Mobio Networks, Inc.

Nice article on mobile web best practices

2008-05-10T22:49:00-08:00

In 1-to-1 Magazine. The article properly points out that there are now at least 4 different types of mobile marketing opportunities available with Mobio providing the technology to build downloadable applications and extend those applications to the mobile web, to extend your companies reach for those of your customers who do not carry the type of phones we support. Mobile Web The Mobile Web offers users the ability to play games and trivia, search for information, and look up telephone numbers and addresses, as well shop and bank from their wireless phone, among other things. According to Nielsen, 87 million mobile phone users in the U.S. subscribe to services provided on the mobile Web and 14 percent of those users actively use the mobile Web each month. The best advertising opportunities here are banner or text ads on mobile websites, or creating branded mobile websites, as well as driving users to a specific mobile website, lead generation, direct sales, and branding. Downloadable Applications This is software or content that consumers download to their mobile phones, which then resides on the phone. Examples include games and lifestyle tools such as calculators or calendars. Downloads are accessible to consumers with appropriate mobile phones and data plans. Branded applications and ad placement within applications are the best advertising opportunities. Mobile Messaging This category includes SMS and multimedia messaging service (MMS). SMS is available to virtually all mobile phone users and does not typically require a data plan or mobile Web access, making it ideal for reaching most mobile users. While SMS is limited to text, MMS can contain images, audio, and video content. Most mobile phones sold over the past few years support MMS, making it an effective way to reach many mobile users. Interactive applications frequently use SMS with common short codes (CSC), which are four- to six-digit phone numbers to/from which messages can be sent or received. Message advertising such as coupons or promotions are best used to drive users to a mobile website, or marketers can create an interactive dialogue with voting or polling options. Mobile Video This consists of video delivered over a mobile network to the mobile phone’s embedded media player. Videos may be downloaded or streamed and are usually accessed from a mobile website or contained in an MMS message. Mobile video is accessible to consumers with Web-enabled mobile phones and data plans. Ads can be placed before or after the video. This is a smaller customer group, so the MMA recommends companies use this mobile platform primarily as a branding opportunity. Source 1 to 1 Media, a division of the Peppers and Rogers group

Open is as open does

2007-12-19T01:59:00-08:00

On the one hand, its delightful to see AT&T touting itself as “Open”. That gives us three ostensibly open-mobile networks here in the US ... in the form of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. AT&T has always been open as has T-Mobile - in the sense that their GSM technology allowed you to purchase unlocked devices to run on their networks. Contrast this with Sprint and Verizon each of which supports a slightly different flavor of CMDA. Sprint does not allow foreign devices ... although it is considerably more liberal when it comes to foreign applications like Mobio’s. Verizon has always run one of the most closed networks, where both foreign devices and applications are barred from its networks. So it is great to see Verizon joining the Open bandwagon with a commitment to open up its network by the end of 2008. But the end of 2008 is a long time away and a lot can happen in a year. So while we applaud Verizon’s for saying they’re “Open,” we want to see them put their money where their mouth is ... that is put capital behind making their network open. Not to be outdone, AT&T followed with an “open announcement” of its own. This is clearly a marketing announcement only and one that does not rock the mobile world here in the US. GSM-based mobile phone companies - we have two in the US ... AT&T and T-Mobile ... start out far more Open than those based on CDMA. The technology allows you to take any unlocked phone and run it on any GSM-based network in the world. And AT&T has always allowed both “foreign” (not purchased through AT&T) devices and foreign applications on its network. T-Mobile is not quite as liberal on the application side so the AT&T announcement will - no doubt - put pressure on executives there to open up their network to downloadable mobile applications other than those available through its TZone program. Largely the issue with T-Mobile is that they don’t have their own data network but lease capacity from others, which means that they have kind of a love:hate relationship with all-you-can-eat mobile data plans. Love ‘em - but only so long as I can ensure the consumer is buying a lot of value-added applications from T-Mobile. Hate ‘em otherwise ... because there’s a chance we might be losing money on ‘em. If you get our drift. Both AT&T and Verizon are getting in on “Open Chic” in response to Google’s announcement of the Open Handset Alliance aka “Android”. This is a move to create a phone operating system based on Linux that will work across networks and will allow customers to create their own mobile widgets and applications and contribute them to the phone ecosystem. However this shakes out, one thing is clear. Mobile phone companies like to sell applications that Google, Mobio, and others in the mobile ecosystem would like to give away for free in exchange for advertising support. And consumers are getting fed up with paying through the nose for mobile phone service in the US that is far inferior to that seen in the rest of the world. The situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. Why? Because Census data shows that the cost of telephony service - which used to amount for 7% of household income - is now pushing into double digits. Relevant Links ‘Open’ is the New Green dated December 12, 2007 Mob Happy’s analysis of Verizon Open Announcement AT&T flings cellphone network wide open Analysis of Google’s Open Handset Alliance announcement aka Android on Gizmoda

You will control 25% of entertainment by 2012 predicts Nokia

2007-12-03T23:28:00-08:00

Nokia’s latest study, ‘A Glimpse of the Next Episode’, predicts that within five years a quarter of all entertainment will be created, edited and shared within peer groups rather than coming out of traditional media groups. Trend-setting consumers from 17 countries were asked about their digital behaviors and lifestyles. Nokia also used information gathered from its 900 million customers and views of leading industry figures to reach the conclusion that you will control 25% of the world’s entertainment by 2012. “From our research we predict that up to a quarter of the entertainment being consumed in five years will be what we call ‘Circular’. The trends we are seeing show us that people will have a genuine desire not only to create and share their own content, but also to remix it, mash it up and pass it on within their peer groups - a form of collaborative social media,” said Mark Selby, Vice President, Multimedia, Nokia. Nokia also looked at four emerging trends that will make entertainment more collaborative and creative as we move towards Circular Entertainment. These trends are listed as, Immersive Living; Geek Culture; G Tech and Localism. Source Mobile Crunch

Chatty Indians have embraced the mobile phone, but many still shrug at the PC

2007-11-12T19:49:00-08:00

Or so says The Economist, in an excellent article dated November 8, 2007. “India’s adventurous phone-owners have not embraced the computer or the internet in the same spirit. The country adds more mobile-phone users in a month (8.3m in August) than it adds PCs in a year (about 6m). Lehman Brothers calculates that this year India will have 24 PCs per 1,000 people. China has three times that figure. Moreover, despite the pride India takes in its IT firms, it is also a surprisingly �??offline�?? country. By August 2007 it had only 2.6m broadband connections, generously defined. China has over 50m. In Hyderabad and suburban Sangareddi, Jonathan Donner of Microsoft Research studied more than 300 small informal businesses�??from cobblers and locksmiths up to rice-dealers and photocopyists�??employing five or fewer people. In his sample, only 13% had a computer (only 23% had ever tried one) and 39% lacked even a phone. Three-quarters of those without a phone plan to get one. But ask people if they plan to get a PC, he says, and they will shrug. It is better to talk Are they right to? The spread of PCs is not always a sign of economic vitality. A recent World Bank survey of almost 2,000 Indian retailers found that about 19% used computers. But one of their big reasons for doing so was to skirt intrusive labour regulation: only these laws made a computer more attractive than a clerk. One of the enterprises Mr Donner visited collects scrap paper for recycling. It does not have heavy information-processing needs, Mr Donner points out; a logbook does the job. But many firms that can eschew computers do have communication needs. Without a phone they �??cannot communicate faster than they can walk�??. Low use of the PC is not necessarily under-use: many Indians may be right to shrug, relying instead on store-clerks and logbooks. But the slow spread of computing may also reflect timorous consumers and sleepy businesses. The diffusion of technology often counts for more than its invention. But perhaps there are inventive ways to aid diffusion. Source The Economist - November 8, 2007

Pressure builds to open up mobile phone platform here in the US

2007-10-23T19:59:00-08:00

Two very different publications - the Wall Street Journal and RCN News a respected trade publication in wireless - just this week suggest that the carrier’s walled gardens are starting to crumble in favor of open wireless networks. Driving this change is consumers who are fed up with seeing their choice of phones and mobile applications and content restricted by the carriers. Consumers want freedom—the same kind of freedom they are accustomed to on the desktop web. The freedom to purchase the mobile phone they see fit, run it on any compatible network, and download the mobile applications and other content that fits their taste and needs. What they don’t want is any company or companies serving as a “big brother” or intermediary in the process. Woe be it to any company - even a company as beloved as Apple - that tries to dictate choice to the consumer. Consumers are fed up and won’t take it anymore. Relevant Links iPhone bedlam dissected - RCR News October 22, 2007 Free My Phone - Walter Mossberg, WSJ, All Things Digital, October 21, 2007

GetMobio named Top Mobile Application for 2007

2007-10-17T16:11:00-08:00

Fierce Wireless named us one of 10 “Top Mobile Applications for 2007”. Here’s the nice stuff they had to say about the GetMobio lifestyle portal: Equal parts entertainment guide, map service and RSS reader, the GetMobio lifestyle portal is as essential an accessory for a night out as a credit card or driver’s license. Comprising more than 50 applications, widgets and RSS feeds, GetMobio outlines local clubs, restaurants, movies and live events according to categories like “After Midnight” and “Outwitting the Kids.” Once you determine a destination, the free service promises one-click access to contact information and maps--a “Cheap Gas” app even breaks down the service stations along the way according to fuel prices. And should the evening turn into a disaster, you’re also covered thanks to GetMobio’s “Panic Kit,” which contains links to cabs, towing services, locksmiths and related emergency services. Short of a hot date, it’s everything you need to hit the town. Relevant Links Fierce Wireless Press Release October 17, 2007

On the long hiatus

2007-10-08T17:07:00-08:00

You’ve probably noticed that we haven’t blogged in quite a while and wondered where the heck we were. The answer is very busy for the last few months launching our mobile applications in India with Times of India, the largest media company on that continent ... and Airtel, the largest carrier in India with a subscription-base that just crossed the 40 million mark. For Times of India, we created an entire custom portal under the brand name imobizo that is available on all kinds of phones across ~9 carriers in India. For Airtel, we are the exclusive provider of Cricket Centre BlackBerry edition. Relevant Links Mobio India site India Demo Centre

Mobile … the next big thing

2007-10-08T16:32:00-08:00

But how you rely on mobile as a medium depends some on both your age and on where you live In the US and other markets where the PC rules as the dominant mode to access the Internet, the heavy users of mobile tend to skew younger and more ethnic. These users use mobile for voice (duh!), text messaging, to download ringtones and wallpaper, games, but continue to rely on the PC as the primary means to access the internet. The statistics tell us that today’s mobile web, dominated as it is by WAP and xHTLM, remains too much of a hassle when it comes to day-to-day stuff like accessing the Internet to book a table at a restaurant, find movie show times and buy tickets, look up flight times, even to get news and catch up on scores and rankings for your favorite sporting events. In geographies where the PC rules and where broadband is prevalent, mobile is a medium that compliments the desktop Internet, one that is proving ideal to delivery highly targeted, relevant, and local advertising. When you watch a YouTube video on the desktop web, you can parallel task: listen to music, talk on the phone, watch TV. The mobile phone—because of its small form factor— demands your undivided attention. (Advertising is known to be more effective to the extent the target is not parallel tasking but focused on one medium.) Also, because a mobile phone is something you carry with you, mobile enables advertisers to target advertising in context, to the exact location and situation you are at. For example, an advertiser can target advertising to people coming out of a play in Times Square at 9:20pm to entice them to visit a cafe or bistro that has open tables and live music. In India, China, and other emerging economies the situation is very different. In these geographies, the PC is less common and penetration of broadband into the home far more limited. Here, the mobile phone is THE way the majority of people (regardless of age or economic status) access the Internet. Making mobile not just of interest to advertisers but increasingly of interest to mobile application developers. Why? Because WAP - wireless application protocol - is getting long in the tooth. Originally designed to deliver content and some minimal interactivity to the mobile phone, WAP has not kept up with developments such as Web 2.0. Developers who rely on WAP cannot develop applications that minimize clicks and truly take advantage of the large screens and graphics capabilities of today’s phones. For this, you need different tools. In the emerging economies, the mobile phone and the Internet are closely entwined; for them Mobile 2.0 applications that go beyond WAP are essential. Mobile 2.0 applications are rich, interactive, and allow people to get routine stuff done on the mobile web in less time and with less hassle. Advertising is an important way to underwrite the cost of developing these applications but not the only way. Subscription models also apply, particularly in India where they are called “value-added services”. Relevant Links Mobile Advertising: the next big thing The Economist October 4, 2007 Connected Customers Love Web 2.0, But Not on Mobile Media Post Online Media Daily October 3, 2007

On Google’s entry into the big, bad market for mobile phones

2007-10-01T16:12:00-08:00

Widely rumored ... but seemingly inevitable now that stories have surfaced in Business Week and eWeek, people have been asking us what we think. Here’s what Ramneek Bhasin, our CEO had to say: It�??s the wild-wild-west in the mobile market that includes large stakeholders - operators, handset & technology infrastructure vendors, highly regarded content brands, and the demanding mobile user. Google�??s focus on advertising will, over time, help remove adoption barriers for consumers and is a huge jump-start for mass market adoption of mobile data services in the US. Google clearly has the approach, financial muscle and most importantly the mindset to create an ecosystem with an ad-sponsored mobile web, user-friendly mobile applications (Google�??s own and ISVs like Mobio), dramatically impacting the mobile market chokehold of the Operators in US/EU. In other markets such as India, China, Latin America, etc, it will play out differently since paying for the consumption of value-added data services is already part of the consumers�?? psyche. Regardless, for US, I do echo the sentiments of Scott Silk, my counterpart at Action Engine who so eloquently states �?? �??welcome aboard Google! Glad to have ya�??.�?? Relevant Links Will A Google Phone Change the Game Business Week October 8, 2007 Rumors of a Google Mobile Phone Swirl eweek August 30, 2007

Simply shrinking web content isn’t enough

2007-07-30T16:41:00-08:00

Interview: Ramneek Bhasin With voice being no longer the driver for revenues, value added services (VAS) are the next growth frontier for Indian telecom companies. In the US market, these services comprise roughly one third of the revenues received from base users who use on average $50 worth of telecom services per month. In the case of high end users with average monthly usage in the $70-80 per month range, VAS forms the bulk (half or more) of the monthly usage bill. As the world moves to Web and Mobile 2.0, Mobio, a provider of Mobile 2.0 mash up applications, has been voted one of the hottest startups for 2007 by Business 2.0 magazine. The same magazine had Skype and Youtube in its grouping last year. Mobio Networks’s CEO Ramneek Bhasin has already obtained $9 million worth of funding within a year of his company beginning operations in 2005 and will have a second round of funding in 2007. He is also in the process of expanding his company’s presence in India. Taneesha Kulshrestha catches up with him to find out more about his plans. What brings you to India? Are there any differences between the patterns exhibited by the American and Indian markets? There is a dramatic difference between the Indian and the American markets. The key lies in access to broadband and mobile services. In the United States there are 180 million plus braodband comnnections while in India this figure is in the 20-25 million subscriber range. At the same time, the subscriber base for mobile users wth GPRS services in the Indian market stands in the 50-60 million range with 100% growth rates. Thus access to value added services via the mobile has a much broader market in India. Also, the Indian markets are growing while the developed country markets are almost saturated. Given all these factors, we expect much growth from India. Our target audience in the Indian market is also broader. While in the US, we target mainly the 18 to 35 age group, in India, our services target the 18 to 45 year age group. This is because the technology adoption curve is India still sees these late users adapting to the technology. Can we expect your services to work across different phones and telecom service providers? Yes our services operate across a range of phone sets. One does not need a very fancy phone set for our services. We just require a minimum screen size and a GPRS connection. We offer both operator specific and operator neutral services. That is we can develop applications for a service provider and also for a business to consumer website. For instance, we made the world cup cricket application for Indiatimes. Any user can get those updates irrespective of which telecom connection he has. Similarly we have run an application for movies in the US and anyone can get it on any phone. You do not charge any user fee for your services. Is there a difference between revenue models in the US and India? In the US, revenues are mostly subscriber based. While in India the y are both advertising and subscriber fee based. If the services are carrier (telecom company) sponsored there is a sharing of revenues between the portal that provides the appication, the carrier and Mobio. If there is a actual deliverer involved, say for instance Jet Airways that delivers the airline service for which the ticket has been purchased over the net, the revenues are shared four ways. There is a third model that’s emerging in the form of advertiser based services but that will take one to two years to develop. Services that track cricket scores, bank accounts, etc are already being offered by Indian companies. What sets you apart? There is a popular misconception that simply shrinking web content to the �??small screen�?? is enough. On average, a person uses only 7% of the features on most websites. Thus just shrinking desktop browser to the small screen is a poor solution for mobilizing the Web. We work with partners to fix the problem by delivering content and applications based upon Web services and Mobile 2.0 mash-ups. We take only the tastiest bits of the Web and deliver personalized mobile applications. A consumer can access the data in three clicks or less with minimal to no data entry. Most competitors in the marketplace also just make the information available to a user. We take it a step forward by enabling transactions on the same. A user can see the movies available at a time, decide what he wants to book and pay for it at the same time. Source The Financial Express

Goodies for your mobile phone

2007-07-30T16:38:00-08:00

Bangalore: Most mobile phone owners in India, whose handsets cost them Rs.10,000 or more, are probably Net-enabled �?? that is, they have the ability to wirelessly access the Internet. This usually entails a small monthly charge �?? and the majority of such �??smart phone�?? owners don�??t care to use their �??netability�?? �?? because they think there is little out there on the Web, except the ability to read e-mail and scan a few web pages. A Cupertino (California, U.S.) based start-up, fuelled by Indian brains based in Delhi, hopes to change all that. Co-founded in 2005 by Ramneek Bhasin and Sanjeev Sardana, IIT Kanpur and Delhi alumnus, with an American partner, Mobio, the new product has been making waves in the cellular value addition business, ever since they launched their Mobile �??lifestyle portal,�?? GetMobio ( http://www.getmobio.com) earlier this year. They call their creation a �??mashup�?? of compelling Web-based services for the mobile user �?? all free�?� what we would call an �??avial�?? or �??khichdi�?? of tools that make it worthwhile to have that extra Net-enabled edge on your phone. The offerings at the U.S. portal �?? local guides, ways to find the nearest eatery or place to stay �?? and most recently, the ability to use one�??s mobile phone to join instant message-based social networks such as Twitter �?? have seen Mobio hailed as one of 2007�??s Hottest Startups by Business 2.0 magazine. And as one of the top 10 emerging wireless entertainment players this year by analysts IDC. India-specific Mobio has created a localised India-specific portal that can be downloaded by all phones that are Internet-enabled: One has to send an SMS with the text LIVE to 8888. Like its popular U.S. avatar, Mobio is the product of Indian brains.Speaking to The Hindu on Saturday, R.Vidyanand, Mobio�??s India head said, the company had already contacted leading mobile providers to add parts of the offer ing to their own slate of services. �??In a few weeks we will announce a host of new India-specific content,�?? he promised. Source The Hindu

Indian operators are more advanced than the US operators in bringing down the walled gardens

2007-07-30T16:37:00-08:00

What is the reason behind the simultaneous launch of Mobio in the US and India? The reason for the simultaneous launch is that we work with partners to build services that mobilize Web services and deliver them to popular model mobile phones, besides smart phones. Both these market have good scope for it. From the Indian context, growth in the Indian GPRS space is a major factor. The growth in VAS over here is going to outpace growth in any other part of the world, as Indian customers are hungry for rich services. India as a market has been underserved by lack of truly good user experience on mobile handsets. We believe in the growth story India represents. Since two of our founders including me are of Indian origin, we were able to grasp the uniqueness of the Indian market. What services will Mobio offer in India? From vertical perspective, we are focused on travel and entertainment. Within entertainment, sports related infotainment would have a fairly large segment. In travel, we are coming out with very well thought applications on flights and hotels. Horizontal area of focus is transactional oriented services like booking of air and railway tickets, hotel reservations, and buying tickets for movies, concerts, and sporting events. We have been installing a number of cell sites for majority of service providers across the country Which segment of Indian VAS market are you targeting? We are initially targeting on what we will classify as a segment of the market that carries new generation phones. It means phones that are GPRS-enabled and require certain amount of memory and CPU on phone, so that we can work with 2G and 2.5G, and later on 3G infrastructure. In rural areas, these facilities do not exit even though we would like to service that market. When the infrastructure is available to us, we believe the growth story will happen in that market also. At present, we have thought about education-based application for rural market when infrastructure is ready. What are the factors that influence the VAS market in India? The major factor that influences the VAS market is carriers. Some Indian carriers are very progressive and aggressive in terms of rolling out VAS services, so our hope and belief is that the frontier becomes more and more open. Walled gardens are coming down quite rapidly, and India is right there on the world stage. In some cases, some Indian operators are more advanced than the US operators in bringing down the walled gardens. There is another driver as well; India and China are unique market in the sense broadband penetration has been very limited unlike European countries. In these two countries, cell phones have literally become not just communication tools, but also computing tools. But there are not many services to compute with. Mobio will capitalize on this opportunity. What type of partners are you targeting in India? In India, we cannot imagine a better partner than Times Internet with its Indiatimes tag. Working with Times Internet, we have been able to reach 68% of the people who carry mobile phones in India. Also we have tied up with seven out of nine carriers. In India, we are interested in partnering with other companies that may have content that can be made available as a web service and thus is something we can quickly mobilize and monetize for them.

Our latest video on YouTube

2007-07-24T15:49:00-08:00

Submitted for your amusement ... best with the sound turned on! Made you look!

Starting to pick up steam in India

2007-07-23T18:57:00-08:00

As evidenced by this posting from an Indian-based blogger who notes: “After creating waves in the US, they are finally looking at India ops...and by the looks of it, their GetMobio service seems to be pretty cool! What is Mobio? Who are these guys? Mobile Widgets! These chaps mash up web services into mobile apps and serve it to you. They say their mission is to provide Fun and Functional widgets that can be personalized based on your preferences, published and shared with others, and run on all kinds of popular mobile phones. Relevant Link WAT Blog - Web Advertising Technology

Mobile search needs cookies to grow

2007-07-21T17:25:00-08:00

Although U.S. mobile search ad revenues by 2011 are projected to reach $715 million, its growth will be constrained, unless ad-cookie-like methods are developed to reach users on different carriers, according to research from eMarketer. Our own experience here at Mobio marketing our products through mobile search advertising is that while cookies are needed and will be a great start - they alone won’t be sufficient to turn mobile search into a big business. There are a lot of other infrastructure pieces that we take for granted in the desktop web world that today are “MIA” when it comes to the mobile web. Time will tell whether it is possible to simply extent online tracking and closed-loop infrastructure invented for the desktop web to the mobile world or whether different toolsets and infrastructure will be required. Either way, the task ahead is daunting given the lack of standardization in the underlying technologies used by the different carriers here in the US and the fact that the different carriers refuse to play nicely with each other for competitive reasons. Relevant Link Emarketer July 19, 2007