ENTERTAINMENT
Helio Gets Buzzd
By Wireless Week Staff
Helio is partnering with Buzzd to provide real-time entertainment information about bars, clubs and restaurants based on Helio members' locations.
The service is accessible on all Helio devices via the MVNO's WAP deck. Members of the Buzzd community give reviews and ratings of events or venues and share them with friends. All U.S. major cities are covered, according to a press release.
The Buzzd service also allows subscribers to find, connect with and send messages to friends via SMS and messaging features.
Events and venues are aggregated through partnerships with Flavorpill, TimeOut New York and CitySearch. User-generated feedback for real-time activity about venues and events is layered at the top of event listings throughout the platform.
Users register for the service by clicking the "Buzzd" link from the Helio deck or texting "join" to 96321.
Watch Out for "TEXT"
By Monica Alleven
 A little snow didn't keep the crew of independent film "TEXT" from shooting in Parker, Colo., this week.
That's right. "TEXT" is a teen thriller that tells the story of a high-school senior who searches for answers after her best friends are killed shortly after receiving mysterious text messages on their cell phones. Sounds ominous…
The film's creators decided to use the text messaging medium for their horror film in part, because, well, "kids are doing it like crazy and the film audience is those kids," says spokeswoman Lela Meadow-Conner.
When completed, the film just might send a chill up the spines of teens, but it's probably not going to deter them from text messaging, she says. Meadow-Conner wasn't sure whether the filmmakers consulted anyone in the text messaging industry technology-wise, but surmised they would probably be interested in doing so.
But there's more. The filmmakers are also shooting a "co-quel," as opposed to a sequel, called "POD" that focuses on a college campus and involves iPODs. No word yet on whether the producers are considering making movies specifically for cell phones, or iPhones, for that matter.
Boost Makes Valentine's Offer
By Monica Alleven
Now through Feb. 15, Boost Mobile is allowing its subscribers access to a Valentine's Day giveaway powered by Crush or Flush, the mobile social networking platform that allows users to rate and meet people through their mobile phone.
Boost Mobile customers will have a chance to win prizes, including flat screen TVs, $100 Visa gift cards or a Disneyland vacation, in the Crush or Flush Valentine's Day giveaway sponsored by IceBreaker. Each customer will receive one entry for each day they log in to Crush or Flush from their Boost Mobile handset and can earn extra entries by adding pictures to their Crush or Flush profiles. It costs 69 cents a day to use the service, which includes anonymous chat, personalized profile filter and the Crush list.
In the first 15 days of the promotion, Boost already had 30,000 people sign up, according to Courtney Bunn, product marketing manager for Boost. The collaboration with Icebreaker works well because the company comes to the table prepared with prizes that Boost's audience will like, she says.
Boost has been offering Crush or Flush for almost a year. It can be found in the date and chat area on the deck. The service, targeted to 18- to 34-year-olds, allows users to look at pictures and Crush or Flush them, depending on their likes.
In other Boost news, the company introduced a new $1/day voice plan and dropped the price of its 600-minute premium pay-as-you-go plan from $70 to $60 a month. The new chat plan offers unlimited nights, unlimited mobile-to-mobile and a daytime rate of 10 cents a minute.
The Premium Plan offers three monthly rates - $30, $50 and now $60 – and includes unlimited nationwide Walkie-Talkie services, which makes it a great value, says Sam DiSalvo, Boost senior manager of marketing. Users can make calls to other Boost users but also to subscribers of Sprint Nextel, which owns Boost.
Thumbplay Courts TV Broadcasters
By Wireless Week Staff
Thumbplay introduced a set of self-service, extensible tools to enable TV content creators to roll their own mobile entertainment content storefronts. Thumbplay also announced the first broadcasters to take advantage of its offering: Entertainment Tonight and A&E Television Networks (AETN).
Thumbplay says its toolkit allows broadcasters to create hosted mini-stores, widgets and search-based integration through which broadcasters' Websites can promote and sell mobile content, including ringtones, wallpaper, games and video clips. Broadcasters also can create new sponsorship inventory on their Websites and tap into a new revenue stream – selling their licensed content for download to mobile devices. In addition, broadcasters can cross-promote their brands and assets to Thumbplay's subscriber base at Thumbplay.com and the company's range of syndication partners.
Thumbplay says it has a strong consumer following, with more than 75,000 pieces of mobile entertainment content under license, including ringtones, wallpapers, games, videos, voice tones and text-based services.
MOBILE ADVERTISING
Ringleader Debuts New Name, Secures Financing
By Monica Alleven
Sometimes it makes more sense to put the old behind and start with a new brand. That's what MoPhap decided, switching its name to Ringleader Digital as it seeks to make a new name for itself in the mobile advertising space.
 MoPhap, referring to mobile phone applications, served a purpose while it lasted, but it's time to move ahead with Ringleader, which better describes the company's business going forward, according to CEO Bob Walczak, who originally founded the company with the idea of filling the time it takes to move from one page to another with advertising. While the company focuses on the mobile space, the Digital part of the name encompasses digital mediums such as online and television, as well as the core functionality in mobile, he says.
"The reason we started with mobile - it's a complex space to serve ads and we've really worked to clarify that," he says.
This week, Ringleader announced a $6 million Series A round of venture funding led by W2 Group. In a press release, W2 group CEO Larry Weber called Ringleader the "first mobile advertising network that finally fulfills the promise and potential of the Mobile Web. Right now, other mobile advertising networks are complicated, segmented and filled with guess work and administrative headaches. Ringleader takes online advertising and puts it on mobile devices. It doesn't get less complicated than that."
Ringleader's platform can integrate with Atlas and DoubleClick, for example, so agencies can see Ringleader's inventory in an environment with which they are familiar.
Ringleader has done mobile campaigns involving brands such as Absolut, Best Western and Blu-Ray.
New Ad Alliance Forms
By Wireless Week Staff
Ahead of next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, some software players are getting together, with promises to revolutionize the mobile phone network as an advertising and direct marketing opportunity.
The Mobile Advertising Alliance is a venture between software vendors Anam, Cibenix, Mobile Cohesion, Openet and SLA Mobile. Each firm provides a component of the mobile advertising platform.
The group says the platform provides secure access to operator-owned demographic, behavioral and contextual profiling data and provides multiple media channels to deliver personalized and targeted campaigns.
LOCATION
Sprint Adds Phones for Family Locator
By Wireless Week Staff
The Sprint Family Locator service is now available on all Web-enabled Sprint phones. In addition, more than 100 Sprint phones can be located by the service, including all currently available Sprint phones.
Launched in April 2006, Sprint Family Locator enables families to locate one another using GPS. Parents can log in on their phone or a PC to locate a child on an interactive map, even when the child is using their phone to make a call or send a text, the carrier says. The service also gives the address, surrounding landmarks and accuracy of the child's location within a specified radius, along with the ability to click to call or send a text to the child directly from the service.
The service also enables a parent to set Safety Checks at certain landmarks such as a school, home or relative's house, at specified times. The parent is automatically notified whether the loved one is near the specified landmark at the set time.
The Family Locator service costs $9.99 a month.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
 Mig33 Adds BlackBerry Capability
By Wireless Week Staff
As part of efforts to reach more U.S. consumers, global mobile social network mig33 is making software available for BlackBerry users so they can use its services.
Compatibility with the Blackberry is just the first step in a targeted plan to engage U.S. consumers with the mig33 platform. In the coming months the company will announce the availability of additional offerings designed specifically for the U.S. user, according to a press release.
Worldwide, more than 10 million people have signed on to use mig33's mix of free and low-cost services, including VoIP calls, instant messaging, e-mail, text messaging, picture sharing and community features.
Last month, the company closed a $13.5 million Series B round of funding.
Yojo Offers Form of Relief
By Wireless Week Staff
A lot of folks will be heading to Barcelona, Spain, for the Mobile World Congress next week. But what to do about the, er, bathroom situation?
Never fear, Yojo Mobile has the solution for convention-goers with "urgent" needs. MizPee for Europe guides people to the nearest clean toilet based on peer reviews and ratings of facilities.
The Barcelona show marks a first for Yojo. The service first launched in June 2007 in North America and was expanded to include Barcelona, London, Paris and Rome. It will be expanding to more European cities in the coming months.
The company explains that Mizpee.eu users can access MizPee's WAP interface by using their mobile Web browser to retrieve a list of nearby toilets and their details. MizPee tells users if the facilities are handicap accessible and if the toilet is designated for public use or restricted to customers only.
Content, including "Looisms" – or bathroom trivia – also is available on the MizPee Website and via the mobile Web browser.
Sounds like a worthwhile service for people who have to go while on the go.
Mobile Content News Briefs - February 08, 2008
Companies in this issue's briefs: Loopt, CBS Mobile, Blue Frog Mobile, go2 Media, mywaves, Oxy Systems, Discovery Communications, Crisp Wireless, Medio Systems, Disney, FoneStarz, Medeo, Nokia, dotMobi Advisory Group, FatWire Software, Millennial Media, MLB, Vodafone, NeuStar, Funambol, Simdesk
• Loopt lassoed a deal with CBS Mobile to deliver location-based mobile Website advertisements. The ads won't be via SMS; they appear non-intrusively on mobile Websites. Location history is not stored.
• Blue Frog Mobile, doing business as Blue Frog Media, filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection on Feb. 1. The interactive TV solution provider is based in Seattle.
• go2 Media announced the availability of go2 Elections '08, a mobile Website providing coverage of the 2008 presidential election.
• Mywaves expanded distribution to the Research In Motion BlackBerry Pearl 8130 smartphone, the Apple iPhone, Symbian S60 platform and four Palm handheld devices. In addition, the company says Handmark will distribute mywaves' videos to devices through its global distribution channels.
• Oxy Systems' phling! MusicLounge service will be made available this year via the Nokia Download application. Oxy Systems says the phling! MusicLounge transforms mobile music from the traditional solo listening experience into a music-based social experience.
• Discovery Communications announced the addition of new portals for Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Health and Planet Green content that consumers can access through their mobile phones, as well as through each network's individual Web addresses. The new discoverymobile.com site, built by Crisp Wireless, includes live TV listings updated in real time, the ability to sign up for SMS reminders when favorite shows are airing and a state-by-state dog park locator from Animal Planet. Discovery plans to integrate dynamic ads on the site in coming months using clickable banners.
• Medio Systems announced the launch of the Medio On-Device Portal (ODP) embedded on the handset and created specifically for mass-market mobile phone users. The Medio ODP gives mobile users 1-click access to mobile content including real-time news, sport scores, weather, flight status and local directory information. The Medio ODP is available now on T-Mobile USA's t-zones and is pre-loaded on the Nokia 6263 and Motorola RAZR II phones, with additional devices expected to follow this quarter.
• In line with Walt Disney Internet Group's expansion of its mobile content business across the EMEA region, Disney Mobile Studios announced that video and imagery specialist FoneStarz will distribute a range of mobile-specific content from Disney's portfolio. Wallpapers, themes, video clips and ringtones available for download will feature Disney's latest releases, such as "Enchanted" and "High School Musical 2," along with classic Disney characters such as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh.
• Medeo, in cooperation with Nokia, will offer international mobile consumers and music fans content from the 50th Annual Grammy Awards directly accessible through their video-enabled mobile devices at http://medeo.mobi. As a result of the Grammy Awards' agreement with Nokia, Medeo will distribute mobile Grammy-related video content outside of the United States, enabling Nokia's international viewers access to the event. Featured on the Nokia home page, Medeo is available on all Nokia devices with streaming video capability.
• The dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) announced the results of recent elections for seats to the MAG Steering Committee. The new MAG Steering Committee consists of key industry executives nominated and elected from the following 13 global MAG member companies: Akmin Technologies, Boomcast Entertainment Corporation, Carlson Marketing Worldwide, GoDaddy, iLoop mobile, Millennial Media, Mobility.mobi, Nokia, QuickPlay Media, SinglePoint, Smaato, Sony and The Weather Channel.
• FatWire Software will resell, service and support netomat's Mobility Server to complement FatWire's Web content management and Web 2.0 collaboration solutions. The agreement provides FatWire customers with the ability to automatically publish and deliver Web content to mobile devices, including smartphones, PDAs, handhelds, iPods and iPhones, via netomat Mobility Server. Users also can interact with and share content from their mobile devices, as well as participate in mobile community and collaboration-based features.
• Millennial Media, a cross-platform mobile advertising company, announced that MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, has become the latest top-tier content publisher to join its mobile advertising network platform.
• Vodafone selected NeuStar as its principal partner in the rollout of mobile instant messaging (IM) solutions to Vodafone customers. Vodafone deployed NeuStar's mobile IM solutions including its Mobile Messaging Gateway and NeuStar Clients to roll out Microsoft Windows Live Messenger to customers in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France (via SFR), Germany and the United Kingdom. NeuStar also supported the launch of Yahoo! Messenger in Portugal.
• Funambol and Simdesk announced a partnership to add push e-mail and PIM synchronization to SimMobile, Simdesk's next generation mobile services platform that targets small and medium businesses and prosumers. The two will demonstrate their solution at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, next week.
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With the current economic climate, wireless operators face shrinking marketing budgets and reduced consumer spending.
Globally, the credit crunch is very much alive, and operators will be tightening their belts into the foreseeable future by putting off capital purchases.
