Naviblog Now!

Shifting to my other blog & twitter

2010-03-31T13:38:00.003+01:00

Hi all, long time no see! There is a lot of information in this blog of mine that goes back to 2005 and that I haven't yet got round to porting over to my newer blogs, but it makes sense to point them out here for those that are still subscribing to this blog and its feeds (you know who you are)!

- Most active with a few posts a day: My Latest Tweets! account at http://twitter.com/mandalikhalesi

Hope to catch up with you soon!

New developments in space comms

2009-02-11T14:01:00.006+00:00

A fascinating interview of Vint Cerf a few months old already, but interesting in that people over at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the States are developing a new telecommunications standard for probe-to-probe and space probe internet communications. This new protocol called "DTN" is specifically designed for situations where there is no telco infrastructure and bad latency issues, such as outer space, underwater etc. Some tests have been carried out over the last few years, naturally in a military contingency context by people like Internet grandpa DARPA, but also with applications to the international space station in 2009 although the article doesn't mention when.

According to NASA's website, the goal is to get these up and running and tested by 2011. According to the multi-governmental Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems December newsletter, the first tests with the International Space Station using this protocol were successful last November, although from one well-defined, well-equipped station to another, this hardly proves much. The ground-based testing by DARPA looks good for now in controlled earth-based environments. The next two years promise much in terms of real-world applicability.

60% of world spend a mobile xmas

2008-12-24T08:28:00.007+00:00

As announced on this mobile blog almost 3 months ago to the day, the UN's head of telecommunications' statement that 60% of the world will be connected to a mobile phone by the end of the year has come true.

According to 3G Americas and reported by Fierce Wireless today, the historic milestone of 4 billion mobile phone users worldwide was passed this December 2008. While Africa was the continent of the mobile in 2008, it looks like South America and the Caribbean will be the most vibrant areas in terms of market growth in 2009... wow! I actually said "market growth" and "vibrant": never thought I'd be saying that among the doom and gloom of 2008!

But I guess that's what it's all about: there are nuggets out there, it is up to us to dig them up and enjoy the opportunities! And with that, I would like to wish all my readers a very happy xmas... looking forward to 2009!

A word from the man

2008-12-03T12:44:00.001+00:00

"We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better." - Jeff Bezos

All this time

2008-11-02T13:24:00.003+00:00

Food for thought...
(click to view video)

JUMA to connect Japan and UK mobile worlds

2008-10-20T09:48:00.006+01:00

Naviblog announced today the creation of the Japan UK Mobiletech Association, or JUMA for short. The association was created to respond to a need for a bridge for technology transfer and collaboration, as both a business necessity and a byproduct of the current credit crunch and recessionary pressures.

"Shuttling between London and Tokyo on a regular basis, entrepreneurs and mobile developers always ask me how things are being done better on the other side," says Naviblog Chairman Mandali Khalesi, "I feel that the mobile development community both from the heartland of advanced mobile services in Japan and from the UK's Europe-leading mobile success stories have much to learn from each other as industry business models converge for mobile applications, content and services. Currently there is just not enough information out there. When the developed world moves into a recession, be it light or sustained, small innovative mobile companies will be looking to collaborate or partner with other companies, transfer or license out technology, share ideas, or start working on joint products."

In the coming weeks, JUMA Chair Mandali Khalesi will approach a select group of UK-based and Japan-based companies and government entities to define the terms of a valuable charter, and already has the informal support of a number of industry organisations in both London and Tokyo. This round of discussions may lead to a "Mobile Mission" to Japan early next year, offering UK companies high visibility at industry events, face-to-face business meetings, and venture capital connections into the lucrative $100bn Japanese mobile market. Further updates will be made on this website. For further information, contact Naviblog at pr[at]naviblog.co.uk.

Naviblog unveils new logo

2008-10-13T21:14:00.003+01:00

The new Naviblog logo for 2009 with its three triangles - connecting business, mobile networks and search engines - was unveiled on the Naviblog UK website ahead of its generalised release on company letterhead and other promotional material. The previous logo was found to be too complex and difficult to remember.

Since the company's establishment in 2005, Naviblog's product had evolved from an easy-to-use location-based social networking software, to "a universal software platform for businesses to publish and promote location-based mobile services worldwide", and a new logo was needed to convey that vision.

A vision statement, to be announced later this November, will outline Naviblog's strategy for 2009 in both Asia and Europe... stay tuned!

Naviblog is Prime Mover at CEATEC 2008

2008-09-30T22:25:00.008+01:00

Naviblog will launch ExpoNavi with the mobile service development company to address the prestigious CEATEC Japan 2008 Conference – the largest technology exhibition in Asia.

Naviblog, which develops technology for mobile marketing and mobile navigation, will launch ExpoNavi, a mobile solution for anyone armed with a mobile phone and searching around an exhibition hall for the exhibitors they want to see and to browse others they may not know about. The technology allows users to bookmark the locations on the optional PC site and send to the mobile to browse when on the spot. See the product factsheet here.

An early version of ExpoNavi has been very popular with CEATEC attendees in the past and Naviblog is again managing the conference exhibitor search service, allowing users to find any of the 800+ companies exhibiting, by name, hall or keyword. ExpoNavi is now being launched as a stand-alone solution at the conference where it has had such success.

Speaking of the conference, Mandali Khalesi said today,

“We are closely involved with CEATEC 2008, both as technology providers and as part of the tradeshow community. I am very much looking forward to meeting with colleagues and partners and hearing about the latest developments within the tech world, as well as showing off ExpoNavi.”

Naviblog’s technology is applied in providing mobile marketing and mobile navigation services to the Japanese and UK business-to-business markets, especially in the tourism, food & drink, and tradeshow verticals. Naviblog specialises in mobile 2.0 related technology development and services, and other offerings include Naviblog Basic, Naviblog Enterprise, and Naviblog Voice, which uses speech recognition technology to eliminate the need for physical text input when creating location-based blogs.

CEATEC Japan 2008 takes place from 30th September until 4th October. The conference will focus on the many new capabilities and services made possible by digital convergence and their impact on businesses seeking new markets created by the convergence of devices, hardware, software, services and content.

Naviblog is supported by Gateway2Investment (g2i). Programme Manager Ian Shields said,

“I am delighted to hear that Naviblog will have such a leading role at CEATEC 2008. Speaking at, launching a product and providing technical support for a major conference such as this gives the Naviblog team many opportunities to develop new relationships and demonstrate their products.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

About Naviblog

Naviblog (Chairman: Mandali Khalesi) is a Tokyo/London-based mobile technology firm providing mobile services to the Japanese and UK business-to-business markets, especially in the tourism, food & drink, and tradeshow verticals, with its award-winning Naviblog mobile services platform.
Within 18 months of startup, the company had developed 6 industry-first mobile services including its location-based mobile search product "Naviblog 2.0", for which Naviblog received the Red Herring Top 100 award in 2006. Featured in dozens of publications, and receiving industry awards in both Japan and Europe in 2007 and 2008, Naviblog is tipped to become the first universal software for publishing mobile services worldwide, regardless of handset, geography or mobile phone carrier.

Contact: Mandali Khalesi Naviblog UK info[at]naviblog.co.uk

About CEATEC Japan 2008
Since the inaugural event in 2000, CEATEC JAPAN has matured as a show conveying information about the most advanced IT and electronics technologies from Japan to the world. Our mission is to remain a high-value-added, flexible and efficient show, to keep our eye on the rapidly changing digital industry and markets, and to become a vital element of the global IT and electronics industries. To provide visible results that contribute to the businesses of exhibitors, CEATEC JAPAN is working from its firm foundations to make the most of its unique qualities and strengthen business support.

Contact: www.ceatec.com/2008/en/conference

About g2i
gateway2investment (g2i) is the highly successful investment readiness programme, backed by the London Development Agency, delivering early-stage private investments to exciting young London-based businesses. The programme is delivered by a consortium led by the financial and business advisory firm Grant Thornton UK LLP and comprises E-Synergy, Pembridge Partners, Quotec, The Innovatory and Library House. g2i has worked with over 600 start-up and early-stage London businesses, helping them secure more than £26m in equity funding, a figure that is continuing to grow. g2i supports businesses across the design and creative, life sciences, emerging technologies, energy and environment, ICT, food and drink, value added manufacturing and retail sectors, providing the equity investment community, Venture Capital and Business Angels, with high-calibre investment opportunities. www.g2i.org

Contact: Ian Shields Grant Thornton/g2i

Naviblog's Mandali featured in prestigious IOD magazine

2008-09-27T20:35:00.005+01:00

The world's oldest professional director's association, the Institute of Directors, magazine featured Naviblog Chairman Mandali Khalesi in its recent Autumn/Winter London branch issue. The article was referring to the new IOD member reception earlier this year which allowed Naviblog to mingle with other new members of the 100+ year organisation, from all walks of life, ethnic backgrounds and convictions.

"It was a surprise, to say the least", said Chairman Mandali Khalesi, "to see Naviblog featured in such a prestigious publication. The IoD really is about sharing experiences with fellow directors, regardless of whether it is a FTSE company or a startup, and trying to better yourself everyday as a director and as a corporate leader."

About the Institute of Directors (see website)

The IoD is a non party-political business organisation founded by Royal Charter in 1903, currently with around 55,000 members. The IoD has always championed the entrepreneur and seeks to provide an environment conducive to business success. For any company to prosper, directors will be continually engaged in making decisions involving innovation, risk and investment. Entrepreneurial activity needs to take place within a solid, strategic framework.

Over the last 5 years, membership has grown by over 11,000 members and includes directors from many sectors of the economy - from media to manufacturing, e-business to public sector. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies. They are represented in 92% of FTSE 100 companies, whilst 70% of our members are directors of small and mid-sized enterprises.

About Naviblog Corporation (see website)

Naviblog (Chairman: Mandali Khalesi) is a Tokyo/London-based mobile technology firm providing mobile services to the Japanese and UK business-to-business markets, especially in the tourism, food & drink, and tradeshow verticals, with its award-winning Naviblog mobile services platform.

Within 18 months of startup, the company had developed 6 industry-first mobile services including its location-based mobile search product "Naviblog 2.0", for which Naviblog received the Red Herring Top 100 award in 2006. Featured in dozens of publications, and receiving industry awards in both Japan and Europe in 2007 and 2008, Naviblog is tipped to become the first universal software for publishing mobile services worldwide, regardless of handset, geography or mobile phone carrier.

2 in 3 humans own a mobile by early 09

2008-09-26T10:43:00.007+01:00

According to the UN's head of telecoms, Hamadoun Toure, about 60% of humans will own and use a mobile phone by end 2008. With 600m new mobile users joining every year, 2 out of 3 humans on the face of the planet will own a mobile within 6-9 months of this article.

It is amazing to see that although within a year or so most people will own a mobile, a scaleable mobile services platform that can be used to build solid and reliable mobile services worldwide remains elusive. Discussions in the mobile development world focus more on the differences of approach between technology factions, such as Java, Brew, Symbian, etc., with little talk about a platform that anyone can use to build out their mobile services globally, on all phones, and regardless of where you are.

It required the likes of Apple with its new mobile user interface, Google with its eponymous internet-based map services and Android wannabe-OS, and Nokia with its purchase of the powerful Symbian mobile operating system to nudge the world into thinking maybe we need to worry that when we build a service, it should be accessible from anywhere, on any phone, and not only on 15 handsets in one geography.

There are a lot of people outside the comfort zones of the maturing European and Japanese mobile markets (and upcoming US market) that need the mobile as a part of their day-to-day survival. When 2 in 3 humans own a mobile and want to use services anywhere they are, the mobile technology world needs a system that can live up to that challenge, and do it cheaply and efficiently.

More on the details of this statement over at the UK's The Guardian website.

Naviblog clinches world no.3 tech exhibition contract

2008-09-08T17:48:00.008+01:00

For the second year running, Naviblog has clinched the contract to develop and manage Asia's largest tech exhibition CEATEC 2008's exhibitor search service. The service, developed by Naviblog and named ExpoNavi, is a hybrid contextual map search solution which combines Google Maps' familiar map manipulation functionality and combines it with CEATEC's original hall maps and a custom-built exhibitor information search engine.

This allows users to search through the 800-odd exhibitors on their PC, by exhibitor category, keyword or hall, search the map visually, and bookmark all their favorites online for later reference. The site is available in English and Japanese. The service also has an optional "send to mobile" feature where users can send the saved bookmarks to their mobile phone, and login and search exhibitor information optimised for their mobiles, just as they would on the PC.

You can access the site here. CEATEC 2008 lasts from September 30th to October 4th in Tokyo, and is the world's largest tech exhibition behind the Computer Electronics Show in the US, and the IFA in Berlin.

Naviblog featured in Tokyo IT News

2008-09-04T04:37:00.004+01:00

"The leading GPS navigation marketing company" is how the Tokyo IT Newspaper presented us in a feature on emerging technologies in last week's edition. With a cute picture of a girl holding a mobile phone, the article detailed how Naviblog's location-based mobile marketing solution was being introduced by an increasing number of business clients from social networking portal heavyweight Lococom to beer brand marketing for Guinness Beer. Not sure if you can find it online, but you can look around at the Tokyo IT Newspaper's site at http://itnp.net.

Tokyo report: 1 in 2 Japanese use mobile web daily

2008-08-28T19:40:00.006+01:00

A recent report by the folks at the CIAJ, one of Japan's most respected telco industry associations and who I'll be seeing next week in Tokyo, picked up the latest trends in Japan mobile use. Notable trends showed 1 in 2 Japanese using the mobile web daily, mobile TV usage booming to more than 1 in 4, and daily usage of GPS/map-based services nearly doubling over the last 12 months to nearly 1 in 5 users.

Quite a few losers since last year's report including mobile ringtone use (54% to 46%), wallpapers (35% to 30%), digital music (20% to 19%), infrared (18% to 14%), videophone (9% to 3%), and push-to-talk (5% to 3%).

Bluetooth usage bucked the trend with an amazing jump from 2% to 10%, so the manufacturers must have finally got their act together and be offering something substantial across the handset spectrum. The reason they haven't so far must be having people in EU/US shrugging their collective shoulders, but it's one of those things like why 2D barcodes are not widely available on phones over in Europe... maybe they never got round to it.

Daily usage of mobile digital cash services (ie. Oyster card-like services using a built-in chip on your phone instead of a card) also increased 33% to 1 in 5 users, as people use their phones to pay for goods in corner stores and Japan Rail-affiliated commercial centers, where you can buy your wares before heading home by touching your phone in and out at the checkout.

Mobile opportunity in Dubai?

2008-08-27T12:35:00.004+01:00

After a short trip to the UAE and the Middle East over the summer break, I have come to believe there are many opportunities in the booming state of Dubai for mobile service developers and Naviblog is currently looking at opportunities with a number of local partners. The tourism, construction, property and banking sectors, as well as high mobile phone penetration and increasing usage, are laying down the groundwork for strong everyman demand for mobile services of all stripes.

Tourist maps and guides? Property price comparison sites? Mobile banking portals? Employment sites? I think there is a lot of opportunity here for mobility as the Emirates move from a predominantly heavy industry and construction economy to a services- and information-centric society. It's an exciting place and time to be there.

60% of enterprises say Web 2.0 enhances competitivity

2008-07-30T16:53:00.005+01:00

In a groundbreaking new report of 2,000 executives worldwide out today on the Member's Edition of the McKinsey Quarterly, the Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise: McKinsey Global Survey Results shows that "60 percent of the respondents satisfied with Web 2.0 initiatives [...] see them as a driver of competitive advantage". Crucially, the report found that "satisfied or not, all companies plan to spend more on Web 2.0 tools", an opportunity for web 2.0 tool makers that offer a clear enterprise-oriented USP.

The main uses of enterprise 2.0 were managing knowledge (83%), fostering collaboration across the company (78%), improving customer service (73%), acquiring new customers in existing markets (71%) and achieving better integration with suppliers (62%). Unsurprisingly, to the question "technologies most important to [your] company" 50-60% of respondents in all geographies replied "web services", underlying the importance for businesses to be able to leverage key web services through easy-to-use, relevant web tools.

The report also reported that the two largest barriers to adoption were "My company doesn't understand the potential financial return" (28%) and "Nothing is holding back Web 2.0 initiatives" (25%), so although there are still cultural issues, the cultural difficulties of adoption now comprise less than half of barriers to full-on adoption. The main problems should now be taken care of with less evangelism and more hard-headed business/financial assessments of ROI and customer acquisition through tool implementation... Wow, what a report!

eBay CEO anecdote offers guidance

2008-07-28T14:42:00.002+01:00

Just reading an anecdote on Pierre Omidyar when eBay had system trouble that brought his whole site to a standstill... "during a time of service interruption [...] Pierre directed company managers to personally call the top 10,000 users apologizing for the inconvenience".

Now that's what I call putting customers first. Something to think about before complaining about tech trouble: while the tech guys sort out the disaster back-end, focus yourself on smoothing the wrinkles and frowns on the front-end. Run of the mill, yes, but still very cool. More here.

Irish entrepreneur's $2bn tropical mobiles

2008-07-26T14:03:00.003+01:00

From Haiti and Jamaica, to Tonga and Papua New Guinea, Irish mobile entrepreneur has built a $2.2bn mobile phone business Digicel where others will not go. War, famine, poverty, entrenched elites, these are the keys to his success in trumping local carriers and expanding market size with cheap prices and an independent network of cellphone masts.

Having set up a mobile phone network in Ireland in 1995 - selling out to BT for $3bn to BT Group 6 years later pocketing $300m himself - he snaps up Jamaican mobile phone license for $50m around 2002. Before Digicel arrived in Jamaica, 10% of Jamaicans used mobile phones. 6 years later in 2008, 90% do. Same story setting up in Haiti in 2006 quickly building 120,000 users, two years later he had 2 million. This just shows the explosive nature of the mobile when you open up the market with cheap, affordable technology for the masses.

Find out more in August's edition of Forbes, just out on their website today.

Voice actors energize mobile books in Tokyo

2008-07-20T15:42:00.007+01:00

According to their press release last Friday, two Japan-based startups have launched a site that matches user-generated mobile books with voice actors to provide professional-sounding audio books for the mobile. Mobile books are booming in Japan, rising quickly to become a $283m industry in 2008, up from $46m in 2005, and representing 70% of all digital book consumption. The industry is widely expected to expand to $1.4bn by 2010.

The service called "MazeNama Gakuen" invites users to create mobile novels based on a set of 22 pre-defined characters. The panel selects 8 quality novels among the entries, then lets the community pit the novels against each other. The final selected novels will then be enacted by Japan-famous voice actors and released as podcasts.

The two startups effectively joined forces on their separate mobile offerings, the free user-generated mobile voice-post site "Mazeteyo Mobilevoice" by Tokyo-based Visual Works and the user-generated mobile book-post site "Forest Novel" by Hokkaido-based Crypton Future Media. The service launched last Friday is currently only available on Japanese mobiles on the three main carriers in Japan.

Naviblog Paris closes for the summer

2008-07-17T14:11:00.008+01:00

Just a notice to our French business customers that our Paris business locale over near Franklin D. Roosevelt station has closed for summer refurbishment work. All France-specific operations will continue running out of the London office. We will post here with more information as and when the refurbishment work is complete and things are back to normal. Naviblog apologises for any inconvenience caused.

"Gates, Jobs, Dell Unworthy" says UK immigration rule...?!

2008-07-16T11:37:00.008+01:00

New uk immigration rules don't allow immigrants without degrees to the shores of the UK, even though many college dropouts do go on to create great companies. The billion-dollar (company) question of course is: what are we doing here in the UK to foster entrepreneurship for both college dropouts, corporate dropouts, social dropouts, immigrants or natural-born entrepreneurs who need a nudge in the right direction?

More at today's Bloomberg article here.

83% of US teens use mobile to band together

2008-07-15T16:24:00.009+01:00

Interesting piece here where 83% of US teens own a mobile phone and are found to be looking predominantly for social networking and video on their mobiles. At the same time they use texting to create a barrier between themselves and their parents. It really looks like a reactive-defensive mechanism looking to group together with similar-minded teens and distance themselves from their mobile-illiterate parents.

Japan was like that in the early years too, but with the advent of cheap mobile web and the explosion of bargain-hunting on mobile commerce sites, parents (especially moms who surf the mobile commerce sites in search of cosmetics or clothes) eventually caught up with the basics of texting and browsing by about 2007, three years after the introduction of flat data rates in Japan.

There is always a gap there, with younger kids literally typing texts with their thumbs at such a speed they don't need to look at what they're typing, but the female working population has caught up to some extent. Working men are more navigation/search-oriented, but social networking completely passes them by: they have their drinking dens and the drinking habits of the companies they work in, so little reason to race to the mobile for that.

Read more on US teen activity on the mobile phone from the Walt Disney Internet Group survey reported on CNET.

Naviblog accepted as UK govt supplier

2008-07-08T12:11:00.005+01:00

Naviblog has just been accepted as a registered supplier for both CompeteFor, the tendering marketplace for the London 2012 Olympics contracts, and supply2.gov.uk, the UK's portal for SMEs working with the UK government. Anchoring ourselves even more closely to London, we look to leverage this registration to win over the confidence of London and UK-wide government bodies for mobile and more general IT work, leading up to and beyond the London Olympics in 2012.

Naviblog connects Japan and UK

2008-07-07T11:15:00.003+01:00

As Naviblog scales out internationally, our two websites have come together and should be converging towards a common offering within the next few months. It is important to show both our European and Asian customers that we are part of a whole, and that we are not separate companies, but rather an extended framework, preparing us for explosive growth. Googles and Yahoos beware, here we come.

Japanese treasure old phones as keepsakes

2008-06-25T07:51:00.009+01:00

In a new survey out yesterday in Tokyo, mobile phones are quickly becoming a keepsake representing a small section of your life, and users keep using them even after the phone has outlived its "communicative" capability.

As our phones get older (and we get older with them), throwing away your mobile phone is beginning to show all the emotional drawbacks of losing something or someone dear. The Telecommunications Carriers Association's mobile phone recycling survey found Japanese keeping the phones as part of a mobile phone "collection", for "data saving purposes", and finally "worries about data privacy".

There must be other ways of combining this information as you pass from one handset to another, free photo album services offered by the mobile phone carrier partners via the loyalty point system (keeping them on the network with their new phones too)... but it is plainly clear that the proximity with the mobile phone is set to become more and more part of our social and emotional fabric than we can even imagine today.

Navibloggin' twitter offline!

2008-06-24T17:46:00.003+01:00

... again. As you can see from the picture, Naviblog's twitter setup is offline with a nice picture of an airborne whale being flown around by orange birds (?!) Smoking ban for the smoked-up guys that made this one up and help keep the service stay online!