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Archive for the ‘Mobile & VoIP’ Category

MonkeyBongo Ringtones

17 Feb 2006

MonkeyBongo is about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen for mobile content. They have six tools available for free to help you customize your phone. The best of those six apps is without any doubt the ‘OneClickRingtones’.
Filed under: Whoaaah.

Turn all your MP3’s into ringtones…with a single click! OneClickRingtones searches your computer for MP3 files and displays them letting you select which files you want to convert to MP3 ringtones. Select one song, or ALL of your MP3 collection. Select how long you want the new MP3 ringtones to be and click to create the new files. Your new MP3 ringtones will be stored in their own folder and your original files will not be affected.

MonkeyBongo

The other 5 cool things:

  • RingtoneEditor : lets you edit your existing MP3 ringtones to your exact liking. You can import your newly created MP3 ringtones or select a CD track and select the exact location and length of the final ringtone before uploading to your phone.
  • Voice2Ringtone : lets you use your own voice recording as a ringtone.
  • WallpaperCreator : lets you create and upload your own custom cell phone wallpaper easier than ever before.
  • MidiEditor : a powerful MIDI creation tool that lets you make your own MIDI ringtones. Select from a large assortment of instruments, build your new MIDI ringtone, save it and then upload it direct to your cell phone.
  • Upload2Phone : the easiest way to upload your newly created cell phone wallpaper and MP3 ringtones to your Internet enabled cell phone.

Check out MonkeyBongo – via [Ringtonia]

 
3 Comments

Posted in Mobile & VoIP, Tools

 

Microsoft Goes Mobile

13 Feb 2006

Microsoft is now the proud owner of MotionBridge, a Paris-based company that specializes in mobile search.

From C|Net:

“The emerging field of mobile search is strategically important and crucial to delivering on our vision for Windows Live of providing a seamless and rich information experience for individuals and businesses across devices,” MSN corporate vice president Christopher Payne said in a statement. “With MotionBridge, we are excited to continue to offer mobile operators the tools to maximize the value of their content and data networks, and provide a powerful search engine for mobile users.”

Comments from TechDirt:

Microsoft seems to be taking the slow and steady approach, both with online search and additional mobile offerings. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re playing catch up — just being methodical, if history is any indicator. So, while Google and Yahoo may jump out to the early lead, it will be interesting to see if Microsoft becomes a disruptor as a late, but powerful, entrant.

I agree with Mike, based on a conversation I recently had with Kris Hoet over at Microsoft Benelux. It’s not about who’s first. It’s all about who delivers the solid app that serves all the users and cashes in. Microsoft is known for its quiet market entries, only to take over the market share from others with a robust service. I can’t wait to see where this is going to lead to. Stay tuned for this one !

MotionBridge

 
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Posted in Corporate News, Mobile & VoIP, Search

 

Million Dollar Homepage Goes Mobile

09 Feb 2006

Yawn.

Surfing on the wave of the original Alex Tew Milliondollarhomepage we decided to invest our time, energy and creativity to propose to you that page where you can :

  • Advertise your mobile oriented company, products , services, content, buying pixels on our page (See Home)
  • Get more traffic on your website
  • Increase your sales

The idea came up in order to start a project we had a few time ago. Once the funds collected, we will use them to start our own mobile oriented company.

You can buy pixels on our website by block of 100 pixels (10 x 10) minimum. This is the minimum number of pixels required to make your block meaningfully visible (i.e. so that users can actually click on it).

So in order to maximize the scam, they let you buy for at least 100 Euros (120 USD), otherwise it’s a no-show. The marketing benefits are poor, but apparently they expect a lot of coverage, because the (empty) press page is already up.

Why this scam is different than the original million dollar homepage?
Apparently these nutheads are giving away around 100.000 Euros in prize money with lottery jackpots on a few milestones to their way to the million pixels. In fact, the last person that buys a 10 pixel block gets a 10.000 Euro bonus. Something smells bad. Really bad.

If you’re planning to start up a mobile company and don’t have the cash for that, why the hell would you throw away 100.000 Euros on your way to the million pixels? If you’re starting up a ‘mobile related company’ (could it be any less specific) you’ll need every dime you can collect.

Good luck.

Check out the Pixel-Mobile site – via [Textually]

In Nathan’s post of Sept. 21st last year, there are 183 comments, and most of them are promoting a thing like Million Dollar Homepage, be it with another name. I’m not quite sure this one will be ‘it’ just because they named it ‘mobile’.

Even more stupid is the idea Kemal Yildiz came up with. This 24 year old electro-mechanic has based his idea on the million dollar homepage too and he’s looking for 5 sponsors (yeah, you read that right: five) that would like to sponsor him to get his new car (a Volkswagen Golf V, the 1.9 TDI being € 24.105, $ 28.824, to give you an idea).

I don’t know what is more stupid: looking for sponsors that pony up 5000 Euro just to have their logo somewhere on the car for 5 years (and what incase of an accident, for instance?), or thinking this might actually work. For sale: his four doors and the trunk. Send mail to Kemal if you want to be part of this unique plan, and are ready to invest 5000 Euros in someone you’ve never met and probably will never see again. Hah !

 
1 Comment

Posted in Marketing, Mobile & VoIP

 

Comedy on Your Mobile

09 Feb 2006

Reuters reports that the BBC is about to launch mepisodes (mobile episodes) of a few famous comedy series. Together with that, to please the fans and skim some more cash, BBC will also release ringtones and wallpapers/pictures of the series.

The BBC has struck a deal with mobile phone company Orange to offer clips and ringtones from shows such as “The Office,” “Little Britain” and “Doctor Who.”

Under terms of the deal between France Telecom’s Orange unit and BBC Worldwide, the broadcaster’s commercial arm, users will be able to purchase ringtones, photos or videos from Thursday.

There has been a surge of similar deals in the last year as mobile phone companies try to build traffic on their expensive 3G networks and content providers like the BBC try to branch out from TV onto new media platforms such as mobile phones and the Internet

Although BBC’s Mobile homepage still doesn’t display these features that were announced, Orange users might expect them soon. UK only, I presume.

Related :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/littlebritain/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/

 
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Posted in Marketing, Mobile & VoIP

 

GMail Web Based Chat

09 Feb 2006

Philipp and I tested out the GMail Chat Google has recently released. Philipp took a screenshot and added some findings about this feature.

If you’re unsure whether or not you already have this feature, log-in to your Gmail account. If after logging in you are presented with a full-page help text on the chat feature, then you have it. You will then notice a “Quick Contacts” box to the left side. Basically, that’s your Google Talk contacts list.

Now you no longer need to download and install the GTalk software to chat with your friends. Which is cool. We haven’t tested the voice over IP, and I don’t think it’s activated. Too bad. Let’s hope that follows soon.

Read more on Google Blogoscoped

 
3 Comments

Posted in Mobile & VoIP, Search, Technology

 

First Clickable Mobile Ad

08 Feb 2006

The Pondering Primate points to iMedia Connection:

First there was click to call on a mobile site or SMS, now there’s click to call for a mobile ad. Are you getting permission because the WAP site is doing the advertising? If so, this is a little push to get some pull.

From iMedia Connection :

The Weather Channel Interactive (TWCI) has announced that its mobile group will be launching its first “clickable” mobile ad campaign, for ArubaTourism.

The ads, developed by Atlanta-based Fitzgerald+CO, will appear on The Weather Channel Mobile internet pages and will feature a banner-style ad that when clicked redirects users to an interactive information page. From the information page of the ad, users can click an 800 number, which will then initiate a call to the Aruba Tourism information center. The ad leverages new technology developed by Third Screen Media and its MADX Publisher solution.

This made me wonder. Suppose I get to see the ad, would I care for an international call to the Aruba Tourism Center? Or would there be a local center too? Then: am I willing to pay to get information about an ad I see? How much is it going to cost me? Or is an 800 number a free number in all countries, because in Belgium for instance, a 0800 number is free to call. I was just wondering… I can see there’s a market for this, I’m just not sure about the ‘how’ this thing works. I for one would not like to pay to hear advertisement.

Read more on iMedia

 
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Posted in Advertising, Interactive, Marketing, Mobile & VoIP

 

Google Talk Mirror

07 Feb 2006

Today, when I was at work, I downloaded and installed GTalk on my laptop. First thing I noticed was the message of the GTalk History 2 GMail, which I blogged earlier. Next thing I noticed was that gtalk.com actually is registered by Hasbro, the games & toys & youth electronics entertainment company. How weird. I thought Google was the owner of the dotcoms of all their products. Seems they aren’t.

Last remark I have to add is this: while I was at work, I logged in with my usual account and chatted throughout the afternoon while I was doing some research for a few projects at work. When I came back home just now, I noticed all the chat windows of the people I talked with were open, and I actually never signed out here, at home. I could see the entire conversation I had with each my chat buddies. Perhaps it is because the chat windows were still open, because one person I talked to wasn’t displayed here, only Nathan and Jason, and both windows of our previous conversation hadn’t been closed because we talked through the night and until I left for work.

Now this raises a few issues. Not only is my chat history being stored on two computers, my account allows double usage, or maybe even more. Compared to MSN or other chat clients, where you’re logged out when logging in on another device, this leaves the door open to some privacy issues I think. Agreed, I have to make sure I log out, but suppose the ‘remember me feature’ was clicked accidentally while logging in, that means someone else could remotely tune in and keep track of all my conversations, not by going through the chatlogs, but actually ‘live’ as they are happening.

I don’t know if it’s such a big deal. I just thought it was really weird to come home and see all the open IM windows with conversations I had with people while I was physically approximately 25km (15.5 miles) away, logged in on another PC and on another network. That kind of freaked me out a bit.

Here’s what you can do to simulate this: at home, open a few chat windows to buddies. Leave home, go elsewhere and log in again. Talk to the same people of whom you’ve left the chat windows open. You’ll see the result when you come back home, even if you’ve logged out on the second (remote) computer.

 
1 Comment

Posted in Mobile & VoIP, Thoughts

 

Google Talk Chat History

07 Feb 2006

I’ve been wondering where my chat history is being saved. Checking the temp folders, the program files and all other possible places never reveiled anything clickable.

Then I checked the local settings and saw a folder named Google, which contained the subfolders Google Talk and chatlogs. But none of the files in the chatlogs folder make sense. They merely seem to be cookies that say when you talked with someone and how long the session lasted.

So. Every so often I was trying to look up things I received, like URLs or messages, but I failed to find them again.

Update: TheTalkers, the google talkers community, pointed out they are full logs, and they can be decoded with the GoogleTalk LogViewer. (thanks, Nathan)

Well… no more apparently, cuz when I installed GTalk today on my laptop at work, I got the message I could save chat messages to GMail, and have them marked as regular messages.

Also there seems to be an ‘off the record’ button that allows me to prevent others to save the chat conversation.

As the Google Chat History Saving states :

One of our users’ most commonly-requested features is finally here! Now you can save your chat histories to your Gmail account. There, your chat histories are just like Gmail messages–you can view them, forward them, print them or search for them. Never worry about losing something important from your chats again.

You can choose to enable chat history saving when you’re notified of this new feature in Google Talk. This setting can also be changed at any time from “Settings” in either Google Talk or Gmail.

Saved chats show up in Gmail search results, but you can also see all your saved chats in one place, in the “Chats” folder of your Gmail account. [...]

Once a chat is saved in Gmail, it becomes just like a Gmail message. Each line in “Chats” represents an individual chat. You can print, star, apply labels to, and delete chats just as you would for any message in Gmail. To delete, you can either select the chat and hit the “Delete” button, or hit “Delete” while viewing the chat directly.

Most important notice :

9. Is there a new Google Talk privacy policy associated with this feature?

Yes. Please see our updated privacy policy, with tracked changes.

Read more on Google

Most likely this is a feature that went live together with the integrated chat in GMail Nathan blogged about.

“You will be able to talk with any Google Talk users, or with users of any service that works with Google Talk, from within the Gmail interface. As this screenshot shows, a mini IM windows will appear in the Gmail interface on the lower right-hand side, letting you hold multiple conversations without ever leaving your email.”

Read what Nathan blogged.

Philipp has a nice review posted, with some screenshots included that illustrate the new features.

 
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Posted in Corporate News, Mobile & VoIP, Tools

 
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