Archive for June, 2008
‘Love Guru’ on Mobile gaming find your love
Player X are going to be bringing us the mobile game of the new Mike Myers vee-hicle called “The Love Guru”. From the looks of things we could be on to a good one here, as it’s not going to be a standard-fare platformer/shooter, but rather a series of mini-games where players have to pass “mental challenges” …
Mike Myers cracks me up by the way - the new film looks extremely funny, and given Myers’ penchant for wicked-good accents, this should be a cracker - check out the official movie site here, and Player X’s site here.
UK Mobile video and TV take up low
QuickPlay Media has revealed the results of an independent survey focused on mobile TV and video consumption in the UK. The research found that there are several barriers preventing people from consuming TV and video content on their mobile phones, including a lack of awareness of the mobile TV and video services offered (44%) and cost (33%) – more highlights below:
- Nearly half of respondents (44%) do not know if their mobile operator even offers a mobile TV and video service and a third (33%) of those questioned cited cost as the main barrier for not accessing mobile TV
- Two-thirds (65%) of consumers said they are willing to watch an advertisement on their mobile phone in order to access free or discounted TV and video content
- 41% of consumers have already watched TV or videos on a mobile phone, with 18% of those consumers watching more than once a week
The demand for consumers to watch mobile TV is apparently there, with 65 percent of respondents stating that they are willing to spend time watching an advertisement if it meant that the mobile TV or video content they consume is free or discounted.
Quickplay, as a Mobile TV/video CMS and service delivery provider, clearly have a vested interest in the results of the survey - however, they do have a point. Whilst the infrastructure is now getting to the point of being able to carry these sorts of services, the charging plans (be it ad-subsidised or unlimited plans) are a little bit slower catching up. From the data above, people need these in place - along with a hefty dose of marketing it would appear!
If you want to read the full survey results you can go here.
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Saucy SMS could land you in Jail Scots gone mad
The Register is reporting on a new Sexual Offences Bill just published in Scotland, which means that people can face up to 10 YEARS in jail for sending SMS/MMS/emails with (inappropriate) sexual content…
The offence will be committed if someone sends an unsolicited text message to someone else which a court finds was designed to give the sender sexual gratification or to humiliate, distress or alarm the receiver. Causing a person to see or hear an indecent communication is also an offence. It can be committed by reading “a passage in a book or magazine” or by communicating the sounds of actual or simulated sexual activity or by communicating in sign language.
Of course, there is going to be an element of judgement as to where a message crosses from being flirty to abusive or humiliating - and given modern language in use in this country, I wouldn’t like to be the person/people responsible for that decision - nuance are everything in a language, and English certain has it’s share of them!
[Via: The Register]
Nokia to launch ‘Ad Labs’
Nokia is apparently going to open a series of “Ad Labs”, to train traditional ad agency staff in the ways of mobile advertising - hopefully catalysing the relatively dormant sector. The Labs will open initially in those boltholes of Advertising, London, and Boston.
Obviously we know that Nokia acquirted Enpocket last year to further it’s advertising ambitions - so this marks another key step forward in the software and services strategy now in place. Enpocket will surely form the cornerstone of this “Ad Labs” push.
The first step for Ad Lab will be to work with Nokia’s global agency partners, which include WPP-owned JWT, Wieden & Kennedy, Lowe Worldwide, RG/A and MediaCom.
[Via: The Guardian]
Motorola lost 1.3 million RAZR customers to iPhone
IntoMobile,Motorola lost 1.3 million RAZR customers to iPhone,
While the floundering handset once-juggernaut tries to fool itself and the public that a commendation for “teamwork” is as important as actually pumping out handsets that are worth anyone’s time, it seems Motorola has proved, once again, that “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
Oh yes, Motorola was once huge. They were a global handset manufacturer to be reckoned with. The Motorola RAZR turned the industry on its head and every manufacturer worth their salt scurried to produce a slim handset that could compete with the RAZR. But, after years of milking the same RAZR-cow, Motorola has ended up with nothing more than memories and regrets.
The latest handset manufacturer to hit the scene and stir up the pot is Apple. The Apple iPhone has shocked the handset industry in to yet another scramble for sleek touchscreens with clean lines and intuitive UIs. Alas, the same folks that were drawn to the Motorola RAZR’s gotta-have factor and sleek design have reportedly jumped ship to the new hotness from Apple.
A recent JD Power survey found that a full 24% of Motorola RAZR users (20,000 users polled) decided to ditch their aging and barely functional clamshell to the huge multi-touch display on the Apple iPhone. Now, with 5.4 million iPhones sold to date, that the survey points to 1.3 million former RAZR customers fully embracing the iPhone.
Sure, the original iPhone has its flaws, but RAZR-lovers have apparently seen past the lack of features and are now enjoying their iPhone. Which begs the question, how many more RAZR-defectors will the iPhone 3G attract?
In the end, this should be yet another message to Motorola. Get your act together and concentrate on the high-end. Give consumers something to really get excited about. A 5 megapixel Kodak camera is great, but when you leave out 3G data connectivity, and keep it locked in to Asia, you’re not going to recoup those R&D costs. Of course, Apple left 3G out of the original iPhone, so you might be thinking it was acceptable on the ZN5 - but then you’d be wrong. The iPhone has so much more going for it that EDGE is acceptable. The Motorola ZN5? Not as much.
Concentrate on keeping customers for the short-term. Customer defections are going to drive you in to the ground. Prioritize handset development for the long-term - and ditch all your preconceived notions of success, the RAZR model no longer applies.
There’s nothing I want to do more than write about Motorola’s fantastic turn-around and successes. Please let me do that.
[Via: InformationWeek]
Sprint’s Motorola Q9 / Q9c gone for good?
First things first: this isn’t the first time (in the past quarter) that we’ve seen a handset vanish from Sprint’s website, only to get fanboys riled up and it reappear days later when stock refreshed. That being said, quite a few Q9 / Q9c users are thinking the smartphone may be gone for good from The Now Network. For starters, neither phone is listed on Sprint’s website. Furthermore, we’re hearing reports that “discontinuation” has been confirmed by a number of Sprint representatives, though no official word seems to have leaked out just yet. Curiously enough, the carrier just posted the Windows Mobile 6.1 update for the Q9c earlier this month, giving us at least a reason to believe the lights aren’t shut out entirely just yet.
Video: Samsung’s Soulful dinosaur takes tour around England
Remember that not-entirely-innocent looking prehistoric creature that won your heart immediately upon viewing Samsung’s optical illusion promotional vid? Apparently quite a few folks demanded to see more of the Soul dinosaur, so Sammy hoisted him up onto a truck and proceeded to drive around a few English towns. Catch the sub-2 minute journey (reactions included) just after the break.
Gilded Samsung D780 is official for Russian Olympic team
Samsung Soul in fresh and frosty pink
Mental health clinic treats children for cellphone addiction
Not like we haven’t seen individuals diagnosed with cellphone addiction before, but two kids in Spain were so badly obsessed with their mobiles that they weaseled money from relatives to buy more airtime, began to fail classes and eventually wound up in a mental health clinic. The kids, aged 12 and 13, were reportedly spending around six hours per day talking, texting or playing games, presumably making them the perfect candidates for Sprint’s Simply Everything plan. All jesting aside, doctors in the institution suggest that it could take a full year to wean them off of the “drug,” as they each have become practically incapable of living a “normal” life without constantly interfacing with their handsets. Ai caramba.
