Mobile Entertainment Issue 48, February 2009

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FOR EVERYONE IN MOBILE CONTENT

www.mobile-ent.biz

FEBRUARY 2009 ISSUE 48

Special Show Issue

MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT

How pure mobile social networks are staying ahead of the web giants

Power to the people!

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ISSUE 48 February 09

Community chest

News 3-8 Features 10 Fira itself A ludicrously brief précis of the MWC action.

14 Get it where you can Catch Media describes its vision of ‘Play Anywhere’ content.

10

16 This report just in Metaflow talks content reporting.

19 Communal changing The rise and rise of pure mobile social networks.

24 Shake, rattle and roll What can mobile learn from Wii and DS?

34

27 Fit for purpose?

29 Off Safari

Too many mobile websites are crap, says Wapple.

Does even Apple’s darling need website adaptation?

31 A flesh start 2008’s hits and misses in mobile adult.

Reference Section

32 Look who’s looking

40 Appointments

It’s important to track site visitors, says Bango.

43 Games Spotlight

34 Converging territory

45 Databox

Vantrix on how to make triple play pay.

46 Product Focus

36 Self-discovery

48 Charts 51 Network Subs 61 Discontent

Taptu says mobile search must be social.

38 Melt-up?

Nick Lane is cautiously optimistic for the mobile content business.

Mobile Entertainment magazine – your direct link to the content biz No other B2B mobile content news source hits more eyeballs. Here's why: Monthly direct-to-desk print circ: 8,012 Monthly digital downloads: 2,236 Online uniques: 37,518 (Google Analytics) Email news digest subscribers: 13,869 Need to get your message across? Work with Mobile Entertainment magazine to maximise your exposure and reach all sectors of the industry, using print, online and events.

Contact Tom.Roberts@intentmedia.co.uk for more details or call +44 (0) 1992 535 647

www.mobile-ent.biz

What a disappointment it was for me, as a sleazy muck-raking hack, not to cajole representatives of mobile’s own social networks into foulmouthed attacks on their web counterparts.

I’d hoped, during the researching of this month’s cover feature about the battle to dominate the wireless communities space, to winkle at least one C word out of them. Not a sausage. I’m a failure, I truly am.

The official explanation was that Facebook, MySpace, Friendster et al are bringing traffic and great PR with them as they migrate to mobile – and that everybody else benefits as a result. But I suspect it might equally be that some of the mobile “MySpace and pureplays have Facebook are not happened re-imagining their across ways to PC services for the monetise their palm of the hand.” networks in ways that the big fixed line boys are struggling to do even on their own turf, never mind this alien wireless territory. They can afford to be magnanimous.

I’m thinking of BuzzCity’s carefully cultivated ad network, offering targeted campaigns across its vast and enthusiastic user base; of itsmy’s mobile social games (pay to top-up those snowballs!); Flirtomatic’s virtual breast enhancements (seriously). Persuading people to make gifts to each other or even to pay to ‘tidy’ up their profile pages just seems that much easier to do when the screen is small and the billing mechanism is built-in. Indeed, Buzz City even describes its own users as its top advertisers because they spend so much time promoting themselves.

While the pureplays are innovating, MySpace and Facebook merely offer a means to upgrade one’s profile on the go. Nice, and undeniably convenient for existing members. But hardly a re-imagining of the PC-based service for the palm of the hand.

One insider confessed to me recently that, for all the fine words, official strategy at the web giants puts mobile low down the list of priorities. I bet the established mobile communities are thrilled. They’re probably gifting each other boob jobs as we speak.

Tim.Green@intentmedia.co.uk

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NEWS

ME buys Stream magazine Intent Media snaps up B2B magazine, and prepares to revive its Mobile Music Now event MOBILE Entertainment has consolidated its position as the voice of the content industry, acquiring all assets of former B2B title Stream, plus the Mobile Music Now conference.

ME, published by Intent Media, will boost its global online presence and print readership as a result of the acquisition, while the popular conference is now set for a return this summer

Dinsey: ME is now the only B2B media outlet for mobile content

conference format, and very affordable for delegates.

I’m certain the industry will be delighted to welcome it back again.”

in London. Stream, published by Prestige Media, closed last year. It had a circulation of over 5,000 international readers and a powerful email news service.

“With the closure of Stream last year and Mobileindustry.biz before that, Mobile Entertainment is the only truly international business resource for anyone operating in the mobile content sector,” said Intent boss Stuart Dinsey.

“The addition of the Stream assets will further strengthen our ability to

deliver quality trade information to decision makers around the world.”

The Mobile Music Now conference was successfully launched in 2007, attracting over 120 key delegates biannually to a seminar and networking event at the BAFTA venue in London.

Dinsey said: “We’re in the process of re-launching what was a very successful Mobile Music Now event. It is such an original and exciting

More details on Mobile Music Now and how to attend will be published in future issues of ME and on the website.

In a busy month, Intent Media also acquired all the brands owned by defunct B2B publisher Skep Media, including the Games 3.0 conference, which was launched during the London Games Festival last year.

As part of the deal, Intent purchased the assets of gaming trade monthly In Stock, plus weekly video title Home Entertainment Week and RRP – all of which closed late last year. www.mobile-ent.biz The Mobile Music Now conference will address the rise in wireless music driven by handsets like the Moto ROKR E8

Hyundai drives into IFPI: Illegal P2P music won’t go handset market Korean firm leads assault as Moto and Sony slide THE European handset market is set for a shake-up after years of consolidation, with Hyundai, Toshiba and Palm all back in the space.

With Sony Ericsson and Motorola under pressure, and Nokia challenging operators with its serviceled strategy, the way is open for new vendors to break in.

The decline in the Japanese handset market is also prompting Eastern vendors to look for new markets.

Last month, Korea’s Hyundai confirmed it will launch phones in the UK, following deployments with Pannon in Hungary, Mobiltel in Slovenia and EPlus in Germany. It’s

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Here it is, the MB500 – Hyundai’s new one wheel drive

targeting a five per cent market share within five years. Ten to 15 handset models are planned annually across Hyundai’s ‘Basic’, ‘Music’, ‘Lifestyle’ ‘Innovation’ and ‘Business’ product segments. The first devices will be the MB400 and MB500.

Meanwhile, Palm has powered back into the market with the sexy new Pre touchscreen, which features a new OS. And, as ME went to press, Toshiba was set to announce a return to the space. Toshiba has dabbled before, launching Portegebranded devices in 2007. www.hyundaimobile.com

ILLEGAL music downloads are proliferating despite the best efforts of the legitimate industry.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported that illegal file sharing now accounts for 95 per cent of all digital music downloads. The finding overshadowed the good news that paid-for downloads rose by 25 per cent in 2008 and were worth around $3.7 billion.

Legal downloads now account for 20 per cent of sales. But only 1.4 billion songs were legally bought, against 40 billion shared illegally in 2008.

Of course, mobile has played its part in fueling legal sales, with Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Omnifone each exploring all-you-can-eat

ideas in the last 12 months.

But the IFPI wants to see such initiatives paired with action against illegal downloaders.

John Kennedy, CEO of the IFPI, said: “There is a momentous debate going on... governments are beginning to accept that, in the debate over ‘free content’, doing nothing is not an option if there is to be a future for commercial digital content.” www.ifpi.org

www.mobile-ent.biz

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It comes with less money Carphone Warehouse slashes price of a Comes With Music handset NOKIA’S Comes with Music handsets are cheaper than ever, but there are still no subscriber figures from the handset giant.

The Carphone Warehouse lopped nearly £50 off the price of the Comes With Music 5310 handset last month. It now costs £82.18 in the UK instead of £127.10.

Staggering value, when you think that the stand-alone handset costs around £50.

That’s around £20 for a year of all-you-can-eat music.

Pressure is building on Nokia, as anecdotal reports suggest Comes With Music sales have been poor. The launch of compatible 5800 and N96 devices should help. Be interesting to see what Nokia has up its sleeve in Mobile World Congress. www.nokia.com

www.mobile-ent.biz

Qualcomm has snapped up all of the mobile graphics, multimedia technology, IP and resources owned by AMD Handheld. It paid $65m for the assets, and now says it will work on developing advanced products, encompassing 2D and 3D graphics, audio/video, display and architecture.

Celltick ads the world Celltick has launched a global ad server that gives advertisers access to its global network from one web-based server. The idle screen specialist’s new livescreen.com service will allow advertisers to purchase inventory in all markets where Celltick's LiveScreen Media platform is operational. LiveScreen pushes entertainment, news, sports, business and lifestyle teasers to the idle screens of millions of users around the world.

Streams on the up The Nokia 5800 touchscreen, with Comes With Music, is out now

The incredible bulk savings UK SERVICE provider Text Marketer is doing its bit to help the industry fight the credit crunch by slashing costs for bulk SMS. The Bristol firm believes it is now the most affordable provider of bulk SMS in the UK. It’s even been brazen enough to publish a price comparison chart on its website detailing possible cost savings to customers.

Prices now start at 4.9p per SMS on a run of 100. It says rivals’ rates start at 7.5p per SMS on the same run.

Text Marketer has also revamped its online ordering system so that customers can set up an account in just 30 seconds and receive ten free SMS credits to trial the service. After that, credits can be added using the

Handheld handover

Google Checkout system.

Nick Rich, director of Text Marketer, said: “We felt too many businesses were paying too much for their bulk SMS service, so we took action. Our objective is to provide our customers with the highest possible service and support at the lowest possible price.” www.textmarketer.co.uk

Play Anywhere is everywhere Radical new ‘cloud’ service could monetise users that steal music CATCH Media is to launch Play Anywhere, a service that puts consumers’ music libraries into ‘the cloud’.

In an exclusive interview with ME, the firm confirmed it is talking to handset firms and operators about signing up to the scheme, which lets users access their media remotely from any compatible device or service. This could also include mobile, PC, set top box, car stereo and more.

Catch expects partners to roll up the cost of access within existing subs as an anti-churn measure.

Play Anywhere lets people access content either via streaming or download

in the format most appropriate to the device.

Intriguingly, it means that partners can get revenue from a user even if content has been illegally downloaded.

Yaacov Ben Yaacov, CEO of Catch Media, said: “The entertainment business is built on the idea of selling product. We’re saying, you can monetise music and film even when it’s been stolen – that’s a tough mental leap to make. But it can work.”

Catch expects its first launches will be in Q2 in the US and UK. See feature on page 14 www.catchmedia.com

Mobile Streams announced a tentatively ‘positive’ set of financial for 2008. The content provider turned its 2007 deficit into a 2008 EDBITA of £200,000, ahead of its full-year results in March.

Research eshop open Portio Research has launched an online shop for mobile market research, named Portio Direct. The e-commerce site is home to over 120 market briefs, impact assessments, forecasts, regional profiles, vendor and operator profiles.

Users can pay for and then download reports within a few clicks. There are over 80 country reports, providing statistical analysis of market trends.

FTD on MSN Microsoft has teamed up with Vidzone to put music downloads on its MSN Mobile portal. The service makes around one million full tracks, ringtones and music videos from major record labels available to consumers across all UK operators. It is compatible with over 130 popular handsets with more being added in 2009.

GetJar gets large THE Getjar website, where Wikipedia meets Amazon for mobile, is on an expansion drive.

It’s opened a new sales office in Silicon Valley and hired the Glu Mobile comms exec Patrick Mork (pictured) as VP of marketing. Also joining as VP of Product is Chris Dury, who previously led product management with scanR. Lithuania-based GetJar hosts thousands of apps, which visitors can download and appraise. It makes money by charging for placement and working with trade partners including BlackBerry and Celcom.

Ilja Laurs, CEO of GetJar, said: “The arrival of Chris and Patrick at GetJar is a key development for the business. Their skills will enable us to deliver an exciting range of new features.” www.getjar.com

February 2009 5

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NEWS

Indian VAS market finds it voice Content giant Hungama targets rural subs with promotion around Bollywood blockbuster HUNGAMA Mobile has launched a massive ‘voice VAS’ competition with Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan.

The contest, to promote the new movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, gives consumers across India the opportunity to win an evening with the star by dialing a number and answering questions recorded by him.

Hungama conceived the promotion to enable Indians without hi-spec handsets to

take part in an interactive mobile competition. It believes that the huge growth in the number of rural subscribers without access to data services gives voice-based IVR an important role in content consumption.

Saleem Mobhani, COO of Hungama Mobile, said: “So far entertainment has been driven by traditional media and basic mobile VAS in India. Voice-based VAS is an innovation that simplifies the

user experience and enables everyone to interact with the service. We are positive that with the new service we will see unprecedented participation from consumers across the country.”

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was one of the most awaited films of 2008 and is on its way to huge success. Shahrukh Khan is arguably India’s most acclaimed and loved Bollywood star, with a loyal male and female following.

Shahrukh Khan: Well, he can talk

www.hungama.com

Saffron reaches for Sky Bringing in String will now use its proprietary technology to deliver 24-7 to major operators including T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2.

24-7 Football provides goal clips and highlights for all FA Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches, shortly after games are completed.

SKY continued the revamp of its mobile operation, handing the keys to its 24-7 Football service to UK platform specialist Saffron Digital.

The move follows the beefing up of its management team in December, and the selfmanagement of its onportal ad inventory. Saffron

www.saffrondigital.com

Wehrs the boss The Mobile Marketing Association had named Mike Wehrs as its new President and CEO following the departure of Laura Marriott.

He joins from Nuance Communications, where he was VP of industry affairs

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and evangelism. Wehrs will now seek to continue the huge progress made under Marriott, who grew the MMA to over 700 members and established it in 40 countries.

EUROPEAN games specialist Connect2Media always said it wanted to get into the TV quiz space, and it’s been as good as its word.

The firm has signed a deal with Two Way Media to take the latter's iTV word game String 'Em In to mobile.

In the UK the game is accessible in 11 million homes via Sky Digital and Virgin Media, and it's been available in Australia and New Zealand for five years, with South Africa and Canada coming soon.

In keeping with the new multi-channel approach to such IP, a new String 'Em In Facebook app will launch this year too, and Connect2Media plans to capitalise on this extension

within its mobile game.

Eric Hobson (pictured), CEO of Connect2Media, said: “String ’Em In is a huge game that fits perfectly with our strategic goal of being a multi-platform entertainment company. It translates very well to global markets, so we anticipate it being hugely popular throughout our extensive international distribution footprint.” www.connect2media.com

www.mmaglobal.com

www.mobile-ent.biz

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NEWS

Inmobia speaking Latin Danish firm strengthens Hispanic offering Builds micro-sites for Mexican TV broadcaster INMOBIA has accelerated its push into Latin American markets, after agreeing a deal with the Mexican TV network TV Azteca.

The partnership will see the Danish firm using its Media Portal Manager suite to design, implement and manage mobile internet portals for the TV company.

TV Azteca owns a number of shows – including various ‘Telenovela’ soaps – that are popular across Latin America and Spanish-speaking US residents.

Mads Galsgaard, Inmobia’s chief marketing officer, said: “Brands are moving past text messaging as a means of interacting with fans on

Mads Galsgaard: Broad presence in Latin America and Africa bears out Inmobia’s original strategy

mobile. They want rich micro-sites that genuinely enhance their traditional products and services. This is

what Media Portal Manager can deliver. I’m delighted to confirm TV Azteca as a prestigious new partner.”

America the flirtiful FLIRTOMATIC is to launch in the US, following a successful German rollout and a sensational 2008 in the UK. The social network, which now has over one million members, is set to launch a beta service in the US in the coming weeks. It is currently working on the necessary operator billing approvals, and will use ad networks such as AdMob and Google to drive users and revenue across its community.

Flirtomatic is free to join, but makes money through ‘flirtpoints’, which members buy and then use to send virtual gifts to other users or to customise their profiles and site rankings.

Its revenue grew four times last year, and there was a 55 per cent rise in ARPU. Mark Curtis, CEO of Flirtomatic (pictured), believes the time is right for a Stateside assault. “The off portal scene is healthy and mobile internet is growing fast, thanks largely to the

impact of the iPhone and G1. They’re making the operators less of a barrier,” he said. www.flirtomatic.com

Social networks on song Communties dominate Opera Software traffic report MOCOSPACE’S traffic grew a staggering 834 per cent in 2008, says Opera Software.

The browser company’s State of the Mobile Web report revealed the true impact of social networking in mobile, with Facebook up 693 per cent and the Russian community Mamba up 1,055 per cent.

Overall, Opera Mini users viewed more than than 6.4 billion pages in December alone, up 13 per cent on the 8

February 2009

previous month. Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Opera, said: “Despite prevailing economic conditions, we expect the use of the web through mobile devices will continue to grow in 2009…

with more people coming online using a mobile phone than any other device.”

Below are the the top social networks for Opera Mini ranked by unique users www.opera.com

Site....................................................% growth in 2008 mamba.ru .............................................................. 1,055.51 mocospace.com ........................................................ 834.89 facebook.com ........................................................... 693.11 friendster.com........................................................... 670.13 myspace.com ............................................................ 618.42 peperonity.com......................................................... 396.65

Inmobia has deliberately targeted emerging regions. It has its Latin American base in Nicruagua, and is present

in eight countries in the region. It is also established in 15 African countries.

Galsgaard said: “We realised long ago that there was intense competition in mature markets from other mobile VAS firms, and that these emerging regions represented an opportunity for us. It’s going well. In six months, we have established around 40 micro-sites for Latin American companies.”

The Media Portal Manager offers a fast time to market and new revenue streams to brasnds, with no investment needed. Inmobia does all the builds and integrates various billing options. www.inmobia.com

The two-tier content market SIXTY per cent of Europe’s $1.3 billion mobile entertainment revenue is downloaded to 3G phones, says GfK. The market watcher says this indicates a two-tier market trend, with one group demanding cheap pre-pay phones, with little regard for apps, while another craves sophisticated handsets with touchscreens, internet access, useful apps and high speed downloading. Over a

third of handsets sold in Europe and the Middle East have 3G capabilities. In the UK this figure has reached 40 per cent. These users are driving the market for bundle purchases, casual games and subscription music services that grew by 67 per cent between Q1 and Q4 2008.

GfK says much of this content is ad-funded and the overall market represents a $50 billion industry. www.gfk.com

Creativity Italy ONE Italia has launched a creative agency dedicated to developing mobile internet sites.

The company is already a well-established force in mobile VAS in its home country, and is also successful in internet site design, digital advertising and e-commerce. Now it’s ramping up the creative ante for mobile site design with this new launch.

Fabio Valente, One Italia’s general manager for

mobile, said: “Mobile technology is opening the door to new ideas and One Italia has decided to rise to this opportunity by setting up a mobile agency, highlighting the company’s expertise and reliability in the VAS field.”

Major brands such as Walt Disney are already working with the firm on the design, development and management of their mobile sites. www.oneitalia.it

www.mobile-ent.biz

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A mobile and interactive global marketing company.

One of the fastest growing companies in new media entertainment, with 22 offices worldwide.

Want to check us out? Find everything here

www.timwe.com

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Lucky number seven at MWC Get your walking boots on. Yes, it’s up the hill and over the escalator to Hall 7 for the Mobile Entertainment and Content Zone.

It will also be the setting for the ‘Innovation Zone’, which showcases the companies participating in the GSMA Mobile Innovation Marketplace event.

Here’s a list of some of the exhibitors in Hall 7:

Hall you need

to get by The industry will gather in Barcelona for the first Mobile World Congress since the financial meltdown, and Mobile Entertainment will be there to test the temperature. Here’s a preview... s this piece was being written, car industry execs were heading to Detroit for the annual trade event, and pundits suggested they were driving there in fuel-friendly Volvos with the heating turned off. They weren’t expecting champagne when they arrived either.

Ferrari and Porsche didn’t even bother to exhibit.

How will Barcelona compare?

Well, there haven’t been any withdrawals to compare with the sports car giants. And there never was the kind of conspicuous show of wealth to compare with what went on in Detroit (canapés notwithstanding), so it’s hard to imagine too much cost cutting at the Fira exhibition halls.

Despite the crunch, the organisers still expect 60,000 delegates to descend on the Catalan capital again this year. And they will be able to peruse products and services from approximately 1,300 companies.

A

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This year’s theme is ‘Think Forward’, which will explore the impact of the economic crisis, and focus on issues that can take mobile into the next era – issues such as super-broadband technologies like Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the shift to an open mobile ecosystem,

entertainment exhibitors will be in Hall 7 – still a bit distant from the main action, but at least it has its own identity.

On the conference side, it’s worth noting that the Mofilm event is back, this time with Kevin Spacey at the helm. And there’s a return for

Despite the credit crunch, MWC organisers are expecting 60,000 delegates to descend on Barcelona. mobile entertainment and advertising services.

Ah yes, mobile entertainment.

Always fussed over at Mobile World Congress, but never fully involved.

Like the pretty child sent out to provide some charm and distraction while the adults talk business and IP multimedia subsystems in Hall 2. For the third year in a row, the mobile

the entertainment-focused Mobile Backstage event too, on the Thursday, with lots of interesting keynote speakers from across the value chain. Then there are the GSMA Awards, scheduled for Tuesday evening at the National Palace, as are the IMGA mobile gaming awards. Make sure you take comfortable footwear...

3G Dating Agency AdMob ABPHONE BuzzCity Rapid Mobile Media MoMac MyScreen Mobile Smaato Tanla InfoGin Inmobia Media Layers MMCAST Yospace Miyowa mobivention Tanla Vringo Inc MX Telecom Gracenote Spin3 Quickplay And elsewhere…

Hall 1 IMImobile Materna Mobixell Networks Movidilo Surf Openwave NewBay SurfKitchen TAT - The Astonishing Tribe DeviceAnywhere mBricks Colibria Hall 2 Celltick Technologies Netsize Actimagine Mobile Distillery Gameloft Sybase Hall 8 Picsel Courtyard Froggie Unkasoft Advergaming Zed Avenue Novarra io global

www.mobile-ent.biz

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MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

Come on backstage Regular visitors to MWC will know that the show starts to wind down on the Thursday. All the more reason, then, for departing the halls and heading for the special mobile entertainment conference stream.

This year the Oscar winning actor and director Kevin Spacey is the keynote speaker at the event, and is also the host of the MOFILM Mobile Short Film Festival, after its introduction by Robert Redford and Isabella Rossellini last year. Spacey will announce the winner of the best short film of five minutes or less submitted by film makers from around the world. They get a new Chevrolet. Wow. The MOFILM festivities will run in parallel with the Mobile Backstage content conference. Here’s the running order: Mobile Backstage, February 19th, Hall 5 Keynotes Kevin Spacey, Chris DeWolfe (CEO, MySpace) 9am to 10.30am

And the winners might be…

The GSMA’s 2009 Global Mobile Awards will be announced at a special Gala Dinner & Awards night on Tuesday, February 17th, at the National Palace. Gongs will be sounded for various categories including an entertainment section comprising: Best Mobile Game Best Mobile Music or Video Service Best Mobile Advertising Service Best Mobile TV Service We know the winners, as ME’s Tim Green was among the judges!

MoFilm festival and Mobile Backstage conference 11am to 4pm Mobile Advertising 11am to 4pm Mobile entertainment and advertising – demos and networking 4pm to 5.30pm

See ME there MOBILE Entertainment magazine is an official media partner of Mobile World Congress 2008 and will be taking an extra 10,000 copies to the show. The February issue of ME will be everywhere. Grab one from one of the racks and keep it close. Actually, you may have just done that. And look out for the editorial and advertising teams. We want your stories, and we want to explain how our great-value advertising packages can help you reach your sales targets.

www.mobile-ent.biz

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PLAY ANYWHERE

Cloud on the

horizon

Catch Media is close to launching a service called Play Anywhere that monetises even stolen music and movies. Tim Green met the founders and was intrigued…

Catch Media wants IP holders to make a mental leap

he entertainment business is built on the idea of selling product. We’re saying, you can monetise music and film even when it’s been stolen – that’s a tough mental leap to make.

But it can work.”

Will you hear a more compelling business statement than that in 2009? Hard to imagine. This is Yaacov Ben Yaacov, CEO of Catch Media, describing the revolutionary proposition that is Play Anywhere.

Here’s the basic idea: Play Anywhere puts people’s music (and later movies and games) on to the ‘cloud’ and lets them access it either via streaming or download from any compatible device. These could be mobile handsets, a set-top box, in car radio, ISPs and more. Partners sign up to make Play Anywhere accessible from their services, and can either charge a small monthly fee for access or bundle it into a wider subscription as an anti-churn device. There’s even a retail option.

It’s a fascinating proposition, one that could prove genuinely transformational (or, equally, fall

“T

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February 2009

flat). But it already has many advocates. Tim Green spoke to Catch Media’s Yaacov Ben Yaacov…

Describe the core vision of Play Anywhere...

The idea is that music fans can register any compatible device, and

Universal and Warner have signed up, and we’re talking to the other majors. then access their collections no matter where they are. There are downloading and streaming options, and file formats will be optimised for the device used. We think of it like an ATM: you take music out anywhere, and sometimes you pay, sometimes the cost may be absorbed elsewhere. It’s pretty radical. We’re saying to the industry that even if users steal your music, you still make money. We actually created the

concept five years ago. But clearly the time needed to be right for the music business to embrace it. Now’s the time. First launches will be in Q2 in the US and UK. Who’s on board?

Universal and Warner have signed up, and we’re talking to the other majors. The indies are equally interested. We’ve already signed Merlin. The industry bodies – like the BPI and the MCPS-PRS Alliance in the UK – have also responded positively.

Which channels are you targeting?

Any channel that permits access to media – from mobile to set-top box to PC to in-car.

What part can physical retailers play?

The system allows for a CD to be scanned and registered at the till, so there’s no need for a consumer to go home and rip it. We’re keen to target retailers, so they don’t share revenue, they actually receive it. Transworld in the US is already a partner.

How might partners pitch the concept to users?

I should be clear here that Catch Media is not in the business of marketing Play Anywhere. That’s for our customers to do. I anticipate that many will pitch it as a free add-on to their existing subscriptions – as a means to reduce churn. It can be bundled with any kind of service, even something like roadside assistance. Or it could be offered for an affordable monthly fee. Lots of interest is coming from triple play companies.

Obviously, some will see this as a means to selling digital content…

Clearly, we’re looking at downloads and even super-distribution. Both can be integrated very easily. But in the early stages our aim is giving users access to their existing collections.

Is there a plan to offer more than music?

Certainly. In 2009 the focus is music, but then we’ll look at video, and in 2010 games.

www.mobile-ent.biz

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METAFLOW Q&A

’Flow and the

need to know You’re a content provider. You have a vast customer base all over the world. Congratulations. But what good is it if you can’t track the progress of your products? Mobile Entertainment spoke to Metaflow’s Charles McLeod about the firm’s new reporting tool... he issue of handset fragmentation has been with us for so long, it feels like the common cold or Kirk Douglas.

However, the device side of the production/sales cycle is only half of the complexity nightmare for developers and publishers. In a global market, there are hundreds of operators, portals and other channels through which to reach end-users.

Each has its own submissions requirements, ingestion mechanisms and certification norms.

In an embryonic business, when distribution is limited and personal relationships dominate, such matters can be handled on an ad-hoc basis with systems built in-house. But this won’t work when business goes interncontinental and channels proliferate.

At this point, a builtfor-purpose content ingestion system is needed.

This is where Metaflow comes in. Its system is being used

by Glu, EA, THQ Wireless, Player X, Namco and others to manage submissions requirements for over 340 channels worldwide.

Metaflow has been pretty low profile. But now,

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February 2009

that’s changing. Why? Because the UK firm has launched a crucial addon to its service: content reporting and support for all content types. We asked Charles McLeod, CEO of Metaflow, all about it…

Why is there such a pressing need for this kind of reporting tool?

There’s always been complexity at the production end, and it’s accelerating. Java is fragmented, but now there’s Symbian, Android, iPhone and so on. But if you’re

managing this and you still don’t know what’s going where, and what your stock levels are, you will seriously lose out. Reporting on Demand captures this data and lets an organisation schedule requests for business critical reports.

Publishers have been in the dark when it comes to analysing key sales channel data.

What precise benefits does this system bring?

Well, any business in any sector benefits from good reporting. Publishers have largely been operating in the dark when it comes to analysing key sales channel data. Reporting on Demand links industry-wide data with actual digital asset deliveries, so it tracks workflow processes from the receipt of a game through to its downloading by a user. A critical component of the system is that it’s available to everybody within a publisher’s business, anywhere in the world, at any time. Previously,

these kinds of solutions were accessible only to certain departments, and even then from fragmented data sources.

How long does it take to deploy the new platform?

An existing customer can bolt it on in an afternoon. It can be deployed on site or hosted by us as ‘software as a service’. New customers can be operational in two days maximum, including training.

What kind of savings can ‘Reporting on Demand’ deliver?

Typically, we have seen a 400 to 600 per cent increase in productivity from the Metaflow content submissions client. Reporting is new, but we expect 10 to 15 per cent increased revenue generation as well as good cost savings via resource overheads.

The key point is that reporting is usually a highly specialised job that requires expensive expert staff members. Our systems are easy to run and can be assigned to staff that are less costly to employ.

Has the consolidation in games publishing radically reduced your addressable market?

There’s no doubt our core J2ME games target base has shrunk, but against that the customers are now larger and the amount of products they need to track is greater than ever. There’s also a growing market for application makers covering iPhone, Android, Symbian, RIM, video clips, Windows Mobile and much more. Supporting these content types in Q1 2009 means our core addressable market is going to grow considerably and this means that comprehensive reporting is even more important.

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SOCIAL NETWORKING

Look who’s poking The web’s big social networks have gone mobile, taking millions of users with them. But it’s the ‘pure’ mobile communities that are driving all the innovation, discovers Tim Green… e sold 10,000 boob jobs in two weeks.”

Now, this is not the kind of comment you’d expect to find in a mobile trade paper. But then any discussion of social networking takes you to strange places. And here we have Mark Curtis, CEO of Flirtomatic, describing how his network’s wheeze of giving members the chance to send each other comedy breast enhancements paid off

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handsomely. It’s another example of the many virtual gifting ideas that seem to have caught the imagination of mobile social networkers, without yet doing the same for the fixed giants such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace.

These companies are now targeting mobile, of course, and with no little success in terms of traffic and PR. But one gets the impression that the real creativity is still occurring among

the pure plays many assumed they would squish. Perhaps this is why the mobile incumbents are being so gracious about their new competitors.

Curtis says: “Facebook is doing a great job of educating people about the mobile internet. And we’re all benefiting.”

The figures show how great the impact has been, traffic wise.

According to the browser company Opera, Facebook is the number one

mobile destination in South Africa, number two in the UK and number three in the US and Indonesia (see box). But notice how prevalent the pure mobile communities are. There’s Peperoni at number four in South Africa and India.

Meanwhile Mocospace, though not in the top ten in Opera’s November report, has been as high as number three in the highly competitive US market. Justin Siegel, CEO of February 2009 19

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(Clockwise from top left): Justin Siegel of Mocospace, Buongiorno’s Luca Pagano, BuzzCity’s KF Lai and Flirtomatic’s Mark Curtis

Mocospace, sees no reason to fear the major web brands. “I always wondered what would happen when Facebook and the others came in.

Truth is, we kept on growing. We now have five million users making two billion page views a month.”

Indeed, Siegel now detects a tipping point being reached for his network. “We’re starting to see real anecdotal shift in awareness. We hear about people having Mocospace parties. A waitress even asked me recently if I was Justin from Mocospace!” This success has been with very little marketing. Mocospace is almost entirely off-deck, reached via search or typing in the URL; it doesn’t even have a shortcode.

As an ad-funded project, Mocospace might seem to be under pressure from the current macroeconomic downturn. But again Siegel sounds a positive note. “So far in 2009 I haven’t seen any change in

advertising activity. 2008 was a great year. We’ve been making good returns. People say mobile social networks can’t survive on ad revenue alone. That’s wrong. It’s working fine for us.”

KF Lai, CEO of Buzz City, believes that such is the power of this network that the web giants are potential customers, rather than competition: “Friendster is the only one of them to really break through

I always wondered what would happen when Facebook and the others came in.

The truth is, we kept growing.

It’s not doing too badly for Singapore’s BuzzCity, whose MyGamma network is carving up developing markets. BuzzCity has such reach now with MyGamma that it runs an ad platform along the lines of AdMob to feed ads into its own vast network plus 2,000 affiliate publisher sites including Dada and Jamba. It delivered 7.5 billion banner ads in Q4 2008, up 38 per cent from the previous quarter.

in the East, but even so it’s working with us. We always felt that being a social network would not be enough for us, and that there was an opportunity to move into ad sales.

Because the community is so large and strong, we can now offer targeted campaigns – and it’s becoming very successful.”

While BuzzCity and Mocospace offer a brand of mobile social network that’s all about profile

building and making friends, there are others that mimic the contentoriented formats of YouTube and Flickr. A case in point is Mobango, which gives 4.2 million members a platform through which to create, store, share, download and play every type of mobile content. Giles Richardson, SVP of sales and marketing of Mobango, says: “Mobango is built on the principle that content should be free and adfunded. That still applies. Our members download six million items a month, mostly UGC. But this has alerted developers and now companies like EA, Herocraft, Opera and Nimbuzz use the network to market demos and trial versions of their products.”

You can see where this is going. Ad revenue is nice, but augment it with a Google-style auction for placement, and a compelling new revenue stream is opened. This is something

GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT THERE

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Traffic report The records show that, as the mobile internet has grown, the only sites that can compete with the web giants (Google, Wikipedia, Facebook) are the pure mobile social networks such as Getjar, Peperoni, Mocospace and more. It’s all evident in the list of top destinations collated by the browser firm Opera (see below).

The mobile web is also the social web. It’s another communication tool.

Mobango’s competitor GetJar is also pursuing. And it’s telling that the Lithuanian firm recently opened a US office and hired Glu’s marketing chief Patrick Mork to drive it to the next level.

The realisation that there’s more to revenue than ad-based income dawned long ago on GoFresh, the German firm that runs the high profile itsmy community. After years of building its user base beyond one million and exploring ad-funding, it is now looking at ‘social entertainment’ as a means to drive revenues from users themselves. This is partly because of the strict rules it imposes on itself over the kind of advertising it accepts. Antonio Vince Staybl, CEO of GoFresh, says: “Ad revenue is not doing as well as people say. We turn away advertisers that offer subscription services, even though our ad revenues would be five times greater if we accepted them. It’s been

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painful. But ultimately, we’d lose the users. They’d be signed up to subscriptions, get pissed off and might even think it was itsmy selling them.”

The firm has started selling rich media ad ideas like MMS-to-TV that blur the lines between marketing and entertainment. Advertisers love them, but Staybl admits the space is embryonic. So instead, GoFresh is focusing on social gaming. One example already launched is a snowball game that lets users attack each others’ sites. It’s free to play for a day, but users can pay for re-fills and shields. If they get onto the leader board, play is free.

Staybl adds: “Entertainment is the key to getting people to join and stay.

Social games offer the chance to make new friends. What matters is that the fun continues after the game is over because you’ve made a connection. I’m not sure this can

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Opera says traffic to social networks comprises almost 40 per cent of the mobile web and that in the US, South Africa and Indonesia the figure is closer to 60 per cent. “The mobile web is also the social web,” says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Opera. “With social networks dominating Opera Mini's traffic, it is clear that people use their mobile browser as yet another communication tool on their phone.”

US (November 2008) 1. google.com 2. myspace.com 3. facebook.com 4. wikipedia.org 5. yahoo.com 6. nytimes.com 7. gamejump.com 8. espn.com 9. youtube.com 10. accuweather.com

Indonesia (November 2008) 1. friendster.com 2. google.com 3. facebook.com 4. gamejump.com 5. my.opera.com 6. yahoo.com 7. waptrick.com 8. peperonity.com 9. getjar.com 10. wikipedia.org ( India (May 2008) 1. orkut.com 2. google.com 3. in.m.yahoo.com 4. peperonity.com 5. gallery.mobile9.com 6. mocospace.com 7. 160by2.com 8. mobango.com 9. itsmy.com 10. indianrail.gov.in South Africa (May 2008) 1. facebook.com 2. google.com 3. intl.yahoo.com 4. peperonity.com 5. mocospace.com 6. gumtree.co.za 7. en.wikipedia.org 8. itsmy.com 9. news.bbc.co.uk 10. webmail.co.za UK (November 2008) 1. google.com 2. facebook.com 3. yahoo.com 4. bbc.co.uk 5. bebo.com 6. wikipedia.org 7. live.com 8. youtube.com 9. gamejump.com 10. myspace.com

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Contact Tom.Roberts@intentmedia.co.uk for more details on the exciting opportunities ME can offer.

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work on Facebook because the community is too closed. It depends on interaction with people you don’t know, not your existing network.”

Such sentiments are enthusiastically endorsed by Flirtomatic’s Mark Curtis, who believes this goes to the heart of why mobile communities may have found it easier to monetise their users than those on the web. He says: “The key distinction is between social networks that are ‘one to one’ and those that are ‘one to many’. If you say ‘I love you’ to one person, it means more than if you get on a stage and say it to a group. This puts genuine value on the conversations that take place in our community, and it’s the key to ARPU. It’s very important to us that we remember this. It’s why we’ve always resisted the pressure to set up user forums for example.”

Impressively, Flirtomatic’s revenue grew four times last year, with a 55 per cent rise in ARPU. The firm is active in the UK, US and Germany.

This activity suggests the market is now at a tipping point. You can see it too in the changing direction of some of the world’s leading D2C companies. ME has been reporting the shift from ringtone subscriptions to social media among giants like Zed, dada and Buongiorno for two years. But it’s still arresting to hear them say it so forcefully. Here’s Luca Pagano, UK MD of Buongiorno, talking about its community concept Blinko, which is rolling out now: “Blinko is the strategic focus for the

whole business. In five to seven years, it will be all we do, along with B2B work and operator partnerships.”

This from a company that built a global business on content subscriptions. In its new vision, Blinko, which will be available as a client or via WAP or web, will become a hub for building profiles, sharing content and (crucially) accessing free IM and SMS. Buongiorno will monetise it by sharing data revenue with operators, advertising and selling premium content. It’s very similar to the strategy of Zed, which pioneered the social media concept on mobile with its Zed Station concept in 2007.

Another obvious reason for such radical strategic shifts is the targeting of subscribers in emerging markets for whom the mobile is the dominant comms channel. How telling that, for BuzzCity, it’s Kenya, Nigeria, RSA, Egypt, India and Indonesia that make up its top markets. Also interesting is the revelation from Mocospace that a third of its members are Hispanic and a third Afro American. “I think it’s probably because these groups have a higher proportion who are in jobs where they don’t have access to a PC,” says Justin Siegel.

For newly connected users all over the world, mobile social networks could open up a dizzying new vista of opportunities. Who knows which way it could go. They might even mimic the loftiest heights of their Western counterparts and send each other comedy knockers.

Hot conversation If it’s okay for Facebook to go mobile, what’s to stop established mobile communities moving to the fixed internet?

Nothing at all, says Marcus Ladwig, who has already established his Peperoni community on both channels.

Peperoni may be the world’s oldest mobile social network, having been launched in 2001. It now has 1.3 million registered users split between the Peperonity off-portal community and the various services it has built for operators such as TMobile.

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Last November it re-designed its web destination with a menu structure that mimics the mobile experience so that users can switch between the two seamlessly. Categories like ‘new pics’ and ‘new videos’ show what content has just been uploaded and there are pages for ‘most visited’, ‘recently modified’ and more. Ladwig says: “It’s another another chapter in the full redesign of our brand world. We figured, why should Facebook and the rest have it their own way: we’ll take them on at their own game.”

Selected mobile communities...

Peperoni German firm, launched in 2001, that gives users the chance to build their own mini sites. 1.3 million registered users. itsmy.com Constantly innovating community with over one million members. Even offers users the chance to build their own mobile TV channel, sort of.

Mocospace Hugely successful community, with five million users, 95 per cent of whom are in the US. Buzz City Singapore-based giant. So successful it runs its own AdMob-style ad serving operation across its sites.

Delivered 7.5 billion banner ads in Q4 2008.

Mobango Specialises in adfunded content sharing. Now has 4.2 million members and a growing list of commercial content partners.

Getjar Expanding Lithuanian firm that describes its content-sharing service as a cross between Wikipedia and Amazon.

Flirtomatic UK flirting site that the whole world is watching.

Tremendously innovative in virtual gifting and customisation.

Blinko The community brand ID of D2C mobile content giant Buongiorno. It’s now the central focus of the firm, which has diversified heavily.

Zed Revealed a $50 million investment in community services in 2007. Its Zed Station app is now well-established among its global user base.

Dada.net One of the originals, which started as a glorified email group and evolved into a global mobile D2C firm. It is pushing hard into music sharing and downloads.

Tapatap US firm from the people who created the pioneering Atlas Games social entertainment service.

Loopt Probably the market’s most advanced location-based community. Big with the US operators.

Sore Thumbs UK network run by Zamano that offers a turnkey community for consumer brands.

Trutap Downloadable application offering access to an international community of likeminded users. .

Loop Aussie network whose Moko communities are proving popular with selected operator partners. ….And there are a bunch of companies that offer an application as a service, which brings SMS, instant messaging and email into one handy handset client. They include the likes of fring, Bluepulse, qeep, Frengo, ShoZu, Kiwibox and more.

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Market leading flirting service over 1 million registrations in the UK. 1000+ mobile internet pages per month per user: revenues up x4 in 2008.

Now launching in beta in US on wap, iPhone and web.

For business development opportunities at Mobile World Congress 2009 email MWC09@flirtomatic.com

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Control

Freaks his is not the place to discuss the true origins of the games industry. Let’s just say that home gaming started to rise to prominence in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and in those days it was an exceptionally simple affair. Many people’s first home games machine was the Atari 2600, a unit that shipped with a small, black, unassuming joypad boasting a single, bright orange button.

For others, the Nintendo Entertainment System or even the Sega Master System might have been their first foray into home gaming.

Both of these machines boasted simple, square joypads with two main buttons. Nice and easy to get to grips with. But from there on in things

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started to get complicated.

Sega’s next machine, the Mega Drive, added an extra button. Then Nintendo, as it has a history of doing, laid down the roadmap for the next generation of controllers by introducing the shoulder bumpers on its six button SNES pad (eight buttons, in fact, if you include the ‘Start’ and ‘Select’ buttons).

Today, the joypads that ship with the likes of the Xbox 360 and PS3 are undoubtedly supremely refined, but their six face buttons, four shoulder buttons, d-pad and twin analogue sticks are an insurmountable barrier to anyone other than the hardened gamer.

Which brings us back to Nintendo.

As its GameCube console struggled

The Nintendo DS arguably began the touchscreen revolution in games

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Not content with overturning its own once dwindling fortunes, Nintendo singlehandedly reinvented the games industry with its UI. Ben Parfitt asks whether the same thing needs to happen in mobile games…

to assert itself in the global marketplace of the early 21st century, the Japanese firm was busy planning a brave revolution to the way games were played. The first Joe Public knew of this was January 2004, when Nintendo unveiled its bold new handheld, the DS. It’s easy to forget that the initial reaction to the machine was very negative – in comparison to Sony’s upcoming PSP, which boasted a huge, bright LCD screen and the promise of PS2 quality games, the DS looked like a kid’s toy.

Five years later and the DS is

Mobile gaming has a poisoned chalice all of its own – the alpha-romaic keypad. rapidly approaching the 100 million unit sales mark worldwide. Its use of a touchscreen instead of traditional console controls has not only sparked the imagination of gamers – it has almost single handedly recruited a whole new generation of games players into the industry.

I say ‘almost’, of course, because Nintendo has since built upon the success of DS with its equally popular Wii home console, which ditched the joypad completely in favour of a single-handed ‘remote’ that responds to player’s movements.

The Wii, which was launched in September 2006, is itself approaching 50 million unit sales worldwide.

And while the shenanigans of Nintendo may not be directly applicable to the mobile games industry, the UI revolution it is currently going through is remarkably similar. Though not burdened with

Zeemote’s JS1 Controller has taken the gaming UI bull by the horns

the alienating joypad, mobile gaming has a poisoned chalice all of its own – the keypad. Twelve alpha-romaic buttons and a couple of hotkeys (if you’re lucky) a good gaming experience does not make.

It’s of no surprise, then, to see that the mobile games industry is itself making moves to address the barriers that the keypad has placed upon it.

However, while the console games industry struggles to cope with standardising just a handful of platforms, mobile gaming, with its multitude of manufacturers and almost countless number of handsets, faces a far stiffer challenge.

With the prospect of handset vendors standardising their approach proving very remote, third party companies have instead attempted to take the gaming bull by the horns.

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Zeemote Inc’s JS1 Controller, which wirelessly syncs with compatible handsets, is a solid attempt at bringing standard game controls to mobile. However, Zeemote itself would admit it faces a number of barriers – compatibility and standardisation hurdles aside, it’s a big question to ask if mobile users are willing to carry an ancillary device alongside their handsets.

More in keeping with the modern boom in motion controlled gaming is TiltNTwist’s GestureTek gesture recognition software, designed for use with Windows Mobile devices.

Cleverly, the software works with a phone’s in-built camera to translate movement in the real-world into

games, without the need for built in accelerometers.

As is always the case, however, such is the turnover rate of new handsets that manufacturers themselves are already all over the touch and gesture revolution. Few have been as proactive as Sony Ericsson, with many of its recent models, such as the F305, including motion control out of the box.

“The experiences we have from accelerometer-enabled devices makes motion sensing devices like the F305 very interesting as part of our portfolio and the future in delivering energised mobile phone experiences to all our users,” Sony Ericsson’s content acquisition manager for games and graphics Peter Ahnegard tells Mobile Entertainment. “We have consistently, over the last 12 months, launched accelerometer-enabled phones with a wide variety of games.

Motion-controlled devices are one of the key areas in the strategy of

Perhaps what this industry needs is a device that forces standards for mobile games.

iPhone – the device against which all others are now measured

delivering ‘energised’ experiences to our users.

“However, different games require different input mechanisms. There is no single perfect solution, but at the same time we need to keep the design and the various motion controls as well defined for mobile phones as possible. Touchscreens are becoming increasingly established

Sony Ericsson’s F305 helped put motion control into the mass market

and will no doubt be a more common input mechanism for games.

“We expect that this relatively mature segment of mobile entertainment is only really at the beginning of its development and that we will see much more advanced devices and technology which will enable us to develop exciting gaming propositions and experiences in the future. Sony Ericsson wants to be an active, contributing partner in driving this forward.”

Perhaps what the industry really needs is for one vendor to step forward and present one device so ground-breaking and influential that it successfully forces a standard upon the rest of the industry. Some would argue that Apple’s iPhone has already assumed that mantle. It’s certainly true to say that iPhone offers a gaming experience unlike anything seen previously in the mobile market.

It perhaps can’t better the likes of

Nokia’s N-Gage for traditional gaming, but then it’s leagues ahead of the old N-Gage when it comes to telephony – a lesson Nokia learnt the hard way.

The most striking feature of iPhone, of course, is its total shunning of the keypad altogether.

Instead, Apple’s device packs the latest and greatest in control technology – it obviously has a touch screen, but also includes an accelerometer as well as other options that are being increasingly incorporated into games by developers, such as GPS. It doesn’t hurt that Apple’s device is a powerful beast, too, with innards allegedly more powerful than the DS and comparable to the PSP. Couple this to the vast power of the App Store as a distribution mechanism and perhaps mobile gaming’s defining platform has arrived. Only time will tell if it’s on a Nintendo scale.

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The woeful internet The mobile internet is rubbish. Well, most of it is, says Rich Holdsworth, CTO at Wapple. But in the first of two articles looking at the mobile web this month, he thinks something can be done about it… ave you ever tried to browse an internet site on your mobile? Even if you’ve got a high-end device with 3G, I’m sure you’ve found the experience leaves a lot to be desired. Chances are the site was built with desk-based web browsers in mind. We’re talking 19inch monitors, mice, pointers, popups, Ajax, Flash and so on. That’s pretty much everything that the vast majority of mobile handsets simply don’t have.

But then the very purpose of these websites is to serve users at their desks. That same user has different objectives and desires when they are out and about. Just hoping that your audience can deal with shortcomings when viewing your website from a handheld is not going to do you or your brand any favours. Pages are difficult to digest, graphics are distorted, features are broken and users cannot find the information they need quickly.

In short, you need to provide a high-quality tailored experience to every mobile visitor; not just a handful. Doing so presents challenges of its own. In a web world, we already have to worry about inconsistencies between browsers; but in the mobile universe the issue is multiplied a

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hundredfold. Screen sizes vary, operating systems change, networks operate differently, handsets support different markup languages, adhere to their own set of standards and break unique rules.

Overcoming these challenges is difficult. You could develop a really basic site with a bit of text and some links that will work on any mobile device with web capability. But this lowest common denominator

Catering for the lowest common denominator isn’t even better than nothing. approach fails to take advantage of the amazing things you can do on mobile and, frankly, looks archaic. It isn’t even ‘better than nothing’.

Some companies get round this by building three or more versions of a site to deliver to groups of different devices. This is expensive and time consuming, and precludes quick and dynamic changes.

Even if you could grab every single handset out there and perform extensive testing, a number of new phones would hit the shelves while you were doing it and OTA firmware changes would undoubtedly scupper the hard work you’d put in.

Clearly, this isn’t the answer. The only real solution is through technology that provides a hands-off approach to device optimisation, such as Wapple Exhibit. Through some really clever profiling and a unique system for optimising individual page components it provides a build-once, publish-many system. This means it is possible to build a site the way you want it and ensure that every device receives exactly what it’s capabable of displaying to the user. And it is essential that the system constantly updates itself with new devices the instant it Readers may not be getting the full message if sites aren’t optimised

sees them, which often happens before the devices hit the market.

By supporting every single mobile device available now and in the future, your investment in the mobile web is future-proofed and your brand, vision and content is reflected perfectly on everything from an Apple iPhone to a Nokia 7210. The results are far better than building multiple sites that only hit the bullseye on a handful of phones. It is only by getting device optimisation and site focus right that the internet on mobile will ever reach the heights we all hope.

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MOBILE WEB: PART 2

Adapt and thrive The iPhone has done wonders for the public perception of mobile web browsing. But it’s far from perfect. InfoGin CEO Eran Wyler offers this analysis… s all ME readers will be aware, mobile web browsing is on the rise due to the proliferation of high–end devices that come with excellent browsers, bigger screens and faster connections. The introduction of Apple’s iPhone has taken the market a step further, bringing about a radical change in the way users interact with the internet on mobile. Its popularity proves that consumers are keen to remain online while on the move.

But, for all its success, the mobile internet experience as a whole remains multifaceted. iPhone has certainly provided a better experience than most that came before it.

However, operators can no longer ignore the fact that mobile users, especially those who have invested in a smartphone, won’t settle for anything less than the universal availability of their favourite web content in the best possible format.

Simply, mobile has to replicate their desktop browsing experience.

Yet many website owners have still to create mobile-friendly versions of their destinations. And when they do, it’s not always the case that browsers re-direct consumers to them

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anyway. Interestingly, even the iPhone is not perfect in this respect.

A closer look at the internet technologies within the device paints a picture that is a lot less than Apple’s promise of a handset that puts the whole web in your pocket.

The iPhone’s Safari browser, for example, will always send the user to

Many website owners have still to create mobilefriendly versions of their destinations. a mobile version of a web page when it exists, not giving the user any choice between browsing the mobile version or the PC version. Safari also has limited Flash capabilities, making it impossible to view web pages packed with rich content.

Some of the web page scripts are not running as well, either an error message is shown, or the page is not loaded at all.

Take, for instance, a Safari-based embedded browser on an Nokia N95 phone. A web page is presented ‘as is’, regardless of the original screen size and attached file sizes. This results in a very long download time as well as long horizontal scrolling and no clear indication of the user’s whereabouts within the page. This is essentially the equivalent of navigating a desktop-size window through a small rectangle-size peep-hole.

To achieve the ultimate browsing experience on highend devices that are already equipped with smart browsing, operators should implement a server-based content adaptation technology that automatically and dynamically reformats any content to any mobile device.

Such a solution combines functionality, adaptation and smart navigation layers to simulate the real web experience.

As the industry moves beyond its preoccupation with voice and text, and as flat rate data plans proliferate, it will

become more and more important for operators to provide a robust and enjoyable web offerng. With an adaptation solution in place, users of iPhone and any other mobile devices can truly enjoy the benefits of the real mobile web, Flash and all.

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ADULT

Hard times?

What went up and what went down in mobile adult during 2008 (insert joke here)? Julia Dimambro, MD of Cherry Media, gives her typically saucy verdict… n the mobile adult sector, it’s not just knickers that rise and fall – although they are constantly on the move. New products and services arrive on a wave of expectations.

Some justify the hype, while others wither away. As a veteran of this business, I’ve seen all manner of ideas hit the market. So here’s my view of the erotica sector over the last year…

I

What the industry got right Video chat Chat has such consumer appeal and loyalty incentive that it was the mobile adult sector’s largest growth area of 2008 and will continue to lead the space in 2009.

Better commercial models for providers and distributors The mobile industry is finally recognising that the value of the sale lies in the content. Cherry Media

now operates a very successful ‘deposit’ strategy as well as a fixed fee/rights owned portfolio, which has seen huge demand globally.

Age verification The broader roll-out of robust access controls means we can offer erotic services to consenting adults. This increases conversion, customer loyalty, satisfaction and revenues.

The sector has remembered that basic human instincts aren’t affected by macroeconomics.

Hardcore for those who want it When a user verifies he is over 18, he can now enjoy genuine 18-plus content in most cases. Previously, many services offered topless or nude girls that could have been obtained much easier and more cheaply in European ‘lifestyle’ publications.

www.mobile-ent.biz

It’s not about the brand Consumers are turned on by girls and genres, not brands. While brands may drive initial traffic, customer loyalty and conversions are based around real ‘obtainable’ girls, amateur productions and gritty genres.

Rich technology, poor content It’s all very well having a 3G network that supports two minute videos, but it’s pointless if the video is of a girl just wiggling her booty because of content guidelines. It’s boring and frustrating. Yet we still get requests for this content from tier one operators.

Credit-crunch The sector has done well to remember that basic human instincts aren’t affected by macro-economics.

We enjoyed a 15 per cent increase in sales during Q4 2008.

What the industry got wrong Lack of retailing If the statement ‘sex sells’ is true, then it helps to utilise your sales space to arouse the consumer and influence his purchasing decisions.

The internet does this. Mobile (mostly) doesn’t. Cherry Media has an ‘erotic retailing strategy’ to address this. Partners have increased sales by a third.

The rise of the porn cowboy Cowboys have always had a knack of abusing a situation for quick cash gains, and the current economic downturn is bringing them back. We have heard about numerous cases where companies believed they were getting a ‘bargain’ only to find that the content was unlicensed or the service was not what was sold. If it seems too good to be true... it normally is, especially in adult.

Lack of accountability We have seen a dramatic increase in late and/or incorrect reporting, late or non-payments and general bad business ethics from distributors. I’m sure many other providers are experiencing the same and this will have a huge impact on the industry.

Content providers will be forced to stop delivering their product and enter legal procedures. This must be addressed immediately.

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MOBILE INTERNET

Who’s looking at you?

Vast swathes of the world are bypassing the fixed web in favour of the mobile internet. Brands are missing out if they don’t re-engineer their sites for mobile, writes Sarah Keefe, VP marketing at Bango… f one in ten shoppers passing your shop in the High Street was presented with a confused and jumbled display, it wouldn’t take long for you to do something about it. But in effect that is what is happening on some PC websites. Up to ten per cent of visitors to a PC website are accessing it from a mobile device. And when Bango surveyed the Top 20 most trafficked PC websites (according to Nielsen Online), we found that half of these sites did not work well on leading mobile phones. Text and images were not rendered properly and sites could not be easily navigated.

PC websites are simply not adapting fast enough to match mobile browsing acceleration. By failing to present mobile-friendly versions, site owners are letting down their customers, staff and shareholders.

Of course, there have been attempts to address this. Vodafone UK transcodes desktop websites, for example. While this improves the user experience, it is no substitute for a properly designed site. Made-formobile websites generally have a simpler layout with content that’s relevant for a user on the home page.

But brands remain reluctant. When asked, many online businesses admitted they don’t know how much traffic is mobile-originated.

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When asked, many online businesses didn’t know how much traffic is mobile-originated.

These visitors are not just iPhone users. IDC projected 1.3 billion people connected to the internet via mobile phones in 2008, and in countries like Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa and India, 90 per cent of mobile browsing is done by the least expensive handsets.

So how can brands find out how many people are visiting from a mobile? Bango has a plug-in called

Analytics for PC websites that provides metrics of visitors including the mobile percentage, country, network and device used. Once they’ve found this new audience, it is vital for brands to understand which marketing campaigns are most effective. They can do so using link tracking for campaign analysis and page tracking for site analysis.

This calls for a different approach from the PC web, where some of the techniques used just don’t work on mobile: cookies aren’t reliable because most mobile browsers can’t run JavaScript and IP addresses belong to the network operator rather than the end user. However, for each individual that clicks on an ad or browses a site, a privacy protected User ID is created, which makes it possible to distinguish between new and repeat users and quantify precisely the number of unique visitors.

Mobile connectivity is proliferating.

People have started to cancel their landline in favour of using their mobile for voice calls. They’re even cancelling their broadband subs.

Mobile search and flat rate are also helping to drive this migration. It’s time for brands to recognise that mobile needs to be taken seriously if they are to provide a good experience for their visitors.

Top 20 most trafficked PC websites PC websites that work on mobile: eBay YouTube MSN Yahoo Google Amazon Weather Facebook CNN PC websites that don’t work on mobile: Fox Microsoft Wikipedia Apple About Ask Blogger Real Networks Glam Media Craigslist Source: Nielsen Online, July 2008

www.mobile-ent.biz

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Growth from Knowledge

European mobile entertainment revenue spend exceeded 2 billion Euros in 2008.

Music added the most revenue in Q4 with over 60% of growth coming from subscription based downloads.

50 million Euros is spent on downloading games each month in Europe.

Casual games and bundled games account for nearly half of mobile game downloads in recent months.

The top 50 games only contributed 38% of the sales in the last quarter.

In November, 34% of all phones sold were 3G devices.

However, 69% of all mobile entertainment revenue was downloaded to 3G phones.

70 pence of every pound spent on downloads is on deck.

GfK track the sales of downloads and mobile content across Europe. By receiving the data direct from both ‘on’ and ‘off deck’ portals GfK m2 are able to track the sales and values of mobile content markets down to title level.

With unrivalled levels of accuracy and granularity, GfK m2 can grow your business by helping you…

Optimize distribution Track the impact of new products Highlight the best performing titles and genres Identify emerging trends and growth opportunities Measure the success of promotional activities Quantify publisher and developer shares Understand device and technology uptake and penetration Analyse price elasticity Product lifecycle and back catalogue management

Aaron Rattue Telephone: +44 (0)7810 633117 or email aaron.rattue@gfk.com www.gfkrt.com

www.gfkrt.com

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CONVERGENCE

The power of three So much of what’s driving mobile – video, social networking, UGC – is also driving the web and TV. How can the industry develop services that converge all three? Vantrix CMO Patrick Lopez has some ideas…. obile multimedia content, particularly streaming video and TV, will undoubtedly become a major force within mobile over the next year. Indeed, estimates show that 2.1 billion mobile subscribers will access mobile TV, video on demand, user-generated and music content via their mobile devices over the next five years.

Given these projections, carriers are betting on aggressive convergence strategies to bring web and TV content to handsets. Many have called this ‘three screen convergence’ (PC, television and mobile) a pipe dream, but the numbers and market conditions indicate otherwise.

It will happen if operators, content providers and handset makers all work towards the same goal of optimising the viewing experience and creating new services that genuinely converge the three channels. Here’s how they might do it:

M

Meet high end user expectations The proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies such as social networking applications, locationbased services, and the mobile web have created high subscriber expectations. Many operators have yet to successfully marry many of the elements that are ultimately important to subscribers: free apps, on-demand content, shared

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subscriptions across services and personalised content.

It is a tall order, but carriers need to redefine their business models and cost structure to satisfy the consumer demand.

Recognise the impact of usergenerated content and social networks 2008 was definitely the year of the mobile web with mobile UGC and social networking driving the growth.

Indeed, nearly 40 per cent of all mobile web traffic involved social networking. Yet despite these strong numbers, no real unified end user experience across mobile and internet channels has been built.

Many sites are still not optimised for mobile and most mobile web experiences are still determined by handset capabilities.

To capitalise on the potential of these services, operators must create a seamless user experience from web to mobile – and manage the complexity of delivering rich multimedia content to wireless devices. Video streaming and video sharing are critical to this experience.

In addition, operators must be willing to adapt their models to usher in more UGC and social media content, accepting new revenue models and re-examining how they monetise additional services.

Carriers are betting on aggressive convergence strategies to bring web and TV content to handsets.

Commit to developing a stronger mobile advertising model To date, mobile advertising numbers have remained relatively small with most activity limited to text campaigns. There has been minimal incorporation of multimedia or video content because of operators’ inability to deliver consistently optimised content across a broad base of subscribers. Until now this was okay, because of limited available content and the small base of video-enabled handsets.

However, this is changing. More content is available and advanced handset penetration is growing.

There will be increasing opportunities for operators and content providers to monetise more and more rich content, if and only if, they commit to models that support the delivery of targeted, relevant optin advertising.

Over the next year I think we will see some very interesting moves from operators as they seek to meet consumer demand and find alternate means to replace falling ARPU in traditional voice and telephony services. The above are just a few of the considerations they need to address, but I am confident that over the next 12 months we’ll see progress that will bring us much closer to truly converged experience.

www.mobile-ent.biz

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MOBILE SEARCH

Mobile learns to trawl Search is the bedrock of the wired internet. But it must be radically re-imagined if it is to flourish on mobile, argues Steve Ives, CEO of Taptu… n the early days, the computer was a productivity device, a glorified adding machine designed primarily for business. The web changed everything. It turned the PC into a social device for email, IM and Facebook. Of course, if the computer is social, the mobile must be ‘supersocial’ as it’s the first personal, massmarket social medium.

So what does this mean for mobile search engines? Well, because your phone is always with you, entertainment search is more important than it ever was on the desktop. Last year, it was estimated that there were 27 million search queries a day across all major mobile search engines. Thanks to iPhone and its knock-on effect among other vendors, we can expect a doubling or tripling of search volumes in the next couple of years. That’s a lot of searching. So what are people searching for?

Studies by Yahoo and Medio in 2007 found users were searching for entertainment above anything else, illustrating that mobile is not simply a

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mirror of PC search (where entertainment is not the dominant category). While the meaning of ‘entertainment’ differs between people, it still boils down to what brings enjoyment, relaxation or provide an effortless way to catch up with the latest news or topic of interest. For one person it’ll be the

So where does ‘social’ come in to play? Well, mobile devices are social tools. The handset brand, ringtone, wallpaper and other features all say something about someone’s identity.

Mobiles are now as much part of the youth segment’s social currency as clothes and trainers. In a sense, they also use search to help them achieve

Today, mobile search is typically used just once a week. Soon it will be five times a day. latest sport blogs, for another it will be the latest Duffy video.

The other significant finding from these studies was in relation to location based search (LBS). The industry has long claimed that local search (finding your nearest pizza restaurant, etc) would be a dominant category on mobile – but this was not supported in either survey.

It is more likely that location will be less of a search category than a highly valued utility.

the same social kudos: when someone searches for their favourite band, they want to be able to play a track, see a video clip and send the track to their friends or post it to their social network.

But this is not easy to achieve.

Sharing web content is a painless experience on the desktop; we have two hands, a mouse and capable web browsers. It’s easy to copy a URL into an email or drag and drop it into a Facebook Wall to share it with friends.

On the mobile, however, browsers are more basic, with minimal copy/paste functionality.

Few users take the time to set up email on their handset, and sending URLs in text messages to multiple recipients is not easy.

For these reasons, relevancy, ranking and algorithms on mobile need to be re-designed from scratch.

Through the use of social scores discovered within each community, it’s possible to discover the most appropriate results to serve to the user. This can provide more relevant results, especially for entertainmentrelated content. It is no longer acceptable to repurpose web content built for the PC. When you search for a video from your favourite artist, finding out you can’t view the video because your phone doesn’t support the file type is an unnecessary frustration.

Today, mobile search is typically used just once a week. Soon it will be five times a day. Making search social is the key to growing the category as a whole.

www.mobile-ent.biz

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RESEARCH

Surviving the winter Spending on mobile media will probably be squeezed during the downturn. But not disastrously. So says Nick Lane of Direct2 Mobile... he major players in mobile have painted a bleak outlook for 2009 as the wintery economic conditions set in. Nokia made preliminary estimations recently that device volumes will be down this year compared to 2008. But research from Direct2 Mobile reveals a much rosier picture, concluding that Nokia’s grim forecast will not prevent consumers from making that not-totallynecessary phone call or download the latest offering from EA due to fear that if their device fails they will not be able to replace it.

T

In December, Direct2 Mobile asked over 1,000 mobile consumers in the UK how the global economic slowdown had affected their monthly mobile spending. Over 53 per cent said that the slowdown had not affected their mobile behaviour (including spend).

However, this fails to differentiate the ‘talk and texters’ from the ‘mobile entertainmentistas’ – that unique breed that use multiple data services on their mobile. In fact, some 34.7 per cent of respondents said that they only used voice and messaging services on their mobile – though of

ME Research: Now open for business ARE you looking for targeted research into a specific area of mobile? Got a business plan to prepare? Maybe a speech? These are the kinds of projects that ME Research can help with. Mobile Entertainment has teamed up with Direct2Mobile to deliver targeted intelligence into the content space. Projects are carried out by Nick Lane and his

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team. Interested? Send a mail to: meresearch@intentmedia.co.uk

course this does not mean that 65 per cent of users enjoy non-messaging data service, that figure remains at 15-16 per cent of all users in the UK. Results from the survey indicate that it could be the non-messaging data services that will bear the brunt of the economic slowdown – but that all depends on your perspective of the results.

Results show that non-messaging data services will bear the brunt of the economic slowdown.

The economic conditions can account for the loss of revenue from approximately 24 per cent of users.

Just over five per cent of users that have previously purchased mobile entertainment have curtailed their spending on mobile content for the time being to successfully negotiate this economic winter.

A further 1.9 per cent of respondents intend to cancel all non-voice and non-messaging spend

on their mobile with immediate effect. And 17 per cent of users will not subscribe to subscription-based content services on their mobile.

It is perhaps this last category of user that will be most damaging to the mobile industry in the mediumterm. These are the users that previously would have entertained the notion of subscribing to the flatrate data plans, text alerts, mobile TV and music services.

If anything, this will account for slower market growth than loss of revenues. The short-term damage to mobile entertainment revenues stems from the 7.2 per cent of users that have restricted their content spend.

Understanding the consumer has always been a major issue for the mobile industry.

Now more than ever, it is vital that mobile connects with its users to understand potential behavioural changes and the likelihood of reduced spending on their mobile phones.

But where there is a will, there is a way. And those that will are the 53 per cent of the market that remain unaffected by the recession.

And all that the mobile industry, and the mobile entertainment sector in particular, need to do now, is find a way.

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One Italia was established in 2004 and operates in the multimedia content market for telecom applications.

With over 350 employees, distributed within seven offices in three continents, One Italia operates in Italy, Europe, US, Brazil and Mexico. The Company focuses on developing and managing operations related to the digital world, thanks to its strong qualifications in the development of multimedia services and content targeted to Mobile and Web platforms. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong points focus on mobile VAS, with a relevant experience in mobile music portal sites, video and TV applications for mobile, Internet, development of m-sites and bespoke digital content, digital advertising, communities, User Generated Content, e-commerce and data traffic. One Italia has developed in-house technologies and platforms for the delivery of 3G and 2.5G content and services

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Sponsored by

RECRUITMENT

Barcode firm swipes Marriott NeoMedia scans market and finds ex-MMA boss a place on its board SANDI ISAACS has departed film studio Paramount after eight years.

She was formerly SVP of interactive and mobile.

Google’s longstanding mobile specialist DEEP NISHAR has left the company to join LinkedIn as VP of product management. His recruitment hints at the new mobile focus for the business-oriented social network.

Scotland’s Picsel Technologies has recruited TED KATAGI to be its new global COO. The appointment is indicative of Picsel’s strong relationships in the Asia Pac region, as Katagi was previously chief marketing officer at Vodafone Japan.

Pureplay mobile search firm Taptu has appointed ANDREAS BERNSTROM as COO. He will drive the company’s commercial growth and advertising activities.

Bernstrom worked for TradeDoubler, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.

Palm has hired DOUGLAS C. JEFFRIES from eBay to replace ANDY BROWN as CFO.

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Game developer Unity has recruited the industry veteran DAVID LAU-KEE as non-executive chairman. Lau-Kee was the founder of Criterion, a middleware pioneer, and also a VP at Electronic Arts. Unity makes development tools for 3D games across all formats.

No more west country burr at Nokia’s Whiteoaks US office. Nokia’s global industry marketing head KAMAR SHAH has left after five years. We hear he’ll reappear in the games industry.

TIM HARRISON has left EA after barely 18 months with the company.

He arrived there from OMTP having previously worked for Vodafone.

Former MMA chief LAURA MARRIOTT has joined the board at NeoMedia Technologies. In her time at the MMA, Marriott presided over a huge rise in membership numbers. NeoMedia is hoping she can sprinkle some magic on the ‘camera-initiated transactions’ space.

www.mobile-ent.biz

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RECRUITMENT

Quality you can Aspire toâ&#x20AC;Ś Global specialist recruitment firm Aspire Mobile expands its interim service offering in recognition of the growing market demand

Founded in 2006 by two directors with over 20 years experience, Aspire Mobile is an international recruitment company that specialises in supplying technical and commercial professionals on a contract and permanent basis within the mobile and digital markets.

Originally set up as a niche specialist within the mobile content market, Aspire Mobile has recently expanded its service offering with the opening of a new Digital Division. In addition to the broad array of jobs within the mobile industry, it can now offer opportunities and pre-qualified candidates to companies involved within Digital Media.

As the industry has grown, Aspire has evolved with it. In addition to the UK and Europe, Aspire now covers emerging markets and is currently supplying to companies based in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

In keeping with evolving markets, Aspire Mobile recognises that along with permanent roles, there is also a strong demand for interim services. As a result, it is now offering a growing number of contract positions with a pool of technical and commercial resource candidates available immediately.

Aspire Mobile believes that building strong relationships with its clients and candidates is key to a successful recruitment process.

Their fresh approach to recruitment techniques recognises the momentous decisions and changes that any potential candidate must make when applying for a new job. www.mobile-ent.biz

Aspire works closely with both candidates and clients to ensure that the career change is as smooth as possible.

Significant understanding allows them to look beyond the skill set of the CV into what the candidate has actually delivered for previous employers and, critically, how the right person will improve their clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business. This approach ensures that candidates put forward are serious about the opportunity, comprehensively briefed and that

Aspire has recently expanded its service offering with a new digital division. their clients only see high-calibre individuals with proven track records.

As a result of their experience and good relationships with qualified mobile and digital experts, Aspire is able to draw upon many resources in order to deliver the best quality candidates quickly and who, might otherwise, be difficult to find.

Through referrals as well as continually networking amongst passive job seekers, Aspire Mobile is consistently chosen as a partner for global recruitment campaigns.

For the fourth year running, Aspire Mobile will be attending the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, February 16th-19th 2009.

February 2009 41

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Wishing everyone the best of luck at 3GSM!

www.arnconsulting.com

SOURCE

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digital marketing creative services technical development mobile i-Gaming support services

Senior Account Manager Salary: up to £60k including bonus Location: St Ives, Cambridgeshire Award-winning mobile content specialist FoneStarz Media Group is looking for an outstanding account manager with a track record in mobile, media or online. The successful candidate will assume responsibility for growing accounts with major international Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and developing new business globally.

This is a high profile role within the business and the mobile entertainment industry, requiring regular long and short haul international travel and frequent commuting to London.

FoneStarz Media Group hosts and manages downloadable entertainment services for 28 MNOs in 23 countries.

The ideal candidate will have: G A minimum of 3-5 years experience in a consumer-orientated product management/marketing position G Strong commercial acumen supported by customer-driven operational experience G Strong communication and presentation skills, good problem solving ability, a dynamic, proactive approach and be flexible G Evidence of delivering against deadlines G Ability to understand new/complex and particularly mobile technologies G Entrepreneurial spirit, a sense of humour and a positive attitude G Ability to understand and articulate strategy and vision to a variety of audiences G Knowledge of mobile/wireless/media/online Please send CV and covering letter to vacancies@fonestarz.com by February 16th, 2009.

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Brand Sales Director Mobile London/ Europe– neg, equity as well!

Start up environment; you need to be an entrepreneurial, self starting, team player.

Many years of Brand Sales, strong client facing skills. Ability to expand sales across Europe with agencies and brands direct. Intelligent and polished. 5 years experience of selling at a senior level! Experience in digital media in the UK and preferably European and mobile experience. You'll identify key European agency partners and manage those into long-term partnerships.

Performance sales Director Mobile London/ Europe– neg, equity as well!

Start up environment; you need to be entrepreneurial, self starting and a team player. My client requires an excellent sales person with a strong client service background. Head and shoulders above the competition. Minimum five years experience in sales within technology/media. Track record of hitting challenging targets. Superb account development skills. You will probably have experience in dealing with mobile content advertisers.

Account Manager Mobile London/ Europe– neg, equity as well!

Start up environment! Role is about client contact and lead day-to-day management and optimization of campaigns. You will take responsibility for accounts after their initial spend. Managing and growing advertiser accounts, developing advertising solutions for performance advertisers and providing excellent customer service. A big team player is very important

Apply via email with CV and reference number to: Melina@propellondon.com

Recruiters from digital, recruiting for digital +44 (0)20 7440 1000 hello@propellondon.com www.propellondon.com

www.mobile-ent.biz

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SOURCE: GAMES SPOTLIGHT

Football: It’s a funny old game Scots firm Dynamo Games helps people become a virtual Roman Abramovich The award-winning team at Dynamo Games has created a string of successful games and applications, but is probably best known for its acclaimed mobile port of the Championship Manager series for Eidos.

Having made a name for itself in the sports games genre with ‘Champ Man’, Dynamo has created the Dynamo Sports brand to further establish itself in the category.

However, Football Tycoon – the first title released under the new brand – follows a completely different format to its more famous peer. The new game sits,

TITLE: Football Tycoon GENRE: Management RELEASED: Summer 2009 PUBLISHER: TBC PLATFORM: Java, BREW, iPhone, Android surprisingly enough, in the ‘tycoon’ genre, where the player controls the business decisions and tries to create a fortune rather than directly controlling play. Football Tycoon sees the player hiring managers, signing big names, controlling the finances and expanding the stadium as their empire grows.

Over time, versions of the game will be created for different sports, including baseball, american football, golf, F1, NASCAR and cricket. Dynamo is currently looking for potential distribution partners. www.dynamogames.com

WiSTONE quests for MMObile Gaming Chinese developer looks to make mobile games massively multiplayer WiSTONE is a Beijing-based developer with a strong focus on the mobile entertainment business and describes itself as being devoted to the development and operation of wireless games and entertainment applications. The company already has a number of self-generated titles under its belt, such as Demon Hunter, Eternal Life Revival and Speed Machine.

But it’s currently developing a game that it hopes will prove a milestone: Anrufen Online.

Anrufen is a massively multiplayer game that WiSTONE hopes will bring the ‘wow’ factor to mobile gaming. Featuring a huge game world containing cities, villages, forests, grasslands, deserts, caves and relics, Anrufen is one of the first real-time MMOs to appear on Symbian.

WiSTONE says falling data prices mean it’s no longer a luxury www.mobile-ent.biz

TITLE: Anrufen Online GENRE: MMORPG RELEASED: TBC PUBLISHER: TBC PLATFORM: Symbian, Windows Mobile, iPhone to play over a mobile connection, with the availability of real-time interactivity ensuring a smooth gaming experience. Interactivity between people is one of the biggest attractions and USPs of the game.

In addition, Anrufen also forms an online community where chat rooms can be created to complement the official channels.

WiSTONE is currently looking for a strong, long-term partner in game publishing to help take the title to a global audience. www.wistone.com

February 2009 43

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SOURCE: DATABOX

databox A selection of stats from across the mobile industry...

Blunt RAZR

Six billion songs sung so far Apple has now sold six billion tracks on iTunes. It’s a notable milestone, although it seems as if annual sales have now flatlined at two billion. The last billion songs took about five and half months to sell, and the four billionth was reached in January 2008. Apple also revealed: Over ten million different tracks are available on iTunes Ten million songs will be DRM free by the end of March There are now over 75 million accounts on iTunes linked to credit cards

Browsing into ‘09 Mobile browsing went up 12.1 between October and November, says Opera Software. The browser specialist’s latest stat update revealed that users viewed more than 5.7 billion pages in November, which is up 303 per cent year-on-year.

Its users generated more than 82.9 million MB of data for operators worldwide.

Opera also reported changes in the most popular sites on the mobile internet in the US. Facebook has become the second most visited site after Google, supplanting MySpace for the first time in terms of number of unique visitors.

Here’s the full list in descending order: Google Facebook MySpace Wikipedia Yahoo Friendster

www.mobile-ent.biz www.mobile-ent.biz

Four billion subs globally The landmark figure of four billion mobile subscriptions has been passed, says 3G Americas. It didn’t specify who the four billionth user was.

The GSM-focused organisation, along with Informa, attributed on-going growth to soaring adoption in emerging markets such as Latin America and the Caribbean. They believe the market there will hit 440 million next year - that’s 76 per cent penetration.

The research also outlined the migration to 3G, with nearly 415 million connections to date – 77 per cent of them on UMTS/HSPA networks, and the remaining 95 million on CDMA EV-DO. More than 100 operators have confirmed they will migrate to LTE.

Motorola will lose its top slot in the US handset market after years of dominance.

The last remnants of its RAZR-inspired hegemony ensured Moto ended 2008 in first pace with a 21 per cent share. But, according to MultiMedia Intelligence, Samsung and LG are closing fast and will surpass Motorola in 2009. Samsung is already top with the 12-17 year-old age group, with LG ahead among 25-34 year olds. Needless to say, Apple and RIM continue to carve up the smartphone market for themselves. A survey by ChangeWave shows RIM in the lead with a 41 per cent share. But that’s down one per cent since September. Meanwhile, Apple is up six per cent to 23 per cent. Its overall market share has more than doubled in the past six months due to the 3G iPhone.

However, the study concludes that the BlackBerry Storm is being rapturously received by users and that there will be a ‘full-scale battle with Apple for market supremacy in 2009’.

$15 for P&P Mobile subscribers are paying as much as $15 in data fees to download a single song in Europe, despite the emergence of flat rate data. mBlox, a mobile transactions firm, said some operators are charging exorbitant data fees, particularly to pre-paid customers, while others are charging as little as $1.16 for the data required to download a track. The company looked at operators’ terms and conditions across five countries and found the highest pay-asyou-go data fees were in the UK, where carriers charge as much as $15 to download a 2 megabyte track.

In Germany, it found relatively low fees of 35 cents per megabyte.

February 2009 45

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SOURCE: PRODUCT FOCUS

NEW STUFF A selection of new content, hardware and services...

Palm Pre IN A NUTSHELL: Sexy new touchscreen built around web connectivity from one of the original smartphone giants

Available: 1H 2009 (with Sprint) It’s been battered about by a coalition of Symbian, Windows, RIM and Apple, but now Palm is fighting back with a new device and complementary OS. The Palm Pre was unveiled at the CES show last month. It’s a neat little touchscreen along familiar lines, but probably more interesting is the underlying webOS mobile platform that’s been built from the ground up to be constantly connected to the web using technologies such as CSS, XHTML and JavaScript. This will encourage partners including developers, hardware suppliers, and accessories manufacturers to develop products for the device.

Palm says this platform will enable something called Palm Synergy that can ‘automatically

bring your information from the many places it resides – on your phone, at your work or on the web – into one simple, integrated view.’

Further enhancements include: Linked contacts Layered calendars Combined messaging Always-on applications Intuitive notifications The device itself comprises a curved slider with Qwerty keybard and gesture-controlled touch interface. It supports 3G and HSDPA, as well as wi-fi and Bluetooth. There’s 8GB of internal storage available, accelerometer to automatically orient web pages and photos, 3 megapixel camera and 3.5mm headphone jack. www.palm.com

Katina Leisure affiliates programme Available: Out Now

IN A NUTSHELL: An affiliate programme for mobile adult providers that offers free sign-up and speedy pay-outs.

46

February 2009

On the fixed internet the affiliate model is well-established for adult content providers. In fact, it’s saturated. However, the same cannot be said for the mobile internet, despite its accelerating adoption. Which is why UK-based adult specialist has now created what it claims is the world’s first adult mobile affiliate programme around its RawXXX brand.

The programme allows affiliates to link to the RawXXX web or WAP sites in exchange for a percentage of the generated revenue. It supports 11 channels through which to promote these destinations – from text triggers to web search.

Revenue is generated by offering potential customers a free trial period, which can then be extended as a subscription that offers

unlimited downloads for $9.99 per month or with a pay per download fee of $3.00. Affiliates can sign up for free and will receive a unique set of URLs and passwords, as well as promotional material such as banners and a free website.

All transactions are credited to the partner through their unique URL and password with an incentive based revenue scale. High revenue generators can claim up to 90 per cent of the sales generated every calendar month. For the user, all payments are made on-device.

The RawXXX WAP system is aready well-established in the UK and with the new proposals, Katina is looking to expand this to a global audience, including the US, Australia and South Africa. www.rawmobileporn.com

www.mobile-ent.biz

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SOURCE: PRODUCT FOCUS

WinBackTone Available: Out Now 4Play Digital Workshop is looking to bring its successful WinBackTone advertising platform to the UK. The system, which has seen successful deployment in Turkey through that country’s biggest network operator Turkcell, works by assigning audio advertisements on incoming calls instead of the standard beeping ringtone.

What makes WinBackTone unique is the way that it attempts to touch both consumers and advertisers.

The website takes the form of a community site where subscribers, known in Turkey as ‘Tonics,’ form the backbone of the system.

The WinBackTone subscriber chooses which advertisement goes out to his or her contacts and as a result, it takes the form of a recommendation. Members win free

www.mobile-ent.biz

credit and airtime according to how many times they made people listen to the audio advertisements via the ring back tone.

Turkey’s – and the world’s third biggest – network operator Turkcell put its TonlaKazan service into practice by utilising the WinBackTone substructure.

The application, which was implemented by 4Play Digital Workshop, has a wide array of advertisers from many local and global brands and now has more than 150,000 members.

4Play says the success of TonlaKazan serves as the best example of the effectiveness of the medium. The company is now aiming to penetrate the global mobile advertising market. www.winbacktone.com

IN A NUTSHELL: Ad-funded, reward-based ring back service that’s big in Turkey and will soon be here too.

February 2009 47

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SOURCE: CHARTS

charts Check here every month for the best selling games, ringtones and mobile apps from across the market...

Tagging

Ringtones

Artists & handsets

Ringtones.com top Euro music tones, Jan

Artist

Flycell US Top Ringtone Artists, Dec

Hot ‘N’ Cold

Katy Perry

Artist (Ranked by downloads)

Model

Vendor

2

Hellelujah

Alexandra Burke

1

Kanye West

1

M1000

Kyocera

3

Run

Leona Lewis

2

Soulja Boy

2

Shine

LG

4

Right Now

Akon

3

Keyshia Cole

3

CDM-1450

UTStarcom

5

Just Dance

Lady Gaga

4

Ludacris

4

MARBL-K127/132

Kyocera

6

Womanizer

Britney Spears

5

Lil Wayne

5

W850/i

Sony Ericsson

7

Sex On Fire

Kings Of Leon

6

Akon

6

SGH-A737/736

Samsung

8

So What?

Pink

7

Taylor Swift

7

Centro

Palm

9

Use Somebody

Kings Of Leon

8

Rihanna

8

SGH-I617

Samsung

10

Human

Killers

9

Young Jeezy

9

CU920/915/VU

LG

10

Ne-Yo

10

Razr V3r

Motorola

Source: Mobilestreams 1

Mom, Mom, Mommy

Family Guy Gavin & Stacey

2

All right, what’s occurring?

3

I’m Gonna Have Cool Whip

Family Guy

4

Spider Pig

The Simpsons

5

A Phone Call, Fricking Sweet

Family Guy

6

Who The Hell’s Ringing? Peter Kay

7

Can You Ere Me Now?

Peter Kay

8

Xmas Karaoke

The Simpsons

9

Phone Call Dark Side

Yoda

10

Xmas Karaoke (full-length)

The Simpsons

Music

Source: Mobilestreams

Zed top truetones, 15th Dec - 15th Jan Song

Artist

1

Hallelujah

Alexandra Burke

2

Run

Leona Lewis

4

Use Somebody If I Were A Boy

USA realtone soundalikes, Dec

South Africa realtone soundalikes, Dec

Ringtones 3

Source: Flycell

Source: Flycell

Ringtones.com top Euro voicetones, Jan

Kings Of Leon Beyonce

5

Hot ‘N’ Cold

6

Sex On Fire

Katy Perry Kings Of Leon

7

Right Now

Akon

8

Womanizer

Britney Spears

9

Warning Tone

Knob Jockey

10

So What?

Pink

Source: Zed Zed games, 15th Dec - 15th Jan Game

Publisher

1

Bacterium

Zed

2

Trash Racer

Zed

3

Planet Golf

Zed

4

Reverzed Online

Zed

5

Ninya Ninja: Rescue

Zed

6

Brain Coach

Zed

7

NBA Pinball

Zed

Shazam Tagging Jan 1 Day ‘N’ Nite Kid Kudi 2 Infinity 2008 Guru Josh Project 3 Just Dance Lady Gaga 4 Warm This Winter Gabriella Cilmi 5 Use Somebody Kings Of Leon 6 Run Leona Lewis 7 Hot ‘N’ Cold Katy Perry 8 Let It Rock Kevin Rudolf 9 Human The Killers 10 Live Your Life TI ft Rihanna Source: Shazam

1

If I Were A Boy

Beyonce

1

Circus

Britney Spears

2

Crush

David Archuleta

2

If I Were A Boy

Beyonce

3

Can You Hear Me

Enrique Iglesias

3

Live Your Life

TI ft Rihanna

4

I Hate This Part

Pussycat Dolls

4

Single Ladies

Beyonce

5

Green Light

John Legend

5

Just Dance

Lady Gaga

6

Disturbia

Rihanna

6

Whatever You Like

TI

7

Womanizer

Britney Spears

7

Love Story

Taylor Swift

8

The Man Who...

The Script

8

Let It Rock

Kevin Rudolf

9

Beggin

Madcon

9

Paper Planes

MIA

10

Single Ladies

Beyonce

10

Womanizer

Britney Spears

Source: Melodi Media

Source: Melodi Media

Video & wallpaper Fonestarz top videos, Jan

Fonestarz top wallpapers, Jan

1

Britney Spears - Womanizer

1

2

T.I. – Live Your Life

2

Merry Xmas Glitter Hat

3

Wii Fit Girlfriend

3

Flirty Fireworks – I Love You

4

Alexandra Burke

4

Xmas Love

5

Beyonce – If I Were A Boy

5

Winnie the Pooh Xmas Lights

6

Glamour Girl Greetings

6

Merry Christmas Baubles

7

Sexy Cam

7

New Year Fireworks

Crude Christmas Vids

8

Animated Man Utd Crest

Disney’s Eeyore Xmas Gift

8

Virtual Psycologist

Zed

8

9

Street Basketball

Zed

9

Laughing Baby

9

Butterflies Theme

10

Bubble Boom

Zed

10

Kiss ME Kwik

10

Gemma Merna

Source: Zed

48

Flycell US Top Download Handsets, Dec

Song 1

February 2009

Source: FoneStarz

Source: FoneStarz

www.mobile-ent.biz

49 ME48_final:Layout 1

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THE GETCHART – DECEMBER 2008 Getjar – Apps for everyone!

TOP 20 HANDSETS

TOP 20 APPLICATIONS

(used to download apps)

(downloaded) Application

Category

1

eBuddy

Email & Messaging

2

Opera Mini Web browser v4.2

Business & Productivity

3

Nimbuzz

4

Devices 1

Nokia N70-1

2

Nokia N73

Email & Messaging

3

Nokia 6120c

mig33

Email & Messaging

4

Nokia N95

5

MajiPlayer Music Player

Music

5

Nokia N81

6

Super Bluetooth Hack

Lifestyle

6

Nokia 6600

7

MagicBlueHack

Lifestyle

7

Nokia N95 8GB

8

qeep

Community

8

Nokia 3110c

9

Dictionary

Information & Reference

9

Nokia 6300

Email & Messaging

10 Nokia 7610

10 Yamee

2008 Getjar Awards Winner!

11 Bluetooth File Transfer OBEX FTP

Business & Productivity

12 Google Maps for mobile

Maps

13 Opera Mini v 3.1

Business & Productivity

13 Nokia N82

14 FileExplorer

Business & Productivity

14 Nokia 6233

15 FileLock

Business & Productivity

15

16 MyWaves

Entertainment

16 Nokia N72

17 GlassPlayer music player

Music

17 Nokia 6680

18 Super Bluetooth Hack

Lifestyle

18 Nokia N70

19 Yahu Email App

Email & Messaging

19 Nokia 5200

20 qeep Messenger

Community

20 Sony-Ericsson W200i

11 2008 Getjar Awards Winner!

Nokia 6630

12 Nokia 5300

Nokia 3230

U.S. CHARTS Games

Tones

POWERED BY

Wallpapers

The PlayPhone featured content listing is created and compiled utilizing download data results from strong sellers, fast movers and top-rated mobile content available across PlayPhone Web and WAP mobile destinations. (c) PlayPhone, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other phone images, trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners.

Mobile Entertainment

Powering Mobile Entertainment For Leading Brands Like Yours

Find out more at bizdev@playphone.com Copyright Playphone, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other phone images, trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners.

PlayPhone ME Ad.indd 1

www.playphone.com 19/1/09 12:05:55

51 ME48_v3:networks

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Page 1

OPERATORS :SOURCE

NETWORK SUBS Key operator subscriber numbers from around the world Country

Operator

Subscribers

Country

Western Europe UK

Spain

Italy

France

Israel Netherlands

Ireland

Sweden

Norway

Germany

Denmark

Belguim

Poland

Subscribers

T-Mobile (PTC)

12,800,000

Vodafone

5,267,000

16,800,000

TMN

6,004,000

3

4,445,000

Optimus

2,280,000

Virgin

4,115,100

Orange

13,900,000

O2

18,878,000

Switzerland

Orange

1,510,000

Orange

15,642,000

Eastern Europe

BT-Mobile

360,000

Czech Republic

T-Mobile

5,300,000

O2

5,186,000

Vodafone

18,510,000

T-Mobile

Movistar

23,008,000

Vodafone

2,751,000

Megafon

36,970,000

15,700,000

Mobile TeleSystems

77,970,000

23,056,000

VimplelCom

41,800,000

Kyivstar GSM

23,711,000

Ukrainian Mobile (MTS)

19,811,000

3

1,500,000

Optus

7,100,000

Telstra

2,400,000

Vodafone

3,573,000

China Mobile

332,000,000

Orange

11,091,000

Vodafone

16,210,000

Orange Vodafone 3

8,184,000

Wind

15,600,000

TIM

35,000,000

Asia Pacific

Orange

24,315,000

Australia

SFR

18,800,000 9,256,000

Bouygues

Greece

Portugal

Operator

Russia

Ukraine

Vodafone

5,438,000

Cosmote

6,280,000

Wind (Previously-Qtelecom)

4,500,000

China Unicom

162,491,000

Orange

10,354,000

Tibet Telecom

957,000

Movistar

22,800,000

3

2,515,000

Cellcom Israel

3,073,000

Pelephone

2,400,000

China

Hong Kong India

Smart tone

1,108,000

Bharti Airtel

64,268,049

Vodafone

4,360,000

BSNL

40,790,000

T-Mobile

4,889,000

Idea Cellular

24,002,000

KPN

8,800,000

Tata Indicom

24,330,000

Vodafone

2,247,000

Japan

NTT DoCoMo

53,400,000

O2

1,688,000

Philippines

Globe Telecom

22,700,000

3 (includes UK)

4,445,000

Meteor

962,000

3 (includes Denmark) Telenor Tele 2

3,118,000

Djuice (Pannon) Telenor

Smart

30,000,000

AIS

21,089,000

945,000

Dtac

12,000,000

2,856,000

True Move

11,200,000

Singtel

2,570,000

3,401,000

StarHub

1,750,000

2,856,000

MobileOne

1,554,000

Celcom

6,404,000

Thailand

Singapore

Malaysia

Netcom

1,577,000

Tele2

441,000

Digi

6,409,000

Vodafone

35,295,000

Maxis

8,500,000

T-Mobile

38,400,000

North America

O2

13,576,000

Canada

Bell

6,260,000

E-Plus

13,600,000

Rogers

6,200,000

Debitel

13,200,000

Telus

5,656,000

Victorvox (Drillisch)

2,236,000

Sprint

51,900,000

3 (includes Sweden)

945,000

T- Mobile USA

31,500,000

TDC

3,000,000

Verizon Wireless

67,178,000

Sonofon

1,680,000

Alltel

13,170,134

Mobistar (Orange)

3,590,000

US Cellular

6,200,000

BASE

2,600,000

AT&T

72,900,000

Belgacom Mobile

4,620,000

Vodafone

2,642,000

Orange

13,900,000

www.mobile-ent.biz

USA

Source: Mediacells was established in 2004 to assist clients in making more money out of mobile. The company provides accurate and actionable intelligence to the mobile, media, retail, research and information sectors. www.mediacells.com

February 2009 51

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE

MOBILE

PUBLISHING PLATFORM

MARKETPLACE

MARKETPLACE INDEX 26 CONTENT............................................+49 9547 870 120 www.26content.com ABSOLUTE QUALITY ...............................+44 141 220 5600 www.absolutequality.com BANGO...................................................+44 08700 340 365 www.bango.com BRIGHTSHARE .....................................+972 (54) 307 49157 www.brightshare.com DIALOGUE COMMUNICATIONS ..............08700 790 300 www.dialogue.net DYNAMO...............................................+44 (0)1382 348635 www.dynamogames.com ELITE ........................................................+44 01543 268826 www.elite-systems.co.uk FLUID PIXEL STUDIOS ...........................+44 01642 384336 www.fpstudios.com FROGGIE ...................................................+34 954 98 08 48 www.fpstudios.com GENIE .........................................................+44 844 415 5531 www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/mobile INLOGIC...................................................+421 904 628 889 www.inlogic.eu MOBIVENTION.....................................+49 2203 906 0210 www.mobivention.com

VIDEO/PICTURE AGGREGATION

NETBISCUITS GMBH .............................+49 631 303 1400 www.netbiscuits.com PARTNERTRANS ..............................................01753 247731 info@partnertrans.com SPIEL STUDIOS .......................................info@spiel-s.com www.spielstudios.com SPLASH .......................................................+1 310 8212 666 www.splashnews.com THUMBSTAR..............................................+44 151 203 3445 www.thumbstargames.com UNIVERSALLY SPEAKING....................+44 (0)1480 210621 www.usspeaking.com WAPPLE..................................................+44 (0)1527 558247 www.wapple.net XIAM ............................................................+353 1 483 2000 www.xiam.com

The Mobile Marketplace offers a complete marketing package of print, online and editorial visibility, allowing companies to maintain contact with readers each month without the cost of full display advertising.

The Mobile Marketplace and its associated online version has also been designed to offer readers a directory of all products and services in the content industry. A presence in this section ensures that your company's details are easily found, keeping you one step ahead of your competitors.

The standard package includes: 1/4 page advert in each issue Regular editorial coverage in the dedicated column Company details listed in the online directory with web link and marketplace index

Splash News TV - the Paparazziâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own TV Channel. Unique ready-for- mobile Snack TV shows from the streets of Hollywood voiced in any language.

Our short form clips are already streamed over a million times daily. Available for easy download or push. Raw video, images and text feeds also available.

We have a global network team of over 1000 photographers shooting pictures of A-List stars Whatever your mobile needs entertainment Programming, wallpaper, text alerts and mobile video - the largest paparazzi archive with more than 20,000 videos, over 2 million images and a comprehensive daily text feed is at your disposal.

To discuss licensing our content or partnering with us on portals contact us: Phone: Jessica Townsend on +448709342666 Email: jtownsend@splashnews.com or mobile@splashnews.com Blog: www.splashnewsonline.com

To get your company featured here contact tom.roberts@intentmedia.co.uk t: +44 (0) 1992 535647 www.mobile-ent.biz

Web: www.splashnews.com Video: www.splash-video.com

February 2009 53

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE GAMES DISTRIBUTOR

MOBILE BROADBAND

GAMES DEVELOPER

MOBILE ANALYTICS

BAFTA award winners DYNAMO GAMES are celebrating their FIFTH BIRTHDAY in style with their latest games excelling in the market: CRYSTAL MAZE: Retro Classic - Best selling mobile game in June, Mobile Game FAQ's - 82% - Gold Award CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER MOBILE SERIES: Winner of a prestigous BAFTA award. Five versions and counting. 98% - MobileGameFAQ's, 9/10 PocketGamer Gold Award If you are looking for high-quality mobile game development by an experienced player, look no further: G J2ME development G BREW G iPhone Development - Approved Developer G Handheld Console development for DS and PSP Check out our new company website:

www.dynamogames.com and get in touch.

54

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE PUBLISHER

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

THUMBSTAR GAMES

GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIO

www.mobile-ent.biz

Liverpool-based Thumbstar Games is a relatively new arrival to the mobile entertainment sector. It was founded in August 2008 by Martin Kitney, an industry veteran of over ten years who had co-designed and sold Airlock, the first third-party mobile game launched by Orange in 2001.

Describing itself as a leading global distributor of mobile content, Thumbstar’s business model aims not just to obtain and deal in content, but to maximise the potential of its products with full PR and marketing support to help developers build up their titles and brands. In this way, the firm aims to lead the way in distribution and develop a good relationship with its clients.

While many aggregators simply follow the tactic of mass acquisition, Thumbstar is taking a different approach by attempting to put a catalogue together of unique brand titles, with the emphasis being on exclusive new games. While these remain its core focus the company also offers an extensive range of videos,

screensavers, applications and wallpapers featuring such franchises as Family Guy, The XFiles and The Chipmunks.

Since its inception, Thumbstar has grown to hold a portfolio of over 200 games, and includes a number of known titles such as Playboy Racing, the platform puzzler Sketcher, Alien Hominid Redialled – a mobile port of the popular flash game – the classic puzzle game Dots and Boxes and the action RPG CyberPunk.

Thumbstar’s distribution network covers operators and portals throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia and it prides itself on the excellent relationships that it has cultivated with content developers and business partners alike. Although off-portal sales are the company’s prime focus, it will also be signing operator deals where possible Its business model means that developers can be assured that their product will receive full support, in terms of both distribution and marketing. www.thumbstargames.com

February 2009 55

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

YOUR AD HERE Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a of

CONTENT PROVIDER

56

February 2009

MOBILE MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

www.mobile-ent.biz

53-59 ME48_final

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Page 5

MOBILE MARKETPLACE DEVELOPER

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

ADULT CONTENT

INLOGIC Inlogic is a mobile content and application developer and distributor with offices in Banska Bystrica and Kosica in Slovakia.

The company attributes its success to a team of experienced developers, designers and sales specialists who have the skills to create robust applications with visually engaging graphics support and, but who also have the communications skills to launch these products successfully.

Although the company focuses mainly on gaming titles like DeathZone, Sex Trip Amsterdam and Suicidal Squirrel, Inlogic has also developed a number of its own technologies and services, such as PlayOnWay, a system that allows mobile gamers to compare stats and scores on games developed by Inlogic or its partners.

Other applications include PlayAmo, an affiliate programme that allows partner companies or private entities to sell mobile content through electronic or print media, but mostly via partner websites. It offers high-profit, client service for free and a huge mobile content database.

At present, a Playamo service is limited to those companies who wish to sell mobile content in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

www.mobile-ent.biz

However, Inlogic has confirmed these services are to be launched in the near future across other parts of Europe.

Inlogicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mobile life series, entitled INLife, are a variety of applications that have been designed as daily assistants, with an aim to assist people in their everyday lives and help them improve and significantly upgrade the quality of everyday activities.

Another aspect of Inlogicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core business is software development to order. The company proclaims that it has a professional product development team that encompasses the ability to communicate with clients and to understand perfectly all requirements. Inlogic says it has the ability to quickly develop the required product, complete with full testing and quality assurance.

Its main specialisation lies in the development of J2ME applications, but the Inlogic team has the expertise to use C++, J2EE, XSLT, XML and PHP among others. It has used these skills in partnerships with a number of renowned brands like Playboy, Lui, Pamela Anderson and Jordan, and has created quality products under these labels. www.inlogic.sk

February 2009 57

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE INTERACTIVE MOBILE SOLUTIONS

LOCALISATION

Need a mobile site?

Dialogue’s Mobile Site Builder offers you the full end-to-end solution to publish your mobile site - all you need is the content.

Mobile site builder allows you to: • • • • • • •

Promote & expose your business Sell content through a trusted payment service Run viral marketing campaigns Include marketing subscriptions Drive traffic to sites with text-to-browse campaigns Generate Revenue Monitor user behaviour

Visit: www.dialogue.net/mobilesitebuilder.pdf Email: info@dialogue.net Tel: 08700 790 300

LOCALISATION

TESTING AND LOCALISTION

Specialist Games Services Localisation • Global network of games specialised linguists • Translators to cover all genres of games • All languages covered • In game, scripts, paper parts and marketing translations

Quality Assurance • All platforms (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, PC and Mobile) • Localisation QA • Compliance checks for TRC, TCR and LOT approval • Functionality QA

Audio • Voice overs across all languages • Full casting service • Pre and post production including lip synching • Highly experienced voice directors and engineers

Universally Speaking Priory Chambers, Priory Lane, St Neots, Cambs, PE19 2BH, UK Tel: +44 (0)1480 210621 info@usspeaking.com www.usspeaking.com

58

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE MOBILE GAMING PARTNERSHIPS

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

DIALOGUE

SALES AND MARKETING

Dialogue Communications is a service aggregator specialising in mobile messaging, billing and payments, along with the development of value added services such as marketing, advertising and SMS communications.

The UK-based company offers a number of services and provides an array of tools for various aspects of the mobile sphere.

These tools allow for the creation of web portals and the deployment of content management, SMS, email and interactive features such as voting and competitions.

Customers have included MSN, for which it created a connectivity toolset to enable two-way messaging. This connected MSN’s 140 million users through their mobiles. The MSN service was launched on the Vodafone and O2 network to nearly 50 per cent of the UK mobile market.

Dialogue also developed an SMS

communications system for Xerox, which enabled direct communications between central office and engineers to give the latter the information they needed to complete a job. This included the type of call out, customer postcode, telephone number, contact and even the serial number of the machine requiring attention.

This meant that engineers were able to receive information without being interrupted on a call and without having to contact a call centre operative.

However, Dialogue’s core business is in the creation of mobile applications portals and billing and payments. Its leadership in this area is exemplified by the firm’s work on the UK PayForIT mobile transactions solution. The changes to WAP billing have seen the abandonment of models such as Premium SMS as all additional charges are now made through the customers’ phone bill.

Dialogue is one of only a few companies to be an accredited payment intermediary using the new unified system and the system has been fully integrated into Dialogue’s site builder tools.

Always at the forefront of technology, Dialogue recently released its new ‘single click’ PayForIT option, a system that lets users make mobile purchases with one button push.

Dialogie says this significantly reduces the ‘cold feet’ factor, leading to a considerably higher conversion rate. www.dialogue.co.uk

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Send your pictures and gossip to tim.green@intentmedia.co.uk We take content extremely seriously in Mobile Entertainment. But not here...

(Dis)content favourites

ME’s Stuart O’Brien, THQ's Rowan Corben and Andrew Howard, and Sky's Peter Bellamy enjoy a night of refinement

George Fraser SVP of sales and biz dev, Motricity

Which phone do you currently own?

Blackberry Pearl 8100 – sadly without GPS What's the best phone you've ever had?

Nokia 2110i. My first ever GSM phone.

Great call quality, when there was network!

And I even had a 9.6k data card with it. For a short while I gave it walnut-look casing to match my car dashboard. Classy What phone would you like next?

The Nokia 5800 Tube. I’m still a huge Nokia Fan and am sure it will give iPhone a run for its money.

Current ringtone?

Angie Stone: Wish I Didn't Miss You

Player One and ME at the double The ME team is very fortunate to be invited along to the occasional prestigious event. In the past we've enjoyed the Nou Camp, Jerusalem's old town and Finland's beautiful frozen lakes. Bloody journalists. But we're struggling to find anything that comes close to the sheer bliss that was the PDC World Championship Darts event in December. Thanks to Player One for the invite. Huge quantities of beer were imbibed. Highlight of the night was the entire crowd chanting 'Jesus! Jesus!' to a fan dressed head to toe in biblical garb. You don't get that at the opera.

A load of old stilt The shrinking of the mobile device has prompted some self-consciously trendy tossers to embrace big retro landline phones. All very amusing. But the arty design house Sundayland has excelled previous excess with Le Telefon, a 28 inch phone on stilts. It’s almost as big as Motorola’s first ROKR, and like that device, it doesn’t support OTA downloads.

what was that about?

BT Movio It's 2006 and everyone wants a piece of that hot mobile TV action. DVB-H and MediaFLO are flexing their muscles, but it's a DAB-powered TV service from BT Movio that goes live first – at least in the UK. What a bizarre interlude it was: Virgin Mobile launched the service in Greater

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London and chose a weird handset called the Lobster on which to run it. It was perhaps the ugliest phone ever made, with a kink in the side like a broken elbow. Subscribers were negligible – a figure of 24,000 was mentioned, but even that looked glossy. The Lobster was boiled within a few months.

Favourite mobile game?

Dirty Sanchez didn't get the sales it deserved. Am currently playing Guitar Hero III a lot.

Anything you'd pay for on a mobile that you can't currently get?

I'd love to get podcasts to a phone other than the iPhone. Living in the US, I'd happily pay for BBC and ITV content.

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Send your pictures and gossip to tim.green@intentmedia.co.uk

DISCONTENT

Bernie Madoff: the ringtone

“If there’s a bustle in your touchscreen…”

Where there’s a scandal, there’s usually a ringtone. It didn’t take Bernie Madoff long to get his own – and how bleakly wry the resulting tone is too. To a backing track of the music from Halloween, we hear an actual recording of the disgraced financier describing how it’s virtually impossible to sidestep industry regulation for personal gain. Mmm, dodging the watchdogs... makes him a natural for the ringtone market.

In the movie Wayne’s World, Mike Myers sits down in a guitar shop to try out a Fender Strat. As he starts playing, the angry shop owner points to a sign that says: “No Stairway!”

An eloquent comment on lazy song selection by would-be musicians. One not heeded by the Mobile Phone Orchestra of Stanford University, which played the tune on iPhone at The Crunchies 2008 web awards. Actually sounded quite good.

But let’s hear them try Motorhead.

Forgive me father, I have texted

Dumping on the music biz

Tim Green gets stoned

Any parents reading will know just how obsessive teens can be when it comes to SMS. For 21st century youngsters, SMS beats reading or going outside. But can any father match the pain of Greg Hardesty? This Californian dad (stupid enough to pay his kids’ phone bills) got a shock when his statement revealed that daughter Reina had sent 14,528 text messages in a month. That’s 484 a day. The bill was 440 pages long.

He must be bursting with pride. Thankfully Greg is on an unlimited text package. Oh, that’s ok then.

Last month the music biz gathered in Cannes for its annual MIDEM talk-in. One particular panel through up a choice exchange of words. Music manager Pete Jenner got into quite a spat with UK Music boss Feargal Sharkey, who defended his successful industry. “Successful?” retorted Jenner. “We’re talking about the record industry, which is in the fucking dumper!”

If this ME is riddled with typos, it may not be down to our usual incompetence. Our exec ed Tim Green was off work for a week with a kidney stone – made deadline week a right rush. But it attracted sympathy from fellow sufferers such as Peperoni's Marcus Ladwig, Blyk's Daniel Solomons and Katina's Steve Shields. It’s a kind of brotherhod. But not one you'd want to join.

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