Mobile Content & Applications
Could the next generation of Mobile Internet browsers adversely affect the market for Mobile Advertising?
On May 15th Mozilla announced the availability of the Alpha version of Fennec. Fennec is the mobile implementation of the Firefox desktop browser and is something that I have been looking forward to for some time. Read more »
Apple’s content strategy for the Middle East betrays its roots in hardware
Apple’s iTunes Store and App Store are the envy of the digital-content industry. It would be fairly safe to say that wherever either has launched, it leads its market segment in number of downloads generated.
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Vodafone UK’s iPhone Web app is a great play for an early lead in the mobile application sector
Vodafone UK’s launch of a Web application for the iPhone has caused much speculation that the operator is about to sell the iPhone in the UK, robbing O2 UK of its exclusivity with the device. If this were true, if would most likely mean that O2 decided not to meet Apple’s terms for retaining exclusive rights to sell the device. Read more »
Can mobile TV become a ‘must have’ in a country like Iraq?
As operators and vendors bring out handsets featuring the latest applications dreamed up by technologists in their labs, the questions “nice to have, but would I want to pay for it?” and “what the hell for?” often spring to mind.
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Operators go twelve rounds but new ‘version’ of data roaming caps is still a defeat
Operators fought long and hard with European legislators in the hope of defeating the imposition of caps to data roaming tariffs, but in the end the vote by members of the European Parliament to approve a modified version of proposed caps on wholesale mobile data and SMS tariffs for subscribers roaming in the EU, will still be seen as a defeat. Read more »
Infrastructure deals indicate cellcos’ willingness to continue investing in messaging
There may have been fewer attendees at Mobile World Congress this year, but from the point of view of the economic health of the telecoms sector, that may not necessarily have been a bad thing. In the downturn, companies are focusing on reducing their extraneous costs which means that they could justify sending to MWC only those of their employees who would be able to generate the most value from attending. Little wonder then, that a consensus is emerging that there were fewer tyre-kickers at this year’s show, but that there was still a reasonable amount of business being done.
Low-cost US operators feel the pinch too
US-based flat rate operators are used to relatively low ARPU from the cost-conscious prepaid segment, but even they are feeling the pinch, as cash-strapped subscribers seek to economize. Read more »
Developers face pricing and fragmentation quandaries as app-store bandwagon rolls
Application stores are becoming a trend among handset manufacturers and mobile operators, appearing to bode well for application developers, which have traditionally been neglected in the mobile content value chain. But developers are faced with a host of dilemmas regarding pricing and development costs as firms rush to launch their app-store offerings. Read more »
Community features in Mobile Services are driving uptake of Mobile Content
The last two years have seen mobile social networking and community based services and applications receiving growing attention and investment from the mobile industry.
In September 2008, Informa Telecoms & Media conducted the annual Mobile Content & Services Industry Survey. Of the 307 telecom industry professionals who participated in the survey, 71% believed that social networking & community services will have a significant impact on driving P2P uptake of mobile content. Read more »
Need a job? Call Skype
The current economic crisis is producing winners as well as losers and likely represents a seismic shift regarding the business models that will come to dominate world economies in the coming decade. This was obvious at the microcosm that is the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
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