Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Posted by Roberto
6:24 PM
0 comments
MPAYMENT AND CREATIVE USES OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
Juniper Research estimate that mPayment will be worth $88 billion by 2009, with 44% going on ticketing, but only $299 million on actual retail sales.
Japan, Korea, Austria, Croatia, Spain, Norway and Singapore lead the way in mPayments. In Vienna, some 7500 parking payments are made by phone every day, while in Croatia as much as 75% of local parking is by mPayment in some areas.
In Japan, 86 million Japanese own cell phones (70 percent of the population). Consumers buy 45 million cell phones a year, and newer models are laden with all kinds of functions, including navigation tools, video cameras, digital music players and a multitude of e-wallet features that limits the need for cash and credit cards. In Japan, the phone is the lifestyle manager and replacement of the 10 most common things you take with you every day including wallet, credit cards, ID, drivers' license, keys, etc. It's not unusual, for example, to see pedestrians sidle up to concert posters and use their mobile phones to read small bar codes. Magazine ads, publicity fliers and bus stops often have bar codes that allow mobile users to arrive at Web sites to make purchases or see information, pick out seats or buy tickets.
REPLACING SMALL CASH, CREDIT CARDS, ID CARDS AND KEYS
Some 20 million Japanese now have newer cell phones with embedded circuitry that can function as rechargeable debit cards, credit cards or commuter passes. Electronic readers in vending machines, turnstiles and store registers beam waves that read the circuits and deduct what's due. Already, 30,000 vending machines, taxis and convenience stores have readers for the wireless credit phones, and the number may climb to 100,000 by the end of the year. People enjoy the e-money system: at convenience stores customer lines move faster and at the rail network there is no need to count coins.
THE LUUP MPAYMENT SOLUTION
May, 2006 - LUUP, the first payment system specifically for mobiles, launched in both the UK and Germany. LUUP (called LUUPAY in Germany) allows consumers to use their mobile phone like a wallet to shop with retailers or send and receive money on a person-to-person basis - with cash, debit/credit card and bank account functions built-in. LUUP is designed specifically for mobile phone use and is fully independent of mobile phone operators. LUUP accounts are available to anyone over the age of 14 and are created instantly by SMS with full registration completed through an easy sign-up process on the LUUP website. LUUP is fully integrated with the UK and German banking systems allowing funds to be accessed from credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts. With LUUP, merchants typically pay under 10% transaction fees compared to the Premium SMS operator fees which are normally in excess of 25%. Additionally, the purchase process is transparent to consumers who can view all LUUP account activity online in real time helping alleviate consumer concerns about unfair charges.
LUUP
Resolution on Mobile Commerce
TV BROADCASTERS VS. CELLULAR CARRIERS
Television broadcasters love to broadcast TV channels to mobile devices because they can boost advertising fees. The funny aspect is that if we have free television on our mobile phones, we might end up making fewer phone calls :)
MPAYMENT = BANKING IN RURAL AREAS
In the Philippines, mPayment is bringing banking to the previously un-banked in many rural areas, and making P2P (peer-to-peer) tiny micro-payments of as little as 5 cents possible. Some 3.5 million people now use it, and the economy, individuals, retailers and financial service providers alike are all benefiting. The lack of previous banking or payment infrastructures is a significant enabler here, and shows the potential for other less developed countries and un-banked populations.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Posted by Roberto
12:13 AM
0 comments
NEXT-GENERATION VIDEO IP PHONE
The Shimon Assistfon, available in Japan since May, distinguishes itself with its security functions. It uses 1024-bit encryption and a specially designed VPN router is embedded into the phone to provide maximum protection from wire-tapping.
This phone costs 85,000 Yen (US$760) and 3,000 Yen (US$27) for monthly subscription.
assistplan co. Ltd.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Posted by Roberto
11:15 AM
0 comments
MOBILE TELECOM INDUSTRY UPDATE
Keywords:
UMA > Unlicensed Mobile Access
DMB > Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
DVB-H > Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld
MVNOs > Mobile Virtual Network Operators
The UMA Consortium
UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) technology allows for seamless handover of voice and data connections between GSM cellular and unlicensed wireless networks (e.g. WiFi, Bluetooth). The Nokia 6136, UMA-enabled mobile handset, demonstrates the complementary nature of cellular (quadband GSM coverage) and IP-based networks (WiFi). Subscribers using UMA can take advantage of improved indoor coverage and higher data rates, when accessing the local WLAN. Operators can increase their appeal by bundling in calls across free spectrum, especially if it fills in gaps in their coverage. Also a guaranteed cheap home connection through Wi-Fi could make mobile price plans more attractive (lower calling charges when on WiFi), while fixed line providers could use UMA services to add mobile services (through virtual operator deals).
It is worth mentioning that the mobile industry is taking Wireless VoIP very seriously because it could spell trouble for in-building mobile revenues, which represent roughly one-third of total mobile revenues.
As a reaction, mobile operators are trying to extend the wireless multimedia user experience by broadcasting TV programs to handsets.
Mobile digital TV standards:
1 | The Korean DMB (Digital Mobile Broadcast) Standard
DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) is a digital transmission system for sending data, radio and TV to mobile devices such as mobile phones. It can operate via satellite (S-DMB) or terrestrial (T-DMB) transmission. South Korea started S-DMB and T-DMB service in May 1 and December 1, 2005 respectively.
T-DMB (April 2006) service in South Korea consist of:
7 TV channels
13 radio channels
8 data channels
Around 500'000 receivers have been sold (April 2006). Receivers are integrated in car navigation systems, mobile phones, personal video players, laptops and personal cameras.
Some T-DMB trials are currently planned around Europe:
- Germany will launch a T-DMB commercial service for the World Cup 2006
- France is currently running a trial in Paris
- Switzerland and Italy prepare a trial for 2006
- UK launch a commercial service for middle of 2006
- China launch a commercial service for middle of 2006
2 | The European DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) Standard
DVB-H Global Mobile TV
Commercial launches:
- In Albania, DIGITALB lunched nationwide DVB-H services in June 2005.
- In Finland, Digita announced that they had signed a contract with Nokia to use its DVB-H platform for the service. The network will cover almost 30% of the country by the end of 2006.
- In Germany, DVB-H will be launched in North German States in 2007.
- In Italy, 3 Italia launched nationwide services in May 2006, both TIM and Mediaset plans to do the same in June 2006.
- In the USA, a nationwide service will be rolled out by Modeo a company owned by Crown Castle Mobile Media. The service will begin in 2006 in New York City and will roll out to the top thirty markets in the USA during 2007.
3 | Qualcom MediaFLO (Forward Link Only)
The MediaFLO System
Adaptive TV-receiver chips:
Abilis Systems' strategy is to be the first to introduce a single chip solution supporting European DVB-T and DVB-H standards, which will be quickly followed by a triple-mode product adding T-DMB support.
Abilis Systems
Pay TV on mobile:
Nagravision's Nagra Mobile Content Protection System with Thales' delivery solution and Gemplus' SIM card family, GemXplore Generations, to secure broadcasting of content to mobile devices. The SIM is used to decode content decryption keys regularly needed to decrypt the streamed content. This integrated solution brings together the technologies required to secure content in a hybrid 3G and DVB-H environment. Mobile users can use an SMS-based service to subscribe to specific programs or purchase the rights to view specific video-based events.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Posted by Roberto
11:16 AM
0 comments
GOOGLE TRENDS IS VERY COOL
Google just launched a new service called Google Trends.
Google Trends allows you to check search patterns and volumes of specific items in relation to news and events across the world. E.g. enter your client's name vs. a competitor and see what comes up.
In simple terms, with Google Trends, you can compare the world's interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they've been searched for on Google over time. Google Trends also displays how frequently your topics have appeared in Google News stories, and which geographic regions have searched for them most often. Below the search and news volume graphs, Google Trends displays the top cities, regions, and languages for the first term you entered.
You can also use the drop-down boxes in the upper-right corner of the Google Trends results page to restrict your results to a particular time frame or region. Very nice!
Google Trends
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Posted by Roberto
9:25 AM
0 comments
GLOBAL POPULATION GAINS
The world population - currently at around 6.45 billion people - is expected to grow to a total of 9.1 billion people by 2050, according to the United Nations estimates. That represents an increase by just over 2.6 billion over the next 45 years.
It should be noted that the UN's projection assumes falling fertility levels in most countries. If fertility stayed constant at current levels in all countries, the global population would nearly double by 2050 - reaching 11-7 billion people, according to the UN Population Division.
People living in developing countries account for four out of every five people in the world today. By 2050, their total will increase by 2.6 billion people - from today's 5.25 billion to 7.8 billion people. In other words, 99% of the world's expected population growth is going to take place in the developing world.
China (with its population of 1.3 billion) and India (1.1 billion people) together had a population of just over 2.4 billion people in 2005. The two most populous countries on earth thus have a combined population almost as large as the expected 2.6 billion increase in the global population by 2050. However, while China's population will rise only slightly, India's will increase by almost half. Together, the two Asian countries will have three billion people by 2050 - and will still account for around one-third of all people on earth.
In 1950, just over a half century ago, the entire world population only amounted to 2.5 billion people. That total was less than the expected 2.6 billion increase in the world population between now and 2050. While developed countries accounted for close to one-third of the world population back in 1950, they will have just over 15% of the total by 2050.
Source: The Globalist
Friday, May 05, 2006
Posted by Roberto
4:38 PM
0 comments
A PAN-ASIAN FTA
Today, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government was working on free trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan and South Korea.
"We have FTAs with South Asian countries, Singapore and Thailand. We are working on FTAs with the People?s Republic of China, Japan and Korea. This web of engagements may herald an eventual free-trade area in Asia covering all major Asian economies and possibly extending to Australia and New Zealand. This pan-Asian FTA could be the future of Asia." Mr Singh said.
India is confident of sustaining 8 per cent growth for many years but the recent rise in global oil prices poses a major risk to Asia's third-largest economy. Higher retail fuel prices could stoke inflation and prompt the central bank to raise interest rates.
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