Evidence of Artificial Life HONG KONG - Artificial Life Inc. opened a new Web portal for mobile applications April 16. Called BotMe, the portal serves as a distribution point for interactive mobile java games and interactive e-learning applications for English training for Chinese speakers, and new applications will be added monthly. All will be offered in Chinese and English.
"The new mobile portal opens up an additional revenue stream for us," said Artificial Life CEO Eberhard Schoeneburg. "Business partners have a preferred and secure log-in to pre-view and test our latest products, and our general customers can purchase our new mobile games and applications for download on the portal. Our mobile products and games will support most of the major 2G and 3G phones. We target especially Greater China and all Asian and European markets with this new portal and our new mobile products."
Founded in Boston in 1994 and registered in Delaware, Artificial Life Inc. is a publicly traded U.S. corporation headquartered in Hong Kong. The company is a global provider of intelligent agent Internet and mobile computing technology, content, and applications
New Service Protects Consumers Against Cellular Overages ST. LOUIS - Amid growing consumer concern about steep charges for minutes that exceed their monthly plan rates, a new service launched earlier this month promising to monitor cellular plans and alert customers to impending overages.
For an annual subscription fee of $19.95, Minute Guard keeps track of a user's minutes and notifies them by text message and/or email when they are in danger of exceeding their allotment. Users must be customers of compatible carriers, including Cingular, AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Nextel.
Minute Guard is a subsidiary of McPheeters Communications Group, a cellular dealer and communications consulting firm based in St. Louis.
Monitor Your Health with Your Phone HOUSTON - Pulse Meter, the first mobile health and wellness monitor for Java-enabled mobile phones, was unveiled this week by MedicTouch LLC and Sun Microsystems Inc.
Pulse Meter is a complex system with a simple user interface. The user connects the sensor to his or her hand before engaging the program on a mobile phone. Within seconds, the user's pulse is displayed on the phone's screen. The information can be archived, customized for each user, and transmitted to a Java-compliant server. The developers say the system is secure and ideal for sports enthusiasts, the elderly, rehabilitation outpatients, and healthcare providers because it offers health monitoring anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
The software is based on Sun's Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition. The system is designed to run on a large number of devices from multiple vendors, according to the developers.
"The platform allows users to stay connected with the world and monitor their health and wellness, all on their mobile phone," said Dr. Eran Schenker, Medical Director of MedicTouch. "In other words, the mobile phone becomes another extension of the human body. It only made sense to turn it into a health and wellness monitor."
Global Hotspots to Generate $11 in 2009 SAN DIEGO - There will be more than 700,000 hotspots worldwide by 2009, and together they will generate $11.4 billion in both subscriber and hotspot-driven, venue-oriented, according to recent research by wireless research firm, ON World Inc.
Wi-Fi-enabled devices will be the most significant driver for the global hotspot economy. ON World predicts that 85 percent of all mobile devices will be Wi-Fi-enabled by 2009.
ON World released the information April 19 in a series of reports available at www.onworld.com/html/globalhotspots.htm. Other significant finding include:
Global venue trends:
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- Cafes, restaurants, and bars comprise 52 percent of hotspot deployments.
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- Hotels make up 33 percent.
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- Non-food-oriented retail venues encompass 5 percent.
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- Transportation venues account for 1 percent.
Geographical trends:
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- The Asia Pacific region has 53 percent of the world's hotspots.
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- Asia Pacific access fees are four times lower than in Europe and two and one-half times lower than in North America.
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- Fifty-five percent of Asia Pacific's hotspots are in cafes, restaurant, and bars.
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- There are nearly three times more cafe hotspots in the Asia Pacific region than in North America and two and half times more than in Europe.
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- Twenty-five percent of Europe's hotspots are in unusual venues such as parks, health clubs, libraries, and commercial buildings. An increasing number of European hotspots are offered for free.
Network operator trends:
- Korea Telecom has 86 percent of the cafe hotspots in Seoul.
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- SingTel has 45 percent of the hotspot market share in Singapore, with independent hotspot operators making up nearly 25 percent.
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- NTT has 69 percent of the total hotspot market share in Tokyo.
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- BT Openzone has 20 percent of the hotspots in London.
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- Orange Wi-Fi hotspots make up 45 percent of all hotspots in Paris.
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- T-Mobile has 40 percent of all hotspots in Boston and 87 percent of the ones in Dallas.
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- FatPort has 72 percent of the total hotspots in Vancouver.
High-Tech Sex
LONDON - "Toothing" is hot among British commuters. On trains, in cars, on buses, in bars, and even in supermarkets and conference rooms, Brits are using their cell phones to arrange anonymous sex with strangers.
Made possible by Bluetooth technology (hence the name), "toothing" is a practice wherein cell phone users send messages containing text, contact information, and pictures to other Bluetooth-enabled phone users within a range of about 10 yards.
According to a Website devoted to the practice, "'Toothers meet by first connecting suitable equipment - such as a modern phone or palmtop computer. Users 'discover' other computers or phones in the vicinity and then send a speculative message. The usual greeting is: 'Toothing?'.
"If the other party is interested, messages are exchanged until a suitable location is agreed - usually a public toilet, although there are tales of more adventurous spots such as deserted carriages or staff areas. What happens next is up to you!"
Other similar - though more mainstream - pastimes are springing up rapidly. Last month a wireless alternative to online dating, Serendipity, was launched. The service allows users to store profiles, then notifies both parties' mobile phones when an apparent match crops up nearby.
Telecom Italia Mobile Launches General Two-Way eSMS Service
SEATTLE - A recent merger of four companies with disparate mobile technology backgrounds and expertise has created the first-of-its kind concern to offer comprehensive international mobile marketing solutions.
Mynamics Inc., TxtTalk, Knowledge Point Systems, and BoomerangBack LLC became Mobilopia April 19. The new company employs more than 50 people in offices located in Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America. Among its current clients is the television newsmagazine Access Hollywood, which previously was a client of BoomerangBack and continued with the new firm after the merger.
Each segment of Mobilopia brings its own proficiency to the venture. Prior to the merger, Mynamics specialized in mobile-phone marketing strategy and creative development. Knowledge Point provided interactive staffing for live chat, SMS messaging, and customer service. TxtTalk designed mobile-phone campaigns for radio stations, and BoomerangBack developed proprietary SMS software platforms.
In describing the new firm, former Mynamics executive and new Mobilopia chief Jim Hood said, "Mobilopia's mission is to use state-of-the-art mobile marketing capabilities to help brands deliver compelling, cost-effective, permission-based marketing programs. In short, we deliver effectively against the promise of one-to-one marketing."
Wes Bray, another former Mynamics executive who now holds the title Chief Mobile Marketer at Mobilopia, said, "Marketing through mobile phones enables real-time, live communication between a brand and its consumers. Since it is fundamentally permission-based, it creates a fantastic opportunity for a brand or marketing organization to develop a database of enthusiastic consumers. It is also, because of its technology base, entirely measurable."
