Wireless Application Protocol - defenitions and technology

WeatherBug Launches new ad-supported Wireless Application Protocol campaign

2008-12-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

WeatherBug, a provider of live, local weather information for customers and professional customers, released an integrated mobile advertising campaign today for the cold and flu season. The new ad-supported Wireless Application Protocol campaign, integrates daily forecast information from WeatherBug, cold and flu tips, and outbreak statistics and maps from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mobile customers can also subscribe to receive a free daily text alert from 4INFO, the leading text messaging service in the United States, which includes daily forecast information and cold and flu outbreak information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that is geo-targeted to a user's specific ZIP code. customers can simply visit weatherbug.com on their mobile device to subscribe to the service.

"We are very excited to present this comprehensive program to advertisers and thrilled to work with 4INFO to bring it to fruition," said Michael Lombardi, vice president of advertising sales and marketing at WeatherBug. "We've taken the same great cold and flu content and local weather information available on our Web site and desktop application and applied it to the mobile space. Furthermore, we integrated an SMS component for registered customers that includes geo-targeted content. We are already seeing success with brand name advertisers and expect to get a significant number of mobile customers subscribe to the daily text alerts."
Advertisers who participate in the program will get an opportunity to reach customers with targeted and relevant content while also generating additional brand awareness with a tech-savvy mobile user.

"Now more than ever, our advertising clients are looking for integrated media opportunities, particularly those which incorporate mobile components that can provide customers with relevant and timely content," said John Hadl, managing partner and founder, BrandinHand, Inc. "The innovative way in which this integrated solution from WeatherBug and 4INFO targets mobile customers is highly beneficial for advertisers and customers."

The Short Message Service, usually known as text messaging, is available to basically all mobile phone customers. According to the Mobile Marketing Association, SMS is the most widely used mobile phone service after voice.

"Our experience in creating integrated mobile ad campaigns for brands of all types consistently shows that customers respond favorably when they're receiving content they feel is relevant and useful," said Ted Burns, vice president of products at 4INFO. "The WeatherBug and 4INFO mobile service is a perfect illustration of how to provide advertisers with a branding opportunity that puts them in a highly favorable position with customers -- and we're excited to be a part of it."

trendsetting operators are successfully launching mobile TV services

2008-12-02T06:27:00.000-08:00

Traditional television has had a glorious run. For decades, broadcasters and content providers have extracted profit from this media conduit to the mass market by offering a growing array of channels and scheduled programming on ever-bigger screens.
However, this paradigm is now being challenged by the Internet, ever-growing data rates on both wireline and wireless networks, as well as the proliferation of content formats and devices. End users, meanwhile, have become more demanding and fragmented, splitting their precious time among myriad media choices, channels and platforms while younger viewers move beyond the TV content consumed by their parents’ generation. As a result, traditional TV is experiencing significant erosion of viewers and advertising revenues.
The marriage of the mobile and broadcast worlds has given rise to mobile TV — enabling viewers to access their favorite programs however, wherever and whenever they want. While there are clear opportunities for service providers associated with this trend, it represents unfamiliar territory for many in the communications industry. To succeed in this space, operators will be challenged with:
• Delivering a compelling end-user experience
• Providing a wide selection of attractive handsets and devices
• Offering a broad range of appealing content
• Establishing an appropriate business model for the target market and culture
• Offering transparent tariff plans
• Developing effective go-to-market strategies
• Choosing the right underlying technologies
• Complying with regulatory environments
A Growing Opportunity
According to ABI Research, the number of mobile TV subscribers worldwide will grow from 11 million in 2006 to 462 million in 2012, representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 85%. But cashing in on this growth will require service providers to make significant changes to existing network infrastructures and business models.
The migration away from analog TV will free spectrum to enable service providers to build dedicated broadcast networks. The acceleration of mobile broadcast networks, the 4G wireless network adoption and the proliferation of user-friendly handsets and other portable multimedia devices will increase the advantage gained by the early movers in this space.
Differentiation from voice-centric plans is just the beginning of the journey. Service providers are at a pivotal point to leverage the merging broadcast and telecom worlds. This fusion will empower new levels of converged and blended services, for example seamless multi-screen experience and interactive targeted advertisements, allowing users to have anytime/anywhere access to the content they crave, while enabling service providers to implement innovative business models and tap into new revenue streams.
A close look at some of the trendsetters in mobile TV services should provide inspiration and encouragement to service providers considering moving into this space.
Telstra: Mobile TV – instrumental in the journey toward a “Mediacom”
Australia’s Telstra is in the midst of an initiative that will transform this national leader in traditional telecommunications services into an integrated media communications company. The service provider is focusing on the end-user experience and maximizing operations through an IP-based infrastructure capable of running advanced multimedia applications.
Alcatel-Lucent enables a personalized and interactive end-user experience
• Alcatel-Lucent 5910 MiTV solution enables a highly personalized, interactive service with advanced features, including fast channel change, user interactivity and a compact client for embedded applications on handsets.
• Project deployment and integration.
• Interoperability test centers to ensure ongoing service uptake with a wide variety of terminals.
Telstra launched its interactive mobile TV service in 2007, to leapfrog competition from existing mobile TV-over-Wireless Application Protocol providers and to maximize its 850 MHz spectrum High-Speed Downlink Packet Access network to monetize content. To effectively go to market, Telstra has extended the branding of its preexisting Foxtel IPTV service.
This has provided brand continuity for subscribers while leveraging content (for example, FoxTel TV). Telstra mobile TV offers:
• Diversified and compelling content: Telstra mobile TV delivers a diversified and rich array of choices — from short TV formats to full-length movies and video on demand – more than 33 live channels with 24 made-for-mobile channels.
• Flexible package/offering: Depending on appetites and budgets, subscribers can sign up for a channel package, a monthly subscription or just a day pass. Content ranges from general entertainment, to music, news, documentaries, kids programming and sports.
• Whenever and wherever: Customers can use their next-G mobile phones to remotely program their Foxtel IQ set-top box to record their favorite programs. Telstra is the first in the market to offer a “catch up TV” service (Figure 1).
• Premium end-user experience: Telstra offers a premium experience with high-quality delivery and fast channel change. The high quality visual experience is maintained during program selection using the embedded Electronic Service Guide (ESG) and Electronic Programming Guide (EPG).
• Interactive TV: Telstra mobile TV has partnered with major TV producers in Australia to deliver exclusive live access to popular programs. End users can respond to contextual teasers embedded in programs, allowing them to directly interact with program- and content-related activities. For instance, the “Australian Idol 2007” series included a simulcast of the show across six states, and Telstra was able to offer location-enabled time delays for five time zones.
As a result, Telstra’s mobile TV is the most comprehensive mobile entertainment service in Australia. According to Telstra, its mobile customers have watched more than 80,000 hours of mobile TV during the month of April 2008 alone. Mobile TV has effectively helped Telstra to monetize its wireless network and contents.
Alcatel-Lucent managed and hosted mobile TV service provides freedom to innovate
• Hosts and manages a mobile interactive TV solution on behalf of Optimus.
• The Alcatel-Lucent 5910MiTV and rich media client enable outstanding performance and first-to-market performance features in Portugal.
• Provides excellent ongoing support: executing a significant capacity and enhanced feature upgrade with only four weeks lead time.
Optimus: Mobile TV invigorates customers and builds loyalty in Portugal
As Portugal’s third-largest mobile carrier, Optimus is embracing advanced applications to differentiate its services from incumbent providers to both stimulate subscriber growth and maintain its image as an innovator in the competitive Portuguese mobile market.
Optimus first launched its mobile TV service in August 2006. It targeted young people and business segments, offering exclusive content (such as music and sports). To maintain its leading-edge “innovator” image, Optimus has regularly enhanced its service by working with Alcatel-Lucent to offer subscribers new, intuitive experiences.
In August 2007, Optimus launched a high-definition mobile TV service that used encoding algorithms and technology developed by Alcatel-Lucent, doubling the screen resolutions that were previously available in the Portuguese market. By October 2007, the company was among the first service providers in Europe offering the ability to navigate between programs while continuing to view the current channel with high quality.
In June 2008, Optimus successfully associated its mobile TV service with the UEFA Euro 2008 soccer championship. It rolled out a service called “Euro per 1 Euro” that allowed subscribers to receive transmissions of live matches in either a high-definition format (250kbit/s) or a regular format (115kbit/s) for the price of one Euro. Users also could receive automatic SMS alerts of UEFA-published videos, including near-real-time event-based videos of key plays, goals, penalties, game highlights and player profiles.
As of early June 2008, “Euro per 1 Euro” had more than 12,000 subscribers following an aggressive radio and TV marketing push by Optimus.
Also this year, Optimus worked with Alcatel-Lucent to deliver a portable mobile TV encoder capability, enabling Optimus to offer live coverage of local concerts. The carrier has already covered 10 concerts for its mobile TV subscriber audience.
Alcatel-Lucent: The end-to-end master integrator
Solution adviser – Alcatel-Lucent Unlimited Mobile TV solution based on DVB-SH. ICO will need only 1500-2000 sites to cover the “satellite white spaces” in the urban/suburban areas: the right choice for maximizing spectrum efficiency.
E2E Solution architect – Developed the solution architecture and detailed network design, including the Alcatel-Lucent 5910 MiTV and the Alcatel-Lucent 9600 DTR Transmitters (DVB-SH terrestrial receivers).
Prime integrator – Ensure time-line in project execution and make it work by orchestrating multivendor (such as chipset, broadcast head-end partner), multi-technologies.
ICO: Delivers mobile interactive media on portable devices via DVB-SH
ICO Global Communications is a satellite communications company based in Reston, Virginia, USA, that has developed an advanced hybrid system combining satellite and terrestrial communication capabilities. In doing so, ICO is able to offer wireless voice, data, video, TV and Internet services on both vehicular and portable devices.
In April 2008, ICO successfully launched the ICO-G1, a next-generation geosynchronous satellite operating in the 2GHz S-band with a service footprint that covers most of North America, using the Digital Video Broadcast - Satellite services to Handhelds (DVB-SH) standard. The featured service, ICO mim – mobile interactive media – will deliver entertainment, guidance and assistance through a platform that is both integrated with multiple networks and accessible on various devices.
Instead of focusing on wireless handsets, ICO is pursuing a differentiated offering that supports larger display screens for the mobile TV service. In so doing, the company hopes to drive wide adoption of its mobile TV offering by taking advantage of larger screen resolution made possible by DVB-SH with a 500kb/s channel capacity. In the vehicular market specifically, ICO will focus on in-vehicle displays offering a “set-top box in the trunk” that links into the on-dash or rear-seat displays in cars, SUVs and vans and connects to an external antenna. ICO mim offers:
• Entertainment: ICO mim will deliver 10 to 15 channels of premium live TV content for 7- to 15-inch screens – setting the standard for the ultimate mobile video entertainment experience.
• Guidance: ICO mim will provide a new level of intelligent, interactive navigation. ICO mim combines the experience consumers enjoy with today’s navigation systems (such as real-time traffic and weather alerts, rerouting and easy access to destination information) with ICO mim’s unique integrated applications which allows users to preprogram tasks and activities into their system. ICO mim gets users from Point A to Point B and lets them connect anywhere they may need to go in between.
• Assistance: ICO mim offers a complete roadside assistance and emergency messaging capability, with satellite-connected emergency voice and text messaging assistance, bringing peace of mind wherever their customers go, including the places where today’s vehicle assistance systems and cellular networks don’t reach.
Starting in late summer 2008, the ICO mim service based on DVB-SH is being tested during an alpha trial, integrated end-to-end by Alcatel-Lucent, in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Las Vegas, Nevada (Figure 2).

Leveraging strategic partners, ICO’s go-to-market plan will offer ICO mim as an embedded service behind existing video displays: for example, current in-vehicle screens and other devices such as portable gaming systems, DVD players, laptops and mobile PCs. Over time, the goal is for ICO mim to be embedded into a wide range of consumer electronics devices.
Conclusion
The Telstra, Optimus and ICO cases offer real and current examples of mobile TV applications that are generating revenue and differentiating services in today’s competitive communications market. Alcatel-Lucent worked with each of these service providers to define and launch leading-edge mobile TV services – helping them to gain early-mover advantage. These service examples illustrate the importance of:
• Delivering differentiating features that enhance the end-user experience (for example, visually-pleasing and intuitive user interfaces, embedded interactivity, fast channel change)
• Providing access to a wide array of compelling content on compatible devices
• Establishing viable business models
• Identifying strategic positioning and effective go-to-market strategies to differentiate their services
• Selecting the right underlying technologies
Mobile TV is a global opportunity. In addition to Australia, Portugal and the United States, mobile TV is being well received in countries such as Japan, Korea and Italy.
While challenges remain for carriers looking to launch mobile TV, trendsetters are already demonstrating the business models – such as combining free-to-air with paid subscriptions – that make this opportunity viable and profitable. Mobile TV will be an important part of the end user’s anywhere, anytime viewing experience as technology continues to migrate toward a truly seamless multi-screen ideal.
Alcatel-Lucent offers an array of solution options and support to help operators speed new services to market. The bearer-agnostic Alcatel-Lucent 5910 Mobile Interactive TV solution, with its compact “rich media client” is gaining traction in the delivery of personalized, interactive TV to a broad range of mobile/portable players. Following on the success with ICO and its proven flexibility in topology and spectrum efficiency, the Alcatel-Lucent Unlimited Mobile TV solution, based on DVB-SH, has been trialed by many operators such as Vodafone SFR. It is now in trial with Dish Network in the United States.
To help mitigate risk, Alcatel-Lucent offers a hosted and managed mobile TV service model as well as a stepped service-launch approach. This empowers operators to maximize nimbleness, while minimizing infrastructure investment, enabling them to focus on customer acquisition and subscriber sales versus building networks and updating technologies.
Alcatel-Lucent also offers its expertise as a veteran network integrator to help manage the complexity of each network implementation phase in multivendor/multi-technology environments — assuring smooth and robust mobile TV service rollouts.
As a fully committed solution partner offering a wide range of resources and expertise — regardless of the starting point of the journey toward mobile TV (for example unicast, broadcast) — Alcatel-Lucent is positioned to help service providers deliver truly seamless entertainment and communications experiences to their end users as well as effectively tap into new revenue streams.

Microchip MiWi P2P wireless application protocol

2008-11-17T04:48:00.000-08:00

The demand for more and more applications to move to wireless communication is growing fast.

The benefits can be reduced costs and ease of implementation and operation. Wireless communication does not need any cabling or other hardware, and the direct and indirect costs of installation. It also can be implemented in locations where cabling would be hard, if not impossible, to install.

The Microchip MiWi P2P Wireless Application Protocol is a variation of IEEE 802.15.4, using Microchip's MRF24J40 2.4 GHz transceiver and any Microchip 8-, 16- or 32bit MCU with a SPI.

The protocol offers safe and direct wireless communication via an easy to use programming interface. It possese a rich variety of features that can be compiled in and out of the stack to meet a wide range of users needs—while minimizing the stack footprint.

This application note describes the Microchip Wireless (MiWi) Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Protocol and its differences from IEEE 802.15.4. The document details the supported features and how to implement them. Simple, application-level data structures and programming interfaces also are listed.

Protocol Overview:
The MiWi P2P protocol modifies the IEEE 802.15.4
specification’s Media Access Control (MAC) layer by
adding commands that simplify the handshaking
process. It simplifies link disconnection and channel
hopping by providing supplementary MAC commands.
However, application-specific decisions, such as when
to perform an energy detect scan or when to jump
channels, are not defined in the protocol. Those issues
are left to the application developer.

Protocol Features:
The MiWi™ P2P Wireless Protocol:
• Provides 16 channels in the 2.4 GHz spectrum
(using an MRF24J40 transceiver)
• Operates on Microchip PIC18, PIC24, dsPIC33
and PIC32 platforms
• Supports Microchip C18, C30 and C32 compilers
• Functions as a state machine
(not RTOS-dependent)
• Supports a sleeping device at the end of the
communication
• Enables Energy Detect (ED) scanning to operate
on the least-noisy channel
• Provides active scan for detecting existing
connections
• Supports all of the security modes defined in
IEEE 802.15.4.
• Enables frequency agility (channel hopping)

Protocol Considerations:
The MiWi P2P protocol is a variation of IEEE 802.15.4
and supports both peer-to-peer and star topologies. It
has no routing mechanism, so the wireless
communication coverage is defined by the radio range.
Guaranteed Time Slot (GTS) and beacon networks are
not supported, so both sides of the communication
cannot go to Sleep at the same time.
If the application requires wireless routing instead of P2P
communication; or interoperability with other vendors’
devices; or a standard-based solution, for marketability,
see AN1066 “MiWi™ Wireless Protocol Stack” or AN965,
“Microchip Stack for the ZigBee™ Protocol”

Video Ads Hit Some Mobile Phones through Wireless Application Protocol sites

2008-11-10T05:24:00.000-08:00

Ready for interactive, on-demand TV ads in the palm of your hand? Even if you are, your phone — or your wireless operator — may not be.

Mobile VOD ads have a long way to go before they're a mainstay of the business, but operators and mobile providers have been encouraged by early tests.

A recent mobile TV commercial for Nikon's Coolpix digital cameras, manufactured by mobile-media delivery provider MobiTV, pops up an interactive alert.

When a viewer selects the prompt, a dedicated Wireless Application Protocol webwebsite provides a downloadable data sheet for the camera and other information — even a 30-second Nikon TV ad featuring actor Ashton Kutcher mugging for the camera.
The Nikon ad ran across 10 of MobiTV's entertainment and sports channels, carried by AT&T, Sprint Nextel and other wireless providers.

The click-through rates for such video ads can be as high as 9%, compared with 5% for regular text-based mobile banner ads, according to Jack Hallahan, vice president for advertising and brand partnerships for MobiTV.

“There's a little bit of a novelty factor,” he acknowledged. “But people want to interact with their mobile phone. They're expecting to interact and react with it.”

Just as cable operators are seeking to make use of the advertising potential of their video-on-demand platforms, mobile video providers are seeking to connect into the potential to serve up targeted messages, on the go, to wireless users accessing VOD content.

To make sure, mobile VOD ads are still in an experimental stage. Content providers are seeking to find the optimal length and format for commercial messages in the context of mobile devices.

“We're really being sensitive to make sure we're not overwhelming viewers with advertising,” Hallahan said. “We don't want overkill on the ad messaging. Mobile is very sensitive to that.”

Howeve, the bigger problem today, is that just a small percentage of mobile devices are capable of viewing video. Only 6% of all U.S. mobile subscribers, about 14 million people, pay for a mobile-video plan, according to Nielsen estimates.

“The numbers for mobile are really not at the rate that people can rely on as a sole advertising strategy,” said Chris Drake, senior director of business development for thePlatform, Comcast's Internet and mobile video management services subsidiary. “They're waiting for the audience to show up, to drive those CPMs [cost per thousand impressions] to make it a sustainable business.”

One obstacle is that mobile devices have only recently become widely used as entertainment devices in addition to communications tools.

Another problem: the massive complexity of serving content to literally thousands of different phones. That could require a publisher to create hundreds of different versions of the same video asset, said Drake.

“Imagine if you had to create a different Web page for every model of laptop and desktop out there — that's what you have to do in mobile today,” he said.
Still, none of that has stopped media companies from kicking the tires on mobile on-demand advertising.

Sony Pictures Television recently launched the Minisode Network (http://mini.4sony.mobi), a collection of 3- to 5-minute segments of TV shows from Sony's archives, including Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Diff'rent Strokes and Married with Children.

The Sony website serves preroll ads of between 5 and 10 seconds dynamically, when a visitor requests a “minisode,” using a server developed by Mobixell Networks. The Mobixell software identifies the specific device being used and then formats the content for it, an architecture that eliminates the need to embed the ad with the video content.

MTV Networks also is scoping out this frontier. In September, the Viacom division announced its first-ever mobile ad ads on carrier-operated premium video-on-demand services, signing the U.S. Air Force as its charter advertiser.
MTVN was planning to experiment with preroll ads of varying lengths and formats across its mobile VOD channels to try to get a read on which formats are most effective. (The company said it was still in the midst of the trial and declined to comment.)

Marketers and agencies are helping to drive the concept forward, as they're eager to adopt dynamic mobile video ad formats, said John Tremblay, vice president marketing for Azuki Systems, a startup that provides interactive mobile media services.
“Most mobile advertising today is flat and static today,” he said. “Showing a little banner on the phone doesn't really convey the advertising message the client wants.”
In Italy, Vodafone Italia launched an ad-supported free mobile video service in a trial that ran in the winter and spring of 2008.

The wireless carrier “wanted to do ads on the go — more like the Web — instead of having them hard-wired into the asset,” QuickPlay Media vice president of marketing Mark Hyland said.

QuickPlay, a Toronto-based provider of media management services for mobile video, and ad-serving provider Amobee Media Systems worked with Vodafone Italia on the mobile VOD ad trial.

Here's how it worked: Users would browse the catalog of news, sports and entertainment clips on their phone browsers. Once a clip was a selected, QuickPlay's system contacted the Amobee ad server to determine in real time which ad would play; for example, a ad promoting the new Antara auto from General Motors' Opel subsidiary.
“Only a very small percentage of people clicked off the content during the ad,” Hyland said. “That told me, if you do it right it's going to be effective.”

WAP strategy pays off for Citroen

2008-11-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

When Sales of car saloons were falling, with cars such as the Mondeo being overtaken by BMW's 3 Series. Citroen's new C5 aimed to offer drivers a German-quality build at a mass-market price, and to beat the preceding C5 model's 1% sector share.

The strategy created for the campaign that was built around the "Unmistakably German" proposition - a German car made in France. mobile was used in order to give the C5's "on the go" target consumers a greater depth of information on the car and on the main ad campaign. A creative agency was approached for additional interactive content to engage consumers and to enable mobile to act as a virtual C5 showroom and content platform.

A WAP "showroom" was built, containing information on the C5, downloadable videos of the car, and extra content such as a quiz hosted by a character called The Baron. The site also featured a dealer locator and a Java application so prospective buyers could continue to read about the C5 offline.

The 02 and 3 portals carried video pre-rolls and companion banners, as well as rotating banners. A significant proportion of the ads were demographically targeted to reduce wastage, and specific environments were bought which included sport, news and motoring sections.

Banners appeared on the Reuters website, and the Java application was served on sites such as Guardian Unlimited. In addition, This became the first brand to exclusively sponsor Vodafone's motoring section.

The results measured over the period of four weeks, the WAP website attracted more than 85,000 clicks and a click-through rate of more than 2%, while the Vodafone sponsorship achieved a CTR of 8%.

The videos were downloaded 3,000 times, there were 1,480 dealer locator searches, and the 330,000 pre-rolls achieved brand recall of 65%, against a motoring sector average of 55%.

Most impressively, period-on-period sales for the Citroen C5 were up 63% for the year to date.

ERF Wireless Given Nationwide 3.65 GHz WiMax License by FCC

2008-11-02T08:24:00.001-08:00

ERF Wireless, a leading supplier of enterprise-class wireless and broadband products and services, declared that the company has successfully achieved a nationwide license for operation in the 3.65 GHz WiMax band and is partnering with entities that will make additional licensed spectrum available in the 2.5 GHz band. ERF Wireless is currently in the process of evaluating various brands of WiMax products, and then will start limited deployment of this new technology in selected WISP and oil and gas markets across Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana, where the company is aggressively expanding its wireless footprint.

"The adoption of WiMax technology is a critical part of our current network expansion strategy," claimed ERF Wireless CEO, Dr. H. Dean Cubley. "We've been monitoring the progress of WiMax technology for some time, and until now we've felt that the cost and maturity of the technology were not favorable for large-scale network deployment. However, in the past six months, there have been some dramatic improvements in both the technology and its cost-effectiveness. As a result, we are evaluating WiMax equipment from various vendors as we prepare to deploy WiMax at selected locations in our networks where this new technology will be most effective."

Dr. Cubley stated that one of the main reasons for deployment of this new licensed frequency band is its ability to reduce the problems of frequency congestion and interference, especially in areas where the "unlicensed" spectrum is under heavy usage.

"For example, many of the larger oil and gas companies recognize that the availability of a new, licensed high-capacity wireless technology such as WiMax will provide a more secure, robust and cost-effective data pipeline that's essential for the expansion of wireless broadband into their most active exploration, drilling and production areas," claimed Dr. Cubley. "ERF Wireless believes this is a very opportune time to add WiMax capabilities to our extensive existing wireless footprint and our major customers are in total agreement."

CEO of the company's Bundled Wireless Services subsidiary, Bob McClung, , claimed, "Leading-edge WiMax technology also brings a great advantage to our WISP deployments with its increased coverage and enhanced service offerings, including Voice over Internet Protocol, Internet portability and the promise of true broadband mobility nationwide. And, WiMax capability in any wireless broadband network adds greatly to the future value of that network."

About ERF Wireless
ERF Wireless Inc. is a fully reporting public corporation located in League City, Texas, and is the parent company of ERF Oil & Gas Services. The company specializes in providing wireless and broadband product and service solutions to enterprise, commercial and residential clients on a regional, national and international basis. Its principals have been in the wireless broadband, network integration, triple-play FTTH, IPTV and content delivery business for more than 40 years.

Forward-looking statements, including projections, in this release regarding ERF Wireless Inc. and ERF Wireless Oil & Gas Services are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission

New wireless mobile broadband players in Houston

2008-11-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

Two national carriers have recently launched wireless mobile broadband service in Houston, making them the first competitors to enter the local broadband market in three years.

On October 21, Cricket Communications Inc. unveiled its unlimited wireless mobile broadband, or 3G (also known as third-generation), offerings. The launch took place just two months after Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA Inc. launched its 3G service in the Bayou City.

The two companies join existing providers Verizon Communications Inc., which rolled out its Broadband Access service in mid-2004; AT&T Inc., which began offering its LapTop Connect service in 2005; and Sprint Nextel Corp., which launched its Mobile Broadband service locally in August 2005 and upgraded it in April 2007.

Cricket, a subsidiary of San Diego, Calif.-based Leap Wireless International Inc. — entered the Houston market in June 2006 with the launch of a slate of wireless products and services offered in 11 retail stores. Since then, the company’s local presence has grown to 18 retail stores, according to Alan Leser, area vice president for Cricket.

KongZhong Corporation, a leading wireless value-added services Repurchases Shares

2008-10-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

KongZhong Corporation a leading wireless value-added services through multiple technology platforms including wireless application protocol, wireless media and wireless game company in Chinathrough multiple technology platforms including wireless application protocol , today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company to repurchase up to US$10 million worth of its own American Depositary Shares (ADSs). The repurchase program calls for the ADSs to be purchased in the open market from time to time depending upon market conditions, the market price of Company's ADSs and the management's assessment of the Company's liquidity and cash flow needs. The repurchase program is designed to increase shareholder value and reduce the dilutive effect of the Company's equity incentive plans. The Company expects to finance the repurchases from existing cash reserves.

Leilei Wang, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of the Company, said, "The Board's decision to implement the share repurchase program reflects its strong belief in the strength of the Company's businesses. The Board also believes that the Company's shares have been unfairly punished in recent market turmoil. With over $130 million in cash and cash equivalents, we have maintained a strong balance sheet and feel confident that this repurchase program will enhance shareholder value."

About KongZhong
KongZhong Corporation is a leading wireless value-added services, wireless media and wireless game company in China. The Company delivers wireless value- added services to consumers in China through multiple technology platforms including wireless application protocol (WAP), multimedia messaging service, JAVATM, SMS, interactive voice response, and color ring-back tone. The Company also operates three wireless Internet sites, Kong.net, Ko.cn and cn.NBA.com, which enable users to access media, entertainment and community content directly from their mobile phones. The Company also designs and operates wireless games, including mobile on-line games.

Wireless Application Protocol websites for north-east newspapers to be released

2008-10-26T03:14:00.000-07:00

Trinity Mirror will next week release three mobile websites for users to access content from its north-east regional newspaper titles on 3G and Wireless Application Protocol-enabled phones.

On Monday, companion mobile websites for the Teesside Gazette, Newcastle Chronicle and the Journal newspaper will go on the air, with a further seven regional newspaper websites planned to release later in the year.

Each website has been built using standardised templates into which text and images will be delivered by the papers. Individual titles can then vary the content streams they offer users to suit particular areas of local interest.
Trinity will release further regional newspaper websites for its titles in the north-west in early November, a mobile version of its Walesonline.co.uk website later that month, then mobile websites for the Glasgow-based Daily Record, Birmingham Mail and Coventry Telegraph in December.

Banner advertising, delivered through the Nokia interactive ad-serving platform, and sponsorship will support the new websites that have been developed through a partnership between Trinity Mirror and Bluestar mobile.

"What these releases do is give the organization a third publishing platform," said Rick Gleave, the head of interactive and mobile with Trinity Mirror.

"What a lot of people do is overestimate the immediate impact of mobile. It's in its infancy and it will take time to develop and educate the audience about it. They also underestimate the long-term benefits of investing in mobile publishing," Gleave added.

The releases follow the rollout last week of Trinity's first regional mobile website, for the Birmingham Post newspaper, and the development of a similar offering for its national title the Daily Mirror the previous week.

The publisher added , Gleave, was also in talks over two possible deals to give Trinity's regional mobile operations greater exposure by linking up with mobile network service operators to deliver postcode-specific news content.

PageOne releases ‘Connect II’ with improved Flash and wireless application protocol Push

2008-10-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

UK’s leading mobile technology company, PageOne, declared today the release of its next generation mobile messaging service called ‘Connect II’. This new system extends to users a more improved, powerful and extremely resilient suite of services with added benefits such as improved security with up to 256-bit SSL encryption, as well as improved message types that include Flash and wireless application protocol Push.

The demands of today's fast paced corporate environment make it critical for businesses to constantly stay in contact with its staff and customers. Based on some extensive client collaboration, PageOne has developed a comprehensive messaging solution containing a new feature rich messaging capability and enhanced functionality, all delivered in a sleek new interface.

Connect II also supports a sophisticated two-way facility that offers users a truly interactive SMS experience. Users are able to select, reply or forward inbound text messages to any number of different contacts or mobile devices, as on a personal mobile phone. Connect II’s inbox filtering facility then allows you to find a message from a specific sender instantly. Administrative control is also increased with the option to centralise the organisation's address book, allowing administrators to make global modifications to user contact lists

Spice releases S-580 musical handset with GPRS and WAP features

2008-10-21T05:26:00.000-07:00

Spice Mobiles Ltd. enriched its handset portfolio as it showed off its latest offering, Spice S-580.

Announced as a musical handset, the new product comes bundled with an MP3 player, FM recording, playback and supports expandable memory up to 2 GB.

Supporting a chess design keypad, S-580 boasts of a new feature called Dazzle Ring tone that enables users to assign ten different ring tones to every new call that one gets, said the company.

Furthermore, it includes features like one-touch torch light, mobile tracker and general packet radio service & wireless application protocol functions and schedule SMS facility. Its call blacklist facility on the handset allows users to bar calls from numbers that they don’t want to address.
The handset will be offered at Rs. 2249

Taiwan: Volume of xDSL users continues to fall in the 2nd Quarter of 2008

2008-10-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

While the total number of home/business subscribers of wireless broadband fixed-line Internet services was steadily growing to 4.70 million at the end of the second quarter of 2008, the corresponding number of xDSL subscribers continued dropping to 3.42 million from the record high 3.90 million at the end of September 2006, according to a quarterly survey conducted by FIND, an organization with ties to the government-sponsored Institute for Information Industry (III).

The continued decrease was mainly due to a shift from xDSL to fiber-optic networks, FIND pointed out.

In addition to fixed-line access to the Internet, there were 13.38 million home/business subscribers of mobile Internet services through 3G and personal handy-phone system, general packet radio service and wireless application protocol platforms at the end of June 2008.

Counting the 4.48 million users of TANet – Taiwan's network specifically designed for educational institutions – as well as home/business subscribers, Taiwan had an estimated Internet-surfing population of 10.14 million at the end of June 2008, represetnting 0.5% growth on quarter and 1.5% on year and accounting for 44% of Taiwan's population.

Agreement Marks First Wireless Application Protocol Portal to Offer Industry-Authorized Lyrics Solution

2008-10-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

In response to the rapidly growing use of mobile devices to access digital media, MetroLyrics and Gracenote® today declared an agreement to be the first to extend authorized lyrics licensing services to mobile devices and iPhone applications via a WAP website. Beginning today, Gracenote's Lyrics service, which offers the largest database of licensed, complete and accurate song lyrics in the world, will be available to mobile consumers through MetroLyrics' Wireless Application Protocol website at m.metrolyrics.com.

In April, MetroLyrics became the first existing lyrics-only website to license Gracenote's catalog of lyrics, propelling MetroLyrics to its spot as the leading lyrics website on the Web. Now the industry standard, Gracenote Lyrics is also utilized by major search websites and music sites such as Yahoo!, AOL, MTV, Radio Disney and others.

"With the popularity of lyrics queries on the Internet and the skyrocketing use of mobile devices for access to digital media, it's a natural progression to extend Gracenote's Lyrics service to the mobile arena," said Jim Hollingsworth, SVP of sales and marketing, Gracenote. "Through our agreement with MetroLyrics, consumers will be able to search the most complete and accurate lyrics database while they are mobile, on one of the world's most popular web sites."

The Gracenote lyrics database contains lyrics for more than 500,000 commercial tracks and has license agreements with all four major publishers: EMI, Universal/BMG, Sony/ATV, and Warner/Chappell. Gracenote also has agreements with dozens of prominent independent music publishers including ABKCO Music, Inc., Cherry Lane, Chrysalis Music Group, Disney Music Publishing, Peermusic and Bug/Windswept Holdings; and hundreds of agreements for key artist repertoires such as Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Dixie Chicks, Janet Jackson, The Grateful Dead, Keith Urban, Melissa Etheridge, The White Stripes, Natalie Merchant, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul McCartney, Gwen Stefani, Nirvana, R.E.M., Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat and Madonna.

"We are pleased to be the first to offer a Wireless Application Protocol website with Gracenote's Lyrics service to the mobile arena," said Alan Juristovski, co-founder and CEO, MetroLyrics. "By accessing lyrics through MetroLyrics using their mobile device, music fans will be using the number one lyrics website on the Web with the largest authorized lyrics database in the world."

With more than 27 million unique users per month, up from 14 million in December 2007, MetroLyrics went from the number three lyrics website to number one in just six months and has more traffic than many of the well-known sites in the music industry, according to comScore Media Metrix. Now among the fastest growing sites on the Internet, MetroLyrics has a daily traffic rank among the top 500 sites and also boasts the number nine Internet property in the Entertainment-Music Category based on total U.S. unique visitors.

WAP - The Next Generation Of Mobile Marketing

2008-10-16T05:23:00.000-07:00

Mobile as a medium has not evolved completely into what it will become, but it has advanced dramatically in just the last year. The mobile marketing model has grown far beyond the limited components of Wireless Application Protocol because the smartphone has evolved into a true computing platform, moving beyond the standard format of a "phone with benefits."

For those of you who are looking at mobile as a medium, let's review the landscape of the opportunities that are afforded to you as content developers as well as marketers:

a. WAP vs. HTML: Most standard phones can view Wireless Application Protocol pages (Wireless Application Protocol stands for Wireless Application Protocol). Wireless Application Protocol sites are text-heavy and viewing them is clunky from a consumer perspective. HTML is the standard for Web site development, and many of the new smart phones such as the iPhone and the Samsung Instinct view Web pages as HTML so the standard ad units on those pages are served, albeit not in Flash. This translates to the fact that many standard ad units can now be seen on these next-gen phones. What's still confusing to me and many marketers is how this impacts page views and ads served in a standard reporting environment, but that's getting worked out even as we speak.

b. On-Deck vs. Off-Deck: The term "on-deck" was always used to refer to OEM-placed applications that came with your phone when you bought it. It was hard to get "on-deck" and it usually came at a significant price. The launch of the App Store changed that paradigm and now anyone can place an application on the deck of the iPhone, assuming that application has been approved by Apple and distributed through the App Store. The upcoming Google Android phone has an App Store of its own and most major carriers are working on their own versions as well. Even the BlackBerry has a couple of competing application stores coming into the marketplace.

Once you understand these two basic landscapes, you can examine the advertising opportunities that are available as well. Standard mobile campaigns used to consist of Wireless Application Protocol ads and SMS or click-to-call interactions. SMS specifically was used in many situations as an extender tool to provide interactive capabilities to print, TV and radio. I still like SMS, especially when packaged together with SMS search, because almost all phones in the marketplace currently can make use of them. Companies like 4INFO do some very interesting things with SMS as a connection tool and are worth checking out.

The immediate growth of the application space has created an environment for more Web-standard-type ads being integrated into the mobile environment. There are text ads, such as Google AdSense, baked into games and services (see AdMob in the Sports Tap application in iTunes) and there are full-screen static images (see the full-page units in the 21Pro Blackjack app also available in iTunes). There are also branded applications themselves (see the Audi A4 app or the MobileZodiac brought to you by the Chicago Tribune). These apps have ads baked in through differing formats, but as a consumer I'm not annoyed by them. They may indeed be intrusive in some cases, but not in a way that is too detrimental to the brand. (The most annoying of the ad formats that I came across would be the full-screen ad for "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" which comes before the Lightsaber app, and even that's not too bad). One additional note on this format: the integration of GPS in these applications immediately increases their performance, because you get information tied to where you are right now. I've seen a couple of examples of location-based mobile ads and they've resonated strongly with me.

Mobile video is still the missing link. Many carriers are offering mobile video (Verizon VCAST being the apparent leader) and in some cases there is advertising baked in (mostly 5-10 second commercials or pre-rolls). This component of the medium still has room to grow, as the platform itself continues to evolve and becomes a better, faster, more reliable platform for accessing video content -- and consumer behavior changes to accept and expect this format to be available to them.

Lots of changes are afoot; it remains to be seen what effect the recession will have on the mobile category, but as prices for these next-gen phones continue to come down and users are thrifty with their time and their spending, I don't see them straying away from these tools.

Startup rolls out ad-wrapped via Wireless Access Protocol

2008-10-16T05:17:00.000-07:00

Ubersoft Inc. a Filipino-owned company has started offering an advertisement-wrapped mobile game download service called Swoopin.

The new service enables users to download as many free mobile Java games as they want to their mobile phones via Wireless Access Protocol and only pay for the corresponding phone network fees.

The ad-wrap feature will become available whenever mobile phone users start playing games.

Also available are 850 Java games in 14 available categories ranging from racing, action, puzzle, sports, casino, arcade, among others.

More games are being added every week.

All games on the Swoopin website are also available on Swoopin’s Facebook and on Swoopin’s official wap site.

Ubersoft CEO Vince Yamat explained in an interview that there will be two to three advertisements showing up before and after a downloaded game is played.
However, the ads will only connect to the Swoopin server on the first and fourth attempt to play.

Essentially, the game is already been paid for by the advertisements.
Yamat stated the advertisements will not appearing during gameplay so as not to disturb the mobile phone user’s playing experience.

“Whenever Swoopin games connect to the Internet the charges will be very minimal. Much of the revenue we generate in this service will come from advertisements. What we realized is that the preferred payment for players is free,” Yamat stated.

Swoopin will target all markets and not just the Philippines. Thus, initial advertisements will come from foreign firms, such as Amazon.com and Best Buy.

Yamat stated they are already in talks with advertising resellers and distribution channels in the Philippines to promote the service.

“There is a huge market for advertising on mobile games in the Philippines. We only need to look for the right channels,” he stated.

Mobilemo Launches New Mobile WAP Web Site Creation Service

2008-10-15T03:05:00.000-07:00

Mobilemo has just declared that it has formally launched its new mobile WAP web site creation service. Recent news on technology trends point to a continuing increase in mobile Internet use attributed to greater numbers of mobile phone owners and the lowering costs of mobile Internet services.

New email alerts have been introduced allowing all of the tools to now notify users each time their contacts update their mobile sites. This is paired with the new broadcast feature which lets users opt to announce to their contacts every time they update their mobile site. All of these added features will give users a more enhanced experience and greater flexibility in creating and managing their mobile websites.

Mobilemo provides tools to easily create interactive and visually appealing mobile sites. Their simple and easy to use web-based interactive tools let users create a mobile WAP web site instantly, without any need to hire a programmer. All that is required is a PC with an Internet connection.

Mobilemo's interactive tools and features include mobile pages with image insertion and text-wrapping, file sharing and private storage, polls, forms, guest book, comments and a privacy option for Premium Members. All these tools empower mobile site owners to create and manage mobile sites that meet their unique needs.

Chinese LBS through SMS and WAP to grow rapidly, but carriers are challenged

2008-10-15T03:02:00.000-07:00

In a report published last week, Chinese market research firm CCID Consulting said the Chinese mobile location-based services (LBS) industry is to enter a rapid growth period despite the fact wireless operators will be challenged by handset manufacturers to retain their share of revenue on this market.

CCID Consulting statistics show that the market size of LBS reached CNY 485 million ($71 million) in the first half of 2008, LBS being defined as “value added services that are provided by operators to provide location, navigation, and other services to mobile phone users through SMS, WAP, and other methods”. CCID estimates that, for the entire year 2008, LBS revenue will be around CNY 1 billion (S146 million). CCID Consulting forecasts that LBS will achieve rapid growth as 3G users and services develop; in 2012, the LBS market revenue is expected to reach CNY 3.8 billion ($560 million).

Maps, software, wireless operators
So far the three most important roles in the Chinese LBS industry are map providers, software providers, and operators. Navinfo, Autonavi, Emapgo, Liingtu, and Ritu have taken the leading positions in the map market. In the location service software field, overseas companies have made large inroads. Navigation software from Aisin and Denso from Japan are widely used in location service solutions of Navinfo and Autonavi. Local companies such as Zdor, Yaxon Network, and others have also gained considerable market share despite starting relatively late, said CCID.

CCID also noticed that LBS have been in the focus of operators for a long time. In 2001, China Mobile launched its first location services based on Monternet (Mobile Internet). In 2003, basing on advantages of its CDMA network, China Unicom also started LBS services. In the first half of 2008, China Mobile occupied a market share of more than 60% of all LBS services due to its large number of users. China Unicom took 30% based on CDMA-based location services.

heat launches a cellphone site

2008-10-08T03:08:00.000-07:00

For the celebrity-obsessed heat reader, learning of the latest dramas and scandals in Celebville before everyone else is crucial. While readers have access to heat in a weekly magazine format, and daily via the website, www.heat.co.za, we can now deliver heat content to readers via the device that is literally closest to their hearts: their cellphones.
UCM, publishers of FHM and heat, has partnered with Thumbtribe to launch the mobile phone WAP site m.heat.co.za. The heat mobisite is accessible from any Wireless Application Protocol - enabled phone and is available to all network operators' subscribers.

Those unfamiliar with their phone's browser can SMS MOBI HEAT to 33978 to be sent an SMS link to heat Mobile at a once-off cost of R1.50.

WAP enabled heat Mobile provides yet another entry point - in addition to the printed magazine and the web - from which a heat reader can access relevant, entertaining content and interact with the heat brand.

Crucially, magazine content is not replicated online or on the mobisite, as heat understands the need to deliver specific, different, platform-appropriate content on each of heat's three platforms.

m.heat.co.za delivers a mix of celebrity news, the ability to vote in heat Hot 100 presented by MTN, enter competitions, download free and paid-for wallpapers, write to heat and much more.

The launch is well timed for advertisers too. More and more brands are turning their attention to mobile advertising as a way of reaching the modern consumer - particularly in South Africa where the cellphone is the primary means of Internet access for many.

m.heat.co.za offers brands the ability to interact in an intimate space with a targeted audience, and mobile advertising campaigns are highly measurable to ensure your ad spend is worth it! Contact heat to hear about the variety of advertising solutions available on heat Mobile, from display advertising to event sponsorship and promotions.

Jentro Technologies and Bouygues Telecom Announce WAP Agreement

2008-10-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

JentrFo Technologies GmbH, a worldwide provider of mobility solutions, and French wireless mobile operator Bouygues Telecom announced today an agreement to launch Berlitz wireless mobile, an advertisement-funded navigation and local search solution for wireless mobile media.
This navigation solution will be marketed as a Berlitz wireless mobile branded solution, powered by Jentro, and will provide free turn-by-turn navigation to Bouygues wireless mobile phone subscribers. In addition to free navigation, Berlitz wireless mobile will also offer local search functionalities and innovative content features like Berlitz's Travel and Language Guides. End users will be able to search, for instance, for the nearest coffee shop, choose from the local listings and then navigate directly to their selection.

The Berlitz wireless mobile solution platform will incorporate both Jentro's award-winning turnkey advertising distribution proxy as well as Jentro's Zenlet technology platform and be available via the Bouygues Wireless Application Protocol portal. "Our team has been working on a way to deliver pre-packaged solutions to the market that also allow for the flexibility to add unique content to an existing package, or create a new one, to meet the changing needs of our clients' customers," said Kate Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, Jentro.

The proxy is ad-server agnostic, thus allowing for multiple ad-servers to be installed for each solution or region to ensure the highest levels of sell through and to provide advertisers with the option to use their traditional agency relationships. The dynamic ads appears naturally in the UI flow such as splash screen, waiting screen, turn-by-turn navigation, map screens and a destination reached screens. The advertising proxy includes a lead generation engine where results screens like "you have arrived" can provide calls to action such as a request for information, reservation request, links to m-commerce modules and more.

The Zenlet platform facilitates the fast development and delivery of unique, relevant and rich location-based, social networking and vertical content mini-applications, called "Zenlets." These Zenlets can be accessed easily within a single client application on the wireless mobile device, thus enhancing the personalized wireless mobile Internet experience.

"We want to provide our customers innovative wireless mobile services that they can depend on and that will help them in their business and personal life," said Olivier Laury, Contents Director of Bouygues Telecom. "We trust in the support of a reliable partner like Jentro because of their experience in the wireless mobile application market and their ability to leverage the investment we have in our existing network to enable it to accommodate the demands of our customers for innovative, reliable and high-quality services."

The Berlitz wireless mobile solution is scheduled to launch in November and users will have the opportunity to easily download the application from the Bouygues Wireless Application Protocol portal. The software will work with almost all GPS enabled handsets and mass market phones on multiple operating systems with the delivery of Java ME and clients for handset operating systems in use on Bouygues' network, including Symbian S60/UIQ and RIM, addressing the largest number of phones with the highest performance available.

The Berlitz wireless mobile solution will be launched at Bouygues Telecom first and then will expand to other operators in Europe.

Etihad takes website award for WAP site

2008-09-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Etihad Airways has taken the 2008 'WebAward' for 'outstanding achievement in website development in recognition of industry-wide praise for its original online marketing strategy.

WebAward is an annual awards event organised by the US-based Web Marketing Association. The awards recognise the best websites across nearly 100 different industry sectors in 47 countries across the world, based on nominations received from thousands of digital agencies, website developers and marketing departments.
Each website is independently assessed by a panel of industry experts according to a number of criteria, which includes design, ease of use, copywriting, interactivity, use of technology, innovation and content.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways' executive vice president marketing and product, said: "To be judged the most outstanding airline website by the Web Marketing Association is a great honour and testament to the significant investment we continue to place in online marketing.

"At the heart of our strategy is the provision of an integrated full-service website, which offers our customers the ability to plan their journey, book their tickets, check-in and even select their favourite seat."
The Abu Dhabi-based airline's website, etihadairways.com, offers users a booking engine which is fully integrated with the airline's loyalty programme and customer relationship management (CRM) applications which further enhance personal contact with customers.

Customers can also book any flights and products from the award winning "web shop" using any combination of air miles and cash for worldwide distribution.
EtihadEtihad has also launched local websites exclusively for specific markets which offers special web fares with price guarantees as well as local information tailored to a customer's specific requirements.

Further new features which will shortly be introduced on the website include a flexible price search engine and real-time communication facilities for mobile technology devices such as wireless application protocol.
The 2008 WebAward is the latest accolade that EtihadEtihad has recently picked up for its innovative online marketing strategy. Earlier this year, EtihadEtihad picked up the top 'gongs' at the 'Freddie' awards.

RADWIN Wireless Broadband Networks Connecting Kenya's Parks

2008-09-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

RADWIN, a global leader in providing of sophisticated wireless broadband access solutions, declared that the Kenyan Wildlife Services deployed its systems in eight national parks through out kenya. kenya's wildlife service is in command of Kenya's national parks, and has allready deployed RADWIN's Multiple point-to-point systems to connect its Nairobi headquarters to several parks across the state. A leading systems

Kenya Wildlife Services' Director, Dr. Julius Kipng'etich, declared: "We needed a cost-effective, high-capacity solution to link the dispersed national parks to our HQs, and RADWIN's MPtP systems were the perfect answer to our needs. RADWIN's links transfer E-Ticketing information, Safari Card data, Internet and VoIP from the parks to our main office. We also use the systems for transmitting video from the closed circuit televisions that are deployed in the parks' entryways to our offices, enabling us to monitor activities by remote. With RADWIN's systems we can secure revenues from six Terrestrial and two Marine National Parks and enjoy high-speed, non-stop communications."

UUNET's RF Engineer, Joseph Oyieke, declared: "RADWIN's MPtP links are highly reliable, robust and extremely easy to deploy. KWS can run multiple applications on these systems because they provide high-quality dedicated bandwidth to each site from one hub site location."

RADWIN's Director of Sales for Africa, Hanoch Maskalchi, expressed that: "Through our partnership with UUNET we were able to meet KWS' needs for a reliable, cost-effective network. This is an exciting project and our Multiple-Point-to-Point systems are uniquely tailored to meet the requirements of customers who need to interconnect multiple sites with high-speed wireless broadband."

About Radwin
RADWIN has been providing innovative carrier-class solutions in over 100 countries around the world since its establishment in 1997. Radwin provides it's clientelle with guidance and support, to deliver the most effective and highest quality solutions for their subscribers' needs.

Universal Inks Deal to delivwe Mobile Devices through WAP

2008-09-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

New York Universal Press Syndicate and Impact Mobile declared that they are going to partner up is order to provide a mobile "push" publishing system for newspapers and their advertisers.

Push publishing is about to offer newspapers to deliver content to their readers via a Wireless application protocol that is kept on the smart phone. An icon that is branded for the newspaper resides on the phone's desktop.

"Many publishers currently use 'Wireless Application Protocol' sites for their mobile platform," said John Vivona, Universal's vice president of sales, in a statement. "Smart phone applications will extend the mobile reach to a new audience."

He explained: "This exploding mobile segment includes BlackBerrys, iPhones, and Windows-based devices. The content and the advertising are interactive for the user, who represents an affluent, highly desired demographic for both newspapers and their advertisers."

Gary Schwartz, President and CEO of Impact Mobile added in another statement: "Universal's newspaper clients will now be able to establish a one-to-one relationship with the readers and the opportunity for ongoing communications with targeted consumers."

Major Growth predicted for U.S. Mobile Advertising and Search Market

2008-09-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

The mobile advertising and search market in the U.S. will be worth around $1,894 million by 2012, based on revenue, Frost & Sullivan revealed in its latest report.
The immense growth will be fuelled by a mobile penetration of 85%, and the untapped 250 million mobile users for mobile advertising revenues. Since mobile devices are used by individuals as personal assets, the single-user benefit will increase the efficiency of advertising campaigns.
The growth is expected to happen, according to the Frost & Sullivan report, since various mobile data services and applications have supplied telecom operators with new outlets of communication and connectivity to their target clients.
Main outlets of communications for mobile advertisements contain messaging, wireless application protocol (WAP), mobile video, in-application, and performance-based advertising within search, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), and other environments.
Currently nearly15% of mobile users in the US use mobile Internet to access information through their mobile devices. This is a potential area for advertising. There is also a considerable uptake in the usage of mobile video services including advertising messages, the Frost & Sullivan analysis said.
"Adoption of mobile advertising by the nation’s largest mobile operators and innovative mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) is a testament to the perceived potential of the market," said Frost & Sullivan analyst Vikrant Gandhi, in a statement. "Mobile advertising efficiently serves the expectations of advertisers, mobile operators, and even subscribers when offered in a highly targeted, non-intrusive manner."
Operators are developing new campaigns for both on-deck and off-deck advertising. Mobile advertising may disturb the privacy of mobile users. This has been a major concern among telecom users.
On the privacy issue, the study advised, operators should be prudent while sharing the personal information of their subscribers to ensure that their subscribers do not suffer overzealous marketing efforts.
"Though advertisers will want to delineate their target audience by demographics, location, handset, and other parameters, mobile operators should be cautious while providing information to preserve their subscribers’ privacy," the report added.

Virgin Mobile Shuttle adds together 3G and WAP decks

2008-09-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

Virgin Mobile Shuttle will go beyond WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) services, and offer mobile services such as Facebook and Buddy Beacon.

Back in the old days, there were hypes such as PDA, GPRS, and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) decks. The evolution has since turned PDAs into smartphones, GPRS into EGPRS and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) decks into Web pages. Until today that is, when Virgin Mobile made a big splash releasing its first 3G EV-DO based cell phone selling with a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) deck subscription; "Unlimited VirginXL WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) deck" to be exact. With the alarm bells ringing, it was time to do some deep research, and we were pleased to find out that it was all about a different type of ringing, namely a ringtone service - one of the few things WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is actually useful for.

With that issue sorted out, let's take a look at what Virgin Mobile is about to roll out on its 2008 deck. Following Virgin Mobile USA's recent acquisition of Helio, the Virgin Mobile Shuttle will be the first handset enabled to integrate features from the Helio portfolio. This will include improved access to social networking communities and other mobile internet sites through partnerships with Accuweather, ESPN, Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, Yahoo! and more.

The Virgin Mobile Shuttle is also slated to feature Virgin Mobile's first location-based services from uLocate including Buddy Beacon and Where. The former is a friend-finder solution which allows customers to find friends in a crowded city and show where they are and what they're doing, while the latter is an application that delivers local information such as locating the lowest gas prices and getting restaurant recommendations.

The Virgin Mobile Shuttle also features a 1.3-megapixel camera, 2-inch screen, stereo Bluetooth, SD card support and an integrated media player. It weighs in at 3 ounces and measures 3.9 by 1.9 by 0.7 inches. Virgin Mobile claims a talk time of up to four hours.

With the new Virgin Mobile Shuttle, the carrier is also introducing its first Mobile Web data packs as add-ons to calling plans. For monthly plans, customers will get Unlimited VirginXL WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) deck, plus 20MB surf for $5 or 50MB for $10. For pay as you go plans, customers will get 5MB Surf the Web for $5, 20MB + Unlimited VXL for $10 or 50MB + Unlimited VXL for $20.

The new Virgin Mobile Shuttle costs $80.

Sicap's New Platform Supplies Device Management

2008-09-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

Sicap has introduced a unique platform that automatically detects devices in the O2 network and sends them settings for services the customer is provisioned for, such as MMS and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) browsing. The platform runs in real-time and the setting is usually received within one minute of detection.

The Sicap platform has responded to mobile customer annoyance with complex settings on sophisticated new-generation devices.

Telefónica O2 Czech Republic has opted for the Sicap Device Management expertise, as majority of its customers have devices capable of advanced multimedia messaging and IT services.

With the Sicap Device Management expertise, the operator aims to ensure new customer devices are "off the shelf-ready to use" and that they are maintained throughout their lifecycle.

"The Sicap platform is a reliable and scaleable tool for us to progressively roll-out seamless device management services," said Petr Kavan, Service manager of Telefónica O2 Czech Republic. "Our usage of Sicap technology will not only set our customers devices, but notably enhance the targeting of our marketing offers. ".

The"O2 Settings" seamless settings delivery service improves the brand image of the operator and customer confidence in network services. There is no other operator on the Czech market which offers setting service upon automated detection.
" Telefónica O2 Czech Republic has implemented our open standards platform which reads OMA-DM continuous provisioning protocol for advanced device management services," said Ruth Stockinger, Global Account Manager at Sicap. "We are proud to accompany Telefónica O2 in the development of their services ".

WAP website links

2008-09-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

WAP Sites are websites that can be viewed using a WAP enabled mobile device. If you visit WAP sites on your mobile device please let us know which ones are good and which are not.

Flash Webdesign
Med vores flash og html web skabeloner kan du få et professionelt webdesign, til en ekstremt lav pris, og samtidig spare en masse tid, da selve designet allerede er udarbejdet.
New Jersey Shore Restaurants, Clubs, Hotels, Motels, Real Estate, Vacations
New Jersey Shore, Monmouth and Ocean Counties boardwalk events, restaurants, nightclubs, entertainment, shopping, hotels, motels, vacations, ocean front mall, www.oceanfrontmall.com, online shopping, travel, business and real estate news, www.asburyparklife.com, in the NJ Shore Ocean Front towns of Asbury Park, Allenhurst, Avon, Barnegat, Barnegat Light, Bay Head, Beach Haven, Belmar, Bradley ...
guy`s mind - mind guy - explore the mind of a guy in his twenties
The blog portrays a guy`s mind, his thoughts and life; both personal and business. 22 y/o business student: ambitious. interested. maybe interesting. a mind guy. has needs and wants to give. BrawnyHunk.com describes sports, beauty, business, fun, health, music, the universe of women, and other hot topics; lived and experienced ...
Jewellery / Jewelry
Silver jewellery, mens jewellery, gold jewellery.
Buy Furniture
With over 17.000 items we are proud to present the largest online selection of furniture online.
Toys For Children
The Toys Shopping Spot
Jewelry
Beautyful jewelry for him, her and the kids too.
Outdoor Gear
Biking, Climbing, Camping.. We offer a hugh selection of products for you with an interest for outdoor activities.
Clothes For Children
Tastful and fashionable, stunning prices and quality. Welcome to Clothes-For-Children.com
Perfume
Perfume for men and women.
Comic Books
Over 50.000 comic books, DVDs, status, etc.
Strollers
A wide selection of strollers and baby / infant products.
Home Decoration
Ceiling fans, lightning, fireplace decoration, we welcome you to our home decoration shop with over 20.000 items.
The best Ads on the Internet CYourAD.com
CYourAd.com The best Ads on the Internet.Free Advertising and how to write great advertisement for the Internet.World class ads for all occasions Free
Free Classifieds Home Business Free Games Make Money Itunes
FREE Classifieds FREE Games FREE Advertising Home Business FREE Stuff. Facebook Youtube Myspace Baby Names FREE Ringtones Make Money Work At Home
idea regalo
Send and receive a present or a gift at the speed of the Internet.Foto regali is your online source for finding unique gift ideas for friends and family.
italy hotels
Find cheap accommodation in Rome with private tours to the vatican organized by professional guides.
merchant accounts
Merchant accounts and credit card processing at the guaranteed lowest price. Small, home based, and Internet businesses welcome. Full range of e-commerce solutions.
rome tours
Sightseeing tours of Rome with private limousine driver. Discover the Vatican city with private tour guide
Webdirectorylinks Bidding Directory
Webdirectorylinks is a human edited bidding directory, that helps you to promote you`re site & increase traffic . We offer permanent listings and cheap backlinks for a $. Before you submit you`re website please read `TOS`.
låna pengar
låna pengar Swedish money loans online - lån
Hypnosfiler på mp3
Ladda hem filer med självhypnos direkt till Din dator. Även ledda meditationer. Allt för avslappning, självhjälp och personlig utveckling.
Notbutik
Det största utbudet av noter - en svensk butik - allt på samma ställe!
Alla smakinriktningar - Snabb service - Välkommen in och se!
Sheet Music Galore
A wide variety of sheet music and music books in all genres for all instruments are available.
Low Carbohydrate Resources
Low-carb resources. Overviews of low-carb research for educational purposes.
Fratboy`s Movies and Video
Corner for Jocks, Athletes, Sports Guys
INDIA BEST FORUM
Indian community online and Indians friends forums and message board. Register and make this forum great http://www.indianbestforum.com.
Health Care Info & Health Resources Directory
Health reference website providing news, articles, and directory of health care resources.
Hair Loss Care
A collection of articles related to causes and remedies for hair loss.
Ischia hotel
Choose your ideal Ischia hotel from reviews and photos posted. Find your last minute accommodation in Ischia.
Self Hypnosis Online
Choose from 425 professional hypnosis downloads from leading hypnotherapy educators Uncommon Knowledge. Find your solution by browsing our self hypnosis library or search for exactly what you need.
Furniture Interior design
Major online furniture store
Sonicview HD
The Sonic View SV-8000HD provides many new features that makes it stand out from all the other ordinary FTA receivers.
Viewsat 9000 HD
Free to air satellite distributor. They import/export all types of free to air satellite equipment and accessories.
Pansat 9200 HD
They Sell Sonicview, nFusion Coolsat, Viewsat and Pansat direct. While also offering best bulk pricing for dealers of all sizes.
Självhypnos på mp3 eller cd!
Stort utbud, beställ Din cd eller varför inte en mp3-fil så får Du hem den ännu snabbare. Information om individuell hypnoterapi och massor av intressant läsning för den nyfikne. DVD med pilates, qigong, yoga. Meditationskuddar och andra tillbehör. Välkommen!
Blankets & Bedding
For soft, beautiful and original blankets and bedding, visit LoveMyBlankets.com
Tarot - Orakel - Spådom - Kortlekar
Din specialsida på Nätet med megautbud av kortlekar för alla smaker och ändamål!
Vindspel
Sveriges största webbshop för dig med intresse för det inre.
Free Directory
We offer free one-way links. Submit your site and increase your site's ranking and search engine popularity.
Noter
Sveriges bredaste utbud av musiknoter, notböcker och noter.
Baby Furniture
Extensive collection of Baby Furniture
Sporting goods
Outdoor sporting good, water sports and sports clothing
Bathroom Furniture
Extensive collection of Bathroom Furniture
Mountain bike parts
Thousands of mountain bikes, parts and accessories.
Pharmacy online
Try us out for all your pharmacy and healthy needs.

National Geographic to launch a WAP Web site

2008-09-13T02:46:00.000-07:00

Several days prior to the beginning of CTIA Fall 2008, the National Geographic Society announced a new exploit to deliver its content to wireless mobile devices. The society will launch a WAP (Wireless application protocoal) site next month that will feature photos, animal ring tones, articles from the National Geographic magazine, and video from National Geographic's TV shows. Although precise content and the URL are still under development, mobile division vice president Aaron Kohn revealed that there also will be an online "green" guide with points on eco-friendly products and shopping for sustainable fish.

Kohn rooted that National Geographic is not looking forward to form an MVNO, but he expressed that the society is in discussions with carriers and manufacturers to deliver National Geographic branding to new handsets. That's great news in view of our disappointment with the Cellular Abroad's National Geographic Talk Abroad Travel Phone. In addition, kohn stated that a development of a National Geographic application for the iPhone is in progress.

At launch, all content on the WAP site (Wireless application protocoal) will be free but by next year the society plans on introducing paid content.

AOL releases MapQuest Local, Wireless Application Protocol Technology Video Search

2008-09-13T02:30:00.000-07:00

MapQuest has recently increased development exploits, releaseing a new and enhanced beta site just a few weeks ago.
Mark Law, MapQuest product VP, expressed at the time that it was the first of numerous modifications and enhancements to come. Yesterday, the company released MapQuest Local, a new "start page" for regional content. The new page features drag and drop widgets that can be personalized.

AOL also views MapQuest Local as a kind of open platform that will progressively allow third parties to dispense their regionally relevant content to MapQuest's 48 million monthly users. While there are some conceptually related enhancements in the works from others, this is a very fresh and compelling approach to local.

KongZhong Corporation Revealed a Wireless Application Protocol Technology Mobile Game Platform

2008-09-13T02:27:00.000-07:00

KongZhong Corporation, a leading wireless value-added services and wireless media corporation in China, revealed that Tian Jie Online, a multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG), created and controlled by the Company, passed China Mobile's testing and was set afloat on China Mobile's Mobile Online Game Platform on September 10.

Tian Jie Online is a MMORPG created by KongZhong Mammoth, a leading mobile game R&D company purchased by the Company in 2005. The game functions on the "free to play and pay for items" models. Since it started testing during the third quarter of 2007, the game amassed over two million registered players.

China Mobile spent around a full year in development of its wireless application protocol technology Mobile Online Game Platform in order to foster the growth of the mobile online game industry. Tian Jie Online is among the first three mobile online games to be running on China Mobile's Mobile Online Game Platform. Three Kingdoms Online, another mobile online game created by the Company, also passed China Mobile's testing and is expected to be launched on China Mobile's Mobile Online Game Platform before September 25.

"After the acquisition of KongZhong Mammoth in 2005 and with the open testing of Tian Jie Online in 2007, we have gained a competitive advantage in the mobile online game industry in China," commented by Nick Yang, President of the Company, "We are glad that two of our games passed China Mobile's testing for its Mobile Online Game Platform. We believe we will further expand our cooperation in mobile online games with telecommunications operators such as China Mobile. We expect our mobile online game business to grow rapidly and become a more significant business line for KongZhong."

About KongZhong:
KongZhong Corporation is leading wireless value- added services and wireless media company in China. The Company delivers wireless value-added services to consumers in China through multiple technology platforms including wireless application protocol (WAP), multimedia messaging service (MMS), JAVATM, short messaging service (SMS), interactive voice response (IVR), and color ring-back tone (CRBT). The Company also operates three wireless Internet sites, Kong.net, Ko.cn and cn.NBA.com, which enable users to access media, entertainment and community content directly from their mobile phones.

Bango - WAP Billing popularity on the rise in the US

2008-09-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Bango reports a shift in the way mobile content is sold in the USA with wireless application protocol billing gaining momentum as the industry realizes the mobile internet delivers a superior and safer client experience. Key stakeholders in the mobile industry ranging from mobile operators, leading content providers, the Mobile Marketing Association are supporting wireless application protocol billing for mobile content sales, according to Bango which powers off-deck wireless application protocol services.

In the last three months alone, Bango has seen a four-fold increase in the number of wireless application protocol transactions in the USA. Leading content providers including Gameloft and Dada Entertainment are choosing to sell their content using Bango's mobile billing relationships with AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel and Virgin Mobile.

This means over 130 million subscribers on these networks can now pay for mobile content either per download or as a subscription. They charge it to their phone bill using the same familiar "browse and buy" experience used on the PC internet and their operator's deck.

wireless application protocol billing has become popular because it delivers a more transparent payment experience. Customers can see the price and conditions of purchase before they click to pay. And, because users choose to buy content and then pay in one seamless internet session, there is little room for error as compared to the two-step Premium SMS process.

"The shift to wireless application protocol browse and buy is a solid response to the recent claims of inappropriate charging of clients," said Anil Malhotra, SVP of Marketing at Bango. "Content providers are adapting to these challenges by using wireless application protocol to deliver a clean, clear buying experience for the user. Their business also benefits with far low customer service costs."
The improved client experience delivered by wireless application protocol billing brings the benefit of significantly lower customer care costs with refund levels of less than 0.1%, compared to levels approaching 10-20% where content is purchased with Premium SMS (source: industry research firm iGillot).

This is what key stakeholders in the mobile industry had to say about wireless application protocol billing:

"The mobile internet market is booming in the USA -- 65% of all new phones purchased are now mUSAic-enabled," said Massimiliano Pellegrini, Chief Executive Officer, Dada Entertainment. "wireless application protocol billing offers an easy, seamless experience for our Dada.net clients and fits in well with our overall mobile mUSAic strategy."

"wireless application protocol billing provides a better client experience through its phone recognition system, a better User-flow and a clearer offer," explains Jean-Sebastien Laverge, USA D2C Manager, Gameloft. "All of which, increases client satisfaction and drives more volumes in our off-deck sales."

"We continuously strive to offer great user-experiences to our Virgin Mobile customers. Bango's wireless application protocol Billing model enables an improved off-deck shopping experience, and greater control for adherence to the MMA's best practices guidelines. It provides a win-win situation for the operator, content provider and end-users," said Lauren King, Manager, Off-Portal Content, Virgin Mobile USA.

"Through the MMA's client Best Practices, we've achieved the standardization of a cross-carrier, client-friendly model for off-deck wireless application protocol services, which today continues to influence the rapidly growing mobile marketing industry," said Laura Marriott, president of the MMA. "The MMA continues to work with our members to generate industry-wide practices and guidelines to ensure the best outcomes for all."
More businesses are now launching a mobile internet presence so they can engage directly with their clients anytime and from anywhere. Through a common integration point, Bango makes it easy for them to drive traffic to a mobile internetsite, understand who the visitors are, track marketing campaigns and collect payment for digital content worldwide. For more information on Bango wireless application protocol billing in the USA, go to http://bango.com/payment.

Building brand awareness through Wireless Application Protocol sites

2008-09-08T02:01:00.000-07:00

A new study shows that mobile marketing can increase brand awareness by 23%.
In addition, the study also indicates that mobile marketing can increase brand favourability by 5% and purchase intent by 4%.

The research conducted by Dynamic Logic, a Millward Brown research company, calculated the branding effects of mobile advertising campaigns across a number of industries, including alcohol, automotive, consumer electronics, FMCG, entertainment, financial services, retail, telecommunications and travel.

The promotions comprised of display ads on mobile Wireless Application Protocol sites and downloadable mobile applications.

The reseaqrch revealed that aided brand awareness increased by six per cent and message association by 12%.

Angela Whitelaw, director of client services at Dynamic Logic claims: “As we measure more campaigns, we will continue to build these averages into a normative database that can be used to help marketers understand what’s working and what’s not on mobile. Ultimately, we’d like to have norms that can be used for mobile campaigns in the same way our database is used for online performance benchmarking and planning.”

Cellular Phones as a WAP Advertising Platform

2008-09-08T01:47:00.000-07:00

It's been expressed that interactive television has been a year away for the last 20 years. It's finally starting to change, driven by customer demand and advances in a broad variety of set-top box devices. However, something occurred to me recently: even the most broadly distributed iTV-enabled set-top box tops out at a few million households. Meanwhile, as of Q4 2007, there are nearly 250 million cellular phone subscribers in the U.S., making the cellular phone arguably the most widely available interactive television platform. Furthermore, we're only just starting to reveal the surface on how to balance it. This is just one example of the undervalued prospect presented by the cellular phone as an Advertising platform.

Think about it: "American Idol" for years has driven an amazing volume of fan voting via text message. Furthermore, earlier this year, news surfaced at that ESPN had more visits to the NFL section of its cellular site than it did to the same area of its PC Web site in a single day. Meanwhile, Bravo continues to push greater and greater functionality through the phone surrounding reality programming such as "Project Runway" and "Top Chef." And so on.

Plenty of changes in the cellular ecosystem over the last few years -- and especially in the past year -- have laid the groundwork for this simple yet powerful iTV platform. The iPhone, for example, works as advertised; it brings the Internet to a pocket-sized device. Furthermore, not just the cellular Web -- the real Web, as the ads proclaim (although one could argue that it's not the real Web until Flash support arrives, but that's another column). It made me an instant Web user on the go and has changed the way I shop, travel, buy music, keep in touch with acquaintances, watch TV, and more.

What's even more interesting is the iPhone also met another prediction it did as plenty of analysts suspected it might. It managed to raise awareness of cellular Web access among all key stakeholders: customers, Mobile content providers, wireless carriers, and handset manufacturers alike.

This, in addition to the growth in flat-rate data services and resulting increased demand from customers, seems to have finally pushed the content side of the business over the precipice. It seems to have fully embraced the cellular Web as a legitimate distribution platform, and that, in turn, has dumped more fuel on the fire. For a long time, Wireless Application Protocol has been a frustratingly slow experience. However, if you ask me, it's ultimately not the bandwidth that has held back growth, it's the lack of compelling content, specifically formatted and adapted for consumption on the handset.

Google figured this out and developed really strong cellular-specific experiences. As a result, it's seeing a tremendous surge in Web usage from cellular phones. More and more content providers seem to recognize what we've been saying since the beginning: you can't simply take an experience designed for one channel and cram it into another channel. People want different things from one device in comparison another, or at least they expect that content will adapt to fit the unique aspects of whatever screen they're looking at.

Furthermore, here's the crazy thing about the history of the cellular Web: Wireless Application Protocol is actually a powerful platform when used correctly. The culprit behind slow growth in the cellular Internet, until recently, isn't slow bandwidth or a weak infrastructure. Rather, it's been the refusal or inability of those delivering the content to pay full attention to the device's capabilities and to design experiences that can be used efficiently by customers using tiny screens and no mouse or QWERTY keyboard.

My takeaway is this: smart marketers must recognize that all emerging media are in the same boat here. Channels lack standards. They don't always support full Web-like functionality. However, we can't be so quick to dismiss them. The last year in cellular teaches us that the conventional wisdom might be that platform limitations in general may create minor hurdles, but there's a true opportunity to innovate your way out of the box. It only takes one killer app to turn the tide, and it could be yours.

WAP based social networking software captures Indian mkt

2008-09-07T02:26:00.000-07:00

BLUE LION mobile GmbH of Germany today announced the official launch of its services in India for its flagship product "qeep" - a social networking software developed on Java for wireless mobile phones. qeep can be downloaded for free and installed on mobile phones enabling users to stay in contact with their friends from any place at any time and make new acquaintances all around the world. Private messaging, photo-blogging, live multi-player gaming and sound attacks are some of the features offered by qeep to entertain its users.

In a joint statement the two founders and developers of qeep, Mr. Cornelius Rost and Mr. Christian Schulte, said, "We are very happy to officially start our services in India. Already, India contributes to 20% of the 300,000 members in qeep. We are confident that in the next three months the percentage will rise significantly. The whole essence of qeep is to build a global community of like-minded people who can be in touch 24 x 7. It's an international community that has no barriers and borders. Currently there are people from 160 countries and over 3,000 people joining everyday worldwide."

"qeep enables people to communicate with friends when commuting to and from work, in short breaks and during waiting and travel periods in the bus or local train. One can easily be in contact with his/her friends by writing private messages or indulge in playing a live-game or even make new acquaintances 24 x 7. The use of qeep might endure only for a few minutes, which is enough to read and answer new messages or look at a friend’s new photos. Hundreds of people are always online with their mobiles and are inviting each other to live games, photo blogging and sound attacks – all for free" they added.

Finding people with similar interests like music, gaming, movies, books, art or fashion is easy, as users give a short summary of their interests on their profiles. qeepers can send invites to people they want to be friends with or can just ‘nudge’ (more qeep lingo) them or send a QMS. Not the usual SMS, the QMS is new and unlimited; it’s simple to use and is free of charge. Thus, qeep gives users the opportunity to make new friends all around the world and connect for free with them.
qeep offers a free downloaded from http://www.qeep.net or via the Wireless Application Protocol website http://wap.qeep.net and installed on wireless mobile phones &smart phones. Users can join the qeep community by following a simple registration process, which is again free of cost. Users need to install and run the application on their mobile devices and log-in into the qeep network. qeep has no subscription or fee associated with it.

New mobile games WAP site launched by PopCap

2008-09-07T02:20:00.000-07:00

Casual games publisher PopCap has launched its own WAP portal, selling its range of mobile games.

You can access it by typing m.popcap.com into your mobile browser, or by texting POPCAP to the shortcode 85585 here in the UK (for Ireland, the code is 54722).

Currently available on the site are Bookworm, Bejeweled , Chuzzle and Zuma, which all cost £5 - plus data charges if you're not on a data tariff.

PopCap is just the latest publisher to launch its own WAP site, following in the footsteps of Gameloft and EA Mobile.

Mobile Revolution 2.0 - New services

2008-09-04T02:47:00.000-07:00

In just under five minutes after Usain Bolt's impressive race at the Beijing Olympics' 100m finals, pictures of the last seconds of the race, with Bolt's arms streched out in a victory, were up on the internet.

Video bloggers at the Beijing Olympics extensively were having lots of fun, recording clips at the games and uploading them in real time to websites. These snippets are what equip many of us to view what's happening at the games -- on all those affairs when we don't have access to TV, but have our wireless devices with us. These snippets also show us many things that Doordarshan doesn't show us.

ven unconventional events, such as cycling and race walking, which do not conventionally receive many TV coverage, are coming into the the focus of attention on account of these video bloggers.

What makes all this possible is the swift and speedy 3G network in China. The Chinese also have handsets equipped to cope with services such as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), MMS and video streaming, providing clients magnificent high-speed multimedia services over the 3G network. The services are able of fluidly taking in broadcast signals and provide high quality images, and dependable voice and visual synchronization features.

With the Indian government lately revealing the policy for spectrum allocation for 3G and WiMax, we could soon watch a revolution in what a mobile phone can do for us, and what we can do with the mobile phone.

In its simplest, 3G is a high speed packet access (HSPA) technology that will grant wireless devices access to high speed internet and wireless broadband, something that was till now feasible only on fixed line phones. Any internet access that gives a speed of 256 kbps or more is thought about as a broadband connection. That's what 3G and WiMax promise.

New services
A few of the services anticipated for growth are web browsing, breaking news videos, sports, entertainment, weather, finance and transport information, mobile gaming and video advertising on the mobile. "We are already developing location-based video mobile ads," says Naveen Tewari, CEO of mobile advertising company mKhoj.

Niren Hiro, brand head at AdMob, a mobile advertising network stated, "In India, the mobile will become the primary access point to the internet. With 3G, the required bandwidth and speed will be available, which makes it feasible to grow video mobile ads." Video conferencing is projected to become viable. While speaking with family, friends or clients, you will be able to see actual sentiments by mobile phones. Mobile entertainment will take to an entirely new direction.
Another great portion of 3G application is the video portal and video caller back ringtone. While conducting a phone call, the caller will be able to view a selected video playing on his screen.

A major activity around 3G networks in countries that have such networks has been downloading of full music tracks. "The only hitch here is searching for content, which consumers avoid," says Pratapa Bernard, head of marketing & products at mobile solutions provider OnMobile.

Given the screen size, applications would need to be adapted for mobile usage. The video offerings are expected to be available as thumbnails, which are much easier for users to browse and select.

"In countries with 3G networks, we have seen that email and mobile internet are the only killer applications," says Bernard. With its much better throughput, internet browsing on 3G is much better than using the GPRS system.

AOL's Platform-Releases iPhone WAP Advertising Solution

2008-09-04T02:45:00.001-07:00

AOL has disclosed that their ad-serving platform and network, Platform-A, is releasing an iPhone ad optimization solution. The solution is offered through Third Screen Media and is able to detect when web browsing is being administered on an iPhone. AOL states the composite of the Third Screen Media mobile network gives Platform-A, which reaches 90% of the internet audience, the capacity to bring forth up to 75 million iPhone ads each month.

“Today’s release is a perfect example of how Platform-A’s unmatched reach, solutions and technologies can benefit advertisers trying to reach consumers in the most compelling way,” said Lynda Clarizio, President of Platform-A. “We can not only help advertisers effectively reach iPhone users on WAP pages and Web pages, but we can also deliver banners optimized for display on the iPhone.”

Last month, Platform-A opened up mobile ads to third parties. In June, Platform-A was made ready for use in Europe.

Breakthrough in Wireless Broadband Interoperability by DHS

2008-08-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

A new system lets responder radios to communicate with laptops, PDAs for the first time.

Department of Homeland Security agents and private sector engineers have triumphed in producing a system that permits first responders to communicate on what is productively a single network utilizing existent land-mobile radios as well as new broadband devices like personal digital assistants and laptops, considerably accelerating interoperability while maintaining costs low.

The brand new system, being piloted in Washington, DC, is named the Radio Over Wireless Broadband or ROW-B for short, and is the consequence of cooperation between the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the company ISCO International, Elk Grove Village, Ill.

DHS Asserts Breakthrough in Wireless Broadband Interoperability

“This is the world’s only 700MHz broadband network,” Emil Olbrich, a senior systems engineering consultant with Protiro Inc., Denver, Colo., told a Capitol Hill gathering on Aug. 27 in a presentation introducing the system. Protiro consulted on the program.

Director of S&T’s Command, Control and Interoperability Division, David Boyd, saluted ROW-B as “an important milestone in our efforts to advance interoperability progress.” It will permit non-radio users to transfer data with response units in the field, he declared.

ROW-B permits conventional hand-held or vehicle-mounted radios to transfer data with separate, wireless broadband devices that are served by proprietary commercial networks, which were not designed for such a communication.

Boyd accented that the program was intended for use by the apparatus previously existent in most first responder divisions without needing expensive new replacements. The directing doctrine was “What can we do now with what we have?” he stated.

The system was experimented on during July and August and joined the District of Columbia’s existent radios with broadband devices using a Bridging Systems Interface. It also used GIS databases to recognise the positions of vehicles, apparatus and responders.

The project was founded on a survey of over 311,000 public safety users administered in June 2007. According to Olbrich, the examination got a return rate of over 140% and exposed that the top five applications that responders felt were crucial for a broadband network were: direct, unit-to-unit communication; push-to-talk voice communications; GIS; e-mail; and automatic vehicle location.

Founded on these results, the project partners, which contained Raytheon JPS, Raleigh, NC, designed the Bridging Systems Interface.

S&T’s participation in ROW-B will end in September, according to Boyd. As propitious as the technology is boyd revealed it would be a long time before ROW-B was got under way in other cities, each of which has spin-off systems that perplex its adoption of the technology. Further, he warned: “Don’t expect to have a single system coming to the nation any time soon.”

Demetrious Vlassopoulos, deputy fire chief and chief information officer of the Washington, DC Fire Department, said that he system will continue to be tested. “I’m eager to see it work and I want the applications,” he said. “We have some testing to do but we’re excited about this technology.”
Washington, DC has a rare Regional Wide Broadband Network at 700 MHz for public safety users, which encases 80%-95% of the District’s 69 square miles. It has no discords with cellular or commercial users and supports commercial roaming at 1.9 GHz and was supplied by a special, provisional authorization from the Federal Communications Commission. It is high speed ROW-B was routed through servers located in Chicago, Ill.

Mobile internet services needed for growing sectors

2008-08-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

A worldwide specialist in mobile internet services is advising content providers in the UAE to start online services more pertinent to customers and advertisers, such as the financial, transport, real-estate and luxury-brand segments and social networking.

“Businesses attracting the wealthy segments of the population, in other words,” expressed Timo Ahomaki, the leading scientist and vice-president for product management at Airwide Solutions, an international supplier of wireless internet infrastructure. The UAE has a 150% mobile-phone market penetration, or 6.4 million cellular phones in use, Abdulla Hashim, vice-president for marketing and enterprise solutions at the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation , expressed.

Ahomaki said Airwide Solutions has went into an international provider pact with the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, a UAE telecom operator known as du, and Nokia Siemens Networks.

recognized for having helped start the world’s first mobile banking and Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP service, he stated that the UAE’s present mobile advertisement market is too small.

“Going forward, though, I see the luxury brands getting into mobile in the UAE probably sooner than in many other places due to the special circumstances in the area,” he emphasized in an interview.

An earlier report revealed that Dubai had 100,000 millionaires as of June this year, according to the managing director of Bank Sarasin-Alpen, a branch of Zurich-based Bank Sarasin.

The quantity of millionaires in the UAE increased by 15.4% to 68,000 in 2006 from 59,000 in the preceding year, revealed last year’s annual World Health Account published by the global banking services supplier Merrill Lynch and consulting firm Capgemini.

Ahomaki revealed that one of the key drivers of mobile internet is the accessibility to services which are of “interesting and relevant” to a given environment, particularly in domains where the wireless service has its own weight as a delivery channel alongside a fixed access.

“So, I suppose the content providers in the UAE should be looking at those usage patterns and seek to launch services to attract mobile-internet users,” he emphasized. International instalment transactions through mobile phones are anticipated to reach $36 billion by 2011, Peter Farley, the managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at IDC, a global provider of IT market intelligence and advisory services, stated earlier. The UAE and other Gulf Arab oil producers are flush with investable assets and purchasing power due to high oil export receipts. Saudi Arabia followed the UAE with its number of millionaires growing by 11.8 per cent to 89,600 in 2006.

China Unicom subsidiary booked 100 million complete views for its WAP Website

2008-08-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

China Unicom subsidiary Guangdong Unicom had booked over 10 million users and 100 million complete views for its wireless application protocol website by August 21, accounts Nanfang Daily. Daily statistics averaged out at one million visitors and 11 million page views with a maximum of 18 million daily views, said the report.

Guangdong Unicom had 500,000 mobile newspaper readers by August 21 and saw 500,000 Olympic song downloads in a one month period, revealed the report.

China Mobile (NYSE: CHL, 941.HK) recorded around 25 million downloads for 29 Olympic-themed songs throughout the Beijing Olympics, reports qq.com quoting a China Mobile representative on Monday. China Mobile had 1.2 million mobile TV patrons during the games, revealed the representative.

Everything to know about WiMAX.

2008-08-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

As the WiMAX business grew, so has WiMAX promotion and confusion. Mobility directors and decision makers have to look through the fanfare to promote their comprehension and knowledge of WiMAX technology. Senior analyst at the Burton Group, Paul DeBeasi, prepares the stage for a wide overview of what WiMAX is and how it exactly works.
DeBeasi starts the class by prefacing WiMAX technology, applications and terminology and continues to speak about WiMAX services, performance, security and devices.

Overview of WiMAX Technology
Sriram Viswanathan, general manager of Intel's Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) program office, once stated that "WiMAX could potentially be the biggest thing since the Internet itself," . That is quite a brave declaration and underlines the feeling of many WiMAX proponents. However, as the WiMAX industry grown, so has WiMAX publicity and confusion.

Fixed WiMax: The IEEE originally formed the IEEE 802.16 working at group in 1998 to provide a norm for wireless metropolitan area networks. The initial application was for high-speed fiber access solutions using high-frequency line-of-sight (LOS) fixed wireless connections. The early standard was referred to as 802.16 and developed to support fixed broadband wireless access over lower-frequency non-line-of-sight (NLOS) wireless connections. The matured standard, 802.16-2004, is often referred to as fixed WiMAX.

Mobile WiMAX: At one time the 802.16-2004 standard was complete, the IEEE committee commenced work to further develop the standard to support mobile applications. Mobile communication is more complicated than fixed communication. The technology must be able to deliver a wireless connection from one base station to another while the user is in motion, without closing the connection. The new 802.16e-2005 standard was accomplished in December 2005 and not only supports mobile applications but also nomadic and fixed applications. 802.16e-2005 is often referred to as mobile WiMAX.

Physical Layer: The fixed/mobile WiMAX PHY layer uses a technology named orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). OFDM systems have been in existance for decades. The technology is now common in wireless systems such as Wi-Fi. OFDM developed from earlier single-carrier modulation systems and frequency division multiplexing systems. OFDM is a kind of frequency division multiplexing system that supplies better channel throughput since all of the underlying sub-carriers are orthogonal to each other.

Media access control layer: The principal job of the MAC layer is to supply an interface between the PHY layer and upper layer protocols. Each occurrence of the MAC layer in a fixed/mobile WiMAX station has a 48-bit address as defined by the IEEE Std 802. Unlike the dispensed and connectionless 802.11 MAC, the WiMAX MAC is centralized and connection-oriented. A 16-bit connection identifier identifies each WiMAX connection. Each WiMAX MAC layer protocol data unit utilizes the CID,
Informal language.instead of the MAC address, to recognise source and destination. WiMAX has a rich quality of service mechanism that is founded on the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications.

WiMAX applications: At the most fundamental level, WiMAX supports mobile, fixed and nomadic wireless applications. A mobile application provides communication during the time the user is in motion. A good example is a business traveller who communicates during a train ride.

Wireless applications frequently provide last-mile connections in rustic or developing areas that do not have Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Hybrid Fiber-Coax (HFC), or other last-mile wired infrastructure. Enterprises can either buy fixed WiMAX technology for utilitization in their own private network (e.g., a point-to-point wireless connection between two buildings) or can acquisition fixed WiMAX service from a wireless Internet service provider (WISP).

Nomadic Application: is an application with which a user manoeuvres from place to position but communicates only while stationary. Like a repairman who needs high-speed network access while parked at a customer location but not while driving.

The EAP exchanges validate the user, ensure appropriate access control, and may also start the billing process. Enterprise network managers use a very similar process to authenticate users on a Wi-Fi network.
In conclusion WiMAX offers robust user authentication, access control, data privacy and data integrity making use of highly sophisticated authentication and encryption technology. WiMAX users should be assured that their transmitted data is free from manipulation and that only authorized users can access WiMAX services.

WiMAX Devices
WiMAX advocates often portary WiMAX and Wi-Fi as complementary technologies. They declare that the incremental cost to add WiMAX to Wi-Fi devices will be small and that the WiMAX attach rate in mobile computing devices will be high. The association is that WiMAX devices will be vastly available, just like Wi-Fi devices. If this is so, where are all the WiMAX devices?

Service Problems: Common obtainability of WiMAX devices will be sluggish to develop. Telecom consultancy Maravedis anticipates 25 million customer electronic WiMAX units to be transported in 2012. However, this is by far under the figures of 1.13 billion handsets, or the 300 million Wi-Fi chipsets, sent in 2007. The cause for the proportionately sluggish increase of WiMAX units is the absence of widespread WiMAX service. Some device suppliers will try to clutch early market share and set up brand recognition by offering WiMAX devices in headway of common services, but clients will not buy WiMAX devices if the service is not widely attainable in their areas. In contrast, Wi-Fi technology does not rely on the availability of Wi-Fi services. customers can take advantage of Wi-Fi devices on enterprise networks, in their homes, or at hotspots.

Integrated Devices: The reality that network operators will take years to deploy omnipresent mobile WiMAX service will push device manufacturers to model dual-mode devices that support 2nd generation (2G) and 3rd generation (3G) technology such as EDGE and HSPA in addition to mobile WiMAX. The 2G/3G technology supplies access to omnipresent coverage and support for voice, while the WiMAX technology supplies access to mobile broadband data service.

To summarize it all, the chief driver for WiMAX devices will be the obtainability of mobile WiMAX services, but such services will be sluggish to develop. Therefore, WiMAX devices are not likely to achieve the same bulk and cost attributes as Wi-Fi devices. Some device suppliers will try to clasp early market share and set up brand recognition by offering integrated WiMAX products, such as ultra-mobile PCs, in advance of widespread services. A more likely scenario, however, is the availability of external WiMAX products, such as USB devices.

ZTE Gains 50% of CDMA Business Service Contracts

2008-08-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Equipment manufacturers revealed yesterday the results of China Telecom's 1st round of bidding on CDMA contracts.

The results show that in the portion of the bid reserved for business services, ZTE (0763.HK; 000063.SZ) won 50% of the bid, Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei each won 20% and the remainder was split between Fujian Fujitsu Communication Software (FFCS), Ace Achieve, Neusoft, Nokia and Motorola.

In addition, China Telecom has approved Internet and mobile communications value-added services provider Tencent (0700.HK) to act as its authorized national WAP portal, and Hurray (Nasdaq：HRAY), Tencent and 21CN.com as provincial-level WAP portals.

China Telecom's business services tenders are those that relate to value-added business services software and related products, and only account for a small portion of China Telecom's overall CDMA tenders.

The main bulk of China Telecom procurement effort will be on purchasing CDMA base stations and wireless equipment. Results for these tenders have not yet been announced.

China Mobile Olympic WAP Channel Records 8 million Visits

2008-08-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

According to China Mobile, since August 1 all through August 19, the company's "Handheld Olympics" service has attracted in excess of 8 million visitors, and over 300 million page views. The site is now offering its services to over 1 million pages and 13 million page views each and every day, and at its peak, the site reached nearly 30 million page views per day. Nearly 500,000 users received live updates of the opening ceremony of the Olympics through the service. Peak concurrent users (PCU) for the site has reached 240,000.

The "Handheld Olympics" service is China Mobile's Wireless Application protocol platform for serving Olympic content through mobile phones. The platform provides Olympic news, photos and live updates from competitions, wireless Olympic music downloads and mobile Olympic bulletin services.

Publishers and Advertisers Ponder Future of Mobile WAP Ad Networks

2008-08-18T00:46:00.000-07:00

As mobile advertising moves from an experimwaental buy to a dedicated budget line item, ad networks serving the space have also matured. Third Screen Media, Ringleader Digital, Ad Mob, Millennial Media, and others have jockeyed to meet the needs of advertisers and publishers.
It hasn't always been easy, given the ongoing transformation of handsets and network infrastructure. The iPhone, for one, has been a game changer. The device can handle standard Web formatting, raising the question of whether publishers require distinct ad network relationships. Is a broad-reaching ad network, such as Platform-A better equipped to bundle and sell ad inventory for mobile alongside other networks? Or do pure-play ad networks such as Millennial Media or Ad Mob have an edge with their singular focus?
An early wave of consolidation beginning in 2006 suggested the many mobile ad networks might be absorbed into large media and advertising conglomerates. AOL acquired Third Screen Media, which is now part of Platform-A, and Nokia acquired Enpocket and is building out a global ad network. In a somewhat smaller deal, Microsoft acquired European ad network ScreenTonic. Then, the acquisition trail grew cold.
Some believe it could get hot again. Greg Sterling, analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence, said he expects to see some big plays happen.
"While Third Screen Media has already been bought, and Enpocket has already been bought...the question isn't which ones will be bought, but which ones won't be bought," he said.
Sterling is far from alone, though not all networks will prevail in the long term.
"Today we see a lot of little startups that specialize in mobile," said Karsten Weide, an analyst at research firm IDC. "A lot of the mature advertising networks on the desktop Internet -- what if these guys decide to get into this business too? Wouldn't they crush the little guys? We don't know. So far it's a very tough environment to be in, and it's so early."
By acquiring Third Screen Media, AOL's Platform-A gained an established mobile ad network with a roster of publishers along with the ability to sell packages across platforms. The same is true for traditional ad networks that built their own mobile ad channels, for instance 24/7 Real Media.
"Strategically, online networks feel the need to be involved in mobile," said Matthew Jones, director of mobile strategy and operations at Gannett Digital.
Google already has a footprint in mobile. The search giant began offering mobile image ads in April. "Google already offers local spot TV, spot radio, spot newspaper ads. It would be a natural extension for them to offer mobile if that becomes a viable delivery channel," said Augustine Fou, SVP of digital delivery strategy at MRM Worldwide. He also believes the big ad networks will move into the space.
Meanwhile, mobile specialists continue to innovate. Advertisers are able to target iPhone users specifically on AdMob's network, just as any other handset or carrier network can be targeted. The benefit is that advertisers are able to take advantage of iPhone's interactive functions such as GPS, mapping, click-to-call, and video.
Whether they continue as a pure play, or become acquired by a traditional ad network, mobile ad networks are starting to prove themselves in the evolving marketplace. "Some of the ad networks are going to rise to the top, and some are not going to be successful. The ones that know how to work with publishers, deliver campaigns, are the ones that are going to really shine," said Jeffrey Litvack, global director of new media markets at AP Digital.
Publishers and advertisers say they've derived benefits from the specialists as well as the big network players. Advertisers say they make decisions where to buy based on the type of campaign.
Velti, a creative agency, specializing in mobile marketing, bridges traditional and mobile-specific network. Still, it tends to buy more from traditional ad networks said Paul Cheng, VP of corporate development and strategy. Velti, he said, specializes in after-the-click marketing and advertising and the interaction and dialog with consumers. "Consequently, our definition of mobile advertising and marketing is quite different than one-off impressions and landing pages that mobile ad networks offer today," he said.
Velti prefers multi-platform buys over ones focused on mobile such as wireless Aplication Protocol banner ads. "WAP banner ads don't generally offer that much more specialized a product in terms of feature and functionality than traditional online networks," said Cheng. "In fact, they often offer less information than traditional ad networks, given the limitations of WAP and the capabilities there -- what they do offer is some specialized targeting and demographic information that is harder to get from online networks, so they fit a niche."
By contrast, Ansible, a mobile marketing agency set up by Interpublic and Velti last year, makes more buys with mobile-specific ad networks. "They [mobile ad networks] have been the most aggressive in canvassing the market, providing the education, and trying to make the buying and managing mobile manageable," said Chris Lorenzoni, mobile media director at Anisible.
Mobile ad networks offer value to Ansible not necessarily achieved by traditional ad networks handling mobile. Some of these specialized offerings include targeting of specific handsets such as smart phones and iPhones, or specific carriers.
"This is important if you are trying to drive the user to a website application that will only work on a specific phone, or with a certain carrier...if we wanted to drive consumers to a mobile wap website that had video, we would target accordingly and avoid bad consumer experiences," said Lorenzoni.
Ansible is using targeting to efficiently drive traffic to a WAP website it built for a technology client. "By targeting only smart phones layered within content buckets that our target is more likely to be reading, we have seen some great interactions from the clicks that have come from the buys," Lorenzoni said.
Each client and each campaign must be considered individually, and both Velti and Ansible do that when they evaluate whether to go to a traditional or mobile-specific network. Publishers have similar considerations.
"Mobile is a distinct channel and needs to be treated as such," said Louis Gump, VP of The Weather Channel Mobile. "That's the only way to be consumer friendly." He said it's not just a matter of shrinking a website to fit a smaller screen, but considering the needs of on-the-go consumers. That context, in turn, has implications for advertising.
Whether a standalone network or part of a multi-platform offering, the ability to sell across platforms will be important as the mobile Web develops. But ad network relationships aren't likely to replace mobile publishers' direct sales anytime soon. Gannett, which sold its first mobile ad campaigns in 2001, and has long been on the Third Screen Media network, sells across print, online, mobile, and out-of home. "We believe we have solutions that cut across many platforms at once, rather than platform-by platform basis," said Jones.
Gannett sells most of its own inventory, and hands the remnant to Platform-A. "We're always going to have more success directly selling for ourselves," he said. It allows Gannet to sell inventory across platforms.

Motorola Invests in Amobee Media Systems

2008-08-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Motorola, Inc. has made an investment in Amobee Media Systems through Motorola Ventures, its strategic venture capital arm. Financial terms of the investment were not yet disclosed.

The Amobee Media System can dynamically insert targeted, interactive advertisements into all types of mobile entertainment and communication channels, including videos, music, messaging, games and WAP, using a single, telco-grade ad-serving infrastructure. The System offers mobile operators a new revenue stream by delivering one unique entry point to agencies and advertisers who wish to buy, deploy and monitor campaigns across all mobile channels, while providing the most relevant advertising experience to mobile customers.

Headquartered in Redwood City California, Amobee Media Systems is the most deployed telco-grade ad-serving solution. Amobee is dedicated to mobile operators, allowing them to dynamically insert advertising impressions in all forms of mobile communication and content: WAP Browsing, Video & Music, SMS, MMS, applications and Games. Amobee’s complete ad serving solution is designed to facilitate the launch of advertising campaigns for brand building, direct response and lead generation campaigns helping mobile operators and their subscribers “get more for less”. The company enjoys strategic investments from key mobile ecosystem players: Cisco, Motorola, Telefonica and Vodafone, as well as financial backing from some of the biggest names in venture capital: Accel Partners, Globespan and Sequoia Capital.

Great New Mobile Apps

2008-08-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a few great new mobile apps you can add to your mobile device and some details about these apps:
myGeolog mobile (Beta 3) - A great mobile social networking application.
The advantages of this application are :

Easier menu navigation and menu response (compared to WAP-based services).
Low costs for sending multimedia content (e.g. photos are significantly cheaper than MMS).
Convergence between web and mobile phones for better interaction between members.
Geotagging for all photos, videos, and text-based activities (automatically generated for GPS-enabled phones).

You can download myGeolog from http://www.mygeolog.com/ or hit this url from your mobile browser www.mygeolog.com/mobile.

Got 12 Seconds: You can record and share 12 second updates with just about any mobile phone. Just record your video and email or MMS it to the unique email address given to you and you're good to go. A clever way to crunch and share your video clips. Check it out at www.12seconds.tv.

BlueWhale: A great, new app that provides access to your facebook functionality via mobile. even if you can already load facebook mobile or update via sms or shozu, this new app enables you to do even more including: poke your friends, update status, check your wall, email, and more. http://apps.facebook.com/bluewhalemail

Yahoo! Releases a new mobile voice search in RP

2008-08-14T01:01:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! is targeting a larger share of the mobile advertising market with the introduction of new mobile platform features including the launch of voice search for mobile phone users in the Philippines.

Vice-president of Yahoo! Southeast Asia, David Ko, stated that voice search will complement the Yahoo! One Search feature, which is locally available to Globe, Smart and Sun Cellular users.
David Ko stated that voice search enables users to search the Yahoo! database by merely saying their search queries through their WAP phones. He stated that the increase in the number of high-end mobile phones has made mobile Web browsers a viable target market for the company.

During the 2nd Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit, Ko stated that "Mobile devices are getting better and are functioning like mini-computers with browser capability. Mobile search is more consumer-centric because mobile browsing is different from PC browsing. They need more localized content and a more optimized experience,".

Ko stated that Yahoo is slowly positioning itself as a starting point for Asian mobile phone users who use their cell phones to browse the Internet. Recognizing the potential earnings from mobile marketing, he stated that the company has forged an agreement with Globe Telecoms to be its local partner for mobile advertising.

David Ko cited a study published by eMarketer that showed that global mobile advertising is to rise to $16.2 billion in 2011, up from $1.5 billion in 2008.

An increase in the numbers of mobile phone users that access Web
Ko stated that the mobile advertising is revolutionizing the industry by allowing advertisers to deliver highly targeted messages to consumers on mobile devices, and providing the opportunity to adopt unique and innovative marketing campaigns through mobile graphical advertising.

Strategic consultant for Yahoo! Southeast Asia, Cris Concepcion, stated that the Yahoo! WAP website is getting more than 629,000 unique users a month, averaging 135 page views per user.

Concepcion stated that Yahoo! mobile clickthrough rates are higher than Yahoo! Web clickthroughs via search-based text links, display-based mobile banners, click 2 CMS, click 2 download and click 2 coupons.

Ko, however, stated that mobile marketing should complement Internet advertising efforts of companies to give a richer interactive experience to users.

"Local companies should do their homework first before venturing into mobile marketing include understanding the limitations of mobile devices, understanding their target audience and integrating mobile advertising into Web advertising. Overall, they have to be patient because they have to allow the campaigns to gain more traction through word of mouth,".

WAP Websites and Mobisites

2008-08-14T00:35:00.000-07:00

The wireless Mobile outlet is no longer simply a support outlet to Internet and other media. wireless Mobile websites now stand on their own as tools to interact directly with people who have access to the Internet.

A few years ago, wireless Mobile strategy was focused on SMS and the only mobile websites around were WAP sites. WAP was designed to create websites for viewing on the wireless Mobile phone. The problem was the technology was very limiting and there were very few WAP websites, which meant there was nothing to draw users onto the wireless Mobile Internet. wireless wireless Mobile was therefore seen as a support outlet, while TV, radio, print and the Internet was used to drive content to Customers. However, the landscape has changed and wireless Mobile is now standing firmly on two feet. So what's changed?

The market
The most important thing that has changed is the Customer. With the proliferation of 3G wireless Mobile cellular phones and modems into the market, Customers have started accessing the Internet more from their cellular phones.

Faster data speeds have meant richer content and therefore more reason to get online. Admob* stats for the month of May 2008 showed local users generated over 159.16 million page impressions on the wireless Mobile Internet.

More and more people are therefore surfing the wireless Mobile Internet. Given our low Internet penetration stats in South Africa, many of these people aren't surfing the net on PC. wireless Mobile is their only form of access.

The advancing technology
Technology has also improved. Cameras and video capabilities are standard on most cellular cellular phones and screen resolutions have improved in leaps and bounds.

What's more, mobile websites have evolved from first generation WAP sites which were mostly text driven to be now on par with most traditional websites.

As an example, the mobile sites from large news and media publishers. On the News24 mobile site, you may read the news and view pictures simply as you would on its Internet site and download wireless Mobile content. On the Standard Bank mobile site, you may use its cellphone banking, locate and download a map showing your nearest ATM or branch, view other product information such as home loans and participate in its Pro20 cricket competitions. Vodacom's upgrade site allows you to search through cellular phones, see what they look like, examine their features and see what contracts they are available on.

More than simply text-based
Far from being simply text-based, Customers may now download videos from mobile websites or watch streaming video on their cellular phones. They may shop, log on to update personal information or search for a company's contact information and phone them instantly.

Mobile websites are a means to reach out directly to Customers. And while Customers are not always watching TV, reading newspapers or surfing online, their cellular phones are always within reach. This results in increased Internet usage from Customers, which is why mobile websites are fast becoming an imperative for companies in South Africa.*Admob is the world's largest wireless Mobile advertising network on the world. It works into 160 countries and releases monthly stats on wireless Mobile usage. South Africa currently generates the fifth most number of impressions of all countries on its network.

Vodafone launches a WAP website with MTV

2008-08-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

Vodafone has launched Vodafone Soundbites, a multi-platform programme. Vodafone Soundbites brings an authentic behind the scenes insight into the world of music and features international artists' interviews at gigs and festivals, bands' fantasy group line-ups, pre-show rituals and performers describing their first time on stage. Vodafone Soundbites will be available on TV, through a website mtv-vodafonesoundbites.com and on its wireless application protocol (WAP) enabled website, wap.mtv-vodafonesoundbites.com as a series of twenty one, three-minute shows from early August. The WAP enabled website and mobile service will carry additional footage, as well as editorial and news elements. Vodafone Soundbites will be available in seven languages on MTV in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the UK and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the MTV European feed, covering sixteen countries. Each show will air four times in each territory on TV. Vodafone Soundbites is supported by an MTV created promotional spot.

Vodafone and MTV have also recently joined forces by launching Vodafone Music Reporter, an online global interactive profile hosted by Myspace, which offers music fans in some countries a chance to become an MTV reporter in an online and mobile Vodafone Soundbites episode

SLT offers Internet and Mobile TV Through WAP Site

2008-08-11T23:29:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, a national mobile service provider, was issued a Mobile Television Licence by the Ministry of Mass Media and Information. And is now offering a truly ubiquitous experience across all emerging media such as internet, IPTV and Mobile TV.
Mobitel SLT’s fully owned subsidiary would now be permitted country-wide transmission of local and international television content to its subscribers over its cutting edge Super 3.5G HSPA network.

Hon Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Mass Media and Information, stated while speaking at a ceremony held recently to issue the Mobile Television licence to Mobitel, stated “We are confident that Mobile TV will be an exciting service for consumers, as well as generate new opportunities for innovation and growth in the mobile industry and would also boost the evolution of the media industry itself’.

Mrs. Leisha De Silva Chandrasena - Chairperson Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel acknowledged the Ministry of Mass Media and Information for its far-sightedness in regulating the mobile television licensing and for the encouragement extended to the group’s attempt in enhancing its total customer experience through the convergence of internet, Mobile and IPTV media. ‘This service would enable all our mobile subscribers to tune into their favourite TV programs from their mobile phone from practically anywhere in the island. For example, the Olympic Games could now be viewed by our mobile subscribers at a click of a button from their mobile phones.’ she added.

Subscribers of Mobitel could now access Mobile TV by simply making a video call to 555 or by logging onto its wap website; wap.mobitel.lk through their Mobitel phone. While the former requires 3G handset compatibility the latter option is available for both 3G and 2G handset users of the network. Further as a result of the network’s Super 3.5G HSPA network offering downlink speeds up to 14.4 Mbps, subscribers can enjoy transmission with hardly any lags or delays due to buffering.

Orange Creates Inovations in Wireless Mobile Advertising

2008-08-11T00:30:00.000-07:00

Orange has run the world's first in-SMS advertising trial in Switzerland in partnership with Amobee Media Systems, a provider of advertising solutions for wireless wireless mobile phones. Several major brands participated in the project.
Orange ran a trial with SMS-embedded ads in Switzerland to leverage the wireless mobile advertising potential in European markets.

SMS is probably the most efficient channel to link brands with wireless mobile customers. With wide-spread usage, text messages reach a much larger audience than traditional media. Moreover, SMS are not intrusive and can be consulted by wireless mobile users at any time.
Customers who signed up (opt in) to the trial were offered a discount on their invoice in return for insertion of advertising in the SMS they received. Advertising was inserted at the bottom of the message in the remaining available characters, total capacity of an SMS being limited to 160 characters.

"Text messaging represents the largest potential advertising opportunity in the wireless mobile world," comments Zohar Levkovitz CEO at Amobee Media Systems. "Given that billions of messages are sent and received every day, the number of total viewers exceeds audiences of the largest web sites, TV and radio stations and newspapers. When it comes to global audience reach no media format exceeds text messaging."

Ads inserted in peer-to-peer SMS have a much higher chance of being read as they are less intrusive than the usual SMS push. In-SMS advertising allows for the integration of multiple interactivity features such as click-to-WAP, click-to-call or click-to-download. Moreover, thanks to Amobee's technology, Orange is able to accurately target specific geographical zones or delivery times.

Test results measured during the nine-week testing period are very positive in terms of acceptance rate, service delivery, click rates, number of inventories and the impact on brand recognition.

"This is a groundbreaking solution and we're very happy to be the first to test it," comments Fabrice Allegro, Vice-President Marketing and Solutions at Orange Switzerland. "wireless mobile advertising provides a compelling opportunity for brands and their media agencies while allowing our customers to consume more wireless mobile services for less."

Amobee Media Systems is the most deployed telco-grade ad-serving solution 100% dedicated to mobile operators, allowing them to dynamically insert advertising impressions in all forms of mobile communication and content: WAP Browsing, Video & Music, SMS, MMS, and Games. Amobee's complete ad serving solution is designed to facilitate the launch of advertising campaigns for brand building, direct response and lead generation campaigns helping mobile operators and their subscribers "get more for less." The company enjoys financial backing from some of the biggest names in venture capital: Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Globespan, including strategic investments from two leading operators: Vodafone and Telefonica.

Spice unveils X-1 Gaming Phone With WAP support

2008-08-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

Spice Mobiles Limited has launched the X-1, its newestt handset and most innovative gaming phone in India offering WAP support. The X-1 phone is targeted at gaming aficionados on the move and comes with a variety of thrilling preloaded games.

The Spice X-1 comes with a gaming Console that enhances the mobile user experience. Users may also play games without having to connect the gaming console to the phone through the dedicated gaming keys built into the phone itself. The large 2.4 inch screen with an auto rotation feature, awesome graphics and 3-D surround sound make gaming encounters more realistic and generate extra excitement.

The handset comes with a built in 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, a music player and FM radio with recording capabilities. The X-1 comes with a 2 GB expandable memory card slot and a built-in Opera mini-browser with WAP/GPRS/MMS support.

Sony Ericsson's T700 Cell Phone features a WAP 2.0 HTML Web browser

2008-08-09T00:17:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson announced the release of the T700, a new multimedia cell phone that features a WAP 2.0 HTML Web browser. The T700 phone will be launched in select markets during the last quarter of 2008 at a “mid-range” price point.

The new cell phone will offer Bluetooth connectivity, push e-mail, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. It’s a GSM-compatible handset measuring 1.9 by 4.1 by 0.4 inches and weighing 2.8 ounces. The candy-bar shaped phone is 0.4 inch thick and has a polished-metal finish with two-inch TFT display.

In its announcement, Sony Ericsson compared the T700 to phones like Motorola’s L6 and L7 and Nokia’s 6300 and 5310 Xpress Music. This makes it especially appealing to mobile professionals, the company said. In that light, notable features include support for Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync for push corporate e-mail, and for Web-based POP3 accounts such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail.

Additionally, T700 features a Wireless Application Protocol 2.0 (WAP 2.0)/HTML Web browser, and its capable of providing mobile Internet access over third generation (3G) networks and EDGE connections.

T700 also features music and multimedia capabilities that put it in the category of other recently launched Walkman phones from Sony Ericsson. The included digital music player is capable of handling multiple codecs. The phone also includes an integrated FM radio.
T700 plays videos in the MPEG4, WMV, and H.263 formats. The 3.2-megapixel camera comes with flash, a self-portrait mirror, and video recording capabilities.

Additional features include an organizer capabilities, voice memo recorder, built-in hands-free controls, and expandable memory via a Memory Stick Micro slot. The T700 will come in three colors.

Mobile Web Best Practices standards released by the W3C

2008-08-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

Web standards consortium the W3C has published version 1.0 of its Mobile Web Best Practices, which purpose is to instructs publishers of WAP sites how to design their sites in the best way that will make them easilly accessible for users.

With many mobile games publishers running their own Wireless Application Protocol based websites to sell games, the document will hopefully be looked at closely by the companies designing these mobile sites.

Dominique Hazaël-Massieux, W3C mobile web activity lead stated that "Mobile Web content developers now can follow stable guidelines and maturing tools to help them create a better mobile Web experience."

"In support of the W3C mission of building One Web, we want to support the developer community by providing tools to enable a great mobile Web user experience."There's also some handy flipcards for WAP developers to keep the Best Practices in mind when working.

In the mean time the W3C is turning its attention to creating guidelines for mobile applications and widgets – something that may also be of interest to mobile game developers.

WAP Link Partners

2008-08-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Wireless Application Protocol Related Links
T1 - Compare T1 Lines Connection Service Pricing in real-time. Search and compare prices of Voice and Data T1 carriers in seconds.
NZS.com — New Zealand Web directory and search engine.
Dial-Around Prepaid Long Distance
LONG DISTANCE POST :: Prepaid calling cards and long distance service, prepaid mobile phones and recharge cards. T1 provider, Toll Free numbers, Broadband Phone, Prepaid wireless mobile, International long distance for mobile phone.
mobile sim card
ONE SIM CARD :: International SIM Card, Prepaid SIM cards, International Mobile phones, rent a cell phone for international travel, International Cell Phones, Global Phone SIM Card. OneSIMcard - best mobile phone solution for international travel, 1 SIM card, one international cell phone, low roaming rates, rent GSM international wireless phone.
Pre paid Cell Phones
Peanuts-LD :: Prepaid long distance service for mobile users - best international and domestic long distance telephone rates for cell phones, skip pin, speed dial, Pinless dial, rechargeable phone cards.
HipTel Phone
Broadband Phone :: Use high-speed internet connection to save on all your phone calls with Broadband Phone Services, best prices with HipTel broadband phone service.
Prepaid Calling Card
Global Papa :: GlobalPapa Prepaid Phone Card, No Connection charge, No Maintenance Fee calling card, Local Access Numbers and toll free 800 access.
Calling Card
EuroMama :: Prepaid Calling Phone Cards with No Connection charge, lowest international/domestic telephone rates, 1 minute minimum, Local Access Numbers, free 800 access.
Prepaid Calling Card
TeleTzar :: Prepaid Phone Card (calling card) - Best international/domestic long distance telephone rates on prepaid phone cards, toll-free numbers.
Pre paid Calling Card
Africa Mama :: Prepaid Calling Phone Cards with No Connection charge, lowest international/domestic telephone rates, 1 minute minimum, toll free access.
Phone Cards for Mobile Phones
Prepaid Mobile Phones and Cards :: JusTalk prepaid prepaid mobile phone, prepaid cellular service, No roaming cellular phone, Prepaid Wireless, Nationwide International Cellular.
International Phone Cards
PREPAID Calling CARDS, Phone Cards :: Prepaid Calling Phone Cards with No Connection charge, lowest international/domestic telephone rates, 1 minute minimum, toll free 800 access, rechargeable phone cards. All about Phone Cards.
International Phone Cards
International Phone Card :: Telecommunications industry diary digest. All about Phone Cards. Telephone History Series.
Dining Room Furniture
Extensive collection of Dining Room Furniture
Security Safe
Extensive collection of Security Safes
Flash Templates
Templatebozz offers premium quality flash templates, web site templates, flash intro templates and flash animated templates. Quick download of templates. 24x7 customer support available. Free reciprocal link exchange.
Nigerian Community Forum
Register and make this forum great http://www.hyippolice01.com.
Two-way radio suppliers
We supply 2-way radio, two way radios, ham radios, batteries, chargers, antennas, desktop chargers, and other two way radio equipment worldwide.
merchant account services
Guaranteed lowest prices on Credit Card Machines for Any Type of Business. # 1 Choice for Credit Card Processing Services in the USA 24/7 Customer Service. Instant Internet Merchant Accounts or Retail Merchant Account, Wireless Merchant Account solutions.
Webdesign Nuernberg
We made SEO optimized CMS Websites easy. CDX is your Webdesigner for a professional Site and Hosting for joomla Sites with mod_rewrite for better SearchEngine Results. Webdesign from Nuernberg, Germany for your Company Site.
Furniture
Lisas furniture offers the largest selection of furniture online
Ningbo Small Sanitary Ware Co.,Ltd.
sanitary ware, faucet, bathtub, shower room, glass basin, shower panel, bathroom accessories, shower head, knitted hose, bathroom, mixer, tap, sink, drainer, valve, hose, fitting, soap dispenser, wash basin, bathroom cabinet, bathroom furniture, vanity, shower curtain, flexible hose, shower column, drainage, mirror, toilet, angel valve, radiator valve, plumbing fitting, brass fitting, ...
Bulgaria Holiday Villas for Rent with Pool
Self catering holiday accommodations to suit everyone. Enjoy a fabulous holiday in Bulgaria in a villa including use of pool and gardens. All villas on Bulgarianvillarenters are beautiful brand new 3-bed houses near all attractions and shopping. Close to beach, restaurants, and local transport.
Ohio Individual Health Insurance
We specialize in helping individuals find affordable health insurance in Ohio
Web template, Flash templates, OS Templates
Flash web templates are the base for designing websites. Templatesprite offers online flash templates, flash intro templates and web site templates of premium quality. Download free flash web template as trial.
PIT BULL
blue pitbull kennel - breeders of bully blue american pit bull terriers, studs, puppies, and have apbt for sale. your puppy will be ukc registered. we also offer information on weight pulling, training, and pitbull blue puppy kennel breeder
fiberglass repair
Mobile fiberglass repair.
Ecommerce Templates - Oscommerce Templates
E-commerce / oscommerce templates are prepared so it is easy to insert your personal products and content. The major benefits of E-commerce templates compared to custom design are that you save a lot of time & money as the design and the store are already done.
køb printerpatroner
Vi sammenligner priser på de mest populære blækpatroner og printerpatronere. Her finder du det meste, du kan ønske dig, når det gælder blækpatroner.
FTA
FTA FILES, free to air satellite Files, Free To Air File Support by Free to air Professionals. FTA Files, FTA File Support, FTA Keys and Fta Instructions . Fta Keys, Nagra 2 FTA Key Support for FTA Receivers, Dish keys updated.FTA support includes full instructions for updating your FTA receiver, ...
high risk merchant accounts
Offshore credit card processing for high risk businesses including adult, pharmacy, timeshare and more!
Sheet Music
Sheet music store - Welcome to the onlinesite piano sheet music store! We offer a wide variety of guitar, piano sheet music, music books and Country and Gospel music lyrics and more...
Sheet Music
Sheet music store - Welcome to the onlinesite piano sheet music store! We offer a wide variety of guitar, piano sheet music, music books and Country and Gospel music lyrics and more...
Flash Templates - Best Flash website Templates On The Net!
Flash templates is the best way to make a professional and good looking web site. At the same time it is faster and you dont have to hire an expensive web designer to make a perfect web site.
Manufacturers and exporter of borehole deep well submersible pumps in India
Kiwi Pumps - Manufacturers and exporters of submersible Borehole pump, Borewell submersible pump, New Energy Saving Borehole Submersible Pumps, deep well submersible pump, bore well submersible pump, water pumps in India, Gujarat. Kiwi offers wide range of submersible pumps, borehole pumps, pond pumps, V3 Submersible Pumps, V4 Submersible Pumps, V6 ...
Monopolize Your Marketplace with IFFPF Inc Increase Business by 30 - 120 %
Separate your business from the competition. Learn the SECRETS to MONOPOLIZE YOUR MARKETPLACE (tm). Increase Business Revenue by 30 - 120 % or More in First Year. For business owners who want to consistently make at least $1, 000, 000 to $5, 000, 000 Profit per year, Monopolize ...
seo expert
search engine optimization consultant new york
Geldanamycin, 17AAG, 17DMAG review
Geldanamycin, 17AAG, 17DMAG - novel anticancer drugs reviewed by the open university scholars.
Gym Gear
The UK gym gear and exercise equipment store

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) Glossary

2008-08-05T02:13:00.000-07:00

Bookmark: Browsers provide a means of assigning easily recognizable names to Internet addresses and storing them in interactive lists for ease of access and reuse.

Browser: A software application that enables users to access and interact with much of the information available on the Internet or World Wide Web.

DTD: Document Type Definition. This definition states which elements can be nested within others. A DTD defines the names and contents of all elements that are permissible in a given document, how often an element may appear, the order in which the elements must appear, whether the start or end tag may be omitted, the contents of all elements (that is, the names of the other generic identifiers that are allowed to appear inside them), the attributes and their default values and the names of the reference symbols that may be used.

Element: An element specifies the markup and structural information in a WML deck. Some elements contain a start and an end tag such as the <> and < /p > tags, others are single elements such as the <> tag.

HDML: Handheld Markup Language.

HTML: Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) is a standardized set of symbols and rules that, when applied during the design of a Web page, define how that page will be interpreted by a browser and appear to a viewer.

Hypertext: The contents of a document within which individual items of information can be linked to other document sources by an orderly system of cross-referencing. Today the term invariably refers to computer files available on the Internet or World Wide Web that are formatted and cross-linked in prescribed ways to be commonly accessible and consistently presented though use of an Internet browser.

Internet: The Internet, or the 'Net' as it is commonly known, is a data communications network that ties together many smaller networks and individual servers, making it possible for users to access information at hundreds of thousands of participating computer sites.

ISP: An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is an organization or commercial enterprise that offers access or portal service to individual subscribers. Such subscribers link to their chosen ISP via a point-to-point connection that gives them access to the Internet at large.

PDA: Personal Digital Assistant. Usually a hand-held device, such as the Palm Pilot. WAP isn't just for cellular phones.

Portal: A gateway or Internet access point for individual Web users.

Protocol: A set of rules and procedures governing one or more aspects of communications between nodes on a data network. Such rules are needed to guarantee the orderly sharing of resources, security, and the integrity of transmitted information.

SGML: Standardised Generalised Markup Language.

UA: User Agent. Software that interprets WML, WMLScript, WTAI and other forms of code.

URL: A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is the Internet address of a specific file accessible on the Net. The URL may also contain information about how to interpret the file. An example would be http://www.infogin.com/.

W3C: World Wide Web Consortium. http://www.w3c.org/

WAE: Wireless Application Environment. This specifies a general-purpose application environment based fundamentally on World Wide Web technologies and philosophies. WAE specifies an environment that allows operators and service providers to build applications and services that can reach a wide variety of different platforms. WAE is part of the Wireless Application Protocol.

WAP: The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open, globally recognized protocol specification that empowers mobile services subscribers to use wireless devices to easily access and interact with information and services similar or identical to those available on the Web or Net. Overcoming the constraints of (relatively) slow and intermittent nature of wireless links for mobile communications, together with the limited screen size and computing power of mobile devices, is the central goal of WAP technology.

WAP 2.0: a re-engineering of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) using a re-edited version of XHTML with end-to-end HTTP

WAP Application: A WAP-compatible/accessible Web-based application.

WAP Bookmark: A Web address for a WAP-compatible Web site or page.

WAP Browser: A browser designed to run on mobile computing or communications devices that adheres to WAP standards and gives the user access to WAP services and WAP-compatible Web sites.

WAP Forum: The WAP Forum is the industry association of over 500 members that has developed the WAP standard for wireless information and telephony services on digital mobile phones and other wireless terminals. Founding members include Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Phone.com.

WAP Gateway: A WAP gateway is a two-way device (as is any gateway). Looking at if from the WAP device's side, since a WAP device can only understand WML in its tokenized/compiled/binary format, the function of the WAP gateway is to convert content into this format. Looking at it from the HTTP server's side, the WAP gateway can provide additional information about the WAP device through the HTTP headers, for instance the subscriber number of a WAP capable cellular phone, its cell id and even things such as location information (whenever that becomes available).

WAP Server: A frequently misused term. A WAP server by itself is really nothing more than a HTTP server - ie. a web server. In order to confuse everyone, Nokia has a product which they call a WAP server which is a WAP gateway and a HTTP server all in one. This is actually a content-providing server and a gateway. The gateway takes care of the gateway aspects, and the web server provides the contents.

WAP Service Bearer: Any of several wireless communication access methods that may be used to support WAP-based services. Short Message Service (SMS), Circuit Switched Data Service (CSD), and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) can be used as WAP service bearers in GSM networks.

Web: A term commonly used to replace World Wide Web

Web Page: A Web-accessible file that can be interpreted by a browser.

WDP: Wireless Datagram Protocol

WML: Wireless Mark-up Language (WML) is similar to HTML in many ways and serves a similar purpose. However, WML has been specially designed and optimized to take into account the constraints of mobile communications and mobile customer equipment such as cell phones and PDAs.

WML Card: A single WML block of navigation and user interface in a WML deck. A WML card must exist inside a WML deck containing one or more cards. WML decks are XML documents.

WML Deck: A collection of WML cards. The whole deck is loaded when the browser requests a URL, and access to individual cards in the deck can be specified in the URL.

WML Script: Scripting language for WAP devices. Based on JavaScript, but less powerful.

World Wide Web: The part of the Internet that is publicly accessible and which makes information accessible through use of Hypertext Transfer Protocols and in formats generally recognized and supported by the W3C.

WSP: Wireless Session Protocol. This provides the upper-level application layer of WAP with a consistent interface for two session services. The first is a connection-mode service that operates above a transaction layer protocol, and the second is a connectionless service that operates above a secure or non-secure datagram transport service.

WTLS: Wireless Transport Layer Security. The "equivalent" of SSL (Secure Socket Layer) widely used in the HTML world - although not identical in functionality.

WTP: Wireless Transaction Protocol

XML: Extensible Markup Language. W3C's standard for Internet Markup Languages. WML is one of these languages. XML is a subset of SGML.

What is WAP 2.0

2008-08-04T02:28:00.000-07:00

WAP 2.0 is a re-engineering of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) using a re-edited version of XHTML with end-to-end HTTP (i.e., dropping the gateway and custom protocol suite used to communicate with it). A WAP gateway can be used in conjunction with WAP 2.0; however, in this scenario, it is used as a standard proxy server. The WAP gateway's role would then shift from one of translation to adding additional information to each request. This would be configured by the operator and could include telephone numbers, location, billing information, and handset information.

XHTML Mobile Profile (XHTML MP), the markup language defined in WAP 2.0, is made to work in mobile devices. It is a subset of XHTML and a superset of XHTML Basic. A version of cascading style sheets (CSS) called WAP CSS is supported by XHTML MP.