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.