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Roo Group Plans To Acquire Swedish Mobile Video Firm Kamera

2008-03-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

Troubled online video firm ROO Group (OTCBB: RGRP) has announced another deal as it prepares to ditch New York for Dubai: The OTCBB-traded company says it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Kamera, a Swedish provider of mobile video. The firms have signed a content distribution agreement, and Roo has paid a $300,000 advance, giving it the right to acquire Kamera at some point in a specified period. The final purchase price has not been announced. Roo says it prizes Kamera's European operations, and argues that there are product synergies between the two companies. Kamera claims distribution partnerships with Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), MSN, Orange, Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), O2, Hutchinson and China Mobile. It was formerly a unit of World Television, but was bought out by management and outside investors in 2005.

-- Kamera did revenue of $2.9 million in 2007 and is predicting revenue of $5.6 million for 2008. It's still running at a "very small" operating loss.

Release

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Rising Star enjoys Wii chart success

2008-03-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

No More Heroes debuts at four in Wii charts

Critically-acclaimed Wii release No More Heroes has made it to fourth in the Wii charts, according to Chart Track.

The result follows a concentrated PR campaign by publisher Rising Star Games and game designer, Suda51. The game, which received much acclaim from the specialist press, also made it into the top 20 in the All Format Charts.

"We are weeping with delight. Especially as sales should improve further with the TV campaign moving up a gear from tonight,” said Rising Star managing director Martin Defries. “It is a verification of all the posturing and ambitious claims made these past months.

I think a 'told you so' would be apt at some point.”

“Thanks to Nintendo and the Wii console. Thanks to Mastertronic for their sales efforts and all our retail partners. Most of all thanks to Grasshopper for the greatest of products"

The latest in Rising Star’s Harvest Moon franchise, Harvest Moon: Magical Melody, also hit store shelves last week. Making it to 18th in the Nintendo Wii Top 30.

Others, meanwhile, have questioned whether there's a need to endorse a standard at all.

Chris Williams, a telecoms partner at Deloitte, said: "Whilst there are some advantages to technology standardisation in terms of economies of scale and ensuring interoperability, it would be preferable to let standards gain their own momentum competitively in the market rather than mandating them. As such, the GSMA appears correct in suggesting that it is inappropriate and unnecessary for legislators to pick technology winners.

He added: "Circumstances will define best (and indeed possible) technology choices in each country. We would also question whether Ofcom will be well disposed to follow this lead given that they have moved away from licensing technologies years ago and are auctioning several bands of spectrum suited to a variety of mobile TV technologies.

"A challenge for consumers without an agreed standard would be understanding the competing offers of service providers and interoperability between standards."

China and the Far East will generate the most revenues from mobile search services over the next five years, followed by Western Europe and North America.

Juniper also predicts that local search will account for 40 per cent of mobile search ad spend during the forecast period.

Bob Schechter, chairman and CEO of NMS Communications, said: "With the acquisition of Groove Mobile, LiveWire Mobile gains significant new customers, enhances its value proposition to operators and improves its financial profile by adding a rapidly growing base of managed services revenue and accelerating its expected time to non-GAAP profitability into the fourth quarter of this year."

In terms of overall manufacturer trends, Nokia held the top spot worldwide with 29.4 per cent of ad requests. In the US, Motorola was the top device manufacturer at 35 per cent and in the UK SonyEriccson claimed the top spot at 37 per cent.

The full report can be read here.

Vodafone customers in all participating territories will have access to Madonna’s mini site on the live! portal, which will include one week of exclusive, associated mobile content such as ringtones, ringback tones and SMS tones.

No one can match our circulation, our authority or our passion.

"This is about investing in order to provide the best news and advertising solutions, whilst delivering the widest reach. We are the only trade publisher in this market that is genuinely committed to growing our readership."

Mobile sites for other relevant Intent Media publications are as follows:

MCV - http://mobile.mcvuk.com
Develop - http://mobile.developmag.com
Licensing - http://mobile.licensing.biz

Tracks will be sold without any DRM.

The launch should continue RIM’s push into the consumer market after several years of targeting business users.

Under its agreement with Adobe, Microsoft will make versions 3 or higher of Flash Lite available as a plug-in for the Windows Mobile OS. Microsoft also licensed the Adobe Reader LE software.

A European common standard will also benefit consumers, who will be able to watch TV on their own phones or mobile devices at any time, anywhere across Europe.

Whether the trade agrees remains to be seen, as Sky is in trials with MediaFLO, and T-Mobile and Orange are set to have a look at TB-TV. DVB-H is the only standard with a global presence although South Korea prefers DMB, Japan supports ISDB-T and the US has launched MediaFLO.

It also shows the location of fairways, greens, sand bunkers and water hazards.

KTF said it also plans to expand the service to other countries such as China and the Philippines.

Amethon CEO Michael Stone said: "[Our] in depth experience in the areas of web analytics and mobile services position us with an insightful solution for go2 Media and other mobile content publishers to achieve a greater understanding of both their users and advertisers needs."

Our partnership with The Carphone Warehouse not only serves as an incredible opportunity to expand our retail distribution in Europe but also provides a platform for us to create new initiatives that educate and add value to their customers on the endless capabilities of their devices."

No one was surprised for a moment.

Read more about why this is by clicking here.

Hands-On CEO David White said: "Niccolo’s extensive background in the mobile entertainment industry, including his role in Monstermob’s rapid growth and expansion into international markets, will be a vital asset as we continue to grow Hands-On and embrace new platforms."

Ray Anderson, CEO of Bango, said: "The time is right for the mobile web to become a key element in the world's marketing and advertising ecosystem. With the recent launch of Bango Analytics - and future offerings to come - Bango is well positioned to meet the need for mobile analytics world-wide. I am pleased Adam will be heading up our sales efforts in this emerging market."

Virgin Mobile USA is 35 per cent owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Branson is due to deliver the opening keynote at the CTIA Wireless trade show next month.

But the problems in the once vibrant US MVNO market are not limited to Virgin. Amp'd went bust spectacularly last summer owing $100m, while last month Helio posted a net loss of $237m for 2007, compared to losses of $191m in 2006.

Apply now for the industry's most coveted awards. Entries deadline is 17 March 2008

Enter NOW at www.m-e-f.org

Now in their fifth year, the Meffys are judged by national media and leading trading journalists and analysts, and have developed a reputation as the industry's most fiercely contested prizes. The winners will be celebrated at an exclusive gala awards and dinner at the InterContinental Carlton, Cannes at the end of day one of MeM 2008.

iPhone round up: Google Says Android Will Sell More; Rogue SDK Hackers; iPhone Developers Rejected

2008-03-14T20:19:00.001-07:00

-- Hackers plot bypass: An independent group of software developers calling themselves the iPhone Dev Team claim to be close to breaking Apple's (NSDQ: AAPL) brand-new software developer program. The goal is to allow developers to bypass Apple and sell applications directly to consumers, Dow Jones reports. The developer team is working on what they call "Pwnage," which lets iPhone users to download and run other programs from third-parties. The dev team's portal is at http://iphone-dev.org/.

-- Developers rejected: Pwnage may come in handy if Apple rejects you as one of its chosen. Although all developers are expected to be able to participate in the developer program starting in June (for $99), for now the beta is being limited. MacRumors reports today that Apple sent out a slew of rejection letters today, saying Apple thanks you for the application, but the iPhone Developer Program is only "limited number of developers during the beta period." Apple plans on expanding the program during the beta period and will contact applicants again "at the appropriate time."

-- Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Exec's Android v. iPhone predictions: Apple received a few jabs from Google this week when an exec said it expects phones based on Google's Android platform to outsell the iPhone. Information Week: Rich Miner, Google's GM of wireless platforms: "Once you have devices out there from Motorola (NYSE: MOT), HTC, Samsung, and so on, there's a much larger potential market on Android than for the iPhone." Miner spoke at the Emerging Communications Conference at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley on Thursday.

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iPhone round up: Google Says Android Will Sell More; Rogue SDK Hackers; iPhone Developers Rejected

2008-03-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

Facing Stiffer Competition, AT&T Opens Up Its Network More To Developers

2008-03-14T10:45:00.001-07:00

With stiff competition on the horizon, AT&T launched a new Web site yesterday providing information for third-party developers to create applications for its network. The site, which publishes guidelines on how to create applications for its network, curiously comes just a week before Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) targets developers at an Open Development Device Conference in New York, and a week after Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) released its SDK, allowing developers to create apps for the iPhone. All of the moves are attempts to woo developers, who may create the next killer app that will drive demand for new phones and more network usage.

: Dow Jones : The site gives developers access to documents, which were previously only available to developers and handset makers that regularly worked with AT&T (NYSE: T). Roughly 20,000 application developers have registered to access the code, according to a spokesman, but the company wants a broader developer base. This week, Apple reported that its free SDK had been downloaded 10,000 times within four days of its availability.

The documents on the Web site include a "style guide" that developers must follow before submitting an application for certification. If approved, the app will be available on AT&T's Media Mall. Applications will also have a chance to be installed directly on certain phones during the manufacturing process. But the interesting part is the billing relationship: AT&T will bill customers directly and share the revenues with developers in an undisclosed split. That sounds a lot like Apple's arrangement with developers, hosting the app on iTunes and through an embedded store on the iPhone and sharing 70 percent of the revenues with developers, keeping the rest for itself. Customers pay for the applications using a credit card, and in an untraditional move, none of the proceeds goes to AT&T.

As carriers and other companies, like Apple, compete to provide the most open network, it looks like good news to developers. It wasn't that long ago that Verizon announced it will be an open network, and AT&T quickly countered that it was already open (and yet it is already making it an even more transparent process). It will be interesting to see which program developers gravitate to first and value the most; most will likely try all avenues. AT&T and Verizon have more customers, but iPhone users are known to be heavy data users and eager adopters. "It looks like AT&T is trying to steal a little of Verizon's thunder and doesn't want to be left out," Roger Entner at IAG Research told Dow Jones (NYSE: NWS). "It's a sign of healthy competition that they all try to preempt each other."

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Facing Stiffer Competition, AT&T Opens Up Its Network More To Developers

2008-03-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

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Speculation On Sprint Nextel's Future Swirl As Stock Hits 20-Year Low

2008-03-14T10:28:00.001-07:00

Shares of Sprint (NYSE: S) Nextel closed at $6.17 apiece on Tuesday, the lowest level since 1988 on the best day the street had in five years, and fell even further Thursday. At such bargain stock prices???the third largest U.S. wireless company has a market cap of $17.3 billion, or less than half what Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is offering Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO)???analysts are feverishly speculating the company's fate.

AP offers a round-up of the rumors today:

-- A Merrill Lynch analyst speculates that Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT), the parent company of T-Mobile USA, might consider buying Sprint to bulk up and prevent an escalation of flat-rate pricing in the industry.

-- Carlos Slim, who operates the wireline and wireless networks in Mexico, might see Sprint as a way to get into the U.S. wireless market, WSJ reports.

-- Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and various U.S. cable providers, looking to fight traditional telephone companies, are potential buyers.

-- The company sells off its WiMax or Nextel networks.

-- Spins off its WiMax network and merges it with Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR) with the help of Intel (NSDQ: INTC), or other investors.

At the same time, some of these scenarios are seriously out there, and doubtful. This week, Sprint Nextel said it couldn't easily be split off Nextel, which it bought three years ago. Bloomberg reported that Chief Network Officer Kathy Walker said separating operations would take longer than integrating them???Sprint's technicians work on both technologies and it has combined network-monitoring operations. The AP also reported that a Stanford Group analyst doubts the company would be able to sell its Nextel-branded network because it's bleeding the most customers.

Of course, there is one last option???Sprint will have to conduct a turnaround all by itself.

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Speculation On Sprint Nextel's Future Swirl As Stock Hits 20-Year Low

2008-03-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Shares of Sprint (NYSE: S) Nextel closed at $6.17 apiece on Tuesday, the lowest level since 1988 on the best day the street had in five years, and fell even further Thursday. At such bargain stock prices—the third largest U.S. wireless company has a market cap of $17.3 billion, or less than half what Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is offering Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO)—analysts are feverishly speculating the company's fate.

AP offers a round-up of the rumors today:

-- Carlos Slim, who operates the wireline and wireless networks in Mexico, might see Sprint as a way to get into the U.S. wireless market, WSJ reports.

-- Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and various U.S. cable providers, looking to fight traditional telephone companies, are potential buyers.

-- The company sells off its WiMax or Nextel networks.

-- Spins off its WiMax network and merges it with Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR) with the help of Intel (NSDQ: INTC), or other investors.

At the same time, some of these scenarios are seriously out there, and doubtful. This week, Sprint Nextel said it couldn't easily be split off Nextel, which it bought three years ago. Bloomberg reported that Chief Network Officer Kathy Walker said separating operations would take longer than integrating them—Sprint's technicians work on both technologies and it has combined network-monitoring operations. The AP also reported that a Stanford Group analyst doubts the company would be able to sell its Nextel-branded network because it's bleeding the most customers.

Of course, there is one last option—Sprint will have to conduct a turnaround all by itself.

Might and Magic 2

2008-03-14T09:30:00.001-07:00

Might and Magic 2 is an Action RPG very similar to the 2D Zelda games of the past. It’s a lengthy adventure spanning 19 levels that varies widely in environments and objectives as well as including many side missions to break up the linear game play.

The quest centers around the hero Louis (whose name is actually changeable if you prefer to play your RPG’s soaked in vanity) as he wakes from a dream to find out that a horde of demons has invaded the mythical land of Erathia. The princess Sofia, whose kingdom has already been taken by the demons has requested help, so you, as Louis or whatever you choose to call him, leave your village to help her.

The game has a good sense of pacing as it switches between action and town roaming sequences to avoid boredom. It includes a well-balanced level-up system for taking on enemies that get much tougher as the game progresses. One thing you’ll find is that you can’t be lazy and avoid enemies because you won’t get very far here. It’s necessary to vanquish as many foes as possible to be strong enough in skill and hit points.

The battle system in place is quite simple and provides one-button attacks and combos. As the character levels up, new sword techniques and magic spells are learned. These magic spells are also quickly cast by pressing only one button. This description might make the battle system seem a little too simplistic, but it really is more than just button tapping. For instance, there are some huge ogres that require you to dodge their attacks and jump on their backs to deliver a blow. There are other ways of attacking different enemies and this type of diversity is what keeps you on your toes during battles.

As far as accessories and weapons, you can equip headgear, footwear and jewelry to boost your stats. A good number of items are dropped by defeated enemy bosses, but if you have enough cash, some can also be purchased at one of the many weapons shops. Naturally, you must indulge in some of the many side quests to acquire the gold needed for purchasing items.

The only real complaint with Might and Magic 2 is that the story is jam packed with RPG clichés. It’s a real minor complaint compared to the quality of everything else the game has to offer, so much so that it has the level of depth that you would expect from some Nintendo DS games.

Hands On Mobile Taps New President

2008-03-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hands On Mobile today announced the appointment of Niccolo de Masi as President of the company. de Masi's primary focus will be expanding upon the company's track record of success in mobile entertainment to innovate products and services for new platforms and drive revenue growth. As President, de Masi will oversee US sales and marketing, business, corporate, and product development, and all Hands-On international operations. He will report to David White, CEO.

"Niccolo's extensive background in the mobile entertainment industry, including his role in Monstermob's rapid growth and expansion into international markets, will be a vital asset as we continue to grow Hands-On and embrace new platforms," said David White, CEO of Hands-On Mobile. "We are thrilled to have Niccolo on board and look forward to the successes he is sure to bring the company."

Prior to Hands-On Mobile, de Masi was CEO of the publicly traded mobile entertainment player Monstermob Group PLC where he was responsible for formulating and implementing the company's organic and inorganic growth strategy. Under his tenure at Monstermob de Masi expanded the company's geographic footprint to 25 countries, and grew revenues from $40 million to more than $200 million. Prior to Monstermob, de Masi worked in corporate finance at JP Morgan. He has also worked with Siemens Solar and within the Strategic Planning and Development divisions of Technicolor. de Masi holds a BA and MA in Physics and a Master of Science in Electronic Engineering from Cambridge University.

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Mobile Content Bits: Dennis Publishing's Monkey; Gameloft; Telenor's Mobile Novel

2008-03-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

??? Monkey Goes Mobile: Dennis Publishing and mobile media firm Player X have launched a mobile TV channel based on its online lad's magazine Monkey. Mad.co.uk reports the free ad-funded service will take content from the digital magazine, as well as offer up content tailored for mobiles. The service has snagged a sponsorship deal with Twentieth Century Fox's comedy 'Meet The Spartans.' The film's trailer will run within the content on Monkey's mobile TV channel. To access the service, users will have to download the channel, which will work on all UK networks.

??? Brain Challenge Goes From Mobile to Xbox 360: Pocketgamer.co.uk reports that the deal between games publisher Gameloft (EPA: GFT) and Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) to bring their mobile game Brain Challenge to the Xbox 360 is the first time that a mobile game has moved off wireless devices and onto another platform. It's also the first time a "brain trainer game" has hit the Xbox, so it should do nicely for Gameloft, whether users have heard of the mobile version or not.

??? Mobile Novel for Telenor: Norwegian mobile operator has launched Andreas Markusson's new crime novel "The First Time I Died" exclusively on Telenor's Norwegian audio book service, Telenor Lydbok. The novel was written especially for the mobile phone, and will be presented as a "litcast". Telenor now has approximately 300 titles in their mobile bookshop, all lasting 10-20 minutes long, and costing 20 Norwegian krowns ($4) (release).

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Glu Mobile In A Sticky Spot

2008-03-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Bad news for Glu Mobile (NSDQ: GLUU) and for the mobile gaming industry. AP reports that Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Goldberg downgraded the mobile game publishers stock to "sell" from "hold," citing a slowdown in mobile gaming spending," as well as a sharp rise in licensing costs for the mobile rights to popular content. Glu's shares fell 8.2 percent Thursday. Mobile games slumped last year, with many in the industry--including Nokia--blaming operators for taking their investment elsewhere. Mobile games publishers like Glu who strike licensing deals with popular brands are being squeezed by content owners and game developers who are demanding higher and higher rights fees for their games. Goldberg said it was not unusual for deals to hit $2 million plus royalties for a particularly popular game???though he noted Glu hasn't yet had to pay this kind of money. But the trend for these type of deals is definitely putting a crimp on Glu's margins. Meanwhile, Glu announced Wednesday it had extended its deal with 2waytraffic to develop and publish the very popular mobile game version of hit TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

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Industry Moves: Hands-On Mobile Hires Ex-Monstermob CEO Niccolo de Masi As President

2008-03-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Mobile games publisher Hands-On Mobile, makers of the popular Guitar Hero III mobile version, has hired ex-Monstermob CEO Niccolo de Masi as president of the company. The 28-year old, who was ousted from the struggling Monstermob last year, has been tapped to drive the company's expansion, both in the US and internationally. He is also responsible for developing new products and services for new platforms and will report to Hands-On Mobile CEO David White. Hands-On Mobile has gone through its own share of troubles. In October the company restructured after months of turmoil promoting David White to CEO from CFO (release).

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Handango To Sell Mobile Apps, Content At Carphone Warehouse

2008-03-14T07:25:00.001-07:00

The Carphone Warehouse in is to begin selling mobile apps and content from Handango's catalog in its European stores. It's a rather unique move - though there is a wealth of online downloads out there, many customers never both to add to the applications there handset came preloaded with when they left the store. The pair will start by selling a number of BlackBerry Pearl apps through CPW's UK stores, including games, ringtones, IM apps and email viewers.

Handango said it wanted to "bring products that were formerly thought of as 'aftermarket' within the walls of a retail establishment". It would be quite a shift if CPW can sell extra apps to new customers at the point of sale, though this would seem to require some new training for in-store sales staff. It's not clear whether the apps will get shelf space or will be offered verbally etc.

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Handango To Sell Mobile Apps, Content At Carphone Warehouse

2008-03-14T07:25:00.000-07:00