Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Global Positioning System, GPS, London, Mobile phone, Nokia, Ovi, Rihanna, Twitter
Nokia is partnering with Island Def Jam Music and UMG International artist Rihanna to promote its new X6 handset, which ships with Nokia’s Comes With Music unlimited streaming service. Rihanna will perform select tracks from her new album “Rated R” in London on Nov. 16, and the show will be broadcast live at nokia.com/rihanna and streamed to Nokia handsets. The site will also feature UGC-uploaded videos shot by attendees via their Nokia X6 phones. Nokia will make an exclusive Rihanna application and exclusive footage from her London gig available at the Ovi Store and in selected territories, as well as an exclusive window to the track, ‘Wait Your Turn’ from the album before its release. (Cynopsis11/9)
Can someone send me a Nokia phone so I can watch? I never realized how adorable her accent is.
Twitter plans to unveil a “geolocation” feature that will make the flood of tweets on a particular subject more relevant. Twitter will employ GPS on cellphones to allow users to include a precise location with each tweet. “Proximity can be this proxy for relevance.” (Iwantmedia11/9, NYT11/9)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, Apple, Business, HTC Magic, LG Electronics, Mobile phone, Research In Motion, Smartphone
While other carriers might finally be dipping their toes in the Android water this month, T-Mobile has been in this game for a long time. They got their first Android phone (the G1) out last October, and managed to launch two more (the myTouch and the CLIQ) within the year. It makes sense, then, that they’re the first to pipe up with some usage details. (Mobilecrunch11/4)
If you’re determined to shake down some deals during the mother of all U.S. shopping days, then forgive the cliche when we tell you there’s an app for that. Powered by dealnews, the just-released version 2 of their Black Friday app (iTunes link) adds a number of new features for bargain hunters. (Mashable11/4)
LG Electronics, the world’s third-largest cell phone maker, is eyeing sales gains of 20% this year and in 2010, Skott Ahn, the CEO of its mobile-device business, said. At a separate event Tuesday, LG Electronics CEO Yong Nam said the company was “investing heavily” in smartphones, adding that, “We’re not yet there but we’ll get there.” Nam said LG saw companies such as Apple and Research in Motion, rather than fellow handset makers, as its chief competition. Reuters (11/3) , The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (11/4)
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Filed under: Feature | Tags: Business and Economy, Communications, Consumer electronics, Mobile phone, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Ringtone, Shopping, Vodafone, WIRELESS
ONLINE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: MOBILE PHONE SYMPHONY
1,000 phones using 53 separate ringtones created Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture. Simply brilliant. In essence, musician/producer Jol Mulholland recorded different sections (strings, percussion, etc) as separate ringtones on separate phones and then banded them back together. Pretty genius sh-t… The video was created as part of Vodafone NZ’s marketing efforts.
The Making Of Video
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- Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture reconstructed from 1000 cellphones, 2000 text alerts (video) (engadget.com)
- Vodafone Symphonia played on 1000 phones with 53 different ringtones (textually.org)
- Amazing: Classical Music Piece Reconstructed With 1000 Phones [Video] (mashable.com)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: App Store, Business, Business and Economy, Consumer electronics, LG Electronics, Mobile phone, Nike, Television
Sportswear giant Nike has a nifty application in the App Store that allows you to create custom sneakers and order them straight away, with just a couple of taps. The app is in fact a mobile extension NIKEid, a program that allows customer to order personalized Nike shoes straight from the manufacturer. And an excellent extension it is. (Mobilecrunch10/22)
LG Electronics reported a stronger-than-expected quarter thanks to solid business of mobile phones and TV sets, but the world’s third-largest handset maker is eyeing a downbeat fourth quarter because of currency issues, increased marketing costs and pricing pressure. Handset sales in the third quarter reached 31.6 million units, which was up from 29.8 million in the previous three-month period, but profit margins fell from 11% to 8.8% for its phones because of competition and marketing costs. Reuters (10/21)
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Filed under: Feature | Tags: Digital Hollywood, Hulu, iTunes, Mobile content, Mobile phone, Netflix, Television, YouTube
MOBILE MOVIES ON THE GO: MSPOT
Just launched about a month ago now, mSpot allows consumers the opportunity to watch movies on 30 phones domestically. Interested in taking in Zach and Miri Make a Porno? Now, you can introduce your fellow train mates to comedy nudity as well. Incidentally speaking, this was the movie playing when mSpot was demoed to me. Currently, over 350 movies are available on the service and a few TV shows as well.
The business model:
I had the opportunity to sit down with Darren Tsui , CEO of mSpot, today at Digital Hollywood LA. The service in available both in a rental and monthly subscription model ($4.99/movie and $9.99/month for 4 movies). When asked why the service wasn’t available in an unlimited monthly Netflix type of model, Tsui responded that this model wasn’t compatible with the way studios make money on their content.
I questioned viewers’ desire to watch full length movies on a cell phone. Tsui responded that this was more of a challenge two years ago but not at this point. Of the audience using the service, consumers tend to rent rather than subscribing via the monthly model.
The competion:
The other players in this space include iTunes, and possibly if rumors are true and you know they are, the Hulu, YouTube, and Netflix apps to come. mSpot attempts to differentiate itself from iTunes with a streaming content model. “People don’t plan when they want to watch something,” Tsui tells me. In essence, iTunes requires some forethought to download the content in advance whereas mSpot is available on the go. That said, clearly iTunes has its advantages in its ability to allow viewers to watch on planes, subways, and anywhere else where cell service isn’t available…like the panel rooms at Digital Hollywood.
To come:
Currently the service is only available as a mobile website but applications are sure to come.
Marauder Weigh-In:
I continue to wonder how many people will truly watch full length movies on any type of mobile service…only because I would never do such a thing if offered the option between my laptop and my phone. That said, I’m not a parent and I clearly see the advantages that this platform offers the parental units.
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- Review: mSpot Mobile Movie Streaming (geardiary.com)
- mSpot Launches Web-Based Mobile Movie Streaming Service (techcrunch.com)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Business, Business and Economy, Jerome Kern, Mobile, Mobile phone, Playboy, Playboy Enterprises, Telecommunications
Playboy “is all about the brand,” says interim CEO Jerome Kern, who plans to extend that brand into other platforms, such as mobile-phone wallpaper. While the print magazine is “important,” he adds, “the company cannot continue to sustain significant losses.” (Iwantmedia 5/14, http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-wed_phil_column_0513may13,0,1816984.column 5/13)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: AT&T, iPhone, Microsoft, Mobile phone, Nokia, Research In Motion, Smartphone, Wall Street Journal
The rise of the mobile-app market has helped send the popularity of games soaring, according to a new AT&T-sponsored survey that found 57% of cell phone users are gamers — with more than half of those playing at work. AT&T also released a list of the 10 most popular games and applications that were downloaded on its network from January to March. The Wall Street Journal (5/5) , TMCNet.com (5/5)
Say you’re a wireless carrier with an exclusive deal on the hottest wireless device with the most popular application store. What do you do? Well, up until now, AT&T’s answer has been basically nothing. It had released zero apps taking advantage of the fast growing iPhone platform. Today, it finally got around to releasing one. (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/05/05/att-finally-releases-what-should-have-been-the-first-iphone-app 5/5)
Developers planning to write for Microsoft‘s new mobile market should forget about VoIP applications and programs that change the phone’s default browser or allow users to shop at rival app stores. Those are among the 12 rules Microsoft has spelled out for the downloadable-apps market the company is expected to launch — along with an operating system upgrade — in the second half of the year. PCWorld/IDG News Service (5/5)
AT&T is putting some of its smartphones on a diet: The carrier said Monday that it would begin selling in early summer Research in Motion‘s new BlackBerry Curve 8900 — at 0.53 inches deep, the phone is said to be RIM’s thinnest full-QWERTY release ever — and has put Nokia‘s new e71x on sale for $100. At 0.39 inches in depth, the Nokia 3G-enabled handset might be the world’s slimmest and is the first keyboard-equipped phone that Nokia has released in the U.S. in more than two years. TWICE (5/4) , xchange (5/4)
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