The website of Alex Kinch, live from London
Posts tagged MMS
Sybase 365 launches new MMS content delivery gateway
Oct 24th
Mobile messaging specialists Sybase 365 have launched their new MMS content delivery gateway – enabling content providers, marketers, and media companies to deliver MMS content directly to consumers’ handsets, globally, with a single connection.
“MMS is, and will continue to be, the most viable method for delivering rich media,” said Marty Beard, President of Sybase 365. “Mobile campaigns are becoming an increasingly important part of companies’ communication and advertising strategies, and multimedia messages are exceptionally effective because of their ability to engage the recipient in interactive campaigns.”
MMS 365 runs on the Sybase 365 operator-grade network, ensuring successful delivery of complex content, management of high traffic volumes, and seamless delivery to consumers’ handsets via its connections to more than 700 global operators. One connection to MMS 365 provides direct content delivery to millions of subscribers, eliminating the need for content providers to manage separate, time-consuming negotiations and connections to individual operators.
MMS 365 supports all popular types of rich content including photos, graphics, audio, video, alerts, ringtones, and wallpaper allowing content providers to use the most effective method to communicate a campaign to subscribers.
Parrot unveil MMS-enabled photo frame
Oct 24th
In an interesting move, mobile accessories firm Parrot have just unveiled what they’re claiming is the world’s first MMS-enabled digital photo frame.
Digital photo frames are nothing new – there’s quite a few on the market. The concept is simple: chuck one on your mantlepiece or coffee table, pop in a memory card and load some photos up. Where the DF7700 goes further is it’s got a GSM modem built in, and can receive MMS on it’s own dedicated number. Send a picture from your mobile to the frame and it’ll display it at the press of a button.
Like most other digital photo frames, it’s also got a USB port and an SD card slot – and holds over 500 snaps in its internal memory. The device has a 7-inch digital TFT LCD screen, a light sensor, position sensor so it knows whether to display your photos in portrait or landscape mode – plus you can even change the frame to suit the decoration of the room.
There’s no details yet of price or availability, but it should hopefully be out in time for Christmas.
Sybase365 unveil new regional messaging hub
Sep 26th
Mobile messaging provider Sybase 365 have announced the launch of the Africa and Middle East Exchange (AMEEX) mobile messaging hub, to consolidate its position as the major provider of international SMS across Africa and the Middle East.
The new Hub allows Sybase 365 to expand further into this fast-growing region and offer international SMS services to more than 250 million subscribers. The connectivity immediately enables a localised support environment for operators currently connecting their subscribers to the wider international mobile community and provides an added incentive to other operators to join the Sybase 365 network.
“Today Sybase 365′s global Network Operation Centers are located in the US, Europe, and Asia providing 24-hour network monitoring and customer support. In the Middle East, AMEEX will bring additional and significant service enhancements by ensuring response efficiency, local interaction and added protection against regional events that can negatively impact regionally consolidated networks,” said Eric Barbier, vice president, AMEEX Mobile Exchange Ltd.
Sybase 365 is a logical fit for the AMEEX due to its extensive global reach and connectivity across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Africa. The AMEEX brings a local point of presence with national language and support facilities. This Hub will greatly benefit the numerous expatriate communities, who are now able to communicate more cost-effectively with colleagues, friends and families, via SMS.
Subscribers of the mobile operators served by this Regional Hub will be able to send and receive text messages from all parts of the world. This develops a strong SMS revenue stream for Africa & Middle East operators and expands SMS services available to their subscribers. The number of these subscribers has grown faster than any other region in the World in the last 12 months and this rapid growth trend is expected to continue.
“We are very pleased to be working with Sybase 365 and AMEEX to offer global SMS service capabilities to all mobile operators,” said Eng. Saud Majed Al Daweesh, president of Saudi Telecom. “AMEEX solves the complexities of interoperability by providing a single contact point for messaging connectivity. Connection to an SMS Hub provider prevents operators from having to connect to and negotiate with potentially dozens of other operators. It is a single-source clearinghouse for all SMS interconnections”
“This new local presence enhances the GSM Association’s drive for connectivity between hub providers and further strengthens Sybase 365′s global reach,” said Howard Stevens, vice president of Sybase 365, EMEA. “We reach more than 700 mobile operators around the world and facilitate nearly 300 two- way direct SMS connections via our operator grade network. AMEEX further enhances Sybase 365′s extensive reach by offering local resources, local connectivity and local knowledge in this vital expanding market.”
Realeyes3D celebrate 30 million milestone
Jul 11th
Paris-based Realeyes3D, a leading provider of mobile imaging applications, today announced their handwritten messaging applications for camera phone users had been shipped to more than 30 million camera phones worldwide.
The applications, which has also been licensed via an OEM agreement with Samsung and Sanyo, allow camera phone users to send messages that they create in their own handwriting, using a standard pen and any type of paper. The user simply jots down a message, takes a picture and RealEyes3D’s Digitizer application extracts the message and transmits it to the recipient. Their other offering, W-Postcard, provides the facility to add comments, notes, doodles or drawings to pictures users have already taken with their camera phone, and again transmit it to the recipient using standard MMS technology.
‘Realeyes3D’s handwritten messaging applications represent an evolution in person-to-person communication beyond text messaging,” said Benoît Bergeret, co-founder and CEO of Realeyes3D. ‘In the fiercely competitive wireless marketplace, operators and handset manufacturers are actively looking for applications that add compelling value to their devices as camera phone adoptions skyrocket.”
Nokia offers mobile photo printing
Jun 29th
Link: Nokia offers mobile photo printing – vnunet.com
Nokia has launched a photo printing service to allow Nseries users to upload images and place an order directly from their smartphones.
Users can select the images in the phone’s gallery application and insert the postal address and other requested information. The order is then processed by CeWe Color and prints are delivered to the address
Xenophile power ground breaking interactivity for TV series
Jun 18th
Link: TheStar.com – Business – Interactive with an X
Now this is quite neat. There’s a Canadian TV series called ReGenesis, which airs over here in Blighty on the Sci-Fi channel. I must admit I haven’t seen it before, but looking at the plots it looks quite cool. Anyway, leaving my TV habits aside for one minute..
Canadian company Xenophile are helping the producers of ReGenesis to break new ground in mobile interactivity. It’s so groundbreaking that they’ve just won an International Emmy Award for their efforts. Here’s a little snippet from the original article:
After the show ends, a viewer who had signed up online may then receive a personalized SMS text message on their cell phone in real time asking for help from one of the show’s scientists.
After logging on, the viewer gets a video message from the scientist. Clues may lead to a multitude of websites and blogs in a quest to solve the mystery.
A subsequent show is then edited to insert an actual photo or video of what the player had uncovered – with reference by the characters in the show about getting help from their “field agents.”
Wow. Now that is really impressive. Some similar interactive stuff has been done before – 24 having ‘live’ phone numbers featured in the show that get answered on set, and the BBC’s Spooks interactive application on UK digital TV that used to come on after the show had aired spring to mind. But in my mind, this takes interactivity up a step – viewers get the chance to really interact in the series is likely to be a big draw.
Flat rate SMS and MMS – is it the future?
Jun 13th
Interesting blog post to Mobile Messaging 2.0 from Russell Shaw on the subject of flat rate SMS and MMS plans.
According to a tip turned into a post on Engadget Mobile, AT&T will, starting next Monday, offer a flat monthly SMS/MMS Family Plan for $29.99.
I think this is merely a transitional phase. The current per-SMS message fee model will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Eventually, carriers will simply assess SMS and MMS messages either according to the number of characters in the header and then the message itself- or the number of minutes you spend sending and receiving such messages.
So let’s just say you SMS 200 minutes a month. If that activity doesn’t push you above your calling plan’s parameters, you’ve already paid for the time. If not, that’s when the overages will start to kick in.
What are you thoughts? My first impressions are ‘nice idea, but how is it going to work?’ – in particular with regard to charging for the number of minutes you spend sending and receiving SMS or MMS messages. Most mobile users don’t give a second thought to how long it takes to actually send or receive and SMS to or from the network. Would they think they were being charged for the amount of time it took to write or read one? Would faster typers get more per month than slower typers?
Nice idea, and I’d love to be proved wrong, but.. no. Not going to work. Inclusive SMS and MMS in a bundle, yes. Unlimited, subject to ‘fair use’? Yes. But charging for messaging like voice on a per second/minute basis? Not going to work.
PixDrop launches free MMS service in the US
Jun 11th
Link: PixDrop Launches The First Free Picture Messaging Service
Had a note in earlier from SMS Text News reader Nate, to let us know about his new service launched today. PixDrop lets people send send free picture messages to Verizon Wireless, AT&T/Cingular, and Sprint users with picture messaging capable handsets.
There’s no registration required – you just have to upload the pic you want to send and enter the number of the person you want to send it to. They’re working on expanding the service to other mobile networks in the US, so if you’re not a subscriber to any of the aforementioned services, watch this space!
Go otaku with moblog anime contest
Jun 8th
Link: moblogUK newsletter, June 2007
moblog have teamed up with Gong Anime Studios to give away some wicked anime related prizes.
The the best anime themed post made to the site before June 15th will win a Sony Ericsson K800i, 2 Runners up will each win a Gong Studios engraved 30GB iPod and free Joost.com accounts.
To enter, just send your anime and manga related pics and vids to 60030 with the subject of ‘gong’, or email them to gong@moblog.net
Yemen government clamps down on SMS
May 31st
Link: Government restricts SMS news services
The government has been restricting some SMS news services and blocking certain media websites, said journalists and opposition parties. ‘SMS news service via mobile networks are facing a legal challenge, and I call on the government to make laws to issue licenses to the companies who want to offer this service,” said Chairman of Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, Nasr Taha Mustafa. Mustafa asked the Ministry of Information to settle the problem of the restricted SMS services with al-Nass Mobile and Without Chains Mobile, in accordance with the journalism law.
Looks like another government getting jittery about freedom of speech, following on from the news a month or so ago that Iran is planning to filter MMS traffic.
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