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Mobile Entertainment & Commerce
...the analyst view
Edition Thirty One - 8th August 2007 | |
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Data pricing bad for content sales, good for gambling?
Mobile gambling has long been tipped to be a real money spinner for the content industry. Predictions have long valued it as being worth several billion by 2009. But it has been a long time coming. However, the past few months have seen a huge upswell in mobile gambling offerings. As report last week in Contentfutures, bookmaker William Hill has gone live with a mobile gambling service. This week giant online casino Royal Vegas has launched its mobile offering. Could it be that m-gambling is poised to deliver?
Well it better be. The debate surrounding other mobile content services — most notably mobile music downloads and mobile advertising — took a blow this week when a roundtable of experts from the music and advertising worlds labeled it unethical to sell music downloads while the hidden data charges on some networks can add up to 15 euros to the cost of a song (see top story).
This, concurred the panelists at an mBlox roundtable in London, is keeping all content services down and something needs to be done if any growth is to be seen.
The growth in interest in the mobile web — driven by the threat of the iPhone’s European launch at the end of the year — could well see this all change. A move to a more web-based model would certainly have price advantages for the end users, but only if pricing is clear. Fixed all-you-can-eat mobile web tariffing is one thing; making sure any downloads are clearly priced is quite another.
So, while content sales languish and this debate rumbles on, gaming companies are starting to see that there is an opportunity to tap in to frustrated mobile users who are willing to take a punt on poker or slots, but not on downloading a song.
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Data charging rendering mobile music sales unethical and crippling mobile advertising, finds roundtable
The mobile content market is flagging and mobile advertising is non-existant because of mobile data charging problems across Europe, with mobile music sales deemed ‘unethical on some network’. That is the suggestion of leading content providers and service providers speaking at a frank industry roundtable held last week in London.
The current pricing model for mobile data is holding back the $900m mobile content industry and is damaging the UK’s industry lead, believes Andrew Bud, executive chairman of mBlox, which hosted the roundtable and who is campaigning for operators in the UK to implement this wholesale data pricing model content/entertainment.
“The mobile content industry has reached a real turning point and is on the cusp of taking off in a big way. But until the operators can guarantee fair and transparent pricing for data, consumers will continue to shy away from downloading content, due to unfair and unclear pricing,” Bud said.
More alarmingly, Jason Binks from Groove Mobile, one of the world’s largest mobile music providers said that “It is currently unethical for us to sell mobile music to customers with certain carriers, due to the mobile data pricing situation.”
Consumers are getting hit for upwards of £10 a download in hidden charges, he suggested, which his company is not prepared to sanction. On the mobile advertising front, the idea that this was a burgeoning sector set to be worth £10 billion worldwide by 2010 is currently a nonsense and will remain so until data pricing is sorted out.
“The mobile advertising market is non-existent and without transparent and ethical mobile data pricing for consumers it will remain so,” said Martin Bowley, CEO of Pitch, a global mobile entertainment company.
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Mobile Broadband users to pass 1bn by 2012 with HSPA accounting for 70%
Globally, nearly a third of mobile subscribers will use a mobile broadband connection by 2012, finds a study by Juniper Research. This represents more than 1 billion users, driven by demand from North America, Western Europe and to a lesser extent by the Far East and China.
HSPA will dominate mobile broadband network deployments over the next five years, consistently accounting for about 70 per cent of the total mobile broadband subscriber base until 2012.
However, the main gating issue that will dictate takeup for this technology will be the availability of suitable devices – whether handsets, laptops, datacards, or other types of device such as media players. Mobile broadband will be a device-based technology.
Report author Howard Wilcox said: "HSPA’s in-service status in 2007 makes it already the most advanced mobile broadband technology, with many further deployments due in the near and medium term. For the 3G service provider base, HSPA represents a software upgrade rather than a new network investment. HSPA will also benefit from technology “leap” subscribers in the developing nations, and handset churn elsewhere, with users migrating to HSPA-based broadband as the norm.”
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Online gambling giant Royal Vegas goes mobile
Royal Vegas, one of the biggest online casinos in the world, has commercially launched a mobile casino using Microgaming’s market leading GameWire wireless casino system in conjuction with Spin3.
Players will now be able to access the popular Royal Vegas Casino on-the-go and gamble for big jackpots via its WAP site wap.royalvegasmobile.com. Easy to download, players will be able to gamble securely, in privacy, anytime, anywhere on their mobile phones.
Royal Vegas players will benefit from the most advanced mobile casino, currently available, with access to the full gamut of GameWire capabilities. These include the complete range of mobile casino games as well as a high-spec graphical user interface.
“Gaming enthusiasts are always seeking new mediums to test their skills and mobile gaming offers a natural progression path in this quest,” according to the Royal Vegas spokesperson. “With the launch of a mobile casino, Royal Vegas is poised to deliver a vibrant new gambling experience to their customers. GameWire gives Royal Vegas an edge in the nascent, yet exploding mobile gambling market. Customers will be able to leverage this new avenue for secure access to casino games so that they are not confined to a PC and can gamble anywhere, anytime.”
Following hot on the heals of last week’s announcement by William Hill that it was ready to deploy its mobile gambling product, the mobile gambling market finally appears to be hotting up.
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Google poised to launch branded phone with ad-funded free calling
Rumours abound that Google has a prototype phone ready to go later this year and that it is looking to roll out a mobile service where calls and other services are funded by advertising.
The rumours have been circulating for months that Google was looking at rolling out a phone of its own with ad-funded calling. Now it is believed that there is a prototype of said phone and Google is doing the rounds of operators to strike a deal.
The move would be highly significant as it would usher in the much vaunted move to ad-funded calling. However, start up Blyk, which was set to roll out a similar MVNO model with ads covering the cost of calls has delayed its launch to at least October due to technical issues with the service (see ContentFutures.com 11 July 2007).
Blyk, co-founded by ex Nokia president Pekka Ala-Pietila, was due to go live in the UK in June. However, problems with the technology that makes it work have put that back to at least October, says the company.
Can Google expect to do any better? Surely its might and advertising expertise will help it. But is the technology up to it?
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Skype voicemail messages delivered to any mobile as SMS
In a deal with voice to screen messaging company SpinVox, Skype users can have all their voice messages converted and sent directly to their cellphones as an SMS when they are not at their PC. The caller’s Skype ID, when available, will be shown and what they said converted into text.
Skype users will have immediate access to all their messages on-the-move, giving callers the confidence that their messages can be seen quickly, whether the Skype user is online or not.
SpinVox reaches any cellphone, so Skype users will not need to download new software onto their phone to benefit from the voice-to-text messaging service.
“This is a powerful example of how SpinVox is enabling leading Web 2.0 services to extend their reach from PC to mobile, “ says Christina Domecq, CEO and co-founder, SpinVox. “It’s also proof of our ability to integrate our technology with any existing service platform, whether fixed-line, cable or wireless and now internet calling, with market leaders Skype.
“The global nature of both Skype and SpinVox services makes for a natural and exciting partnership that will deliver a simpler, more effective communication experience for both the caller and the Skype user receiving a message,” adds Domecq.
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Player X grabs mobile video rights for Transformers
Mobile media company Player X has partnered with brand management company TV-Loonland to publish original Transformers mobile video content in select territories including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and China.
Under the terms of the deal, Player X has acquired exclusive mobile video rights to release the newly digitised Transformers: The Movie together with the original animated series and the Japanese Transformers Takara series.
Player X will be able to publish hundreds of video clips based on all three formats to sell on a video-on-demand basis. The latest Transformers movie is currently No 1 at the US Box Office and has already grossed $453 million in global sales.
“We are always on the look-out to partner with big brands and Transformers’’ recent success underlines the strength of the brand. We’re looking forward to bringing a new generation of Transformers fans to mobile,” said Tony Pearce, Player X CEO.
The news follows Player X’s pioneering moves in the mobile video space. The company recently launched its made-for-mobile channel Zapper TV on Verizon Wireless’s VCast channel, the first European company to have been placed on this channel.
Zapper TV is the second mobile video channel to be launched by Player X and follows the critical and commercial success of the company’s original made-for-mobile channel, geekTV. The company has also been nominated as Best Video Producer at this year’s upcoming Mobile Entertainment Awards.
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GSMA Mobile World Congress 2007
12th - 14th November 2007, Venetian Macau
The only place where the best converge. The GSMA Mobile Asia Congress 2007, formerly known as 3GSM Mobile Asia Congress, is THE place to connect to the Mobile future! Mobile Asia Congress is a unique environment for leading companies to showcase the latest in mobile products and solutions, a place for the industry's innovators to develop new ideas and for its leaders to set out their visions for growth.
Contact us today to register for the most highly-regarded event in the mobile industry.
Hong Kong: + 852 2593 1286
UK: + 44 2077 592 315
Make the greatest, most effective investment in yourself and your company by being part of the most highly-regarded event in the mobile industry, the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress.
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Chief Financial Officer
£150,000 + Benefits, London
A recent new comer to the MVNO space and part of an incredibly successful company within the International Mobile Telecoms arena is now looking for an exceptional CFO to support the group CEO.
You will be a qualified accountant with a min 10+ years experience within the telecoms or similar related industries. This role is a truly exceptional opportunity for the right candidate. If you feel you possess the necessary qualities to succeed in this role, please contact me today!
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fring takes ICQ voice & chat mobile
fring is set to integrate the popular ICQ instant messaging community into its mobile VoIP platform. ICQ is a communication choice for fring users to meet and interact with the convenience and feature rich benefits of mobile internet-telephony.
“Adding ICQ to the fring interface is another example of our commitment to help users maximise their mobile internet-telephony experience with their choice of VoIP/IM community, network and operator for each mobile communication action,” said Avi Shechter, co-founder & CEO, fring.
He continued, “With ICQ as well as Skype, Google Talk and MSN Messenger, fring now facilitates mobile talk & chat for most IM users worldwide, on more than 350 mass market mobile handsets, and operating over any data network including GPRS/EDGE/3G, Wi-Fi and EVDO/CDMA, providing real communication alternatives for fringsters worldwide.”
Saunalahti to use the dilithium gateway to access Big Brother Content
Dilithium announced today that Saunalahti, a leading provider of Internet and telecommunications services in Finland, has selected the DTG 2000 multimedia gateway to deliver enhanced video services across mobile and IP networks.
With Dilithium's technology, Saunalahti's mobile customers can simply dial into a menu screen and press a number to select different cameras in the housemates' house, bringing live video footage direct to their mobile phones. The technology enables Saunalahti to broadcast and promote the programme across 'three screens' - television, computer and mobile device.
"We are excited to be selected by them for this innovative new streaming service." said Gerard Delaney, Vice President of worldwide sales & support at Dilithium. "The DTG 2000 enables high quality video content to be streamed across both 3G and broadband networks, proving a key platform for enabling Saunalahti's converged mobile-fixed network video services."
Price: £1490 (Single User) £1990 (Multi User) £2990 (Enterprise Wide)
This report offers an in-depth analysis of the different broadband technologies available whilst providing a comprehensive forecasting suite showing how the mobile broadband market will be segmented.
It explores the various technologies including mobile WiMAX, Flash OFDM, UMTS-TDD, CDMA, 1xEVDO, HSPA, 3GLTE and UMB and provides realistic forecast data on projected market shares by technology and region up until 2012.
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