Platinax Internet News

Internet and business news for the UK online

September 26, 2005

UK mobile phone network O2 is to begin offering i-mode services on Saturday, 1 October. It will be available via four handsets, two from NEC and two from Samsung. According to DoCoMo, the creator of I-mode, they are the NEC N411i and N343i, and the Samsung S500i and Z320i. DoCoMo released the information prior to O2’s official launch of the service today.

NEC announced last week that it was to provide handsets and infrastructure technology for O2's i-mode service.

According to DoCoMo, the service will include content from approximately 100 websites, and will also feature i-mode mail. One of the key strengths of i-mode is that it remains connected to the Internet at all times, meaning that there is no need to dial up to connect. It will be available on O2's GPRS and 3G networks, and incorporate MMS compatibility. O2 is also planning to launch I-mode in the Germany, at a later date.

i-mode has achieved great success in Japan, but Europe has been less enthusiastic, possibly due to the popularity of text messaging and disappointment with WAP.

The UK will be the thirteenth territory to get an i-mode service. It is already available in Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Russia, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Greece.

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September 22, 2005

British Midland and TAP Air Portugal are planning to allow passengers to use their mobile phones while they are in the air.

Both airlines will use base-station technology developed by OnAir, which is backed by Airbus and is a rival to Boeing-backed Connexion. OnAir uses Siemens’ pico-cell base-stations together with software from TriaGnoSys.

The companies plan to install the equipment in 2006, initially on only a couple of aircraft, and launch a trial late in the year. TAP Air Portugal will use OnAir on its single-aisle Airbus 321, and BMI on the Airbus 320.

BMI will target the service at business and leisure travellers from London’s Heathrow airport, travelling to European destinations including Manchester, Belfast, Edinburgh, Paris and Amsterdam. Travellers will be able to use all GSM and GPRS handsets, including Blackberry devices.

Passengers will only be able to use their phones from 10,000ft - they will still not be able to use wireless devices during take off and landing. Rates will be in line with current international roaming charges according to OnAir.

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September 20, 2005

To mark its entry into the mobile music sector, Orange is launching a new smartphone - the SPV C550.

The device runs Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, but Windows Mobile 5.0 is expected to be shortly available in a smartphone. It has already made its PDA debut in the O2 XDA Exec and Orange plans to launch a rival product, the SPV M5000, soon.

On the plus side, the C550 addresses a number of problems found in its predecessor, the C500. Some core specifications have been updated, helping to maintain Orange's position as a leading UK Windows smart-phone provider.

The C550’s music functions are controlled by four buttons directly above the number pad marked back, pause/play, forward and a button identified with a musical note. The musical note button launches Orange's Music Player, to download tunes from Orange's online service. The setting can be changed so that this button launches Windows Media Player.

Above these four buttons are two softmenu keys, a back button and a Home key that takes you directly back to Orange's Home screen.

Below the music button sits a number pad, which includes Start Call and End Call keys and a joystick for navigating.

On the left edge is a volume rocker, on the top infrared port and power button, and on the right edge a button for the built in camera. A new key, not found on the C500, is a key for Internet Explorer.

There are two connectors on the bottom edge - a mini USB slot to link to a PC for data synchronisation and a 2.5mm headphone jack.

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According to NEC, O2’s technology partner, O2 will launch its i-mode service in the autumn. There is speculation that this could be as early as next week.

O2, the mobile phone network, announced it had licensed i-mode in November 2004, suggesting a launch in the second half of 2005 for the mobile Internet service's introduction in the UK and Ireland.

NEC revealed that O2 will use its Mobile Internet Platform gateway as the foundation for the new service. I-mode is a key factor in O2’s strategy to increase its share of the mobile data market and to boost the average revenue it makes from each of its customers. The company currently makes over 25 percent of its revenue from data services.

O2’s i-mode service will operate alongside its O2 Active offering, on both 2.5G and 3G networks. i-mode handsets will be sourced from NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, Siemens (now BenQ) and Motorola.

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September 16, 2005

T-Mobile UK has admitted that its customers are unable to access external email even when they purchase email-enabled phones from the service provider.

Unlike most other mobile operators in the UK, T-Mobile operates a "walled garden" that means customers cannot freely access external email accounts with its service.

Many people have upgraded to the latest smartphones, so that they can access their normal email accounts while on the move. However, T-Mobile will only allow external email to be accessed through its MDA line of Windows-based PDAs, or its Blackberry devices. This involves the payment of an additional fee to RIM, which owns Blackberry.

T-Mobile does not tell customers purchasing the other T-Mobile, email-capable phones on the market, that they will not be able to access email. When customers complain, they are advised to contact either the phone manufacturer or their ISP, to recover settings that will enable them to gain access to their email.

These companies, however, advise customers that it is an issue with T-Mobile and direct them back to T-mobile customer services, where they receive the same information as before.

It is believed that T-Mobiles systems are not currently capable of the data exchange required to access external emails. The systems are being upgraded and the situation should be rectified within the next six months.

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September 15, 2005

Palm is expected to launch the successor to its Tungsten T5 PDA next month, a device described as Tungsten X.

Tungsten X resembles a standard T5, but has darker keys. It is believed to comprise a 312MHz Intel XScale processor, 128MB of Flash memory, a 320 x 480 display, Bluetooth wireless connectivity and an SD IO slot. The CPU speed and the memory capacity are both lower than the T5's 416MHz and 256MB, suggesting that if X is a T5 replacement, Palm is trying to differentiate between the Tungsten line and the LifeDrive.

The Tungsten X is also believed to include Wi-Fi support. If so, the slower CPU and reduced memory may be a strategy to control the price. It is believed to have been priced at $299 - $50 less than the T5 and $200 less than the LifeDrive.

It is rumoured that the T5 is to be discontinued and its replacement will be distributed on 11 October. Palm has traditionally introduced new Tungstens in October each year, ever since the first model was launched in October 2002.

Palm is also launching a new, low-end machine, believed to be called the Zire 22. It appears to be an update to the current Zire 21, replacing its monochrome screen and 8MB of RAM with a colour display and 32MB of memory. A price of $99 is expected, exactly what Palm currently charges for the Zire 21.

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September 14, 2005

O2 UK has released details of the O2 XDA Exec, the company’s own-brand version of HTC's Universal 3G clamshell smart phone.

XDA Exec is based on Windows Mobile 5.0 and incorporates 802.11b Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 1.2 and GPRS connectivity in addition to 3G. It incorporates a 520MHz Intel XScale PXA272 processor; 64MB of RAM; 128MB of Flash ROM; 3.6in, 65,536-colour, 640 x 480 display; SDIO slot for expansion; and a 1.2 megapixel camera with flash, alongside a second video-call camera.

The Exec's 1620mAh removable battery provides sufficient charge for four hours' 3G talk time, eight hours' tri-band GSM talk time, 15 hours' usage as a PDA and 250 hours' stand-by time.

Orange is also shortly expected to release an own-brand version of the Universal - the SPV M5000, while i-mate has already released the Jasjar and T-Mobile Germany has released the MDA Pro.

The O2 XDA Exec will be priced at around £400, depending on the monthly contract and tariff selected.

O2 has also announced the XDA SP, a tri-band candy-bar smart phone based on Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone Edition Second Edition. The price of the XDA SP has not been disclosed.

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September 13, 2005

Nokia, the mobile phone company, has unveiled Nokia Business Center (NBC), a mobile email system. NBC is designed to make access email and corporate data on the move "more affordable, intuitive and collaborative".

Nokia is implementing an aggressive marketing strategy for the new device. It is working with Good Technology, a mobile email specialist and a rival to RIM. In July, Nokia’s head of Enterprise Solutions, Mary McDowell, said that she was not interested in acquiring RIM. The launch of NBC has raised speculation that Nokia may be considering an acquisition bid for Good Technology.

Almost a year ago, Good and Nokia announced their collaboration on a version of Good's GoodLink and GoodAccess applications for Symbian Series 80 and Series 60 devices. Nokia's client and server code closely resembles Good's.

NBC includes server and dual client components. Customers who buy the NBC server receive an unlimited licence to the standard client. A more feature-rich client will be available for an upgrade fee. The client includes support for English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It runs on any handset with Java MDIP 2.0 support. While this means that it is compatible with phones from various vendors, Nokia is initially only certifying its own devices.

The NBC server connects into Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, but will shortly support Lotus Notes and Domino.

NBC will be available through accredited resellers. It is scheduled to go on sale in Q4 in the Americas and EMEA. Pilot programmes in these regions are underway and will be rolled out to other regions in Q4.

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September 12, 2005

3 UK, which is owned by Hutchison, is launching a “Mobile Web” service in mid-September. It will charge customers £2.50 a month to use their 3G handsets to access online content. Customers will be able to download 5 meg - approximately 500 pages.

However, the service will not provide unlimited web access. 3 is monitoring the sites that are available to ensure that web sites - including the BBC, eBay and Amazon - have been "optimised for viewing on compatible video mobiles".

The company said: "This means the customer can be sure that both front pages and sub-pages are viewable, that the speed of download is high and that all the site's key activities are available".

According to Gareth Jones, 3’s COO, "only a fraction of the internet works well on mobile". The company hopes to extend the choice of high-quality video mobile services and will allow users to nominate sites they want to access, which will then be checked by 3 for compatibility with mobile.

3 is also launching its Wireless Web service in September. This will enable users to plug in their mobile to their laptop to access the net and will cost £45 a month.

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September 02, 2005

Finnish security firm F-Secure has created anti-virus software for mobile phones, that will be offered for sale on the High Street. The program was developed in response to the growing number of viruses infecting handsets.

Viruses that hop from phone to phone have been seen to spread at a Live8 concert and at the World Championships in Helsinki. The phone viruses are expected to become as big a security issue as Windows viruses.

According to Richard Hales, UK manager for F-Secure, although many mobile operators have installed software in their networks to stop the spread of viruses, better protection was required to stop the bugs passing from phone to phone.

Mobile viruses, including Cabir and Commwarrior, can spread via the Bluetooth short range radio system, which is found on many smart phones. Commwarrior can also spread via multimedia messaging systems. Most of the mobile phone viruses target handsets that use the Symbian operating system. It is possible to avoid infection by turning off Bluetooth on smart phones.

According to Ollie Whitehouse, technical manager at Symantec, there are some factors that limit the spread of mobile virues.
"None of them have been truly autonomous like worms on PCs," he said. "They always require a certain degree of user interaction."

However, he said that this limitation was likely to disappear as the numbers of ways to get data in and out of phones increased.

F-Secure’s anti-virus software for mobiles will be in the shops and available online from 5 September. It is designed for Nokia's Symbian-using smartphones.

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September 01, 2005

A study by the Institute of Cancer Research suggests that mobile phone use does not increase the risk of cancer, at least in the first 10 years of use. Some previous research had suggested an increased risk of acoustic neuroma, a tumour of the nerve connecting the ear and the brain, while other studies did not support this.

The latest research from the Institute of Cancer Research, which was published in the British Journal of Cancer, is the largest study to date and includes data from the UK, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Over 4,000 people were surveyed, including 678 people with acoustic neuroma and 3,553 without this form of cancer.

Experts are still advising that mobile phone use should be limited as a precautionary measure, as longer follow-up is needed to check that health problems do not arise with many more years of use.

An independent group for the UK government, led by Sir William Stewart, that looked into the safety of mobile phones in the late 1990s also reached the conclusion that mobile phones did appear to pose a health risk.

However, the group said there was evidence that radiation from mobile phones could potentially cause adverse health effects. It therefore advised a "precautionary approach" to their use.

Current government advice is to keep mobile phone call times short and limit the use of mobile phones by children under the age of 16 to essential calls only. This is because their head and nervous systems may still be developing.

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August 31, 2005

Microsoft is strengthening its position in the expanding internet phone sector with the acquisition of San Francisco-based Teleo for an undisclosed sum. Teleo’s technology allows computer users to make and receive phone calls from their pc and has the advantage of being already compatible with Microsoft products including Outlook and Internet Explorer.

Microsoft and rivals AOL, Google and Yahoo all currently allow phone calls between computers, but do not allow normal telephone calls to a domestic or mobile phone.

Yahoo is also planning to introduce a similar service, following its acquisition of Internet phone company Dialpad in June.

US software company Microsoft currently uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology in some of its products, including its instant-messaging service. It plans to incorporate Teleo's telephone service into its MSN instant messaging service by the end of the year.

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Sony's handheld games console, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), has gone on sale in the UK after months of delay. The console has been available in Japanese stores for the past nine months and in the US for six months.

The games console, which can play films and music and is also a wireless web-browser, is the first handheld games console made by Sony. The sector has been dominated by Nintendo's GameBoy.

Some UK stores have already sold their allocation of machines, which are priced at £179. Jason Jenkins, deputy editor of T3 gadget magazine said: “This is definitely the must-have gadget for Christmas."

Sony has already sold over five million PSPs in the US and Japan and hopes to sell a million in the UK by Christmas.

The PSP is expected to attract more people into the world of gaming. Simon Soffe, spokesperson for Game, the video games retailer, said: “History suggests that the video game market is driven by new technology launches". "We've been taking orders for a long time and are geared up for a lot of demand. We expect demand will outstrip supply, at least initially."

Over 30 games titles are available for the PSP, including Wipeout Pure and Ridge Racer. A PSP version of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto game is expected to be available in October. Over 30 films are also available and downloadable video and music clips will be offered.

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August 04, 2005

According to a Which? magazine report, two million of the 18 million mobile phones, sold last year in the UK, could have been faulty. The report claims that one in seven new mobiles developed problems, 70% of which occurred in the first six months. Twenty-seven percent of mobile owners with problems were dissatisfied with the service they received to sort the problems out.

The worst performing video phone operator was 3 – a third of handsets on its network were faulty.

According to Abigail Waraker, assistant editor of Which? magazine, the high percentage of faulty handset may be due to teething problems with the more sophisticated third generation mobile technology.

Rachel Channing from 3 said it is unrealistic to compare the new 3G technology, with GSM technology. 3G phones allow users to download full-length music videos and make video calls and as these services are new to many people, there is more chance of errors occurring.

Ms Channing also said that the sample was unrepresentative, as only 50 of 3’s customers were surveyed out of three million. The problems reported also related to 3’s oldest 3G handset model, released approximately two years ago.

If a mobile develops a fault within six months and the store cannot show it was the customer's fault, the shop is legally required to solve the problem.

The survey of over 5,000 people on Which?'s online consumer panel, found that 20% of Motorola and Sony Ericsson handsets developed technical faults, while 10% of Nokia and Samsung phones were faulty.

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July 29, 2005

London Transport and mobile phone companies have issued warnings about a spam e-mail giving inaccurate safety information. The message says that London Tube passengers can contact emergency services via a satellite signal from their mobiles underground. Mobiles do not work in the London Underground, and satellite signals cannot reach there.

A spokesperson from London Transport said: "This e-mail is incorrect. The 112 number does link people through to 999, but it only works if you have a signal on your mobile phone. If you have no signal bars on your phone, it will not work". He said it would not divert to a satellite signal, even with a satellite mobile phone as these would not work underground.

A Vodafone spokesperson said that passing on false information could panic people and create vast amounts of work for people who have to deal with it.

Although the 112 number is the European-wide standard number to connect people to emergency services wherever they are in Europe, it is not accessible from mobiles underground in London.

Orange and Vodafone both said that a line in the e-mail saying "ALL phone companies have signed up" to a satellite link up service was inaccurate.

It is not know if the email is intended to deliberately misguide people, or if it is a result of misunderstood mobile technology.

Daniel Hepner, from web monitoring firm SurfControl said: "recipients should ignore its content and should resist the urge to pass on this information to others".

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July 20, 2005

Cornice, the hardware manufacturer, has launched a 4GB disk drive, which at 2.5cm in size will easily fit into mobile phones, GPRS devices or very small MP3 devices.

The new Storage Element uses an innovative architecture which lowers cost by using only one side of the disk for storage and removing surplus components. This reduces space, weight and complexity.

The Storage Element also includes Crash Guard II, a set of features designed to improve reliability –

In a statement, Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group, said "The market is demanding increasing capability in ever smaller devices. The ideal capacity for most of these devices, today, is 4GB because it provides the best balance between capacity and manageability."

Manufacturers developing handsets to incorporate hard drives include Samsung, which launched a smart phone with a 1.5GB hard drive late last year.

The 4GB SE with Crash Guard II technology will be available in July 2005. It will be priced at $65 (£37) per unit in quantities of 10,000.

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According to a study by research firm, Gartner, one billion mobile phones will be sold in 2009, exceeding all expectations. By the end of 2009, 2.6 billion mobiles could be in regular use around the world. The study looked at sales figures from 62 countries around the globe.

Ben Wood, an analyst at Gartner said "Mobile phones could go on to be the most common consumer electronics device on the planet".

By the end of this year, it is expected that approximately 779 million mobile handsets will have been sold, 50 million of which will be smartphones.

Sales of smartphones represent the fastest growing area in the mobile market. According to Gartner, 280 million will be sold in 2009.

Consumers are expected to benefit from a reduction in the price of handsets, but manufacturers are facing increasing difficulties because prices are not reflecting the advancements in phone technology.

It is anticipated that mobiles will be tailored for specific markets. In mature markets, phones will provide specific functionality, such as music, photography or video, while less-developed market may present fundamentally different requirements. Mr Wood suggested that "In sub-Saharan Africa phones will be small, simple and with very good battery life".

By 2009 it is expected that Asia/Pacific will account for a third of all mobile sales, with the Indian market surpassing China to reach 139 million units.

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June 21, 2005

Telecoms company BT has had to build its own hardware for trials of an innovative TV-on-mobiles service, because no phone manufacturer produces handsets able to decode the digital radio signals used to carry TV pictures.

The BT UK Livetime service gives access to Sky news services, Sky Sports, Blaze music channel and 50 radio stations. Those involved in the trials will receive BT Livetime, either via a specially-created Windows smartphone or a Windows portable media centre. Taiwanese hardware firm HTC will make the smartphone prototypes for the service.

Emma Lloyd, chief commercial officer at BT Livetime said "We're the first company outside of Korea to implement mobile TV using Digital Audio Broadcasting".

The four-month trial commenced on 20 June, using Digital Audio Broadcasts to transmit programmes to mobile phone users. The trial area will fall inside the M25 motorway around London. The service also includes an electronic program guide.

BT UK Livetime will not offer music downloads in the trial or the first commercial phase that begins in early 2006, although the ability to download music might be added in later phases.

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June 15, 2005

BT Group is planning to launch an innovative internet phone service, called BT Fusion, which can switch between mobile networks and fixed-lines via a single handset.

BT Fusion uses a specially-equipped mobile phone to access BT's fixed-line network when calls are made at home or in the office. When making mobile calls, the service will connect to Vodafone's wireless network.

The service aims to combine the convenience of a mobile phone with lower fixed-line prices. Users will be able to make calls to UK landlines at BT’s off-peak landline rate of 5.5 pence for up to an hour, and 3p a minute at peak hours.

Subscribers to BT Fusion will receive a Motorola v560 mobile handset. An access point, called a BT Hub, will be installed in the home, to switch the mobile phone to a broadband line using Bluetooth wireless technology. The BT hub is also a wireless router, providing access to PCs, laptops and games consoles.

The development is part of BT’s strategy to focus on broadband technology to offset a decline in its traditional fixed-line services.

Customers joining the service will require a BT telephone line and a subscription to BT Broadband.

There will be a trial of the service on 400 users before it is offered more widely in September, in two price plans of £9.99 and £14.99 a month.

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June 09, 2005

Ofcom has released a paper in which it announces plans to extend existing mobile call termination charge controls.

Price controls, imposed in 2004, on the amount the UK’s four largest mobile phone firms can charge for connecting incoming calls, will now be extended until March 2007 and the existing limits on what firms can charge will be reduced.

Charge caps on calls to Vodafone and O2 phones will be reduced from a maximum average amount of 8p per minute to 5.63p and those on calls to T-Mobile and Orange will be reduced from 9.5p per minute to 6.31p.

Leading UK mobile company, Vodafone, said it was satisfied with the outcome. However, consumer groups argue that these levels are still too high and should be reduced to 3p a minute. They claim that average phone users - who pay the connection charges on top of the cost of a call - are being overcharged by up to £10 a month under the current pricing.

According to Bill Mieran, chairman of the Telecommunications Users Association, Ofcom's decision was disappointing. He said that the termination charges “need to be regulated on a downward trend," because mobile companies would not reduce their prices voluntarily.

Prices have fallen by approximately 30% since controls were imposed in 2004.

According the Ofcom its proposals take into account consumer demand for mobile phones and the industry's investment in new products and technology. Phone operators have argued that they have invested in new services and contracts for customers and that market competition was bringing prices down anyway.

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May 24, 2005

Mobile phone network 3 has secured a contract with marketing company, Big BattleFlytxt, to will allow its customers to download a movie trailer for free. Handset owners were previously charged for film clips.

The contract represents the first time that an advertiser has bought space on a UK 3G network.

Advertising revenue could help 3G firms recoup their high expenditure on licences, although analysts disagree on how lucrative selling adverts could be for phone companies.

While some say that 3G phones offer only a small market for advertisers when compared with television, radio and newspapers, others think that 3G advertising will be targeted and cost-effective.

Big BattleFlytxt, who entered into the contract with 3 in conjunction with RedBus Film Distribution, said that 3G advertising could become a lucrative source of revenue for network operators, as it had become in Japan.

Vodafone said it wasn’t making any firm commitments about advertising on its 3G network, as its users were currently more interested in appealing content.

Some analysts think that the use of 3G for advertising could be limited by the fact that users could opt not to be exposed to adverts.

John Delaney, analyst at telecommunications consultancy Ovum, considers the unique selling point of 3G to be video. A 3G handset owner is likely to want to receive movie clips, but not everyday items such as washing powder.

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May 03, 2005

Mobile phone operators may cut the fees for charitable donations sent by text message after it was revealed that the companies often take up to 25 percent of donations made by this method.

This means that more of each donation will make it to the charities they were meant for.

This provisional decision comes after an announcement by Inland Revenue that value added tax (VAT) will now be charged only to fees imposed by the mobile operators to transmit messages.

In the past the VAT was levied on the whole amount donated. Under the old rules, out of every £1.50 donated, 23p went to the VAT, 27p went to the mobile operator, while an additional 12p standard text charge was paid by the phone user.

Text messaging has become an increasingly important method of fundraising in the UK.

As an example, half of the £120,000 raised in April’s Help a London Child campaign by Capital Radio came through text messaging.

Out of that amount, £10,000 went to mobile phone operators and contributors paid £2,400 in text charges.

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March 16, 2005

Motorola and Apple defied expectation by failing to showcase the new iTunes phone at the CeBit show.

The two companies had publicly stated their working partnership last July, as the Register announced in Apple licenses iTunes to Motorola, in a deal that would see Apple adapt iTunes jukebox software for Motorola handsets.

However, although expected to be nearly ready for development, incomplete agreements with carriers mean that the companies both held off from showcasing the new Motorola iTunes enabled phones.

Accordint the Register report Motorola: iTunes phone no-show due to Apple:

Motorola sources told us that the phone's no-show at CeBIT was down to the company's carrier partners, who clearly want a say as to when the handset will be launched. The implication is that the phone is ready to go, but Motorola wants one or two carriers on its customer list before making a formal launch. Apple, equally understandably, wants to whet potential punters' appetites with a paper launch.

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March 12, 2005

SPECIAL REPORT: Mobile Google: Google goes mobile & local

Google have been quietly developing their search engine services aimed squarely at mobile device use, such as PDAs and mobile phones.

Google Mobile is a service that mimicks its more popular web search engine very closely, offering websearch and image search, as well as local search.

As explained on their more in-depth Google Mobile Search, it also other features, such as an advanced number checker that prevents users have to tap number keys so much to form letters.

For example, to spell P-I-Z-Z-A on a cell phone would normally require the user to input the number keys "7444999999992" - but with the advanced number checker, Google will read the shorter number string "74992" as also spelling the word.

This continues Google's expansion into services for mobile devices, and follows on Google SMS text services and Google WAP search, and also Google Palm search.

However, as suggested in the O'Reilly commentary 2005 is Year of Local Mobile Search, and quoting from Local mobile search? Hold the phone, Google's George Harik, director of Google's entrepreneurial division, Googlettes, said:

The issue is, people haven't figured out how to make mobile information delivery work. If you fix those issues, it makes the delivery of advertising possible. Monetization always follows use, and the stage we're in is perfecting usage.

Interestingly enough, if you then combine that concept with Google Maps, their purchase of Keyhole, as well as their online services - not least Google's additional mobile Froogle search functionality - then you can see that Google may well be developing a platform to become the world's global local shopping and advertising medium.

That could mean that, wherever you are, whatever you want, Google can show you where to spend.

A project of that scale could make websearch, AdSense, and even single point Amazon shopping seem archaic and small by comparison.

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December 20, 2004

In Calling All Advertisers, Forbes describes how Fox Networks will be airing "mobisodes" to subscribed mobile users.

Each Mobisode is a 1 minute drama, starring new actors, but based around themes and plot elements of the hugely popular "24" TV series, starring Kiefer Sutherland.

These Mobisodes are set to support the release of Season 3 of "24". and no doubt will be followed by a barrage of similar ads, in this new marriage of entertainment and marketing.

Marketers apparently reason that so long as the Mobisodes remain short, entertaining - and free - then opt-in consumers on the 3G networks will be happy to receive them.

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December 14, 2004

Yahoo! continues to openly build the foundations of its mobile marketing arm, by reaching an agreement to offer Nextel customers a suite of tools and products under the banner of "Yahoo! Mobile Internet". This will apparently include e-mail, instant messaging, games and news content.

More information on that here: Yahoo! and Nextel Join Forces to Launch Yahoo! Mobile Internet Across Nextel's Digital Wireless Network

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December 11, 2004

Mobile just looks bigger and bigger all the time.

For a start, Reuters offers some interesting stats in Mobile Phone Users Double Since 2000, that Nick Wilson at Threadwatch conveniently breaks down into core stats in Some Interesting Mobile Stats:

• There are 1.5Bn mobile subscribers worldwide
• That's 25% of the world with a mobile
• Developing countries account for 56% of that.
• There are 1.18Bn landline subscribers - notice mobile has overtaken that.
• There are Only 700M net connections

Nick also reports on the VentureCapital article Coming Soon: Desktop In Your Pocket, where Kevin Laws speculates that using mobile devices to carry out desktop search would become the next big battleground - marry desktop and mobile search applications.

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December 09, 2004

According to the CNet release, PalmSource to buy into China, Linux, PDA software development company PalmSource has bought a 10% stake in Chinese Linux development company, China MobileSoft.

It'll be interesting to see whether this actually translates as any kind of aggressive front opening in the mobile device market for Linux OS and applications.

Posted at 10:49 PM
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Doug Turner, project leader of Minimo - a slimmed down version of Mozilla's browser platform for mobile devices - claims that there are two mobile companies already using Minimo, and to expect announcements on it's syndicated use in the mobile market.

Minimo 0.3 is already due for launch in January 2005, and claims better web navigation for users.

According to the article Mozilla aims for mobile browser market:

Minimo developers have already found a solution to the problem of rendering Web pages on small devices. This feature was included in both version 0.1 and 0.2 of Minimo. Turner said this solution is already better than some products on the market.

"A lot of browsers ignore frames or have limited JavaScript support--they do terrible jobs," he said. "With Minimo, if it renders OK in Firefox, it will render OK in Minimo."

Posted at 10:39 PM
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December 08, 2004

Yahoo! makes a foray into the world of mobiles, buying up Wuf Networks last month - company without a product, but instead staff and software assets that Yahoo! obviously feel they can capitalise on.

Looks like mobile devices are going to provide one of the hottest battlegrounds for the future of marketing. I;ve already covered this in Mobile Marketing, and it's a reality that is slowly shaping up in front of us.

Posted at 10:40 PM
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November 30, 2004

If you thought marketing for mobiles was all about selling ringtones and dodgy premium callbacks, think again: mobiles are fast becoming the big "next thing" of opportunity, opening a massive new area of user interraction, challenges, and marketing, in a field of consumer interest that may perhaps become as specialised as the internet itself.

With 3G mobiles on the launch, that means that mobile devices can replace many media functions not simply of the home PC, but also TV and stereo. The limitations are perhaps of our own imagination when applied to viewing mobile phones as the consumer essential to learn to market for.

Russell Beatie made an excellent observation on the matter, in As Popular as Porno, where he clearly identifies the importance of this market, and the opportunties created by it.

As if to confirm his words, Forbes reports on how Disney and Pixar have extensively marketed the new film "Incredibles" on mobiles worldwide, in An 'Incredible' Marketing Ploy.

Also today, the Wall Street Journal announced plans for a subscription based mobile service in conjunction with Summus: The Wall Street Journal Online and Summus Announce Launch of The Wall Street Journal Mobile.

I mentioned on Search Engine Marketing: going mainstream about the need for specialisation in SEO now - so, SEO for mobiles, anyone?

Posted at 10:51 PM
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