01 ME61_Final 22/2/10 12:52 Page 1

FOR EVERYONE IN MOBILE CONTENT MARCH 2010 ISSUE 61 WWW.MOBILE-ENT.BIZ

MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT
Magmic 19/2/10 18:29 Page 1

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CONTENTS MARCH 2010 | ISSUE 61

GAMES SPECIAL ISSUE GATECRASHED

Days after Mobile
World Congress
ended and all those
expensive stands got
dragged onto the
avenue to be
smashed to bits, the
GSMA revealed that
attendance was up a
little on last year.
There was some
scepticism at the 49,000 figure, but the FIRA
seemed pretty busy to us.
You have to wonder what that vast army of
mobile delegates made of MWC 2010. I’d wager
a good proportion of them were wildly excited.
And a certain number were scared shitless.
12 STATE OF PLAY Without doubt, this was a watershed show.
The advent of iPhone and Most people we spoke to agreed that it was low
Android has turned mobile key in terms of announcements: no new phones
gaming on its head. ME visited from Nokia, a bunch of solid but identikit
the Mobile Games Forum to touchscreens from Samsung and Sony Ericsson,
find out exactly how. and the unveiling of a vaguely confusing operator
venture called the Wholesale Applications
Community. What exactly was that all about?
Well, no doubt WAC was prompted by the fact
FEATURE FEATURE that all the action at MWC came (subliminally)

It’s an old truism that we

overestimate the short-term
effects of technological change and
underestimate the long-term impact.
The VoIP and IM panic five years ago
passed when it became clear
that GSM and SMS were safe.
Well, they’re not now.

11 FLASH ALIGHT 14 PUSH THE BUTTON from Google and Apple. They didn’t bother to
actually book stands, but these two gatecrashers
Browser-based gaming flared briefly in the WAP What are the big gameplay ideas and business
days. Can Flash bring it back? models making the industry so excited? seem to be finally making good their promise to
give the ancient regime an almighty kick up the
backhaul. How many delegates did you see with
INSIDE THIS ISSUE an iPhone or Android pressed to their ear? Add
them to Blackberry users and you’ve got nearly
5 OPINIONS 22 APPOINTMENTS everyone. How fast things change.
Let the ranting reign! ME gives airtime to its team Who’s arriving? And who are they passing on the It’s an old truism that we overestimate the
and industry insiders for the letting off of steam. way out? All the big moves documented here. short-term effects of technological change and
underestimate the long-term impact. I remember
9 MONETISING MOBILE 24 SHOWS the panic about VoIP and IM five years ago, but it
ME’s new event in May is all about making money What happens in Madras stays in Madras. You passed when it became clear that GSM and SMS
from apps. You should go. It’ll be brilliant. wouldn’t want the wife to know about that Vindaloo. were safe. Well, they’re not now. The momentum
is such around Android that you can genuinely
16 WE HAVE CONTACT 26 CHARTS picture a future in which people buy SIM-free
After years of multiplayer and networked gaming Go here to find out which bikini babe is currently handsets, sync them with Google services and
hype, it seems gamers are finding each other at last. topping the wallpaper charts. use wi-fi to connect most of the time.
This needn’t worry us, in our little content
20 MOBILE WORLD MEMORIES 33 DISCONTENT corner. But for other sectors of the market it
All the talking points from the world’s biggest telco If you’re included here looking ridiculous, we mean must be bloody terrifying.
show. And a Japanese man flicking his eyes sideways. it as a compliment. It’s better than being ignored.
Stuart O’Brien
29 MARKETPLACE  YOUR GUIDE TO THE MOBILE CONTENT INDUSTRY
[email protected]

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 3

04 ME61 Monetising Mobile 24/2/10 15:57 Page 1

from denisbul
ho is a Mon
ste ne e
d b w k tisin
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ile con bile
En fe
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tai ce
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Wednesday, May 26th • BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London

How to make mobile apps pay their way

Conference & Dinner from £199

An ME Event

For sponsorship information contact:

Katy Grant on 01992 535647 or email [email protected]

For delegate booking information contact:

Jodie Holdway on 01992 535647 or email [email protected]

Gold Sponsor Gold Sponsor Silver Sponsor

5 ME61_Final 26/2/10 14:04 Page 1

24 per cent 1.2bn $15

Bugger the recession. This is the ...mobiles sold last year, says The price of the ultra-cheap
growth expected by content Gartner – and Nokia sold Vodafone 150, launched by the
execs in MEF’s Annual Business 441m of them for market operator to target consumers
Confidence Index. share of 36.4 per cent. in India, Turkey and Africa.

OPINION IN BRIEF
TapMetrics tapped up
Millennial Media has bought mobile

Android alert
analytics startup TapMetrics for an
undisclosed sum. It’s the latest
example of consolidation in the ad
market. Analytics firms Flurry and
Pinch Media recently merged, while in
the advertising space, Apple bought
MWC was hijacked by Android this year, with Google Quattro Wireless, and Google is in the
dominating the conversation and the device line-up. It’s a process of buying AdMob.

good bet to eclipse iPhone, says Brad Rees… GoPayforit re-named

UK-based billing
specialist GoPayforit
has re-branded as
now the premiere iClone manufacturer. Its Desire

T
he Mobile World Congress – home turf for the ImpulsePay. The firm
world’s operators – was invaded by Androids this handset may sound like a 1990s’ disco diva from says the change
marks a new stage
year. The show surrendered the keynote slot to Runcorn, but it is actually one of two hero phones the
for the company
Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who proclaimed that the Taiwanese manufacturer is parading for Google. Eric after the success of its Payforit-based
mobile universe was now sufficiently evolved to accept Schmidt mentions the need for computing power and service. This is used by app developers,
higher life forms into its ecosystem. that’s precisely what the Desire delivers with a blogs, WAP sites and websites to
charge for digital and physical goods.
Imagine the perplexity of the mobile vets in the whopping 1Ghz of CPU. The laptop I’m writing this ImpulsePay’s one-click service works
audience when Mr Schmidt put mobile at the heart of the article on doesn’t boast that. on any handset in the UK and across
search giant’s future plans of cosmological domination. The UI has been improved on this device too, mostly all networks.
He outlined how his ubergeeks are working on the due to the Leap View function, which enables users to
PocketGear pockets
Mobile First project and how they will AdMob into the make all seven homescreens visible with one
Google mobile offer. But generally, Schmidt rejoiced at touchscreen swipe. It’s like the ability to view your
Handango
There’s a major new player in the
the arrival of the fully-converged mobile device, with visited websites in one window, using Google Chrome. browser-based app store space.
the computing power, In my opinion, the HTC PocketGear bought rival Handango,
interconnectivity and Desire, Nexus One and creating what it claims will be the
largest independent, cross-platform
cloud capability to The HTC Desire, Nexus others have the potential to app shop. The new entity will have a
change things forever. surpass the influence of the catalogue of more than 140,000 apps
“The phone is where One and others have iPhone. While the iPhone is for Android, Symbian, BlackBerry,
Windows Mobile, Palm, Linux and Java
these three all
interconnect. If you don’t
the potential to surpass the great for the elevator pitch
in the lift with the boss,
handsets, with more than 32,000
developer partners. The newly enlarged
use the power of the influence of the iPhone. While crucially, Apple does not PocketGear will go head-to-head with
companies like GetJar.
cloud you will fail,” and will not support Adobe
he said. the iPhone is great for the Flash on its iPhone or iPad Domains of the day
The cloud. It’s the elevator pitch in the lift with products. From an DRM's not dead, but
perfect subject for any advertising and creative it is friendlier than
techy dinner party, the boss, Apple does not and perspective, this has meant before. UK-based
mobile video
although in this context that a colony of iPhone app
its mention may
will not support Adobe specialists have formed and
specialist Saffron
Digital is now
have killed some of Flash on its products. are also winning most of the pushing its 'domain-
based' DRM services and has launched
the appetites in pitches for mobile a new wesbite to market the
the auditorium. microsites in Agencyland. technology. The idea is to enable
Schmidt name-checked Facebook, Spotify and But in the online world, the language of big budget content that has been downloaded to a
mobile to then be viewable on PCs,
Google as the catalysts of the stepchange. There was agency creative is Adobe Flash, in all of its guises, and
laptops, video players, set-top boxes
little mention of network operators, except for a this is precisely where Android hits the sweet spot. Even and TVs. Saffron says domain-based
reference to new ‘Google phones’ that will be coming though Nokia has been offering full internet phones DRM technology provides a way for
out soon on Orange and T-Mobile. for a while now, it’s the Google proposition that end-users to name their devices, and
include them in their ‘domain’, so that
What a capitulation by the operators. Just three years resonates longer. content downloaded to their mobile can
ago Vodafone’s then global CEO, Arun Sarin, portended So Google is busting a move into mobile in a big way be played on authorised devices.
that the sector must be careful lest Google “eat the and the operators have real cause to be concerned
mobile industry’s lunch”. And with his successor Vittorio about future revenues. Google has powerful friends and MobiTV viewing surge
Live events, breaking news and
Colao disclosing one in four of the handsets on the not necessarily only in this galaxy. The NASA Space Act entertainment have pushed MobiTV's
Vodafone network was now ‘smart’ and that Agreement in 2006 formally established a relationship daily audiences to new highs. The firm's
smartphone shipments had risen by almost 40 per cent with Google to work together on “challenging technical TV services have experienced a 49 per
cent increase in daily viewing minutes
year-on-year in its most recent quarter, you can see why problems, ranging from large-scale data management
over the last 12 months. MobiTV says
Google has got its knife and fork out. and massively distributed computing, to human- the recent Tiger Woods 'I'm sorry' press
In no time at all, Android is beginning to dominate computer interfaces”. conference was responsible for a three
the device space. New handsets appear almost weekly, The operators are about to get a great big rocket up fold jump in MobiTV viewership on
channels airing the event: ABC News
and nearly all have some form of wi-fi capability, giving their arses. NOW, FOX News, MSNBC and others.
them the ability to bypass the mobile network. HTC is  Brad Rees is CEO of Mediacells

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 5

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100 million Nothing 80,000

The total number of Facebook mobile The price Nokia is charging for Google’s operator killing Nexus
users – and it’s added 35 million of its Ovi Maps SatNav product: One handset topped 80,000 sales
them in the last six months 1.4m downloads in ten days in its first month, says Flurry

IN BRIEF OPINION
Muzicall raises E2.1 million
Euro ringback tone pioneer Muzicall

English channel
has secure additional funds for its
European expansion, bagging
E2.1million funding from new investor
Ventech. The new funding comes four
months after Muzicall announced its
second round of fundraising, which saw
the company raise E9 million from new Despite a cool reaction from some quarters, the GSMA’s
and existing investors. Muzicall says it
plans to accelerate its availability of
Mobile Media Metrics has the potential to make mobile a
ringback tones to European mobile popular choice among media buyers, says Tim Green...
users via its RBT.4.ALL platform.

Tik Tok Tap Tap

Tapulous sold quite proud of that at the time. It seemed to me a

T
he GSMA is, almost by implication, a great big
100,000 Ke$ha tracks
in two weeks inside
lumbering dinosaur. Because it looks after the succinct description of an idea that was often couched
its Tap Tap Revenge interests of vast pachyderm-like operators, it in tech speak, but which essentially described a channel
game. The iPhone doesn’t exactly move fast. But, like an Argentinosaurus through which ad buyers could pay for access to
developer and in-app
(the largest of the dinosaurs – I know, I’ve got the Top cross-operator mobile users by text, browser, video and
billing pioneer has
seen paid music downloads take off since Trumps), when the GSMA makes a move it’s generally even voice.
it went free just before Christmas, worth knowing about. And so it was, last month, that The service announced last month clearly went
according to its CEO Bart Decrem. He the trade body unveiled its first ever Mobile Media nowhere near that.
said: “At a time when a number one hit
maybe sells a couple of million copies, to Metrics service. Luckily for me, I was able to grab comScore’s Paul
move 100,000 copies through our game It only took three years. Goode straight after the announcement, who assured
shows that in-app commerce is real.” It’s easy to scoff at the prep time. But you can only me that this is just stage one of the project. Plans to
guess at the amount of cajoling, horse-trading, incorporate these other mobile channels are in the
Sprint runs to GetJar
canoodling and forms of intercourse that were pipeline. But more important – and this wasn’t properly
GetJar’s remarkable progress continues
– now it’s teamed up with giant US observed in getting O2, addressed in the official
operator Sprint. The deal sees Sprint Vodafone, Orange, T- announcement – the grand
bundle access to the GetJar app store
Mobile and 3UK to agree
If GSMA and comScore plan for this service is for it
for millions of feature phone
subscribers. A link to the GetJar to the project. can make this happen, to move from planning to
catalogue is now available on the Sprint So, what did they sign buying to targeting.
portal for most Sprint handsets, up to? Well, the GSMA – then they have not only made In other words, the
including feature phones and
smartphones running the BlackBerry
and Windows Mobile OS. GetJar has
and its partner comScore
– describes the service a
mobile a genuine media current version lets buyers
plan campaigns, the second
already managed more than 750 million
downloads and provides more than
census-level solution for channel, they’ve made it the stage lets them buy their
mobile media reporting. inventory (through
60,000 apps.
Still none the wiser? best one. Where else can you authorised intermediaries),
Tanla’s sing thing Okay, try this. The project ringfence your target while the third lets them
Billing specialist lets brands and agencies isolate and advertise to only
Tanla has diversified
into the D2C app
see which how many audience like this? the users relevant to them.
space with its new visitors mobile sites are Fancy that? Imagine being a
Sing Intune product. attracting, and then provides basic information about trendy menswear brand and never wasting spend on
This iPhone app the demographic complexion of those visitors. This info females or men over 45?
tests a user’s ability
to sing along with original recordings is anonymised in the interests of privacy, but it covers For the moment, this project is restricted to the UK.
by artists such as Christina Aguilera, all UK networks, so it’s an excellent basis on which to However, I’m assured that other countries are watching
Boy George, Tina Turner, Simon Le Bon make judgements about where to place ads. closely. In the dream scenario they pile on board at the
and Suggs. It’s an interesting move for
Tanla, which is better known for
Such was the excitement around the announcement double, but we all know that’s not going to happen.
providing billing, messaging and at London’s IMAX cinema that the event was And anyway, I don’t see how the concept can really
marketing services. But this product oversubscribed, and the GSMA had to arrange extra work in a pre-pay market, so that would preclude many
will provide a showcase for the firm’s
sessions. This didn’t prevent a certain negativity in the of the emerging territories. A shame, when you think of
ability to build communities around
apps, and to monetise them. following days, with observers complaining about the the cultural significance of mobile in regions like Africa
limited scope of the service: no SMS, no MMS, no video and Brazil.
AdMob-style Sofialys and (most significant of all) no apps. If GSMA and comScore can make this happen, then
France’s Sofialys is targeting operators For the latter, data will have to be drawn from OEM they have not only made mobile a genuine media
with a platform that builds AdMob-
style exchanges that complement in- proprietors of the app stores (Apple, Nokia, BlackBerry channel, they’ve made it the best one.
house sales operations. It calls the new et al) that the operators have no control over. This is This is quite a claim, but think about it: where else
service ADITIC, and says it gives where companies like AdMob and Millennial are can you ringfence your target audience like this? You
operators the opportunity to monetise
all or part of their inventory
historically strong – and will only continue to be so can’t stop men looking at your billboard ad for lipstick.
electronically and therefore accelerate under their powerful new owners. You can’t prevent women watching your TV ad for
their sales rate. Basically, it will mop up So you can see the naysayers’ point. I first heard about aftershave either.
any inventory not sold by in-house
the concept three years ago and came up with a Unless you put algebra in it, perhaps. They hate that.
teams or partners.
headline of ‘media packs for mobile’ to describe it. I was  Tim Green is ME’s executive editor

6 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

07 ME61_Final 26/2/10 16:59 Page 1

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

PhonepayPlus
Think regulation of phone-paid content is something that happens to other people? Think again…

If you’re a provider of content that’s sold

E
ver heard of PhonepayPlus? How We will soon be consulting on these
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than anger of course. PhonepayPlus registration number. [email protected]

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 7

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CONFERENCE FOCUS

Wednesday, 26th May • BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London

Making apps pay Monetising Mobile: How to

make apps pay their way
Wednesday May 26th 2010
BAFTA • 195 Piccadilly • London W1
How much can you make from in-app ads? What’s the best micro-billing business
model? How can you help users find your app? These and other questions will be Ticket price: £199 + VAT (before April 1st)
£229 plus VAT thereafter.
answered at ME’s Monetising Mobile conference in May…

A
pple has delivered over three billion
apps to iPhone and iPod Touch
users. It’s nothing less than the
content revolution we’ve been waiting for
these last ten years. That’s got to be great
news, right?
Not necessarily.
Consumers and content providers alike
are struggling with the sheer volume of
apps available: users can’t always find the
products they want, while publishers are
struggling with a market dominated by free
apps and a nascent advertising ecosystem.
But there are plenty of clever remedies
out there. Which is why ME is delighted to
present a special conference dedicated to
apps and widgets – and specifically how to
make money from them.
Monestising Mobile is based on the same
set-up that worked so successfully for last
year’s Mobile Music Now event, and the
London Games Conference presented by
ME’s sister publication, MCV.
There’ll be a late afternoon start, a series
of short keynotes and panel discussions
and a buffet dinner at the end to give every
delegate the chance to network.

Answers please! Our sponsors

Gold Partner: GetJar request, receive and process content in a
Here are some of the questions we’ll be GetJar is the world’s biggest browser-based cost-efficient way. Customers include EA
asking – and answering – at the
app store. There have been over 750 million Mobile, Namco Europe, Orange, Fox Mobile
Monetising Mobile conference:
downloads from the store, which offers more and many more.
 How do branded apps fit within than 50,000 mini-applications for thousands
consumer-facing marketing campaigns? of different handsets. Silver Partner: Bango
Bango has been a key player in the mobile
 What’s the best way to use micro- Gold Partner: Metaflow payments space since 1999, and is active in
payments? Metaflow supplies publishers, operators and apps via its in-app billing and mobile site
service providers with the tools to discover, analytics services.
 Which prices work best on app
subscriptions?

 What are the relative merits of operator

and credit card billing?

 What is the best price point for your app?

 When is ‘free’ the right price?

Want to know more?
Any questions about attending, speaking or sponsoring should be
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the cost of app development? help you make money Delegate Bookings: [email protected]

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 9

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11 ME61_Final 26/2/10 13:52 Page 1

FLASH GAMES

Flash: saviour of
the universe?
It’s the format that few speak about, but Flash Lite has made one Japanese entrepreneur a billionaire already, says
Kooky Panda’s Richard Robinson. Can it do the same for others...?

A
mid the constant iPhone/iStore love
fest in the mainstream press and the
recent Adobe bashing evidenced by
the lack of Flash support by the iPad, a
rather exciting news item has passed by
largely unnoticed: Forbes Magazine crowned
Yoshikazu Tanaka the world’s first mobile
gaming billionaire.
Tanaka is the founder and CEO of
JASDAQ-listed Gree in Tokyo, which creates
socially connected Flash Lite mobile games
for the Japanese market.
After the mention of both ‘Japan’ and
‘Flash Lite’ in the first paragraph, there may
now be half as many readers of this second
paragraph. Sure, Japan is like visiting the
future, but no mobile services from Planet
Japan have ever successfully taken root
outside its exotic ecosystem. Japanese
phones are proprietary devices and the
i-mode experiment in other markets was a
disaster. And don’t get us started on Flash
Lite – we’ve been waiting for that train since
before the RAZR phone was launched.
While it is true that the Japanese mobile estimated 80 per cent of its revenues come In Japan, Flash Lite enjoys 97 per cent
market is fairly closed, the real takeaway from these online accessories. penetration and there’s a vibrant, flat-rate 3G
from the Gree success story is the viability Like Tanaka-san’s net worth, Flash Lite has user base. But the opportunity exists in other
and attractiveness of free-to-play, socially also crept past the billion mark largely regions too. A browser-based Flash Lite
connected mobile games with virtual items unnoticed. After the Adobe acquisition of gaming experience can reach hundreds of
as a business model. Gree has operating Macromedia, Flash Lite was made free for millions of users. By comparison, WAP
margins of 57 per cent and was ranked by OEMs to install in mid-2008. Since that time, provides a flatter user experience while J2ME,
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as the fastest hundreds of millions of devices with Flash Lite though highly functional, poses enormous
growing tech company in Japan, with over pre-installed have been shipped, bringing the porting challenges. The iPhone and Android
2,600 per cent revenue growth over the addressable marker to well over a billion. platforms provide compelling environments,
past three years. It has 15 million users, up While Adobe is now moving to support but the addressable market is much smaller.
from eight million a year ago. Yet it’s not Flash 10.1 on higher end phones, there will Japanese companies like Gree, Mixi and
even Japan’s biggest social games firm – be a Flash Lite opportunity for years to DeNA are all opening up to allow game
that’s Mixi, with 18 million users. come. Why? Because it’s not smartphone developers to place their games on their
Gree has set itself apart from the crowd users who are the ideal target for socially- platforms. Flash is coming of age, so don’t
by focusing on easy, fun gaming. New connected gaming. They may be cash rich, miss out.
Richard Robinson,
subscribers get a manga-style avatar in but most are time poor. Instead, it’s the low- chairman of Kooky  Richard Robinson is chairman of Kooky
underwear. They can then shop for end users with free time and some Panda (inset top) Panda, which develops Flash Lite games
everything from clothes to accessories that disposable income who are the ideal target, from Beijing and is backed by Japanese
can be used in games based on virtual and are much more likely to have a VC, Infinity Venture Partners. Email:
fishing, gardening and pets. And an compatible device. [email protected]

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 11

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MOBILE GAMES FORUM

State of play
Last month’s Mobile Games Forum conference offered a snapshot of
the mobile games industry in 2010. Stuart Dredge was there…

However, 2010 has seen a new sobriety “But all it’s done is made us [operators

T
hree years ago, the Mobile Games
Forum was a miserable affair, through emerge based on the bewildering array of and handset firms] work together on new
no fault of its organisers. The industry products available. “You can spend money, devices and services that can create a
was in the doldrums thanks to flattening develop a very good title, launch it and then similar standard for customers who don’t
sales and fragmentation hassles, with many have that title absolutely lost among the want an iPhone.”
of the most talented developers talking pure volume of content that’s out there,” says Android Market, BlackBerry App World
openly about exiting the market. John Chasey, MD of UK developer FinBlade. and Nokia’s Ovi Store will enjoy an influx of
In 2010, it’s a different story. iPhone and Eric Hobson, CEO at Connect2Media, puts rich, high-quality games in 2010. But
its App Store have reinvigorated the sector it more bluntly. “The App Store is going to looking beyond iPhone isn’t just about
at every level, including developers and be a killing zone for developers over the handsets. Developers who’ve traditionally
publishers, but also handset makers and next 12 months, as the 98 per cent of focused on the mobile space are also
operators who are shaking up their own developers who don’t make money investing in porting their games to
services and making games a priority. disappear and die.” Facebook, to the recently-launched digital
The opportunities and challenges were For these reasons, more games firms are stores for Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS, and
chewed over at this year’s MGF, but three planning a serious push onto Android, even console equivalents Xbox Live,
areas in particular stood out as defining the BlackBerry and other smartphones in 2010. PlayStation Network and WiiWare.
mobile games industry in 2010. These app stores are less crowded, downward iPhone is still the lead platform for many
pricing pressure is less intense, and platform mobile games firms, but it’s no longer the
LIFE BEYOND THE iPHONE owners are improving their stores and whole story.
2009 saw a gold-rush mentality around the handset capabilities, while courting iPhone
App Store, with developers dumping J2ME developers. This includes operators, who are MARKETING GETS VIRAL
to concentrate on iPhone, while publishers launching their own app stores and giving Mobile games marketing was simple in the
invested in big-budget iPhone titles. games a new priority internally. “You could old days. It was a relationship thing – that
In the process, the App Store became the argue that iPhone has taken those premium relationship being operator games
biggest distribution channel for several customers who’ve always bought content on Above: Namco managers with the power to guarantee
president Barry O’Neil,
major publishers, while making operator decks to another channel,” says Jess deck placement.
Vodafone Group’s Jess
millionaires out of a handful of Gwyther, global content development Gwyther and Fishlabs Even PR was an afterthought. Securing
independent developers. manager at Vodafone Group. CEO Michael Schade sales was about signing brands, and then

12 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

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MOBILE GAMES FORUM

agreeing co-marketing campaigns to secure

slots on portals.
In the App Store world, it’s very different.
“You now have to engage with your
customer on a regular, direct basis – you
can’t rely on those carrier relationships,”
says Barry O’Neill, president of Namco
Bandai Networks Europe. “You have to
engage on Twitter, and Facebook, and by
doing proper marketing. We’re moving from
public relations into individual relations.”
That’s a telling comment, one that is
amplified by Paul Farley from TAG. “We don’t
have to talk to a million people. If we can
talk to 20 or 30 people who are passionate
about the game, they’ll then take the
message about our game to a much
wider audience.”
Mobile games has the Web 2.0 bug, with
developers and publishers making use of
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter while also
liaising with games-focused websites and
blogs before games are released. All this
builds buzz around a title and cuts through
THE MOBILE GAMES
INDUSTRY IN NUMBERS
the clutter.
$540 million
US mobile game
publisher revenues in
We don’t want 2009 (SNL Kagan)

the consumer 26,172

Number of iPhone
deciding the price we games on the App Store
in February (Mobclix)
sell games at. It should 25 per cent
Share of European
be the publisher mobile game buyers for
both Nokia and Apple
and retailer. (comScore)
business models in mobile, especially
$11.7 billion
Global mobile games around mobile games.”
revenues by 2014 (DFC For this reason, the industry is fascinated
THE PRICING QUESTION Intelligence) by ‘freemium’ models like those seen on
How much a mobile game should cost is 8 million Facebook, where games are free to play but
provoking huge debate in 2010. There’s Number of mobile make money from advertising and virtual
widespread accord that the dive towards gamers in the UK (UK item sales. Apple’s introduction of in-app
National Gamers Survey)
99-cent price points (59p in the UK) is payments has already spurred some
dangerous. It works for indies with a $450 million publishers to try the model on the App Store,
Lost iPhone games
massive hit like Flight Control or Doodle revenues due to piracy
including ngmoco’s Eliminate Pro, SGN’s Skies
Jump, but not for anyone else. so far (24/7 Wall St) of Glory, and Tapulous’ Tap Tap Revenge 3.
“We don’t want the consumer deciding Advergames offer another potential model
the price we sell games at,” says Tony Pearce 900 per cent for developers, with Fishlabs already profiting
Jump in downloads from
of Player X. “It should be the publisher and iPod touches on from its free iPhone games for Volkswagen
retailer.” This is part of the reason rival app Christmas Day (Flurry) and Barclaycard. “Last year, the revenue we
stores, such as BlackBerry App World, are got from ad games was about 30 per cent,
2 million
increasingly appealing for publishers; RIM App Store downloads for and we expect that to increase to 45 per cent
doesn’t allow paid apps to be sold for less Flight Control and this year,” says CEO Michael Schade.
than $2.99. Doodle Jump games There may be challenges, but the mobile
(Firemint/Lima Sky)
The cat may be out of the bag as far as games industry is adopting a glass-half-full
cheap mobile games go, though, in Western $2.5 billion approach to the opportunities of the post-
Value of Chinese mobile
markets. Meanwhile, prices are hardly likely App Store era. “We are very bullish about
games market by 2014
to be higher in emerging markets. “Look at (Pyramid Research) the future of this business, due to the
a market like India – 97 per cent of the expected proliferation of smartphones and
12
market is pre-pay,” says Patrick Mork from Number of console their app stores,” says EA Mobile’s European
GetJar. “Those people are not going to pay brands in the UK App boss, Luca Pagano. “People who have a
for content, and if they do, it’ll be cents Store’s Top 20 Grossing smartphone tend to play more games and
Games chart (ME)
rather than dollars. We have to reinvent the buy more games.”

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 13

14-15 ME61_Final 26/2/10 13:54 Page 1

from denisbul

GAME TRENDS
2

What’s the big idea?

What’s pushing the mobile gamer’s buttons in 2010? Stuart Dredge gives us ten of the best new trends...
5

A
pple’s iPhone has fuelled an 2. ON LOCATION better on the punctuation front with Call of
explosion in innovative and original Location-based mobile games are as old as Duty: World at War: Zombies. Meanwhile, EA
mobile games since the launch of the hills – remember BotFighters? But Mobile has topped the charts with a string
the App Store in July 2008. Indie developers they’re enjoying a new lease of life on of its parent company’s big console
and large publishers alike are stretching iPhone and other smartphones. franchises, while Gameloft has a nice line in
their creative muscles, with the effects also MeanFreePath’s Turf Wars is a social mafia own-IP titles heavily inspired by console
starting to be felt on other smartphones. game that lets players claim ‘turf’ in their classics. Its N.O.V.A. is distinctly Halo-esque,
Here are ten of the current mobile real-world neighbourhood, while Glu GT Racing Academy is very Gran Turismo, and
gameplay trends that are defining what Mobile’s 1000 puts Pokemon and Google Blades of Fury IS Soul Calibur.
titles will be big in 2010. Maps into a GPS blender for location-based
collecting fun. Nokia also recently delivered 4. VIRTUAL ITEMS
1. SWEET MUSIC on its promise of games tying into its Ovi 7 Apple’s launch of in-app payments, plus the
With 25 million downloads of its Tap Tap Maps service with Ovi Maps Racing, which whopping great revenues being made on
Revenge games, Tapulous has proved that turns your local streets into race-tracks. And Facebook by firms like Zynga and Playfish, is
there’s a big appetite for classy music while proper augmented reality games are getting iPhone game developers hot for
games on iPhone – and that you can sell still thin on the ground, AR gaming is virtual items. Besides songs, Tapulous is
music downloads to those players within expected to be big in the coming months. making decent money from avatar clothing
the game itself. Its new racing game, Riddim in Tap Tap Revenge 3, while EA has started
Ribbon, hopes for similar success. However, 3. CONSOLE CAPERS selling themed sets for The Sims 3 at 59p a
there are plenty of rivals trying to follow Look at the App Store’s Top Grossing chart, pop. You can buy a T-Rex skin for Pocket
suit. Appy Entertainment’s Tune Runner and and you’ll see that big console brands are God, a new beach level for Flick Fishing, and
Drop D Studios’ Tap Studio Pro let people making lots of money on iPhone – download 20 extra levels for I-play’s
play along to the songs stored on their especially when they come bearing colons. Paradise Quest puzzler. Some games, like
Lima Sky’s addictive
iPhone. Meanwhile, the company behind Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and action game Doodle ngmoco’s Eliminate Pro and SGN’s F.A.S.T, are
music app TuneWiki is working on a mobile Assassin’s Creed 2: Discovery were sizeable Jump (image 5) and going the whole hog with a freemium
game called Lyrics Legend based around hits for Rockstar Games and Ubisoft Taito’s Space Invaders model, where the game is free and entirely
song lyrics. respectively, while Activision went one Infinity Gene (image 7) funded by in-app virtual item purchases.

14 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

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GAME TRENDS
3

Independent developers and large

publishers are creating innovative
and effective app games for the
mobile market. Call of Duty: World at
War: Zombies and iFarm are two of
the titles defining gameplay for 2010

8
5. DOODLE EVERYTHING mobile, as the sales figures for Tetris, Pac- the twin-stick shooter, so named because it
Heard of Doodle Jump? You can’t avoid it on Man and Space Invaders show. That trend is involves two virtual joysticks – one each at
the App Store. Lima Sky’s addictive action evolving in two different directions in 2010, the bottom left and bottom right of the
game has been a fixture at the top of the though. First, there’s the boom in emulators screen – and lots of shooting. Chillingo’s
chart ever since its release in March last of old games consoles – either licensed like iDracula showed there was money in it,
year. Now it’s spawning a wave of games Manomio’s Commodore 64 and Sega’s before the same company’s Minigore
copying its hand-drawn graphical style – upcoming Ultimate Genesis, or unlicensed like proved the point. Now there’s a steady flow,
although their developers are making sure the numerous NES and Game Boy emulators including Guerilla Bob, Daisy Mae’s Alien
potential buyers don’t miss the link. Doodle available on Android. Other developers are Buffet, Meteor Blitz, MetalWars, Garters and
Bombs, Doodle Army, Doodle Blitz, Doodle focusing on giving old games an iPhone Ghouls... Although originally inspired by
Jeep, Doodle Escape... No genre is safe. And update. UK firm Revolution Software has console joypads, the twin-stick control
10
while none of these games has hit the released a ‘director’s cut’ of its Broken Sword system is ideally suited to touchscreen
commercial heights of their inspiration, it’s adventure, while Taito brought a 21st century mobile phones – hence its ongoing rise
clear that the Doodle aesthetic is here to sheen to Space Invaders Infinity Gene. in popularity.
stay – and will likely spread to other mobile
and non-mobile platforms. 8. CHECKING IN 10. BUMS ’N’ BOOBS
Social location apps like Foursquare and
6. ‘DOING A FARMVILLE’ Gowalla aren’t really games. Instead, they Would you believe it, there is a seedier side
We mentioned earlier Zynga’s big Facebook apply game-like elements to location-based to mobile gaming. Still. Even though Apple
revenues, a large proportion of which are social networking, awarding points and may be fairly strict when it comes to adult
down to its quite literally, barn-storming achievement badges for people who are content, that hasn’t stopped a flood of ‘sexy’
Farmville social game. It hasn’t gone mobile out on the town lots. However, bigger than – i.e. profoundly unsexy – games from
yet, but there is no shortage of iPhone both is Booyah’s MyTown, which recently launching on the App Store, usually with
The MyTown app from
games trying to make a success of the ideas signed up its one millionth user. It’s like a Booyah is proving to be self-explanatory titles. Sexy Maid Service is a
behind it. iFarm from Playmesh is the real-world Monopoly, where people ‘check popular among users maid-based dust ‘em up game, while Tic Tac
closest copy, and it was downloaded one in’ to locations in their city, but can also buy (image 8), while Tic Tac Boobs is just like Tic Tac Toe but with, yes,
million times in ten days after its release last the virtual versions, upgrade them and Boobs shows the boobs. Meanwhile, Tehra Dark Warrior is a
seedier side to adult
year. Coming up are TAG Games’ Astro charge other players rent. Its success is sure content games big-budget 3D action-adventure whose big
Ranch, which is like Farmville in space, and to spawn more imitators in 2010, turning selling point is the buttocks of its thong-clad
ngmoco’s We Rule, which is like Farmville people’s social lives into massively heroine. And talking of bottoms, PooPong is,
with a kingdom rather than a farm. multiplayer gaming experiences. in the words of its App Store blurb: ‘Pong
with poop instead of a ball. Plus fart sounds.’
7. RETRO A-GO-GO 9. MEET THE TWIN-STICKS A very proud moment for mobile gaming,
Retro games have always been popular on A rapidly-growing sub-genre on iPhone is we are sure you will all agree.

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 15

16-17 ME61_Final 26/2/10 14:57 Page 1

from denisbul

SOCIAL GAMING

All together now

Recently fierce competition between platform providers has made connected features key to iPhone gaming. Here
Stuart Dredge examines those third-party suppliers making waves in the games market...
emember the days when every other OpenFeint, Scoreloop and AGON Online necessity for new iPhone games, for small

R mobile games conference was

focused on multiplayer, fuelled by the
ambitions of companies like Exit Games,
are just three of the third-party platforms
competing to offer features like online
leaderboards, buddy lists, challenges and
indies and larger publishers alike. US firm
Aurora Feint says it’s signed up more than
5,000 registered developers, with more than
Terraplay and Ex Machina? achievements to iPhone game developers. 1,000 OpenFeint-enabled games already
Well, the conferences died away, Exit Meanwhile, publishers Ngmoco and live on the App Store, for example.
Games shifted its focus to MMOs and social Chillingo have launched their own platforms The fierce competition means that the
gaming, Terraplay was swallowed up by – Plus+ and Crystal respectively – which are actual features of these platforms are
End2End and Ex Machina turned its being made available to their network of increasingly commoditised. No sooner has
attention to TV-based projects. developers. Gameloft has, characteristically, one platform introduced a new feature, like
But history goes in circles, and now opted to keep its connected platform in- challenges, than its rivals have patched their
iPhone has spawned a new generation of house, with Gameloft Live. Scoreloop offers a offerings to offer it too. There’s little to
connected gaming platforms to replace The net result of all this activity is that variety of features to choose between the various platforms
those early innovators. connected features are increasingly a iPhone developers when it comes to basic functionality. Even

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16-17 ME61_Final 26/2/10 14:57 Page 2

SOCIAL GAMING

live multiplayer support, when it comes, will developers looking to get attention for the iPad, and are ensuring their services will
likely be present in all of them. their games. work with games on Apple’s tablet from
So how are developers choosing which Analytics is another area that will be launch. Aptocore, which makes the
platform to use for their games? It’s partly increasingly important for the social games AGON Online platform, even released
about reliability, and how well the platforms platforms. When players are connecting screenshots of its system running on the
scale once they’re being used by millions of regularly to post iPad SDK simulator.
gamers. Some of the companies, in scores or However,
particular Scoreloop and Chillingo, are achievements, there
Companies are Scoreloop recently
making much of their white-label aspects, is valuable data to be excited about started supporting
where their technology blends into a mined for Android as well as
developer’s game without imposing its developers. These the iPad and are ensuring iPhone, with full
own brand.
However, putting this technology inside
platforms don’t
replace dedicated
their services will work cross-platform
compatibility
iPhone games offers more than just analytics tools like with games on Apple’s allowing people
connectivity. The social gaming platforms those provided by using one handset to
are becoming as much about game Flurry, but as games tablet from launch. challenge friends on
discovery – a way for iPhone owners developers decide the other – assuming
playing one game to find others that let which firm to work with, the amount of data the same game is available for both, of
them use their existing profile. Chillingo’s Crystal (top) they can get back may become more of a course. Aurora Feint founder Jason Citron,
Thus, a platform that’s being used for a and Aurora Feint’s selling point. didn’t mince his words at the recent Mobile
big-selling game like Pocket God OpenFeint platforms Finally, there’s the question of how and Games Forum on the subject of Android’s
are delivering new
(OpenFeint) or Parachute Panic (Scoreloop) when these platforms will look beyond failings, but admitted that his company too
connected options
becomes more appealing to other iPhone. All the companies are excited about is preparing to support Google’s OS.

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 17

from denisbul
20-21 ME61_Final 26/2/10 16:39 Page 1

from denisbul

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

Show progress
Forty-nine thousand people went from 200 countries to Mobile World Congress. The Mobile Entertainment team
was among them. Here is what we discovered there…
APPS TAKE CENTRE STAGE (SORT OF) GOOGLE IS EVIL?

I
f Mobile World Congress 2010 was a play
it would have been one of those Developer sessions by the likes of Vodafone, Anyone who saw the Q&A section of CEO
domestic dramas in which a previously RIM and Google at App Planet were Eric Schmidt’s keynote will have seen the
happy family group has its idyll disturbed rammed – giving away thousands of Nexus suspicion, anger and paranoia directed at
by an interloper. Think An Inspector Calls, or Ones didn’t hurt in the latter’s case. Google from some elements of the mobile
Six Degrees of Separation. Without doubt, industry. The more deeply Google gets into
this was the year that the collective fear of FUNCTIONAL APPS the mobile market, the more negativity it
Google/Apple turned into tangible reality. In 2010, we will see applications becoming is encountering.
Nearly every delegate had an iPhone, and more tightly integrated with smartphone
all the best new devices had Android inside interfaces. RIM coined the term ‘Super Apps’ MICROSOFT MAKES WAVES
them. You could almost see the axis of to describe apps that interrogate the inbox, There was a lack of really big news at MWC
power changing before your eyes. add entries to the calendar, and dig into the this year so Windows Phone 7 Series felt like
Anyway, with the dust from this year’s contacts. Skype also talked about this idea a big deal. It’s a leap on from previous
show settling, here’s our take on the key of being baked into the operating system versions, and games developers are
trends of Mobile World Congress… rather than just existing on the handset particularly excited about the Xbox Live
as an application. aspect, although Microsoft is keeping
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE USER EXPERIENCE details under its hat until next month’s
Hardware features like GPS, wi-fi and THE GIGAHERTZ WARS MIX conference.
megapixels have been commoditised. UE is A 1GHz processor in a phone? Qualcomm’s
everything. Who chooses the interface is an Mark Frankel highlighted the potential A new version of MOBILE ADVERTISING 2.0
Windows Phone (top)
interesting question though. Microsoft for this to turn into an arms race, with The flurry of mergers and buy-outs in the
stole headlines, while the
won’t let handset partners muck about with handset makers competing to willy-wave mobile TV sector was space appeared to have brought the
the Windows Phone 7 Series UI, yet it’s now in a contest to see who has the boosted by Qualcomm’s agencies to MWC. There were far more of
ubiquitous on Android. fastest processor. FLO TV player (bottom) them than ever before at the FIRA.

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MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

BEST OF THE TECH

You don’t go to MWC looking for whacky new phones any more –
they all look the same now. But there are some surprising new
technologies on show if you look hard enough. Here’s our top six...

THE PUMA PHONE

Mobile history is littered
with the risible efforts of
brands to make phones.
Levi’s, Hummer, Porsche
and others – they’ve all
tried and failed. But
Sagem’s new Puma phone
breaks the mould of
branded phones by actually
being good.
The device has clearly
been designed from the
ground up by Puma and its
partners. It’s not the specs
that distinguish it (2.8-inch touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera etc),
but the sheer personality in the details. All the icons have a cheery
retro look – the MP3 player looks like a vinyl turntable and the alarm is
a megaphone. There’s also a sports screen that offers a pedometer,
compass, cycling speedo and more. It even has a solar panel.

POWERMAT WIRELESS
CHARGING
The issue of battery power
and charging never leaves
the mobile business. Quite
the opposite in fact. Maybe
that’s why Powermat got so
much attention – and was so
controlling (you had to wait
to be invited onto the stand).
The firm’s tech can charge
most consumer devices (not
iPhone, unless you put a
special jacket on it) merely
WHERE IS THE PORN?
Remember the first time there was a
The flurry of buy- by laying them on a special
mat. So far, so mildly impressive. What’s far more exciting is the
content hall at 3GSM? The stand imagery outs in the space prototype desk, which can charge multiple items at once.
was so filthy that there was a warning on
the front door. Adult content is barely appeared to have brought TOUCH FREE
SWIPING
evident at the show now. There was one ad agencies to MWC. The touchscreen
stand in hall seven, and Playboy sponsored has transformed
the MEF party, but that was about it. There were far more of the mobile UI. But
eyeSight’s eyeCan

MOBILE MUSIC TAKES A BACK-SEAT

them than ever tech goes further,
enabling a hand
The biggest music story at Mobile World before at the FIRA. swipe above the
screen to silence an
Congress was Duran Duran’s GSMA awards
incoming call, navigate between GPS menus, activate the MP3 player
gig, which shows that music is getting in its recent Q4. It’s a transition phase, and more. Its gesture recognition engine uses the phone’s camera,
considerably less hype than it did a few although not necessarily a flee away from along with real-time image processing algorithms to track the user’s
years ago. Aspiro and Omnifone apart, there the operators. After all, this year plenty of hand motions and translate them to user actions. EyeSight believes the
UI will be good for drivers, for example.
was little musical dimension to the show. them will be launching their own
application stores supporting Android and 3D SCREENS
MOBILE TV IS (FINALLY) GETTING SEXIER other smartphones... EyeSight again, this time showing a protype of 3D screen technology
that it’s hawking to all the OEMs. It sandwiches a bi-directional layer
Fuugo, a mobile TV service from Axel
beneath the main screen to display slightly diverged images. There’s
Technologies, aggregates shows from GOING LOCAL no need for glasses, and the protoype included two cameras so users
traditional broadcasters, mobile channels The apps thing may be global, but there can take their own 3D pictures. Your ME correspondent can only see
and UGC websites, serving them up in a slick was lots of talk about smartphone platform- through one eye, so we can’t tell you if it’s any good.

touchscreen interface. That was nice, as was owners talent-scouting beyond the West AUGMENTED REALITY GAMING
Qualcomm’s standalone FLO TV device. Coast of the US for developers. It was in Samsung’s Wave handset, based on its Bada OS, won a lot of fans. But
Maybe there’s something on TV for a change. RIM’s plans to hold BlackBerry roadshows those who looked carefully would have been wowed by the embedded
AR game – AR Defender, from French developer int13. You have to print
around the world, while leaving behind
out the barcode and then aim the camera at it. The barcode is instantly
NOKIA’S BIG GAMBIT local community groups after the event. transformed into a tower that has to be protected from invaders by
It eschewed hall eight for its own space off tilting the screen and pressing fire. AR gaming is unproven
site, but then it had no new handsets to show. FEATURE PHONES ARE GETTING SMARTER commercially, but as far as technology is concerned it’s very impressive.

The Meego OS is intriguing if Intel can deliver Apps are a smartphone thing, right? Maybe EYE-CONTROLLED EARPHONES
and Nokia can build on its N900 with sleeker not, now that app stores are launching MWC wouldn’t be MWC without something mad from the Japanese. On
devices. Overall, not Nokia’s finest hour. platforms that support more affordable DoCoMo’s stand there were remote controlled earphones controlled by
eye movement. It works by muscle detection and something about
feature phones. HTC’s Smart is coming to O2
positive and negative electrons. It’ll never take off, but we all loved the
THE DECLINE OF JAVA GAMING – it uses Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile platform unintentionally hilarious demo by the inscrutable DoCoMo man in an ill-
Gameloft told ME its Java revenues had to provide features that would normally be fitting suit. He took it wonderfully seriously.
suffered in Q4, while Glu admitted the same expected from more expensive handsets.

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 21

22 ME61_Final 26/2/10 16:38 Page 1

from denisbul

RECRUITMENT Sponsored by

MICHAEL BECKER MATTHEW KARAS DAVE WALDMAN VLADIMIR MALUGIN

Acision’s executive decision

Mobile messaging specialist hires Stefano Cantarelli from Ericsson UK as chief technology officer...
co-founder of iLoop Mobile. His hiring simultaneously sending a general Nice gig for the former marcomms
is part of a major re-organisation that message to a larger audience. exec at Eastman Kodak, since HTC is
sees the trade association give its four growing so fast. He will be responsible
operating regions in Asia Pacific, JOSÉ ANTONIO MIJARES is the new for HTC’s overall brand, marketing and
Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin SVP of international sales at Interop communications across EMEA.
America and North America more Technologies, the messaging
autonomy. He will work in parallel technology specialist. The former MIKE MCHALE has joined app tester
with PAUL BERNEY in EMEA and Nortel executive will focus on DeviceAnywhere as MD of EMEA sales.
ROHIT DADWAL in APAC. business development in the The addition further expands the
Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) firm’s EMEA footprint, and maintains
ISAAC BABBS has joined Qualcomm and Asia regions. an expansion that has seen
as general manager of the Qualcomm DeviceAnywhere’s team double in size
Services Labs unit. Babbs was ANNE DE KERCKHOVE has joined over the past year.
Messaging giant Acision has a new previously founder and CEO of the Reed MIDEM as director of
CTO. He is STEFANO CANTARELLI, social media firm Tapatap. He also entertainment. In this newly-created BBC Worldwide has snaffled ROBERT
who joins from Ericsson UK where served as VP at Infospace Mobile post, de Kerckhove will oversee Reed NASHAK from EA to be its new LA-
he was VP of networks. Cantarellia Games, where he headed the MIDEM’s MIPTV, MIPCOM, MIPJunior based executive VP of digital
was previously CTO at Cable and pioneering games-for-prizes division and MIPDOC TV events and its music entertainment. He will oversee a move
Wireless and has held directorships Atlas Studio. industry tradeshow, MIDEM. into gaming for the commercial arm
at Vodafone UK and Vodafone Italy. of the BBC. Prior to working at EA,
iome has appointed MATTHEW Mobile Messenger’s recruitment drive Nashak was VP and general manager
TODD TRAN has returned to the heart KARAS to its board of directors. Karas continues with the hiring of LARRY of Yahoo! Games.
of mobile content, landing a senior has held various management roles at ROBINER as VP of CRM channel sales.
position with Apple Europe. He’s the companies including ITV, Al Jazeera The mobile solutions provider has also OWEN VAN NATTA has vacated the top
new general manager for Europe International and the BBC. promoted AMY DUDMAN to SVP of job at MySpace after just one year. The
within Apple’s booming advertising strategic operations. She will ex-CEO will be replaced by MIKE
unit. The Cupertino firm, of course, Nokia has made JUHA ÄKRÄS its new spearhead the integration of m-Qube, JONES and JASON HIRSCHHORN as
bought Quattro Wireless for $275 EBP of human resources. He replaces which was recently acquired by co-presidents. It’s not great news for the
million in January. Tran has lots of HALLSTEIN MOERK, who is retiring. Mobile Messenger. social network, which has been eclipsed
experience, having held senior by Facebook and is struggling to regain
positions at Flytxt, Minick and WPP. Two senior executives from Twistbox VLADIMIR MALUGIN is the new the heights it scaled after its purchase
Former Microsoft/ScreenTonic EMEA have emerged as founders of a new marketing director for EMEA at HTC. by News Corp in 2005 for $580 million.
sales manager THEO THEODOROU will rich messaging start-up, Bccthis. DAVE
head up the Apple EMEA sales team. WALDMAN and MICHAEL STEUER  Does your firm have a position to fill? If so, you should advertise on the
unveiled the new firm last month. It appointments page that’s read by everyone in the content business: yes, this
The Mobile Marketing Association has has been set up to enable users to one. We also offer a complementary online service. Either way, every exec in
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22 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

23 ME61_Final 25/2/10 16:39 Page 1

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R&D / Online - Mobile Gambling / Online Gaming / Casual / Social Games / F2POG

Mobile, Digital and Video Games Recruitment Specialists

Telephone 44 (0) 207 580 6018 Email [email protected] looking to further your career in
the Mobile and Digital markets?
www.datascope.co.uk VISIT OUR WEBSITE for a full list
of our current opportunities.

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 23

24 ME61_Final 26/2/10 13:45 Page 1

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EVENTS

2010 Calendar
This year’s diary is full to bursting with must-see industry events. Which ones are you taking your expense account to...?

 MARCH 2010
March 8th
The Mobile Research Conference 2010
Swissotel The Howard,
London, UK
www.mobileresearchconference.com

MRC is the only industry event dedicated to

mobile surveys, connecting scientific research
and best corporate practice. It comprises
workshops and presentations from industry
experts. It is aimed at scientific and corporate
researchers, business developers and
executives from marketing and HR disciplines.

March 9th-12th
GDC 2010
San Francisco, US
www.gdconf.com

The world’s biggest games developer event

returns to San Francisco, bringing together
the community to share techniques, make
connections and showcase new technology.

March 23rd-25th
CTIA Wireless 2010
Las Vegas Convention Center, US
www.ctiawireless.com
The China Mobile Internet 2010 Summit (April 7th-8th) should attract lots of attention from those who can
It’s back to the monorail, the slot machines afford to jet to China for a few days. It has the backing of all three Chinese operators and features some very big
and the grinding soulless despair of Las Vegas hitters among the speakers. Who can resist the allure of 700 million mobile subscribers?
for CTIA 2010’s spring show. Some adore
Vegas, others think the conference centre is global mobile marketing ecosystem. It
UPCOMING...  JUNE 2010
the best place to be – a location to escape the features a variety of presentations discussing June 22nd-23rd
knuckle-dragging epsilons, and check out the latest technology developments, case March 8th
Mobile Entertainment Markets
The Mobile Research
shiny new gadgets instead. CTIA attracts studies, and innovative ways of using the Park Plaza Victoria, London, UK
Conference 2010
1,200 exhibitors and over 40,000 delegates. mobile channel for marketing. Tickets range www.m-e-f.org
from $75 for a single workshop to $995 for a March 9th-12th
 APRIL 2010 Gold Package (early bird price). Speakers GDC 2010 MEM will once again bring together the
April 7th-8th include Brian Stoller of Mindshare Asia world’s content players for a two-day
March 23rd-25th
China Mobile Internet 2010 Summit Pacific and Hungama’s Neeraj Roy. CTIA Wireless 2010 conference. The 2009 show attracted over
Beijing, China 500 attendees, a 26 per cent increase from
www.china-mis.com  MAY 2010 April 7th-8th 2008. Only date and venue details are
May 26th China Mobile Internet available at present, but ME will be the first
2010 Summit
This summit is supported by China Mobile, Monetising Mobile: how to make apps to hear when speakers and the agenda
China Unicom and China Telecom – and is pay their way April 14th-15th are confirmed.
also endorsed by the MMA and the MEF. Bafta, London 2010 MMA Forum
www.mobile-ent.biz
May 26th
 OCTOBER 2010
April 14th-Apr 15th Monetising Mobile October 6th-8th
2010 MMA Forum Singapore A major new event presented by Mobile CTIA Wireless and Entertainment 2010
Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Singapore Entertainment, putting the emphasis on June 22nd-23rd San Francisco, USA
http://forum.mmaglobal.com commercial solutions in a conference Mobile Entertainment
devoted to the apps revolution. There’ll be Markets
The autumn CTIA event (or should that be
The MMA’s global roadshow for mobile keynotes, panel sessions and networking in October 6th-8th ‘fall’?) is traditionally more content-focused
marketing stops in Asia Pac. This event an afternoon/evening affair. Subjects under CTIA Wireless IT and than its spring counterpart, and also a little
brings together attendees from agencies, discussion include advertising, payments, Entertainment 2010 smaller. It’s back to San Fran this year, so we
brands, carriers and other members of the discovery and more. can all wear flowers in our hair...

24 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

25 ME61_Final 25/2/10 16:29 Page 1

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26 ME61_Final 26/2/10 14:08 Page 1

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CHARTS

Charts
Check here every month for the best selling games, ringtones and mobile apps from across the market...

RINGTONES TAGGING ARTISTS & HANDSETS

RINGTONES.COM SHAZAM FLYCELL FLYCELL
TOP EURO MUSIC TONES, FEBRUARY TAGGING, FEBRUARY US TOP RINGTONES, FEBRUARY US TOP DOWNLOAD HANDSETS, FEBRUARY
SONG ARTIST SONG ARTIST MODEL VENDOR
1 DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ JOURNEY 1 BEDROCK YOUNG MONEY FT. LLOYD 1 GT365 (NEON) LG
2 DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ GLEE CAST 2 MONEY TO BLOW BIRDMAN 2 GR500 (XENON) LG
3 BAD ROMANCE LADY GAGA SONG/ARTIST 3 HOW LOW LUDACRIS 3 CU920/CU915/VU LG
4 REPLAY IYAZ 1 FIREFLIES 4 NEED YOU NOW LADY ANTEBELLUM 4 VX9200 (ENV3) LG
5 FIREFLIES OWL CITY OWL CITY 5 I GET IT IN OMARION 5 SGH-A887 (SOLSTICE) SAMSUNG
6 BELLA’S LULLABY TWILIGHT 2 PASS OUT 6 BAD ROMANCE LADY GAGA 6 SGH-A877 (IMPRESSION) SAMSUNG
7 RIVERSIDE SIDNEY SAMSON TINIE TEMPAH 7 DA DA DA LIL WAYNE 7 VX11000 (ENV TOUCH) LG
8 ONE TIME JUSTIN BIEBER 3 DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ 8 BEST I EVER HAD DRAKE 8 8330 (CURVE) RIM (BLACKBERRY)
9 STARSTRUKK 30H3 FEAT. KATY PERRY JOURNEY 9 HARD RIHANNA FT. YOUNG JEEZY 9 (WILD CARD) M1000 KYOCERA
10 MEET ME HALFWAY BLACK EYED PEAS 4 WON’T GO QUIETLY 10 PARTY IN THE U.S.A MILEY CYRUS 10 8520 (CURVE) RIM (BLACKBERRY)
SOURCE: MOBILESTREAMS EXAMPLE SOURCE: FLYCELL SOURCE: FLYCELL
5 EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
ALICIA KEYS FT. JAY-Z

RINGTONES 6 ONE SHOT

JLS
MUSIC
RINGTONES.COM 7 STAY TOO LONG MELODI SOUTH AFRICA MELODI USA
TOP EURO FUNTONES, FEBRUARY PLAN B REALTONE SOUNDALIKES, FEBRUARY REALTONE SOUNDALIKES, FEBRUARY
SONG ARTIST 8 DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ SONG ARTIST SONG ARTIST
1 GIGGETY GIGGETY GIGGETY GOO FAMILY GUY GLEE CAST 1 SEXY CHICK DAVID GUETTA FT AKON 1 TIK TOK KESHA
2 THIS IS ALEXANDER, PICK UP THE PHONE MEERKAT 9 MANY OF HORROR 2 RUN THIS TOWN JAY-Z FT RIHANNA 2 BAD ROMANCE LADY GAGA
3 24 THEME TUNE TV SERIES BIFFY CLYRO 3 GOOD GIRLS GO BAD COBRA STARSHIP 3 FIREFLIES OWL CITY
4 ALL RIGHT, WHAT’S OCCURRING GAVIN AND STACEY 10 REPLAY 4 DOWN JAY SEAN FT LIL WAYNE 4 EMPIRE STATE OF MIND JAY-Z FT ALICIA KEYS
5 WHO THE HELL’S RINGING AT THIS TIME PETER KAY IYAZ 5 I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS MARIAH CAREY 5 HARD RIHANNA FT JEEZY
6 HOLY CRAP LOIS, A TEXT FAMILY GUY SOURCE: SHAZAM 6 I CAN TRANSFORM YA CHRIS BROWN 6 WATCHYA SAY JASON DERULO
7 YOU HAVE A MEERKAT MESSAGE MEERKAT 7 FIGHT FOR THIS LOVE CHERYL COLE 7 REPLAY IYAZ
8 I WON’T LIE TO YOU, YOU GOTTA TEXT NESSA 8 HOTEL ROOM SERVICE PITBULL 8 YOU BELONG WITH ME TAYLOR SWIFT
9 SPIDER PIG SONG THE SIMPSONS HOMER 9 PARTY IN THE USA MILEY CYRUS 9 3 BRITNEY SPEARS
10 SIMPLES! MEERKAT 10 3 BRITNEY SPEARS 10 DOWN JAY SEAN FT LIL WAYNE
SOURCE: MOBILESTREAMS SOURCE: MELODI MEDIA SOURCE: MELODI MEDIA

RINGTONES VIDEOS & WALLPAPERS

JAMSTER FONESTARZ TOP VIDEOS, FONESTARZ TOP WALLPAPERS,
TOP RINGTONES, FEBRUARY FEBRUARY FEBRUARY
SONG ARTIST VIDEOS WALLPAPER
1 I GOTTA FEELING BLACK EYED PEAS 1 LUCY PINDER 1 HOT MARIA
2 MEET ME HALFWAY BLACK EYED PEAS 2 SEXY CAM 2 SKULL STORM
3 FIGHT FOR THIS LOVE CHERYL COLE 3 YOUTUBE – BABY HULK 3 TIGER STORM
4 BAD ROMANCE LADY GAGA 4 BLACK EYED PEAS – MEET ME HALFWAY 4 PINK DOLPHIN
5 SEX ON FIRE KINGS OF LEON 5 CHERYL COLE – FIGHT FOR THIS LOVE 5 BUTTERFLY SWIRL
6 BAD BOYS ALEXANDRA BURKE 6 30H!3 FT. KATY PERRY – STARSTRUKK 6 PLAYBOY FLAMES
7 DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ JOURNEY 7 IYAZ – REPLAY 7 LOVE PULSE
8 RUSSIAN ROULETTE RIHANNA 8 SIDNEY SAMPSON – RIVERSIDE (LET’S GO) 8 TROPICAL FISH
9 REPLAY IYAZ 9 JOURNEY – DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ 9 DOUBLE LOVE HEARTS
10 LOVE SEX AND MAGIC JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE 10 YOUTUBE – LAUGHING BABY 10 BLING DICE
SOURCE: JAMSTER SOURCE: FONESTARZ SOURCE: FONESTARZ

GAMES ARTISTS & VIDEO

JAMSTER BINBIT LATIN AMERICA BINBIT LATIN AMERICA
TOP GAMES, FEBRUARY TOP ARTISTS, FEBRUARY TOP VIDEOS, FEBRUARY
GAME PUBLISHER SONG ARTIST SONG ARTIST
1 JEWEL QUEST III WORLD ADVENTURE EA MOBILE 1 FRUTA PROHIBIDA DRAGON & COBALLERO 1 SI NO TE HUBIERAS IDO MANA
2 THE SIMPSONS ARCADE EA MOBILE 2 DIME SI TE VAS CON EL NIGGA 2 LABIOS COMPARTIDOS MANA
3 TATTOO TYCOON HANDYGAMES 3 MENTIRAS PIADOSAS ALEJANDRA GUZMAN 3 TE AMO ALEXANDER ACHA
4 WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB I-PLAY 4 NO ME DOY POR VENCIDO LUIS FONSI 4 UNO, DOS, TRES MOTEL
5 CRAZY PENGUIN PARTY DIGITAL CHOCOLATE 5 LOCA ALEKS SYNTEK 5 EL REY (EN VIVO) MANA
6 THE SIMS 3 EA MOBILE 6 THE SIMPSONS THEME GREEN DAY 6 A LABIO DULCE ISKANDER
7 GO! GO! ISLAND RESCUE! CONNECT2MEDIA 7 TU ADIOS NO MATA INTOCABLE 7 LIKE A VIRGIN MADONNA
8 EA SPORTS FOOTBALL MANAGER EA MOBILE 8 TE AMO TANTO NIGGA 8 FRUTA PROHIBIDA DRAGON & CABELLERO
9 BEJEWELED TWIST POPCAP 9 SEXO, PUDOR Y LAGRIMAS ALEKS SYNTEK 9 CORAZON PARTIO ALEJANDRO SANZ
10 TETRIS EA MOBILE 10 MI DELIRIO ANAHI 10 AMIGA MIA ALEJANDRO SANZ
SOURCE: JAMSTER SOURCE: BINBIT SOURCE: BINBIT

26 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

27 ME61 Playphone Charts 11/2/10 09:40 Page 1

Title Publisher Title Artist Title Category

1 Wheel of Fortune Road Trip Sony Pictures 1 I Gotta Feeling Black Eyed Peas 1 ESPN Winter X Games 2010 ESPN
2 Deal or No Deal Mobliss 2 Vanilla Twilight Owl City 2 Kiss Me Thru Da Phone Pink Frosty
3 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Glu 3 ESPN Winter X Games Tone ESPN 3 Man In The Mirror Mobile Streams
4 JONAS! Disney 4 Drop It Low Ester Dean (ft. Chris Brown) 4 Blame It Pink Frosty
5 Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island Glu 5 Baby By Me 50 Cent 5 Snarling Wolf Versaly
6 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Glu 6 Breakup Mario (ft. Gucci Mane) 6 Earth Map Convisual
7 Jenga I-play 7 Meet Me Halfway Black Eyed Peas 7 Betty Boop In Love Airborne
8 Wheel of Fortune Deluxe Sony Pictures 8 Funhouse P!nk 8 ESPN Extreme Snowboarder ESPN
9 Family Feud Glu 9 Hoedown Throwdown Miley Cyrus 9 Omnitrix Cartoon Network
10 Ultimate Spider-Man Hands On 10 I Can Transform Ya Chris Brown (ft. Lil Wayne & Swizz Beatz) 10 Cool Fire-Breathing Dragon Versaly
11 2008 Weakest Link I-play 11 Do I Luke Bryan 11 Snake Glow Mobile Streams
12 Mercenaries2 I-play 12 Bless the Broken Road Rascal Flatts 12 Catus Rocker Tokidoki
13 Stolen in 60 seconds UFT 13 TiK ToK Ke$ha 13 Neon Ying Yang Convisual
14 PBA® Bowling Concrete Software 14 Gangsta Luv Snoop Dogg 14 Red Dethklok Logo Adult Swim
15 Dance Dance Dance - Lollipop Artificial Life 15 Sweet Dreams Beyonce 15 Optimus Prime Star Glu
16 Diamond Islands Digital Chocolate 16 Forever Drake (ft. Kanye, Lil Wayne, Eminem) 16 Kansas Elite Mobile Streams
17 Poker Pop Glu 17 Tuff Venture Bros. 17 Orbital Drop Baeg Tobar
18 Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Infusio 18 Party In The U.S.A. Miley Cyrus 18 Optimus Prime Transformation Glu
19 Gem Hunters Digital Chocolate 19 You Belong With Me Taylor Swift 19 Haters Make Us Famous Pink Frosty
20 Red Bull Air Racing Championship Artificial Life 20 Bless the Broken Road Rascal Flatts 20 Butterfly 2010 Fulep
28 ME61_Final 24/2/10 16:52 Page 1

from denisbul

CHARTS

BPLAY SMARTPHONE ENTERTAINMENT CHARTS

THRU FEBRUARY 15, 2010
TOP 20 THEMES TOP 20 GAMES
SMARTPHONE ENTERTAINMENT CHARTS SMARTPHONE ENTERTAINMENT CHARTS
THRU FEBRUARY 15, 2010 THRU FEBRUARY 15, 2010
TITLE CATEGORY PUBLISHER TITLE CATEGORY PUBLISHER
1 IBERRY 2.0 TODAY PLUS TODAY PLUS MAGMIC 1 BEJEWELED PUZZLE EA
2 EXPLORER 2.0 NEXT GEN MAGMIC 2 TEXAS HOLD'EM KING 3 CARDS/CASINO MAGMIC
3 IWIDGETS NEXT GEN MAGMIC 3 RISK STRATEGY/BOARD EA
4 IBERRY EDGE TODAY PLUS TODAY PLUS MAGMIC 4 TETRIS PUZZLE EA
5 FLOWBERRY NEXT GEN MAGMIC 5 MAHJONG SOLITAIRE CARDS/CASINO MAGMIC
6 PINK MAGIC ANIMATED MAGMIC 6 GUITAR HERO 5 ACTION/ARCADE GLU
7 SALTWATER ANIMATED MAGMIC 7 COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 ACTION/ARCADE GLU
8 TINKER BELL DISNEY DISNEY 8 CHUZZLE™ PUZZLE POPCAP GAMES
9 GLITTER MOTION ANIMATED MAGMIC 9 PARTY ISLAND™: SOLITAIRE MULTIPACK CARDS/CASINO DIGITAL CHOCOLATE
10 IBERRY PSYCHEDELIC ICON MAGMIC 10 THE SIMS 3 ACTION/ARCADE EA
11 VALENTINE PINK ZEN ZEN MAGMIC 11 JEWEL QUEST III PUZZLE EA
12 TINKER BELL PINK DISNEY DISNEY 12 PHASE 10 CARDS/CASINO MAGMIC/FUNDEX
13 IBERRY PINK TODAY PLUS TODAY PLUS MAGMIC 13 TETRIS POP PUZZLE EA
14 IBERRY PINK ZEN ZEN MAGMIC 14 NO LIMIT CASINO 12 PACK CARDS/CASINO DIGITAL CHOCOLATE
15 SOLAR SLIDESHOW ROTATING BACKGROUND MAGMIC 15 SOLITAIRE LEGENDS CARDS/CASINO MAGMIC
16 BEACHES OF THE WORLD ROTATING BACKGROUND MAGMIC 16 SUDOKU PUZZLE MAGMIC
17 IBERRY 2.0 ICON MAGMIC 17 BOOKWORM PUZZLE POPCAP GAMES
18 WATERFALL ANIMATED MAGMIC 18 DOOM 2 RPG ACTION/ARCADE EA
19 IBERRY 2.0 ZEN ZEN MAGMIC 19 SPIDER SOLITAIRE CARDS/CASINO MAGMIC
20 IBERRY NEO ZEN ZEN MAGMIC 20 SPADES CARDS/CASINO MAGMIC
SOURCE: MAGMIC GAMES - BPLAY SOURCE: MAGMIC GAMES - BPLAY

28 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

29-32 ME61_Final 26/2/10 16:48 Page 1

MOBILE MARKETPLACE

MOBILEMARKETPLACEINDEX
The Mobile Marketplace offers a complete
ADMODA KATINA
marketing package of print, online and
08707 661 992 078 3366 4075 editorial visibility, allowing companies to
www.admoda.com http://katinaleisure.com maintain contact with readers each month
without the cost of full display advertising.

The Mobile Marketplace and its associated

ELITE LOGIC 3 online version has also been designed to
01543 268 826 01923 471 000 offer readers a directory of all products and
services in the content industry. A presence in
www.elite-systems.co.uk www.logic3.com this section ensures that your company’s
details are easily found, keeping you one step
ahead of your competitors.
IMPULSE PAY PARTNERTRANS
The standard package includes:
0207 099 2450 01753 247731  1/4 page advert in each issue
www.impulsepay.com www.partnertrans.com  Regular editorial coverage in the
dedicated column
 Company details listed in the online directory
with web link and marketplace index
INLOGIC SMART SMS
+421 904 628 889 +966 149 403 46
www.inlogic.eu www.smartsms.com.sa

INMOBI SPLASH
+44 (0)20 7470 7175 0870 934 2666
http://inmobi.com www.splashnews.com
To get your company featured here contact

WWW.MOBILE-ENT.BIZ/MARKETPLACE
[email protected]
t: +44 (0) 1992 535647
PUBLISHER MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDER

Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 29

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29-32 ME61_Final 26/2/10 16:48 Page 2

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE
DISTRIBUTION AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

LOCALISATION

30 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

29-32 ME61_Final 26/2/10 16:48 Page 3

MOBILE MARKETPLACE
VIDEO/PICTURE AGGREGATION MARKETPLACE NEWS

Game A Day for consumers

Games publisher Connect2Media, Business will make full use of its
Tokyo-based consultancy Interarrows strong links with Japan to manage
and developer DigitalCity the service. Connect2Media
Business have teamed up will handle the marketing.
to launch a Flash “The Game A Day
games service. offering allows us to
Game A Day will offer deliver fun new games
consumers regular new in a totally fresh way
Flash games by subscription. and reach the ‘Holy Grail’
It’s based on the model made of consumers who would
popular in Japan, but is relatively never have previously
untested with Western gamers. purchased entertainment content on
Interarrows will source games from their mobiles,” said Connect2Media
the Japanese market, while DigitalCity CEO Eric Hobson.

Admoda serves 3bn ads

a month
UK company Admoda, which also runs
the adult-oriented Adultmoda service,
says it recorded 3.3 billion ad requests
last month.
It adds that both units have more
deals in in the pipeline.
Terry Jackson, CEO of Admoda, said:
“We are particularly excited about this
growth because it is all high quality
traffic – we actually reject about 70
per cent of all publishers who sign up converting traffic. Our 90 per cent
MOBILE ADVERTISING with us. rebook rate from advertisers is
“Our strategy is to allow only testimony to the quality and volume,
publishers with good quality sites and of traffic we provide.”
apps onto our network. Our The company revised the look and
advertisers therefore run ads only on feel of its websites last month, and
great sites, which translates into added a company blog.

Apple bans adult apps

Apple’s decision to clamp down on
‘adult’ apps, but keep faith with big-
name brands has received a withering
response from ‘indies’ like Katina
Leisure’s Steve Shields.
“We lost 150,000 unique Affiliate
visitors a day from a single client that
had all of its Apple apps pulled with
no warning,” he said.
He added that the loss is a small
dent in Katina’s overall business, while
pointing out that it’s still making
money from iPhone users via its
browser-based premium rate WAP
services. Should Apple clamp down on
that, there really would be problems. these comments:“What’s the difference
“Apple accounts for around six per between a bikini or lingerie-clad Playboy
cent of our traffic. If it suddenly barred model, and one that doesn’t come
access to all erotic material, it would embedded in a branded app? There’s no
be much more serious for us.” doubt in my mind that the emerging
Julia Dimambro, founder of mobile alternatives to the App Store will benefit
adult publisher Cherrysauce, echoed greatly from this ridiculous decision.”

SEND YOUR NEWS TO [email protected]

www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 31

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MOBILE MARKETPLACE
MARKETPLACE NEWS SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

PlayPhone’s great
worldwide Alexander
US content specialist PlayPhone has Other enhancements include the
revealed a new delivery platform configuration of device databases that
called ‘Alexander’, which will power all are updated automatically as soon as
its worldwide D2C and B2B downloads. they are configured in PlayPhone’s
The platform allows off-deck sale and central node and are replicated across
delivery of content such as apps, music, all running storefronts. Content can be
video and games to multiple devices delivered through WAP, SMS, MMS and
and platforms. It’s connected to more streaming depending on carrier/device
than 80 carriers in the US, UK, Germany, capabilities. There’s also a backup
France, Italy, Brazil, China and Spain. feature called the Content Vault.
Alexander has been improved by Last month PlayPhone revealed yet
allowing operators to tailor content to another brand partner in NBC TV, for
user niches. Similarly, it can present which it will mobilise content based
customers with customised content on shows like 30 Rock (see below),
suggestions based on their profile and Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Law and
past behaviour. Order, The Office and others.

SMS SERVICES

InMobi lands hi5 deal

hi5, the largest social networking site Cathy Meyer, InMobi’s senior director
in Thailand, has selected InMobi to of ad operations at hi5, said: “InMobi’s
serve ads on its site. local language support and local sales
InMobi got the exclusive deal based efforts has dramatically increased the
on its scale in Asia Pacific and its local ad revenue for our mobile site, while
market knowledge. It says it has simultaneously offering our consumers
already seen a 200 per cent growth in locally relevant advertising.”
ad requests in the first two months of hi5 is available in 50 languages and
the partnership. reaches 50 million monthly visitors.

Qualcomm to supercharge
gaming for mobiles
The 1GHz Snapdragon processor those devices.” He hinted at Qualcomm’s
made by chipset giant Qualcomm future for the processor, which extends
could make gaming on the mobile to a 2GHz version.
rival PSP and DS by the end of the Frankel is also bullish about the
year, say Qualcomm execs. emerging smartbook sector. “Apple’s
Snapdragon is already powering the giving the whole category a boost
Nexus One handset. Mark with iPad. I think there’ll be
Frankel, Qualcomm’s VP of more light thin clamshell-
product management, told type devices and tablet
ME:“There’ll be specific devices. But the more
game-centric platforms portable this product space
launched around is, the more user demand
Snapdragon. You’ll see that there’ll be for 3G
gaming is the main focus of connectivity.”

SEND YOUR NEWS TO [email protected]

32 | March 2010 Mobile Entertainment www.mobile-ent.biz

33 ME61_Final 26/2/10 16:03 Page 1

GSMA: Crap but human were the

rent with its awards this year. Gone
The GSMA tried to do something diffe e a stan d up buffet, mob ile chic
their place cam
formality and the sit down dinner. In welc ome d a sit
correspondent would have
and Duran Duran. Your knackered ME host Step hen Fry. Whe n HTC won a
, for comedic
down to be honest. Thank God then hy on to the
GSMA forgot to bring the trop
best handset award for the Hero, the robotic
the audi ence that the GSMA may seem like a faceless
stage. Fry reminded the rest of .
us” Nice .
and hum an as
organisation, but is just as “useless

Stephen Fry –
even his dancing
is funny
Fry may win prizes for defusing
e
embarrassment, but he’s less impressiv
e floor. During the main part
on the danc
of the awards, Fry invited winners to
make a short speech or “express their
pleasure through the medium of
dance”. Claudia Poepperl, old mate of
ME’s and a former lynchpin of the MEF,
took Fry at his word when she won
the Best Mobile Internet Service
Winner prize with her new company
Adafix. She told us: “I’m Austrian, and
what do Austrians do? We waltz. He
tried his best, but Stephen Fry is a
terrible dancer.”

Wacky races, mobile-style than Qualcomm’s

ent? Look no further
Sweetest business model of the mom t’s
that call emergen cy serv ices when there’s an accident. And wha
connected cars their network settings, perhaps?
rs fiddl ing with
going to cause the accident? Drive

list
Never listen to a venture capitaCorb ett during
ders Gilles Raymond and Giles
ME caught up with ex-in-Fusio foun in-Fusio
full horror of their missed opportunities when
MWC. They disclosed the tly their supe r-brainy VCs
es firm . Apparen
was the world’s biggest mobile gam es you wan t to cry.
million euros in 2004. Mak
persuaded them to turn down 300

Bunch of
winkers
The Japanese take their
tech very seriously, even
when everyone else is
laughing. So without
doubt the star of MWC
was the poker-faced
demonstrator of the
firm’s eyeball controlled
earphones. Next year,
live tickling.

Late to the WAC party lesale The MEF’s party on Mobile World Cong
ld ask us what we thought of the Who ress Monday was packed
Occasionally at MWC someone wou A on the Mon day. “We’ll tell you
as ever, more so given the driving rain
that prevented revellers
d by the GSM
Application Community as announce explanation
nipping outside. Here are some pics
featuring execs from Nokia,
stock reply. Still waiting for the full
when we know what it is,” was our a rum our that of the 24 operators Telenor, 4th Screen, A3 Media and,
of course, the obligatory
we did hear
(we are lined up for an interview), but started... finger pointing shot from Pocketga
mer’s Chris James.
rday before the show
that signed up, ten did so on the Satu
www.mobile-ent.biz Mobile Entertainment March 2010 | 33
34 ME61_Final 26/2/10 16:06 Page 1

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FAVOURITES
500 sq ft of Paul Goode GILLES RAYMOND,
CEO, Mobiles Republic
been many
The GSMA’s Mobile Media Metrics has
s in the gest ation , and it was no surprise to WHICH PHONE DO YOU CURRENTLY
year
on IMAX
see its official unveiling at the Lond OWN?
‘sold out’ . But for all the jubilation, this was Right now the Samung Corby, a grea
cinema t
t. Why ? Beca use
ultimately a terrifying nigh mass-market touchscreen phone.
ded it wou ld be a good idea to
someone deci
s prais ing the
show a video of industry exec WHAT’S THE BEST PHONE YOU’VE
n is 20 feet
project in extreme close-up. That scree EVER HAD AND WHY?
de is a
high and 26 feet wide! Now, Paul Goo BlackBerry, because it was the first
phone
is kind of
handsome man in a chiselled Ed Harr to move people on from voice.
But 500 squa re feet of the Goo de head? Too
way.
much of a goode thing, we think. HOW MANY TEXTS DO YOU SEND
A DAY?
At least one.
Back-stabbing
CURRENT RINGTONE?
arseholes Japonese sakuachi music. It’s very zen.
d stole
Needless to say, Ogilvy’s Rory Sutherlan
at the Mob ile Med ia Metr ics event as WALLPAPER?
the show
the My family.
usual. The wonderful speaker said that
es mob ile towa rds a new matu rity,
project mov
mob ile even ts have FAVOURITE MOBILE GAME?
and concluded: “Until now,
the Brain Challenge by Gameloft. Also in-
always been pleasant affairs because
we’re all Fusio’s Age of Empire. Microsoft neve
opportunity is a collective one. Now r
now on, expected us to pull that off!
competing against each other. From
e all goin g to be back -stab bing arseholes.”
we’r
FAVOURITE APP?
APPY of course.
We learned from MOBILE INTERNET BOOKMARKS?
the Xperia Wikipedia. As important as the first
Encyclopedia from Diderot.
sense of
What has happened to Sony Ericsson’s
faced with a
irony? On Sunday, journalists were WHAT’S THE WORST IDEA YOU’VE
Both had
choice: Sony Ericsson or Samsung. SEEN IN MOBILE?
dule d even ts at the sam e time . ME chose the
sche The camera phone. It
show s tend to be clinically
former, as Samsung increased phone cost
hum ourle ss affai rs. But did we really hear
efficient by five euros, killed the
ion was to make the
right when SE said its miss camera business, killed
e? And that its X10 mini wou ld ‘change
world smil the wallpaper
d this ludic rous mush
the industry forever’? Coul business and
com e from the land of Berg man and
really have generated zero MMS
ard Strin ger, the
Strindberg? It was left to How revenue. Also, the
the right
British boss of Sony Corp, to sound belief that everything
ed the
note. When asked if SE had really turn that works on the
ior Sony exec s only come to
corner he said: “Sen web works on mobile.
e even ts whe n som ethin g big is happening
thes
s.”
– I haven’t been here for three year

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