Numeric Domains

Back in the Saddle (gently...)

2009-07-16T07:17:43-04:00

See what happens when you stay away for so long...

DN Journal reports 2 four-digit numeric domain sales in its latest offering.

5652.com and 1925.com each sold for $2,500.

Has The Bottom Fallen Out?

2009-03-19T05:57:00-04:00

Heyo,

Has the bottom truly fallen out on numeric domain sales or is this just a blip on the radar? The March 1 domain sales report from DNJournal would seem to indicate ... YES!!

34.com was reportedly sold for a paltry 45g's. That's a far cry from the over $340,000 that was fetched for 770.com, a THREE-digit domain, a while back.

The domain industry is in turmoil. It's not all bad news though. Toys.com just sold for over 5 million, Candy.com is reported selling for 3 million (+) and the impact of new extensions are causing controversy on the forum boards.

I'll weigh in more thoroughly next week.

Cheers,

News from the "I Thought That Looked Familiar" File

2009-03-04T10:20:30-05:00

Back in June, 2007 I penned an article in Tech News World extolling the virtues and the profit potential inherent in "The Rise of Numeric Domains".

Now it seems that someone, NOT of English tongue as their primary language - either that or they use a really bad translation service - saw fit to re-purpose/repackage or otherwise reproduce my ditty to suit their particular audience (who dat?, ed).

They say that copying is the finest form of flattery. In that vein, I present their version of my article in its entirety below. My observations are highlighted in BLUE.

EXPERT ADVICE The Rise of Numeric Domains

With higher than 4 billion cell phone inwardly pay out large-scale -- 487 million in China alone -- it's no reason that "mobile" be all the viciousness. (Mad money?)

A recent segment of "American Idol" received nearly 80 million deed revelation vote. (Hmmm, I wonder if that included the "hanging chad" swing vote?). The 2008 U.S. presidential candidate be incorporate animated communications elements into their campaign. (Hey, if George Dubyas's people were part of this, I missed it completely!). Social network such in situate of MySpace and Twitter are starting to deploy mobile-friendly Web site. Most mobile access is achieve via unadventurous method such as wireless possessor "walled garden" deck, to the point code, text messaging and habitually long-winded, circuitous sub-domains. (That's the smartest thing you've said all day.)

It beg the query: Is near a simpler, imaginably more dominant mobile access and brand mechanism that enjoy largely gone in need being seen? (Yep!)

The Internet and the cell phone booth are collide (Cosmic collision of epic proportions!), as the encircling compound evolve to quench our want to socialize and to cut talent. (Ahhh... very clever. Handing out pink slips via You Tube, MySpace and Facebook... very clever indeed). Personalized mobility will become the norm. If family are going to access Web sites via cell phones, why not locate equally it undemanding by bearing of using numbers instead of parcels? (Numbers instead of boxes? I'll buy that).

On billions of cell phones worldwide, the dial wipe (Rotary or qwerty?) numbers 2 through 9 can epitomize letters of the alphabet. (And I thought NO ONE was listening!). The numeral 2 can represent "a," "b" or "c." The "7" knob (First position, third row) can represent "p," "q," "r" or "s," etc.

Therefore, any twine (Sp, ed.) of numbers can represent multiple alpha equivalent. The numbers 3776 can represent 144 alpha combination (3 can represent d, e or f; 7 can represent p, q, r or s; 6 can represent m, n or o). The numbers 3776 could represent "Esso;" it could also represent "ESPN" or 142 other distinctive alpha combinations.

On your cell phone WAP (wireless repute protocol) (I just pray that this isn't a veiled allegation that something is amok at ITU, CTIA or the FCC. A scandal now would send the economy into even more chaos!), the browser, entering a numeric string and adding conscious ".com" create a numeric domain Anarchist Punk Live at Deaf Club 1979. (OK. NOW we gotta start the investigation!).

Until the domain is explicitly purposed, it's a moment ago that -- a string of numbers, no trademark issues and no squat issues. (Hey, Berryhill was right all along).

Catch 22 ... Caught for $100k

2009-02-11T07:08:58-05:00

Although not officially confirmed, Sedo auctions sold 22.com for $100,000. I was surprised that it went for such a bargain price. Ostensibly it's because the world economy is still reeling from that Yankee malaise.

The seller in this case still has quite a nice portfolio in its quiver. Let's hope that some of the buyers of numeric domains previously reported here at ND Central will soon deploy some of those gems and start to recoup their respective investments.

Sedo also has 08.com (zero) currently on auction with a bid of $103,000. That auction ends in a couple of days. The auction starting there on February 19 also has some numerics including 90.com.

ChaCha - 242242.com On The Move

2009-01-28T15:19:54-05:00

I hear tell through the GoMo grapevine that one of our star alumni ChaCha, has tapped the proverbial money trough to the tune of some $30-odd million.

.... or did they?

GoMo's scribe, Cian, seems to have it all figured out now.

1st - ChaCha started a Series C funding round for 30 million.
2nd - It was made public that they had gotten 11 of that.
3rd - Various sites published the 11 million figure.
4th - ChaCha finished the funding round, got all 30 million, and sent people updates.

Also noted in the same article that another numeric domain website, 118 was on the buy side of a sizeable deal with Texperts.

Any way you slice it, it's all good news for numeric domains.

(And don't forget my earlier prediction that Pittsburgh will win the Super Bowl)

POW... WOW!

2009-01-27T10:11:16-05:00

How could I resist?

I have long been a fan of Messieur Nulman and his oddball methods of marketing via S U R P R I S E.

Giving away copies of his tome to fellow blogger sluggos only serves to highlight his commitment to errr.... getting the word out.

This Mohawk is looking forward to the gospel within to see if there is some magic that will light a fire under numeric domains here in 09'.

Send it to Scott Smith (on the Rez at) 1074 Sour Springs Road, RR 6 Hagersville, ON N0A 1H0.

(Others send cheques/checks)

The Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart

2009-01-22T05:48:11-05:00

Nudoms basking in warmer climes take note. Yours truly and many of my fellow Canucks are thoroughly enjoying sub-zero temperatures, near record snowfalls, worn-to-the-quick snow shovels and of course the corresponding knee-high salt stains. Meh...

Aside from the obvious repercussions, massive increases in video rentals and chock-a-block filled maternity wards come next October, (enough with the hyphens already!, ed), this weather also brings to mind the qualities that help define what it means to live north of the 49th.

John Derringer (nee "Hayes"), head bingo caller at Q107, the best radio station here in the Big Smoke, shares his temperate views on Canadians, Americans and how we deal with winter.

50° Fahrenheit (10° C)
New Yorkers try to turn on the heat.
Canadians plant gardens.

40° Fahrenheit (4.4° C)
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
Canadians Sunbathe.

35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C)
Italian Cars won't start.
Canadians drive with the windows down.

32° Fahrenheit (0 ° C)
Distilled water freezes.
Canadian water get thicker.

0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C)
New York City landlords finally turn on the heat.
Canadians have the last cookout of the season.

-40° Fahrenheit (-40° C)
Hollywood disintegrates.
Canadians rent some videos.

-60° Fahrenheit (-51° C)
Mt. St. Helens freezes.
Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door.

-100° Fahrenheit (-73° C)
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Canadians pull down their ear flaps.

-173° Fahrenheit (-114° C)
Ethyl alcohol Freezes.
Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.

-460° Fahrenheit (-273° C)
Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops.
Canadians start saying "cold, eh?"

-500° Fahrenheit (-295° C)
Hell freezes over.
The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup.

And Finally .... 94.com tops 80k

2008-12-31T09:21:56-05:00

94.com

changed hands for $81,000 to close out the reported numeric domain sales for 2008.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by this little corner of the domain world. With all of the sales activity over the past year, that saw numeric domains go as high as 340,000, 2009 promises to be a harbinger of activity. I'm really looking forward to seeing how these gems re-emerge into the market.

Happy New Year and all best wishes for an obnoxiously happy, healthy and successful 2009!

Cheers,

Numeric Domains End the Year With a Bang!

2008-12-24T07:15:43-05:00

DNJournal confirms that T.J.Demas added to his formidable numeric domain war chest recently by adding "two bits" to the roster.

T.J. shelled out $124,555.55 for 25.com and promptly redirected it to this Wikipedia page.

It's still too early to tell if the elfin Aspenite will realize a profit on his numeric portfolio or not. Rest assured that Sluggo NuDoms here at number central won't be betting against him.

5.63 billion mobile connections by 2013 - "Staggering"

2008-12-17T14:28:35-05:00

The mobile web continues its unabated growth and more and more companies are jumping on the band wagon and reporting who, what, where, when, how and why we all should sit up and take notice.

The latest of these is Ovum . Nothing really new here...shift in global balance of power, more players - increased competition, prepaid connections on the upswing yada, yada, yada.

All grist for the mill for those of us watching this from the numeric domains sidelines.

288.com Clears 40k

2008-12-12T04:22:07-05:00

The numeric domain 288.com recently changed hands for $43,222 at Sedo's Great Domains.

This was a virtual steal for the new owner. Aside from the obvious - short length, .com, and lucky number attributes, this domain is one of the most versatile in terms of the number of alpha keypad equivalents:

= cut
= but
= atv: all terrain vehicles
= ctv: Canadian Television (who dat?, ed.)
= btv: British Television
= btu: British thermal unit

Errrr... Steelers will win the Super Bowl

944.com

2008-12-11T09:34:01-05:00

An earlier post here at ND outlined how TJ Demas spent over $1 million for a suite of numeric domains domains. For now, they mainly point to various versions of the Wall Street Journal with two notable exceptions. 44.com points to a CNN article about a black hole found at the center of the galaxy and 8808.com which points to a Name Pros thread announcing the purchase of six numeric domains from Marchex.

The new breed of “40 Under 40”, “30 Under 30” and the other “X Under “X” crowd, as selected by dozens of magazines, newspapers and business organizations, are also flexing their entrepreneurial muscles.

Love him him or not , a tip of the old skull cap goes out to Marc Lotenberg, CEO and founder of 944 Media, LLC. In a recent interview with the aforementioned Wall Street Journal Numbers Guy Carl Bialik, Marc offered:

“In a world moving so fast toward mobile applications, every major brand is leaning toward acronyms or number sequences in their Web domains to eliminate misspellings and prevent any roadblocks in accessing their Web site.”

“Number sequences are incredibly powerful in creating simplicity for the user.”

944.com Alexa rank is currently hovering at 63,899.

WSJ's Numbers Guy Zeros in on Numeric Domains

2008-12-10T00:13:00-05:00

Nice to see more traditional mainstream media beginning to report increasingly on the growing phenomenon that are numeric domains. In a December 5, 2008 piece, among other observations, Carl Bialik skimmed the surface on recent top numeric domain sales (as oft reported here and at DN Journal).

"Industry watchers say Web users should get used to visiting sites whose names are numeric...The increase in Web navigation from cellphones adds to the trend, because on a numeric keypad, it's easier to type out a two-digit domain than a long word".

Hmmph... whoda thunk?

And it's not just the online WSJ's Bialik that's publicly singing the virtues of these numeric gems. Sedo's COO, Jeremiah Johnston adds "Every region of the world, no matter the culture, has some kind of tie to numerology".

Even the sluggos over at prestigious Wharton, specifically one perfesser Eric T. Bradlow , weighs in with his Harvard backed PhD to opine... "I do think you will see a movement toward numerically named Web sites. They have this perception of technology and newness."

We couldn't agree more. Nudoms are invited to contact Mr. Bialik at his blog.

Emerging Markets Beating a Path on Mobile Browsers

2008-12-09T06:23:53-05:00

Perhaps the most telling statement that the mobile web is coming of age is suggested in this snippet about emerging markets from the December 5, 2008 Wall Street Journal.

"... Many people have turned instead to accessing the Internet with their mobile phone in the past year as falling costs, increased bandwidths and improvements in browser technology have made it quicker to surf from a cellphone. For many, browsing on a handheld device is a cheaper alternative to buying a PC or paying for home Internet service."

Many consumers want to use phones that cost around $100 to do tasks such as accessing email and social-networking sites. Consumers worldwide can easily access some of the most popular social networking sites using numeric domains. Simply enter the numeric domain equivalents of these sites into any mobile browser to access the respective mobile versions:

Facebook - Enter 32232665.com

MySpace - Enter 6977223.com

Twitter - Enter 8948837.com

Linked (In) - Enter 546533.com

Telefonica and Facebook - Exclusive to .... Everybody!

2008-10-10T08:47:32-04:00

NuDoms (Numeric Domainers) know well, how easy it is to enter numbers into mobile phones to access mobile web sites. You want to get to the mobile web site of "Money", simply spell the word money on your mobile browser - 66639.com, press send and you're away to the races. No multi-tapping keys, waiting for the cursor to move to the next position... easy, peasy.

Now comes word that the Spinmeisters at Telefonica and Facebook are up to their old tricks again. Seems they are trying to bamboozle our prized mobile citizenry with their latest EXCLUSIVE offer.

In an October 6, 2008 press release Telefonica proclaimed:

TELEFÓNICA SIGNS GLOBAL AGREEMENT WITH FACEBOOK TO INCORPORATE DIRECT ACCESS FROM ITS MOBILE PORTALS

And like all good marketers, they are drizzling the good news and the deployment in stages

"The first stage includes Ireland, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. The second encompasses Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Central American countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia."

OK. So far, so good. But here's where the BS alert (tm) kicks in.

"Every participating country may include a link in the browsing menu of its mobile handsets to Facebook's mobile service, allowing customers to send digital content (photos and videos) through integrated MMS services (currently, more than 24 million pictures are uploaded to Facebook each day)."

Yes, every participating country may include a portal (on-deck) link. But what if you are in a country that is not on the esteemed list? Are you all of a sudden SOL?

And what if you're not part of the Telefonica network? Will you not have access to one of those browsing menus of choice and thusly the mobile web site?

And what if you don't want to send photos and videos via costly MMS? Is it TFB?

Fact is, the Facebook mobile portal is available on billions of mobile phones around the world, on any carrier, on any hand set and in any language.

All you need to do is enter the numeric domain equivalent of the word Facebook into whatever mobile browser you have. Simply input 32232665.com into your browser, press send and see what happens. The flatfeet here at Numeric Domains would love to hear about your experience.

In spite of this seemingly very generous and exclusive offer that Telefonica has negotiated with Facebook, it has nothing to do with better customer service or adding value to your all-you-can-eat data plan. It has to do with money. Telefonica wants to sell more phones, more air time and they want you to send more photos and videos via their system so that they can pad their bottom line. Plain and simple.

Hey, we're all for earning a buck or two, and no doubt this is an exclusive offer relative to Telefonica customers. However, no need to imply that you can't access the Facebook mobile website if you are on AT&T, Telstra, M1, O2, Virgin, T-Mobile etc.

Give it a try and share your comments here.

Moody, Money? Money, Moody? Flip a 2646...

2008-10-07T15:37:43-04:00

One of the stars in our numeric domain portfolio is 66639.com (more on that project coming soon). No, 66639.com is not meant to spell that word - which is increasingly pervading water cooler discussions, for those fortunate to still have a job where coolers - water or otherwise, still exist. No we're not talking about Moody, we're talking about Money.

With all due respect to my fine-feathered friend to the left, the sluggos here at Numeric Domains see the glass not only half-full, we see it o-v-e-r-f-l-o-w-i-n-g !

Sure the markets are tanking. There's panic in the streets. Governments are bailing out the saps that over-extended themselves (Ooops they are the saps - my bad).

But je digress. When we read stories like the RCR one below that indicate that the mobile phone will become a "vital enabler", it almost makes me want to run out and change carriers just for the hell of it!

Sure there may tough times ahead. But for those eternal optimists, and those folks who refuse to be sucked into the vacuum of "woe is me", opportunities abound. Especially for those who have a toe dipped into the wireless ecosystem.

100M People to Use Mobile Money Transfers by 2013

More than 100 million users worldwide will use their mobile phone to make international money transfers by 2013, according to a new analysis by Juniper Research.

Cross-border mobile money transfers is a new trend, but it is expected to gain traction during the net couple of years, especially on migration routes such as Philippines/Middle East and Mexico/ USA, according to Juniper.

“The vast increase in migrant workers globally has fuelled the number of remittances being sent home to friends and families regularly,” said Howard Wilcox, author of the report. “The mobile phone will become a vital enabler in developing countries because often many more people have phones than have bank accounts. The GSM Association Mobile Money Transfer global initiative emphasizes the importance that is attached to this across the mobile industry as a whole.”

The top three regions for international transfers by 2013 will be Western Europe, North America and Africa & Middle East, according to the report.

Worldwide Mobile Subscribers Approaches 4 Billion

2008-10-07T13:47:12-04:00

Wireless Week reports that there will be nearly 4 billion subscribers (+/- 61% of the worlds population) by the end of 2008.

Although the numbers do need to be taken with a grain of salt, it goes on to say:

"The year-on-year growth of cellular subscribers since 2000 has averaged 24%. In 2000, mobile penetration stood at only 12%; this year, it surpassed the 50% mark. It is estimated to reach about 61% by the end of 2008.

Although the data shows impressive growth, the ITU warned that the figures need to be carefully interpreted. In theory, a 61% penetration rate suggests that at least every second person could be using a mobile phone. However, this isn’t the case. In fact, the statistics reflect the number of subscriptions, not people. Double-counting takes place when people have multiple subscriptions. Also, operators’ methods for counting active prepaid subscribers vary and often inflate the actual number of people that use mobile phones."

Numeric Domains at TRAFFIC NY

2008-10-04T08:38:43-04:00

The silent auction at Moniker included 2 nice numeric domain sales.

650.com ---> $27,000

512.com ---> $14,120

85 33627 Gets $ymmetrical for $1.14 million

2008-08-20T13:37:22-04:00

Heyo,

Long time, no yak. I hope you’ve all had an exceptional summer thus far.

Astute NuDoms will know that it’s been over a month since I last posted. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which there has been little to report regarding numeric domains. However, and more importantly, we have spent the last 4 months working on a project designed to take numeric domains from under the radar and into the stratosphere. But as you’ll read here and elsewhere, others are also bursting at the seams (and wallets) in an effort to get their numeric domain projects up and running.

Picture credits: Peter McMullen and John Steinbridge

I was ecstatic to read in Ron Jackson’s DNJournal, the number$ behind the numbers as T.J. Demas dipped into his piggy bank for over US $1.1 million for a handful of (mostly) numeric domains. Who knows what drives a person to shell out substantial (and to-the-penny) amounts of money for seemingly innocuous numeric domains. Far be it for us to weigh on the possibilities. Suffice to say that we’re ecstatic that this news has come to light.

A quick look at the current landing pages that some of these numeric domains are pointed to might lead one to believe that the elfish TJ:

Was once chastised for being late

Has a fetish for kaleidoscopic drawings of colorful little rocks

Doesn’t want to miss the next Olympiad, or as is more likely the case...

Knows a thing or two about a thing or two

No doubt there is a great deal more to this story that will be disclosed in due course. Whatever route TJ takes we wish him well.

The over $180k paid for any one of these domains does not compare to the over $343k paid for 770.com awhile back. It just goes to show how difficult it is to determine the value numeric domains. Aside from the symmetric and symbolic connections between the prices paid for these domains, Marchex et. al. saw the value in selling at those prices or we would not be reading about it now.

I can say with certainty that the sluggos here at ND are more bullish than ever on numeric domains and look forward to a kick-ass Q4/08 and 2009.

Edit August 22 - Click "comments" below to add your comment.

246.com Tops $124k

2008-07-08T06:18:11-04:00

DNJournal reports that 246.com recently changed hands for $124,568.

248.com Goes for Over 58k Per Digit

2008-06-10T13:43:35-04:00

Our friends at DNJournal report that 248.com recently sold for $175,000.

Trebles all round!

Numeric Domains on Auction at Orlando T.R.A.F.F.I.C.

2008-05-12T11:21:32-04:00

The list for Monikers auction at the Orlando T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference has been announced. The full list can be downloaded here.

The Live premium auction starts at 2:00pm on Friday May 23. The numeric domains included are:

320.org

20.net

The following are offered in the silent extended auction running from May 20-29, 2008.

056.com

057.com

058.com

064.com

073.com

075.com

079.com

082.com

084.com

092.com

097.com

354.com

4433.com

46300.com

47800.com

512.com

553.com

571.net

576.net

59700.com

631.net

64200.com

64700.com

650.com

676.net

76100.com

769.net

7900.org

79700.com

871.net

Good luck to all buyers and sellers.

Develolping Your Business for the Next Four Billion

2008-05-06T08:16:05-04:00

Entrepreneurs are constantly challenged to maintain and grow their businesses. It's no longer enough to idle along with the status quo if you plan on being around next month, next quarter or next year, especially if your business depends on the wireless ecosystem.

The World Resources Institute, along with their colleagues at the Global Challenge Network and Harvard's John F. Kennedy school of government, have published an insightful report detailing the global social and economic impact of the Base of the Economic Pyramid, better known as BOP.

The above graph is explained as follows:

Four billion people form the base of the economic pyramid (BOP) -- those with annual incomes below $3,000 (in local purchasing power).

The BOP makes up 72 percent of the 5,575 million people recorded by available national household surveys worldwide and an overwhelming majority of the population in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean -- home to nearly all the BOP.

This large segment of humanity faces significant unmet needs and lives in relative poverty: in current U.S. dollars their incomes are less than $3.35 a day in Brazil, $2.11 in China, $1.89 in Ghana, and $1.56 in India.

Yet together they have substantial purchasing power: the BOP constitutes a $5 trillion global consumer market.

Even though the report is not about wireless technology per se, it does help us to understand the indisputable fact that the worlds developing countries will drive major portions of the economic and social landscapes. This fact is certainly uppermost in the minds of many a Fortune 500 companies' CEO's.

Sun Microsystems' CEO, Jonathan Schwartz, shared his views on the importance of BOP in this Next Billion video segment (scroll to the ~~bottom of the~~ correct page).

As BOP users gain access to mobile devices and become more comfortable using them as tools to enhance their social and economic activities, I see a tremendous opportunity for the inclusion and use of numeric domains as a way to more easily access the wireless internet.

Add This To The Growing List of Numeric Domain Websites

2008-04-24T13:58:49-04:00

Here's another shining example of a company that gets that numeric thang.

That Ain't Hay

2008-04-16T05:08:40-04:00

If there was any question that pure numeric domains are continuing to sky rocket in price, this little nugget oughta help quell those nasty rumors.

I'm often asked by fellow NuDoms...

"Scott, what do you think this (insert numeric domain) is worth?"

Much to their disappointment, I invariably always give the same answer:

"your domain is worth exactly the amount that a buyer is prepared to write a cheque (check) for." (that clears the bank ;-)

Who knows what motivates buyers to unleash the purse strings when it comes to their domain fantasies?

Here's another example of a company that understands the value and importance of a numeric domain and dipped deep into the piggy bank to back up their visions of sugar plums.

Ron Jackson, all things Poobah at DNJournal reports today that the pure numeric domain 770.com traded hands for eye-popping sum of $343,208.

European online gaming operator Casino770 coughed up the coin to secure their prize.

I know there will be those doubting Thomas' that will chirp ... "yeah, but it was their name, they had to buy it". That may well be the case, and I'm not privy to the details of this deal, but look at these 2 sides of the coin.

1) The owners of Casino770 should maybe have given a little more thought to acquiring the numeric domain long before they created the moniker. After all, there are still a very few 3-digit .com numeric domains available on the open market trading for somewhat less than 300 grand. Not thinking this through was their opportunity cost that eventually nicked them for significantly more than they might have otherwise paid.

2) Kudos to the NuDom that owned the domain. Was he just lucky to have stumbled onto this domain? Did he hand reg it? Did he solicit a previous owner to buy it? Who knows? Who cares?

The fact is, he knew exactly how much $$$,$$$ it would take to effect an ownership change at Whois . More importantly, he had the cajones to stick to his guns until he got exactly how much he wanted.

The sluggos here at Numeric Domains salute both the buyer and seller in this transaction. We urge all companies and organizations looking to expand the depth and breadth of their product and service offerings to strongly consider incorporating numeric domains into their plans.

Opportunity knocks...

Nokia Predicts 500 Million Mobile Users by 2010

2008-04-14T05:05:36-04:00

This from Techtree.

India's burgeoning population is going to get even more well-connected in the days to come. One supposes this is great news for consumers, more so for the telecom sector.

To be precise, India's mobile phone user base is expected to cross 500 million mobile phone users by 2010 -- this according to Nokia. Out of which, 60 million users will have mobile video capability and 100 million will prefer mobile music services.

Speaking at the Goafest Conclave, D Shivakumar, vice president and managing director of Nokia India, predicted that half the subscribers will be accessing the Internet through mobile phones. In his view, services delivered through mobiles will open a window of opportunity for advertisers in the country. He went on to say that the market will be divided into three sections: the top-end limited to some 50 million customers, the mid-range comprising around 150 million subscribers, and the third tier -- claimed to be unique to India -- dominated by low-cost basic handsets with minimal functionality.

While it may be good for India to have so many mobile phone users by 2010, it may be quite another thing for them to experience better network connectivity and cheaper calling rates by that time.

Let's See... 625 Times 8... That'll Be An Even $5 Million. Will That Be Cash or Charge?

2008-04-06T12:54:10-04:00

Our good buds down at the inimitable DNForum had one of their members post this little jewel. Given the current trends in pricing of numeric domains, are these guys that far of their proverbial rockers?

The average per domain price is a svelte $625,000.

Swiss to the rescue indeed!

Hello to all numeric lovers !

We are selling the nicest NN.COM portfolio in the world !

08.com + 22.com + 34.com + 44.com + 55.com + 84.com + 85.com + 92.com as a package.

Minimal offer for consideration : $ 5,000,000

DNForum

Knock, Knock. MySpace? ...... Hellllllo. Anybody Home?

2008-04-02T10:37:43-04:00

The annual blowfest, better known as CTIA, has once again alit upon the city of glowing neon, not un-adjacent to the world famous Chicken Ranch, Las Vegas, NV. Among the slew of hyperbole showcasing the latest and greatest "must have " new-fangled gadgets and technical wizardry, we find this little nugget buried deep within the bowels of that esteemed pifflesheet, the Denver Post.

As NuDoms will know, this was an opportunity to once again highlight how numeric domains can enable millions of people to access some of the most popular Web sites on the planet, quickly and easily.

I've presented the article here in its entirety and included my comments submitted to the Denver Post.

MySpace explores mobile music

By The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 04/02/2008 02:58:55 AM MDT

LAS VEGAS — MySpace, the most-popular social networking website, is exploring ways to let users access music featured on its pages through Internet browsers on their mobile phones.

"People want to take music on the go with them," said Brandon Lucas, MySpace's senior director for mobile business development, in an interview Monday at the CTIA Wireless conference in Las Vegas. "It's something very interesting to us." Within a few years, MySpace will get as much as 50 percent of its user traffic through mobile devices, Lucas said.

The News Corp. social networking site started offering mobile versions to Verizon Wireless and Sprint subscribers last month.

To which I replied:

Dear Mr./Ms. Denver Post Reporter:

You might want to inform Mr. Lucas there's something that he might find "very interesting".

The fact is, anyone on the planet with a cell phone and a wireless connection can already access the MySpace mobile Web site.

Here's how: (recognizing that numbers represent letters on billions of standard, non-qwerty cell phone dial pads).

1. Open your mobile browser

2. Enter the numeric domain equivalent of the word MySpace - that's 6977223

3. Add the .com

4. Press 'send', 'call', 'go' etc.

5. You are taken directly to the MySpace mobile Web site

It doesn't matter if you are in Bangalore, Buffalo or Beijing

It doesn't matter what hand set you use

It doesn't matter what language you speak

It doesn't matter which carrier you subscribe to (although Verizon and Sprint would have their subscribers believe that they are 'special' in the eyes of the MySpace intelligentsia.

In fact, why not call up your FaceBook contact and tell them the same thing. 32232665.com goes to the Facebook mobile Web site. And while you're on a roll and into your Rolodex, do the same thing for Twitter at 8948837.com, ESPN at 3776.com, Mahalo - at 624256.com and.... well you get the picture.

Cheers,
Scott Smith
ss@numericdomains.com
http://numericdomains.com

NuDoms Unite! 63 Numbers Debuts

2008-04-01T06:07:41-04:00

As a small tribute to numeric domains, we developed this nifty little puzzle that debuts today, April Fool's day. It seems appropriate.

Please take a moment to give it a whirl and let us know what you think. Tell us what you like, what you don't like and any suggestions or changes you might recommend. ALL feedback is greatly appreciated.

We chose 63 numbers as it represents the maximum number of characters permitted to the left of the "dot" (w/o sub-domains obviously).

The 63 Numbers link on the left will always take you there.

And most importantly, please send this along to a bunch of your friends that you think would enjoy a small distraction.

Cheers,

PS. Many thanks to Dave and AMH for making this possible.

Tomorrow Is ....

2008-03-31T11:14:22-04:00

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