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Tag: biztalk

  • IFA 2009: IDAPT Presents Universal Desktop Charger for All Devices

    VIDEO INTERVIEW. At IFA 2009 in Berlin, Biz-News.com reporters interviewed Jacques Giribet, CEO & Founder of IDAPT.

    He showed us the company’s star product – a universal desktop charger that allows to charge several portable devices (such as mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, PDA notebooks, GPS, Bluetooth devices, game consoles, etc.) at the same time, through a system of interchangeable tips. According to the company, it’s compatible with over 3000 devices.

    The IDAPT has been nominated for Plus X Award as one of the most innovative products at IFA 2009.

    IDAPT is the concept of INOITULOS, the high tech start-up company located in Barcelona.

    Introduced to the market in 2006, the Universal Charger is now available in 25 countries on 6 continents in electronics and department stores such as MediaMarkt, Wal-Mart, Carrefour or Orange shops.

    In 2008 IDAPT won “HEC Start-up of the Year” award from HEC Paris. It was also designated an “Innovative Enterprise” by Barcelona Activa during the Mobile World Congress 2009.

  • 4G: Network For Real Mass Market Activity

    Erik Hallberg, Senior Vice President and Head of TeliaSonera Mobility Services in Sweden, tells smartphone.biz-news how this telecom is changing the face of mobile technology with its innovative 4G network.

    Recently Eric Hallberg’s family settled in to a typical night at home. The family of four sat down for a comfortable evening by not turning on their television, but flipping open their laptops. This behavior is not atypical of many families these days, no matter what part of the world you live in.

    The use of technology as a medium for work and play is quickly changing our world. It is no surprise that eventually technology will have to catch up with our ever-growing need for more capacity, more speed and more power.

    “I think the demand is moving faster that we as a telecommunications industry can supply the demand,” said Hallberg.

    “The way that people are utilizing services like Twitter and Facebook is changing everything. They are connected from early morning to late in the evening.”

    In 2010 TeliaSonera and Ericsson will unveil the first commercial Long-term Evolution (LTE) network in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the 20 countries where the company has a communications presence. This 4G mobile broadband network will revolutionize the way we share information via our mobile networks by focusing solely on the exchange of data. Drastically expanding the speed and efficiency of the exchange of information will lead to a higher speed bandwidth for the corporate and everyday user.

    “4G is not just a step forward, it is totally new,” Hallberg said. “It is not designed for voice, it is designed for pure data. It is an all IP network – there is no transformation or translation between different types of technologies. All IP from the device to the radio station to the core network to the services – the first time a mobile network is designed that way for real mass market activity.”

    Whereas the everyday user will experience a faster speed and efficiency via their mobile network, for the corporate user, this expansion will mean a new kind of service opportunity for their businesses.

    “The integration of unified communication (i.e. voice adules, adule pictures and video conferencing) in the corporate market is really taking off,” Hallberg said.

    “There is the sophisticated level with the syscal equipment or similar to the small basic camera and things that you do through low speed activities of different kinds. This is just the beginning its going to boom in the coming years and its going to need a lot of high bandwidth accesses as well as core networks to support it.”

    According to Hallberg, TeliaSonera is not only looking to the future of telecommunications, they are also exploring environmentally friendly methods in which to embrace that future.

    As part of their development strategy, TeliaSonera will be participating in the 4G World 2009 Conference from September 15-18, 2009.

    “The reason for me to participate in Chicago is to listen to what others are thinking, what they are planning to do, or may be doing,” Hallberg said. “We want to get new input from other parts of the world that we will probably not get from the venders or from the local markets. So for it is a very important point for gathering information and inspiration as to what others are doing in the 4G market, LP market in the next coming years.”

    After their trip to the conference, the company’s priority will be to finalize the first installation of the new network and make it available first to users in Germany and China.

    “Based on experience that we gain from these 2 sides, we will go to the next decision at the end of this year, beginning of next year.” Hallberg said.

    The 4G World 2009 Conference will be held at the McCormick Center in Chicago, Illinois. It will feature mobile WiMAX, WiFi, HSPA and LTE technologies and how they will influence the business and technical aspects of the new 4G network.

    Listen to the whole interview

  • HTC opens Android Market in South Africa


     

    Leaf International Communications, the sole distributor of HTC in South Africa launched three phones, Touch Pro2, Touch Diamond2 and the Snap for the local market.

    The Leaf team presented their new offerings to the media at Central Grill in Fourways. The company also confirmed the Android Market, Google’s mobile application directory, will be available to South African users from August 2009.

    “HTC was the first to launch Android-based handsets in South Africa during May 2009,” said Stephen Strachan, marketing director at Leaf. “At the time, the Android Market was unavailable to local users and, while we have developed a local application portal, it is great that consumer demand has resulted in Google allowing local users to access this popular global portal. Leaf, together with HTC is exceptionally proud to bring the Android market to the South African consumer”.

    For the first time, HTC Magic and HTC Dream handset owners have access to literally thousands of free applications. They can download a complete spectrum of apps, ranging from functional downloads to those designed purely for fun. The assortment is limitless and consumers can choose between a variety of gaming applications, business & social networking tools and a multitude of other exciting content for download direct to their HTC Android handsets.

    HTC Pro2

    The new HTC Pro2 runs off the windows Mobile 6.1 professional operating system and will be upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.5 when released. The phones features 3.6-inch touch-sensitive screen with ultra sharp WVGA resolution, an internal GPS antenna, Bluetooth 2.1 stereo that has enhanced data rate and a micro SD card slot which offers expandable storage. The PRO2 makes communication more natural thanks to HTC’s new Straight Talk technology.

    Touch Diamond2

    The slim 13.7mm handset features a 3.2-inch touch sensitive screen with ultra sharp WVGA resolution. The Touch diamond 2 also has an internal GPS antenna which is GPS and A-GPS ready, Bluetooth 2.0 with enhanced Data rate and micro SD card for storage. The Touch Diamond2 runs off Windows 6.1 which will like the PRO2 be upgraded to Windows 6.5 operating system once it’s released.

    HTC Snap

    The New Snap seamlessly integrates the familiar features of Microsoft windows and an exceptional mobile web experience. The HTC Snap operates the flexible Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 standard platform. The HTC Snap also includes an internal GPS antenna that is GPS and A-GPS ready, Bluetooth 2.0 with enhanced Data Rate, Wi-Fi and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets.

  • Touch Screen and Portability Key To Media Phone Success

    INTERVIEW: In the last six months the likes of AT&T, Verizon and Korea Telecom have launched media phones as the market for connected entertainment products begins to grow.

    But Oz Zimerman, corporate vice president of marketing for the DSP Group, told voip.biz-news that such devices must offer consumers something different – rather than trying to compete with the next generation of PCs.

    The media phone product is currently in its fledgling state but there’s no doubt the segment has the potential to be huge.

    A recent In-Stat report forecast it would become the 4th screen in the home and could also become a next generation business IP phone.

    Devices such as the Verizon Hub and AT&T HomeManager, which support both IP communications and the delivery of Internet information and multimedia content, have already been launched on the market.

    But Oz Zimerman, corporate vice president of marketing for the DSP Group, said that if manufacturers don’t try and differentiate these "4th screens" from the next-generation of PC then they are missing something.

    The DSP Group is currently working on more than 10 projects with OEMs and ODMs involving multimedia devices.

    Oz Zimerman, corporate vice president of marketing, DSP Group

    As well as including a tablet device Zimerman told voip.biz-news that they are developing two multimedia handsets, which he describes as iPhone-like cordless phones.

    He said that in order to be successful media phones need to offer something the other three screens do not have – and at a lower price.

    "In my mind the high end of the media phone, as represented by products such as Verizon’s Hub, may miss the point because they compete with next-generation PCs," he said.

    "We believe the multimedia screens which come with the phones should provide a different value at a different price point."

    To this end, Zimerman said these devices ought to include a phone but not necessarily have a powerful browsing capability.

    "They need to provide instancy and be always-on, have better portability and be easy to use," he said.

    One important aspect of this is getting easy and quick access to information that’s used frequently – something Zimerman said is best achieved using a touch screen.

    He said the result will be an iPhone-like cordless phone with DECT and WiFi, along with a 7-8" touchscreen for accessing multimedia and data.

    Integrated Chips

    DSP, which has been involved in semiconductor development for over two decades, has become a global provider of wireless chipset solutions for converged communications at home.

    Zimerman said the company has 70 per cent of the global market in the wireless home domain – and 100 per cent of that market in the US.

    Its system-on-a-chip solutions enable the combination of wireless voice communications with IP connectivity and multimedia processing.

    The company provides a range of chipsets integrating DECT, Wi-Fi, PSTN and VoIP/CoIP technologies with application processors.

    This enables converged voice, audio, video and data connectivity across diverse consumer products – from cordless and VoIP phones to home gateways and infotainment centers.

    "Our customers are trying to save on investment in R&D," said Zimerman. "They are more willing to work with a more integrated solution that will bring them faster to market with lower risk."

    Bringing VoIP to the Handset

    Earlier this month, DSP announced that its XvoiP Vega Firebird (PNX8181) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution has been chosen by D-Link Corporation to drive its next-generation cordless-over-IP (CoIP) products.

    D-Link is using DSP’s XvoiP Vega Firebird in its dual-mode IP/DECT phone solution to take advantage of the growing popularity of IP-centric devices in the home.

    This continues to increase through the usage of IP phones, WLAN routers, surveillance cameras, tablets and IPTV.

    Zimerman said that with many current VoIP phones the "VoIP" part ended at the wall, with end users getting none of its capabilities.

    He said this termination plays a big part in the perceived lower quality of VoIP calls.

    "With our solution, the VoIP chips will enable the VoIP features to get to the handset," he said. "So, for example, HD Voice will be get all the way to the handset."

  • Behance iPhone App is "Twitter for Actionable Tasks"

    INTERVIEW: Scott Belsky, founder and CEO of Behance, tells smartphone.biz-news about his company’s Action Method iPhone application – a free and innovative app aimed at increasing users’ productivity.

    Any productivity tool that has the word "action" in it sounds like it surely must have something going for it.

    So when the Behance team launched its free iPhone app six months ago, the fact it was based on the idea of capturing and managing "action steps" – tasks that need completing – made it sound like a pretty good prospect.

    As Scott Belsky, founder and CEO of Behance, explained to smartphone.biz-news, the idea is to help creative professionals organize their work by taking action.

    To do so they have created an ecosystem around the company’s Action Method project management software, the Behance Network, and Behance paper products.

    "What we decided to do was try and help people through offline and online media to organise their lives with a bias towards action," he said.

    Scott Belsky, CEO of Behance

    "This is what makes it special compared to other management tools out there.  Action is the central part of the entire experience."

    Belsky said the premise for the Action Method is very simple.  It comes down to three elements:

    • Action steps
    • Back-burner items
    • Reference items (other "stuff" in life that accumulates)

    Belsky said that people focus too much on deadlines instead of what matters most – action and delegating.

    When Behance started out selling paper products in the US several years ago the rationale was – and still is – to produce a well designed system for productivity.

    The Action Method Online application then followed as an everyday tool for people to manage action steps and their lives.

    Then, came the mobile version – currently just for the iPhone app but the New York-based company are testing a beta for Blackberry.

    "It’s exciting. Many people are downloading the app and using it," said Belsky.

    During the design process the Behance team spoke with people that used Microsoft Product Manager, Basecamp and other project management tools.

    They found that a lot of people used them – but didn’t really use them. And tasks such as updating the system are looked upon as a chore to be avoided.

    Collaborative Tool

    They also aren’t collaborative, so tasks that need someone else’s input have to be communicated – usually by email.

    However, since Action Method is designed as a collaborative management tool, users can delegate tasks to other users – but in a more effective way.

    Messages are sent, not by email, but by what Belsky describes as "Twitter for actionable things", which are displayed as action sets on the iPhone screen.

    "The idea is not to just have a to-do list but to engage people through multiple different lenses," he said.

    Various new features are being planned for the iPhone app which Belsky said will push it to a new level, as well as some important additional features for the on-line app.

    Valuable Tool

    For many people work and life do not separate, so the app is intended to make users look more often at their actionable tasks.

    Since the tool has to be accessible at all times, it can be used both on-line and off-line, and then synched when connected again.

    So even if you are stuck in the subway without internet access, it doesn’t mean everything draws to a halt.

    "Mobile extends that functionality," he said. "We do not have an excuse any more."

    "It’s about the little action steps that pop into your mind that you need to do. You can capture these thoughts."

  • Clearing Houses at Centre of WiMAX Hub Model

    INTERVIEW: Smartphone.biz-news spoke to John Dubois, global roaming director for the WiMAX Forum, to hear the latest on the deployment of the 4G technology’s networks – and plans for operators to use a hub model for roaming agreements.

    While many people have reservations about the future success of WiMAX it’s clear the 4G technology is gaining traction in markets around the world.

    In his presentation at the recent Insights’09 conference in Lisbon, Portugal, John Dubois, global roaming director for the WiMAX Forum, highlighted the growing number of WiMAX deployments – and the advantages it has in being first to market compared to LTE.

    The most recent figures from the organisation show there have been 484 WiMAX deployments in 141 countries so far.

    Aside from networks, the Forum has recently certified its first full Netbook (Onkyo C204) and its first Notebook computer (Toshiba Dynabook SS RX2).

    The specification for billing and settlement for roaming has just been completed and two operators – Clearwire and DigitalBridge – will be testing it over the summer.

    Roaming Trials

    Also getting underway are the first commercial global roaming trials, which will involve 14 "ecosystem leaders" carrying out end-to-end testing of roaming over live WiMAX networks.

    These operators, device manufacturers, equipment vendors, and clearing houses include Aicent, Alvarion, Bridgewater Systems, Cisco, Clearwire, Comfone, DigitalBridge, Intel, iPass, Juniper Networks, MACH, Motorola, Syniverse and Transaction Network Services.

    From the results of the trial Dubois told smartphone.biz-news that it will be possible to provide a baseline for establishing roaming services and agreements for WiMAX worldwide.

    "WiMAX operators do not have a lot of experience with roaming," he said.

    "After that other operators are very interested in participating. Six clearing houses are also involved in the trials.

    "They will provide back offices and after the trials are completed we will be in a position where we can start connecting operators on a commercial bases."

    Dubois said that while operators will be able to connect directly, he believed the vast majority will do so through clearing houses.

    This is because this simplifies the administration of the roaming process by only requiring operators to have one or two agreements with clearing houses – rather than individual agreements with every operator.

    He said that prior to joining the WiMAx Forum he worked as director of roaming for a mobile operator and had to manage more than 300 roaming agreements.

    "The hub model will prevail," he said. "That’s what the 3G world would like to move to. We will do that straight away with WiMAX.

    "It’s not something we are enforcing, we are letting the market take care of it."

    Interoperability Key

    A key element of the trial will be testing the interoperability of equipment – essentially devices’ ability to acquire a visited network’s base stations and backend while roaming.

    Dubois said interoperability is a particularly important aspect for WiMAX since there are a lot of different base stations vendors, each manufacturing its own equipment.

    He said it is clearly vital that devices work on the different base stations while roaming.

    For this reason, the WiMAX Forum has designed a certification process.

    "They will undergo interoperability testing to make sure that they will be interoperable with different base stations," he said.

    "That is key for roaming – but it’s nothing we didn’t face with 2G and 3G."

    Again, from his experience working for a mobile operator, Dubois said it took a while before handsets from the operator were able to function in different parts of the US.

    "With WiMAX, we want it to work now with all devices. It’s a matter of months," he said.

    A non-technical issue with base stations is also their cost and how this could be affecting the uptake of WiMAX.

    However, Dubois said prices were very competitive when compared with 3G.

    Deployment Growing

    Scenna Tabesh, director of marketing communications for the WiMAX Forum, said that despite the economic downturn WiMAX deployments and developments are continuing to grow "quite reasonably".

    While the Forum has no specific projections for future deployment rates it expects the numbers to grow significantly based on the history of the last few years.

    "We are growing very steadily and we are still cautiously optimistic that we will see steady growth over the next 18 months," she said.

    Scenna Tabesh, director of marketing communications, WiMAX Forum

    Tabesh said WiMAX activity has been particularly strong in the Middle East, Africa and South-east Asia, and auctions to allocate wireless spectrum are expected shortly in India and Brazil.

    "The big picture is looking pretty good. Operators continue to invest despite the global situation," she said. "There are also a lot of folks straddling the fence because they do not have to act right now."

    That’s not the case in Russia, where two operators – Yota and Comstar – have rolled out WiMAX networks.

    Tabesh said Yota, which launched its paid commercial Mobile WiMAX service on June 1st and is adding 1300 subcribers a day, has launched the first dual-mode GSM/WiMAX mobile.

    The Russian operator is also looking to extend its WiMAX investments outside its home market.

    However, Dubois said that while more operators such as Yota are successfully deploying WiMAX, this did not appear to be widely known.

    "WiMAX is gaining significant traction. A lot of operators are deploying but they are not making a lot of noise about it," he said.

    "There’s significant growth in the area. Operators are very excited because it provides them with what they need right now.

    "They are putting in broadband services quickly and once the network is up, customers flock to them."

  • US Mobile Market Ready for Location-Based Advertising

    INTERVIEW: Location-based advertising (LBA) is still in its early stages – and has so far mostly been rolled out in European markets, including France, Romania and Germany.

    Now TechnoCom has brought a mobile advertising and marketing content delivery platform to the US where it believes the opportunities are huge.

    Smartphone.biz-news spoke to Janice Partyka, vice president of external affairs at TechnoCom, about its SpotOn GPS application and plans for combining location-aware advertising with navigation.

    TechnoCom last month announced that it was launching SpotOn GPS, a mobile navigation system that offers turn-by-turn navigation, search and mapping.

    Nothing particularly startling in that. But where this hosted solution differs is that it is a mobile advertising and marketing content delivery platform that combines advertising with navigation.

    What makes this interesting – especially at a time when budgets are being fiercely scrutinised – is the potential it offers carriers and brands to increase the effectiveness and reach of advertising and promotional messaging.

    The argument is that the return on investment from mobile advertising dollars is greatly enhanced by presenting ads, coupons and offers to consumers at select times, in the right places and close to points of sale.

    Recent figures show that the mobile advertising market in the US is expected to reach USD $2.3 billion, roughly 25 per cent of the overall market by 2011.

    Janice Partyka, vice president of external affairs at TechnoCom

    The largest segment is expected to be mobile couponing reaching almost USD $4 billion by 2011 or 42 per cent of the overall market.

    Janice Partyka, vice president of external affairs at TechnoCom, said a key factor in launching the navigation system was their popularity as mobile applications.

    "We see it as a marketing and advertising pipe," she said. "In Europe there are offerings that combine navigation with advertising and marketing. But we are the first to introduce it to the US."

    Appeal of LBS

    Location-based advertising has been shown to yield significantly higher conversion rates with direct response modes, such as click-to-locate and click-to-navigate, compared to non-location-based advertising.

    This makes LBA and navigation an appealing combination.

    Helping drive the adoption of both is that fact that for end-users, ad-funded navigation can represent a balance between exposure to advertising and access to reduced-cost, or potentially free, navigation.

    Partyka told smartphone.biz-news that market research shows that a large percentage of people say "yes" when asked if they would be interested in an offering that deferred subscriber costs.

    "We have to be smart about it and not make the advert very intrusive," she said.

    "It has to be relevant to who they are and what they are doing."

    So while someone might appreciate receiving an offer from a nearby restaurant at lunchtime, they are unlikely to be so well disposed to getting one at midnight.
    "That’s not useful. Relevance is really important," said Partyka.

    She said that as well as carriers – the traditional channel for navigation – there were other options for SpotOn GPS.

    These include affinity groups, such as airline mileage rewards programs, shopping clubs or travel clubs, all of which can offer search listings of their inventory, suppliers, and partners.

    Partyka said that, for instance, a mileage program can list restaurants or hotels that offer their customers extra mileage incentives.

    The mileage program member may decide to view hotels on a map, receive coupons, offers and advertisements; click-tocall; connect to a website to see rates and book nights; and click-to-navigate to the business’s location.

    Partyka said this extends the reach of partners to get bookings.

    She said SpotOn GPS has other applications, such as a large retailer branding the application to always show its locations on maps, provide special offers that are regionally or outlet-specific, highlight certain vendors, and display loyalty messages.

    Other customers, such as wireless operators, may opt for third-party advertisements that SpotOn GPS offers as a bundle.

    Flexible Revenue Model

    But Partyka said that what SpotOn GPS also offers is flexibilty when it comes to the revenue model being used.

    While the traditional method is for navigation to be offered to end users on a monthly subscription, TechnoCom’s app can be be adapted to its customer’s requirements.

    The revenue models include subscriptions, premium content fees and advertising transaction fees.

    So this can range from a client paying the full fee or chosing a mix of reduced subscription with a share of advertising revenues – to the extent that it could is heavily discounted or even free.

    Partyka said that how customers end up working the charge with the end user depends on them.

    "In some cases they would not charge the end user for the service," she said.

    So, for example, it could be part of the American Express offering for Platinum Card holders, with the cost fully absorbed by membership charges or promotion budgets.

    "Someone else might make a minimum charge but much less than what would have found before," she said.

    Speedy Launch

    Designed as a turn-key solution, SpotOn GPS can be ready for service launch within sixty days of contract signing.

    Partyka said the app does what any other navigation, search and mapping service does.

    Worldwide rich mapping options include street maps, 3-D map views and satellite images. Location-specific traffic and weather are also offered.

    She said it is initially being supported on Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Java handsets but will be coming out on Android in Q3 and the iPhone Q4 2009.

    Based on LocatioNet’s amAze GPS service, it has has been white-labeled by leading international carriers and service providers, including Bouygues France, Orange Israel, Vodafone Romania and Telegate Germany.

    Partyka said SpoOn GPS is aimed at a wide range of end-users with access to international local search databases, and text and voice prompted instructions in thirteen languages with more being added.

    Other features being developed include user generated content, such as enabling users to identify where speed traps are located.

    TechnoCom expects to have its first customers for SpotOn GPS shortly, according to Partyka: "This is the beginning of the market. We have clients that are ready for it."

  • Wireless Broadband World Africa 2009: South Africa to Allocate WiMax This Month

    Paris Mashile, chairman of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), has said that WiMax spectrum in the country will be allocated within 30 days with operators getting 30 MHz each.

    ICASA published its final decision on the awarding of radio frequency spectrum. The document included the selection process of suitable companies, how much spectrum should be allocated to each operator and whether licences will be awarded to national or regional players.

    On the question of how the remaining WiMax spectrum will be dished out, ICASA decided to allocate 30MHz per operator on a technology-neutral basis, and stipulated that six additional national licences will be issued in the 2.5GHz band.

    This decision drew sharp criticism from various industry players, including Neotel. It was argued that limited spectrum not only increases the cost of providing WiMax services, but also limits the speeds which can be offered to end users.

    Neotel’s CTO, Angus Hay, said: “Neotel is of the opinion that it would not be possible to operate a WiMax wireless access network at maximum efficiency, and pass on benefits if operators are each awarded only 20MHz of spectrum in the 2.5GHz band.”

    “In particular, this spectrum limit places a limit on the transmission speed possible, which is one of the key benefits of a technology like WiMax to the end customer. Neotel therefore shares the view of many WiMax experts that 30MHz per operator (a re-use factor of 3, with 10MHz per sector, three sectors per base station) is the least required for an operator to build a network to deliver true broadband services to the customer.”

    ICASA Chairman Paris Mashile recently indicated that the process for licensing the sought after 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz spectrum – typically referred to as WiMax spectrum – will be announced towards the end of July. Speaking to Biz-News Mashile, was non-committal as to the exact date, “ We have 30 days to announce, remember we are not only dealing with WiMax but all the scarce resources,” he said.

    Mashile provided insight into what is contained in this document, which includes that the spectrum will be technology neutral, that there will be a 30% HDI requirement and that spectrum will initially be handed out on a beauty contest model followed by a spectrum auction.

    The first document regarding the awarding of radio frequency spectrum states that a company to which spectrum will be allocated must be minimum 51% black owned with an emphasis on woman in line with broad based BEE. This was widely criticized by industry, and the 30% HDI requirement is likely to be welcomed by industry as a more sensible criteria.

  • Opt-In Subscriber Database "Crucial" To Mobile Operator Ad Revenues

    INTERVIEW: Mobile operators are searching for new and innovative ways to generate revenues beyond service plans.

    Julien Oudart, sales and marketing director for French mobile advertising company Sofialys, tells smartphone.biz-news about the opportunities open to carriers from opt-in subscriber databases.

    There is no doubt that mobile operators are facing plenty of challenges in today’s rapidly evolving telecommunications ecosystem.

    But Julien Oudart, sales and marketing director for French mobile advertising company Sofialys, believes there are plenty of opportunities for operators to monetize their offerings beyond service plans.

    He said carriers in Europe are still a big part of the value chain and have made steady progress in taking "a piece of the advertising action" through offering services such as mobile video and mobile games.

    "All these things work technically. Now it’s a matter of attracting brands," he said.

    Volumes on games and video are still low for mobile, but Oudart said he was confident this would change.

    "We will get there as more people connect to these services," he said. "Mobile has it all in one device. You get video, games, a phone – different options."

    This opens up opportunities for creating cross-media content, but Oudart said the key element is access to subscribers.

    "I think an opt-in database is crucial," he said.

    Especially so since legislators in the US are saying it is illegal to push campaigns to people without their consent – effectively making it spam.

    By tapping their user base to sell to pan-European advertisers, Oudart said operators were in a good position to generate additional revenues.

    Consumer Attitudes

    He said consumers are willing to opt-in and be exposed to advertising if – and this is the important bit – they get something attractive in return.

    "We always try and be transparent. So when we sign someone up there is no pre-ticked box which will then see them receive spam," he said.

    "We explain to people that they will receive promotions. It is then up to them to say yes or no."

    The lure for consumers, according to Oudart is the promotions and coupons they receive for different brands and goods.

    To be effective these have to be correctly targeted based on people’s user profiles.

    "I don’t think people are against being exposed to brands," he said. "What matters is that relevant brands reach people and to communicate to the right segment."

    Another element to specific targeting is geo-tagging, something the French mobile operator SFR has been trialling with a few thousand subscriber volunteers from its user database.

    Four companies were signed up for the trial, including a restaurant chain and jewellery chain.

    Oudart said everytime a user passes one of the participating businesses, a 20 per cent discount coupon might be pushed to their handset, or they are served an ad for the relevant outlet.

    "Geo-location services will be important," he said.

    However, he stressed that it’s vital not to annoy users by bombarding them with messages – Sofialys always asks how many messages someone wants to receive in a week, according to Oudart.

    Headquartered in Paris, the supplier of mobile marketing and advertising solutions was formed six years ago as a technology provider to help operators and publishers monetize mobile portals across Europe, Asia, Middle East and the US.

    Its biggest customer is SFR, which owns a 20 per cent stake in the company, but it also works with a pool of mobile publishers and agencies.

    Expanding Horizons

    However, Oudart said Sofialys is beginning to expand its operations with other operators and clients around Europe.

    He said there are several possibilities in the UK and they have just signed a partnership contract with Adfrap, a UK-based full service mobile agency.

    "For us it’s an interesting step into the UK market," he said. "It generates between 80-100 million pages views every month.
    "When you reach significant volumes like this it starts to be interesting."

    Oudart said they have also signed up a pool of dot.com publishers and are working with a couple of sales houses in the UK.

    In general terms mobile advertising has not been that badly affected by the economic situation, according to Oudart, and continues to grow at a healthy rate.

    Its buoyancy has been boosted by the iPhone, which he said has "shaken up everything".

    The Apple handset has done a lot to drive up mobile broadband use – something that Oudart believes is both an opportunity and a challenge.

    He said it creates more volumes – but because it is easier for the likes of Google and Yahoo to put ads on the iPhone, the entry barrier has been lowered.

    "We know how mobile works and we can bring value to this," he said. "But more people can now do what we do – that’s why we are trying to differentiate ourselves."

  • iPhone Wine App Points to Potential of Location-based Data

    INTERVIEW: Rick Breslin, Principal of Hello Vino, tells smartphone.biz-news how the food pairing and wine suggestion tool came about – and the team’s plans for both monetising it and capitalising on location-based data.

    Rick Breslin, Principal of Hello Vino, makes no bones that his company’s wine pairing and suggestion tool is aimed firmly at consumers that know nothing about wine.

    Stuffy it ain’t. It offers to help users do everything from selecting a good vintage to give as a gift, to picking a suitable bottle of wine in a restauarant or to go with a dish while browsing the supermarket aisles.

    "The general idea was to help consumers get over the pain points when they go into a store and are faced with hundreds of bottles of wine," Breslin told smartphone.biz-news.

    "Our target market is beginner wine consumers who typically are overwhelmed by the wine buying process."

    Hello Vino launched an iPhone app in June but it offers a multi-platform delivery – mobile web, Web and SMS.

    The tool helps users find a wine in one of four areas:

    • wine with a meal/food
    • wine for an occasion
    • wine by country/region
    • wine by taste/style

    Breslin said data on labels and brands is provided through a partnership with snooth.com, the social database of world wines, which has access to over one million wines brands worldwide.

    He said that by tapping into this massive resource, Hello Vino provides users with a different way to find a wine – with the potential to make over 2000 wine pairings.

    So even if someone is looking for a wine to go with a dish as simple as pizza, they are asked whether they’re having cheese, pepperoni, chicken, veggies, white sauce and so on, and a recommendation for wine is then made.

    Technology no Barrier

    If wine knowledge and culinary taste are no barrier to using Hello Vino, neither are technological limitations.

    Anyone can access the site on their home PC and use the Hello Vino widget to find an appropriate wine.

    Breslin said the wine search service also works on any smartphone.

    Users entering the mobile website are redirected depending on the type of handset they are using to ensure as smooth a user experience as possible.

    This includes a stripped-down WAP version.

    For those that don’t have access to the mobile internet, there is an SMS service in which people can send a text message to get advice on choosing a wine.

    The iPhone app, however, comes with some additional features, including a search function so that users can enter a particular wine and get its details, a label shot and rating information.

    In the future, there are plans for native apps for Blackberry, Palm’s Pre, Samsung and Nokia handsets.

    "We want to give smartphone users the best experience and we will use native apps to deliver that experience," he said.

    Location-Based Potential

    Looking further ahead, Breslin said they are planning to take advantage of GPS and inventory data to provide consumers with location specific information.

    "If you were in, say, Joe’s Wine Shop, your GPS would show your location and pull up the store’s inventory for you to choose from," he said.

    Hello Vino was set up by Breslin and two fellow web developers working in the wine industry.

    They saw a lot of traffic being driven by demand for information about pairing food and wine and decided there was potential for a mobile application.

    "We were working on a little widget where someone could do a simple Q&A to find what wine they might like to try based on a dish or for an occasion," said Breslin.

    "Then we thought: mobile is emerging. There is a huge opportunity to package this resource onto a smartphone-formatted website."

    Hello Vino launched earlier this year at the Boston Wine Expo. The apps’ users are currently around 90 per cent US-based, with the remainder mostly in the UK, France and Italy.

    Breslin said this is because their marketing efforts have been initially in the US but it is hoped that the overseas market will continue to build.

    Revenue Possibilities

    While the Hello Vino app is free, he said they have started the monetisation process through several different avenues.

    "There are more than 2000 different pairings on the app – that’s valuable," he said.

    "There is an e-commerce website selling wine that wants to use the Hello Vino widget on their site and import their inventory onto it."

    Another revenue earner is the sponsored placement of wine brands, where a particular brand can appear as one of the suggested wines in a user search.

    Breslin said this offered the largest potential, but the team is waiting until adoption levels are higher before approaching brands.