Occasionally here at Mobile Marketing Magazine, we get so inundated with news that theres barely time to get it all written up. Time then, for a round-up of a lot of stories which we didnt quite feel merited a big splash, but are worth telling you about nonetheless
moneysupermarket.com released the results of its latest survey on mobile phone, which revealed, among other things, that over half (55%) of all mobile users do not assess the tariff when choosing a new deal, and that the average monthly spend on mobile is 18. The survey was carried out by Opinium Research who polled 2,179 British adults online between 17 and 21 October 2008.
Mobile platform provider Saffron Digital revealed that media company BSkyB has chosen its proprietary technology to deliver its 24-7Football service to mobile operators, including T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2. Sky previously ran the service, which provides in-game goal clips and match highlights for all FA Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches, in-house.
Xtract, which provides solutions designed to enable mobile operators to run more personal, relevant and targeted marketing campaigns, released details of its 3D profiling engine, which, the company says, ensures the highest levels of privacy in mobile marketing. Using data analytics technology, mobile subscriber data can be kept completely anonymised, never sacrificing on user privacy but delivering a highly-personalised mobile experience through relevant and engaging marketing.
Xtract's methodology, defined as '3D user profiling', maps users against categories of interest, rather than making individual data visible to third parties, thus ensuring the highest levels of privacy. The cornerstone of Xtract's approach is that there is no need to link the results back to subscriber data that contains sensitive information, such as what number has been called. All subscribers are linked to profiles, classes, and score levels based on predictive models and profile characters.
Professional services firm Deloitte LLP issued its 2009 media predictions. Among observations about TV viewing trends and the potential for wi-fi radio, the predictions included a section on mobile advertising, which stated that, with global advertising experiencing double-digit decreases and the coming year promising an even tougher economy, mobile advertisings time may have come.
The report notes that mobiles are more able than ever before to carry advertising, and that there is a more mature understanding of what mobile can and cannot deliver in advertising. It adds that in 2009, a growing number of campaigns will use the minimalism of mobile to powerful effect, modelling themselves on one of mobiles most successful campaigns to date: the US presidential elections use of text messaging. Finally, the report says, mobile advertising will really take off when advertising can be sent to the entire mobile community with a single click. You can see the full report here.
Mobile email specialist Synchronica received a second purchase order from a subsidiary of a Tier 1 mobile operator in Lithuania. Under the terms of the agreement, Synchronica will receive a one-time activation fee of 1 (0.93) per user, plus an annual subscription fee of up to 2.64 per user, and a support fee of 0.96 per user. In addition the operator has purchased professional services for customisation and integration of its Mobile Gateway product.
Skuku, which enables low-cost roaming via a SIM-enabled USB stick which transforms the users PC into a mobile phone, announced that it had launched its service, called Skuku Roaming, in Israel.
Multi-platform entertainment company Connect2Media signed a deal with Two Way Media to bring the word game String em In to mobile. According to the companies, the game is the most played interactive TV game on Virgin Media. It is also available to Sky TV subscribers, and is due to launch as a Facebook application later this year.
Coolgorilla launched a talking phrasebookfor all iPhone and iPod Touch users in French, German, Greek, Italian, Japenese, Portuguese and Spanish. The application can be downloaded for $0.99 (0.70) from the Apple App Store.
Bubble Motion, which specializes in of next-generation voice messaging, introduced a new suite of services based on the its award-winning BubbleTALK platform. The services include BubbleCAST, a rich audio content delivery platform that enables one-to-many-broadcasting BubbleSONG, a viral content and song dedication service; and BubbleCONTEST, a many-to-one service that enables contests featuring user-generated content.
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) revealed that it had enabled four calls have to carried in one GSM radio timeslot, in a successful demonstration of its Orthogonal Sub Channel (OSC), that doubles the voice capacity of GSM radio networks.
The OSC demo was conducted using four handsets sharing only one radio timeslot and without compromising the call quality. The demonstration, with existing commercially available GSM handsets was the first of its kind in the world. NSN says it plans to have OSC available in 2010.
In a separate move, NSN also announced that it had been appointed to manage the mobile backhaul of T-Mobile Austrias network. The managed services solution, which includes planning, installation and management, will provide increased transport network throughput, bringing substantial operational benefits and enabling T-Mobile Austria to focus even more on delivering advanced mobile broadband to its subscribers.
US operator US Cellular re-launched its open Internet service using Novarra's latest Vision Browser. The new offering consists of full web access, unlimited data, and email. In addition, customers can also select pay-as-you-go pricing options. Over the past year, customers of U.S. Cellular open internet services, that are based upon Novarras solutions, have more than doubled while page views have more than tripled. 
Samsung Electronics application development arm, Samsung Electronics Research Institute (SERI), announced the completion of a deal to allow Samsung Smartphone users running on Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile platforms to access IBMs mobility software. Samsung support for IBM Lotus Notes Traveler means that customers will be able to access advanced collaboration tools such as IBM Lotus Notes for real time access to email, calendar, address book, journal and to-do list data.
The deal will allow an even greater number of current Samsung Mobile users to access their email and share data from their current mobile device. IBMs mobile software is available now for Windows Mobile users and the companies plan for supporting Samsung S60 devices within the first quarter of 2009.
Comverse revealed that UCell Uzbekistan has deployed the companys billing, ringback tones and call completion services to derive more revenues from voice calls, and improve the user experie
nce.
UCell subscribers now can find out who tried to call them when they were unreachable, even though a message was not left. In a similar fashion, another Comverse service can notify the calling subscriber as soon as the unreachable party becomes available in the network, eliminating the need for repeat dialing. In both cases, free text messages notify subscribers.
Mobile entertainment publisher and developer Ozura Mobile announced a strategic partnership with Zouk Mobile which provides mobile content in Ireland and South Africa. Ozura premium titles will be made available through Zouk Mobiles mobile gaming portal, and its distribution channels in Asia Pacific, Europe and South Africa.
Speech solutions provider Nuance Communications and IBM entered into a licensing and technical services agreement to enhance and expand innovative speech solutions. The move will see Nuance and IBM technologists working together to incorporate IBM technology into Nuances speech solutions. Nuance expects the first integrated speech innovations combining Nuance and IBM technologies to be available within two years. IBM will continue to serve its own customers. In a second component of the agreement, Nuance will purchase speech-related patents from IBM.
Mobile messaging company Nimbuzz revealed that it has won a Red Herring Global 100 award. The award recognises the Top 100 tech-startups in the world. Nimbuzz is growing at around 20,000 new users every day and is the first aggregated mobile messenger company worldwide to receive a Red Herring Global 100 award.
The Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) Alliance released a document outlining the requirements for self-optimising networks (SON). The document provides several use cases and identifies requirements of operators aiming to implement SONs. It focuses on the key parts of the Technical Working Group SON requirements, including SON enablers, self-configuration. self-optimisation, fault management & Fault Correction, and O&M Related SON.
Red Bend Software revealed that Haier (Qing Dao) Telecom Co. has licensed its vCurrent Mobile firmware over-the-air (FOTA) client software and vDirect Mobile device management software for its HG-V70 GSM mobile phone, available for China Mobile Communications Corp. (CMCC) subscribers. Haier Telecom is a subsidiary of the Haier Group, the worlds fourth largest household appliances manufacturer. With Red Bends MSM solutions, users of the HG-V70 can easily and quickly keep their mobile phone software up-to-date with the latest features and performance improvements. Haier plans to adopt vCurrent Mobile and vDirect Mobile for more mobile phone models to be launched in 2009.
Dilithium, which provides high-quality multimedia delivery over mobile and broadband networks, announced the availability of live video and Video on Demand (VoD) streaming support for Blackberry handsets utilizing the Dilithium Content Adapter (DCA). The DCA solution is an infrastructure offering that can be deployed by operators and service providers enabling their customers to access live or on demand video content through the standard players and handset browsers. It supports live and VoD streaming for a wide range of mobile devices, including Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, and the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Mfuse, which
provides mobile-enabling technology, announced the launch of mobile
roulette, blackjack and multi-line slots games that are back
office-agnostic, meaning that customers will not be tied to using a
specific back office provider. The Mfuse software will support handsets
from all the major manufacturers, ranging from entry-level mass market
models to high-end Smartphones. In addition, the Mfuse offering comes
fully branded for each client and uses the highest encryption methods
to ensure that all personal information is fully protected.
And last but not least, Zeemote, which
design and manufactures and licenses wireless controller technology and
products for mobile devices, announced the appointment of Ernie Cormier
as CEO and President. Cormier joins Zeemote from Virgin Media, where,
he was Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director of Group Strategy
and Corporate Development. Zeemote is also expanding its management
team with the appointment of Karen Cambray as CFO and Vice President of
Operations, and of Glenn Kiladis as Vice President of Global Marketing.
