Djuice is known for appealing to youth. In a search for local talent, Djuice has sponsored a freestyle soccer contest in Pakistan. After the first rounds of competition in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, the finals are on 31st January in Karachi from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more detail on “Red Bull Street Style!” see below and go to Djuice site. This will be fun!
Mashable has interesting commentary about the role of iPod touch. In the context of the mobile platform wars, the contest is often framed as “the iPhone” versus Android, BlackBerry and the rest of the smartphone market. However, even if the iPhone is the only phone that Apple sells, there is another device that runs on the iPhone OS: the iPod touch. In fact, according to the mobile analytics firm Flurry, the iPod touch might even be Apple’s secret weapon when it comes to long-term results and platform retention. Flurry makes this argument in its November Industry Pulse report.
PTCL is on a roll when it comes to broadband growth. Over the last year it has added many new cities and expanded its DSL subscriber base. Gaming Lounge is a new value added service launched today, exclusively offered by Buzz portal to its broadband customers. It is well known that young people like to play online games, especially peer-to-peer games. With the high number of youth in Pakistan, this is a smart business move and a proven strategy to make services more sticky. Broadband providers in US have found success with similar approach of targeting young people to get broadband into more households.
Gaming Lounge Highlights
Benefits
Let us know about your experience of this new service.
Guest Post By Hemant Kumar
We have seen ringtones and wallpapers being the favourite downloadable content so far, but slowly this favouritism is accommodating other contents as well. The reason for this is manifold. Firstly, the handset capabilities are improving continuously. For e.g. most phones now are video enabled and users can download and watch videos, the ringtones have moved from simple monotone to the much preferred polyphonic ringtones. Phones are being dubbed as walkmans causing phones to range from cellular devices to music players. Secondly, the data charges are dropping while the mobile internet speed is increasing. These reasons provide a suitable environment for content downloads.
If on one hand we have the suitable environment aiding the content download industry, on the other hand we have the behaviour of the mobile users itself which is accelerating the growth. Mobile is moving from being a just a communication device to a mode of entertainment. Think of how mobile phones are used by people nowadays. Phones are extremely personal devices and people carry it on them all the time. They levels of engagement is also high where people are hooked to their phones. You can see people use it on a bus or train, while walking, in restaurants, parks, whether they are by themselves or with someone. In fact, it may be one of the devices which is considered as private as a person’s journal and you tend not to allow anyone else use your phone. Given this, people like to personalize their phones and make it depict their tastes and preferences with ringtones, ringback tones, wallpapers etc. Users like to stay updated to the latest trends like ringtones of songs topping the charts, wall papers of the latest movies, latest versions of games etc. This results in a constant need for new content as the demand is consistently high.
mKhoj, a leading ad network, were asked to categorize the contents downloaded in their network. Games, ringtones and wallpapers occupied the top 3 spots in terms of traffic. The gaming industry has always enjoyed a high demand and now users can play while on the move. This is the dream come true for any gamer. The user experience of the games are also constantly increasing with better graphics, more challenging games, games on the latest trends and of course multiplayer games that can be played via Bluetooth or internet. mKhoj experts also pointed out that ringtones and wallpapers are the best means to have your signature on the phone making the content download industry hit the ceiling.
The top 5 downloaded contents are:
Other than these major players, the other preferred content downloads are:
Interesting developments where a product search page accessed by a mobile device can interact with the mobile device capabilities. This is taken from Texas Startup Blog.
Google’s product search features have been optimized for use on Android handsets and now Google has just revealed how Android might just be the killer phone operating system. Websites, like Google Product Search, can offer ‘intents’ that allow for interaction between websites and mobile applications.
If you go to Google Product Search on an Android phone you can click ‘Scan Barcode’ and the browser will call Android asking for ‘barcode’ intents like Barcode Scanner and ShopSavvy. Just click on the one you prefer and presto you have launched a barcode reader. Barcode Scanner sends you to the Google Product Search page.
A recent study has shown that the top three benefits derived from playing mobile games include: Distraction from daily life issues (52%), Relaxation and stress relief (40%), and improved mood (12%). More interesting points. A lot of these games are played during the middle of a work day – may be during a boring meeting. These days, social network apps on the phone may provide a similar relief from boredom.
The report, which surveyed 1,100 AT&T customers, including iPhone owners, was conducted for a games developer company. 60% of all mobile gamers said that they play games while waiting for an appointment.
Just over a quarter (26%) of mobile gamers said they’ve paid for a mobile game. (Across all mobile phone owners, including those who have never played a game on their phone, this equates to 15% having purchased a game.) More than three quarters (76%) of mobile gamers said they had played free games that came pre-installed on their phone, and a third (33%) indicated they had downloaded one or more free games to their phone.
Economist magazine poses the obvious question that why wireless electric power has not made enough progress? If phone calls and web pages can be beamed through the air to portable devices, then why not electrical power, too?
Gartner, a market-research firm, says the prospects for wireless power are realistic, but the path to widespread adoption may take 3 to 5 years. In December 2008, there was the formation of Wireless Power Consortium, a body dedicated to establishing a common standard for inductive wireless charging, and thus promoting its adoption. Universal standards are the single most important requirement for the adoption of wireless charging, according to the chair of this consortium.
Fierce competition between manufacturers of mobile devices is also accelerating the introduction of wireless charging. The star of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, an annual jamboree held in Las Vegas, was the Pre, a snazzy smart-phone from Palm. As well as the standard arsenal of technical features—touch-screen, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and built-in camera—the Pre also has an optional charging pad, called the Touchstone, which uses electromagnetic induction to charge the device wirelessly. When the device is placed on the pad, the two recognise each other through built-in sensors. Magnets embedded in the pad align the handset and hold it in place during charging.
Fulton Innovations is also a competitor in this and was also present in Vegas with their wireless charging products for cars.
In November 2008 TI announced that it had joined forces with Fulton Innovations “to accelerate development of efficient wireless power solutions”. TI, which provides components to many of the world’s leading mobile-phone makers said it was exploring the production of integrated circuits that supported the technology developed by Fulton Innovations, with the aim of reducing the cost and size of the components needed for wireless charging and making it easier for device-makers to incorporate them into their products quickly.
The magazine article talks about other startups such as WildCharge which has already started selling a number of wireless-charging devices that take a cheaper but simpler approach in which mobile devices make electrical contact with a special charging pad via four small conductive metal studs. WildCharge and the licensees of its technology have developed replacement back covers for a number of popular devices, including Motorola’s RAZR phones and video-game controllers for the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation 3.
Some companies have taken an approach on the other end of the spectrum: long-range transmission of wireless power.
This technique uses the energy in radio waves, broadcast from a transmitter and harnessed by an antenna, to generate electricity. Using the passive-power principle found in crystal radios, the method has proved successful over short distances in places where it is difficult to replace batteries or carry out maintenance. The problem is that the intensity of the radio waves needed to charge mobile phones and laptop computers over long distances might be hazardous to human health, and regulators would be unlikely to approve.
Along with many other trends, iPhone has provided a big momentum to mobile phone games. According to recent stats, iPhone has become a major mobile gaming platform. Just like Wii, the iPhone makes for fun games as you tilt and move the phone around. Whether its moving objectss around or racing cars, its lot more interesting.
Owners of iPhones accounted for 14 percent of all mobile game downloads in November, according to market researcher comScore.
About 32.4 percent of all iPhone users reported that they downloaded a game in November. The market average is just 3.8 percent. The BlackBerry Curve also scored high with game downloads as smart phones in general are replacing low-end phones such as Motorola Razrs and low-end flip phones. Smartphones now account for six out of ten of the top mobile devices used for downloads, said Mark Donovan, an analyst at comScore.
About 8.5 million people in the U.S. downloaded games onto cell phones in November. That number is up 17 percent from a year earlier. Donovan said that mobile games are now reaching a broader demographic, with the strongest growth among teens as well as those 35 and older.
Here’s a look at what China Mobile has been working on and sharing with its investor community. Who knows, some of these products could be offered through Zong in Pakistan as well. Regarding music, Zong has music channel and sms song search services but not as extensive as the one shown below. Mobile news delivery through MMS (Mobile Paper) is another interesting service.
There’s more stuff. Gaming, payments and location based services are also part of plan for China Mobile. Just what you should expect from the largest mobile operator in the world.
Source: China Mobile financial results presentation, first half 2008.
Jehan Ara wrote an interesting post about her successful but stressful struggle to activate her personal iPhone and then taking it to Telenor to realize that “Telenor Smart Mail did not support the iPhone”. That led me to the question which I pose to all of iPhone fans in Pakistan: which mobile company is best for iPhone users in Pakistan?
Till recently iPhone did not support the corporate email but here’s a video which shows that Apple has aggressively addressed this shortcoming and also added some other missing but highly in-demand features such as calendar, address books. Watch the game demo too. And hey, there’s the $100 million dollar fund to create some more cool apps. BlackBerry – watch out!
One of the premiere events of mobile and wireless industry, GSM annual meeting is a place to watch for trends. In the event hosted at Barcelona last month, Yahoo got the award for mobile portal, Grameenphone for social cause (note the familiar logo) and SonyEricsson got the award for mobile device. The full list of winners for 2008 can be viewed here.
Best Mobile Handset or Device
SonyEricsson: W910 Walkman Phone
3UK: 3 Skypephone – Highly Commended
Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development
Grameenphone: CellBazaar
Best Mobile Game
Cellufun: Call of the Pharaoh
Glu Mobile: My Hangman
Best Broadcast Commercial
Safaricom: M-PESA ‘Send Money Home’ campaign
Best Mobile Advertising
Crossmedia Avenue: AMF Pension – the MMS campaign
Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development
Grameenphone: CellBazaar
Best Network Quality Initiative
RAD Data Communications: LA-130 Cell Gateway – Cost-Effective HSPA Backhaul
Best Service Delivery Platform
Aepona: Aepona Telecom Web Services Platform
Best Billing and Customer Solution
Bharti Airtel: mChek on Airtel – Mobile Payments Service
Best Mobile Music Service
Omnifone: MusicStation
Best Mobile Video Service
mywaves
Best Mobile Social Networking Service
BuzzCity: myGamma.com
Best Mobile Infotainment Portal for News/entertainment
Yahoo! Connected Life: Yahoo! Go for Mobile 2.0
Best Mobile Enterprise Product or Service
Microsoft: Windows Mobile 6
Best Mobile Messaging Service
Seven: System Seven 7.0
The GSMA Chairman’s Award
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder, Chairman & Group CEO Bharti Enterprise
Good news for all the videogamers out there who want to play games even when holding nothing more than a cell phone.
Nokia Corp. is ramping up its push into videogames on mobile phones, underscoring efforts by the world’s largest cellphone maker to move into adjacent businesses, as reported by WSJ here.
It plans to launch a phone this summer that is enhanced for users who want to play videogames, say people familiar with the plans. The device will look similar to the company’s other high-end phones but will have game keys, among other features to make it more fun to play.
Remeber N-Gage? That clunky gadget was a disaster for Nokia (they stopped selling it in second half of 2006) so they should be more careful this time around. Nokia is also trying to provide for navigation system features in phones (6110 Navigator).
Nokia stated that it will launch a service which lets user download games on their phones this September. Only N95 and N73 are designed to work with this service.
One challenge for Nokia and others is a short-age of high-quality videogames for cell phones. There is not a whole lot of interesting games from game companies for cell phones. Nokia is working with two of the largest game publishers focused on the mobile market, Electronic Arts and Gameloft SA.
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