Mobile Entertainment Issue 52, June 2009

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JUNE 2009 ISSUE 52

FOR EVERYONE IN MOBILE CONTENT www.mobile-ent.biz

MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT

Appy birthday A revolution in a year: The Apple App Store approaches its first anniversary

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ISSUE 52 June 09

Dotcom crash 2.0?

News 4-6

I

Features 13 Content in a flash Is the memory card the content industry’s secret weapon?

16 MIG to kil for Already a massive presence in transactions and ads, MIG turns its attention to site building and apps with Kilrush.

19 Testing, testing What does the app store era mean for those specialising in porting, QA and localisation?

We found out.

23 App Store milestone The iPhone App Store attracted one billion downloads in nine months; the content industry will never be the same.

Coming up to a year for the App Store!

9 ME Awards kick-off The categories are confirmed. Get your entries in. Gotta be in it to win it.

Reference Section 26 Appointments 30 Shows 31 Product Focus 32 Databox 34 Charts 37 Network Subs 46 Discontent

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: 50,379 (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 535647

www.mobile-ent.biz

’ve got this apocalyptic theory about web 2.0. At first it was just running around my head, a nagging doubt that wouldn’t go away. Slowly I began to share it with frightened-looking colleagues. Then, I began to see others voicing similar thoughts. Perhaps I’m not delusional after all. Perhaps web 2.0 really is set for an almighty crash. A bit like, well, web 1.0.

My utter lack of faith in the current state of these new social media services began at Mobile World Congress as I fielded incessant questions about Twitter. I wasn’t a user then. I am now. Got to admit, it can be fun, but I still don’t get where the cash is coming from. I cannot conceive any meaningful revenue stream other We can all construct than theories about new advertising.

And as we’ve business models, seen from but in the end YouTube and someone has to pay. Facebook – each immeasurably more sticky than Twitter – ad revenue is incapable of paying the bills.

What’s more, those bills are rising. YouTube and Facebook add users and content at a dizzying rate every day. But many of the new participants are from emerging markets, and therefore lack the disposable income to interest advertisers. Pure cost, in other words.

We can all construct elaborate theories about new business models, the power of free, etc, but in the end someone’s got to pay. So is it really that outlandish to wonder whether these sites will soon say: that’s it you lot, pay us $5 a month or we’re going bust. It’s a topsy-turvy world where people pay £50 a month for a satellite TV subscription they hardly ever watch, but baulk at the mere mention of a fee for a service they organise their lives around.

So where does mobile stand in relation to this? Well, it could be a salvation of sorts. On mobile you can charge for bulk messaging, create mini games based on micro-payment, even chuck a few quid on the monthly sub for access. Operators already do it for Skype and Spinvox. It’s not that outlandish.

So there it is, out in the open: without drastic action web 2.0 is f**ked. I could get used to this plain speaking. Next month I will explain why The Rolling Stones are now, and have always been, tedious fakes.

Tim.Green@intentmedia.co.uk June 2009 3

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NEWS

Nielsen’s Silver sparkle Data agency backs prestigious mobile content awards in the run-up to this year’s exciting big night NIELSEN Online has signed up as a Silver Partner of the ME Awards 2009.

The research specialist, which runs a flourishing mobile division, will benefit from extensive branding in the run up to the industry’s big event and high visibility on the night itself.

Nielsen signed up as ME opened the nominations process for this year’s awards, making one notable addition to the familiar categories, namely the new ‘Best App Store’.

The 2009 ME Awards take place on Thursday October 1st at The Royal Garden Hotel in West London.

For more info on sponsorship, table sales and other ticket enquiries contact Jodie.Holdway@bhpr.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1462 456 780.

Please turn to page nine for a full preview of this year’s event, with a list of the awards categories, details about the judging process and instructions on how to enter. www.mobile-ent.biz

Silver Partner

It’s time to start getting excited about the upcoming ME Awards 2009 and your chances of winning...

B2O key to Zed X

Player X gives Zed ‘one-stop shop’ offer for portal partners ZED’S faith in the operator portal led it to purchase UK publisher and aggregator Player X. The Spanish mobile content giant told ME that, despite its own heritage in D2C services, the residual power of the operators – and their willingness to outsource the management of their content operations – means that B2O (business-tooperator) must be at the heart of its future strategy. Player X distributes games into multiple operators and wholly manages O2 UK's and Telefonica’s mobile games portals.

Diego Conforti, Zed’s corporate project MD, said: “Owners of portals are increasingly looking to work with partners that understand users and their habits. We do, and it’s our strategy to provide a one-stop 4

June 2009

Conforti: “Portal owners look to work with partners that understand users”

shop to these companies.

Player X, with its in-depth knowledge, will help us.”

Zed bought Player X for an undisclosed sum, following several weeks of speculation.

Player X will keep its brand and founder Tony Pearce will stay on for a year, at least.

The move will strengthen Zed’s games portfolio, which currently consists of mostly in-house productions. Player X also has a video production arm and a video distributon channel called GeekTV.

Counting down to Mobile Music Now TICKETS are selling fast for next month’s Mobile Music Now conference and networking dinner.

The event, which takes place on Thursday July 9th at BAFTA in London, will gather 150 execs from the space, including operators, vendors, labels, service providers and more.

Speakers include: Barney Wragg, formerly head of digital at EMI and senior VP at Universal Alex Vlassopulos, head of business development (digital), Sony Music Antony Douglas, head of content, O2 Telefonica

Jonathan MacDonald, consultant at OgilvyOne, MD of JMA Tim Grimsditch, head of global product marketing (music), Nokia Frank Taubert, CEO, 24-7 Entertainment Juan Paz, head of research, Music Ally Delegate places cost only £259 +VAT. To book your place contact: Rob.Baker@intentmedia. co.uk or call +44 (0)1992 535 647. For sponsorship opportunities, contact: Tom.Roberts@intentmedia .co.uk www.mobile-ent.biz

www.zed.com

www.mobile-ent.biz

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Khanna’s new manor

Volti’s Surash Patel (left) with Frog Capital’s Mike Reid and host Tori Campbell

Media Momentum winners FLIRTOMATIC, Muzicall, Velti, Shazam and Player X were the mobile companies listed among Europe's 50 fastest growing digital firms.

They took their place on the list assembled by the UK investment bank GP Bullhound. This annual event, of which ME was a media partner and judge, comprises a league table of companies ranked by percentage growth in turnover.

N97 goes stateside COULD the notoriously lukewarm US consumer be the first to get the Nokia N97 and its embedded Ovi app store?

Possibly, since Nokia US has made the Nokia N97 available for preorder for $699. However, Vodafone also has a holding page, so time will tell. Either way, the touchscreen/QWERTY phone will ship some time in June, although Ovi shoud have been made available for download to selected Nseries devices by the time you read this. www.nokia.com

www.mobile-ent.biz

This year, European firms were included for the first time, and GP Bullhound disclosed that the collective revenue of the 50 was €1,103m. It was €380m in 2006. The mobile finalists were as follows: Flirtomatic/Handmade (5th), 580 per cent growth.

Muzicall (7th), 360 per cent growth.

Velti (13th), 120 per cent growth.

Shazam (22nd), 84.5 per cent growth.

Player X (33rd) 59.6 per cent growth.

It was a good night for Velti, named as the fastest growing large company, and for Shazam, which scooped the judge's award for 'uniqueness of offering'.

The overall winner on the night was Seatwave, with growth of 2203.1 per cent.

FORMER Tanla and Netsize exec Anuj Khanna has launched a new start-up, Wireless Expertise, to advise on mobile service deployment.

He believes the demand for apps, mobile broadband, m-commerce and advertising is bringing more brands to mobile – but that many are hindered by poor user metrics, segmentation, development skills and marketing expertise. Over the last 12 years Khanna has worked with over 100 operators across 30 countries, so he has a wealth of experience.

Khanna said: “We aim to expedite the deployment of mobile services by bringing together cohesive solutions for our customers, and adding key competencies from the entire spectrum of the telecommunications, internet and IT solutions value chain.” wirelessexpertise.com

www.mediamomentum.co.uk

Introducing the ‘on-game portal’ Like an on-device portal, but users can find it on phone screens THE flexible retailing specialist, Accumulate, has unveiled a new concept called Flexion that embeds on-device portal features inside a game download.

Accumulate believes the idea will drive games downloads by making it easier for consumers to find new products and purchase them using flexible pricing options.

Flexion users download games for free and then purchase or rent them via a multitude of pricing options such as ‘try-before-you-buy’, ‘rent for the day’ or ‘have-ago for 25p’. They can also browse and download other games in the partner's portal.

Accumulate says it also enables consumers without

Lauritzson: “Everybody wins”

credit on their phones to download a game (because the download is free until activated), eradicates refunds for failed downloads and avoids the traditional problem with on-device portals – that consumers don't know what they are or where to find them on their devices.

The firm believes the concept will appeal to operators and vendors looking for embedded games, making it viable to load multiple games and monetise them all. The Flexion wrapping engine prepares any java app or game in mere minutes.

Jens Lauritzson, Accumulate’s UK MD, said: “Flexible pricing does a lot, but limits you to the operator deck. Publishers need to maximise every download they get. Flexion does this, but it links back to the portal so everybody wins.”

Accumulate is a wellestablished specialist in mobile retailing. www.accumulategroup.com

[IN BRIEF] Voda and Yahoo else Vodafone and Yahoo are getting a divorce and seeing other people.

Voda UK will terminate its two-year exclusive with the search giant on ads when the deal expires in June. It will then be free to work with multiple partners and thereby maximise ad revenues. There have been murmerings about this deal for some time, with the received wisdom being that agencies want to work with their choice of partner to buy ad space from operators.

Downgiorno Buongiorno generated revenue of €67 million in its first quarter to March 31st, down 15.1 per cent yearon-year. However, the company's EBITDA was up slightly at €8.4 million from €8.2 million 12 months earlier, while its net losses narrowed to €67.3 million from €75 million.

The Italian D2C has since agreed a €87 million refinancing agreement to support content 2.0 initiatives such as Peoplesound (formerly Blinko) and its HelloText social networking service.

Next of Kindle Amazon has unveiled a new Kindle that’s 3.7 inches larger than the Kindle 2. The Amazon Kindle DX features a 9.7-inch, 1200×824 pixel display, and appears to be a pitch at the newspaper and mag world, with the New York Times and Washington Post reportedly set to launch pilots on it. It can hold a whopping 3,500 books. The DX costs $489, and is only available in the US. Amazon is taking DX orders online and plans to start shipping this summer.

Motally: serve yourself Analytics specialist Motally is now offering mobile site owners a selfserve analytics solution. The hosted service tracks, processes, and reports all data across mobile web pages. It works on the basis that customers cut and paste a few lines of code into a common header or footer on a mobile site. Then, when a user requests a page, data is sent to a Motally server, which tracks, processes, and reports it. This enables customers (operators, brands, etc) to track usage, maximize ROI, measure actual mobile advertising effectiveness and ultimately optimise product offerings.

Thumbplay’s DIY mobile music portals US D2C specialist Thumbplay has launched a marketing solution that it says will enable record label marketing departments to create artist-led portals. OPEN Pro service, developed with help from Universal's A&M/Octone unit, also comes bundled with what Thumplay is calling its Widgetron widget maker, which takes the form of an automated tool that can create bespoke content and playlists.

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NEWS

Vodafone embraces app store model Operator storms back into content space with new distribution channel VODAFONE has thrown down the gauntlet to handset companies, with a bold new initiative to wrest back some control of the content market.

The world’s second biggest operator has been promising a radical shake-up of its VAS strategy since it recruited Pieter Knook from Microsoft early in 2008.

And here it is: ‘a single point of access to Vodafone’s global customer base’ through which developers can distribute apps and charge directly for them through Vodafone’s billing system. There will also be access to APIs on enhancements like LBS and simplified micro-payments.

To all intents and purposes, it’s an app store that reaches

Vittorio Colao wants to help Vodafone customers make more money

260 million people and doesn’t rely on credit card payments.

The initiative represents the first major operator

T-Mobile UK to stream Paramount movies PARAMOUNT keeps banging away at at the mobile movie market – the studio is launching a movie service with T-Mobile UK. T-Mobile will extend its VOD service to include full movies from Paramount such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Paramount launched a similar service with Motorola in April 2008, but Moto's financial woes brought about an early closure six months later. In March, Paramount, this time in association with Acetrax, agreed to provide movies to Samsung Mobile’s online download store.

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June 2009

Wolverine’s happy about the news

James Rowe, head of content for T-Mobile UK, said: “Services like VOD+ push the boundaries but also offer real value.”

The project will be powered by Saffron, which already runs the existing VD service for the operator. www.t-mobile.net

riposte to the aggressive incursion of Apple, Nokia, Google, RIM and others into the entertainment space – and an implicit admission

that the portal model and its top-down approach is bust.

Vodafone will start the ball rolling via the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) initiative, which helps developers create widgets for an audience of up to one billion customers (across the four JIL networks).

“Vodafone is making these changes to make it easier for third parties to develop attractive new services as well as bill and support our customers through our network capabilities in all markets,” said Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone. “We will help them to make more money while providing our customers with the innovative services that they want.”

Mkhoj ad boom TRAFFIC across Mkhoj’s mobile ad network grew 253 per cent in Saudi Arabia in the three months to March.

It was the highest jump amid an overall 25 per cent increase for the Indian ad specialist, which is proving the vast potential for mobile advertising in so-called emerging markets.

Mkhoj’s Hemant Kumar sees no sign of a slowdown in these markets: “The developed nations tend to use the mobile phones as a mode of snacking where the level of engagement is less and it is just another way of being connected while on the move. But in case of developing nations, the mobile web forms the only medium of connectivity and the consumption is higher.” www.mkhoj.com

www.vodafone.com

Out There heads west MOBILE ad specialist Out There Media is expanding into the UK and Germany, buoyed by operators’ abandonment of exclusive partnerships.

The firm, which is based in Greece, has enjoyed substantial success in Eastern Europe, launching into territories like Bulgaria where there was previously no mobile advertising activity at all. Now, it believes the time is right to target Western countries, because of carriers’ new willingness to work with multiple network partners.

Kerstin Trikalitis, CEO of Out There, told ME: “Operators are responding to media buyers, who don’t want to be told who to work with

Out There CEO Kerstin Trikalitis

and can’t understand why they can’t reach all mobile users through their preferred partner.” This reasoning may be why Vodafone recently decided not to continue using

Yahoo as an exclusive ad partner in the UK. It’s an opportunity for Out There, which has 15 operator agreements in 14 European countries, and says 38 million of its 100 million connections are exclusively available through its Mobucks mobile advertising marketplace.

Out There has run over 150 campaigns, which create 150 million ad impressions per month and says that, in the last quarter of 2008, the use of MMS as an advertising medium was roughly double that of SMS. It’s also the power behind VIPNet’s Blykstyle ad-funded venture called Tomato Plus. www.out-there-media.com

www.mobile-ent.biz

MIG Advert

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ME AWARDS

Silver Partner

Royal appointment 2009

ME Awards 2009

AWARDS

Thursday, October 1st 2009

The Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London W8

DEVELOPMENT & PUBLISHING Best Gambling Company Best Adult Company Best D2C Company Best Games Developer Best Games Publisher Best Music Label Best Video Company Best Social Media Company SERVICES Best Video and TV Service Provider Best Music Service Provider Best Games Service Provider Best Transactions Provider Best Mobile Publishing Platform Best Marketing & Advertising Company Best Search and Location Company Best App Store OPERATORS & HANDSETS Best Handset Company Best Operator SPECIAL AWARD Outstanding contribution to mobile content

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

The fourth annual ME Awards evening will take place on Thursday, October 1st at London’s Royal Garden Hotel. It could be your year.

Here’s a preview, and a guide to the awards categories… hat time will Jess Gwyther stop dancing? Which of the sponsors will the comedian offend most viciously? Will anyone from Apple turn up?

The answers to these questions – along with who will win the big gongs on the night – will be revealed at the ME Awards this October.

Now into its fourth year, it’s back to the Royal Garden Hotel for an event that will once again bring together all the creative and technical talent that is driving what we modestly believe to be the world’s most exciting technology/entertainment sector.

In this special preview, you can find out how to enter the ME Awards, how we pick the winners and how to get a ticket for the night itself…

W

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ME AWARDS

DEVELOPMENT & PUBLISHING

OPERATORS & HANDSETS

Best Gambling Company Who’s eligible?

This award is for innovators that have successfully deployed a mobile gambling service, whether through an operator portal or D2C channels.

Probability

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: PROBABILITY

Who’s eligible?

Vendors that have done the most to support the content market through device design, content service provision and support for developers and publishers.

Best Adult Company Who’s eligible?

The ‘late night’ sector faces several challenges, but this hasn’t stopped many specialists generating original material and creating new channels for new and established adult brands. This award is their showcase.

Apple

Waat Media

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: APPLE

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: WAAT MEDIA

Best Operator

Best D2C Company Who’s eligible?

Any company with a branded product offering sold and marketed D2C. Not just those with a ringtone heritage, but also mainstream brands with consumer-facing sites and content.

Best Handset Company

Zed

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: ZED

Best Games Developer Who’s eligible?

Any developer with a track record in mobile – whether for old-school Java games or the new native app store platforms.

Who’s eligible?

Carriers with a forwardthinking content strategy, good relationships with content providers and effective consumer-facing channels.

O2

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: O2 Ideaworks3D

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: IDEAWORKS3D

Best Games Publisher Who’s eligible?

Any company that commissions, markets, distributes and sells mobile games through operator portals, D2C content channels or app stores.

EA Mobile

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: EA MOBILE

Best Music Label Who’s eligible?

Any music label with a flourishing mobile unit producing dedicated mobile content (ringtones, ringbacks, bundles) and using the wireless channel to promote artists or events.

Sony BMG

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: SONY BMG

Best Video Company Who’s eligible?

Any creator of original made-for-mobile video, for distribution on both operator portals and direct-to-consumer channels.

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: SKY

Sky

Best Social Media Company Who’s eligible?

Firms that run community-based services giving members the chance to blog, share, flirt, text etc via the mobile channel.

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: FLIRTOMATIC 10

June 2009

Flirtomatic

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ME AWARDS

SERVICES

SPECIAL AWARD

Best Video & TV Service Provider

Who’s eligible?

Specialists that provide operators, content portals or media companies with a platform to power commercial mobile TV and video streaming/download services.

QuickPlay

Who’s eligible?

This is the ME team’s award for the individual who’s done most to further the cause of the Anssi Vanjoki mobile content market – whether through example or evangelism.

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: QUICKPLAY

Best Games Service Provider

Who’s eligible?

Firms that provide technical services to the games sector – from aggregation to connected platforms through to handset porting to flexible retailing.

Outstanding contribution to mobile content

Selatra

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: ANSSI VANJOKI

Best Music Service Provider

Who’s eligible?

Companies providing a platform for the provision of content such as MP3, ringtones and ringbacks or apps that facilitate the discovery or recommendation of music.

Shazam

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: SHAZAM

Best Transactions Provider

Who’s eligible?

Those specialists providing a ‘back-end’ payments platform that allows content providers and operators to charge consumers for content.

Bango

Volantis

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: VOLANTIS

Best Search & Location Company

Taptu

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: TAPTU

Best Marketing & Advertising Company

Who’s eligible?

Those that use cellular networks, Bluetooth, barcodes and so on to execute advertising and marketing campaigns via the mobile handset.

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: ADMOB

Best App Store The app store concept has transformed the user experience of buying content and made it possible for content providers large and small to reach consumers. This award is for app store owners – whether they are handset vendors, operators or independents. www.mobile-ent.biz www.mobile-ent.biz

How can my company enter?

Send a short pitch document, containing relevant information about your company and stating the category you wish to enter, to me-awards@intentmedia.co.uk.

When is the deadline for submissions?

July 1st 2009. Finalist shortlists will be published on July 27th 2009.

Best Mobile Publishing Platform

Who’s eligible?

Any firm powering search and LBS solutions through the mobile handset, or giving partners a location-based dimension to existing services.

AWARDS

When are the Awards?

Thursday, October 1st at The Royal Garden Hotel, London, UK.

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: BANGO

Who’s eligible?

Companies providing mobile sites and CRM systems that help brands or operators establish a dedicated mobile presence through which to promote or sell their products.

2009

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: SELATRA

What’s the nominations process?

The ME team decides on the shortlists, basing its decisions on nomination pitch documents and consultation with industry insiders.

What’s the judging process?

The winners are decided by an invited judging panel, which is drawn from the ME contacts book and consists of around 400 execs from all sectors of the business. Members of the jury are sent a PDF containing details of the shortlisted companies. They then base their decisions on this document and their own industry experience. Jury members vote in confidence and cannot vote for themselves or associated companies.

How is the ‘outstanding contribution’ award decided?

This is not a vote. It’s decided upon by the ME team.

However, we do accept suggestions from readers.

Admob How much is it to attend?

For details of table sales at the awards and other ticket enquiries contact Jodie.Holdway@bhpr.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1462 456 780.

Can I sponsor the event?

Yes! There are a number of promotional possibilities available. Please contact Simon.Harvey@bhpr.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1462 456 780.

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Making Content come alive!

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MEMORY CARDS

The

memory lane The Shawshank Redemption was given the MMC treatment by ROK way back in 2005. Did it catch on?

In the era of over-theair downloads, the memory card is still flying the flag for ‘physical’ music and video, as Tim Green found out…

www.mobile-ent.biz

eaders of a more mature vintage, like me, will probably smile every time they hear a phone user complain that their new device has a paltry 512MB of internal memory. 512! I remember my first computer had just four – and I thought that was paradise. You could get half a dozen pics on that. If you had a digital camera.

And now here we are in 2009 and the SD Association has announced a series of extended capacity cards, named SDXC, that will likely start with 64GB of storage, but could offer multi-terabyte capacities in five years.

Just to get that into perspective, a 2TB memory card can store 480 hours of high-def movies or 136,000 hi-res photos. There are also plans to increase data reading and writing speeds to over 100MB per second, with a roadmap to over 300MB per second.

When the technology was announced, James Taylor, president of the SD Association, said: “With SDXC, consumers can quickly download higher quality content to their phones, including games, video and music – giving them a richer

R

media and content experience.” In choosing the world ‘download’ rather than embed, Taylor overlooked the fact that card manufacturers are still experimenting with pre-loading content onto cards, not just as a sweetener to boost sales of handsets, but as a standalone offer to tempt consumers.

This is a strategy that goes back to the earliest days of removable phone

Hope is a dangerous thing.

Hope can make a man insane. memory, to an era when MMC cards (remember them?) roamed the earth.

The first moves came in 2005, when ROK Entertainment, Nokia and Granada Ventures teamed up to put The Shawshank Redemption on an MMC. At around the same time, Sony Pictures Digital launched its ‘Movies on Memory Cards’ initiative with films including Hitch,

Ghostbusters, Stuart Little and Spiderman for £19.99 at The Carphone Warehouse.

Maybe they were all thinking of Red’s quote from Shawshank: “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” Why? Because they were charging full whack for a product that came in a thumbnailsized box – and doing so just as the consumer was considering a move away from physical storage. Brave.

The fact that the memory card never materialized into a viable content medium didn’t prevent experimentation with the idea. Last September, for example, France’s PNY Technologies shipped cards bundled with a free EA game having already run similar trials on games like Brain Challenge and Rayman.

Interestingly, PNY didn’t embed the content itself, but gave away an access code which gave the user a free download once they had launched a WAP session. The idea was to encourage browsing as much as downloading.

PNY says the project yielded over 100,000 units sold. Laure Lapègue PNY’s European category manager June 2009 13

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MEMORY CARDS

Who’s on the cards?

Peak Development A UK-based flash memory supplier and major SanDisk distributor. Offers retail packaged card specifically for mobile phones. www.peak-uk.com +44 (0)1489 796979

OK Media Group German manufacturer that can duplicate and blister-package up to 50,000 memory cards a day. www.okmedia.biz +44 20 76 88 67 89

for Flash Media, says: “It was a really good result considering the cards were mainly sold in general stores where people are not 100 per cent focused on flash memory.”

While games publishers like EA experiment with the format, it’s probably fair to say that handset vendors contribute the most activity, using content to complement their devices. According to FlashRite, which recently pre-loaded the latest Pink album on a card for an unnamed vendor, it works.

FlashRite’s Julian Ratcliffe says: “Because the promotion was so successful, there have been repeat orders for further cards and volumes are past 40,000 units.”

Another company at the forefront of this activity is distributor Peak Development, which has loaded TV shows and music onto cards with a big ‘FREE content’ message on the front. Creative packaging completes the offer. Nigel Furmston, commercial sales director at Peak, says: “We have put Christmas Hits on snowman shaped USBs, Rayman content onto a rabbit shaped USB and even loaded a selection of Universal Music MP3s onto 100,000 microSD cards, which we packaged 14

June 2009

CEDAR: Looking for an educational role

inside a bespoke matchbox sized carton.”

Meanwhile, the biggest memory company of them all, SanDisk, leads from the front. Last September, it attempted to revive the physical music markets with SlotMusic, which had the backing of all major labels.

Even though the target was clearly the phone owner, it even launched a dedicated MP3 player range called SlotRadio to play them.

The response was muted, but it didn’t stop the firm returning six months later with a product pitched

specifically at operators. The SanDisk Service Delivery Card (SDC) can be pre-loaded with data, applications and promotional offers that integrate with existing operator services.

Yoram Cedar, executive VP and general manager of OEM and corporate engineering at SanDisk, sees an educational role for the format. He says: “These customised cards highlight applications and services for the operator and show end users how to get the most out of their mobile experience.”

Sandisk has yet to disclose sales figures for these products, and has faced criticism for its persistence with a physical format in a world of over the air downloads. Its response is that retailers like the high-value small footprint nature of the product and that there are a whole army of users out there who prefer Wal-Mart to Apple’s iTunes.

Doron Garfunkel, commercial director of OK Media, a European card manufacturer, agrees: “Even in this day and age fans like to have something physical in their hand, especially on limited edition runs.

And for some software, such as learning tools, portability is also a winning feature.”

FlashRite UK and US distributor with a solid track record in content bundling. Successfully preloaded a Pink album on a card for a handset vendor and agreed a deal to bundle entertainment products on Lexar cards in January. www.flashrite.com +44 (0) 845 094 1002 SanDisk Corporation The world's largest supplier of flash memory products and the only company with the rights to manufacture every card format.

Launched SlotMusic format last September, pre-loading major label music onto packaged SD cards.

PNY Technologies French manufacturer known to the mobile content community for partnering with EA Mobile, Gameloft and others on the preloading of games in branded cards.

www.mobile-ent.biz

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KILRUSH

View to a

MIG has spent 18 months and £1 million building its new mobile publishing platform Kilrush. The firm’s CEO and founder Barry Houlihan told Mobile Entertainment why… obile Interactive Group (MIG) is one of Europe’s outstanding success stories.

In five years, the London-based firm increased its turnover from £251,817 to around £65 million. And it did so without public funds. This success was based around a messaging platform that powered the astonishing growth in text services for TV shows and consumer-facing brands. Landmark projects such as Live8 and TV shows like The XFactor set new highs for consumer engagement with mobile. In January, MIG confirmed it had delivered half a billion mobile marketing interactions since launch.

But MIG was never solely about text services; it’s not called the Mobile Messaging Group. Flat rate data plans and smartphones have changed the way the public use the

M

The way the public use the channel has changed and MIG had to respond. mobile channel, and MIG knew it needed to respond. Hence Kilrush, the new mobile publishing division.

Eighteen months in the building, this new business unit has been created to give brands the ability to move the viewing public beyond voting into much richer services.

Kilrush will now sit alongside MIG’s other divisions: Jigsaw (cross platform digital solutions), 4th Screen Advertising (mobile advertising) and New Toy (live experience technology). Meanwhile a new brand, Mobile Interactive Technology (m-commerce, messaging solutions and interactive platforms), has been established to manage infrastructure so that MIG can become the group corporate identity.

A highly experienced management team has also been put in place to run the business.

16

June 2009

MIG CEO Barry Houlihan (inset) is one of the pioneers of text voting for shows such as Britain’s Got Talent (main picture). Now he hopes to take mobile interaction beyond texting and into much richer media with Kilrush

ME talked to MIG’s Barry Houlihan about the new launch…

How do you define Kilrush?

As a next generation provider of mobile internet services that works across all handsets, operators and OSs. There’s been a huge change in the landscape of mobile since we launched, largely because of Apple and the growth of the smartphone space. Brands are looking to move beyond messaging in their use of the mobile channel. We built Kilrush to give them a site-building tool that non-technical staff can use to create sites in minutes.

The mobile internet is hardly new.

Mobile publishing companies have been around for years. Did you consider an acquisition?

It’s true, we are a little late into this, but in being so we’re creating a new market, one in which all companies, both large and small, can build integrated mobile and digital communications strategies.

In a sense, we were late into SMS too, but it hasn’t done us any harm. In the past, we had to refer our customers to mobile internet specialists, and we were always a little uneasy about it because we thought the technology could be so much

better. We did look at acquisitions, but they were all overpriced, to be honest.

So you did it yourself…

Right. MIG has always grown organically through private funding, so every new development has to be at the right pace. In the end we invested £1 million in Kilrush. It’s our biggest ever launch, and one we had to get right. I’m confident it’s the best mobile internet publishing solution on the market.

What’s the benefit to customers?

Kilrush has been designed to be easy to use for marketing teams so that www.mobile-ent.biz

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KILRUSH

Find out more at the Kilrush will be formally unveiled to ME readers at the Meet-Up event on Thursday June 10th…

ME’s legendary networking party – Meet-Up – is the perfect channel for publicising a new launch, which is why Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) are sponsoring the next one.

Come along to the opulent 24 London venue and you’ll get a chance to find out about all of MIG’s various divisions, including Kilrush, in the company of around 300 mobile content execs.

MIG will be inviting its own guests, but there are around 150 places available to ME readers. We expect demand to exceed supply, so we will allocate places to a lottery basis. Please send an email to: Meetup@intentmedia.co.uk.

There’s no charge for entry. Please include your full name and job title in the email. We will mail you back by the end of May to tell you whether your application has been successful.

MEET-UP: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10TH, FROM 6PM 24 LONDON, 24 KINGLY STREET, LONDON, W1B 5QP

The MIG family Mobile Interactive Technology MIT’s ‘m-commerce, messaging solutions and interactive platforms’ power competitions, quizzes, polls and feedback services services for prime time TV shows and major brands. It uses the MIDAS platform to deliver bulk messaging CRM and list management.

rich sites can be built quickly. And, just as important, the platform puts mobile into the heart of a digital operation. This not only makes it possible to create integrated campaigns across TV, online and mobile, but also saves on cost.

Our first media customer is ITV and there are other major contracts pending across multiple sectors. With Kilrush, ITV’s digital people can continue to execute mobile activity even though the mobile unit has been closed. Other companies will be able to build their own networks of sites to drive customer acquisition – gambling companies, for example. They would www.mobile-ent.biz

traditionally make do with a WAP banner. We give them Kilrish and they get access to an affiliate network.

How does Kilrush fit with your other business divisions?

Well, for a start, thanks to 4th Screen Advertising we can see how limited the roots to market are for mobile advertising now. Every Kilrush site will become part of the 4th Screen Advertising network, which will grow it exponentially. We’re also aware of the growth in app stores and are offering partners app development through Jigsaw, and these products can be distributed across Kilrush sites.

New Toy This ‘live experience technology’ design agency takes mobile into physical locations using installations based on NFC, text-to-screen, mobile ticketing and so on.

4th Screen Advertising Specialist ‘mobile advertising agency’ offering ad serving platform Mpression and agency services to clients including O2, 3UK, Virgin Media, Bauer, Tesco Mobile, Barclaycard and more.

Jigsaw A ‘cross platform digital solutions agency’ that champions an integrated communications approach, and executes integrated marketing campaigns for brands beyond the core mobile channel.

Kilrush MIG’s new mobile internet publishing arm, set up to give brands the means to create rich sites in minutes.

June 200917

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APP TESTING

Porting

In the post walled-garden era for content, what happens to the companies offering to tackle fragmentation and localisation?

Mobile Entertainment investigated…

in a storm? lu’s Greg Ballard made a lot of headlines 18 months ago when he revealed that the mobile version of Transformers came in 25,000 SKUs – across Europe alone. That’s multiple formats times multiple operator APIs times multiple languages. The admission had an element of despair, but it also served as a warning to outsiders: don’t even think about getting into this business, it’s a bloody nightmare.

Since then, of course, the industry has undergone a radical transformation. The operator walled garden, patrolled by huge publishers such as Glu, Gameloft and EA, is being challenged by an open appstore model that in theory offers access to all and sundry. Last month, Vodafone added its name to the list of giants entering the app store space, promising to open up and simplify its APIs to reduce the fragmentation issues for developers.

A number of companies now offer services to help tame fragmentation.

DeviceAnywhere, for example, offers a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that provides instant access to more than 2,000 devices on over 30 different carriers from a PC. Meanwhile, France’s Mobile Distillery offers an automated porting suite called Celsius that lets developers port and backfill an app from a single Java source code to more than 1,000 devices worldwide.

In the area of localisation, Universally Speaking, Partnertrans, BabelMedia and others exist to bring apps to different regions round the world.

So the question for the companies offering services such as porting, testing, QA and localisation is this: are the changes sweeping across the industry good or bad for services specialists in the space? It’s a tricky one. It certainly changes the

G

Handsets and operating systems are released and updated so quickly that it can sometimes seem a bit of a blur

www.mobile-ent.biz

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APP TESTING

dynamics of the market. The old operator portal model required a centralised approach targeted at giant companies with global distribution.

Now, there are thousands of content creators out there. But they still need to meet QA criteria. The market is still there, just in a different form.

The other new factor to consider is the growing importance of the emerging markets. Accelerating mobile subscriptions in the BRIC countries, Africa and the Middle East offer opportunities for content providers, and their localisation partners. Here’s what the insiders think…

Have you seen any general signs of the fragmentation issue being ‘tamed’?

Faraz Syed, CEO, DeviceAnywhere: The numerous initiatives aimed at bridging the OS divide just added to developer headaches, forcing them to develop for even more platforms, or risk minimal uptake. Even initiatives based on the same platform, such as Linux, are diverse enough to necessitate independent testing.

So the issue of fragmentation is likely to remain in the future, with mobile operators and handset manufacturers both seeing the mobile OS as a unique selling point. All parties have made it clear that they do not want a repeat of the PC industry where they hand over their destiny to American software makers.

Hardware fragmentation is also a consideration, often overlooked when people discuss this issue. The diversity of handsets across multiple operators around the world already

TOP-BOTTOM: DeviceAnywhere’s Faraz Syed, Babel Media’s Keith Russell and Partnertrans’ Iris Ludolf

divide between multiple screens, making the deployment of rich apps across a number of platforms much simpler. However, it is another mobile operating system for which to develop, and it’s targeted at the highend feature phone market, whereas the real growth is in the lower-end.

Fragmentation issues are likely to plague the development community

Dialect is important... most people aren’t aware that there is no single Indian or Chinese language. presents a stumbling block to companies bringing content and applications to the public, with numerous combinations of interfaces, processors, screen sizes and connectivity requiring a myriad of versions to be built and tested.

What’s your view of something like JavaFX? Will it make development across different devices easier?

Faraz Syed: JavaFX represents an exciting opportunity for bridging the 20

June 2009

for the foreseeable future and there is no single panacea in sight.

How do you assess the impact of app stores?

Iris Ludolf, director, international operations, Partnertrans: App stores provide a fantastic opportunity for small games that didn’t find a market before, as they were too small or too niche to be published via regular means. However, in order to increase user accessibility and reach an ever

bigger market it is imperative to have those applications localised.

Faraz Syed: As more app stores are created, certification and testing remain the greatest barriers to realising revenues quickly from mobile application development. As operators, handset makers and even operating platforms begin to launch in the marketplace, the time and money spent on the certification of apps looks to spiral out of control, and the quality of those certification processes will play a key role in the success of those app stores.

What are the challenges and opportunities presented by the growth in India and China?

Iris Ludolf: Apart from the many technical aspects, on the language side there a quite a few dialects you have to cover to access the full potential of those markets. And actually many people aren’t aware that there is no single Indian or Chinese language.

Does connectivity create an opportunity? If an app connects to

the network, then surely that adds a new layer of complexity.

Keith Russell, VP, sales and marketing, BabelMedia: It is a testing nightmare to be honest, because each network and handset behaves slightly differently. This means you don’t really know for sure the app will work until you test it in the network, with that SIM card on that handset. No emulator will tell you for sure, so welcome to the flying tester, armed with a clutch of phones, and a plane ticket as he roams the globe testing in-network.

As content gets richer, are you seeing more audio in mobile apps?

What challenges does this bring?

Iris Ludolf: I haven’t seen too much of this yet in games. Audio obviously takes up more memory than text and most games are still targeted at mobile users with a wide range of handsets, so memory remains an important consideration. We did a few recordings for mobile games, though, but as we are experienced in audio recordings for other platforms as well, there were no specific challenges. www.mobile-ent.biz

Develop ad - May 09 issue

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We provide Functionality QA, Compliance QA (TRC, TCR and LOT), Localisation QA, Brand Management QA, Age Rating QA, Online QA and per request Focus Group Testing.

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The Mobile Content Industry’s

Premier Awards Event

2009

ME awards advert

AWARDS

Thursday, October 1st 2009

The Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London W8

For more information and sponsorship opportunities contact Jodie Holdway Telephone: +44 (0) 1462 456780 • Email: jodie.holdway@bhpr.co.uk Silver Partner

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APP STORE

billion

s n r u t e r y p hap

After a month, Steve Jobs said: “I’ve never seen anything like this in my career for software.” In less than a year, the Apple App Store marked its billionth download. Mobile Entertainment reflects on a revolution... or all the current obsession with app stores, there’s a strong argument that there’s nothing new about the idea at all.

Smartphone stores like Handmark, GetJar or Handango – doggedly selling not just games but currency converters and other productivity programmes – all have a good claim to have been there long before Apple. Nokia might say the same about Download. Even Vodafone about Live!

But however you define it, the inescapable fact is that no one got content sales right before Apple.

Not really. The problem was always twofold. First, a fatal lack of access for suppliers. Look at the games sector. It now has three major publishers, the rest having departed due to an inability to get their salespeople in front of operators,

F

www.mobile-ent.biz

and their products in front of the public. This bottleneck put out the flame of creativity that all entertainment markets need to flourish, and which inevitably come from smaller teams.

The second major hurdle was the appalling user experience. We’ve all heard the story of 32 clicks to download an application, of scary premium reverse billed SMS and of WAP billing landing pages with little clear explanation as to what they are.

What Apple did, of course, was solve both of these problems brilliantly.

Now, let’s not ignore the fact that Apple had substantial in-built advantages over its ‘competitors’ such as they existed. First, it had a tech-savvy demographic with an innate trust of the Apple brand.

Numbers in store Cost of SDK Number of app downloads Number of apps Average apps per device Number of iPhone programmers Average app selling price of Estimated daily revenue

$99 One billion in nine months 37,000+ 27 11,162 $2.63 $1 million

Sources: Apple, Admob, 148Apps

The others BlackBerry App World Google’s Android Market Nokia’s Ovi Palm’s App Catalog Windows Marketplace for Mobile

Launch date March 2009 October 2008/March 2009 (paid) May 2009 2009 tbc 2009 tbc

June 2009 23

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APP STORE

The best sellers Free 1. Facebook 2. Google Earth 3. Pandora Radio 4. Tap Tap Revenge 5. Shazam 6. Pac-Man Lite 7. Backgrounds 8. Touch Hockey FS5 9. Labyrinth Lite Edition 10. Flashlight 11. Urbanspoon 12. Movies 13. iBowl 14. Lightsaber Unleashed 15. Sol Free Solitaire 16. MySpace Mobile 17. Virtual Zippo Lighter 18. The Weather Channel 19. BubbleWrap 20. Remote

source: Apple Paid 1. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D 2. Koi Pond 3. Enigmo 4. Bejeweled 2 5. iBeer 6. Moto Chaser 7. PocketGuitar 8. Flick Fishing 9. Tetris 10. Texas Hold’em 11. Super Monkey Ball 12. Pocket God 13. Cro-Mag Rally 14. Ocarina 15. Fieldrunners 16. iFart Mobile 17. Touchgrind 18. iHunt 19. iShoot 20. Monopoly Here & Now Edition

A touch more opinion...

“Pre-App Store, there was a widely accepted truism that ‘people don’t download apps’. Post-App Store, it’s obvious that they love to, provided it’s easy and that they understand what the app does. The App Store has added a huge new dimension for AdMob… many developers, including ad agencies with sponsored apps, give their apps extra visibility by advertising in other apps – it’s simply the most efficient route to market.”

Jason Spero, Admob “The biggest impact is the awareness it has created about the nearly limitless capabilities of smartphones. This is a vital mindset shift for consumers. There have also been important learnings about what it takes to create an exceptional user experience. This is a great advantage for the next generation of app development.”

Are Traasdahl, Thumbplay “It’s moths to a light. Suddenly, everyone ‘gets’ mobile and wants to invest in it. Apps are back on the map and interest in WAP is declining sharply. This will be temporary, and a unified app and WAP strategy seems most sensible to me.”

Shashi Fernando, Saffron Digital “In a few months’ time we will see where the customer goes and which store will survive. But alternatives to the operator business model are always welcome.”

Bibiana Hesseler, mobivention

Most iPhone users are existing iTunes users.

There’s no nervousness about payment.

But I’d argue even more significant was Apple’s pre-existing billing arrangement with its users.

Virtually all iPhone users are existing iTunes users when they get their devices. The effect? No nervousness or confusion about entering into a payment scenario with the handset company – and 100 per cent credit card usage. It’s not something Motorola, say, could ever achieve.

And yet, the App Store’s huge success – one billion downloads, 37,000 apps – was itself the cause of some discontent. As the store became busier it became harder for users to navigate, and for products to get visibility. The approvals 24

June 2009

process began to get longer and longer. Additionally, the store also attracted the attention of edgier products and Apple took flak for banning some (The Sun, Nine Inch Nails, various fart products) and allowing others (Baby Shaker).

Some of these issues may be resolved by the new iPhone 3.0 software which, among other upgrades, allows developers to set ages restriction and lets parents switch on access controls. But the basic problem of discovery remains.

In the second year of the Apple App Store, we’ll see how the iPhone firm addresses this, and whether the incredible momentum of the concept can be sustained.

“It’s changed the way brands and publishers think about mobile advertising. The impact on agencies has been phenomenal, particularly in the US, where large numbers of agency employees are experiencing the Apple revolution first hand.”

Stephen Upstone. AdInfuse “Given our successes with Zippo and A&E, the app store has helped us to broaden our relationships with brands, agencies and media companies. As the iPhone delivers a real entertainment experience, it’s also opened up the opportunity for us to create our own products.”

Jon Vlassopulos, Moderati “We’ve seen a surge in non-iPhone apps from sites such as GetJar, which can in part be put down to iPhone. People get a great iPhone app, then show it friends who have other devices, then these friends then go and look for apps of their own...”

Scott Seaborn, OgilvyOne “It hasn’t affected our business. Yet. No doubt it will when we can work out how to get Apple to allow content retailing competition for iTunes.”

Dave Moreau, Fonestarz “It’s finally got MoS focusing on apps. I’m spending a lot of my time focusing on new ideas and developing new apps.”

Patrick Hagenaar, Ministry of Sound

www.mobile-ent.biz

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June 2009 25

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Sponsored by

RECRUITMENT

BBC’s big switchover Richard Titus changes channels barely six months into his mobile gig with the UK institution...

RAY DERENZO has been promoted to chief marketing officer at MobiTV. He’s spent the last four years at the streaming TV giant as SVP of product, programming and marketing, with responsibility for user experience of MobiTV’s products – now he has a broader marketing role.

MARK KORTEKAAS has taken over as controller of BBC Audio and Music Interactive and of BBC Mobile. He replaces RICHARD TITUS (above), who left to join the Daily Mail. Kortekaas has held roles at at NBC, Sony Online Entertainment and CBS. He’ll report to BBC Future Media & Technology director Erik Huggers.

Sony Ericsson haas confirmed ANDERSON TEIXEIRA as its new president of US and North America.

KRISTIAN TEAR will succeed Teixeira as head of Western Europe. Teixeira has been part of Sony Ericsson since the formation of the venture in 2001.

The flexible pricing specialist Accumulate UK has appointed 3UK programme manager RICHARD RAYNOR as technical delivery manager. He’ll work on the company’s new Flexion offering.

US-based platform provider Motricity has appointed ALLYN HEBNER as CFO. He was previously the chief accounting officer at T-Mobile USA. New York’s ad-funded games network Cellufun has a new CEO. He is NEIL EDWARDS, well-known as the CEO of dotmobi. Now Edwards will expand Cellufun’s international audience.

Ray Derenzo’s role expands at MobiTV

LG Electronics has added three key recruits to its UK brand marketing team: FIONA LANDSBERG as brand manager, NATASHA KHAN as digital marketing executive and SYLVAIN BERRIER as research and insight manager. The department has created sponsorship deals with Formula One, Fulham Football Club and Harrods.

JAMES SCALPELLO is set to depart his senior marketing role at THQ Wireless at the end of this month.

He presided over high profile campaigns on products such as Top Trumps, Star Wars and Wall-E in his time at the games publisher, but is stepping down now that THQ is moving away from Java mobile games and into high-end portable devices, like iPhone.

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26

June 2009

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RECRUITMENT

Swift response to recruitment Mobile move pays dividends for Aardvark Swift Aardvark Swift is a specialist mobile entertainment recruitment agency that was among the first to recognise the potential of the mobile marketplace. It has worked in the sector since the company's formative years and was instrumental in placing many of the initial Nokia N-Gage team way back in 2003.

Such is its knowledge and history, Aardvark Swift now claims an unrivalled list of contacts. Indeed, companies such as Buongiorno, Arvato Mobile and Capcom Mobile have all recently used its services to recruit sales, marketing and technical staff. Aardvark also counts mobile game developers, such as Glu Mobile and EA Mobile, among its clients.

“Aardvark's move into mobile entertainment was a natural one,” explains Daniel Johnson (pictured), who heads up the mobile desk at Aardvark Swift. “Many of our gaming clients and candidates were stepping across from traditional video games as the sector grew.

Because of our established games industry network, we began to deal with most mobile games developers and publishers.”

Inevitably, Aardvark Swift took its expertise from games into new content areas. “The challenge for us was to expand the mobile desk and move away from just supplying mobile games staff and recruit for the wider mobile entertainment industry,” adds Johnson. “We’ve been successful in recent years, and we now also recruit for content developers, publishers, aggregators, platform holders and operators.”

Critical to the firm’s success has been the quality of candidates.

Aardvark Swift is proud of the fact that many vacancies are filled by searching a candidate database put together over 20 years. Johnson

www.mobile-ent.biz

JOHNSON: Extending reach into the wider mobile entertainment industry

says: “We have found that many of the skills required by mobile clients can be found on our existing database of candidates, so the transition for us has been made easier. And, if the right candidates can’t be found on our database, we offer different recruitment methods to satisfy our clients’ needs – such as advertised search and headhunting.”

The recruiter ensures that this list is kept fresh and up to date by using a rolling advertising programme in trade press, proactive networking and the constant quest for referrals from existing candidates and clients.

Importantly, Aardvark Swift’s database search option is free, unless a client finds the person they’re looking for.

Independently owned, Aardvark Swift is a small, flexible company, with 15 members of staff. It has ten recruitment consultants, each specialising in a business area. This enables it to offer the highest levels or service to its respective clients/candidates. www.aswift.com

June 2009 27

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About Mobile Music Now The unique event will take place on Thursday July 9th at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London.

150 top execs from the space will attend, including operators, vendors, labels, service providers and more.

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Delegate places cost only £259 +VAT. Sponsorship packages, running through Mobile Entertainment in print and online, start from £650.

What You Get Mobile Music Now is a new kind of conference – affordable and social. It starts at 4.30pm and runs into the evening, with a speed networking system and informal dinner.

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Our sponsors: 24-7 Entertainment: The Platinum Sponsor of the first Mobile Music Now conference is 24-7 Entertainment. This pioneer in the digital music space offers a platform that has powered millions of downloads for retailers, telcos, software and hardware manufacturers, record labels and media companies. It boasts a catalogue of full tracks, ringtones and videos from over 12,000 music labels.

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source Stuck for a stat or just looking to expand your mind? Find everything you need right here...

N

umbers. We love them. You love them. And they’re all here in Mobile Entertainment magazine’s reference section. It’s a one-stop shop for all the contentbased numerological and statological information you can possibly imagine.

Our run-down of key operator subscriber numbers is here again. As usual, our Games Spotlight page focuses on the hot new titles coming out soon. We also have a round-up of all the latest industry research, a comprehensive show and conference guide, and a run-down of best-seller charts from across the mobile content market.

www.mobile-ent.biz

There’s also the Product Focus, which picks out a selection of the content, hardware and services either just launched or coming to market.

What’s more, every month Mobile Entertainment magazine publishes the Mobile Marketplace, an invaluable directory of key product and service providers in the space. Put simply, there’s something here to satisfy every number cruncher and any PowerPoint presentation.

If you have any queries about the data, or would like to submit information for any of the pages in this section, just send an email to: tim.green@intentmedia.co.uk.

INDEX SHOWS

P30

ME’s very own travel guide, with MWC instead of Thailand

PRODUCT FOCUS

P31

Best of this month’s content, hardware and services

DATABOX

P32

Be warned: contains content of a statological nature

CHARTS

P34

The ups and downs of a typical content sector

NETWORK SUBS

P37

Who’s got the most connections?

MARKETPLACE

P39

Mobile content product and service providers

June 2009 29

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SOURCE: EVENTS

FORTHCOMING HIGHLIGHTS June 2nd-4th Licensing International

June 2nd-5th Java One

June 3rd-5th BREW

June 10th Meet-Up

June 10th-11th Open Mobile Summit

June 23rd-24th MeM

2009 CALENDAR June June 2nd-4th E3 2009 Los Angeles, USA www.e3expo.com Its format keeps changing, but E3 is still the place to be for game publishers, developers and distributors.

June 2nd-4th Licensing International 2009 Las Vegas, USA www.licensingexpo.com More than 525 exhibitors with 6,000 brands and properties all in just three days.

June 2nd-5th Java One 2009 San Francisco, USA java.sun.com/javaone Sun Microsystems’ annual Java developer conference returns to the Moscone Center. What with this and the BREW event (see below), be prepared to travel.

June 3rd-5th Brew 2009 San Diego, USA brew.qualcomm.com Qualcomm’s annual developer and partner conference. Visitors should expect a bit of BREW, some MediaFLO and a whole lot of Plaza.

June 3rd-4th Mobile Web 2.0 Summit London, UK www.mobilewebsummit.com Osney Media presents this conference looking at the next generation of mobile. Expect social networking, UGC, widgets and mnore to be high on the agenda.

June 10th ME Meet-Up London, UK www.mobile-ent.biz/events

30

June 2009

June 10th-11th Open Mobile Summit London, UK www.openmobilesummit.com Network with the power players in mobile and internet today.

June 23rd Mobile Internet Summit 2009 Singapore www.mobilenetasia.com

August August 13th Edinburgh Interactive Festival Edinburgh, UK edinburghinteractivefestival.com

Part of the Edinburgh Festival, the EIF will embrace game development and publishing, including mobile platforms.

September

June 23rd-24th Mobile Entertainment Market (MeM) 2009 London, UK www.mem09.com

September 11th-15th IBC Amsterdam, Netherlands www.ibc.org

The Mobile Entertainment Forum’s annual exhibition and conference event, produced in partnership with Informa.

The annual shindig for the broadcast TV business. There’ll be blinking lights everywhere, but also a growing mobile zone.

July

October

July 9th Mobile Music Now BAFTA, London, UK www.mobile-ent.biz/events

October 1st ME Awards 2009 London, UK www.mobile-ent.biz/me-awards

Mobile Entertainment is hosting this popular music networking event and conference in association with the digital music specialist 24-7 Entertainment and ringbacks pioneer Muzicall (see box).

It’s back to the Royal Garden Hotel for the single biggest party in the content calendar.

July 14th-16th Develop Conference Brighton, UK www.developconference.com The developer event that likes to be beside the seaside.

Mobile execs will be drawn to the new Evolve sessions.

July 21st Casual Connect Seattle Seattle, US http://seattle.casualconnect.org Brings together the most talented and knowledgeable experts in casual gaming.

Meet-Up (June 10th) Back and better than ever. New format, new venue, same excellent networking opportunities. Sponsored

by MIG. Places will be allocated on a lottery basis, so to RSVP please send an email to: Meetup@intentmedia.co.uk.

October 5th-9th MIPCOM Cannes, France www.mipcom.com Back to Cannes for the annual event for ‘key decision-makers in the digital and audiovisual content industry’.

October 6th-9th CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment San Diego, USA www.wirelessit.com CTIA Wireless’s contentfocused fall (that’s autumn for any Limey readers) event arrives in San Diego for the first time. After Las Vegas, the sheer blandness of San Diego will be deliriously welcome.

Mobile Music Now (July 9th) ME is hosting this networking event and conference in association with digital music specialist 24-7 Entertainment. Ringbacks pioneer Muzicall is also supporting MMN. To book your place now contact: Rob.Baker@intentmedia.co.uk or call +44 (0)1992 535 647.

www.mobile-ent.biz

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SOURCE: PRODUCT FOCUS

new stuff A selection of new content, hardware and services...

HTC Magic

Bytemobile Unison

Available: Now IN A NUTSHELL: The second coming for Google Android, this time wholly touchscreen and exclusively through Voda.

Available: Now Bytemobile has been around for years, but thanks to its network-centric speciality (optimising data consumption for operators), it’s hovered on the periphery of the content scene. That’s changing now, as data services move into the mainstream and those operator customers need help delivering data-efficient entertainment services.

Bytemobile is diversifying from a technical role into one that assists on content strategy. Proof of this came with the launch of its new Unison Mobile Internet Platform. The aim is to provide a framework that can help deliver widgets, mobile site transcoding, ad insertion and other data applications.

Unison comprises three elements: the Optimisation and Services Node (OSN), the Web Fidelity Suite and the Media Fidelity Suite. The latter two indicate the company’s push into content.

The Web Fidelity Suite includes: Content adaptation and web page transcoding Widget Bar application Ad insertion application The Media Fidelity Suite includes: Media optimisation for managing the impact of escalating video traffic with effective bandwidth management.

It’s taken seven months for the second official Android phone to surface, and here it is, another HTC effort, this time available exclusively on Vodafone. The HTC Magic is now on sale in the UK, with other Voda opcos to follow.

The white phone is based on the same OS as the T-Mobile G1 but it has abandoned the clunky physical QWERTY keyboard in favour of a more lightweight 3.2-inch touchscreen. There are a bunch of new hard buttons on the front, most significantly the search key, which trawls everything

on the phone – from contacts to Android Market apps. Having said that, the Magic remains superficially very similar to the G1. Inside the device is a 3.2 megapixel camera, MP3 player, 512MB of memory and microSD memory card slot.

There’s no 3.5mm headphone.

It will be interesting to track this one. The G1 has been warmly received by users, but even they admit it’s ugly. The Magic is clearly better looking. The other question is how it will perform against the Blackberry Storm, another of Voda’s big exclusives.

Galaxy On Fire Available: Now

IN A NUTSHELL: Data optimisation expert moves into content with a platform to deliver widgets, site transcoding, ad insertion and other data applications.

www.mobile-ent.biz

Following the successful launch of Galaxy On Fire and its sequel for mobiles last year, German-based developer Fishlabs Entertainment returned to the game and beefed it up for a fully-fledged launch on Apple’s iPhone.

It begins from the same position as the original, and players can expect over 20 hours of gameplay as they help humanity fight off a vicious and aggressive alien race, hell bent on wiping it out.

However, Fishlabs is determined not to sit on its laurels and has actively used Apple’s user review system to work out any of the kinks that were present in the original release. “We have received a great deal of praise, but also criticism from the iPhone player community,” said the CEO of

Fishlabs Entertainment, Michael Schade. “We have embraced this criticism and created an extensive update for the full version.”

The company will also launch a free, ‘lite’ version of the title in a move designed to help boost sales of the title even further.

IN A NUTSHELL: iPhone version of hit alien invasion game from Apple-centric German coder.

June 2009 31

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SOURCE: DATABOX

databox

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

Shock report: oldies like the weather A Comscore report on EU mobile web trends reveals over-55s flock to weather and financial sites while teens like social networks.

The study said 4.4 per cent of the over 55s check mobile forecasts, with 4.1 per cent visiting stock trading sites and four per cent accessing their bank details. Conversely, 15.2 per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds visit sites like Bebo and MySpace, with web search the next most popular activity at 9.5 per cent and entertainment news at 9.1 per cent.

In terms of devices, mobile subscribers aged 13-17 years are more likely to own an LG or Sony Ericsson, while 18-24 year-olds are 80 per cent more likely than the average subscriber to own an iPhone.

The data is based on three-month average user surveys in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK to the end of February.

A site more valuable Mobile internet-related revenues grew between 15 and 25 per cent in the year to 4Q2008, says ABI Research.

The growth of the mobile web was good news in a report that was dominated by the depressing revelation that overall mobile ARPU dropped between five to 15 per cent.

Soberingly, the biggest falls were in China, India and a number of

other Asian markets (over ten per cent) – regions that are supposed to be robust in the current crunch.

In Europe the ARPU contraction was between five and eight per cent.

ABI states that mobile data (messaging and mobile internet) contributes 38 per cent of Japanese ARPUs, and around 25 to 30 per cent for many European operators.

Admob’s advert ascent Mobile ad requests across the AdMob network increased by 17 per cent in March to 7.7 billion.

It seems like only yesterday we all gasped when AdMob notched one billion all-time requests. The network now does more than that in less than a week.

Interestingly, the new metrics show half of iPhone/Android ad

requests came from within apps, with Android requests increasing by an average of 47 per cent per month between November and March.

By comparison, in the first five months following the launch of the App Store in the US (July to November 2008), requests from the iPhone increased by an average of 88 per cent per month.

Twenty is plenty The average free iPhone app is used 19.9 times, then discarded. And, according to the Greystripe mobile ad network, iPhone users engage with these products for around 9.6 minutes per session. The stats are from Greystripe's latest quarterly metrics report and are based on data gleaned from the 600 free iPhone apps and games in its ad network.

32

June 2009

Vendor market shares were as follows: Vendor Nokia Samsung LG SonyEricsson RIM Apple

% 36.2 17.8 8.8 5.6 3.0 1.5

Device decline Handset shipments fell 11 per cent year-over-year to reach 258 million in Q1. Not great news, but could have been worse. ABI Research says the result significantly exceeded the previous forecast of 253.5 million and declared “green shoots are sprouting”. As a result, it revised its forecasts for 2009 from minus 8.4 per cent to minus eight per cent.

Apple pips others iPhone and iPod Touch apps account for 84 per cent of total app usage.

A study from Flurry confirmed the received wisdom that Apple dominates the app space even though the combined installed base of iPhone and iPod Touch is only 37 million. Flurry says iPhone accounted for 56 per cent of mobile app usage in April

2009, with iPod Touch taking 28 per cent.

This should change when Nokia, Palm and Microsoft enter the app space, and Android and RIM build on their recent launches. Indeed, Venturebeat reports that Android is already at 16 per cent of the market. Not bad for one device and six months of availability. www.mobile-ent.biz

Project5:Layout 1

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Page 1

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, May

Song 1 2

Bonkers Poker Face

Flycell US Top Ringtones, May

Dizzee Rascal

Song

Artist

Lady GaGa

1

I Love College

Asher Roth

1

CU920/CU915/Vu

LG

Kiss Me Thru The Phone Soulja Boy

2

Shine (CU720)

LG

Model

Vendor

3

Please Don’t Leave Me

Pink

2

4

Sex On Fire

Kings Of Leon

3

Beautiful

Akon

3

SGH-A767 (Propel)

Samsung

Crack A Bottle

Eminem

4

(Wild Card) M1000

Kyocera

5

Jai Ho!

Pussycat Dolls

4

6

Surfin’ Bird

The Trashmen

5

Ain’t I

Yung LA

5

8310 (Curve)

RIM

Gives You Hell

All American Rejects

6

W350i/a/c

Sony Ericsson

7

I’m Not Alone

Calvin Harris

6

8

Halo

Beyonce

7

Day N Nite

Kid Kudi

7

SGH-A867

Samsung

Turnin Me On

Keri Hilson

8

SGH-A737/A736

Samsung

9

SGH-I617

Samsung

W580/i

Sony Ericsson

9

Beautiful

Akon

8

10

Back In Black

AC/DC

9

Rockin’ That Thing

The Dream

10

Beep

Bobby Valentino 10

Source: Mobilestreams

Source: Flycell

Ringtones.com top Euro voicetones, May

1

Simples!

TV advert

2

Cadbury Eyebrows

TV advert

3

Compare The Meerkat

TV advert

4

Giggety Giggety Goo

Family Guy

5

Only Fools And Horses

OST

6

Resident Evil Text

Fun alert

7

Answer That You Tart

Fun alert

8

Dump Valve

SFX

9

The Fatman’s Calling

Family Guy

10

Mom, Mommy, Lois

Family Guy

USA realtone soundalikes, May

South Africa realtone soundalikes, May

Ringtones Zed top truetones, 15th April - 15th May 1

Source: Flycell

Music

Source: Mobilestreams

Song

Artist

Poker Face

Lady GaGa

2

I Hate This Part

3

Liberata

Pussycat Dolls Pep’s

4

I Kissed A Girl

Katy Perry

5

Sweet About Me

Gabriella Cilme

6

American Boy

Estelle

7

Infinity

Guru Josh Project

8

Don’t Stop The Music

Rihanna

9

The Boy Does Nothing

Alesha Dixon

10

Disturbia

Rihanna

Source: Zed Zed games, 15th April - 15th May Game Publisher

Shazam Tagging May 1 In For The Kill La Roux 2 I’m Not Alone Calvin Harris 3 I Remember Deadmau5 & Kaskade 4 Number 1 Tinchy Stryder 5 Boom Boom Pow Black Eyed Peas 6 Bonkers Dizzee Rascal 7 Jai Ho! The Pussycat Dolls 8 I’m Yours Jason Mraz 9 Warrior’s Dance Prodigy 10 Tiny Dancer Ironik Source: Shazam

1

My Life Would Suck...

Kelly Clarkson

1

Boom Boom Pow

Black Eyed Peas

2

Everybody Knows

John Legend

2

Blame It

Jamie Foxx

3

You Found Me

The Fray

3

Turn My Swag On

Soulja Boy

4

Day N Nite

Kid Cudi Vs Crookers

4

Poker Face

Lady Gaga

5

Love Sex Magic

Justin Timberlake

5

Day N Nite

Kid Cudi Vs Crookers

6

Please Don’t Leave Me Pink

6

Sugar

Flo Rida

7

Run

Leona Lewis

7

Dead And Gone

TI Ft JT

8

Reach Out

Hilary Duff

8

We Made You

Eminem

9

Away

Enrique Iglesias

9

Right Round

Flo Rida

10

Thinking of You

Katy Perry

10

I KNow You Want Me

Pitbull

Source: Melodi Media

Source: Melodi Media

Video & wallpaper Fonestarz top videos, May

Fonestarz top wallpapers, May

1

Brand New Sexy Cam

1

2

Lady GaGa – Poker Face

2

Pink Dolphin

3

Wii Fit Girlfriend

3

Beer Emoticon

4

YouTube’s Baby Hulk

4

Happy Smiley

5

Sexy Bathtime Flirts

5

Angry Emoticon

6

Glamour Girl Greetings

6

I’d Rather Be...

I Love You MSG

1

Bubble Boom Challenge

Zed

2

Life Is A Love Story

Zed

3

Life Is A Fiesta

Zed

4

Pumpet Adventure

Zed

5

Bacterium

Zed

6

Sniperops

Zed

7

Brain Coach 2

Zed

7

Angry Kid

7

Sweetheart

8

Trash Racer

Zed

8

YouTube’s Laughing Baby

8

I Saw This And Thought Of You

9

4online

Zed

9

T.I. Ft Just Timberlake – Dead And Gone

9

You Belong To Me

10

The Hangman SHow

Zed

10

Right Round – Flo Rida

10

Roxanne Pallett

Source: Zed

34

Flycell US Top Download Handsets, May

Artist

June 2009

Source: FoneStarz

Source: FoneStarz

www.mobile-ent.biz

35 ME52_Final

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SOURCE: CHARTS

Bplay Smartphone Entertainment Charts Thru May 1, 2009 Top 20 games

Top 20 themes

Thru May 1, 2009

Smartphone Entertainment Charts

Smartphone Entertainment Charts

Title

Category

Publisher

Title

Category

1

Daytona USA

Action/Arcade

Magmic

1

iBerry 2.0 Today Plus

Next Gen

Publisher Magmic

2

Texas Hold'em King 3

Cards/Casino

Magmic

2

Saltwater

Animated

Magmic

3

The New York Times Crosswords

Puzzle

Magmic

3

Solar Slideshow

Next Gen

Magmic

4

Brick Breaker Revolution

Action/Arcade

Real Arcade

4

Beaches of the World

Next Gen

Magmic

5

Text Twist Turbo

Puzzle

Real Arcade

5

Cities of the World

Next Gen

Magmic

6

Sudoku

Puzzle

Magmic

6

iBerry Pink Today Plus

Next Gen

Magmic

7

Brain Tester 24-Pack

Puzzle

Digital Chocolate

7

Tinker Bell Pink

Disney

Disney

8

Chuzzle

Puzzle

PopCap

8

iBerry Neo Today Plus

Next Gen

Magmic

9

Call of Duty 4

Action/Arcade

Glu Mobile

9

Tickled Pink Today

Today

Magmic

10

Bejeweled

Puzzle

EA

10

Reflex Color

Icon

Magmic

11

Euchre

Cards/Casino

Magmic

11

Tinker Bell

Disney

Disney

12

Monopoly

Strategy/Board

EA

12

iBerry 2.0 Today

Today

Magmic

13

Spades

Cards/Casino

Magmic

13

Amaranth Zen

Zen

Magmic

14

Hearts

Cards/Casino

Magmic

14

Tranquil Garden

Animated

Magmic Magmic

15

Spore

Action/Arcade

EA

15

Beachfront

Animated

16

Bookworm

Puzzle

PopCap

16

iBerry 2.0 Zen

Zen

Magmic

17

Brain Tester 24-Pack

Puzzle

Digital Chocolate

17

iBerry Neo Zen

Zen

Magmic

18

Wheel of Fortune Deluxe

Puzzle

Sony/Handmark

18

Pooh and Tigger

Disney

Disney

19

Ka-Glom

Puzzle

Magmic

19

Mickey and Minnie

Disney

Disney

20

Guitar Hero 3 Mobile

Action/Arcade

Hands-On

20

Ohio State Buckeyes

College

Airborne

The Getchart - April 2009 GetJar – Appsolutely Everything Top 20 Applications

April 2009

Top 20 Devices

Downloaded

April 2009

Top 20 Devices

North America

Global

Application

Category

1

eBuddy

Email & Messaging

1

Samsung Instinct M800

1

Nokia N70-1

2

Nimbuzz

Email & Messaging

2

LG CU920

2

Nokia 3110c

3

Opera Mini Web browser

Productivity

3

Samsung A867 Eternity

3

Nokia 6600

4

Google Maps for mobile featuring Latitude

Maps

4

Samsung T919 Behold

4

Nokia N73

5

Facebook Mobile

Social & community

5

Sony-Ericsson K800i

5

Nokia 6300

6

Super Bluetooth Hack

Lifestyle

6

LG CU720

6

Sony-Ericsson K800i

7

Yamee

Email & Messaging

7

Sony-Ericsson W580i

7

Nokia 7610

8

GlassPlayer music player

Music

8

Motorola MOTOROKR Z6m

8

Nokia 6120c

9

qeep

Social & community

9

Samsung SGH i617

9

Nokia 5300

10

MajiPlayer Music Player

Music

10

Motorola V3r

10

Nokia 6233

11

Dictionary

Information

11

Nokia N70-1

11

Sony-Ericsson W200i

12

MagicBlueHack

Lifestyle

12

BlackBerry 8100

12

Nokia 3230

13

Pleex

Productivity

13

Sony-Ericsson W760

13

Nokia 6630

14

FileExplorer

Productivity

14

Motorola RAZR V3a

14

Samsung SGH E250

15

KD Player

Music

15

Nokia N73

15

Nokia 3500

16

Windows Live

Social & community

16

Nokia 6120c

16

Nokia 5200

17

Kamus Lengkap

Information

17

Nokia 5310 XpressMusic

17

Nokia 5310 XpressMusic

18

Azan

Religion

18

BlackBerry 8310

18

Nokia N95

19

FileLock

Productivity

19

Nokia 6085

19

Sony-Ericsson K550i

20

FaceWarp

Entertainment

20

Nokia 6300

20

Nokia E71

www.mobile-ent.biz

April 2009

Devices

Devices

June 2009 35

Playphone charts

6/5/09

15:18

Page 1

Title

Artist

The Climb

Miley Cyrus

1

2

You Can Get It All

Bow Wow

3

La La Land

Demi Lovato

Sony Pictures

4

Tonight

Disney

5

Come On Get Higher

6

Hoedown Throwdown

Title

Publisher

1

Hannah Montana Star Moves

Disney

1

2

Flavor of Love

IGfun

3

Win At Texas Hold'em

I-play

4

Wheel of Fortune Deluxe

5

Hannah Montana in Action

6

Spider-Man 3

Sony Pictures

Title

Category

JEOPARDY! Clue Crew

Jeopardy

2

Blue Water Beach

National Geographic

3

Haters Make Us Famous Pink Frosty

Jonas Brothers

4

Bloo Screen

Matt Nathanson

5

One Shall Stand

Transformers

Miley Cyrus

6

Music & Rap

Graffiti

Home for Imaginary Friends

7

Call of Duty 4

Glu

7

Knock You Down

Keri Hilson

7

Stormalong Harbor

Misadventures of Flapjack

8

Super Mah Jong Quest

I-play

8

Blame It (ft. T-Pain)

Jamie Foxx

8

Amazing City Scape

Pink Frosty

9

Gem Drop

Real Networks

Home for Imaginary Friends

10 Deal or no Deal: Million Dollar Mission I-play

9

My Love

The-Dream

9

I pooted

10

The Fear

Lily Allen

10

Miley Loves Playing Guitar Disney

11

Solitaire 4-Pack

Digital Chocolate

11

Turn My Swag On

Soulja Boy Tell`em

11

Spider-Man Swing

12

2008 Weakest Link

I-play

12

Boyfriend

Pleasure P

12

Spring Tink I Love Flowers Peter Pan

Spider-Man 3

13

Q*Bert

Sony Pictures

13

Bless the Broken Road

Rascal Flatts

13

Hannah Montana: Pop Star Disney

14 I-play Bowling

I-play

14

Kiss Me Thru The Phone

Soulja Boy Tell'em

14

Lara - Climbing Mountain Tomb Raider: Underworld

15

Disney

15

Dead And Gone (ft. J.Timberlake) T.I.

15

Shut Up and Kiss Me

Pink Frosty

16 South Park 10: The Game

Real Networks

16

No Vacancy by JG Thirlwell

16

Flaunting Her Curves

Tila Tequila

17

Jeopardy! Deluxe

Sony Pictures

17

My President (ft. Nas)

Young Jeezy

17

Dolphins True Love

Romance

18

Collapse! Chaos

Real Networks

18

Last Time

Trey Songz

18

Obama 08 Picture

Barack Obama

Grey Wolf Portrait

Hannah Montana Secret Star

Venture Bros.

19 High School Musical Senior Year

Disney

19

Next To You

Mike Jones

19

20 Wheel of Fortune Road Trip

Sony Pictures

20

Stanky Legg

GS Boyz

20 Butterfly

National Geographic Cool Designs

37 ME52_Final

18/5/09

09:08

Page 1

SOURCE: OPERATORS

network subs Key operator subscriber numbers from around the world

Operator

Subscribers

18,537,000

Mobile TeleSystems

54,420,000

16,794,000

VimpelCom

42,200,000

Kyivstar GSM

23,456,000

Ukrainian Mobile (MTS)

19,910,000

O2

413000

Country

Operator

Subscribers

Western Europe UK

Vodafone T-Mobile 3 (includes Ireland)

4,868,000

O2

19,080,000

Orange

15,815,000

Vodafone

23,068,000

Italy

France

Greece

Israel Netherlands

Ireland

Sweden

Norway Germany

Denmark

Belguim

Poland

Portugal

Switzerland Spain

Eastern Europe Czech Republic Russia

Country

Ukraine Slovakia Asia Pacific Australia

3

8,450,000

3

1,892,000

Wind

16,400,000

Optus

7,238,000

TIM

35,274,000

Telstra

9,300,000

Orange

24,524,000

Vodafone

3,740,000

SFR

19,300,000

China Mobile

457,250,000

Bouygues

9,300,000

Vodafone

5,542,000

China Hong Kong

China Unicom

133,365,000

3

1,276,000

Smart tone

1,118,000

Bharti Airtel

85,650,000

Cosmote

6,280,000

Wind

16,400,000

Cellcom Israel

3,117,000

BSNL

46,228,000

Pelephone

2,400,000

Idea Cellular

34,210,000

Vodafone

4,360,000

Tata Indicom

31,763,997

T-Mobile

4,900,000

Reliance

61,345,000

KPN

1,937,000

Vodafone

2,247,000

India

Japan Thailand

NTT DoCoMo

54,155,100

AIS

26,774,000 18,213,000

O2

1,713,000

Dtac

3 (includes UK)

4,868,000

True Move

12,448,000

Meteor

1,002,000

Singtel

2,870,000

3 (includes Denmark)

1,079,000

StarHub

1,742,000

Telenor

1,837,000

MobileOne

1,631,000

Tele 2

3,118,000

Djuice (Pannon)

3,475,000

Movistar

14,652,700

Telenor

2,396,000

Vivo

42,276,000

Netcom

1,580,000

Vodafone

34,412,000

T-Mobile

36,000,000

O2

13,978,000

Singapore

Latin America Argentina Brazil Mexico North America Canada

Claro

35,668,000

Telcel

54,381,000

Movistar

14,662,000

Bell

6,449,000

E-Plus

17,027,000

Debitel

13,140,000

Rogers

7,338,000

3 (includes Sweden)

1,079,000

Telus

5,981,000

TDC

3,011,000

Sprint

50,031,035

Sonofon

1,783,000

T- Mobile USA

32,100,000

Mobistar (Orange)

3,752,000

Verizon Wireless

70,800,000

BASE

3,241,000

Alltel

13,319,000

Belgacom Mobile

3,705,000

US Cellular

6,200,000

Vodafone

2,642,000

AT&T

74,871,000

Orange

14,054,000

T-Mobile

13,000,000

Vodafone

5,267,000

TMN

6,732,000

Optimus

3,058,000

Orange

1,510,000

Vodafone

16,039,000

Movistar

23,436,000

Orange

11,224,000

T-Mobile

5,300,000

O2

5,187,000

Megafon

41,740,000

www.mobile-ent.biz

USA

Africa Algeria Egypt Morocco Nigeria South Africa

Algerie Telecom

2 880 538

Wataniya Telecom

4,989,491

Vodafone

15,202,000

ECMS

18,911,000

Ittissalat Al-Maghrib

13,327,000

Globacom

22,000,000

MTN Nigeria

20171000

MTN

16,173,000

Vodacom

36,000,000

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

June 2009 37

ME evolve advert

11/5/09

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Page 1

be inspired

14 JULY 2009

evolve evolve is a new one-day event which will open the Develop Conference on Tuesday 14 July, and a new track within the conference on Wednesday 15 July. Evolve will focus on how to develop games for new platforms including mobile, iPhone and XBLA, new technologies and new markets like social and casual gaming. It will help game developers tackle the issues arising from emerging platforms and digital marketplaces, connected gaming, user-generated content and cross-over between games and Internet services.

How Today's Social Networks Will Change How You Make, Play and Sell Games Tomorrow Kristian Segerstrale, Playfish

Who’s Speaking?

20 Great Innovations in Casual, Social and Mobile Games That You Should Steal Stuart Dredge, Pocket Gamer

Resetting the Game.

David Perry, Creative Director of Acclaim Games

Panel: The Fight for Playtime: What Do Social Networking Sites Have to Offer the Games Industry?

Chair: Tom Armitage; Limvirak Chea, Google; Chris Thorpe, MySpace Panel: After the iPhone Honeymoon: Where Next for Apple's Mobile Chair: Mathew Kumar, Freelance Journalist; Alan Yu, ngmoco; Michael Schade, Fishlabs; James Brooksby, doublesix; Chris Byatte, Chillingo

Panel: Opportunities and Hurdles for Mobile Gaming Chair: Mark Fletcher, Nokia Taking Your Game to iPhone and Android, Without Killing Your Team Chris White, Glu

KEYNOTE

The Long Tail and Games: How Digital Distribution Changes Everything. Maybe.

David Edery, Independent Consultant

Infectious: How Viral Games Capture an Audience of Millions Jeff Coghlan, Matmi The European Free to Play Market Thomas Bidaux, Ico Partners

KEYNOTE

Other speakers at the Develop Conference include: Autodesk • Bizarre Creations • Blitz Games • Chillingo • Climax • Creative Assembly • comScore • Crytek • Denki • Disney Black Rock Studios • Eutechnyx • Fishlabs • FluffyLogic • Glu Mobile • Google • Guerrilla Games • Gusto Games • ICO Partners • Kerb • Lightning Fish Games • Lionhead • Matmi • MySpace • Nokia • Mediatonic • Microsoft • ngmoco • Playfish • Rare • Team 17 • The Mustard Corporation • Silicon Knights • Sidelines • Tag Games • Zoe Mode

So make sure you stay ahead of the game this year - come to Develop in Brighton and evolve

www.developconference.com Mobile Sponsor

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39-45 ME52_Final

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Page 1

MOBILE MARKETPLACE

MOBILE

MOBILE ADVERTISING

MARKETPLACE

MARKETPLACE INDEX 26 CONTENT............................................+49 9547 870 120 www.26content.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.froggie-mm.com GENIE .........................................................+44 844 415 5531 www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/mobile INLOGIC...................................................+421 904 628 889 www.inlogic.eu KATINA......................................................+44 78 3366 4075 www.rawmobileporn.com MOBIVENTION.....................................+49 2203 906 0210 www.mobivention.com

PUBLISHER

MKHOJ .........................................................+1 650 521 6150 www.mkhoj.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

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

June 2009 39

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE GAMES DEVELOPER

MOBILE GAMING PARTNERSHIPS

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

DYNAMO SPORTS Under a new branding of games from the company, Dynamo will be specializing in Sports Strategy games for Football, Baseball, American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Golf, F1, NASCAR, Cricket & Tennis.

FOOTBALL TYCOON 速 This is Dynamo's first game to be unveiled under the Dynamo Sports umbrella. It is due for release at the end of May 2009 and has already been nominated for an IGF Mobile award. www.football-tycoon.net

If you are looking for high-quality mobile game development by an experienced player, look no further:

J2ME development BREW iPhone development Handheld Console development for DS and PSP Google Android, Flash Lite & Blackberry

Check out our new company website: www.dynamogames.com and get in touch.

LOCALISATION

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CONTENT PROVIDER

www.mobile-ent.biz

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIO

Dynamo Games All games claim to be addictive, but when a title is so compelling that it has contributed to marriage break-up, then you have to take it seriously: Championship Manager is such a game.

After a hugely successful life on PC and various consoles over the past two decades (believe it or not the franchise made its debut in 1993), the iconic football management sim is being readied for the iPhone and iPod Touch by Eidos, Beautiful Game Studios and Dynamo Games.

This new version, Championship Manager 2009 Express, gives players the ability to interact with their players on an individual basis, deal with the club's board over expectations and finances, face the full glare of the press with post-match press conferences, as well as watch the match unfold infront of your eyes thanks to the games' 2D match engine.

The development team is delighted with the job done in porting a huge PC game into the handheld format. “We have worked hard on refining the game for the iPhone platform and feel what we have achieved is a really in-depth representation of the famous brand,” says Dynamo Games'

www.mobile-ent.biz

Brian McNicoll. “We hope all Champ Man fans can see that we have carefully designed the game to make it as realistic as possible.”

Of course, no developer knows Champ Man (as the fans affectionately call the game) better on the small screen than Dundeebased Dynamo Games, which has already created a much-lauded Java version of the title. The step up to iPhone/iPod Touch was an obvious one. “The revolutionary capabilities of iPhone and iPod touch make it a compelling platform and we have designed the Championship Manager gameplay specifically for theses devices,” said general manager of Championship Manager, Roy Meredith. “We're excited to continue to evolve the features and think players are going to love it.”

Publishing partner Beautiful Games Studios praised the work of Dynamo Games: “It’s great to be working with them again on the entertaining Championship Manager,” said external producer at BGS, Allison Archer. “The iPod Touch and iPhone provide a great platform for gamers and deliver a unique experience for those wanting to manage on the move.” www.dynamogames.com June 2009 41

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE MOBILE ANALYTICS

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

LOCALISATION

ADULT CONTENT

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

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE DEVELOPER

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

MOBILE BROADBAND

Bango One of the content industry’s biggest opportunities in 2009 is the opening up of the US market to WAP billing for off-portal content.

It’s something that Bango is urging all content providers to take advantage of.

According to the mobile web payment provider, the US market has grown dramatically over the past 12 months, thanks to the WAP billing switch. In February 2008, US revenues accounted for just five per cent of the company's business; one year later that had increased to 57 per cent.

Much of the change has been driven by US operators, who have given their backing to increasing WAP billing, mainly due to the associated reduction in customer service issues – a major concern given the many problems arising from Premium SMS transactions.

Many of the firms Bango is targeting with its call to arms are those who are either based in the UK, or currently sell into it, but are yet to move into the US. “The US market is huge,” says Sarah Keefe, VP of marketing at Bango,. "It has over 270 million mobile phone users, of whom 175 million can browse and buy through Bango. To put it in perspective, each of the top three US networks is –

www.mobile-ent.biz

individually – larger than the whole UK market put together.”

She is also quick to put to rest any concerns over the difficulty of diversifying into the market: “Anyone who’s selling content in the UK can benefit from the same single-click seamless WAP flow in the US market.” Bango itself does much of the legwork, according to Keefe, who explains that the firm has worked hard to ensure that it has direct integration with the leading off-portal carriers in the US, such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

Of course, the US market is dominated by subscriptions, which makes it different from most other markets. Keefe says this isn’t a problem, as Bango's payment platform supports features like automatic renewals and re-tries to ensure that its partners aren't put at a disadvantage.

Alongside downloadable content, Bango is keen to stress the potential of mobile marketing opportunities for customer acquisition – another area opening up in the US. This comprises onportal advertising, search marketing with the carriers and on search engines such, plus mobile advertising on third party sites. www.bango.com June 2009 43

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE INTERACTIVE MOBILE SOLUTIONS

(

SALES AND MARKETING

)

VIDEO/PICTURE AGGREGATION

CONTENT DISCOVERY

Splash News TV - the Paparazzi’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 Web: www.splashnews.com Video: www.splash-video.com

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE PUBLISHING PLATFORM

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

Dialogue GAMES DISTRIBUTOR

www.mobile-ent.biz

Dialogue is a specialist in mobile billing, which launched its Payforit single click purchasing system at the beginning of this year to supplement its existing subscriptions-facilitating service.

Designed to provide a standard across all UK network operators, the Payforit platform strives to be as flexible as its partners are.

Offering single click purchasing and subscriptions, Payforit gives partners – which include operators, public sector organisations, corporates, enterprises, retailers, and entertainment and media suppliers – a single, branded and consistent mobile payment experience, designed to build consumer confidence.

With offices around the globe, in countries stretching from the UK, to Sweden and all the way to Australia, the company is ideally placed to help operators and other rich content providers to offer a consistent way to sell their products to customers.

In 2009 the company stepped up the expansion of its global presence, following the opening of a new office in Cape Town, South Africa. The new unit has been opened specifically to help the company deal with the level of demand they expect from its WAP billing deals with South African operators. It’s well-recognised that

South Africa is one of the world’s most advanced territories for data services.

Guiom Peersman, MD of Dialogue, said: “We are thrilled to be able to introduce WAP billing in South Africa by offering our customers an easy to use complete billing and collection service that we will continue to focus on throughout 2009.”

However, Dialogue is far from a one-trick billing pony. It also offers its partners ‘off the shelf’ marketing campaigns, designed to help take advantage of the mobile’s unique route to market. It supports the ability to push those campaigns through messaging, and via the construction and publishing of mobile websites.

Alongside those routes to market, it also offers interactive campaigns such as competitions, voting, auctions, as well as SMS messaging for customer care. It also has the ability to supply reporting tools that analyse and monitor the results of those campaigns.

Dialogue has looked to expand beyond the mobile arena, and has begun offering the ability to use Payforit on a PC. Coming with the same flexibility as the mobile version, the PC payment system gives shoppers the choice to pay for a product through their mobile. www.dialogue.net June 2009 45

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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

She missed out Commiserations to Rebecca Geldard, who carried the hopes of the mobile content business on her delicate shoulders last month at the final of the Miss UK competition. ‘Bex’ had been selected by the users of Flirtomatic – a sponsor of the event – to represent the mobile social network, but failed to carry off the tiara. Still, a great night was had by the Flirtomatic team, assorted retired footballers, soap stars and other micro-celebrities. ME’s Tim Green, the most microscopic celeb of them all, was also present.

The shiny-headed Green was delighted to find a hair brush in the goody bag.

Flemming Lund, CEO, Inmobia

Which phone do you currently own?

N95 8GB.

Boldly connecting people Well done Nokia for getting some delicious product placement in the indisputable movie blockbuster of the year, Star Trek. Although set in the 23rd century, the movie features a sequence in which the adolescent Jim Kirk takes a call on his car phone, which is branded Nokia and trills the Nokia ringtone. Cheeky of the vendor to assume it will still be a prominent brand in 200 years. Will Ovi Store have trumped App Store?

Party on So the worst kept secret came out and Zed has bought Player X. The strategic fit between the two companies has been analysed widely, but what’s less discussed is what the purchase will mean for industry partying. The Player X holy trinity of Pearce, Honka and Munford has kept many mobile execs pissed for the last four years. When we posted a ME-Mail about this topic, we got a reassuring email response straight back from Tony Pearce, who may or may not have been in a bar at the time. Anyhow, we’re delighted to re-publish this classic pic of Tony.

MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT

This is Tribal Tap ME was asked to help judge the MEX User Experience awards last month, which involved watching a bunch of promo videos from the entrants. One, from Mobile Tribe, stood out by virtue of its utter weirdness. Nothing strange about the product – an app for aggregating social media tools – but the video featured an animated man who looked like a child’s Playmobil toy, but who spoke in a deep and thoroughly incongruous male voice. What’s more he was introduced as Nigel Tuffnel, the name of the Spinal Tap lead guitarist. We could see no discernable irony.

Executive Editor: Tim Green Tim.Green@intentmedia.co.uk Online Editor: Stuart O’Brien Stuart.Obrien@intentmedia.co.uk Managing Editor: Lisa Foster Lisa.Foster@intentmedia.co.uk Reporter: Ben Furfie Ben.Furfie@intentmedia.co.uk

O’Brien

Green

Advertising Sales Executive: Tom Roberts Tom.Roberts@intentmedia.co.uk

CONTACTS

Design: James Martin James.Martin@intentmedia.co.uk

EDITORIAL: +44 (0)1992 535646 ADVERTISING: +44 (0)1992 535647 FAX: +44 (0)1992 535648

Production Manager: Abigail Fanger Abigail.Fanger@intentmedia.co.uk

Mobile Entertainment is published 12 times a year

by Intent Media ~ Saxon House, 6A St. Andrew Street, Hertford, Herts SG14 1JA, England

Publisher/Managing Director: Stuart Dinsey Stuart.Dinsey@intentmedia.co.uk

46

June 2009

Subscriptions Manager: Hannah Short Hannah.Short@intentmedia.co.uk

What’s the best phone you’ve ever had and why?

Samsung D500, amazing resolution for its time in 2004.

What phone would you like next?

Nokia N96.

Current ringtone?

Spider-man.

Favourite mobile game?

EA: Need For Speed.

Favourite mobile internet sites?

Fring. I know it’s more an app but it really adds value to my work.

Anything you’d pay for on a mobile you can’t get?

Peace and quiet.

Worst idea you've seen in mobile?

Countdown in the days to year 2000 on a STK menu; the operator could not remove it afterwards – and it was on millions of SIM cards.

SUBSCRIPTIONS UK: £50 Europe: £75 Rest of World: £90 Intent Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association.

If you or one of your colleagues would like to request a subscription to Mobile Entertainment, please email mob.subscriptions@c-cms.com or call 01580 883848 Please note that this is a controlled circulation title and subscription criteria will be strictly adhered to.

Total average monthly net circulation per issue for January 1st 2007 to December 31st 2007 was 8,012. © Intent Media 2009. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners. Printed by Pensord Press, NP12 2YA

www.mobile-ent.biz

Melodi

18/3/09

12:04

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Inmobia

15/5/09

10:30

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