I Dugg Digg
Digg.com is another "delicious" like community rated news site but focused on technology. Great source of info and must be a threat to the more commercial and traditional tech news portals. Anyway as a sampler here are some interesting mobile related items I found on Digg recently:
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Hotxt: Very cheap text messages in UK via subscription model. Of course the catch is the recipient must also be subscriber to
Hotxt also. Funded by the US guy from the Dragon's Den programme on Channel 4 in UK.
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SMS Sugar Man allegedly world's first feature film made on a mobile: Will be shown at Cannes Film Festival. So Cannes loses the GSM Congress and converges the film festival into mobile! I can't wait to see it ... well maybe I can wait a while.
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Ajit Jaokar on AJax/ Mobile Web 2.0: Seminal blog from Ajit and a great summary of the current state of play on mobile AJAX and Mobile Web 2.0. Read it now and read it often. Definition: SEMINAL: Highly influential in an original way; constituting or providing a basis for further development: a
seminal idea in the creation of a new theory.
Bluetooth billboard advertising campaign
The male deodorant brand
Lynx has launched an innovative wireless marketing campaign in Ireland. According to an
article in the Sunday Business Post last week, several billboards around Ireland have been fitted with bluetooth transceivers and if punters come within range they are prompted to download some Lynx related content.
I am in the process of trying to see how this works in reality by approaching a poster. I will keep readers posted. Of course I must have bluetooth switched on on my handset. Which to me is a major stumbling block for bluetooth advertising.
Vodafone to sell out in Japan
Reliable sources in the blogosphere indicate that Vodafone is finally going to call it a day and sell out of Japan. Share price of a local ISP
Softbank Corp. climbed on Friday after saying it may buy Vodafone Group Plc's local unit.
There is no doubt that Vodafone's foray with the purchase of a majority stake of the second biggest operator (at the time! - not any more see table) in Japan , J-phone has parallels to Napoleon's march on Moscow. That is to put it mildy it has not been too successful.
Daniel Scuka worthy
commentator on all things mobile in Japan has given a number of reasons today for the failure:
1. Technology: Tried to force global 3G standards on Japanese market rather than sticking with standards already proven to be working in Japan.
2. Market Structure: Prepaid doesn't work in Japan. More importantly MNOs rather than handset makers wield the power in Japan.
3. Culture: The 64 million yen issue.
Considering Vodafone's recent exit from Sweden, due to intense pricing pressure from MVNOs, I hope this is not a trend. The good news is that the markets are reacting favourably to the proposed sell out and this can leave Vodafone to concentrate on its core European markets.
