iPhone SDK in the first 4 days after the release by Apple Inc.

Smaato already supports leading smartphone operating systems as well as hundreds of Java ME enabled handsets with native SOMA clients. These include: Symbian, Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry as well as Java ME. SOMA is a quick and easy way for mobile developers to ad-enable their applications – whether online (live request) or offline (cached ads) with the support of the iPhone and upcoming Google’s Android platform - SOMA covers all relevant mobile platforms.

Leading mobile developers have already implemented the SOMA client and receive ads from international ad sales networks partnering with Smaato including Advertising.com's TSM, fast rising Adconion Media Group as well as Microsoft's Screentonic.

RSS to MMS Tool for Mobile RSS Feeds Launched by Cellyspace

Auto-Converts RSS with Multimedia to Engage Mobile Readers


Skycore, developers of Cellyspace.com, has launched an RSS to MMS publishing tool for content providers to automatically convert and deliver syndicated RSS feeds directly to mobile subscribers messaging in-boxes using Cellyspace’s MMS technology.

According to the company, auto-conversion of RSS content will make mobile syndication easier and more readily available and by delivering multimedia feeds rather than short, text-only feeds subscribers will be more fully engaged in the content.

Also, with RSS to MMS technology, the feed can be viewed without a subscriber first logging onto a mobile web site or launching a feed reader application. Instead, subscribers are alerted on receipt of the feed and can view it immediately or whenever most convenient since it’s stored in their messaging in-box.

Converted content is presented in a slideshow format including up to eight (8) slides, each with an image, 300 characters of text and an optional URL link for additional content, info or promotions. MMS Feeds can be billed as premium to the end user, or alternatively, standard (non-premium) rated feeds. In addition to content, providers can add third-party advertising or promotions to their feed.

Feeds with both images and text are generally more compelling than those with text alone. Engaging subscribers
improves subscription retention and increases their response to any call to action in the feed, said Rich Eicher,
President of Skycore LLC.

Cellyspace publishing tools are also available for use by content providers to simplify the subscription opt-in process, including an HTML widget and link generator for the providers web site; a custom keyword for use in their print and broadcast promotions; and a WAP (mobile internet) jump page generator for mobile advertising networks.

New Global Telecoms Report Outlines Key Developments Occurring in the Industry

According to Research and Markets all the major developments on a global scale relate to digital media activities. To a large extent the telecoms and media industries are now being driven by the developments in this market. BuddeComm has been talking about VoIP, VoD and IPTV for many years, but the traditional companies have failed to deliver these services. As a result, developments are now moving to the web where companies such as Google/YouTube, eBay/Skype, Amazon, Yahoo, MSN, News Corp/MySpace and so on are the leaders. Current changes in this rapidly converging industry will force the telcos to spend more on IT and, as they don’t have the necessary skills in this field, more and more of this will be outsourced. This report outlines some of the key developments occurring in the industry as we move into 2008. Examples of topics covered include the emerging Femtocell technology, Vodafone’s support of WiMAX and key trends in mobile communications and mobile data sectors. The report also provides a brief overview of some of the interesting developments taking place on a regional level.

Ringbacktones Lead Growth in Mobile Music Space; Ringtone Use Declines

Broadcast Music, the U.S. performing right organization, released its annual mobile music market projections for 2008 an figures for 2007. BMI licenses the public performing right for the musical works of its more than 375,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers.

BMI projects that ringbacktones will surpass $210 million in U.S. retail sales during calendar year 2008, up 50% from BMI’s 2007 market estimate of $140 million. A ringbacktone is a musical work that is performed to the caller when they place a call to a participating mobile subscriber.

BMI also predicted that the U.S. ringtone market will continue to decline in 2008, generating approximately $510 million in retail sales for the calendar year. This represents a $40 million or 7% reduction
from calendar year 2007, marking the second consecutive year that the U.S. ringtone market has waned. BMI pegged the 2007 market at $550 million (U.S.) in retail sales, down $50 million from the prior year. The company estimates the ringtone domain experienced sales of $600 million in calendar year 2006; $500 million in 2005; $245 million in 2004 and $68 million in 2003, respectively.

BMI’s conclusions are based on comprehensive data derived from the buying behavior of more than 200 million of the current 220 million United States mobile subscribers.

“The market for ringbacktones has grown stronger than we originally forecasted last year,” said Richard Conlon, Vice President, New Media & Strategic Development, BMI. “Its growth, coupled with the positive gains that streaming mobile media have made in 2008 alone, supports our bullish point of view on the growth of the mobile entertainment business. We see gains in mobile audio and mobile television style services in the coming years as well. As we forecasted last year, the ringtone market continues to decline as the novelty phase wears off and lower-priced substitutional products come to market.”

Cricket Launch of Two Samsung Phones

Cricket announced two new CDMA AWS handsets from Samsung, the MyShot and Spex. Starting tomorrow, the Samsung MyShot, the world’s first CDMA AWS camera phone, and the Samsung Spex mobile phone will be commercially available at Cricket retail stores in Tulsa, Okla., and will be available soon in all Cricket markets nationwide. Cricket launched its first CDMA AWS handset March 7, 2008 and these Samsung handsets further enhance the Cricket portfolio in support of upcoming AWS market launches.

Designed to operate on the new AWS spectrum band, the tri-band Samsung MyShot and Samsung Spex also operate on the PCS and cellular bands, enabling them to work in all existing Cricket wireless markets stretching from California to New York. These new phones will also work in new Cricket markets slated to begin launching this year including Oklahoma City, Okla. and Las Vegas, Nev.

“As we prepare to launch the first of our AWS markets, we want to ensure that consumers have a choice of mobile devices when they sign up for Cricket’s unlimited wireless services. We are pleased to be the first operator to bring CDMA AWS devices to market including the Samsung MyShot and Spex,” said Al Moschner, Cricket’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “With today’s introduction, both new and existing Cricket subscribers have access to two new wireless phones that incorporate the latest AWS capability, while having the ability to operate on the PCS and cellular bands.”

The Samsung MyShot’s built-in 1.3 mega pixel camera features a self-timer, multi-shot capabilities and more. Using the phones integrated Bluetooth® wireless technology, users can easily share photos and contacts with others, and coupled with its voice recognition capability, easily place calls from their contact list. In addition, the Web-enabled Samsung MyShot supports web access for browsing and downloading of ringtones and graphics, Cricket Games & Apps, text and picture messaging capabilities, speakerphone, and personal tools such as calendar, clock and calculator. The Samsung MyShot will have a retail price of $149.99.

The slim Samsung Spex features a sleek, modern design with an easy-to-use interface. This Bluetooth®-capable handset includes a color display, speakerphone, personal tools such as calendar, memo pad and more. Additionally, the Spex supports Cricket services such as text messaging, Mobile Web for browsing and downloading favorite ringtones and graphics, and Cricket Games & Apps. The Samsung Spex will have a retail price of $119.99.

With plans starting as low as $35 per month, Cricket provides unlimited wireless calling all day and every day – without the need for contracts or credit checks. Cricket’s highest value plan – Cricket Nation 200 – is priced at only $60 per month and includes unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. domestic long distance, unlimited coverage in all Cricket markets, free text and picture messaging, voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling and 200 nationwide roaming minutes per month.

iLoop Mobile and OpenMarket Provide Premier Services for Mobile Marketing and Content Distribution

Top mobile industry players join forces to offer an integrated, full-featured solution for the mobile channel.

iLoop Mobile, the mobile technology and services company for mobile Internet, advertising, marketing, and content delivery, today announced that it has joined forces with OpenMarket, a provider of mobile messaging and financial payment processing for direct-to-consumer (D2C) mobile commerce, to provide companies with a complete solution o create, connect and manage mobile marketing, advertising and content distribution initiatives worldwide. The collaboration offers iLoop Mobile and OpenMarket customers an efficient and cost effective "one stop shop" integrated solution to launch mobile initiatives easily without the hindrance of managing multiple service and technology providers.

"iLoop Mobile has chosen OpenMarket as a connectivity provider first and foremost for the reliability and efficiency of their messaging transaction network, along with excellent customer service and responsiveness," said Matt Harris, CEO of iLoop Mobile. "We also benefit from OpenMarket's established relationships and extensive knowledge of mobile operators and their billing systems, along with the accelerated time-to-market and SAS70 compliance that our customers require. The detail and accuracy of OpenMarket's financial transaction and billing reporting is impressive. With their support for a wide range of standard and premium mobile messaging like SMS/MMS, music, games, video, subscriptions, and interactive TV campaigns, OpenMarket offers a robust solution for iLoop Mobile's connectivity offering."

Together, iLoop Mobile and OpenMarket can offer their customers a state-of-the-art mobile software solution-iLoop Mobile's mFinity Platform to create and manage mobile initiatives with OpenMarket's robust and reliable mobile transaction network. In addition to their leading application technology, iLoop Mobile also offers services and expertise in mobile campaign design, tactics and strategies.

"The combination of OpenMarket's message delivery and financial payment processing services with iLoop Mobile's content delivery and payment processing services gives customers the full package they need to create and manage complex mobile initiatives," said Steve Shivers, general manager of OpenMarket. "Both OpenMarket and iLoop are committed to making more options available to companies seeking to quickly and easily initiate or expand their mobile content offerings and revenue."

AT&T Offers More Music Choices and Customization to Mobile Music Lovers

The ever-growing world of mobile music just got bigger. AT&T announced the immediate availability of two new music applications -- mSpot's Make-UR-Tones and Remix -- and plans to significantly expand offerings for Napster Mobile over-the-air downloads. Make-UR-Tones allows customers to customize ringtones by using their mobile phone, and the Remix application gives customers access to their PC-based music collections directly from their phone. The result for mobile music lovers is more freedom to listen to the songs they want, when they want, on their AT&T mobile phone.

"Music is one of the most personal forms of self-expression," said Mark Collins, vice president of Consumer Data for AT&T's wireless unit. "We want to empower our customers to use music however they wish on their mobile phones. We're constantly looking for new opportunities to meet the wireless needs and wants of our customers. We are pleased
to offer our customers more choices and flexibility in how they experience music on the go."

UIQ Releasing New Version

UIQ Technology today announced the availability of UIQ 3.3, bringing mobile phone manufacturers even more opportunities to innovate and to diversify their product portfolios.

UIQ 3.3 based on Symbian OS v 9.3 builds on the success of the UIQ 3 family, making it possible for mobile phone manufacturers to produce different kinds of phones on the same software platform, on a single code line. UIQ 3.3 includes incremental enhancements in line with market requirements, including enhanced support for operator services and extensive customization for addressing different market segments.

"UIQ 3.3 will significantly enhance the options for creating differentiated mobile phones for different segments and different price ranges," said Mats Barvesten EVP Product Management and Ecosystems.

"Operators are also given the opportunity to promote their services through customized folders and a widget dashboard. We have integrated the Opera Mobile 9.5 web browser and added a number of new functions and possibilities that are in line with our strategy to enable phones with world class user experience."

With an aim to extend UIQ based mobile phones into the mass-market, UIQ's focus is to ensure a flexible and powerful open user interface and development platform that optimizes the options for mobile phone manufacturers to create higher volume phones for the market.

"The UIQ platform is a key enabler for several of Motorola's multimedia-centric devices -- including our new MOTO Z10 kick-slider handset, which offers users a host of features and applications for a unique mobile video experience," said Christy Wyatt, Vice President, Software Platforms & Ecosystem, Motorola. "We look forward to supporting UIQ 3.3 in future mobile devices, leveraging its new capabilities to further enhance customer experiences, and working closely with UIQ to provide the essential toolsets to our developer community."

"With UIQ 3.3, including a number of web based technologies, we see the platform evolving further to enable even richer user experience," said Ulf Persson, Corporate Vice President and Head of PBU Open Platforms at Sony Ericsson. "We welcome this release and are committed to developing and delivering products on UIQ 3.3."

Nokia Wins Frost & Sullivan Award for Mobile Advertising

American Mobility Award for On-deck Mobile Advertising by Frost & Sullivan, solidifying the company's position as one of the pioneers and continued leaders of the mobile advertising industry.

Nokia acquired mobile advertising leader, Enpocket, in October 2007 and continues to leverage Enpocket's ground-breaking analytics technology to optimize campaigns, improve conversions, and measure campaign performance across the network, allowing the company to provide mobile advertising solutions to some of the biggest brand advertisers around the world.

"Nokia continues to drive innovation in the U.S. Mobile Advertising industry and remains the preferred partner of mobile operators, advertisers and content publishers," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Vikrant Gandhi. "The company has been a key partner of Sprint's pioneering mobile advertising initiative and plays a central role in ad-enabling Sprint's mobile properties and powering the Sprint Mobile Media Network."

Nokia enables advertisers to place ads on publisher and operator mobile Web pages, as well as Nokia properties, representing a global consumer reach of more than 100 million mobile consumers. As part of the turn-key service for advertisers, the award-winning mobile marketing team from Nokia creates mobile campaigns for hundreds of top brands.

"We're pleased to accept this award from Frost & Sullivan," said Mike Baker, VP and head of Nokia Interactive. "We are committed to building a mobile advertising ecosystem that provides advertisers with a high-performing and measurable medium for reaching their target audience while ensuring a relevant and respectful advertising experience for consumers."

Alltel Wireless launches Alltel Social Video

Alltel Wireless announced that customers with video-capable phones now have exclusive access to Alltel Social Video, a new application that allows customers to share and rate videos from a wide range of online outlets. To deliver the application, Alltel Wireless has teamed with Transpera, a leading provider of mobile video services, which provides the first comprehensive platform to monetize Web video on mobile phones.

Customers can subscribe to the service for $2.99 per month and access videos from sources such as Break.com, the leading online entertainment channel for men; AtomFilms, one of the world’s leading brands for independent entertainment; and GrindTV.com, a site widely recognized as the top online destination for action-oriented videos and content. After viewing the videos, customers have the option to rate the video or share the content via the “Send-to-Friend” feature. In addition, customers can search for videos across channels, create custom playlists and manage distribution lists.

“As the mobile phone continues to evolve into a portable entertainment device, Alltel Wireless is constantly seeking ways to engage customers through their phones, as more and more are taking advantage of the video capabilities offered on their handsets,” said Craig Kirkland, director of messaging and voice services for Alltel Wireless. “Alltel Social Video allows our customers to interact with video and lets them become part of an online video community.”

“Alltel Wireless is widely recognized throughout the industry as being a leader in wireless innovation. The launch of Alltel Social Video is the latest example of how Alltel provides customers with applications that tap into current trends and take full advantage of today’s technologies,” said Frank Barbieri, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Transpera. “The Transpera platform that Alltel Wireless chose to use for its social video application will provide its customers with seamless video and advertising delivery, while connecting them to the entertaining and social world of online video.”

Alltel Wireless continues to provide choice and control to the customer’s wireless experience by offering features such as “My Circle,” an industry-defining feature giving customers the freedom of unlimited calling to and from five, 10 or 20 numbers on any network for free; and was the first to offer Anytime Plan Changes, giving customers the flexibility to change their calling plans at any time, without extending their current contract.

Audiopoint Provides Personalized News and Information Services to EarthLink's Subscribers

Audiopoint, a speech applications company developing products for businesses that reach consumer markets, and EarthLink, one of the nation's leading Internet service providers (ISPs), announced an agreement that will give EarthLink's subscribers the ability to define their own News and Information Services leveraging Audiopoint's latest product release and speech application service. The popularity of EarthLink's Email By Phone has demonstrated that people want access to a wider range of information on the go. News and Information Services combines the existing functionality of Email By Phone with natural voice-enabled Web content. Popular content such as Local News, Weather and Stock Quotes, amongst other personalized services are now available from any telephone using simple voice commands.

uVuMobile To Provide Mobile Streaming Video And Advertising Service For Action Engine

uVuMobile announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Action Engine, The On-Device Portal Company to provide an integrated multimedia services platform that gives media companies and wireless operators a user-friendly experience for streaming video and audio content on a wireless device. This agreement will enable Action Engine customers to enhance their on-device portals with rich, on-demand multimedia options that can be advertising enabled.
Mobile multimedia continues to be one of the fastest growing services in the wireless industry. According to Research and Marketing, streaming media enterprise markets were at $230 million in 2006 and are anticipated to reach $2 billion by 2013, uVuMobile’s flexible and scalable platform for streaming video and audio can provide a presence that extends far beyond the traditional video on-demand services being offered today and provides for advertising insertion, including pre-roll, mid-roll, and post roll video commercials.
“This licensing agreement with Action Engine is another example of how uVuMobile is leveraging its mobile platform within the mobile video and audio delivery industry. Through this partnership, Action Engine will be able to deliver its customers streaming media and video advertisements and services across a wide variety of devices. This agreement also makes Action Engine the first company to integrate streaming video, mobile advertising and on-device portal technology into a single platform – offering a single source for delivering, managing and monetizing mobile multimedia services for its customers,” said Bill Loughman, President and CEO of uVuMobile.

Wisair to Bring Wireless USB Functionality to Mobile Devices

Wisair announced that it is furthering its efforts to bring embedded Wireless USB technology to portable and handheld electronic devices with its new SDIO Wireless USB solution. Based on the Wisair WSR601 low-power single chip, the design enables vendors to embed Wireless USB into portable devices, such as digital still cameras, camcorders and smart phones, using the Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) interface.

"Wisair is committed to making the use of Wireless USB the ultimate experience for consumers. As part of this effort, we are enabling module vendors to implement small form-factor, low-power modules based on our single chip. These modules will be utilized by OEMs to integrate Wireless USB into mobile devices," said David Yaish, CEO of Wisair.

The Wisair WSR601 single chip has received regulatory approvals in Japan, the U.S., and Europe, and was recently certified by the USB-IF.

The Wisair design package includes a comprehensive platform for the development of embedded Wireless USB device solutions, based on the SDIO interface. Using the development platform, hardware and software, developers can implement an embedded small form factor module that is controlled by the device side application CPU via the SDIO bus.

modu is the World’s Lightest Mobile Phone

The Guinness World Record™ for the world’s lightest mobile phone has been awarded to modu for its tiny and sophisticated mobile phone. modu was awarded this prestigious honour after careful consideration by the Guinness World Records™ judges, who declared that: “The lightest mobile phone is the modu, which weighs 40.1 g (1.41 oz).” Guinness World Records added: modu’s dimensions are 72.1 mm (2.8 inches) x 37.6 mm (1.4 inches) x 7.8 mm (0.3 inches).”

modu launched its innovative mobile phone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event, held in Barcelona, Spain in February 2008. modu is the world’s first modular mobile phone, supported by a variety of ecosystem partners. At the heart of the ecosystem is modu - a tiny, sleek mobile phone that is fully functional and easy to use. modu can be slipped into a wide variety of modu jackets - stylishly designed phone enclosures and modu mates – modu-enabled consumer electronic products. modu's ecosystem offers boundless possibilities in a simple and affordable way.

Throughout the design process of modu, the emphasis has been on keeping the phone small, light and compact in order that modu’s innovative approach could be realized. The result is a phone that is not only miniature, but also superbly designed and minimalist, whilst offering all the functions and capabilities of a normal-sized handset.

Zack Weisfeld, modu’s VP Marketing, said: “The Guinness World Record™ is a great achievement for a team that has worked tirelessly to take modu from the drawing board to producing full working devices in less than a year. From the outset, modu’s tiny dimensions and super light weight have been fundamental to delivering the disruptive, modular communication concept that modu embodies.

“With modu, the mobile phone can now be added to the list of ‘invisible’ items that people carry with them wherever they go, such as a bunch of keys, their wallet and their watch."

China Mobile Phone Output Reached 594.4 Million Units

According to Research and Markets, in 2007, China mobile phone output reached approximately 594.4 million units, among which, 548 million units were legal products from official mobile phone producers and 46.4 million units were illegal products from official mobile phone producers. In 2007, sales volume reached 180.7 million units, amounting to 16% of the world total. In the same year, the global mobile phone output reached 1.141 billion units, of which 52 percent was from the Mainland China, exceeding 50% for the first time.

In the first half of 2007, the mobile phone output in the Mainland China totalled 266.8 million units, up 33.4% year on year and its combined sales revenue stood at CNY161.08 billion, up 29.6% year on year. Among the total output, 32.8 million were for CDMA mode, 234 million for GSM mode. Domestic sales volume reached 83 million units and exports arrived at 183.8 million. In the later half of 2007, mobile phone production reached 327.6 million units, of which 230.2 million units were for exports, and 97.4 million for domestic sales.

Kodiak Networks Announces Mobile Applications to Address End-User Demand for New Conferencing, Group Messaging and Contact Management Services

Kodiak Networks, a provider of applications for wireless carriers, announced a series of innovative clientless and client-based mobile applications targeted at business and consumer segments. The clientless applications provide end-users with the ability to assign a telephone number to a group of individuals that they can use for conferencing, text messaging, or voice messaging, directly from their mobile contact list. Both the group text and voice messaging applications allow recipients to reply to the originator or reply to all message recipients, directly from the message. This announcement also includes the first-ever client-based scheduled conferencing application, which allows users to set-up meetings directly from their mobile handset. All of these applications converge wireless and land-line calling functionality, that address end-user demand for integrated group communications and help operators increase revenue and retain customers.

Thin Multimedia to Showcase thinMobile Ad Advertising Solutions

Thin Multimedia, a developer and provider of mobile multimedia advertising solutions, will be showcasing thinMobile Ad™ at CTIA WIRELESS 2008. thinMobile Ad includes TMI’s best-in-class Banner Overlay which shows a banner advertisement while a user is viewing a video or listening to audio content. Along with Banner Overlay, thinMobile Ad can be utilized to insert video or audio advertisements when a user watches videos or listens to audio content on their mobile device. Visit TMI’s booth to see demonstrations of Banner Overlay and video ad insertion.

thinMobile Ad is the industry’s first advanced mobile advertising solution to effectively integrate banners and content overlays directly into a mobile video. TMI’s turnkey solution provides set-up, automated ingestion, integration with third party advertising platforms, monitoring and tracking of the delivery of ads. thinMobile Ad™ gives mobile advertisers unprecedented range of options to achieve their performance objectives. TMI’s cutting-edge technology allows content providers and wireless carriers to offer non-intrusive multimedia advertising for mobile devices.

Wireless Carriers Must Effectively Target Customer Segments

A new report from Diamond Management & Technology Consultants finds that wireless carriers in mature markets typically
are not marketing targeted pricing plans to specific customer segments
as effectively as they should. Diamond’s
paper, entitled “Targeted Pricing,”
explains that targeting can be performed on the basis of wireless
subscribers’ usage patterns or demographics,
but notes that pricing is just one element of a targeted value
proposition.

“Carriers looking to add new customers at
their competitors’ expense have little choice
but to develop differentiated offers—which
are often based on price,” said Hamilton
Sekino, a Partner in Diamond’s Telecom
practice and author of the paper. “The rise
of family plans has locked a larger portion of subscribers into group
contracts, which increases the barriers for many subscribers to change
carriers.”

Discounts on new phones for existing subscribers and other incentives
have added to carriers’ difficulty in
converting competitors’ subscribers, known as “customer
churn.” According to Diamond’s
report, these factors have largely contributed to a drop in monthly
churn rates from 2.5 percent in 2000 to 1.7 percent today—and
only 1.3 percent for postpaid plan subscribers.

“Companies run the risk of losing money if
they do not undertake adequate preparation when launching new pricing
plans,” said Sekino. “Wireless
carriers cannot afford to approach pricing plans blindly, and must
validate their targeted plans.”

For instance, carriers need to weigh the value of mass-market
advertising campaigns against the value of marketing specific pricing
plans through media outlets that cater to particular demographic
segments. While some companies have developed innovative pricing
structures, most wireless carriers adopt the mass-market approach for
pricing plan introductions—often not the most
cost-effective approach.

T-Mobile USA Launches BlackBerry 8820

T-Mobile USA announced the availability of the BlackBerry^® 8820 smartphone, featuring built-in GPS and support for T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home service for Wi-Fi calling. Available in a sophisticated midnight blue finish, the BlackBerry 8820 is RIM's thinnest BlackBerry smartphone.

With the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home mobile add-on plan, customers can enjoy the freedom of unlimited, nationwide calling over any Wi-Fi network at home, across accessible corporate Wi-Fi networks or at T-Mobile HotSpot locations nationwide. When connected through Wi-Fi, access to information continues to include all of the BlackBerry platform's security features. Customers can also enjoy faster Web browsing at Wi-Fi speeds.


Using the BlackBerry 8820 smartphone's built-in GPS and location-based applications, such as BlackBerry Maps, customers can navigate between meetings and locate the closest restaurant or use other advanced services such as TeleNav GPS Navigator <sup>to receive audible turn-by-turn directions to reach their next destination.

The quad-band phone also supports international roaming and is enabled for T-Mobile's popular myFaves service experience for quick, one-click access to five people byinstant messaging, e-mailing, texting or calling from the Home Screen.


"Customers want and need to stay connected to the important people in their lives," said Leslie Grandy, Vice President of Product Development, T-Mobile USA. "With unlimited nationwide calling using T-Mobile's popular HotSpot @Home mobile service, access to personal or business e-mail, and reliable GPS navigation services, the BlackBerry 8820 from T-Mobile provides unparalleled value for our customers at home, at the office and everywhere in between."

"The BlackBerry 8820 smartphone blends powerful communications, connectivity and navigation capabilities with exceptional ease-of-use and executive class styling." said Mark Guibert, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, RIM. "Together with the innovative T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service, the BlackBerry 8820 offers incredible flexibility and convenience for both professional and personal needs."</sup>

Samsung Electronics Signs Multi-Year Global Agreement with Nuance Mobile

Nuance Communications, Inc., a provider of
speech and imaging solutions, announced that Samsung Electronics
recently signed a multi-year agreement, renewing and expanding its
commitment to the full range of Nuance Mobile applications. With Nuance speech solutions for mobile devices,
Samsung will simplify and enhance the way its customers use mobile
phones, applications and services.


The global license agreement includes Nuance's VSuite,
Vocalizer, and VoiceMode speech-based services and interfaces,
which have collectively shipped on more than 160 Samsung models for the
last several years. The Nuance products are also shipping on Samsung's
top-selling devices, such as the SCH-U340 and SPH-M300 available from
Verizon and Sprint. Text-to-speech solutions, enabling capabilities
such as text message read-out, are also included in the new Samsung
contract.


VSuite is Nuance's ubiquitous voice control solution that enables
hands-free, one-step access to mobile device features from a simple
push of a button and a voice command. Nuance's speech-to-text solution,
VoiceMode, offers users a faster and easier way to input text on mobile
devices. Users can enter text in any application by simply pressing a
button and dictating words and sentences naturally and continuously.


"Samsung is at the leading edge of innovation and design for
mobile devices," said Steve Chambers, president of the mobile and
consumer services division at Nuance. "Nuance and Samsung share a
commitment to continually enhance the overall mobile user experience,
offering consumers a simple, safe and convenient way to interact with
mobile phones. By expanding its use of Nuance VSuite, Samsung can make
it easier than ever for users to control mobile devices and access
advanced mobile applications and content."

LG KF510 Global Launch

LG announced the global launch of the KF510 boasting an extremely-slim body with dynamic functional design.
The eye-catching color gradations of LG-KF510 are the first ever to be used on a mobile phone, with choices of Stardust Dark Gray and Sunset Red on the full metal exterior.
The gleaming LED lights of the touchpad brighten with a gentle touch of a fingertip, allowing one to scroll and navigate the animated multifunction menu using the new ‘Interactive Touch Lighting’ system.
Besides the stylish design, the LG-KF510 is outfitted with quality features. LG KF510 allows the user to enjoy 3MP camera with a power flash and a one-second response time. With the advanced MP3 player the user can automatically sort music into play lists or categories. These features are supported by a long lasting battery that saves power capacity through Auto Luminance Control which self-adjusts to the brightness of the LED screen.
“2008 is the year for a new paradigm in mobile phone design and LG is setting the benchmark,” says Dr. Skott Ahn, CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “We have established ourselves as a leader in this field and the LG-KF510 is a unique addition in our mobile portfolio. With its sleek aesthetic and superior technology, it will appeal to many discerning consumers that value both style and substance."
LG-KF510 will be available at most major mobile retailers in regions including Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, from April.

Pringo and Mozes Team to Bring Mobile Marketing to Online Communities

Pringo, the provider of white-label online community platforms, today announced a partnership with Mozes,
Inc, a mobile marketing company that lets anyone make their campaign,
promotion or event more interactive using the mobile phone and web. As a
result, Mozes will integrate its technology into Pringo's solutions,
allowing Pringo customers to better engage users of their community using
text and voice messaging, as well as the Web, and delivering a trusted
mobile marketing solution to social networks.

The agreement provides an innovative way for marketers to reach their core
audiences by incorporating social networking with mobile marketing. With
Mozes' on-demand mobile marketing platform, Pringo customers can create
text message and voice programs, including text polls, trivia games and
mobile offers. Administrators can also deliver mobile content, such as
ringtones and wallpapers, or alert users of the latest news straight to
their cell phone. Consumers can then participate in these campaigns through
the online community.

A common application of the technology is in text-to-win. Examples include
sports teams using this combination for last minute ticket sales, or ticket
give-aways to drive users to a Web site or portal to see if they are
winners. This is a perfect environment for mainstream brands looking for
new ways to reach large audiences through advertising.

"Mobile is the most effective and personal way to reach large audiences
quickly and easily," said Dorrian Porter, CEO of Mozes. "Pringo's
social-networking client base brings our platform to communities that want
to engage their members with rich, real-time relationships on the mobile
phone."

"By integrating Mozes' best-in-class mobile platform, we're providing our
customers with every touch point they need to successfully create a
thriving and loyal user base for any online portal," said Majid Abai, CEO
of Pringo. "Pringo's strategy is to offer our customers the best tools to
build online communities that will attract, retain and grow a user base
quickly and at low cost."

Virgin Mobile USA Launch New Plans Without Annual Contracts

Virgin Mobile USA
has unveiled a host of new Monthly and Pay As You Go Plans Without
Annual Contracts that offer consumers even better value and more
flexibility. With no annual contracts, Virgin Mobile USA allows its more
than 5 million customers to change plans at any time without hassle or
extra charges.Virgin Mobile USA's recurring monthly plans now feature discounted
Messaging Packs, which cover email, IM, text and picture messaging. For
just $10 per month, customers on these plans also get access to
Unlimited Text & Messaging. Other wireless offers, for example,
require up to twice that amount and don't include all types of
messaging.

"There is no reason for consumers to lock themselves into the
restrictive terms of a postpaid contract plan to get real value," said
Dan Schulman, chief executive officer, Virgin Mobile USA, "especially
at a time when many people need greater control over their spending and
use of credit. We're closing the gap between those features
traditionally offered by postpaid carriers and the value available from
our plans without annual contracts."

New Google Mobile Search Experience

Google has set out to improve the mobile-search experience on handsets. Google LCB (LCB? - Local Category Browse?) is a new search service which seems to be focusing on searching for businesses with as little text input as possible. It’s
easy to set up, input your Postal (Zip) Code, and location, and you are
ready to browse a list of business categories. There's still a search-box for traditional search-string entry, but the emphasis seems to be on browsing through the categories for a list of options.

India to Overtake U.S. as World's Second-Largest Mobile Market

• Subscribers base to cross 300 million in April 2008.
  
• Wireless subscribers base reaches 250 million mark. India to become second largest wireless network in the world by April 2008.
  
• Wireless Subscribers addition is 8.53 million in February 2008.
  
• Broadband continues to grow in the country.
  
• Tele-density cross 25% mark.

Total 8.49 million telephone connections have been added during February 2008 as compared to 8.74 million connections added in January 2008. The total number of telephone connections reaches 290.11 million at the end of February 2008 as compared to 281.62 million in January 2008. The overall tele-density is 25.31% at the end of February 2008 as against 24.63% in January 2008. In the wireless segment, 8.53 million subscribers have been added in the month of February 2008 as against 8.77 million subscribers added in the month of January 2008. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL(F)) base stood at 250.93 million at the end of February 2008. It may also be noted that India is likely to become second largest wireless network in the world after China in the first half of April 2008. US is adding about 2-3 million subscribers in a month where as China is adding around 6-7 million subscribers in a month. India's monthly wireless subscriber addition is highest in the range of 8-9 million a month. Thus India's wireless subscriber base during the first half of April 2008 will surpass that of USA and will become second largest wireless network in the world.

Capcom Listed as Top Five Mobile Publisher by Market Share

According to mobile industry research group, M:Metrics, Capcom Interactive, Inc. (developer of Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Breath of Fire, Devil May Cry and the Onimusha series) has climbed the sales charts and emerged as one of the top five publishers of mobile games in North America by market share.

"A year ago I went on record stating that within the year you'd see Capcom Interactive breaking into the top five," said Midori Yuasa, president, Capcom Interactive, Inc. "Today that prediction became a reality thanks to the dedication of the people in our organization, and the incredible support of our partners. With our amazing stable of original intellectual property and licensed casual entertainment brands, Capcom Interactive is poised for even greater success in '08."

Contributors to the company's positive performance have been the mobile launches of Mega Man II and Street Fighter II. These successes combined with the company's philosophy of internal development, created an ideal climate for explosive growth.

"Capcom Interactive's impressive rise in the gaming charts is further evidence that we are entering a new more dynamic phase in mobile gaming in the U.S.," said Seamus McAteer, Chief Product Architect and Senior Analyst, M:Metrics. "By delivering a compelling casual gaming experience based on strongly branded content Capcom demonstrates that it is possible to grab a strong share in a market that had been dominated by a handful of incumbent titles."

Innovation and Customization to Drive Mobile Messaging Growth to $212 Billion by 2013

SMS is taking off in the Americas, mobile e-mail continues its strong growth in developed regions, subscriber growth is driving messaging adoption in Asia-Pacific, and social networking is lifting the messaging boat across nearly all regions. The combination of these factors is expected to grow revenues from mobile messaging to $212 billion by 2013, according
to a new study from ABI Research.

Messaging services growth will have different regional specific drivers. Despite the differences, however, the common growth denominator is that messaging services provide a timely, cost-effective, customer-specific communication and information capability. Principal analyst Dan Shey says, "You will not find many customers worldwide who don't find messaging cost-effective and valuable for communications and delivery of information. The range of capabilities, services and pricing options can be fit to the economic and social differences of each region, and the result quite simply is steady growth over the next five years."

But the benefits driving messaging growth go beyond its obvious economic, social and convenience advantages relative to voice calling. The next stage of messaging growth will be strongly influenced by new input and access capabilities, and integration across mobile and fixed-line platforms. According to Shey, "Innovation in messaging input, including touch screens, voice-to-text, and advanced keyboard designs, makes initiating a mobile message very easy. By combining input options with greater ease of communicating across mobile and fixed platforms regardless of messaging service, messaging providers serve customers' needs very well in both the consumer and business domains."

And is there a third stage of growth for mobile messaging? Says Shey, "Some very creative companies are finding unique ways to incorporate advertising in mobile messaging. If done right, advertising will completely change the mobile messaging market."

iPhone Increases Market Share in Mobile Browser Wars

Apple has more than doubled its share of the internet browser market from 0.0 to 0.08%. Apple has increased its share of the Internet browser market in the US by 64% between December and March according to StatCounter.

In March iPhone and iTouch increased their share of the total browser market in the US from 0.14% in December to 0.23% according to StatCounter which tracks in excess of nine billion pageloads per month over its network of two million websites. If one excludes iTouch from the figures then iPhone's market share of Internet browsing in the US (0.18%) is still well ahead of Nokia (0.01%). However, Nokia still maintains a significant lead over Apple in the global market with 0.25% to 0.08%.

"The key message is that iPhone is more than living up to its claims of being a user friendly Internet browser, unlike many other cell phones," commented Aodhan Cullen, founder and CEO of StatCounter. He said that iPhone web browsing peaked in the US on Christmas Day at 0.07%. "Presumably this was due to people trying out their new Christmas present combined perhaps with not accessing their PCs that day."

The StatCounter analysis finds that Microsoft Internet Explorer still leads the browser market overall with 44.5% market share in the US. But it is facing real competition from open source based Firefox which grew to 43.9% of the US browser market. Globally Internet Explorer is well ahead at 59% with Firefox on 33%.

The StatCounter analysis was based on a sample of 372 million page views globally from December 07 to March 08, including 71 million US page views.

By 2013 One in Every Three Phones Sold Will be a Smartphone

The market for smartphones will grow from around 10% of the total handset market in 2007 to 31% of the market in 2013. A new study from ABI Research projects this meteoric growth to be a product of a number of complex factors including carriers’ drives to grow data revenues from advanced services and the general trend to pushing “smart” operating systems down into middle tier devices.

ABI Research vice president Stuart Carlaw comments, ”Smart operating systems are continually being optimized to run on processors with lower performance. There is a strategic move to support smart OSes in single chip midrange devices in order to unlock more data revenues.” Carlaw adds that, “The market is currently dominated by Nokia (52%) and Symbian (65%). However, the coalescence of the framework wars in the Linux environment and the growing stature of Windows Mobile will enable new competitors to put pressure on this established axis.”

The report finds that the iPhone effect is truly filtering through the handset market as other OEMs strive to remain competitive. Features that look set to proliferate and become central to enhancing user
interface experiences include touchscreens, touchpads, and accelerometers facilitating tilt and shock sensing, as well as haptics providing tactile feedback.

Alltel Wireless announces addition of Samsung Muse

Alltel Wireless and Samsung announced today that the Samsung Muse is now available in Alltel Wireless retail stores and online at shopalltel.com. The Samsung Muse enables music lovers to always have their favorite music tunes within reach.

The midnight blue Muse is a sleek flip-phone providing customers with high-quality sound as well as the ability to store with up to 65MB of internal memory. The Muse has a dedicated music key, which provides users with immediate access to an MP3 player, music library, ringtones, and a free trial offer to preview 20 popular satellite music channels on Alltel’s XM Radio Mobile service. Additionally, the Muse features Alltel’s Axcess TV, GPS-based Axcess Mobile Guide, a 2.0 megapixel camera with video and stereo Bluetooth technology for customers wanting a total multimedia experience.


"The Samsung Muse provides customers with the perfect combination of music features and wireless functionality,” states Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy at Alltel Wireless. “Anyone looking to use their phone as a portable music device will be thrilled with the Muse’s extensive capabilities that make their favorite songs available at their fingertips.”

Alltel Wireless is offering the Samsung Muse for $69.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate. This discounted price is available to new customers who sign-up for a two-year service agreement and to existing eligible customers on qualifying rate plans.

AT&T’s Media Mall 2.0 Coming Soon

Highlighting its commitment to bring the universe of mobile applications and content to consumers, AT&T unveiled plans for a redesigned MEdia Mall, the company’s one-stop shopping destination for mobile content. Since launching on AT&T mobile handsets in December 2004, millions of customers have visited MEdia Mall to load up on ringtones, games, videos and other applications — generating more than $1 billion dollars in sales and helping spawn a wave of innovation among an ever-growing mobile developer community.

AT&T’s MEdia Mall 2.0 is designed to be the ultimate source for personalizing your AT&T wireless phone. Like its predecessor, MEdia Mall 2.0 will feature more than 90,000 choices from more than 115 different content providers, including the new top-selling game, Guitar Hero 3. MEdia Mall 2.0 shoppers are just a click away from even more content with millions of additional full track songs, available from Napster Mobile and eMusic. From the "Ringtones" page, customers can click on the "Full Track Music" link to shop for music from capable handsets.

The storefront will be expanded on an ongoing basis, giving more developers an opportunity to reach the 70.1 million customers of America’s leading provider of wireless services.

The grand opening of MEdia Mall 2.0, powered by software developer UIEvolution, is slated for next month on AT&T capable handsets, but the company is currently giving customers an opportunity to preview MEdia Mall 2.0 with an online mock-up of the mobile storefront at www.att.com/mediamall2.

One of the cool new features of the enhanced MEdia Mall 2.0 is the ability to preview ringtones on a handset before you purchase it — a capability that was previously only available from AT&T’s Web site. Because more than 90 percent of AT&T customers purchase their mobile content directly from their phones, having the ability to "try before you buy" is a more friendly way to shop.

"We want to make MEdia Mall 2.0 the one-stop shop for customers who want to explore the universe of mobile content and applications" said Mark Collins, vice president of Consumer Data for AT&T’s wireless unit. "By remodeling our mobile storefront, we’re giving customers more choices and helping developers reach an ever-growing number of mobile consumers"

AT&T works with developers to create unique versions of applications and content that work with AT&T’s wide variety of devices. Counted individually, including multiple versions of the same application designed for different devices, there are nearly 10 million pieces of mobile content and applications available on MEdia Mall.

In addition to previewing ringtones, customers will also be able to view screenshots of games and graphics before purchasing. The new and improved MEdia Mall 2.0 also offers customer purchase recommendations, providing a well-rounded customer experience.

MySpace Mobile Now Accessible to Sprint Customers

MySpace and Sprint announced the launch of MySpace Mobile on all Web-enabled Sprint phones. The launch marks the first free direct access to the new MySpace Mobile website on a U.S. wireless carrier, allowing Sprint data subscribers a fast track to their MySpace profiles on their phones.

As part of MySpace’s ongoing effort to offer users a rich and meaningful mobile experience on the go, MySpace has partnered with Sprint to provide customers direct access to MySpace Mobile’s innovative tool set, including the ability to edit MySpace profiles, view and add friends, post blogs and bulletins, send and receive MySpace messages, and much more – all from their Sprint phone.

This announcement also marks the official launch of MySpace’s Mobile website, available via any mobile device at (http://m.myspace.com). The new version of MySpace Mobile features a rich graphical design, a revamped email interface and other new features. The site, previously in beta, has seen more than one million unique visitors per day since its release in September.

“Mobile is the next generation of social networking,” said Brandon Lucas, senior director of mobile business development for MySpace. “Our partnership with Sprint makes it easier and faster for customers to get the most out of MySpace when they’re on the go.”

To access MySpace Mobile on Sprint, customers now can simply open the Web on their phone, select Messaging and click on the MySpace Mobile link to get instant access to their profile.

“Bringing popular social networking communities to Sprint phones allows Sprint customers to keep up with their busy social lives whenever and wherever they want to,” said Kevin Packingham, vice president of wireless product management for Sprint. “Sprint is excited to be working with the leading social networking site to meet our customers’ desire for fast, easy mobile access to their MySpace profiles.”

The rich feature set for MySpace Mobile on Sprint phones includes:

MySpace Mobile on Sprint complements the leading social networking site’s current mobile offerings, which include mobile alerts and premium applications on devices offered in the U.S. by Sprint and other carriers.

In December, Sprint and Fox Interactive Media (FIM) first announced plans for all of FIM’s mobile sites to be distributed to Sprint subscribers in an on-portal experience. Sprint and FIM have worked closely over the past several years to deliver the Web’s most dynamic content to mobile consumers. Currently, Sprint distributes content from all of FIM’s leading sites, including FOXSports.com, IGN, Photobucket and the network of MyFOX local sites.

Unlimited mobile Web use, including the new MySpace Mobile, is included at no additional charge in Sprint’s new $99 Simply Everything plan, which features unlimited calling, messaging and data. For Sprint customers on other calling plans, data packs included unlimited mobile Web use start at $15 per month. Casual usage charges apply to mobile Web use for customers without a data pack.

ABI Research Finds Carriers Losing Control Over Mobile Content

A recent consumer survey conducted by ABI Research shows that today’s mobile phone owners use a mix of mobile content obtained from the Web, from their personal collections, and from their wireless carriers. As an example, today’s mobile consumer is more likely to watch a video from YouTube on his or her phone than a video from the carrier’s own service, but is more than twice as likely to get ringtones from the carrier than from any other source.

“Perhaps more with the mobile phone than any other consumer electronics device, content is obtained from a variety of sources,” says research director Michael Wolf. “This shows that despite the strong control most carriers retain over the network, their control over the mobile content ecosystem remains limited. The consumer will see more and more options for obtaining rich media in the future.”

The 14% of respondents who said they use their phone to watch video was split nearly evenly between those who watch video from websites such as YouTube (35%), from their own carrier’s video offering (31%), and from video they sideload onto their mobile devices (28%). Music was also mixed: the leading source of music files on a mobile phone was ripped CDs and sideloading onto the phone (48% of mobile-music listening respondents), while over one third of music-listening respondents (35%) purchased music through their carriers. Lastly, pre-loaded content such as games were some of the most popular forms, as six in ten mobile gamers said they only play the games that came with the phone.

“As the mobile phone grows from being a voice-centric device to a multidimensional communication and entertainment device, content channels will continue to multiply,” adds Wolf. “We expect to see increased content acquisition directly to the phone from the Web. And despite a loosening of control over content delivery to consumers, we believe the carriers will ultimately benefit as they open up their networks and handset platforms and look into taking advantage of increased advertising-supported content delivery.”

HTC Announces Availability of the HTC Shift in the United States

HTC announced the nationwide availability of the HTC Shift. Harnessing the power of Windows Vista and Microsoft Origami Experience 2.0, the HTC Shift blends advanced wireless connectivity with a sleek design that is half the size and a fraction of the weight of a standard notebook. Operating on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, the HTC Shift can leverage always-connected CDMA-EVDO connectivity and features true push email with up to three days of battery life. Today, Sprint covers more square miles, cities, and airports with mobile broadband than any other carrier, offering the nation’s largest mobile broadband network to HTC Shift users.

“For the first time, customers can experience an extremely small, touch-optimized PC with high speed cellular connectivity and push email. The result is an unmatched mobile computing experience,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “We are pleased to meet our customers’ growing mobility needs by bringing this state-of-the-art product to the United States.”

Device Features

The HTC Shift features the power and connectivity the travelling, busy professional needs. This is the first device to feature HTC's innovative new SnapVUE™ technology. SnapVUE provides instant access to emails, calendar, SMS messages and contacts, without the need to fully boot up the device, which helps conserve power and extend battery life. Also a great multimedia companion, the HTC Shift utilizes Windows Media Player 11 to provide easy access to music, videos and photos. Other features include:

• 
  7" touch sensitive 'slide-n-tilt' screen
  
• 
  Windows Vista Business edition
  
• 
  40-gigabyte hard drive
  
• 
  Light weight of 1.8 pounds
  
• 
  802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity
  
• 
  High-speed data connectivity with CDMA-EVDO service through Sprint
  
• 
  Bluetooth® 2.0
  
• 
  Windows Media Player 11 to provide easy access to music, videos and
  photos.
  

Pricing and Availability

The HTC Shift is available for pre-order in the United States for an approximate retail price of $1,499 and will begin shipping on Monday, March 24.

New IBM Software Brings Web 2.0 to Mobile Phones

IBM announced today that the Lotus Expeditor software platform is extending desktop computing and Web 2.0 capabilities to mobile phones.

For the first time, mobile phone users will be able to run several desktop-style applications like social networking, mashups and other consumer or business applications simultaneously on a variety of mobile phones. The technology will be demonstrated at the EclipseCon conference in Santa Clara, Calif., this week.

The new version of IBM Lotus Expeditor 6.1.2 software enables mobile application developers to create new applications and services that combine information from
different sources. Key to Lotus Expeditor technology is the use of the Eclipse embedded Rich Client Platform (eRCP) application model, which allows applications to be created to span desktop and mobile devices.

"People want to be productive anywhere, anytime," said Alistair Rennie, vice president, Development, IBM Lotus Software. "IBM Lotus Expeditor enables faster delivery of a new generation of Web 2.0 applications to mobile phones. Already supporting Lotus Notes and Lotus Sametime, Expeditor has a proven track record as a platform for innovative
applications."

Social Networking describes people connecting with others on-line through messaging, blogging and discussion groups using a business service like IBM Lotus Connections or consumer communities such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. An example of a mashup is a Web-based view that includes directions to a beach, weather conditions there and a list of restaurants with reviews, all integrated from different sources. Lotus Expeditor software enables social networking and mashups to be further integratedinto routine tasks like vacation planning, for one example. By mashing up regional information about sightseeing hot spots with local travel information sources that can be instantly contacted through social networking capabilities, a vacationer can gain immediate insight into interesting side trips in the middle of a vacation.

Ericsson brings Napster Mobile for O2 UK

Ericsson and Napster, announce the largest European hosting contract for Napster Mobile, with O2 UK.

O2 UK's customers will be able to search, browse, preview and purchase full-length tracks from Napster's immense catalog of over 5 million tracks and play them on their mobile handsets and PCs.

The Napster Mobile service contains several sophisticated features, including a recommendation engine that makes content recommendations based upon each consumer's musical taste, and dual delivery, a feature that sends a copy of the content purchased on the handset to the customer's PC.

Under the hosting agreement Ericsson's responsibilities include systems integration, operations, maintenance and content management of the Napster Mobile service for O2 UK. Hosting is a part of Ericsson's Managed Services offering. It is a business model that ensures easy and cost-efficient launches of end user appealing services.

"This is another great example of our strategy of creating deep level partnerships with the best companies in the world to deliver compelling services to our customers," says Sally Cowdry, Marketing Director, O2 UK. "Working with the right partners at O2 UK is crucial to our success and we have joined forces with a leader in this space to bring our customers a high quality, great value service with the widest choice of songs available on mobile."

"We're extremely excited to be partnering with O2 UK on the launch of Napster Mobile," says Brad Duea, president of Napster. "We look forward to delivering a superior mobile music experience to O2 UK's customers, along with the largest mobile music catalog available. It's the perfect extension of Napster's online service in the UK."

Ged Doherty, Chairman, Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK and Ireland says: "Napster pioneered subscription services in the online world. We are delighted to support them as they move into the mobile space with O2 - another brand making a considerable impact on the music landscape."

"We're happy to see this second launch of Napster Mobile in the O2 group, following that of O2 Ireland in 2006. Music is an important area for telecom operators and we believe that O2 UK's subscribers will find this a very attractive service. Napster Mobile combines the strength of Ericsson's multimedia offering and hosted services capabilities. Combining the two enables us to provide a very attractive offering for operators to launch to their end-users." said Jacqueline Hey, Managing Director, Ericsson UK.

Alltel Wireless Launches the Exclusive Glimmer by LG

Touch Screen Phone Combines Music and Media with Form and Function

Alltel Wireless and LG announced that the highly anticipated GlimmerTM by LG will be exclusively available in Alltel retail stores and online at shopalltel.com beginning tomorrow, March 13. With a slide-out keypad and touch-screen interface, the LG Glimmer incorporates traditional phone functions with the latest multimedia features.
The LG Glimmer is loaded with a 2 MP camera with video capabilities, an MP3 player with customizable equalizer, an expandable memory slot and is GPS capable. This slick phone is rich with several of Alltel’s Axcess applications including Alltel Navigation, Axcess Search, CityID and Axcess TV. In addition, users can listen to their favorite music while utilizing other multimedia features on the phone, such as taking photos, recording video or sending text messages. The Glimmer also features 3D graphics support and 128MB of internal memory.
“With touch-screen phones revolutionizing wireless, the LG Glimmer from Alltel has an innovative new touch interface while offering the convenience of a slide-out physical keypad,” states Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy for Alltel Wireless. “Its large display and multimedia capabilities allow our customers to access and manage their video and music with a simple touch.”
“Consumers will appreciate the durable metal body of this elegant, user-friendly mobile phone,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy & marketing at LG Mobile Phones. “With its slim form factor and large sliding touch screen the Glimmer by LG is another example of forward-thinking technology and design.”
Alltel Wireless is offering the Glimmer by LG for $249.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate. This discounted price is available to new customers who sign-up for a two-year service agreement and to existing eligible customers on qualifying rate plans. All Alltel customers who purchase the LG Glimmer and are on a qualifying rate plan are able to receive “My Circle,” Alltel’s exclusive calling feature allowing customers to receive unlimited calling to any five, 10 or 20 numbers, any network. In addition, Alltel was the first to offer Anytime Plan Changes, giving customers the flexibility to change their calling plans at any time, without extending their current contract.
The LG Glimmer also supports Alltel’s new service, Axcess Voice2TXT. The service, which is available on any Alltel Wireless SMS text message capable phone, quickly converts incoming voicemails to text messages in the customer’s inbox and also allows customers to store and forward converted voicemails as regular text messages.

Asia-Pacific Braces for Mobile TV Fever

The Asia-Pacific mobile video services market is expected to see huge growth potential as mobile operators continue to spend millions on developing innovative services and content to arrest the declining average revenue per user (ARPU). Mobile TV, essentially an extension of mobile video services, in particular is seen as a new killer application that could potentially bring alternative source of revenues for carriers.
New analysis from global growth consulting company, Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific Tunes Up for Mobile TV, finds that the mobile video services market - covering 12 Asia-Pacific countries ex-Japan - earned revenues of over US$440 million in 2007 and estimates this to reach US$1.88 billion by end-2013, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 27.4 percent (2007-2013).
While South Korea (which accounted for 87 percent or US$383.7 million of the revenues in 2007) will remain as the biggest market for mobile video in Asia-Pacific (outside of Japan), other potential leading markets include Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.
“Amid the growing interest in triple-play and mobile advertising, mobile TV has been the buzzword in the Asia-Pacific mobile and wireless market,” notes Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Shaker Amin. “The recent spate of trials and the commercial launches of broadcast networks in Japan and South Korea indicate that the mobile TV fever could well catch on throughout the Asia-Pacific region.”
Two of the regions most mature mobile markets, South Korea and Japan, have introduced mobile TV broadcast services (ahead of the other Asia-Pacific countries) built on homegrown standards. South Korea spearheaded the DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) standards, launching S-DMB (Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) and T-DMB (Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) in 2005. While Japan launched ISDBT (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting - Terrestrial), or 1-seg, in 2006.
South Korea is expected to hit mass adoption in mobile video services between 2008 and 2010, when the rest of Asia-Pacific joins the commercial broadcast TV service bandwagon.
Other markets that have commercially launched DVB-H mobile TV broadcast services include Vietnam’s VMC (Vietnam Multimedia Corporation) in September 2006, and Philippines’ Smart Communications in February 2007.
In the rest of the Asia-Pacific markets, digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H) and MediaFLO remain most commonly selected for trials. In China, T-DMB (a different version from South Korea’s) and CMMB (China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting), both homegrown standards, are being deliberated for the country’s national mobile TV broadcast standard.
Pricing however remains the biggest hurdle to a wider uptake of mobile video and TV services. In 2007, the total mobile ARPU in Asia-Pacific stood at US$16.8 (including Japan), largely due to the region’s lower disposal income.
Furthermore, mobile TV broadcast service (multicast) requires compatible handsets, which are not widely available throughout Asia-Pacific as yet. In markets where an impending launch is expected, mobile handset manufacturers are still in the midst of finalizing handset requirements with the major mobile operators.
“In most markets, mobile video service becomes especially expensive when a user exceeds the stipulated amount of data in a ‘flat-rate’ plan,” says Amin. “Considering that this is a major restraint to greater uptake, mobile operators could follow the example of South Korean operators who have implemented an ‘eat-all-you-can’ flat-rate for data charges to encourage adoption.”

Funambol Does Mobile Social Networking

New Code Sniper Projects Encourage Community to Write Apps that Sync Contacts, Events and Photos and Between Mobile Phones and Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Plaxo and other Social Networks

Funambol, the leading provider of Mobile 2.0 messaging software powered by open source, today announced new Code Sniper projects to encourage its global community of mobile open source developers to write apps that sync content between mobile phones and social networks.
Code Sniper is Funambol's community program that rewards developers with monetary bounties to work on open source projects that benefit mobile users around the globe. This new slate of Code Sniper projects ranges from syncing pictures of friends on social networks to the address book on a mobile phone, to making it easy to invite your mobile contacts to join your
favorite social network. All of the apps developed as part of Code Sniper are made freely available under standard open source licensing.
"Funambol has always been about delivering cool new mobile open source services, apps and data to the broadest array of mobile phones for free or low cost, and these Code Sniper social networking projects are no exception," said Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of Funambol. "There's a tremendous amount of content on social networks that users would like to access on their cell phones, and these projects enable this. I personally can't wait to use some of these new mobile social networking apps."

iPhone SDK Downloads Top 100,000

Apple announced that more than 100,000 iPhone developers have downloaded the beta iPhone Software Development Kit in the first four days since its launch on March 6. The iPhone SDK provides developers with the same rich set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and tools that Apple uses to create its native applications for iPhone and iPod touch.
"Developer reaction to the iPhone SDK has been incredible with more than 100,000 downloads in the first four days," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Also, over one million people have watched the launch video on Apple.com, further demonstrating the incredible interest developers have in creating applications for the iPhone."
Apple also previewed the new App Store, a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to every iPhone and iPod touch user. Developers set the price for their applications -- including free -- and retain 70 percent of all sales revenues.
Leading developers such as AOL, Electronic Arts, Epocrates, salesforce.com and Sega have already demonstrated amazing applications using the SDK, and developer response continues to be phenomenal with more developers embracing the platform.
"The iPhone SDK gives us the tools we need to create powerful iPhone applications and is an important part of our overall mobile strategy," said Rick Jensen, senior vice president, Small Business Group at Intuit. "We're excited that the iPhone expands the ways our customers can solve key financial tasks wherever they might be."
"We're very excited about Apple's new SDK and reaching every iPhone user through the new App Store," said Scott Rubin, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Namco Networks. "We can't wait to show off great new versions of arcade classics like PAC-MAN and Galaga that use the revolutionary features of the iPhone and iPod touch."
"Apple's tools have provided our development team the flexibility to make the SuitePhone application richer and deeper," said Luke Braud, vice president, Software Development, NetSuite. "NetSuite is excited at the opportunity to give every iPhone customer access to their critical business data anytime, anywhere."
"Apple's become an important mobile game platform with the iPhone SDK," said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, PopCap. "The new SDK gives us the tools to innovate and reinvent games like Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle. With the new App Store we can reach every iPhone and iPod touch user on the planet."
"Seventy percent of the retail price is hands-down the best deal out there in mobile. It's simple and motivating for developers," said Wayne B. Yurtin, president and CEO, Rocket Mobile, Inc. "We can't wait to get our first iPhone applications on the revolutionary App Store."
"Six Apart pioneered the mobile blogging experience with an iPhone-optimized blog service," said Chris Alden, CEO, Six Apart. "We're taking it to the next level with our native iPhone application for TypePad that's already in development."
"The iPhone is the mobile platform game developers have been dreaming of," said Scott Zerby, vice president, THQ Wireless. "We're looking at how we can use the iPhone's innovative user interface to create new game experiences for our big brand entertainment partners that consumers love."