Mobile Entertainment June 2010_Issue 64 by Intent Media (now Newbay Media Europe)

FOR EVERYONE IN MOBILE CONTENT

JUNE 2010 ISSUE 64 WWW.MOBILE-ENT.BIZ

INSIDE THIS ISSUE iPad verdict We tested the heck out of it Monetising Mobile reflections A look back at ME’s app-focused event

MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT

ME Awards The countdown to a glorious night begins ...and loads more

Augmental! Can augmented reality point at any actual revenue?

Tuesday, September 28th • The Soho Hotel • 4 Richmond Mews • London

Mobile Web Device Report How does mobile device usage for Internet access vary by market, industry, and Ɵme? Which devices really maƩer for your mobile strategy? And why does the profitability of your mobile business lie beyond the iPhone? Netbiscuits, the world’s leading development and publishing plaƞorm for mobile Web sites and apps, has opened its logs from 2009 to early 2010 to shed light on current device usage trends on the mobile Web. This report provides staƟsƟcal data about various industry verƟcals and markets around the world, including the USA, Germany, UK, Australia and Malaysia. The data was generated from the 2.5+ billion page requests that Netbiscuits serves each month to show you that: Mobile Web sites are accessed by hundreds and thousands of unique mobile devices. Mobile device usage for Internet access varies strongly by market, industry, and over Ɵme. Besides smart phones also feature phones, music players and gaming consoles are highly relevant mobile Web access devices. The major amount of all mobile Web site requests is generated by the Long Tail of devices.

Download Report www.netbiscuits.com/ mobile-device-report

Your mobile business profitability lies beyond the iPhone. Prepare your mobile business for profitability – download Netbiscuits’ Mobile Web Device Report and get in touch with us today.

Netbiscuits GmbH Kaiserslautern, Germany phone: +49 631 68036-100 sales_emea@netbiscuits.com

Netbiscuits Inc. Reston, VA, USA phone: +1 703 435 9008 sales_america@netbiscuits.com

www.netbiscuits.com

Netbiscuits Pte Ltd Singapore phone: +65 6777 8337 sales_apac@netbiscuits.com

CONTENTS JUNE 2010 | ISSUE 64

FEATURE

MACHINE TOOLED

14 EVERYBODY SAY AR Augmented Reality is shaping up as the next, ‘next big thing’. We put the technology into focus.

FEATURE

7 PRIZE OPEN

FEATURE

AWARDS

Time to start thinking about what dress or suit to wear: yes, the build-up to the ME Awards 2010 has begun.

9 MONETISING MOBILE So, how do you make money from apps? We created our own conference to answer that very question...

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 4 OPINIONS

21 DEALS

Who’s that shouting? ME gives airtime to its team and industry insiders for the letting off of steam.

A round-up of new services and technologies adding money-making options for app developers.

12 HELLO BUONGIORNO

22 CHARTS

Mobile’s original D2C giant is diversifying hard in the era of apps, B2O, mobile marketing and more.

People still buy ringtones? The proof is here in ME’s chart compendium.

17 PAD ON PAPER

29 NETWORKS

The iPad: Oversized iPod Touch or salvation of the world’s old media publishers? ME tried one out.

Stat collectors, your operator data has been lightly toasted and is ready for you now.

18 APPOINTMENTS

30 DISCONTENT

Exciting new starts, and ends of eras all rounded up here. Also, fresh apologies to Ben Phillips. Sorry, Ben.

All your favourite lightweight industry nonsense is here. Now with added trivia.

25 MARKETPLACE YOUR GUIDE TO THE MOBILE CONTENT INDUSTRY

www.mobile-ent.biz

It’s taken 26 years for the future imagined by The Terminator to crank into life. I’m not suggesting Arnie is going to materialise from nothing into a windswept Nuneaton town centre, but it seems the era of the intelligent machine is here. To a degree. Suddenly, everyone in mobile is very interested in machine to machine (M2M). At present, just one per cent of cellular connections are inside industrial devices. But the advent of ‘broadband everywhere’ is opening the way for intelligent machines capable of exchanging info with each other. Indeed, last month, Ericsson AB’s strategic marketing director, Bo Ribbing, argued there would be more than 50 billion devices connected via broadband by 2020, and that everyone would be surrounded by an average of ten such devices. Operators are rubbing their hands at this potential bounty. Margins are being strangled by VoIP, IM and so on. So putting SIM cards into inanimate objects could provide some kind of respite for put-upon carriers. Unlike us, machines have simple ‘needs’ and don’t ring expensive-toassemble call centres when their signal gets weak. They breed faster than homo sapiens too. So, where are the new opportunities in M2M? There are obvious ones – home appliances, automotive and utilities. Mobile specialist Comverse is working with Intel on solutions that sit inside electricity meters, not just to measure power consumption, but also to regulate it for more efficient use. This will please Nicholas Negroponte immensely. I remember hearing the digital guru speak wistfully of a time when he naively imagined the SIM slotting in and out of multifarious devices for multiple uses – only to see the mobile industry trap its precious cards underneath batteries inaccessible to all. M2M isn’t quite the ‘hot swapping’ idyll he had in mind, but it’s a step closer. And it does usher in the start of the wholly connected world – where cars speak to heating systems – most of us assume is coming. Or maybe something more sinister. Back to Terminator. “A few years from now, this whole place, everything, it’s gone. Just gone... Nobody even knew who started it. It was the machines... Defense network computers. New... Powerful... Hooked into everything, trusted to run it all. They say it got smart, a new order of intelligence. Then it saw all people as a threat, not just the ones on the other side. Decided our fate in a microsecond: extermination.” On the one hand, this is depressing. On the other, think of the quarterly earnings boost from M2M before the machines kill everyone. Tim Green Tim.Green@intentmedia.co.uk Mobile Entertainment June 2010 | 3

7 per cent

€2.9bn

46m

Of consumers choose a phone based on brand, whereas 49 per cent purchase on price

The estimated value of the European connected car market by 2020. Keep it hands-free petrolheads!

Predicted sales of media tables in 2014. They won’t all be iPads though

IN BRIEF EA Mobile revs soar EA Mobile generated $55 million of GAAP revenues in Q1 2010, up 12 per cent yearon-year. Mobile accounted for six per cent of overall revenues, with thanks largely to Tetris, The Sims 3, Bejeweled and Need for Speed. In March, EA had seven of the top ten games on US operator Verizon Wireless, and more than half on its rivals AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

UK commercial messaging market worth £600m The value of the UK ‘non person-toperson’ messaging market has never been satisfactorily quantified, but someone’s had a go at last. A report by messaging provider, Dynmark International, says the sector is worth £600m – up from £530m in 2008. The Time To Deliver study has operator sales figures to arrive at what it thinks is an accurate summation. Dynmark CEO Oscar Jenkins said: “Using public figures and our knowledge of the messaging market, independent desk research reveals the figure to be in the region of £600 million today, with £620 million easily achievable by 2011.”

MasterCard opens platform Payments giant Mastercard is giving mobile developers access to its APIs so they can embed payment tech in their apps and sites. After experimenting with building its own apps for money transfers and alerts. MasterCard wants to see how third parties can push on the online/mobile payments habit. Before, if developers wanted to use payment technology, they had to get a merchant agreement, set up the payment system and make the consumer enter data each time. Opening up the system will remove these barriers and enable payment features in all manner of apps from games to social media products. So far, MasterCard has identified about 20 of its services that developers can use in their applications – including payment technology, bill payment systems and data streams – like consumer spending patterns that could be used to send coupons.

Yahoo snaps up Koprol Search behemoth Yahoo has acquired the Indonesian social location service Koprol. The little-known target firm ‘focuses on the intersection of location, community expertise and mobile experiences that have become important trends around the globe.’ Users can share photos and reviews via the mobile web service. They can also ‘check-in’ to locations to tell friends where they are. There are definite elements of Foursquare to the service, although it goes a lot further with the kinds of content that can be shared.

4 | June 2010 Mobile Entertainment

OPINION

Don’t worry, be appy Doom and gloom in the world of publishing? Not a bit of it, argues Stuart O’Brien… eceived wisdom has it that the traditional publishing industry is not a good place to be right now, what with the recession, falling circulation and downwards pressure on rate cards. Personally, I think this is a little myopic. In fact, now is a great time to be in publishing. Yes, some difficult decisions are having to be made, but as with all other industries a downturn should be seen as a time to reinvest in order to steal a march on competitors once the good times return. And quite frankly, the possibilities being offered up to publishers by new online and mobile technologies are almost limitless. That’s one of the reasons why all eyes were on Conde Nast last month when it unveiled an iPad version of Wired Magazine. An introductory letter from editor Chris Anderson explained that: “The tablet is our opportunity to make the Wired we always dreamed of. It has all the visual impacts of paper, enhanced by interactive elements like video and animated infographics.” For the first digital issue, that included audio clips of Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor at work in the studio and animation from Pixar’s Toy Story 3. It weighed in at a hefty 527MB, but spend just a few minutes with it and you can see where all those megabytes went. But executions like this aren’t within the resources of most publishing houses – rumour has it that Conde Naste had a dedicated team of coders working on the Wired iPad edition before Apple even announced the device. Luckily, help is at hand from a bunch of specialist companies – like Yudu, which has carved a niche in helping publishers monetise the digital editions (i.e. PDFs) of their magazines and is now offering similar off-the-shelf solutions for iPad (or iPhone) ‘page turner’ apps. Crucially, this gives time and power back to publishers, who are free to get on with what they do best – creating great editorial and energetically selling the ad inventory that surrounds it. There’s an argument that says creating digital versions of magazines is a short-term bridge between printed and online media business models. That may be true, but as long as publishers retain the long view of their business and where it is going, there could be plenty of short-term upsides. And it’s not just iPad. There will be a flood of tablet devices launched over the next 12 months, so the addressable market for e-mags will surely balloon.

For publishers already a long way down the online road, the possibilities are even more interesting. Mobile apps represent a natural extension to existing web and mobile sites and offer a rich variety of opportunities. At ME Towers we’ve been beavering away and very shortly we’ll be make our very first iPhone app available from App Store as a free download. As you’d expect, it distils the very best content from mobile-ent.biz and puts it into the palm of the hand. We think this approach best fits with the ME brand and its readership, but it’s not the only way to go by a long stretch. Take News Corp, for example. Last month it released free iPhone apps for UK newspapers The Times and the Sunday Times. Free to download, that is – they require a digital subscription before you can use them. Perhaps more interestingly, these apps focus on recreating the print editions, not the timesonline.co.uk website. Seemingly there are many ways to skin a cat. As web guru Clay Shirky once said: “Everything and nothing could work. Ultimately, it’s a combination of a brand and its content that add the real value to readers and advertisers, not the platform it’s distributed on.” Stuart O’Brien is associate editor of ME www.mobile-ent.biz

2.2bn phones

376m

7,000

Will have accelerometers, compasses, gyroscopes and pressure sensors by 2014, says iSuppli

The total number of touchscreen phones shipped in 2009

The extent of the app catalogue on BlackBerry App World

OPINION

IN BRIEF Shazam passes 75m users Shazam’s global user base has topped 75 million, having added 25 million in the last six months. It is targeting 100 million by the end of this year. The company also revealed it has identified over one billion songs to date, with the one billionth track being David Guetta’s Gettin’ Over. Shazam’s services allow users to identify what song is playing, preview 30-second clips, buy the track, find local and international tour dates for the tagged artist and purchase gig tickets. The company has reaped the rewards of the app store boom – its revenue increased by 60 per cent to £7.3 million in the 12 months following the debut of its iPhone app in July 2008. The app is also on Android, BlackBerry, Nokia, iPad and Windows Phone.

Windows phones get SatNav Microsoft has launched an updated version of its Bing app for Windows phones that includes free turn-by-turn navigation. The app runs on all handsets running Windows Mobile 6.0 and upwards, and uses Microsoft’s Bing Maps and Tellme technologies. The new app is available for customers on US operators Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T according to this blog post from Microsoft’s Justin Jed. The app update will be a further headache for paid satnav firms already battered by Nokia’s and Google’s decision to give away the same functions within their maps services.

Visa confirms iPhone NFC service Credit card provider Visa has launched a new accessory that enables contactless payments via Apple’s iPhone. It partnered with DeviceFidelity to build an In2Pay case that plugs into the bottom of the iPhone via the dock connector. This peripheral has a slot for an SD card, which contains the contactless NFC chip that will enable Visa payments (once the app has been downloaded from the App Store). The software unlocks the card for use once the user punches in their password.

Facebook’s data-chargefree mobile site Facebook is targeting low-end users with a new stripped-down version of its mobile site, 0.facebook.com. It’s designed to run fast over slower network connections, and is free of data charges. Users will only pay for data when they view photos or leave 0.facebook.com to browse other mobile sites and a notification page will appear to confirm that they will be charged. Operators in 45 countries from Anguilla to Uganda, have signed on to the initiative. 3UK, SFR in France and Telstra in Australia will soon be providing access too.

6 | June 2010 Mobile Entertainment

Closed shop Google had to eat humble pie when it closed its Nexus One web shop. But it’s merely a hiccup in its unstoppable mobile ascendancy. Tim Green explains… n the February issue of ME, we published a trenchant piece of opinion from Mobile Industry Review’s Ewan MacCleod about the decision by Google to sell its Nexus One on the net. MacCleod saw this as a hugely significant moment, one that would commence the slow death of the operator stranglehold on handset distribution and ultimately tariffs. We published it because it was amusing and well-written. And because we thought he was right. Well, the events of last month show that maybe we all got a little excitable there. Google ditched its Android web store, acknowledging that sales of the Nexus One had been slow, and that it would henceforth be climbing into bed with operators after all. The firm clearly decided some humility was called for too. Google’s VP of engineering Andy Rubin blogged, touchingly: “As with every innovation, some parts worked better than others. While the global adoption of the Android platform has exceeded our expectations, the web store has not. It has remained a niche channel for early adopters, but it’s clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone, and they also want a wide range of service plans to chose from.” So for the moment, Google will sign carrier deals for the Nexus One (such as the recently-confirmed partnership with Vodafone UK). Meanwhile, the Google site will become a showcase for Android phones. I doubt very much that Google is too worried about this mis-step. While it was closing its store, the Android OS went marching on. The firm announced it is activating 100,000 Android handsets a day – we’re talking 36-million phones shifted this year. But I reckon with the roll-out of delicious devices like the HTC Legend to come, the rate of activation can only increase. Every week, it seems as if Android gathers more momentum. Another intriguing recent announcement centred on Google’s plan to launch a web-based Android music store. Here, users will browse songs on

their desktop, but when bought they will be automatically downloaded to their phone. Although details are sketchy, this is clearly an attempt to get an early lead on Apple in cloud-based music (which Apple is working on, following its purchase of Lala in 2009). What with the acquisition of AdMob finally being approved by US regulators, it’s been a pretty good month for Google in mobile – certainly good enough to get it through the pain of closing its phone shop. But I’m sure that old adage about overestimating the short-term impact of technology and underestimating the long-term, applies here. Wasn’t it interesting that Google was pulled up for gathering info about domestic wi-fi networks through its Street View cars? Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the case, surely the interesting question to ask is: Why? Coud it be that Google wants to cover the world in wi-fi so that it can popularise Google Voice? If you remember, Google Voice is the VoIP-type service that lets users keep their existing number. Unsurprisingly, it scares a lot of people. Until now, its impact has been minimal because it’s invitation-only. But last month Google bought another VoIP specialist – Global IP Solutions – to add more functionality to Google Voice. Interesting also that Google is now giving away the app to college students in the US. Although there can be sudden revolutions in consumer behaviour, most changes are slow and incremental. I think back to three years ago when it was unthinkable that I would choose any phone other than a Nokia. Now, I’m slavering over HTC the whole time. So it will be with Google Voice. I can envision a time when millions of Android users, comfortable with Google syncing their calendars and contacts will think: Why not give this Google Voice a go. Operators may even start bundling it, as they have Skype. It might take a while, but I think it’s coming. To think, carriers used to be nervous about putting a Google search box on their portals. What a turnaround. Tim Green is executive editor of ME

While Google was closing its store, the Android OS went marching on. The firm announced it’s activating 100,000 Android handsets a day – we’re talking 36-million shifted this year. But I reckon with the roll-out of devices like the HTC Legend to come, the rate of activation can only increase.

www.mobile-ent.biz

ME AWARDS 2010

AWARDS

Garden of delights The fifth annual ME Awards evening will take place on Thursday, November 18th at London’s Royal Garden Hotel. It could be your year. Here’s a preview and a guide to the awards categories…

When are the Awards? Thursday November 18th at The Royal Garden Hotel, London, UK. How can my company enter? Send a short pitch document containing relevant information about your company and state the category you wish to enter, to ME-awards@intentmedia.co.uk 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 November. Now into its fifth year, it’s back to the Royal Garden Hotel for an event that celebrates all the innovation and drive that makes mobile content the world’s most exciting technology/entertainment sector. Once again, ME has tweaked the categories a little to reflect changing trends in the space. We’ve introduced a new ‘Best Location Company’ award to reflect the rise of firms making GPS-enabled products, and there is also recognition for m-book specialists. On the services side, ME has brought in a ‘Best App Developer’ award to recognise agencies making utility apps for brands, and there’s also an award for ‘Best B2B Content Provider’ to reward those aggregating products for operators and media portals. Finally, there’s now a ‘Most Innovative Company’ award, which was conceived to identify the firm with the most outstanding new technology or business model. In this special preview, you can find out how to enter the ME Awards, how the winners are picked and how to get a ticket for the night itself…

When is the deadline for submissions? July 1st 2010. Finalists will be published on July 27th 2010.

www.mobile-ent.biz

What is the nominations process? The ME team decides on the shortlists, basing its decisions on nomination pitch documents and consultations with industry insiders.

AWARDS ME AWARDS 2010 DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLISHING Best Gambling Company Best Adult Company Best Games Company Best Location Company Best Social Media Company Best Mobile Book Company

What is the judging process? The winners are decided by a 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 document containing details of the shortlisted companies.

SERVICES Best Video Service Provider Best Music Service Provider Best Games Service Provider Best Transactions Provider Best App Developer Best Mobile Web Publishing Platform Best Advertising Network Best B2B Content Provider Best App Store OPERATORS AND HANDSETS Best Handset Company Best Developer Programme Best Operator SPECIAL AWARDS Most Innovative Company Outstanding Contribution to Mobile Content

How is the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ award decided? This is not a vote. It’s decided upon by the ME team. However, it does accept suggestions from readers. Can I sponsor the event? Yes! There are a number of promotional possibilities available. Please contact katy.grant@intentmedia.co.uk or +44 (0) 1992 535647

The ME Awards is a night dedicated to recognising the drive and innovation of the mobile content sector

How much is it to attend? A single place costs £295 +VAT and tables of ten are priced at £2,750 +VAT. For details of table sales and other ticket enquiries contact jodie.holdway@intentmedia.co.uk or +44 (0) 1992 535647.

Mobile Entertainment June 2010 | 7

Free app coming soon If you want to be the first ME app sponsor then contact Katy Grant on 01992 535647 or email katy.grant@intentmedia.co.uk now!

Book your place at Monetising Mobile: Emerging Markets Email katy.grant@intentmedia.co.uk

Talking up the app opp

Is freemium the best business model? How can operator APIs start a second generation of ‘smarter‘ apps? Which app company is getting cheques for £100,000 a month from AdMob? These questions and many more were answered at ME‘s own Monetising Mobile event last month... ake a helicopter view of the mobile app space and it‘s a pretty impressive edifice: four billion iPhone downloads, 100,000 Android-enabled devices sold daily, 7,500 BlackBerry apps, 1.5 million Ovi downloads a day, the list goes on. But swoop down closer and it‘s a far more uneven terrain – with some participants making a ton of cash and others trying to emulate the winners with little success. The aim of ‘Monetising Mobile: How To Make Apps Pay Their Way‘ was to shed light on the success stories, while offering some pointers on how to achieve genuine return on investment for the rest. Over 160 execs from across the value chain descended on the BAFTA theatre to pick up ideas from the assembled experts at the ME-hosted event via a succession of short business-focused presentations followed by two animated roundtables. Delegates included games developers (EA, Digital Chocolate, Distinctive), brands (Endemol, Penguin, WWE), operators (TMobile, Orange, Vodafone) and many more. Here are some of the highlights...

www.mobile-ent.biz

Anderson, Samadi and Pollitt (top to bottom) wow the crowd with top app tips

Bango CEO Ray Anderson: “Surf the free app wave“ Anyone who‘s seen Ray Anderson speak before knows to expect a few different perspectives on received industry wisdom – it comes with running a payments and mobile web pioneer that‘s been around for 11 years. He didn‘t disappoint. Anderson challenged the perceived diversity of the app space by claiming that books and games aren‘t really apps at all. He also argued that the credit card – often seen as a complex payment tool – is actually pretty friendly. “It‘s more mainstream than you might expect,“ he said, claiming that Verizon customers in the US with BlackBerrys have to pay for games with their credit cards. Mostly, though, Anderson talked up the freemium model. He said “Browse‘n‘buy is still driving about 60 to 70 per cent of the app money today outside advertising. But what we‘re seeing is another model coming out, which is freemium.“ He also said developers should use free distribution to drive people back to their own mobile site, and thereby offer more content.

Apprupt CEO Jascha Samadi: “Make referrals pay“ How can developers of mobile apps make money by recommending content to their users? German company Apprupt believes it has a solution. Its CEO Jascha Samadi told Monetising Mobile how the system puts apps inside the sites and apps of high-traffic destinations. It‘s worked with Men‘s Health, T-Mobile and the Financial Times in Germany on this, producing iPhone-friendly sites and native apps that curate collections of complementary third party apps. Here‘s how it works: once a consumer downloads an app, he or she is taken to the main App Store, with Apprupt‘s customer (the FT etc) getting an affiliate referral fee. “We allow customers to open up their own white-label customised app shops, and start selling and recommending apps to their users,“ he said. As an extension of this idea, Apprupt has created something called Contvertising, which embeds app recommendations into the editorial content of a site or app. Mobile Entertainment June 2010 | 9

Book your place at Monetising Mobile: Emerging Markets

ustwo‘s Matt Pollitt: “Track your app to make your marketing better“ UK developer ustwo had made many apps itself when it realised the nightmare of tracking their performance across multiple stores in multiple regions. So it created the PositionApp iPhone app to address the issue. “We made this tool for ourselves really selfishly, then decided to release it as an application!“ said ustwo‘s head of comms Matt Pollitt. “ The app lets people dig into App Store charts, and is aimed at iPhone developers keen to see where their apps are ranking around the world. It‘s updated four times a day and lets users select apps to track over time in a Favourites menu. Critically, this info can be used not just to measure success but also to spot new opportunities. “It allows you to track your own apps, your competition, and see where the opportunity lies,“ explained Pollitt. “There might be sectors where there are already too many titles, and others where there is more room to stand out.“ Golden Gekko‘s Caroline van den Bergh: “Develop an app for as little as £30“ One of van den Bergh‘s first slides showed a supermarket shelf groaning with goods. It was a nice metaphor for the bewildering choice available to app hungry punters. And it illustrated the danger of spending a substantial sum to develop an app that may be seen by a precious few. Golden Gekko is one of the companies offering brands an 10 | June 2010 Mobile Entertainment

alternative through a DIY platform that enables the use of web-based tools to build apps quickly and cheaply. Tino is already being scrutinised by a host of consumer brands, attracted no doubt by the speed of development (hours), but also by the fact that for committed long term partners the cost per app can be as little as £30. “There‘s always a place for rich fully functioned apps – we make many of them ourselves. But some clients just need a more basic application for a modest outlay so they can participate in the world of apps,“ said can den Bergh. Panel session – Sky‘s David Gibbs: “iPad is an expensive kind of toy“ The first of two panel sessions focused on mobile app business models, with Nicholas Lovell from Gamesbrief, David Gibbs from Sky, Charles Damen from Mach, and Charles McLeod from Metaflow. The conversation started with Charles McLeod discussing how Metaflow is using its operator connections to create a B2B marketplace for apps, from which carriers can choose products for their new emergent app shops. This led to a discussion of carrier billing, with Charles Damen saying, “with the App Store, Apple has shown carriers how billing should be done.“ How? Because users can buy apps with a couple of taps, and get billed direct to their credit cards. Mach is trying to help operators emulate Apple‘s

van den Bergh, Gibbs, Lovell, Damen and McLeod (top to bottom) addressed topics from DIY apps building to carrier payments

system, and also to help developers to bill from within their apps. Lovell was up next, talking about free and freemium models. “Free is a marketing technique, it‘s not a business model, and it‘s no longer the easy-win marketing technique it was when it first came out,“ he said, referring to the App Store. He gave the example of iPhone game FaceFighter, from US developer Appy Entertainment. It was a paid game, but Appy then took it free for two weeks. There was great interest in the contribution of Sky‘s David Gibbs, who described how mobile has become one strand in a three-channel strategy. “Mobile is now very much part of our core offering,“ he said. “You can watch the football on HD at home, on your PC, your Xbox, your iPhone and Android or Nokia device.“ He also gave out a stat: “We have more than a quarter of a million people paying a monthly sub to watch TV on their phones.“ Gibbs was asked about the iPad: will it be very important for Sky, and is it a gamechanger? “Game-changer? No. Not for us... It‘s a coffee-table device, you go home and pick it up. For a media or entertainment company it‘s interesting… but we might just jump ahead of ourselves. There‘s a lot more we can do on the smaller device.“ He added: “It‘s an expensive kind of toy isn‘t it? You‘re asking people to spend another £25 a month on top of their broadband and mobile bill? It‘s a big ask. I might be completely wrong...“ www.mobile-ent.biz

Email katy.grant@intentmedia.co.uk

Over 160 mobile execs crowded into BAFTA to hear good stuff about commercialising apps. There was also lots of networking. And eating. And some liquids were taken on too

AdMob: Some developers get £100,000 a month... A few days before Monetising Mobile, AdMob got the go-ahead for its $750m merger with Google. Its VP of alliances Russell Buckley wiped the smile off his face for long enough to talk the audience through the process of embedding AdMob ads inside apps. He stressed that the system takes just a few hours to ready an app for accepting ads – and that there are no controls on who advertises what (as long as they are not adult or weapons orientated). It‘s a simple system, which explains why AdMob has grown so fast – past 200 billion lifetime impressions. And

Buckley also explained the evolution of the system beyond simple banners and into richer media like video. This attracted big promotions by blue chip names. “Last year we saw our first million-dollar campaign from Land Rover and Jaguar. Those sort of numbers are beginning to pump more and more into the system,“ he said. Buckley also talked about games developer Backflip, which is making more than $100,000 a month from AdMob ad units within its games. Ads are now 50 per cent of the developer‘s monthly revenues.

App store owners‘ panel session: “Get ready for the second wave of apps“ In a lively closing session, a panel of app store owners agreed that apps have to become smarter to retain their fascination and usefulness to consumers. James Parton from O2 Litmus talked up the APIs that networks can open up to developers. One example lets apps query if someone has a flat-rate data tariff or not – and automatically adjust the size of the download to take account of it. He thinks the next wave of mobile apps will be “moving from this dumb phase“ to smarter apps, where they‘re more context-aware. Vodafone‘s Ray de Silva echoed Parton‘s comments and said smarter payment systems are needed to back up the smarter apps. On a similar theme RIM‘s Sanyu

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Kiruluta highlighted the firm‘s ‘Super Apps‘ concept of products that run in the background and tie into push, location and context. It‘s currently running a developer competition along these lines. Next up, Intel‘s Dietrich Banschbach described the opportunity available to developers in a netbook space that‘s blurring with mobile. “If you take the definition of what mobile is beyond phones and smartphones, it‘s a small device like a netbook that can be carried around,“ he said, while pointing out that Intel‘s MeeGo partnership with Nokia will cover netbooks, phones, tablets and even in-vehicle systems.

Finally, Buckley advised developers to promote their own apps, either from ads in other apps, or ‘house ads‘ in their own. AdMob has seen several partners hit the Top 20 through these promotions. “A typical campaign of that size is about $15,000, and it gets you up there,“ said Buckley. Nokia‘s Rupert Englander added that the arrival of high-end features on low end devices such as the 5800 is bringing apps to the mass market. “Our skew is heavily towards what you‘d expect: We over index massively on touch Series 5 devices.“ The final panelist was Patrick Mork from GetJar, who broached one of the big questions – does the future belong to the browser? “We all have PC clients that we download and use because there are basic functions that work best that way. It will be the same in mobile.“ But does this matter? He pointed to the example of Facebook. Its mobile site shortcut – not an app – has been downloaded from GetJar 60 million times. “People don‘t care that it‘s a shortcut; they just want Facebook on their phone.“

Shazam‘s Andrew Fisher: “We‘ll ID anything“ Music ID firm Shazam is one of the poster boys of the app space, with 75 million users. CEO Andrew Fisher described the great success of the freemium model for Shazam, which offers a limited version to triallist users. However, he warned against using advertising in paid-for apps. “We‘re big believers in advertising, but there are nuggets of content that people will pay for. For these users we‘ve learned that advertising is a big no-no.“ On a general level, Fisher suggested app companies should have a long term vision and a strong visual identity for quick brand recognition. “I encourage people to think about what their ultimate vision is,“ he said. “For us, we have talked about using the same music ID technology in direct response ads.“ Shazam‘s SARA project is its attempt to do this, and it could give the firm access to a new $70 billion US interactive TV advertising market. “We know this is going to take a lot of work to take to market.“ Shazam is now working with HBO already to make its shows taggable.

Mobile Entertainment June 2010 | 11

BUONGIORNO Q&A

Forza Buongiorno At ten years old, Buongiorno is now a veteran of the mobile content space. So how has the company built on SMS joke services reinvented itself into a specialist that helps operators reduce churn? Tim Green quizzed Buongiorno’s UK and international MD Jürgen Reutter about the changing nature of the firm’s success… Buongiorno is probably still known as a B2C company. How accurate is that? Not very. We have a unique split between B2C and B2B, and they now bring in roughly 50 per cent of revenues each. The B2B operation is more than just supplying ringtones to operators, right? B2B has changed, it used to be music products and so on. Now it’s as likely to be based on loyalty systems to manage churn. Operators are looking at cutting operational costs and driving revenues from core services, so that’s an opportunity for us. If you take what we’ve done with O2 Top Up Surprises, that’s a good example (it gives subscribers rewards for topping up). We’ve taken it to Optus, TIM and others – and we see potential for it outside of mobile too. Buongiorno’s PeopleSound has over 600,000 users who can send messages and share pictures

Is traditional B2C dying? No, B2C is still very significant – revenues were up nine per cent in 2009. It’s growing in emerging markets, of course, but we’ve also seen growth in Germany, Spain and France, too. The market is changing in developed markets. But with our skills in customer acquisition, we’re well placed to move into those new areas. What are these new opportunities? Well, there’s the skill gaming market in Italy, for example, which we’re preparing to enter from September because of the change in regulation. We’re also rolling out Prize Clubs and Online Supercontests that are kind of mini-sweepstakes for mobile. We’ve already rolled them out in Africa. How about social media? It’s an area we’re committed to via two products. HelloTxt is the personal social networker that makes it easy to post text and media to separate accounts on multiple services. It can update over 50 social networking and self-publishing sites, and has 100,000 iPhone users. Then there’s Peoplesound, which lets people send messages and share photos to the circle of their 20 favourite friends. It has surpassed 600,000 users. 12 | June 2010 Mobile Entertainment

Is the trouble here that every new handset – MotoBlur, HTC Sense – ships with a version of these functions? I recognise that, but those products are all fixed to particular handsets, whereas ours can roll out across all of them. And there’s the option to white-label them, which is something that interests operators. Jürgen Reutter, Buongiorno’s UK and international MD

Any chance of them making money? I’d agree it’s hard to monetise social media. We plan to get reach first and then investigate ads and micro-payments. How does Buongiorno plan to move into the app space? HelloTxt is already on iPhone and Android and we’re set to launch Applistars in Spain and Mexico. This is effectively a launch pad for Buongiorno content on iPhone. We want to be in that space because all sorts of opportunities will arise, and we have the resources to meet them. But it’s important to remember just how significant the ‘old’ business still is. We have 130 service level agreements with operators and a potential two billion user reach. It puts the iPhone footprint into perspective.

Why isn’t Buongiorno more involved in the TV space through voting, polls and the like? To be honest, it was an option after we bought iTouch, but we dismissed that business and it was probably why revenues stalled a little in 2008. There are too many partners wanting a revenue share and too much regulation. It’s hard to make money. iTouch doubled our reach, but the TV part of it didn’t work out. Buongiorno has also made acquisitions in the ad/marketing space. How is that unit performing? Five per cent of revenues came from this area last year and 2010 looks very promising too, with 1Q2010 revenues growing 41.4 per cent year on year. We’re looking to develop the marketing and ad activity, not least because we are an advertiser so we know what works; we were Europe’s largest mobile advertiser last year (20 per cent of Buongiorno’s €55m spend was mobile). And we have our own AdMob style network called Buongiorno!Digital, which has picked up deals with advertisers like the one with celeb channel E!Entertainment. www.mobile-ent.biz

AUGMENTED REALITY

Think it overlay Augmented reality is collecting headlines almost as fast as it’s tagging the world around us. But can it find a commercial reality? Tim Green reports… eaders old enough to remember the ‘90s may recall the fuss made about Virtual Reality. That, kids, was a technology that put a person ‘inside’ a computer by getting them to wear a helmet/goggles, which displayed a computer generated world that responded to their movements. Such was the hype around the concept that they even made a movie about it – The Lawnmower Man. The film, like the tech, was crap. But for a short while the clamour around VR was unstoppable. One UK company, Virtuality (the poster boy for the space) even floated and for a short while basked in a market cap of £93 million. Now, you might conclude from the absence of people walking around with oversized helmets in city centres that virtual reality never flew. Instead it mutated, and you can trace the origins of today’s augmented reality tech back to it. The big question, of course, is whether augmented reality can move into the mainstream.

14 | June 2010 Mobile Entertainment

For the handful of you that don’t know, AR overlays graphical information on the real world as viewed through a phone camera, using GPS and the compass within the more advanced smartphones on the market. So, for example, you look at a street scene and the screen displays icons and text alerting you to nearby landmarks, shops and so on. This kind of overlaying is used liberally on TV these days, so it’s a familiar language for people to embrace. Unsurprisingly, it was the Japanese that offered the first glimpse of AR tech. Back in 2008, the Tonchidot Corporation previewed its Sekai Camera, wowing observers with a walk-through in a shopping mall that revealed all manner of overlays it called ‘air tags’. The product went live on the Japanese iPhone app store in September 2009 and shifted 100,000 in its first week. AR first hit the west last summer when two European firms began demonstrating their products. Austria’s Mobilizy introduced

Layar’s Claire Boonstra believes the ‘stream’ can do for AR what the EPG did for multi-channel TV

Wikitude, which was so-called because in the first instance it used wikipedia content to populate its pages. At around the same time the Dutch firm SPRX unveiled its Layar product, which had a harder commercial edge to it. Since then, AR has grown steadily, attracting many more companies into the space with their own platforms. They include Metaio, Neogence, Oogmento, Total Immersion, Int13 and others. What makes AR attractive to these start-ups, is the sense that here is a medium unique to mobile, that offers the potential for commercialisation and that doesn’t require any additional hardware purchase: If you have a phone with camera, compass and GPS, you’re good to go. At present, it’s Layar that’s making the most noise in the space. The firm’s approach is to offer a platform through which third parties can offer their own apps. It says 3,500 partners have signed up, and that www.mobile-ent.biz

AUGMENTED REALITY

AR apps: five of the best ALBUM COVERS ATLAS If you visit the UK office of ad company inMobi, you’ll be in the street featured on the cover of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album. And if you have Album Covers Atlas downloaded to your AR-enabled phone, you’ll have proof that it’s true. The app precisely pinpoints where rock music’s most enduring photographs were taken. And users can even add their own contributions.

there are 650 live ‘layers’ with 2,500 more in development (see box). Layar can also claim commendable user support. It has achieved two million downloads via Android and iPhone, and is now in development for Bada and Symbian. The firm also has plans to pre-load its product inside ‘tens of millions’ of handsets this year. All very impressive, but the real issue as with all exciting new tech, is how to commercialise it. Well, at least Layar is trying. Earlier this year, it introduced paid layers, with many early takers. They include AYR communications, whose ‘2010 Sold House Price Data’ layer reveals the sales and valuations of properties in a street. Another is Spotcrime, which shows crime incident data in 300 of the largest US cities, with icons representing different types of crimes including shooting, robbery, assault, theft, burglary, arson and vandalism. One for the ‘we’re all going to hell’ brigade. These paid for layers are being sold for between €1.39 and €20.99 through PayPal, but there are plans to offer other payment methods including carrier billing. Layar has also introduced the Layar Stream, which attempts to solve the discovery problem in AR when there are 1.2 million augmented objects served daily. The Stream ranking system uses contextual elements like location, popularity and whether the layer contains 3D objects, images, video or audio. Users www.mobile-ent.biz

Locations all around the world are being given the AR treatment. But will anyone bother with Birmingham?

can filter by these criteria without having to hold the phone up and move it around. Claire Boonstra, co-founder of Layar, believes this is a critical development. “AR is a totally new medium in my opinion – and any new medium needs a navigation system. With TV it’s the EPG, with the web it’s Google. With AR it will be the Layar Stream,” she says. “I realise that AR is still something of a gimmick, but the stream will change this by giving control to the user. This will in turn, bring more partners.” Commercial organisations are looking at AR for all manner of reasons now. Take the Ibiza nightclub Pacha. It hired developer Yuza Mobile to create an AR VIP guide to display the island’s best kept secrets and book nightclub tickets. It did so partly because of the increasing regulations around leafleting. Richard Skaife, CEO of Yuza, believes AR comes into its own when it gives the user a kind of headstart. “I’m not sure about AR to find cash machines and so on. You can do that with maps. But when there’s an element of giving access to ‘secret’ information – that’s what it’s great for,” he says. He also stresses the importance of clicking through to mobile sites that offer click-to-call, and sees anything that monetises the medium as being critical to its success. “Click-to-call is great, but what we need is a seamless payment gateway from iTunes and others, to allow purchases from within the app. Then it will really fly.”

STREETMUSEUM This inspired app from the Museum of London lets users see old photos of London overlayed on the streets as they are now. Rubble from bombed buildings cascades into the street, while suffragettes, hippies and flat-capped workers mingle with today’s tourists and locals. MAGICSYMBOL UK firm Inition created this ‘reveal’ technology twist on AR, which converts a barcode into a 3D image that can be viewed from any angle. Simply train the camera on the code and watch it change instantly. The firm has a mobile product, but the app that wowed everyone was the one that created a detailed image of a Toyota car. WALT DISNEY OUTDOOR CAMPAIGN To support the premiere of Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time, Disney created an app that played the movie trailer and a game for users standing near a billboard ad. AR DEFENDER An early example of an AR pre-load, AR Defender will come free with Samsung’s first bada handset, the Wave. A paper symbol that comes with the phone transforms into a tower and the user’s goal is to defend it from enemy onslaught.

Mobile Entertainment June 2010 | 15

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IPAD FOCUS

iPad not a fad? Is Apple’s new tablet the future of mobile entertainment? Well, it’s a big part of it. Stuart Dredge examines... Pad’s fiercest fans portray it as a revolutionary gadget set to wipe out the netbook and single-handedly rescue the newspaper and magazine industries. Its most ferocious detractors sneer and say it’s an unnecessary lump that will only sell to Cupertino fanboys. The truth, naturally, is somewhere in between. ME has been putting iPad through the paces, to gauge its impact on the mobile entertainment industry. Here are our thoughts...

WEB SURFING The iPad is a beautiful device for sofa-based surfing, and knocks spots off our netbook. We’ve done our Sainsbury’s e-shopping, messed about on Wikipedia, browsed the Guardian website, and plenty more besides. It’s a delight. Well, it’s a delight as long as the site you’re visiting doesn’t use Flash, for welldocumented reasons. Some sites have already launched iPad-friendly HTML5 versions, and more will do so in the months to come. However, for now, iPad users are caught in the crossfire of Apple’s war with Adobe. On the plus side, it might break a few Farmville habits. E-BOOKS AND E-PUBLISHING We’re impressed with the iPad’s abilities as an e-reader, having used both Apple’s iBooks www.mobile-ent.biz

bunging in extra features and graphical wizardry where possible to justify the price increase. Whether this holds true once thousands of games start to hit the device remains to be seen, though.

app and Amazon’s Kindle app. The former is slicker, since Amazon’s app forces you to buy from its US store. We’re also intrigued by book-apps like Alice in Wonderland and The Elements, which bring books to life with animation and interactivity. Newspapers and magazines are taking varying approaches. Mags like Maxim and GQ are opting for a PDF-like approach, letting readers flip through the print edition. Newspapers like the FT and Wall Street Journal throw in more features, while still keeping their print design as the core. Business models vary: The Times is charging £9.99 every 28 days, while the FT has taken sponsorship to keep its app free. Meanwhile, Wired Magazine has thrown everything bar the kitchen sink into its 527MB app – with video, audio and animation. Expect plenty more experimentation in the coming months. GAMES Is iPad just a big iPod touch when it comes to games? Maybe. Upscaled iPhone games like Plants vs Zombies HD, Flight Control HD and Civilization Revolution undoubtedly benefit from the bigger screen, but there are few games so far that could only be done on iPad. EA’s Mirror’s Edge deserves praise for its entirely swipe-based controls, though. What’s clear is that games firms are going to be charging more for iPad games,

MUSIC We love music. We just haven’t played it on our iPad once since getting the device. On the sofa, it’d feel rude to be pumping out Pendulum while the missus watches TV, and on the train, we still tend to use our mobile for music while using the iPad for other stuff. For now, iPad music is more about playful music creation apps like Magic Piano or Rj Voyager, which like games, benefit hugely from the larger screen.

The ibook app (top) has led to much innovation from Wired (middle). Games like Mirror’s Edge (bottom) are a delight

TV AND VIDEO The US is well stocked for TV and video apps, although ABC Player and Netflix aren’t crossing the Atlantic due to licensing restrictions. However, Sky’s impressive HD iPad app was available for launch here, albeit at an eye-watering £35-a-month price if you’re not already a Sky subscriber at home. The BBC is also working on bringing its iPlayer to iPad. The device offers a marvellous experience for watching videos too, whether it’s iTunes movie downloads, or YouTube footage of mobile industry editors doing their best robot dancing. Mobile Entertainment June 2010 | 17

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RECRUITMENT

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Facebook’s new friend Erick Tseng quits the Google Android team to become part of Facebook’s global domination plan... Facebook has ramped up its mobile unit with the addition of ERICK TSENG, who was previously Google’s senior mobile product manager for Android. The new head of mobile products joins a company with more than 100-million unique mobile users around the world.

ITN Productions has hired its first ever head of mobile. The UK news broadcaster tempted MIGUEL TATAY from 4th Screen Advertising to build up the wireless activity around its ITN On digital division.

Nokia has had a corporate re-shuffle. Under the new structure, effective from July 1st, Nokia’s ‘Devices and Services’ business will be divided into three units: Mobile Solutions, Mobile Phones and Markets. The Mobile Solutions unit will be headed by ANSSI VANJOKI, while TERO OJANPERA will lead the Services division and NIKLAS SAVANDER will helm the Markets unit.

ROBERT TERCEK has left OWN. He departed just days after the launch of the Oprah Mobile app by Hands-On Mobile (Tercek’s former employer) on iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm Pre and Google Android. A difference of ideas about OWN’s future vision has been blamed.

TIM SCOFFHAM has joined 4th Screen Advertising as account director and will build relationships with media buying agencies in the UK. Prior to joining 4th Screen, Scoffham spent six years with Virgin Media, Hello! Magazine, Channel 4 and BBC World.

Former M:Metrics exec SEAMUS MCATEER has joined the board of mobile analytics specialist Motally. McAteer was chief product architect at M:Metrics, which was acquired by ComScore in 2008. Other Motally additions include RAND SCHULMAN, NIREN HIRO, DOUG MCFARLAND and BEN WAN.

Hands-On Mobile has appointed JUDY WADE as its new CEO. Wade joins from Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, where she served as VP of strategy and emerging business. The firm was without a CEO since NICCOLO DI MASI left to take up the reigns at Glu Mobile in January. BEN PHILLIPS is Velti’s new sales

18 | June 2010 Mobile Entertainment

manager for brands and agencies. This may surprise those who saw ME’s story last month about Phillips joining Muzicall. In truth, that was a short term role – and we got the wrong end of the stick. Apologies to all concerned. The Internet Advertising Bureau has appointed ALEX KOZLOFF as mobile manager. She used to work at the Orange-owned mobile ad network Unanimis, where she was research manager. At the IAB she will work alongside head of mobile, JOHN MEW. Device management specialist Mformation has recruited CHARLES CROUCHMAN as its SVP of product and delivery. CHRIS NOONE has joined Zed as commercial director for the Australiasia region. Noone is a mobile veteran who has worked for Vizzavi, MSN and many others. He’ll be based in Australia, where he will develop the games, apps, personalisation and video offering for the Spanish firm. Booyah, maker of the social mobile app MyTown, has added RICHARD YANOWITCH to its board of directors

as independent director. Former Verisign exec Yanowitch, is founder and CEO of The Entrepreneurs Group, which provides board-level services to the private-sector. Colibria has confirmed LARS MYHRUM as its new CEO. He was a co-founder of the firm and has been its COO since 2000. JOHN NICHOLS has been appointed head of marketing at Go To Market for Nokia UK and Ireland. Mobile music pioneer Omnifone has had a board-level reshuffle. JEFF HUGHES, a former Sky exec, is the new CEO and will head up the management of the company’s global operations, as it prepares for expansion into North America and other key territories during 2010. Former CEO ROB LEWIS is now executive chairman. CrowdStar, the social game startup behind Happy Aquarium, has hired NIREN HIRO as its CEO. Hiro was a former general manager at Yahoo and was also with AdMob from 2006 as VP of business development.

Does your firm have a position to fill? If so, you should advertise on the appointments page that’s read by everyone in the content business: yes, this one. We also offer a complementary online service. Either way, every exec in the business will be reading about your vacancy. Contact Katy Grant at Katy.Grant@intentmedia.co.uk or call +44 (0)1992 535647 for more info.

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RECRUITMENT

Recruiters from digital, recruiting for digital

Senior Mobile Recruiter – £competitive package Are you a consummate entrepreneur with a sound understanding of the mobile industry? If so, this could be the job for you. We need someone to join our team, as we are in the process of setting a new standard within the mobile recruitment market. With the growing demand for talented people with mobile media experience Propel London is expanding its offering with Propel Mobile. By bringing all of our existing mobile recruitment briefs under one roof we’re able to continue to deliver our recruitment services based around professionalism, industry specialisation and an extensive network of contacts. You’ll be someone with experience of the mobile industry either in a sales capacity or as a recruiter. You’ll need the talent and drive to help us expand our great brand within this exciting sector. We’ll give you all the support and training you need to carve out an outstanding career for yourself in one of the most successful digital recruitment companies. We’re looking for a clear thinker, able to juggle multiple tasks, thrive on an extremely varied job and be able to build strong relationships with brands, agencies and operators. You’ll also need to have an intuitive understanding of people and passion for delivering the best service you can.

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looking to further your career in the Mobile and Digital markets? VISIT OUR WEBSITE for a full list of our current opportunities.

Mobile Entertainment June 2010 | 19

EVENTS

2010 Calendar

This year’s diary is full to bursting with must-see industry events. Which ones are you taking your expense account to...? JUNE 2010 June 7th-June 9th Insights 2010 from MACH Rome, Italy www.mach.com The telco payments giant MACH presents this activity-packed investigation of the big issues facing the mobile space, namely mobile broadband, LTE, embedded mobile, M2M, VoIP, WiMAX, roaming trends and optimisation. It’s expecting representatives from operators, service providers, handset manufacturers, content providers and application stores to attend. They get to see presentations, interactive workshops, meet the expert sessions and social events. June 15th-16th The Navigation and Location Summit Europe 2010 The Marriott, Berlin www.thewherebusiness.com This is the big Euro event for anyone interested in LBS, satnav and social local services. The organisers expect over 200 senior level navigation, geo and LBS experts to gather for what they describe as Europe’s biggest navigation conference. There’ll be info on how to differentiate your products, identify new business models and monetise connected services. The speaker line-up comprises contributions from Nokia, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, ESRI, Bouygues Telecom, Open Street Map, Intel, Renault, Carmeq, TomTom, T-Mobile, Garmin and Vodafone. June 15th-17th E3 Expo Los Angeles Convention Center, LA www.idgworldexpo.com The longstanding, but often changing, games industry show, E3 Expo, will be capitalising on the iPhone-fuelled boom in smartphone gaming with a dedicated Mobile Games Pavilion. With tens of thousands of attendees expected, that’s a nice bit of profile for the sector. It’s not the first time mobile has seized the spotlight at E3, mind. ME remembers a surreal couple of days at the 2006 event when Paris Hilton appeared on Gameloft’s stand. June 22nd-23rd Mobile Entertainment Markets Park Plaza Victoria, London, UK www.mem-10.com 20 | June 2010 Mobile Entertainment

Qualcomm Uplinq 2010 Conference (June 30th – July 1st) is the new name of Qualcomm’s BREW show to highlight the changing mobile ecosystem. It’s aim is to educate key developers on paths to market, facilitate the building of revenue streams into mobile apps and share distribution opportunities MEM once again brings together the world’s content players for a two-day conference. The 2009 show attracted over 500 attendees, a 26 per cent increase from 2008. Only date and venue details are available, but ME will be the first to hear when the agenda is confirmed. June 30th-July 1st Qualcomm Uplinq 2010 Conference Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, US www.uplinq.com Qualcomm’s annual developer-oriented BREW show has been revised and renamed as Uplinq to reflect changes in the mobile ecosystem. While the BREW platform will be the focus of keynotes, and business breakout sessions, there will also be a chance to investigate Qualcomm goodies such as Plaza and Xiam. The aim is to educate developers on paths to market, facilitate the building of revenue streams into mobile apps and reveal distribution opportunities.

AUGUST 2010 August 25th-26th Edinburgh Interactive Edinburgh Film House, Edinburgh, Scotland www.edinburghinteractivefestival.co.uk Edinburgh Interactive is pitched at professionals from film, TV and interactive

UPCOMING... June 7th-June 9th Insights 2010 from MACH June 15th-16th The Navigation and Location Summit Europe 2010 June 15th-17th E3 Expo June 22nd-23rd Mobile Entertainment Markets June 30th-July 1st Qualcomm Uplinq 2010 Conference August 25th-26th Edinburgh Interactive October 5th-6th The Mobile Marketing Forum, Europe October 6th-8th CTIA Wireless and Entertainment 2010 November 17th-18th The GSMA Mobile Asia Congress 2010

media – and comprises conferences, keynotes, panel sessions, debates and game screenings.

OCTOBER 2010 October 5th-6th The Mobile Marketing Forum, Europe Thistle Marble Arch Hotel, London www.mobilemarketingforum.com MMA’s moving roadshow rolls into the UK. October 6th-8th CTIA Wireless and Entertainment 2010 San Francisco, USA The autumn CTIA event is traditionally more content-focused than its spring counterpart, and also a little smaller. It’s back to San Fran this year, so we can all wear flowers in our hair...

NOVEMBER 2010 November 17th-18th The GSMA Mobile Asia Congress 2010 Hong Kong www.mobileasiacongress.com Approx. 3,500 delegates will be expected for the GSMA’s Asia event, which will feature a version of the recently-debuted App Planet. www.mobile-ent.biz

DEALS

Deals

It’s back by popular demand. Yes, the deals page has returned at last. And it’s now in 3D and with a free carry case… M&A Yahoo acquires social location service Koprol. This puts Yahoo into the SoLo space occupied by Foursquare, GoWalla and others. Motorola has acquired linux OS company Azingo 1, prompting speculation it may launch its own mobile platform. GoTV has purchased HOMBRE from Hands-On Mobile. It will acquire its library of apps, clients, server technologies and patents.

DEAL

OF THE MONTH

IMImobile is considering a buy-out of UK content and billing provider WIN. It already has a minority stake in the firm. Norwegian browsing specialist Opera has acquired the email provider FastMail.FM. ngmoco has swooped for Stumptown Game Machine – the iPhone games developer of five-million selling Touch Pets Dogs. Orange and T-Mobile have finally merged. The new entity is called Everything Everywhere, but each will retain their own trading name.

FUNDING Bazaar Labs has raised seed financing for its Miso service, which lets people check-in to TV shows like they do for places in Foursquare. Phone maker Sonim raised $8.7m to develop three more devices. Its rugged phones are aimed at users on construction sites and oil rigs. Booyah has raised $20m to fuel the expansion of its hit MyTown’s social location service. Samsung will invest $20.6 billion in new tech over the coming decade. It won’t all be mobile, of course.

SERVICE LAUNCHES Mspot has launched a free cloud music service that provides access to a music collection synced across smartphones and PCs. Spotify is now available on Nokia’s Ovi Store. It has already been released for iPhone, Android and Symbian-powered handsets. BuzzCity has made its Djuzz games portal available to third parties to badge how they please. Visa’s confirmed an iPhone NFC service. It’s built a case, with DeviceFidelity, that plugs into the bottom of the iPhone via the dock connector. Comverse is to power a visual voicemail service for South African operator Vodacom. Betfair has brought gambling to iPhone with an app using GPS, making sure users are in the UK or Ireland before they can bet. Nordic content distributor Aspiro has launched a streaming audiobook service in association with book publisher Cappelen Damm.

PARTNERSHIPS YOC is to create mobile sites for the CBS Interactive’s tech and business news source silicon.com. Nokia is the exclusive provider of maps and navigation for Yahoo, with its Ovi Maps getting a branded presence on Yahoo sites. MIG has an exclusive commercial partnership with MobileActive in Australia and New Zealand. It will establish MIG in the region. Shenzhen Wireless will embed Mobile Streams’ games, music, wallpapers, video and apps on handsets across Asia. Carphone Warehouse is to distribute the HipLogic UI product. This software provides speedy access to content and mobile sites. Mobile Messenger and Unica have formed a mobile marketing alliance that will see the former extend its technology to Unica’s clients. Jadarah will distribute Accumulate’s payments and security solutions in the Middle East and North Africa region. On Demand Group has entered into a deal with HBO to mobilise hit TV series like The Sopranos and Sex In The City. Foursquare has closed a deal with NBC’s Today programme, and is based around its Concert Series. FLO TV has inked a pay-per-view deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship via its Personal Television and in-car devices. Monitise and Travelex have teamed up to supply a mobile app that sends users low credit alerts. Blyk has launched its ad-funded tariffs in the Netherlands with Vodafone. It’s done a similar thing in the UK with Orange. www.mobile-ent.biz

Carphone Warehouse uses HipLogic The UK’s biggest mobile retailer Carphone Warehouse has made a few attempts at doing something in the content space. Since it has all these shops and all these experts, it seems wasteful to just sell tariffs, handsets and accessories. So, over the years it’s tried back-up content lockers, preloaded memory cards, portals and more. None with massive success. Now, the Carphone Warehouse will pre-install the HipLogic UI on selected handsets to ensure intuitive access to popular social networking and news destinations – and presumably it will try to establish commercial relationships with these sites. The technology is based on the HipLogic Live client, which provides a smooth interface for rendering AJAXstyle content, normally with a few customised APIs for accessing phone functions. Mobile Entertainment June 2010 | 21

CHARTS

Charts

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

RINGTONES

TAGGING

RINGTONES.COM TOP EURO MUSIC TONES, MAY SONG 1 STEREO LOVE 2 NOTHIN’ ON YOU 3 OMG 4 SURFIN BIRD 5 TELEPHONE 6 SHE SAID 7 ACAPELLA 8 DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ 9 FRISKY 10 SHE’S ALWAYS A WOMAN SOURCE: MOBILESTREAMS

SHAZAM TAGGING, MAY ARTIST EDWARD MAYA BOB FT. BRUNO MARS USHER FT. WILL.I.AM THE TRASHMEN LADY GAGA FT. BEYONCE PLAN B KELIS JOURNEY TINIE TEMPAH FYFE DANGERFIELD

1 2 3 4 5

RINGTONES

USHER FT. WILL.I.AM

RINGTONES.COM TOP EURO FUNTONES, MAY

SONG 1 SILENCE I KILL YOU 2 MARCHING ON TOGETHER 3 GIGGETY GIGGETY GIGGETY GOO 4 YOU HAVE A MEERKAT MESSAGE 5 FIRE UP THE QUATTRO 6 BLUE IS THE COLOUR 7 YOU’VE GOT A TEXT! READ IT NOW! 8 THE GUMMY BEAR SONG 9 WHO THE HELL’S RINGING AT THIS TIME? 10 I WON’T LIE TO YOU, YOU GOTTA TEXT SOURCE: MOBILESTREAMS

ARTIST ACHMED THE DEAD TERRORIST

LEEDS FAMILY GUY MEERKAT GENE HUNT CHELSEA GENE HUNT GUMMY BEAR PETER KAY NESSA

RINGTONES

SONG 1 RUDE BOY 2 BEDROCK 3 MY CHICK BAD 4 NEED YOU NOW 5 BABY 6 ALL THE WAY TURNT UP 7 ROGER THAT 8 BREAK YOUR HEART 9 4 MY TOWN 10 TELEPHONE SOURCE: FLYCELL

MUSIC

MELODI SOUTH AFRICA REALTONE SOUNDALIKES, MAY SONG 1 MEMORIES 2 ALL THE RIGHT MOVES 3 WAVING FLAG 4 NEED YOU NOW 5 HEY, SOUL SISTER 6 BABY 7 TELEPHONE 8 REPLAY 9 BLAH BLAH BLAH 10 STEREO LOVE SOURCE: MELODI MEDIA

FLYCELL US TOP DOWNLOAD HANDSETS, MAY

ARTIST MODEL RIHANNA 1 8520 (CURVE) YOUNG MONEY 2 SGH-T749 (HIGHLIGHT) LUDACRIS FT. NICKI MINAJ 3 SCH-U450 LADY ANTEBELLUM 4 8330 (CURVE) JUSTIN BIEBER 5 SGH-A877 (IMPRESSION) ROSCOE DASH 6 GT365 (NEON) YOUNG MONEY 7 VX9200 (ENV3) TAIO CRUZ 8 VX11000 (ENV TOUCH) BIRDMAN FT. DRAKE 9 GR500 (XENON) LADY GAGA 10 SGH-A887 (SOLSTICE) SOURCE: FLYCELL

VENDOR RIM (BLACKBERRY) SAMSUNG SAMSUNG RIM (BLACKBERRY) SAMSUNG LG LG LG LG SAMSUNG

MELODI USA REALTONE SOUNDALIKES, MAY ARTIST DAVID GUETTA FT, KID CUDI ONE REPUBLIC K’NAAN LADY ANTEBELLUM TRAIN JUSTIN BIEBER LADY GAGA IYAZ KESHA EDWARD MAYA

FONESTARZ TOP VIDEOS, MAY ARTIST RIHANNA ROLL DEEP PLAN B PROFESSOR GREEN TIMBALAND FT. JT KELIS TAIO CRUZ FT. KESHA LADY GAGA FT. BEYONCE TINIE TEMPAH DAVID GUETTA FT. KID CUDI

SONG 1 NOTHIN’ ON YOU 2 NEED YOU NOW 3 HEY, SOUL SISTER 4 BREAK YOUR HEART 5 TELEPHONE 6 OMG 7 BABY 8 RUDE BOY 9 BREAKEVEN 10 ALEJANDRO SOURCE: MELODI MEDIA

ARTIST B.O.B. FT. BRUNO MARS LADY ANTEBELLUM TRAIN TAIO CRUZ LADY GAGA USHER FT. WILL.I.AM JUSTIN BIEBER RIHANNA THE SCRIPT LADY GAGA

FONESTARZ TOP WALLPAPERS, MAY

VIDEOS 1 VERY HOT HAYLEY 2 BEDROOM NAUGHTINESS 3 LADY GAGA – TELEPHONE 4 WII-FIT GIRLFRIEND 5 YOUTUBE BABY HAWK 6 YOUTUBE CHARLIE BIT MY FINGER 7 YOU MAKE ME HOT 8 LADY GAGA – BAD ROMANCE 9 PUPPY’S FIRST HOWL 10 BANANA VS. BLENDER SOURCE: FONESTARZ

ARTISTS & VIDEO

GAMES

BINBIT LATIN AMERICA TOP ARTISTS, MAY

JAMSTER TOP GAMES, MAY

GAME 1 THE SIMPSONS ARCADE 2 ALICE IN WONDERLAND 3 PIZZA SHOP MANIA 4 MONOPOLY WORLD 5 RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S WORLD SNOOKER 6 THE SIMS 3 WORLD ADVENTURES 7 PAC-MAN KART 8 MARBLE MADNESS 9 MTV STAR FACTORY 10 BEJEWELED TWIST SOURCE: JAMSTER

STEREO LOVE EDWARD MAYA 8 FRISKY TINIE TEMPAH FT. LABRINTH 9 GOOD TIMES ROLL DEEP 10 UNTIL YOU WERE GONE CHIPMUNK FT. ESMEE DENTERS SOURCE: SHAZAM

FLYCELL US TOP RINGTONES, MAY

VIDEOS & WALLPAPERS

JAMSTER TOP RINGTONES, MAY

SONG 1 RUDE BOY 2 GOOD TIMES 3 SHE SAID 4 I NEED YOU TONIGHT 5 CARRY OUT 6 ACAPELLA 7 DIRTY PICTURE 8 TELEPHONE 9 PASS OUT 10 MEMORIES SOURCE: JAMSTER

SONG/ARTIST SHE’S ALWAYS A WOMAN FYFE DANGERFIELD NOTHIN’ ON YOU B.O.B. FT. BRUNO MARS SHE SAID PLAN B HEY, SOUL SISTER TRAIN CANDY AGGRO SANTOS OMG

ARTISTS & HANDSETS

PUBLISHER EA MOBILE DISNEY INTERACTIVE DIGITAL CHOCOLATE

EA MOBILE PLAYER ONE SPORTS/I-PLAY

EA MOBILE EA MOBILE EA MOBILE GAMEHOUSE EA MOBILE

22 | June 2010 Mobile Entertainment

SONG 1 FRUTA PROHIBIDA 2 COLGANDO EN TUS MANOS 3 DIME SI TE VAS CON EL 4 TENGO PRISA 5 MENTIRAS PIADOSAS 6 THE SIMPSONS THEME 7 LOOKING FOR PARADAISE 8 TABACO Y CHANEL 9 MI DELIRIO 10 TE AMO TANTO SOURCE: BINBIT

ARTIST DRAGON Y CABALLERO CARLOS BAUTE FLEX DRAGON Y CABALLERO ALEJANDRA GUZMAN GREEN DAY ALEJANDRO SANZ BACILOS ANAHI FLEX

WALLPAPER 1 I LOVE YOU 2 COOL SMILEY 3 ENGLAND FLAG 4 HOT MARIA 5 RISING DRAGON 6 PLAYBOY FLAMES 7 BUTTERFLY EXPLOSION 8 SKULL STORM 9 TIGER STORM 10 FUNKY MONKEY SOURCE: FONESTARZ

BINBIT LATIN AMERICA TOP VIDEOS, MAY SONG 1 SI NO TE HUBIERAS IDO 2 FRUTA PROHIBIDA 3 TENGO PRISA 4 LABIOS COMPARTIDOS 5 CORAZON PARTIO 6 TE AMO 7 UNO, DOS, TRES 8 LIKE A VIRGIN 9 AMIGA MIA 10 SE SIENTE BIEN SOURCE: BINBIT

ARTIST MANA DRAGON Y CABALLERO DRAGON Y CABALLERO MANA ALEJANDRO SANZ ALEXANDER ACHA MOTEL MADONNA ALEJANDRO SANZ DRAGON Y CABALLERO

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