Daily Marauder

WIRELESS

While mobile programmers still find themselves frustrated by the lack of standards and limited by carriers’ restrictive walled garden environments, hope sprung eternal at the NATPE Mobile ++ event that Google’s new open platform Android system would shake up the industry. More than 7,000 developers have taken Google up on its $10 million challenge to develop new innovative apps for the mobile operating system since submissions began Jan. 2. The company is now thinking of the extending the March 3 deadline to encourage more sophisticated apps, according to Google Director of Mobile Diana Pouliot. Meanwhile handsets running the Android platform are due out during the second half of 2008. Japan’s biggest carrier NTT DoCoMo announced plans to release a line of Android phones yesterday.

According to a new report issued by Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, one million iPhones of the 3.75 million sold have been unlocked to run on non-official networks. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/29/one-million-unlocked-iphones-beautiful  1/29)

ITV developer Zodiac Interactive launched a new mobile content search engine for cable and satellite TV, gaming platforms and next-generation DVD players dubbed Zodigo. It features a discovery/preference algorithm enabling users to find mobile content on multiple platforms and instantly download it to their mobile phones.

Original mobile content creator Intersport will launch the Spanish-language “En Espanol” mobile channel on the Sprint TV platform next month, its 4th channel carried exclusively by Sprint in the U.S. Intersport’s original entertainment, sports and music-themed destinations quickly became the most viewed channels on Sprint TV after launching last September, according to Jason Coyle, President, Digital Media for Intersport.

U.S. Mobile Video Subscribers
Quarter     # of subscribers     % of all mobile subscribers
Q3 2006        5.7 million                       2.6%
Q4 2006        6.9 million                       3.0%
Q1 2007        8.4 million                       3.6%
Q2 2007       11.8 million                      5.0%
Q3 2007       13.2 million                      5.5%
Source: Nielsen Mobile Q3 2007 Mobile Video report

Leading Mobile Video Channels by Monthly Penetration of Mobile Video Subs
Programmer                          % of penetration
The Weather Channel                     30%
NBC                                              29%
Fox News                                      25%
Fox Sports                                     22%
Discovery Channel                          22%
ESPN                                             22%
Comedy Time                                 18%
ABC News                                      17%
CNN                                              17%
MTV                                              16%
Source: Nielsen Mobile Q3 2007 Mobile Video report