New Mobile Phone Technology Stops Card Fraud Cold

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new Israeli technology brought to the U.S. by Secure Identity Systems (SIS) thwarts credit and debit card fraud, and potentially stops ID thieves in the act. This in turn helps banks better protect customers, stem losses due to fraud, and attract new depositors with free identity protection services.
The technology, dubbed mConfirm, uses any mobile phone to match the location of a consumer and their payment card. If the locations don’t match, the transaction is flagged and risk systems alerted, so that action can be taken immediately. Already proven highly successful at Visa CAL, a major Israeli credit card issuer and processor, mConfirm significantly improves fraud detection and reduces false alert rates without slowing down the transaction process.

“mConfirm turns any mobile phone into a front-line defense in the war against identity fraud,” says Bryan Ansley, CEO of Secure Identity Systems. “The instant a payment card is swiped, mConfirm pinpoints the location of the card holder’s mobile phone. If they’re not in the same place, and the activity doesn’t match the consumer’s usual buying patterns, we know the transaction is fraudulent, and we stop it. There’s never been a faster or more accurate way to put the brakes on credit and debit card fraudsters.”
The mConfirm technology, which is being provided to U.S. banks exclusively by SIS and offered to consumers free of charge, does not require GPS-enabled phones or changes to existing card processing systems. The system uses two factors—location-based behavior analysis and cellular phone location analysis—to develop a fraud risk score, which is the chance a transaction is fraudulent. The system works with some of the most popular commercially available cell phones and domestic wireless networks, including Apple iPhone, RIM Blackberry, LG, AT&T, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, and even prepaid services.

ASUS P320 Featured at CeBIT 2008

Revolutionary Graphic User Interface for Fashion and Function Combine For a Unique Handheld Experience
Taipei, Taiwan, March 3, 2008 – The latest range of handhelds from ASUS was made to captivate the user´s attention not merely by their mesmerizing good looks but also their total experience when in use. Designer cuts, touch screen capability, high speed downloads, and unique and user-friendly interfaces built upon Windows Mobile software are all present in this new lineup.
"We hear over and over again that people want just one phone for their life, and that is what we aim to deliver with the Windows Mobile platform," said Scott Horn, General Manager, Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft Corp. "With this latest, innovative range of Windows Mobile smartphones from ASUS, there is something for everybody; whether for work or for play, these stylish devices will put the power of true mobility in the hands of consumers everywhere."
"ASUS´ handhelds have been well received in North America and Asia Pacific regions, and continue to grow in popularity worldwide. With ASUS´ push into the European mobile market well underway, ASUS looks poised to achieve great success in this high end market segment." Said H C Hung, Head of ASUSTeK´s Handheld Business Unit. "The new ASUS P320 with its trendy and compact outlook looks set to be extremely popular. These new phones and more in the new ASUS range will definitely provide our European consumers with a wide variety of innovative handhelds choices for the future."
ASUS P320–Experience the ´Mini´ with the ´Most´ A compact PDA phone housed in a range of trendy shades and smooth curves, the ASUS P320 is definitely an eye-catcher. As the smallest Windows Mobile GPS PDA phone, this super compact PDA phone brings handheld design to a new level of ´sleek´. Not just a pretty face, it also comes with the ´smarts´ – an intuitive interface design that makes it even more attractive.

Mobile Ticketing Goes Mainstream

HAMPSHIRE, UNITED KINDOM--(Marketwire - March 5, 2008) - New research has estimated that over 2.6 billion mobile tickets will be delivered to just over 208 million mobile phone users by 2011. This is one of the key statistics from a landmark study by Juniper Research. The report found clear evidence that the sector is gearing up for major launches over the next few years. Early trials, mainly led by mobile network operators, are now migrating into commercial services that are controlled by the ticketing issuers themselves.

Benefits for the ticketing issuers include reduced cost, better security to help the fight against fraud and improved environmental footprint by reducing paper. Early use of mobile barcode technology will be gradually complimented by the emergence of NFC (Near Field Communications), in particular for the transportation ticketing sector where there are already commercial deployments in the Far East and important trials in Western Europe and North America.

Most encouraging for the sector is the wide adoption by some of the major organisations that control the issuance of tickets, such as Ticketmaster, British Airways and Tickets.com. This is coupled with the involvement of the key operators and technology providers such as O2, NTT, DoCoMo, Vodafone, Nokia and Samsung.

Juniper Research illustrates the current and near-future status of mobile ticketing with analysis and interviews from representatives of some of the leading organisations in the growing mobile ticket industry.

Key findings from the report include:


-- Savings for the airline industry of $500 million each year by
migrating to mobile boarding passes
-- A total of almost $87 billion worth of mobile ticketing transactions
by 2011
-- NFC will start to create traction from 2009 onwards.

Overview of Russia’s Mobile Market

Research and Markets has announced the addition of Russia - Mobile, Mobile Content & Applications Overview & Statistics to their offering.

Russia’s has the largest mobile market in Europe. The rapidly growing sector is dominated by three major service providers (MTS, VimpelCom and MegaFon) which have expanded nationally through acquisitions of smaller regional service providers. Mobile Virtual Network Operators have also launched services. Competition in the key markets of Moscow and St Petersburg is fierce, due to higher ARPU and MOU levels. Mobile SIM card penetration has surpassed 100% although actual mobile user penetration is lower. Both new subscriber growth and declining ARPU levels have stabilised although MOU levels are on the rise, partly attributed to improved marketing. Future mobile growth will continue to be driven by voice in the short to medium term until availability and penetration of recently launched UMTS/3G services is high enough to sufficiently offer affordable and desirable mobile data and content services on a sufficient scale. This report provides a concise overview of Russia’s mobile market, covering regulatory developments, the major mobile operators, technologies used and mobile data, content and applications provided in addition to offering a variety of financial and operational statistics.

GyPSii Launches iPhone Platform

GyPSii takes social networking mobile for Apple iPhone

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GyPSii, the world’s leading geo-location and social networking service provider for mobile phones and Internet devices, is now available on the iPhone – Apple’s market-leading high-end mobile device. The iPhone has shipped more than five million units worldwide since its launch in 2007.

The new web-based GyPSii iPhone application integrates its multiple services into a single interface, making it easy for users to enjoy a wide range of new and exciting location-based features and services, along with social networking – all using the fluid, intuitive touch-screen user interface of the iPhone.

GyPSii also confirmed that it would produce a “native” version of its application using Apple’s Software Developer Kit (SDK) which is scheduled to be launched later this week, providing seamless access for all Apple users, from the desktop, to the iPhone.

GyPSii CEO, Dan Harple, said he didn’t want iPhone users who were keen social networkers to have to wait any longer for the only social networking platform specifically designed for location-enabled mobile phones to be available for their handset.

“We’ll work with the SDK as soon as it becomes available,” he said, “and then we will be uniquely offering both web and native versions of our application for iPhone users.”

GyPSii is taking advantage of its extensible product architecture enabling use of technologies (like Apple’s Safari) to make its advanced, geo-location features possible on the iPhone. In supporting these advances in web technology, GyPSii delivers an optimal location-based experience on a mobile device, or on a desktop computer, or even via a set-top box.

Some of the new GyPSii for iPhone features enabled include:

Improved UI: The application provides users a desk-top-like web experience that is easier to activate, navigate and use via Apple’s intuitive touch-screen.
Expanded People/Places layout: GyPSii users can have easy access to complete information on their favourite people and places that appear on the iPhone. Users simply choose their favourite People or Places, bringing up all relevant information such as proximity, details and their position on a map, all on one continuous screen. Users can also access one click dialling to phone People and Places.
Integrated directions from the mapping interface. Users can navigate to and from their favourite People and Places.
Improved location based search: Users can search by proximity using new easy to use categories for both People and Places.
Seamless user interface menus which take advantage of the progressive touch screen interface that comes with the iPhone.
Commenting on the launch of GyPSii for iPhone, GyPSii CEO Dan Harple said, “With the iPhone, Apple created a game-changing handset that revolutionized the mobile device market. We are doing the same with our geo-location technologies to connect people and content to places, events, and social networks in exciting and never-before-seen ways.”

iPhone owners can use GyPSii to create and share experiences; photos, videos, audio and other content in real-time with friends, family and other network members, wherever they are in the world. Users can also search and locate people and places, as well access directions, maps and information on Points-of-Interest (POIs) - both in their immediate area and worldwide as well.

“With GyPSii on your iPhone, it becomes your mobile personal digital life recorder,” continued Harple. “You can record and share every aspect of your life as it happens with your friends, family and your online community – all via your mobile. GyPSii for iPhone makes social networking dynamic, mobile, and real-time. We’ve integrated with the deep feature set on the iPhone, with the result being an entirely new way to communicate.”

GyPSii for iPhone puts the application within reach of more than five million iPhone users worldwide, and advances GyPSii’s global strategy to be the market-leading geo-location and social networking services platform running on the broadest range of high-end and mass-market consumer mobile devices. This commitment is device-independent, with the company working to develop new mobile technologies that are faster, easier to use, and available on more devices. GyPSii is already available on other market-leading mobile phones and platforms – including BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile-powered devices.

The addition of the iPhone to GyPSii’s list of compatible handsets follows hard on the heels of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where the combination of Location-based services with mobile technologies, and the award-winning GyPSii application in particular, seized widespread industry attention.

"Initiatives like GyPSii may ultimately reach a status comparable with existing social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace," said ABI Research principal analyst Dominique Bonte.

Praising his development team for their achievement leading up to the launch of GyPSii, CEO Dan Harple said: “Our mission is to enhance every person’s mobile experience; blending their lifestyle and how they share their lives with each other and their chosen social networks. Our first iPhone release version brings us one step closer to that goal, and adds further to our momentum.”

New Report Identifies Topics Emerging in the Global Mobile Market

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - London, United Kingdom, 03/04/2008 - Report Buyer, has added a new report identifying five hot topics that will emerge in the global mobile market.

“Mobile Device Market Trends in 2008” reports that competition in mobile operating system (OS) and platform segment will intensify and the influence of Mobile Linux will increase in the market during 2008. As of now, the mobile device market is being dominated by Symbian, the exemplary proprietary standard, occupying 70% of the market. However, in 2008 Symbian will face growing market competition due to the rise of Windows Mobile, the second market player, and Mobile Linux, which is an open standard. In particular, the year of 2008 will witness the rapid expansion of Mobile Linux, as the Open Handset Alliance based on Google's Android OS is drawing attention from large handset vendors and mobile operatorsin the world.

During 2008, Smartphone will strengthen its position in the market by drawing huge attention as a result of intensifying competition among the players, who are trying to secure a more attractive handset line-up. In 2008, smartphones will occupy 22% of the entire mobile market, helping increase web-based services on the mobile network.

The report also predicts that the User Interface (UI) will become more sophisticated, and it is adopted as a strategy to differentiate mobile handset and services in order to increase user demands. The idea that User Interface = Culture Code is spreading in the market, and Apple iPhone can be taken as a prime example. Against this backdrop, handset vendors are expected to pursue mergers with UI companies while introducing a variety of new UI technologies, with a view to delivering differentiated OEM UI to the users. The mobile operators will identify the importance of "Unified UI" (technology to offer consistent UI, whether using a wired or wireless connection).

Since the launch of Apple iPhone and LG Electronics Prada Phone, more mobile handsets featuring touch screen are being introduced. The problem related to touch screen input error seems to be addressed before long thanks to the adoption of tactile feedback technology. Tactile feedback technology provides immediate feedback to users with either vibration or colors while typing, which also works as a source of entertainment to the users.

As mobile devices have become capable of offering web 2.0-based services with state-of-the-art technologies, "Application Mash-up" on the wireless network, such as instant tracking service utilizing GPS and search engine, will emerge as a new topic. Considering that users want location information via mobile handsets the most, GPS handset has a high possibility to advance and GPS handset-based LBS (Location Based Service) is likely to emerge as the new killer application.

Authors of the report identify the rising trends in the global mobile device market in 2008. The research material in this report is based on strategic research and consulting projects conducted in 2007 on the major mobile operators and handset vendors in Asia. “Mobile Device Market Trends in 2008” reports that in the Korean and Japanese markets, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Sharp continue to be aggressive players in the handset vendor segment. Among the major mobile operators in the advanced markets of Korea and Japan, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, SK Telecom and KTF will take the lead in the device market of the two countries.

Openmoko Unlocks Neo Mobile Phone Industrial Design

Openmoko, creator of the first completely open mobile computing platform, expanded the meaning of Open Source by posting the industrial design source files for its Neo branded mobile phones. Industrial design artists now have the same freedom as software engineers.

Openmoko's source code was freed in February 2007, allowing complete transformation of its mobile phone software. Now, by publishing mechanical CAD files, Openmoko frees industrial designers to fundamentally redesign the Neo branded mobile phones to fit their vision and market needs. Some already have.

Inspiring a New Generation of Product Designers

Openmoko posted the CAD files at downloads.openmoko.org/CAD/ under a ShareAlike Creative Commons license, thereby establishing a community where designers and developers can share concepts about the next generation of Open Source mobile computing devices. Openmoko encourages developers and designers to build their businesses by leveraging the Openmoko FOSS and CAD resources to speed development of new mobile products.

Because of the overwhelming response by developers and industrial designers to the initial posting of the Neo 1973 CAD files, Openmoko has committed to opening the CAD files for the design of the upcoming Neo Freerunner mobile phone before the phone even hits the market.

Sharing A New Vision of the Design Process

"Openmoko provides one more key to anyone who wants to unlock the mobile phone. With these drawings, developers and designers will be able to create their own open phone from the inside out," said Lawrence Lessig, Founder and CEO of Creative Commons. "By releasing the CAD files for the exterior of the phone under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license, Openmoko is unlocking what is a typically closely guarded secret in consumer electronics companies and putting it under a free license so others can build upon their work legally."

The decision to release the files that describe the physical shell of the device was driven by the community of Open Source developers. The goal was to enable changes to the case that go beyond mere cosmetics and address the fundamental needs of specific vertical markets by modifying the phone from the inside out.

"Open Source development encourages contributions from a diverse, imaginative, and creative software community. Unlocking the CAD files for the Neo cases empowers the industrial design community to share and contribute their unique designs," said Openmoko Head of Developer Relations, Michael Shiloh. "And, with ready access to benchtop CNC machines and 3D printers, people will build these designs, even in single quantities."

The Neo series of open mobile devices is currently being sold to developers and educational institutions worldwide through Openmoko, the independent subsidiary of Taiwan electronics giant FIC. Dedicated to providing a totally FOSS mobile computing platform for development of mobile consumer electronics communication devices, Openmoko provides the community with the software sources, and now the industrial design drawings, while FIC offers the manufacturing services for the next generation of breakthrough consumer electronics products.

Zoho Writer Expands Offline Advantage to Windows Mobile

Google Gears Enables Zoho Writer to Offer Offline Documents to Windows Mobile Device Users

PLEASANTON, Calif--Zoho today announced that Zoho Writer supports both online and offline access from Internet Explorer Mobile (IE Mobile), the Microsoft browser for mobile devices running its Windows Mobile operating system. Zoho support for the open source Google Gears means its customers can work with their Zoho Writer documents from Window Mobile devices, regardless of network availability.
“Mobile phones are a road warrior's best friend when working away from the office,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist. “This is the primary reason why mobile support continues to be a top priority for Zoho. Today's news announcing Google Gears on mobile devices will help us offer online and offline access to mobile applications going forward.”

Zoho Writer on IE Mobile
With Zoho Writer running on IE Mobile, Zoho expands the mobility of Zoho applications beyond the iPhone, which the company supports through iZoho. Like iZoho, the applications available under IE Mobile will eventually grow to include other Zoho applications.
Today, Zoho users running IE Mobile will have read-only access to their Zoho Writer documents, in both online and offline modes. Going forward, Zoho will make read/write functionality available both online and offline.

Western Europe’s Average Mobile Penetration Reached 108%

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of 2007 Western European Mobile Communications & Mobile Data to their offering.
Western Europe’s mobile market has shown consistent growth for several years. Average mobile penetration reached 108% by mid-2007 while sustaining subscriber growth of 8.5%. However, a slowdown in revenue growth was largely due to intensifying competition and regulatory action which led to falling prices for voice minutes, roaming and interconnection charges. Growth in coming years will primarily depend on subscribers adopting mobile data services.
Europe has been an important laboratory for 3G networks and services and for emerging technologies such as EDGE and HSCSD. Financial considerations from 2001 to 2004 hampered developments in 3G roll-outs, while 2.5G offerings such as GPRS failed to take off. An important catalyst for mobile growth since 2005 has been the rapid development of product features and new product designs. About 60% of mobile phones sold in mid-2007 had additional functionality such as cameras, while 95% of 3G phones had MP3 or similar technology on board. Built-in GPS has also become a standard feature in many phones.
During 2007, the major pan-European operators - Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Orange - continued with business models that focussed on broadening their footprint across both Eastern and Western European countries, as well as branching out into other growth areas such as broadband. Vodafone in particular has endeavoured to align itself as a quad-play operator by buying the networks of broadband providers in markets such as Italy and Spain where it already has a significant mobile presence. T-Mobile has also made an impact, particularly through acquisitions and licensing agreements with MVNOs. Other than these companies, the mobile subsidiaries of incumbent telcos continue to be the most important mobile operators in their respective countries across Europe.
GSM networks continue to dominate the market, with more than 80 network operators in the EU, including three to four operational in most European countries. There were also some 214 MVNOs operating in Europe in 2006, with more beginning operations each month.
Mobile penetration in Europe is so ingrained among consumers that almost 20% of users have opted to have a mobile phone only, ditching their fixed line. This figure would certainly increase substantially if mobile calls were charged at landline rates.

Mobile data
SMS still accounts for the bulk of data revenue, while less than 20% of subscribers use MMS/picture messaging and fewer still make use of mobile Internet and mobile TV despite numerous launches and promotions.
During 2007, most European mobile operators deployed or expanded EDGE and HSDPA networks in a bid to encourage consumer use of mobile broadband services and increase data ARPU. The number of content providers and the range of services on offer has expanded, making consumer involvement in mobile data a more likely proposition during the next few years. The EU suggested imposing regulatory limits on data roaming tariffs during 2008, which will dent operator revenue. This may not be all bad. Gaming, video and music portals are being progressively transferred to the mobile arena, and subscribers have become more aware of the capabilities of 3G services, but are also wary of the present high usage costs. By mid-2007, the 3G subscriber base on which mobile data growth depends approached 50 million, though providers have struggled to encourage subscribers to use services which are widely perceived as expensive and of uncertain value.
A range of potential mobile data services could be made available, including information on public transport systems, ringtones, games, directory enquiries, weather forecasts, voting services, share prices, horoscopes and logotypes. Typically, these are only provided to the operator’s own customers.
A key constraint limiting customer demand for mobile content and services has been the absence of content with sufficient drawing power to attract users onto a new platform. Ongoing work to develop gaming and handset customisation, as well as new services such as mobile video and TV services, has created a mass of content for operators such as Vodafone, Telefónica Moviles and O2. The Vodafone live! portal has become relatively popular, partly through having the scale and reach to leverage a compelling quantity of content into the service. Hutchison’s 3 has worked hard to develop similar content with media partners on a country-by-country basis.

58 Million U.S. Mobile Subscribers Have Seen Advertising Over Their Phones

28 million subscribers, half of those who recall seeing mobile advertising,
say they responded to at least one mobile advertisement
SAN FRANCISCO, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-three percent (58
million) of all U.S. mobile subscribers say they've been exposed to
advertising on their phones in the past 30 days, according to a new report
out today from The Nielsen Company. Half (51% or 28 million) of all data
users who recall seeing mobile advertising in the previous 30 days say they
responded to a mobile ad in some way.
The findings come from the bi-annual Mobile Advertising Report from
Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, and are based on a survey
of more than 22,000 active mobile data users who used at least one
non-voice mobile service in the fourth quarter. In the report, Nielsen
examines consumer recall, responses and attitudes toward banner ads on
mobile web pages, SMS text-message advertising, sponsored applications,
video advertising and other types of advertising that reach consumers while
using data applications on their mobile phones.
The study further reveals that
-- The number of data users who recalled seeing mobile advertising between
the second and fourth quarters of 2007 increased 38% (from 42 to 58
million subscribers)
-- Teen data users (ages 13-17) were the most likely age segment to recall
seeing mobile advertising (46% recalled seeing some type of mobile
advertisement, compared to 29% of all data users)
-- Asian-Americans and African-Americans are more likely to recall mobile
advertising (42% and 40%, respectively) than all data users
-- 26% of those who saw an ad responded at least once by sending an SMS
text-message, the most popular ad response. 9% say they've used
click-to-call to respond to a mobile ad, where users follow a link on
their phone to call a specific number
-- 32% of data users said they are open to mobile advertising if it lowers
their overall bill
-- 13% (18% of males) said they are open to mobile advertising if it
improves the media and content currently available
-- 14% said they are already open to mobile advertising so long as it is
relevant to their interests
-- 23% expect to see more mobile advertising in the future (up from just
15% in Q1 2007)
While media companies and marketers explore the unique ways they can
interact with consumers over the highly personal mobile platform,
supporting mobile media content through advertising revenues, advertising
researchers must examine the ways in which audiences are and are not
willing to engage with mobile advertising.
"Increasing levels of consumer recall, interaction and receptivity to
mobile advertising reinforce the validity of the mobile marketing medium,"
said Jeff Herrmann, VP of Mobile Media at Nielsen Mobile. "Nielsen's Mobile
Advertising Report helps marketers and media companies better understand
consumer interaction and the available response mechanisms to drive
conversion."
Nielsen's report provides specific insights on consumer perception of
mobile advertising. While just 10% of data users said they think
advertising on their mobile devices is acceptable, an increasing number of
mobile users appear to understand the value proposition of ad-supported
mobile content.
"We see an increasing trend of consumers willing to trade off and
receive advertising to gain more -- and better -- mobile content," said
Herrmann. "Successful mobile marketers will meet the challenge offered by
consumers by engaging with them in a way that adds value to the mobile user
content experience."