Dear $Firstname$

Is P-TV sitting on a text time bomb?

While the furore surrounding premium rate competitions on TV in the UK — and in Austria — rumbles on, many are overlooking a potentially much larger problem that may be occurring with text voting services for mainstream TV shows such as Pop Idol and X-Factor.

While the premium rate telephony business has been subjected to trial by tabloid, the mobile industry has largely come off scot-free, since text voting is trackable and the companies involved have all been successfully audited.

However, the way text systems work — using a store and forward technology that can hold up messages — potentially means that text messages send during peaks in demand across networks don’t necessarily arrive that quickly. Where this to be happening with the votes placed via the text channel to TV shows, many votes could be being delivered late and not being counted.

There is no hard evidence to suggest that this is the case, and many within the industry deny that it happens — claiming instead that the service providers are optimized to handle these votes and, unlike New Year’s Eve, when all those Happy New Year texts your mates send you turn up on January 2nd, the peaks in voting on TV shows is minimal — this is an issue that is concerning network operators, service providers and programme makers.

The attention drawn to supposed ‘frauds’ on premium rate P-TV has put the wind up the entire industry and the mobile sector should be mindful that a riled public that sees itself as being ripped off could turn its attention of the hitherto blames mobile sector. But, so long as it is all in order — as I suspect it will be, if it isn’t already — then there is nothing to fear and mobile will become the channel to interact with media on.

Yours

Paul Skeldon

paul.skeldon@contentfutures.com

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Are MNOs running scared from VoIP services?

As we reported last week, mobile network operators are getting seriously worried about mobile VoIP and the threat to their lucrative walled garden voice services.

Both Vodafone and Orange in the UK have ‘disabled’ the internet telephony option on the flagship Nokia N95 handsets and now it appears that Vodafone’s new data tariff has been designed, in part, to discriminate against VoIP and other perr-to-peer services.

Orange and Vodafone deny that they are deliberately knobbling VoIP. Nokia claims that Orange were offered the option of having the VoIP function on or off in the handsets shipped to it by Nokia — they chose ‘off’ as they hadn’t had time to test the application.

Vodafone similarly said that it didn’t want the VoIP options available on the phones as it doesn’t offer VoIP and that to introduce such as service will take a great deal of time consuming testing.

Non-integrated standalone applications such as Fring, which enables the user to run applications such as Skype and Google Talk at no extra cost, will however still work on the N95.

The tariff issue is harder to read. The offer of all you can eat data pricing is a boon to the mobile content market, but some argue that these tariffs also help stymie the introduction of VoIP services.

Kerry Ritz, UK MD of VoIP service provider Vonage is vociferous: “Vodafone’s new data tariff is yet another example of telephone companies using smoke and mirrors to pretend they are offering something competitive and dynamic while still restricting consumer choice. Mobile operators have been charging consumers over the odds for a long time and they do not like the idea of people using their data networks to make calls using other technologies. They will fight off VoIP for as long as they can, but we have to ask ourselves who will lose most from these tactics and the answer is the consumer.”

Read More: http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/appmanager/vodafone /wrp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=template11&pageID=PPP_0052&tabIndex=1

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Mobile banner ads get ten times the click throughs as their online counterparts

Mobile banner adverts attract click through rates of up to 15 per cent — ten times that of online banner ads — claims new mobile advertising consultancy and service provider Ad2Mob, part of Opera Interactive Technology Group (OITG).

Launching the company last week at World Telemedia Amsterdam, CEO Adam Brogden said: “The continuous decline of traditional offline media and changing consumer preferences has meant that brand marketers are looking for new ways of reaching their target audience, and this is where mobile advertising can make a real difference to brand recognition as well as revenues. We have experience in helping companies to launch and develop their mobile advertising strategies, from creating and updating Mobile Internet sites to co-ordinating complex campaign schedules, managing multiple traffic channels, and providing detailed stats and reporting information.”

The key to mobile advertising’s success, believes Brogden, lies in the fact that it can be specifically targeted at relevant end users, maximizing the interest in the advert and so producing these astonishing — by advertising standards at least — click through rates.

Brogden continues, “Ad2Mob has established a number of exclusive channels and can offer over 30 million page impressions per month through the Ad2Mob network of Mobile Internet sites and over 80 million pages per month globally through partner channels. We also have experience in managing other third party traffic sources and will help to define clients’ traffic strategies in order to meet their advertising needs.”

Read More:http://www.advertising2mobile.com/news/

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Only 30 per cent of mobile uses look at the mobile web — but most of those that do search through non-operator engines

According to a study by US digital marketing agency iCrossing only 30 per cent of mobile users access the Internet on their mobile devices, but 75 per cent of those that do also conduct searches. In addition, the study finds that users prefer to search via the major search engines rather than via carriers' mobile platforms.

Mobile searchers prefer navigating directly to mobile-specific versions of major search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask to using carrier-supplied search functionality, such as search bar or home page box by a margin of nearly two to one, says iCrossing.

Maps and directions, weather and local information are the content categories of greatest interest to mobile searchers, but the finding that around 75 per cent are not willing to browse beyond the second page of search results puts a premium on mobile search visibility.

The study also finds that an overwhelming 84 per cent of mobile searchers expect the sites they visit frequently to have a dedicated mobile version.

Marketers, content owners and their carrier partners looking to capitalize on the promise of mobile search should take careful note of the following key findings, says iCrossing: the type of content users seek varies greatly, but websites must be positioned in at most the first two pages of results in order to earn users' clicks.

In addition, sites must be optimized carefully so they can be captured in a maximum of three keywords. Convenience, ease of use, speed and relevancy are the values that must remain at the forefront of this ongoing effort.

Read More:http://icrossing.com/research

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SinglePoint deal with MIG offers interactive SMS TV voting to 230m US subscribers

US mobile messaging company SinglePoint is moving in to the interactive TV voting space in North America following a partnership with the UK’s leading mobile interactive service provider MIG. The deal sees MIG offer its entire suite of products to SinglePoint, which has more than 230 million subscribers.

The partnership enables SinglePoint to use a number of MIG’s mobile technology platforms in the US, including its award winning high speed premium SMS voting platform VoteWinner, which processes 2000 messages per second. SinglePoint will also use MIG’s InstantWinner application, which is an interactive TV platform specifically designed to increase participation by delivering highly targeted messages to campaign players.

Additionally, SinglePoint will integrate MIG’s Mobile Interactive Delivery Application Solution (MIDAS) into its interactive TV suite of applications. “MIDAS” is used by some of the UK’s leading broadcasters and production companies, including FremantleMedia, Endemol, Celador and broadcast network ITV, to process mass participation competitions, quizzes and alerts services.

“Mobile Interactive Group is the leading multimedia mobile interactive services technology provider in the UK and has provided leading edge mobile marketing solutions to some of the UK’s pioneering entertainment, media and consumer products companies,” says Doug Busk, VP of Industry Relations at SinglePoint. “MIG’s applications and mobile marketing platforms, combined with SinglePoint’s content delivery access to hundreds of millions of wireless subscribers across all the major U.S. carriers, is an extremely powerful proposition for companies looking to launch new mobile marketing campaigns.”

The partnership will also include support for custom mobile marketing solutions development. To this end, MIG will provide a suite of tools to create, enhance, and administer mobile interactive campaigns for television, advertising, marketing and mobile brand extension. SinglePoint and MIG will supply these platforms in one, streamlined architecture for simplicity of use, cost efficiency, quick turnaround to market, online reporting, campaign building and message processing and delivery.

Read More: http://www.migcan.com/news.html#

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Mobile video steals a march on mobile TV as the content service of choice

Shrugging aside the current hype that surrounds mobile TV, technologists, content companies and service providers are all looking at mobile video services as the one of the key areas for growth in mobile content.

The strongest signal yet, identifying the progress made in the development in mobile video has been unequivocally answered by the generic acceptance of mobile video by consumers. The inclusion of mobile video in mobile marketing campaigns from clients like Sony, with the launch of the PSP, Disney, with High School Musical further compounds the success of this new format.

In 2007, and for the 2nd consecutive year, Netsize has again collaborated with the Mobile Film Festival, specifically on the French mobile operator portals, of Gallery and iMode.

Further solidifying its position within the video mobile space, Netsize is partnering with VODemotion, in the launch of a new site of professional videos uniquely rendered for mobiles.

This new mobile service, from the VODemotion Web site, is wholly financed by sponsoring and contains numerous short video clips illustrating popular themes like humour and How to…clips.

Similarly, companies such as 3G Video, D2See and iPoint Media are making inroads with video into all manner of traditional services, most notably adding video to chat and dating services, which have proved popular with magazines.

“Remarkably, considering the notions of an early demise of mobile video, Netsize have seen demand escalating at an unprecedented rate. Our figures reveal that in 2005 only five per cent of content downloaded from our Content Management Platform: mSuites, was attributed to mobile video; by 2006 that figure had risen to 15%. Now as we move further into 2007, we are looking at figures that are swiftly approaching the 30 per cent mark. With the combined development of the camera phone, MMS and User Generated Content services– the mobile video experience will only go from strength to strength,” says Renaud Ménérat, Marketing Director of Netsize Entertainment Solutions.

Read More: http://www.netsize.com/news/press-room.aspx

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Educational mobile game aims to help foreign students adapt to new cultures

A mobile phone game developed by academics at the University of Portsmouth will be used to help international students cope with 'culture shock' and university life in Britain — including moments of cultural awakening such as going to the pub and watching people being affectionate to each other in public.

The game — called C-Shock — is the brainchild of University of Portsmouth academic and games technology expert Nipan Maniar who, himself, arrived in the UK from India five years ago as an international student.

Maniar says that the game would act as an 'e-mother' or 'mobile mummy' for new students. "I found some aspects of British culture very novel, and certainly things such as interacting socially with others, say, in a pub were very different to what I was used to in my own culture in India."

Maniar and his research assistant, Dr Emily Bennett, developed the prototype of the mobile phone game after consulting with the University's International Office and the British Council.

The game follows an international student arriving in the UK for the first time. The aim of the game is to reduce the character's 'culture shock' rating from a default of 100 to zero by performing a series of tasks that introduce culture shock-inducing incidents and images.

"I thought it would be great to have a learning vehicle or device to help people overcome the culture shock because if you have not experienced such things before, it's hard to know how to react or behave appropriately."

Read More: http://durrants.mediacoverage.co.uk/pr/22905998/plBPJ-ey

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VoIP World Africa 2007

Terrapinn, 2nd-4th May 2007, South Africa

VoIP World Africa 2007 will touch on pressing issues pertaining to both the enterprise and the solutions provider. There will be participants from around the continent engaging in panel discussion and case studies on a wide variety of topics including how regulation and compliance will affect the industry in the future and the current developments in the IP communications sector.

Visit: www.terrapinn.com/2007/voipza

If you would like to promote your event in this newsletter please email: marketing@contentfutures.com

Opus Resourcing Ltd

£55K + 6k Car Allowance + Bens + Bonus to 20%, Berkshire

A world leading mobile operator requires individual with a background in high level J2EE Architecture and solutions design on large and mission critical systems, ideally combined with content management systems (Volantis, Openmarket etc) and portal technologies knowledge. The successful candidate will be will be working closely with the business to capture requirements, and will be responsible for the generation of new concepts, ideas, the production of feasibility studies, specifications and prototypes, taking part in vendor selection, and evaluating and keeping abreast of new technical developments.

For more information please contact James Shenton at info@opusresourcing.com or on +44 (0) 208 663 6003

If you would like to promote your job in this newsletter please email: jobs@contentfutures.com

Live traffic data now part of Map24 Mobile

Map24 has added live traffic data to its Map24 Mobile product. The latest update means that users can have up to the minute traffic information as well as the ability to phone ‘points of interest’ when using their mobile. With Map24 Mobile, users can be aware of traffic congestion, roadworks, narrow lanes, temporary traffic lights and other such traffic conditions before setting off on their journey. 

For the latest version or for more information on Map24 Mobile go to: www.map24.com

Market Research Report: Mobile Music - Ringtones, Full Track Downloads & Streaming, 2006-2011 (Third Edition)

Price: £1490 (Single User) £1990 (Multi User) £2490 (Enterprise Wide)

With over 195 pages this report considers the next five years and is packed with market forecasts, assessment & technology comparisons. Mobile Music contains the latest research to date on the drivers & constraints associated with ringtones, ringbacks, and OTA full track mobile music, with market breakdowns by product type and regional outlooks for the mobile music market.

ContentFutures.com is a publication of Juniper Research Limited

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