June 7, 2007 – “Mobile Marketing on Verge of Explosion,” Murali C. Ramesh, Business Line

• As more and more people spend more time online, the need for accurate and effective digital marketing is assuming an increasingly important role in the marketing strategy of companies. The Web has become an extremely powerful medium to reach out to hundreds of thousands of users, which is why effective digital marketing holds the key to growth. The process goes beyond building an online property or developing a Web-based solution. There are various elements that go into creating, developing and maintaining customer relationships online.
• "It's more of a partial `push' marketing that is happening, limited to SMS and at the most, minimal image messaging. There is a long way to go before consumers get acquainted with the concept and then go on their own to a Web site for a service or purchase. This may take some time." However, he adds, across the world mobile marketing is on the verge of a major explosion.

June 7, 2007 – “Live from the Mobile Marketing Forum,” Amy Johannes, PRIMEDIA Insight

• Cell phones are used for a variety of features. Whether it’s talking, texting or surfing the Internet, consumers love the devices for their mobility and accessibility. But they have mixed feelings when it comes to advertising and marketing messages on the phones.
• A panel of college-age students, a much sought-after target audience, spoke yesterday about how they use their cell phones and their thoughts about mobile marketing and how it impacts their lives.
• The group said they would be willing to give up their personal data, including mail addresses and phone numbers, if the incentive is just right. Dowd would give up almost anything, except her credit card or social security numbers, “If I can get something for free,” she said.

May 25, 2007 – “Your cell phone is your ticket to the show,” John Soeder, The Plain Dealer

• Many fans had wireless tickets for Fergie's concert Wednesday night at House of Blues, where they could get in after having a special bar code on their mobile phone scanned. For starters, many concertgoers didn't have old-fashioned paper tickets. Instead, they showed wireless tickets essentially, a special bar code sent via picture message to their mobile phones for admission.
• Instead of flicking their Bics, showgoers these days also use their phones to find out where friends are sitting, to simulcast a song for someone who couldn't be there and to click snapshots of their favorite musicians onstage, among other tasks.

April 25, 2007 – “In-flight texts to take off in the U.S.?” Gemma Simpson, CNET News

• U.S. budget airline JetBlue is considering an in-flight text messaging service but does not want noisy mobile phone calls on its aircraft.
• The movement to make mile-high mobiles a reality is gathering pace at other airlines, too--the U.K.'s Ryanair is planning to allow mobile access on all its flights by mid-2007, and Australian national carrier Qantas has been given the green light to start an in-flight mobile trial of SMS (Short Message Service) and e-mail.

April 6, 2007 – “Is the World Ready for Mobile Marketing?” Andrew K. Burger, E-commerce Times

• As the evolution of integrated, multimedia wired and wireless networks and services continues apace, be prepared for the rise of mobile marketing -- or m-marketing -- in the United States as telcos open up their platforms to third-party content providers.
• Mobile video streaming is becoming more commonplace around the world, particularly in Asia, as telcos continue to roll out 3G and 3G+ cellular networks. The implementation of integrated broadband cellular/Internet telephony services, which looms just over the horizon, should be a flash point in both m-commerce and m-marketing.
• The ongoing evolution and adoption of smartphones will also play a critical role in launching m-marketing campaigns and services. "We see two trends driving smartphones onward. The first is that while smartphones have their highest penetration rates in the most saturated and developed markets, the highest future growth rates are likely to be in rapidly developing markets such as China, India and Brazil," said Symbian CEO Nigel Clifford.

March 26, 2007 - “Wireless tech goes deep-sea diving,” Julian Goldsmith, CNET News

• The Department of Trade and Industry has partially funded a Scottish consortium to the tune of $1.1 million to develop equipment that can transmit data wirelessly underwater and enable divers to talk to each other without having to resort to hand signals.
• According to the DTI, the technology resulting from the research project should be invaluable to oceanographic and environmental monitoring and increase safety for professional divers working in the oil and gas industries.

March 19, 2007 – “Busy Signals – Mobile Gains Momentum,” Kamau High, AdWeek

• Movie companies such as Paramount and LionsGate and record labels like Jive are working with the Web site, Eyespot.com, to post content like trailers and music videos, allowing users to remix them and then send them using their cell phones. At the end of each video is an Eyespot house ad, but the company plans to introduce creative from other brands as well, most likely in the next quarter.
• "Many of the advertisers are taking a wait-and-see approach," says David Dudas, co-founder and CTO of San Diego-based Eyespot. "Eventually they will realize this is where the eyeballs are and that they still need to reach those kids."
• This type of mobile creative has been the norm in Europe and Asia for the past several years. But until recently the mobile work in the U.S., due mostly to a lack of bandwidth and the high price of state-of-the-art cell phones, has revolved mainly around text messaging, personalized voice mails and experiments with sending coupons. But as advanced options become more common in cell phones sold in this country, the U.S. is playing catch-up.
• While advertisers have been slow to take advantage of the creative possibilities, experts say that is changing. According to New York-based eMarketer, while companies spent $421 million on mobile marketing in 2006 in the U.S.—a relatively small 2.5 percent of the $16.4 billion total spent on online advertising—it projects that number will jump to $903 million, or 4.6 percent, this year. Online as a whole is expected to rise to $19.5 billion in 2007.

March 6, 2007 – “AT&T Turns Cell Phones into TV Remotes,” Marguerite Reardon

• AT&T said that starting Tuesday, it will allow customers of its Homezone product, a service that offers video-on-demand and other content from the Internet on TVs, to use their mobile handsets to remotely view listings and schedule or delete recordings from their DVR (digital video recorder) set-top boxes.
  
• Since the Homezone service launched last year, AT&T has offered subscribers the ability to manage their DVRs through the AT&T-Yahoo portal. AT&T plans to offer additional functions to the remote wireless offering, such as remotely accessing photos, music and other content stored on devices in the home.

February 20, 2007 – “The Battle for Mobile Search,” Catherine Holahan, Businessweek

• The emergence of Internet-connected mobile phones, or what's known as the Mobile Web, is turning the wireless search business into a horse race—one that's too close to call. Unlike its dominant role in search on the computer, Google's (GOOG) slim U.S. lead in search via mobile phones is far from secure.
  
• But Google and Yahoo may not even be the true leaders. Medio Systems, a four-year-old startup, is quietly powering the default search feature on many phones from Verizon (VZ), T-Mobile (DT), and Amp'd Mobile services, among others.
  
• Trouble is, M:Metrics and other researchers don't track Medio because its search engine is bundled into other wireless carriers' offerings. Medio chief executive and co-founder Brian Lent says his "white label" search engine actually has more users than Google's mobile product. "What we see is that someone who goes to Google search will often switch and use our product," says Lent.

February 14, 2007– “Investment Trends: Consumer Market Catches VC Attention,” Cara Garretson, Network World

• Software and network infrastructure may be safe -- for now -- but the wireless and Internet industries in which startups targeting the enterprise once enjoyed the majority of venture capital funding are quickly being eclipsed by companies developing online shopping sites, mobile entertainment delivery services and set-top box components.
  
• Interest in IT companies with corporations as their customers is far from over, but with once-exploding areas such as enterprise software and IT security saturated, venture capitalists in 2006 were distracted by the lure of the consumer in certain segments.
  
• A quick glance at the Top 10 venture capital investments for 2006 in both the Internet and wireless sectors tells the story: half of the investments in both categories went to consumer-focused products and services.

February 14, 2007 – “Mobile Gambling: Will the U.S. Join a Growing Market?” Paul Korzeniowski, TechNewsWorld

• Placing bets and buying lottery tickets via a mobile phone is projected to grow into a $16.6 billion industry by 2011. Europe and Asia currently lead the way, but American carriers and lawmakers have been reluctant to climb on board.
  
• "The mobile channel will push gambling services out to a broader, lower stake market than existing channels, offering significant opportunities for market growth," Bruce Gibson, research director at Juniper, told TechNewsWorld.
  
• Mobile gambling is rising because of the ubiquity of handheld devices as well as the convenience these devices offer. In 2006, the number of handheld devices sold worldwide passed the 1 billion mark, indicating a gigantic pool of potential users.

February 14, 2007 – “AMD to License Mobile Graphics Tech,” Walaika Haskins, TechNewsWorld

• With the PC graphics market flatlining, AMD announced on Tuesday that it has developed a new outlet for its graphics core technologies. The new enterprise will focus on the development and licensing of "leading-edge graphics core technologies" to semiconductor manufacturers in the handheld industry.
  
• "AMD has been developing graphics technology for PCs and video game consoles for more than 20 years, and has shipped more than 200 million AMD processors for mobile phones," Pal Dal Santo, vice president and general manager of AMD's handheld division, said. "This uniquely qualifies AMD to work with OEMs and other semiconductor suppliers to bring to market handheld devices capable of delivering the ultimate visual experience."

February 13, 2007 – “Cell Phones Enlisted in Global Health Initiative,” Matt Moore, TechNewsWorld

• The U.S. government, technology companies and health groups on Monday announced a $10 million program that would allow healthcare workers in the field to upload patient data via cell phone to a Web-based database.
  
• Health workers can use the system to order medicine, download treatment guidelines and training materials, and access other appropriate information, said Paul Meyer, chairman of Voxiva.
  
• "The explosive spread of mobile phone networks across the developing world has created a unique opportunity to significantly transform how countries can tackle global health challenges," said Dr. Howard Zucker, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization.

February 8, 2007 – “Surprise: That Mobile is Running Windows,” Jay Greene, Businessweek

• It's a fitting metaphor, since BlackJack helped Microsoft (MSFT) accomplish a feat that seems nothing less than a sleight of hand itself. In 2006, according to market research firm IDC, mobile phone carriers worldwide sold more phones running the software giant's Windows Mobile, the operating system used inside the BlackJack and other phones to send wireless e-mail, than BlackBerry, the category-defining gadgets from Waterloo (Ont.)-based Research In Motion (RIMM). It's an astonishing turn of events for Microsoft, which stumbled for years in the mobile market.
  
• BusinessWeek has learned that LG Electronics, the fourth-largest mobile phone maker, is developing new Windows Mobile devices. With Samsung and Motorola (MOT) already selling Windows Mobile phones, Microsoft will have three of the top five handset makers in its camp.

February 7, 2007 – “Vodafone, MySpace Team on Mobile Social Networking,” Tim Gray, TechNewsWorld

• Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) has signed an exclusive partnership deal with social networking Web site MySpace, allowing its customers to access and update their MySpace pages from their mobile phones, according to the telecom giant. The deal is expected to help Vodafone, Europe's biggest mobile operator, boost mobile usage and data revenues, while at the same time launching MySpace into the European mobile market for the first time.
  
• MySpace has been poking around the European market for some time, and is hoping it can now catch fire much the way it has in the American market.