IpTV EVANGELIST: Mobile

iPhone Bombs in China at Launch

2009-11-04T16:35:33Z

As reported in Silicon Alley Insider, the iPhone only moved 5k units in its roll-out week in China. I'd say 2-million unlocked phones is likely a major reason for the poor showing but I'm just a cynic..

Free NJIT Online iPhone Application Development Course

2009-10-27T21:14:12Z

NJIT: New Jersey's Science & Technology University is offering a free on-line development course for budding iPhone developers who want to take their idea and turn it into a working product. As listed on their site: Have an idea for an iPhone application, but don't know how to make it happen or can't afford to take a course? NJIT will offer free tuition for an online iPhone application development non-credit course. The 10-week online course will begin Oct. 19, 2009. An NJIT instructor will teach it and students who successfully complete it will receive three continuing education units from NJIT. The 30-hour, online training course teaches computer-savvy students how to design and implement iPhone and iPod Touch software using the Apple software development kit. They will learn how to create and deploy iPhone and iTouch applications on the software simulator and hardware devices. Participants will be encouraged to practice submitting their applications to the Apple AppStore because the apps can potentially be offered by Apple as paid, downloadable commercial software packages. Fifteen applicants will be selected and preference given to those unemployed and underemployed in the northern New Jersey region. Applicants not eligible for free tuition still may register for this or future classes and pay tuition by visiting http://online.njit.edu. The next class begins Nov. 30, 2009.

Mary Meeker on Internet Sector Growth

2009-10-21T14:48:31Z

A new report from Morgan Stanley and Internet Analyst Mary Meeker on the financial state and trends of the Internet and mobile. Mary Meeker's Internet Presentation 2009

Mobile start-ups thrive in Israel

2008-12-15T16:43:59Z

By combining engineering talent, access to capital and a start-up friendly environment, Israeli companies have made their country a leader in the mobile media sector. But ICQ founder and Angel investor Yossi Vardi has a different and more light-hearted explanation: the Jewish mother. "Nobody is harder to satisfy than a Jewish mother," he said, relaying an old joke: Q: How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb? A: (In despondent, motherly voice) Don't worry about me...I'll just sit here in the dark. According to the Israeli Export Institute, Israel has the world's highest proportion of scientists and engineers with postgraduate education: 135 per 10,000, compared to 78 per 10,000 in the United States. Many engineers were first exposed to advanced communications technologies during their mandatory three-year military service, followed by degrees at world-class engineering universities such as Technion, Tel Aviv and Bar Ilan. Today, in addition to home-grown players in the sector such as Comverse, Amdocs and IDB, more than 30 multi-national companies including Microsoft, Motorola, Cisco, HP and Texas Instruments, operate telco-related R&D facilities in Israel. This has created a pool of seasoned technologists with relevant expertise. Another factor is access to risk-capital. Despite the global recession, 462 Israeli hi-tech companies raised moe than $1.75 billion last year--the most in six years and an eight percent increase over 2006 according to the Israeli Export Institute. Communications continues to be the sector with the most investment, representing 21 percent of all investment. More than half (61 percent) of that came from global venture capital companies with a local presence, such as Benchmark, Sequoia and Accel. The result is that Israel, with a population of only 7 million, ranks second in the world (after the United States) in funds raised by technology start-ups, according to the World Economic Forum, and third (after the United States and Canada) in number of NASDAQ-listed companies. Take a stroll around the cafes of Hamenofim Street in Hertzelia Pituach (the Sand Hill Road of Israel) and you are just as likely to hear conversations in English or Russian as in Hebrew. The start-up scene has benefited greatly from immigration. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, more than one million Russian Jews have settled in Israel, many of them with technical skills. Jon Medved, CEO of video ringtone enabler Vringo, and a transplant from the United States himself, likened it to the Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. "Immigrants are natural entrepreneurs... these people are making a start-up of their entire lives." The greatest challenge for Israeli mobile media companies is scaling operations without a significant domestic market. Although Israel has more than 100 percent total mobile penetration, ARPU of $48 and 12 percent of handsets quantified as smartphones, the largest mobile operator (Cellcom) has only three million subscribers. According to Ofir Leitner, founder of the Tel Aviv chapter of Mobile Monday, a global networking community for the mobile sector, "most start-ups view local operators as a beta site. They provide a reference point but you don't expect to get rich from it." As a result, Israeli start-ups, including Amobee (which provides mobile carriers with an advertising platform) and Jajah (consumer VOIP), maintain R&D in Israel but company headquarters are in Silicon Valley. Eventually, where to locate constitutes an important decision for all Israeli early-stage companies. Cellogic, which enables access to preferred mobile content with one-touch on the dormant screen, is typical. Although co-founder Justin Oberman is based in New York, co-founders Itamar Weisbrod and Avi Elias are debating whether to relocate all operations to the United States. One defining characteristic of the Israeli mobile start-up scene is the quantity of repeat entrepreneurs. Avi Shechter, general manager of mobile Internet service and community provider Fring, previously founded ICQ. "Provided lessons are learned from mistakes along the way, the journey is considered as valuable as the destination," Shecter said. "It may take a few wrong turns but there is always an answer." Similarly, my6sense co-founders Barak Hachamov (seven start-ups) and Avinoam Rubinstain (three start-ups) have learned a few things along the way. "We lived though recessions. My6Sense is focusing like a laser... one platform and one market," Hachamov said. The company uses artificial intelligence technology to bring personalized "digital intuition" toward finding the most relevant mobile content. This ability to focus has allowed several Israeli mobile media start-ups launched during the last technology boom in 2000 to thrive in the present. For example, Infogin spent the previous eight years focused on developing technologies for delivering rich web experiences to any mobile device. Now Infogin works with carriers such as Telefonica and partners such as Microsoft, AOL and Comverse. Similarly, World Mate, which started eight years ago as a developer of PDA applications, eventually found an attractive niche in the mobile travel sector. Last month, the company announced a strategic investment from the Blackberry Partners Fund. World Mate CEO Nadav Gur says, "travel is the largest ecommerce vertical. World Mate is bringing all of that functionality and convenience to mobile." Another company that flourished during Mobile 1.0 is Mobixell. Focusing on the MMS user experience helped Mobixell win deployments with more than 250 mobile operators across the globe, including Vodafone, Verizon and Telefonica. Now Avichai Levy, executive vice president of marketing at Mobixell, wants to "help our carrier partners in other high-growth multimedia segments, particularly mobile advertising and mobile television." One disadvantage with the focus on the U.S. market is the lack of traction for many Israeli mobile media companies in Asia. Eyal Reshef, who heads the Israeli Mobile Association-an industry trade association dedicated to assisting Israeli-based mobile companies with business development overseas-has led delegations to India and the Far East. Not all companies have ignored Asia though. Clip in Touch, which was founded by multimedia veteran Rami Reshef with investment from Indigo founder Benny Landa, secured partnerships with Sina.com and other Asian content portals. "One thing is for sure," Reshef said. "Everybody wants to be Steven Spielberg." The service allows users to develop personalized content for web and mobile messaging. Similarly, Todacell, which has a platform for off-portal mobile advertising, has set up its only overseas office in Tokyo. According to Zvi Eshel, Todacell's vice president of products, Todacell has focused heavily on Japan's mobile advertising market from its inception. Israeli mobile media start-ups need global partnerships and relationships to survive. Before entering into a partnership, it is recommended to conduct business over a meal. There is a Jewish saying, "worries go down better with soup."

14 Days With My G1, Decision Time

2008-11-04T04:10:44Z

There are uber numbers of in-depth columns and video reviews of the HTC G1 so this is not going to be one of them, just sharing my 14-days with a G1. My LG VX-8000 on the Verizon network was on its last legs so I decided to switch to T-Mobile with the belief that their network had matured, this since my friend went with their service two years ago. I have a 15-day trial period which ends tomorrow from which to decide if I want to keep the service and get locked into a two-year contract. It is going to come right down to the wire as I am the undecided voter when it comes to my choice for the next two years. Android The platform is very nice and suits my style of working and accessing information. I did not need the manual as pretty much everything is intuitive and easy to navigate. There are some hidden tricks which I found from a well informed and nice rep at the store. More importantly, its platform openness jives with my sense that the market should decide which apps rise and fall, not one guy in Silicon Valley, kinda like a free market guy here. So, the OS and UI has been a positive experience... The Device Here I have mixed feelings, I like the basic form factor however, the plastic seems somewhat cheap and I'd prefer a nice metal back and side bezels. I did wrap the device right away with a Zagg protective set. It does work however, you'll need a degree in wrapping or hands of a surgeon to make it all perfect. Also, from a functional perspective and having had a Blackberry I am use to a keyboard no matter that its not perfect with that hump on the right. So, could be better here but workable and more importantly, its not hunt and peck... The Network Well no mixed feelings here, I am not happy with the T-Mobile network no matter how much it may have improved over the past two years. I am located in and around the number one market in the country, New York City. Since last Saturday their 3G network has been down and I've had problems with making and receiving calls. Something happening in Brooklyn that crashed the network, this according to their technical support reps that have all been professional. I've had people call to get recordings that my device is not registered on the network, yikes Batman. I've had dropped calls and even found they had dinged my minutes for all my tech support calls. To their credit, they put it all back and more however, I am left with a dilemma. So, unlike the election, I am left with no good choices here.... Do I go back to Verizon, the company with the most boring devices on the market bar none? (Though the RIM Storm is due out in a couple of weeks, pricing not announced, and will I like its slow browser and virtual keyboard?) Do I unlock my G1, pay the full rate for the platform and bring it back to Verizon which at least has a solid network, or do I stick it out with the hope that T-Mobile is going through adolescences and they will come out of it soon? Decisions, decisions, figuring out who to vote for President today was a snap compared to this...

Mobile Advertisers Demand Unified Measurement Standards

2008-10-30T17:40:01Z

image c. Fotolio By Levi Shapiro It doesn't take a vivid imagination to predict what the No. 1 topic will be after the November election: the weak economy and how to improve return on investments. While a slow-down in advertising spending represents an unprecedented opportunity to migrate ad dollars to the mobile space, that will not happen until standardized measurement systems are in place. For example, last month Chrysler's CMO Deborah Meyer announced 30 percent of the embattled car-company's ad-spend will move to digital. Unfortunately, it was also reported spending for "experimental" platforms, including mobile, would be cut in half. Mobile advertising desperately needs a unified measurement standard to help brands, agencies and publishers quantify ROI. History suggests the process is slow. Although the first TV commercial aired July 1, 1941 (a 10-second billboard with voice-over for Bulova during a baseball game), it was 10 more years before the A.C. Nielsen Company's Audimeter became the industry's recognized standard for television audience measurement. For their part, agencies are frustrated. "What is most glaringly absent is a mobile equivalent of persistent cookie tracking," said Dr. Yaakov Kimelfeld, senior vice president and director of Analytics at Mediavest. "Without unified tracking, mobile campaigns are destined to exist in some parallel world." He also said he believes online criteria, like click-throughs and downloads, "play only a marginal role in decisions to increase mobile budgets. The metrics that matter vary in each case, depending on the campaign."]]> Ben Ezrick, a senior strategist of digital innovation at Ogilvy Interactive, notes the degree of internal analysis and manpower required for each mobile campaign. "Currently we have to aggregate data from multiple sources. It is literally twice the work." Lacking a shared industry measurement system, publishers of downloadable applications provide their own metrics. "Certain things, you have to develop yourself," said Treemo CEO Brent Brookler. "At this point, I won't rely 100 percent on someone else's metrics." Similarly, TapaTap is a mobile social gaming community that monetizes through subscriptions. "The key challenge with third parties has consistently been measuring unique visitors," TapaTap President Andy Riedel said. "We track it ourselves. This is not overly difficult but time consuming." So what are the options for publishers and agencies? Pricing models range from free to "free-mium" to subscription. Solutions measure downloadable applications, mobile web or both. Finally, depending on the vendor, the focus may be on publishers, agencies or carriers. Bango brings extensive carrier insights and relationships from nine years as a mobile billing vendor. The service is oriented toward publishers and free, up to a certain traffic threshold. Ray Anderson, CEO of Bango, said he feels Bango's data set is more comprehensive because of contributory data from select, but un-named, carrier partners. Mobile ad-buy network AdMob also offers a free mobile web product. Jason Spero, vice president of marketing, explains, "this is a free product to encourage large publishers and advertisers to make more ad-buys." Amethon takes a carrier-centric approach. Founder and CEO Michael Stone brings 15 years of carrier-sales experience from Ericsson. The company is already partnering with a major Australian network operator. "Carriers want to understand what their mobile broadband data usage looks like." These are extensive server-side implementations, analyzing the TCP IP traffic in real time and using that to build an analytics picture. Mobilytics is a free service for the first 45 days, followed by monthly subscription. CEO Greg Harris said he wants publishers and developers "to see the parts of your site or application that are being used, how they are being used and then plan your product and resources accordingly." Pinch Media is free but only measures downloadables on the iPhone. This includes unique visitors (through hardware ID), number of sessions, length of usage, user break-outs, geo-location, application version, device used, bounce metrics, frequency distribution and other publisher-centric metrics. Flurry is a free tool for downloadable mobile applications on iPhone, Android, and Java (representing over 1,200 handsets). Flurry's revenue model is to apply these analytics toward selling a portion of your inventory to agencies, brands and ad-networks. "Everyone gains from better behavioral, technical and advertising information," said Simon Khalaf, Flurry's CEO. Other than Google analytics, the 800-pound gorilla in online measurement, there is Omniture, a company projecting $300 million annual revenue, 4,700 customers and 95 percent customer retention. Omniture recently launched Site Catalyst to integrate mobile and online web measurement. "Site Catalyst is meant to bring the same insights for both the mobile and fixed channels," said Matt Langie, senior director of web analytics products for Omniture. The solution is comprehensive but too expensive for many independent publishers. It is not clear yet which solution will emerge as the "industry standard." What is certain is the need for a shared standard for measuring and articulating mobile audience. Until then, brands and agencies will spend their money elsewhere.

Android T-Mobile G1 Press Conference

2008-09-23T17:00:40Z

September 23, 2008, New York City. This morning, the first Android based mobile device is being rolled out. Based on Google's operating platform, the Android G1 is aiming to assimilate users who might otherwise look to the iPhone. To view the press conference, visit: Andriod Press Conference For more information about development, see: Android - Open Handset Alliance Project For more information about HTC, Visit: HTC Press Release HTC Specs on G1, visit G1 Specs Additional Coverage about Android at BBC News ]]> edgeboss.net The G1 seems on paper, and video to be the first real challenge to the iPhone with the added benefit of a full qwerty keyboard for those of us who have been hooked on the Blackberry. According to Cole Brodman. Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at T-Mobile, the G1 will see its commercial launch on October 22nd. Some other important information to know about a T-Mobile contract: The unit will retail for $179.00 The company will offer two tiered plans for data and messaging $25.00 per month for unlimited web with some messaging $35.00 per month for unlimited web and messaging When I spoke to a company rep however, I was told the G1 would fall into the same category as other HTC units, namely $19.99 for what they call Total Internet. You have 30-days to try the phone or return it You have 20-days to accept the contract Some other questions on the technical side include how well the 3G network will work as there are 21 planned cities and two regions. Metropolitan areas with T-Mobile's 3G - coverage by October 22, 2008: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Long Island, NY, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New England, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle T-Mobile has had a reputation of offering lower cost at the expense of voice and reception quality, this from the people I know who have had their service over the past two years. While I would expect an improvement over that time, working in the canyons of New York City I can attest to call quality issues with both Verizon and AT&T who have more robust networks.

WiMax, Advertising Goes Here

2008-09-21T13:17:38Z

iStock ™ Rod Serling, producer of "The Twilight Zone" television series once commented, "It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is incisive and probing when every twelve minutes is interrupted by 12 dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper". Although we may not like advertising, the reality is that a variety of the most successful video delivery platforms, from television to the internet to mobile, have reached their success when pricing was reduced through advertising. The upcoming national launch of WiMax (the next generation of mobile broadband) in the United States presents an opportunity for content owners to reach audiences on any device, anywhere. Low pricing, supported through advertising, can help spur the adoption of WiMax. WiMax is often called "Wi-Fi on steroids". While Wi-Fi is a short-range system that uses unlicensed spectrum and does not assure Quality of Service, WiMAX is long-range, covering many kilometers, uses licensed spectrum and provides guaranteed Quality of Service. That can be at 60mph in your car, your laptop, your phone or any other device with an Internet connection. ]]> Wiggle your toe if you heard this "all content, all the time" song-and-dance before. In spite of the deluge of press releases from the wireless carriers over the last few years, the present 3G network is still like "sipping through a straw", says Tim Sweeney, Director of Mobile WiMax at Intel. "Consumers should not have to distinguish between the mobile Internet and the Internet". Intel, together with Motorola, literally drove that point home this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The press was regaled with YouTube clips in a car, delivered via WiMax, while driving at 45mph. "More powerful microprocessors and high-speed WiMAX wireless networks will bring a new era of the full Internet on mobile devices". Sprint Nextel plans to allocate 200 Megahertz toward a nationwide WiMax joint venture with Clearwire that values the entity at USD 15 billion. Sprint has 51 percent ownership, Clearwire 27 percent with Intel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Google holding the rest. For once agreeing with the press, Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, cited his experience of watching a broadband-delivered video clip at 50 mph in Portland as a reason for choosing to invest. The initial metropolitan launch will be in Baltimore in September, followed by Chicago and Washington, DC. According to Barry Davis, Executive Director of Product Planning at Clearwire, "next year the service will cover a population of 60-80 million people, then 120-140 million in 2010". According to John Butler, CFO of Clearwire, the company estimates it will have 30.7 million subscribers by 2017, with coverage of 220 million people. Today, the company has 450,000 subscribers. Of course, previous joint ventures among the media titans have not exactly scorched the heavens. "The difference this time", promises Davis, "is that our partners own their own customers. Nobody cares more about a Comcast customer than Comcast". Similarly, Mike Roudi, Head of Wireless at Time Warner Cable, told CNET "with Clearwire, we will control the customer relationship including the service and phones. We will handle pricing, marketing, customer care, and billing." The only major roll-out to date has been in Korea, where consumer adoption has been slower than expected. Back in 2006, Korea Telecom and SK Telecom launched their own version, called WiBro, using Intel's WiMax standard. Because of technical hurdles, rights issues, limited marketing, limited dual band devices and costly subscriptions, as of 1Q Korea Telecom has achieved only 145,000 WiBro subscribers. Consumers have shown far more interest in free services like multi-user gaming and high-speed internet than a-la-carte video services. According to HJ Ahn, CEO of Synergy Holdings in Seoul and formerly head of IPTV for Korea Telecom, "its not enough to just be a pipeline on top of the network. You need truly unique content that is reasonably priced. The regulatory environment does not permit extensive advertising". Dave Poltrack, EVP & Chief Research Officer of CBS Corporation, espouses an advertising-supported model for CBS's broadband video content, includng WiMax. "Ad-supported works. CBS can reach a larger audience and get a better return by using advertising". Clearwire and its wholsalee partners have not yet publicly announced pricing for the WiMax service. However, video is potentially an important component of that offering. In addition to video, entertainment might also include localizied, personalized, and location-based content. Other services will include residential voice and residential broadband, mobile voice and mobile broadband. that can complement the living room with devices such as PCs, portable media players and car systems. However, entertainment is potentially the most lucrative of these services. US households spend nearly five times the amount for entertainment than they do for broadband and telco. Moreover, the cable companies are deeply immersed in a no-holds barred war with the telcos to capture quad-play (video, broadband, mobile, voice) customers. In markets where telcos offer IPTV, there has been significantly greater consumer take-up than cable companies' VOIP voice offerings. Communications services available on WiMax already available include Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk applications. As a "preferred vendor", YouTube may ultimately come preloaded on relevant devices. Google invested because it desperately needs a mobile internet running on an open operating system and requiring lots of searches. Google has championed an open-source, mobile operating system called Android. Verizon and AT&T use their own proprietary operating systems and have been reluctant to adopt handsets that run on Android. WiMax would finally provide Android with a large addressable universe of mobile broadband users. Google engineer Dan Morill wrote on the Android Internals discussion board, "Android has two goals: First, to be an excellent mobile platform on its merits, and second, to be open and open source". Google's $500 million investment (a pittance compared to the USD 4.6 billion they bid for spectrum earlier this year) ensures the Android operating system software, which still lacks a US wireless carrier partner, will be available to those 30 million WiMax subscribers. Ka-Ching!! What is less clear is how content owners will monetize in this new environment. Rick Robinson, VP Business Development and Planning for Sprint's XOHM division, does not pretend to know which services will resonate with WiMax subscribers. "We can set the stage but the best thing is to make it easy for consumers and then follow. In an un-tethered environment, we may see a fundamental shift in the form of video content, for both creating and consuming content. Already we are seeing new devices, at a variety of price points and in various form factors, enabling the evolution". He suggests "producers immerse themselves in the mobile experience - one that comes with the new element of 'location' - and create content and apps directly targeted at associated and anticipated use cases and supported by advertising" Video on non-traditional platforms without an ad-supported model has failed to reach mass audiences. For example, Sirius presently offers only three in-vehicle video channels but charges a subscription fee of $20. Similarly, mobile television in the United States has reached a plateau of 5% penetration (Nielsen Mobile), in part because of the expensive subscription. Art Spivy, Director of Content and Community for Sprint XOHM, advocates "an environment like the web, an ad-supported model to watch any show when you want. Advertising could be more relevant and valuable by knowing the viewers current location, which is built into the XOHM network". Barry Davis at Clearwire also encourages studios, networks and content owners to consider revenue models based on advertising. One example is the television series "Smallville" from Warner Brothers, which ran short 3 minute episodes on Sprint's mobile network that were ad-supported and generated high user engagement. Barry Davis recommends content owners "consider all the ways you can touch end users with this big pipe. The web brought the advent of the short episode in an ad-based model. There will be new ways to build a business around WiMax. One place to begin is the portal. We have different needs on a portable device then we do at our desk". Beginning with WiMax this year and followed with a competing technology called LTE which Verizon will test launch next year, content owners now have another distribution platform for story-telling. The long-term opportunity lies in weaving the characteristics of mobile broadband- mobility, interactivity and location- within storytelling. What ever WiMax TV ends up being, you can be sure that it will include those dancing bunnies.

Targeted mobile marketing and Hispanics

2008-09-18T11:52:12Z

iStock ® stock image Cuban-American mommy-to-be Gloria Dobal "loved everything" about online pregnancy site Baby Center. However, she had difficulty sharing the experience with family members who prefer Spanish. "My mother is from Cuba and I wanted her to enjoy this with me," she said. After two days, Gloria switched to Baby Center En Espanol (www.babycenterenespanol.com) and its mobile version. Although the sector is still nascent, some brands and agencies are beginning to target Hispanics with mobile tools and campaigns. The numbers suggest an attractive demographic for mobile marketing. Nielsen's Q2 Mobile Advertising Report cites Hispanic data users as more likely (41% compared with 30%) to recall seeing ads on mobile phones and more likely (22% vs. 13%) to have responded. Moreover, according to ComScore m:metrics, Hispanics significantly over-index on mobile content consumption (71%) compared with the market average (48%). Brian Colbert, VP of mobile sales at ESPN, comments that in "all things mobile, the Hispanic audience over-indexes quite a bit." Ansible Mobile President Larry Harris (who previously ran multi-cultural advertising at Bank of America) advises "the most important best practice is to consider what's in it for the consumer. The focus has to be on great content, integrated within an existing strategy and traditional DM at the local level." Ansible worked with a variety of agencies on J&J's mobile Spanish version of Baby Center (before there was even an English version) and attracted 4,000 active users, including Gloria Dobal. "Content is king," says Larry. "Just offering a short-code is not enough." The mobile program achieved opt-in retention of 93% last year and 85% this year. ]]> Alberto Benbunan, of the Mobile Dream Factory, also emphasizes the consumer benefit. "Latinos like to be connected with their friends. Johnnie Walker wanted to drive more traffic to the point of sale in Salamanca, Spain for their loyal customers. We used the existing CRM system to encourage people with coupons to visit their local bar, where there was a machine installed that already knew your preference." During the three-month period, more than 40% of those in the CRM system were active users, purchasing more than six drinks. Benbunan notes, "There is no cheap and expensive advertising, only effective advertising. This was a way to build loyalty with consumers who already knew the brand." Coors has leveraged mobile as a compliment to live events. During the campaign, they observed the importance of integrating mobile call-to-action with on the ground street teams. In a series of small venue bar/restaurant events in Hispanic target cities, attendees were asked to text and MMS to a screen, as well as to insert their own pictures on a green-screen background. These events were facilitated by the "Coors Chicas," attractive and enthusiastic young women encouraging audience participation. In Denver (which is near Coors' Golden, Colo., headquarters) participation results were 5 times greater than a similar event in New York City with significantly less "Coors Chicas" involvement. Unlike other categories, brands that are indigenous to mobile, such as the network carriers and handset manufacturers, have an opportunity to upsell content usage. As a result, these companies have been among the most innovative in Hispanic mobile marketing. Chicago-based mobile marketing firm Vibes Media encourages a variety of mobile entertainment usage for client AT&T during the Inter-Liga events of Major League Soccer. David Gale, VP of business development for Vibes, emphasizes that "we see huge usage spikes with more repetition. In an intimate venue with nothing else to look at, we might see participation near 20%. That number will fall in the larger venues with 40,000 people to 1-2%. So it is important to condition adoption through repetition." Nokia proved their interest in demographic and geographic targeting with the purchase of Enpocket last year for a reported $150 million. David Kohl, head of U.S. sales at Nokia, notes that "our partner Sprint gives Nokia the richest, deepest targeting capabilities for on-deck advertising right now. We are already providing Hispanic-targeted ads." The next wave of targeted mobile marketing may be upselling unique content. For its part, Sprint is "looking at advertising across the phone that would enhance customer experience and lower or eliminate the cost for additional content," said Aaron Radelet, Sprint's communications manager. Radelet cited original, exclusive content available during the Live Earth concert last year. "There was a short ad from Pepsi at the beginning of each free clip. This allowed us to show more content but at no extra charge." Univision is the largest media brand among U.S. Hispanics. According to Chris Brunner, VP of mobile content and services at Univision Movil, "each campaign must have a compelling call to action for the consumer, be promoted across all media (utilize all media impressions) and ultimately the program must be contextually relevant to the product or service being sold." Integrated cross-platform campaigns are packaged with demographically-relevant content like the award shows (Premio lo Nuestro, Latin Grammy, Premios Juventud, Nuestra Belleza Latina), Sports (Fútbol Liga Mexicana, SuperLiga) and Cinco de Mayo. Brunner tells advertisers, "we can maximize our television networks (Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision), as well as our radio and online properties." In addition to great content with a compelling benefit for the consumer, others recommend keeping it simple. Andres Arias, Commercial Director for Latcel suggests targeting both English and Spanish speakers with "very basic words that are familiar even if you don't speak fluently. Consumers will recognize words like 'viva,' 'cerveza,' 'free' and 'sale.'" Roberto Siewczynski, group account director at Dieste, the largest U.S. Hispanic direct marketing advertising agency, reminds practitioners to remember the importance of "pass-along and word of mouth in the Hispanic community. Latinos have an information gap relative to the general population because we are exposed to fewer informational resources." Brad Vettese, managing director of Omincom Group's specialist mobile agency Ipsh, agrees. "The Hispanic market is very influenced by word of mouth. However, we are still dealing with very small numbers here -- a subset of a subset." Vettese encourages brands to "take a long-term approach." That is exactly the approach of Doug Neil, SVP of new media at Universal Pictures. "We have targeted Hispanics through mobile marketing campaigns. Overall, the response rate tends to be higher than the Web but it is hard to make a generalization because this is a small segment and a very small buy. As that grows, we will probably see lower response rates." Targeted mobile marketing is still in its infancy. Slowly we are beginning to see the emergence of best practices. Jose Villa, president of multicultural interactive agency Sensis, advises "to start simple before investing more significant resources." Perhaps the sector is best summed by Emilio Castellanos, head of new business initiatives at Impre Media, "there is no magic formula that will work across the board."

Austin Round-Up: The New Hotbed for Mobile

2008-09-08T16:20:30Z

By Levi Shapiro Jim Messer started Transverse last year in New York with a cadre of wireless industry veterans. This year, the company relocated to Austin. "We found everything we need in Austin-- at happy-hour prices. My commute is 10 minutes and I get double the house I had in San Diego for half the price". The combination of technical talent, creative culture and low costs has made Austin the newest hotbed in the wireless industry. Take a walk down 6th Street and in addition to live music at The Dizzy Rooster, "Kinky Friedman for Governor" posters and fried pickle spears at Katz's Deli, you will probably see signs saying "Keep Austin Weird". Austin's development owes as much to its vibrant, bohemian culture as the concentration of tech companies like Dell, Qualcomm, Siemens, Intel, AT&T, IBM, Motorola, Apple, AMD, ARM, Marvel, Borland, Google, PayPal, Vignette, Texas Instruments, SD Micro, Silicon Labs, Broadcom, Freescale, nVidia, Trilogy, etc. In his groundbreaking book "The Rise of the Creative Class" (Basic Books, 2002), Professor Richard L. Florida correlated the density of "Bohemian Clusters" with a city's economic development. Austin has attracted wireless entrepreneurs by offering an eclectic, tolerant alternative to the sterility of Silicon Valley- which author Joel Kotkin calls "Nerdistan". ]]> Pulse Interactive. "I have never felt more at home. Regardless of where I go in the city, I feel well-received by the community". Paul also serves on the Advisory Board for the Gaming Program at Austin Community College. Beginning with 10 students in 2005, the program now has 100 students enrolled. Similarly, Mark Pierce left a posh role at Atari to start Super Happy Fun Fun, a developer of mobile games and applications. "Austin has an adequate number of developers... probably more than 1000. And they all WANT to be here". One stimulant for the Austin wireless community is the University of Texas. Fundamental research from UT's Wireless Networking and Communications Group, started by Dr. Ted Rappaport and led by Professor Jeff Andrews, has contributed to Austin's wireless expertise. Moreover, the Austin Technology Incubator, housed at UT, maintains several wireless companies within its portfolio. According to Bart Bohn, ATI's Assistant Director, "we align companies with resources, domain experts, mentors, MBA teams and industry contacts". Recent ATI companies in the wireless sector include Affinegy, Vumasco (www.vumasco.com ) andeZee Inc. The Founder of eZee, Enrique Ortiz, also serves as the Director of the Austin Chapter of Mobile Monday, the global forum for independent wireless application developers. The Austin Wireless Alliance, created by Randy Baker in 2004 and now Chaired by Erin DeFosse, has large corporate sponsors and focuses on enterprise mobility. AWA's premier event will be held October 14-16 and includes the Texas Wireless Summit and the Seed Stage Forum. The biggest complaint among the Austin wireless entrepreneurial community is the limited access to capital. Trey Ikard, President of wireless start-up MobiTX jokes "Austin start-ups have lower burn rates for a good reason- we have less money." In fact, the only major Austin-based, early-stage investor is Austin Ventures, which is near closing its 10th fund for $900 million. As a result, Angel investors play a dominant role. The Central Texas Angel Network cites mentoring as a core objective. One Angel investor, former CEO of Austin-based wireless services provider Solomio Richard Schwartz (funded by Austin Ventures and acquired by OpenWave) tries "to speak with the CEO every day. That makes a big difference at an early stage company". Other institutional resources include the state's $200 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund (http://www.texasone.us/site/PageServer?pagename=tetf_homepage) as well as Gefinor (www.limestonevc.com), G51 (www.g51.com), S3 (www.s3vc.com) and Hunt Ventures (www.huntventures.com), which has an office in Austin. Two Austin mobile companies in the location aware space currently raising money are Moximity and Bones In Motion. Larry Upton, CEO of Edioma, which makes mobile applications for Hispanics, believes that limited access to capital "made us a better company. Before raising a Series A, we secured distribution with two major carriers and advertising partnerships with two category leaders". Similarly, David Sikora, President of mobile commerce applications developer Digby agrees, "The most important task is to make great products that customers want. We have enabled Godiva and 1-800 FLOWERS with private branded stores and will continue to grow organically". Unlike most municipalities, Austin's city government has a full-time Emerging Technologies Coordinator, Eve Richter. According to Eve, "the position was created last year. My role is to serve as a connector". Eve works in concert with Tony Schum, the Director of Economic Development for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Says lifetime Austin resident Dave Gill, Senior Director for Nielsen Mobile, "I don't know too many places where the government, universities, and private sector collaborate. It's one of the reasons why I won't ever leave this place...unless my Boss doubles my salary". Keep Austin Weird.

Jay Adrick, Vice President of Broadcast Technology for Harris Broadcast talks about MPH™ (Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld)

2008-08-02T14:27:21Z

Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) and LG Electronics are moving closer to the adoption of their MPH™ (Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld) standard for mobile devices. With a decision by the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) due in late 2008 Jay Adrick, Vice President of Broadcast Technology for Harris Broadcast addressed some questions about the proposed MPH standard as relates to TV broadcasters. IpTVe Currently, how many broadcast stations are in trials of the MPH platform? Jay Adrick MPH is currently on the air on two stations in Chicago, WCPX (owned by ION) and WPWR (owned by Fox), plus the Capitol Broadcasting Station WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina. Since February 2007, U.S. MPH trials have also been conducted in Columbus, OH; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, NV; and San Jose, CA. IpTVe Are broadcasters in the U.S. the primary trial sites? Jay Adrick The ATSC is the Digital Television standard in much of North and South America. Any country or broadcast following the ATSC standard could adopt MPH. Tests have been done in Mexico and Argentina. Canada is also very interested in the technology.]]> IpTVe Within the IP-encapsulated mobile DTV signals, how wide is the data stream, i.e. what is the bandwidth for what you describe as "non-real-time content delivery, electronic service guides, banner advertising, datacasting and interactive experiences"? Jay Adrick Each mobile channel can support a payload of about 600 kbps. Any one TV station can support a minimum of one and a maximum of 16 mobile channels, depending upon how much bandwidth the station wants to dedicate to the mobile service. The entire ATSC channel supports a data rate of 19.39 Mbps, including the fixed HD and SD services, the mobile services, and any data services. As an example, a broadcast could devote 12 Mbs to an HD signal, 3 Mbs to an SD (standard Definition) and 4 Mbs to mobile services with .4 Mbs left over for PSIP services. IpTVe What additional transmission hardware will be required by broadcasters to install? Jay Adrick Each mobile channel can support a payload of about 600 kbps. Any one TV station can support a minimum of one and a maximum of 16 mobile channels, depending upon how much bandwidth the station wants to dedicate to the mobile service. The entire ATSC channel supports a data rate of 19.39 Mbps, including the fixed HD and SD services, the mobile services, and any data services. As an example, a broadcast could devote 12 Mbs to an HD signal, 3 Mbs to an SD (standard definition) and 4 Mbs to mobile services with .4 Mbs left over for PSIP services. IpTVe What technology hurdles were required to be vaulted in order to make the platform work with hand held devices in motion? Jay Adrick ATSC was developed originally as a fixed wireless service. As such, it was determined that a single carrier modulation such an 8-VSB would be more efficient than a multiple carrier solution like COFDM. When the ATSC called for a mobile standard, the biggest technical hurdle to overcome was to ensure the survivability of the signal in difficult multipath conditions while maintaining the integrity of the main digital television signal. The MPH system has been tested up to 100 miles per hour in real life and up to 200 miles per hour in a laboratory setting. IpTVe Does Harris or LG have plan to partner with existing mobile software and content management platform companies to leverage this technology? Jay Adrick Harris and LG have been behind the physical layer of MPH. The standard, if adopted by the ATSC, is an open one that would welcome any and all services that are of interest to the broadcasters and their viewers. The technology for mobile TV over ATSC is being championed by the hundreds of member TV stations who are members of the Open Mobile Video Coalition. In addition to the transmission of video programming, the MPH technology will accommodate IP-encapsulated mobile DTV signals. This will allow broadcasters to send non-real-time content such as electronic service guides, banner ads, datacasting and interactive experiences. Using the 6-MHz, 19.39 megabit-per-second digital pathway, broadcasters will be able to

Leverage their investment in ATSC transmission
Deliver robust DTV signals to mobile-portable-handheld devices
Provide LOCAL News, Weather, Sports and traffic to consumers
Add 2 to 6 channels of mobile content per station

MPH system flow

click on image to enlarge slides (2), advance by clicking on right of frame Time-line for MPH trials

2/07 MPH conducts first on air test in Columbus, Ohio on Dispatch Broadcasting WBNS-DT
4/07 MPH broadcasts NAB 2007 demonstrations in Las Vegas via Sinclair Broadcast Group
8/07 MPH on the air in Washington DC for VIP demonstrations on Gannett Broadcasting WUSA-DT channel 34
10/07 MPH international demonstrations at CAPERT show in Buenos Aries ARTEAR VHF Channel 13
11/07 MPH technical trial in Chicago with handheld receivers on Fox Broadcasting WPWR-DT Channel 51
12/07 MPH returns to Washington DC for OMVC demonstration with handheld receivers on WUSA-DT
12/07 MPH conducts pre CES tests with both handheld and new in car receivers on Sinclair Broadcast Group
1/08 MPH "on air" for public demonstrations of receiver technology at CES 2008 in Las Vegas via Sinclair Broadcast Group
1/08 - 2/08 MPH conducting technical trials on Cox Broadcasting KICU-DT in San Jose California
2/08 -4/08 MPH is participant in IDOV testing to support OMVC/ATSC standardization process
4/08 MPH on air in Las Vegas for NAB 2008 demonstrations with commercial receiver prototypes
7/08 MPH on air in Raleigh, NC at WRAL

Some of the points Jay mentioned are worth noting, a relatively inexpensive installation for most markets at $200,000 and those broadcasters can use their existing studio link and antenna. How far down the market chain MPH would be implemented is an open question. As we live in proximity of New York City, I expect to be testing MPH or some variant later next year, how well it will fare in the canyons of New York remains an open question. According to the ATSC, the original ten companies that submitted RFP's in June of 2007 for the M/H standard were narrowed down several times to three main proposals: 1). LG/Harris, 2). Samsung/Rohde & Schwarz, and 3). Thomson/Micronas. Samsung and LG/Harris joined forces on May 14 of this year to propose their jointly developed technology as the North American technology standard. Ken Nist, (MSEE) a retired design engineer raised some questions including the testing methodology itself, for example: "Columbus, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles are totally flat cities and thus are not representative of the rest of the country. In hillier terrain VHF would work better but would require an antenna longer than 7 inches." "In addition, the reliability can be increased by taking more of the 6 MHz channel. But other sub-channels will suffer. Let's say there is 1 MPH viewer for every 100 HD viewers, how would a station justify taking more than 1% of the 6 MHz channel for it? MPH probably takes 10% of the channel." But on the business development front, one can certainly envision opportunities for software developers to create applications that would reside above the physical layer and deliver custom tailored news, media and other data content for local stations. In addition, Geo targeting consumers with advertising has been a goal for some time and perhaps an M/H content could add an interesting component in this puzzle. On the other side, will viewers find all the advertising a nuisance? As one person recently mentioned to me, the idea of walking by a Starbucks, get a coupon on your device is cool and has been the goal however, things can turn out differently when implemented live and continuously. To sum, the future for OTA is not as dim as some prognosticate when they declared TV is dead. If the LG/Harris MPH proposal is made the standard for M/H, then it offers the potential to extend the reach of broadcasters and, of course, the advertisers who will make the economics viable. If however, the user experience is not stable in all or most conditions and advertisers do not underwrite the cost consumers might be slow to adopt an added expense to their monthly cell phone bills - especially if the country is still in a recession.

WRAL-TV, leading broadcasters towards MPH™ (Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld)

2008-07-31T09:44:37Z

WRAL-TV Raleigh, North Carolina (a Capital Broadcasting Company) likes to be first when it comes to new broadcast technology testing and deployment.

The first U.S station awarded an experimental HD license by the FCC, (June 1996)
Claimed to have produced the first live sports program in HD (on September 6, 1997)
First HD newscast (on October 28, 1998) stats via Wikipedia
July, 2008 WRAL has just concluded trials of MPH or Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld mobile video technology, developed by Harris Corporation in concert with LG Electronics. Jimmy Goodmon, CBC New Media Group Director of Technology gave us more granularity about their dierction for MPH. IpTVe How long do you anticipate the trials to last and do you have a soft launch date for going live? Jimmy Goodmon We completed the trials last week and were impressed with the results. In terms of a soft launch date the answer is nothing is set in stone right now. There are way too many variables in place for us to make an estimate on a launch date (be it soft or not). One of those variables playing a role in terms of when we go live with mobile TV is the availability of receivers. Since mobile TV enabled devices are projected to be in stores sometime in 2009 we will have to wait until that time to better gauge the market. ]]> IpTVe How many hours of programming and or channels are you planning to broadcast per day? Jimmy Goodmon We are currently planning on one channel - a simulcast of WRAL-TV although there is certainly the option of adding more local channels - such as our 24 hour newschannel. IpTVe Do you plan to use different spot lengths from advertisers specific to this mobile platform since the norm is typically shorter then the standard :15-30 seconds spots on OTA? Jimmy Goodmon It is too early to say and there are again a lot of variables to consider. For instance, if we do run the same spots on the phone as we do on TV does it get credited to our ratings? Will Nielsen measure this service as it does TV? These questions and a number of others must be answered before I can give you a more concrete answer. News Segment which aired on WRAL It remains an open question as to the adoption rates for MPH among mobile users, this provided it becomes the standard for transmitting television programming. There are also potential licensing issues with studios and other media outlets if affiliates carry network content, not to mention what that WGA members will likely see this as lost revenue for its member writers. Smaller markets might balk at the cost, typically $150,000 - $200,000 to install the required hardware to encode and transmit the addition channels and how will ads work? If these and other hurtles can be overcome then MPH could extend the brand of local broadcasters and provide content to people on the go...

Mobile Video Advertising

2008-07-26T02:41:19Z

An entirely new medium by Levi Shapiro Patrick Maurer is no techie. "I can barely work my toaster", says the lanky 29 year old sales rep with the self-described "tennis player" hairstyle. But Patrick may represent the most promising aspect of mobile marketing- mobile video advertising. While checking his mobile Yahoo account, Patrick watched a video from Jaguar that eventually led to a dealer test-drive. "I hadn't really looked at the Jag before that", he said. The opportunity for brands to tell their story with sight, sound and motion has agencies and advertisers eager to experiment with mobile video advertising. This nascent sector probably has the necessary technology to grow. What is lacking now are clearly defined business processes. Walk into any Sprint, Verizon or AT&T store and most of the phones will have video capability. According to NPD, 60% of multimedia handsets sold to US consumers in Q1 have video functionality. Although some consumers are watching paid subscription services like MediaFlo, MobiTV, Sprint TV and VCast, ComScore m:metrics notes that 3 times as many- over 15 million people- watched video clips forwarded by friends and family. The proportion is similar in Europe. ]]> IAB Mobile Leadership Forum, "I don't think anyone is about to buy pre-roll on mobile video. It is still too immature". Elgin Kim, Head of Sales- West at Nokia Interactive Advertising notes that "Unless it is a highly emotional category like auto or film, pre-rolls don't work". The carriers themselves have other priorities. Jordan Berman, Executive Director for Media Innovation & Mobile Advertising at AT&T, notes "our focus is very much on launching our MEdia Net banner ad business in 4Q and so there isn't much activity in the video area". MobiTV, which is now among the Top 10 MSO's in the country, favors the creation of branded channels and interactive response components. For example, unique branded channels for Navy & Toyota include click to WAP call-to-action while Schwab encourages click to SMS. Jack Hallahan, Vice President, Advertising & Brand Partnerships at MobiTV, believes "the handset is an extraordinary tool for direct response". Hoping to combine aspects of branding and direct response is a variety of technology enablers. MyWaves, for example, claims to have 5.5 million unique monthly visitors to its free, ad-supported mobile video service for premium content like MTV and CBS. In addition, they launched an ad platform in Q1. According to CEO Rajeev Raman, "advertising is moving towards the 15 second spot, whether on TV, online or mobile. We see zero drop-off when the length of the unit is extended from 10 to 15 seconds". Versaly Entertainment is a smaller free, premium video network that is available on Sprint. Santa Monica based Transpera enables content owners like Associated Press (AP) and CBS to stitch targeted pre-roll and overlay ads on top of their mobile video content. Viewers might see multiple ad impressions, each 10 seconds or less, during the average 7.5 minute session on AP's Mobile News Network. Jeffrey Litvack, Global Director, New Media Markets wants "to deliver personalized, localized ads to the end-user. Frank Barbieri, CEO of Transpera, is providing publishers with "a similar experience to what they are used to online. That means impression-based CPM's, click to call and other direct response media, just like online media". Nexage builds click to video capabilities with interactive components into mobile websites for ad agencies. Dev Gandhi, CEO of Nexage, believes it is about "more than the video. Brands can incorporate aspects like ratings and comments for interactive feedback. It has to be a more comprehensive solution than just video. Having video with pictures, chat, groups, profile and interactivity / community aspects is exciting to brands". These technology enablers will have to align with strong consumer brands that share their commitment to mobile video. One such brand is ESPN. Oke Okaro, Vice President Mobile & International at ESPN is "very bullish on mobile video advertising. We see the mobile platform as a natural extension of television. There are so many creative things we can do but the problem today is that too many people are approaching ad-sales in mobile as if it is the same thing as the web. It isn't". The sector will remain nascent until the emergence of larger video audiences that stimulate more interest from ad agencies who finally request more RFP's. What is certain is the interest from consumers, brands and agencies. Land Rover, Ford, Paramount, Sony, Dell- a variety of respected brands that have implemented targeted mobile video ad campaigns. Ad Infuse, the mobile advertising network, hosted senior executives from agencies and brands in LA and New York and found that mobile video was in the top portion of each city's key interest areas. While the risk in a nascent sector is significant, the innovators in mobile video advertising can help define an entirely new medium.

University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, UPMC issues warning on cell phone use

2008-07-24T10:21:15Z

Dr. Ronald Herberman, The Director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers issued an advisory specific to long-term cell phone use. In their news release and interview on Kdka.TV Doctor Herberman stated that a ten year study with the participation of the cell phone industry was needed to obtain the required scientific data to determine the actual effects on humans and especially children.

Cellphones and Cancer, what we don't know.

2008-06-03T10:18:42Z

Editorial: Today's New York Times has an article which revisits the question of a possible link between cell phone use and cancer. While I am not going to debate the science, I draw from a personal experience with contact lenses to make the personal choice here. Back in the day, we were told we could wear lenses thirty days and sleep with them. I developed a corneal ulcer as result, fortunately treatable with no permanent effects. Several years later, the industry came out with new data reversing themselves on extended use. The Times article even cited the F.D.A. "that the average period of phone use in the studies it cites was about three years, so the research doesn't answer questions about long-term exposures." Point, what we don't know is what concerns me with respect to cell phone usage over time and a headset seems like a simple and prudent measure. The article also questions if children who face a lifetime of use, (likely heavy users from what I notice) are they potential at greater risk from our lack of long term studies? If not already in place, the industry should fund long term clinical studies and be as transparent as possible on the subject, it will only serve to boost their economic interests in the long run.