Browse by Tags

When it comes to mobile, the perception is that the U.S. is always behind Europe, but a new report being released today says that when it pertains to the adoption of 3G, the U.S. is now on top, according to comScore ( NSDQ: SCOR ), which recently bought Seattle-based M:Metrics. In the U.S., 28.4 percent of subscribers now have a 3G device vs. the five largest countries in Europe, which have a combined penetration rate of 28.3 percent. In the past year, the number of U.S. subscribers with 3G devices has grown 80 percent to 64.2 million users. The only countries in Europe to exceed the U.S. in 3G penetration are Italy and Spain. Mark Donovan, comScore svp and senior analyst said: "For years, the American mobile industry has aspired to the level of sophistication of the European market...The advancements in 3G network technology and the introduction of sleek devices into the U.S. market have paid off as adoption of mobile media continues to grow at a rapid pace." -- 3G European penetration rates: Within Europe, Italy has the highest 3G penetration at 38.3 percent; Spain comes in second place with 37.2 percent. The U.K. has a penetration rate of 19.9 percent, and Germany has 23.9 percent and France has 12.6 percent. -- Total Users: The U.S. also eclipses the five European countries when it comes to number of users with a 3G device. The U.S. has 64.2 million vs. Europe, which has 63.4 million. As far as individual countries, Italy has 18 million; the U.K has 13.1 million; Spain has 12.6 million; Germany has 11.7 million; and France has 8 million. -- Growth curve: To be sure, the growth is dramatic in all countries, but most shockingly in the U.S. The total study looked at the number of subscribers on average over three months ended in June 2008. Total subscribers in the U.S. jumped 80.1 percent compared to the same period in 2007. In Europe, the numbers jumped 46.6 percent; in Spain, 75.4 percent; in Germany, 67.1 percent; in the U.K., 46.1 percent; in France, 41...

Two separate reports released today confirmed that the iPhone is selling well despite initial activation problems, and that Apple ( NSDQ: AAPL ) believes that it will continue to sell well after launching in various countries. -- T-Mobile International said it has sold more than 120,000 iPhone 3G devices since it went on sale July 11, Reuters reported . CEO Hamid Akhavan told German weekly magazine Focus that delivery problems and activation problems will be cleared by the end of the month, and despite those issues, "Our expectations were surpassed." In Germany alone, the carrier sold 75,000 iPhones. To put that in some context, Apple said the official number of iPhones sold in the first weekend totaled 1 million. -- Apple expects to sell 3.5 million iPhones in Russia over the next two years, according to Reuters , who quoted market sources familiar with the deal being struck between Apple and Russian carriers. The estimates may be based on the 600,000-or-so iPhones that have flooded the black market in Russia through unauthorized channels. An official deal will likely be signed with Mobile TeleSystems, Russia's largest carrier, with sales probably starting in October. Other carriers Vimpelcom and MegFon are also talking to Apple, Reuters said. Eldar Murtazin, an analyst with Moscow-based Mobile Research Group, said based on conversations he's had, he expects "total sales by the Big Three carriers will amount to 3.5 million iPhones within the next two years." Social Media Deals Report: This 199-page report, filled with charts and data, examines the categories, number and size of VC and M&A deal in social media from 2007 through 2008. Visit the ContentNext Reports page

Toshiba mobile TV subsidiary Mobile Broadcasting Corporation is shutting down, after failing to attract enough interest, the company said Thursday. "The number of subscribers has not reached a sufficient level to sustain operations and, following a thorough review of operations, the company has decided to cease broadcasting," it said in a statement. MBC's digital satellite mobile TV service Moba-Ho! began broadcasting in October 2004, and had some 40 channels of audio, video and data information programming. The service will shut down at the end of March 2009, with Toshiba expected to take a 25 billion yen ($232 million) hit on MBC's closure. So what happened to MBC's Moba-Ho? The likely story is that Japan's other mobile TV technology, the very popular digital terrestrial mobile TV service One-seg helped kill it off. In an interview in 2005, Mobile Broadcasting Co. President Tetsuya Mizoguchi said that he wasn't concerned with terrestrial digital mobile TV, since the focus was different. One-seg offers local broadcasts for free, while Moba-Ho! had its own special line up of content. But One-Seg has proven very popular--especially after handset manufacturers began building recording functions into phones that allowed Japanese consumers to record and watch programs whenever they wanted. In February, One-Seg hit the 20 million-handset mark less than two years after its launch. This week hasn't been the best for mobile TV services—at least paying ones. MBC's news follows just days after German press reports that the country's DVB-H mobile TV service Mobile 3.0 is on the verge of shutting down . German operators after losing out on the DVB-H license to Mobile 3.0 have brought the service it seems to a halt, after deciding to support a competing technology—the "free" DVB-T, or digital terrestrial mobile TV technology. ( Release ). Related Operators Kill DVB-H In Germany Shipments of Japan's Mobile TV Enabled Handsets...

The companies behind Mobile 3.0, publishing houses Burda and Holtzbrinck together with South African media company Naspers, are reportedly about to end their plans to launch a DVB-H network in Germany. The consortium won the license to provide the service in January this year and started test transmissions on June 1, with 9 TV channels and 3 radio stations. However, after the carriers failed to win the mobile TV license they were apparently reluctant to carry handsets supporting the DVB-H network, and decided to release handsets which receive DVB-T transmissions free of charge—which naturally put a dent into Mobile 3.0's plans of a 5-10 euro subscription model, reports Rapid TV News quoting German newspaper Bild. The big issue now is how the companies will exit without losing face, who will pick up the several million euro bill of investment to date, and what will happen to the license. This isn't really surprising… back in May Vodafone ( NYSE: VOD ) said that it wouldn't be selling any handset with a mobile TV service customers would have to pay for, because there was the risk they would spend less on other services. The lesson seems to be that if you want to offer a mobile service, you need to have the carriers on side (did that really need to be taught?). In this case, the third-party mobile TV provider model doesn't seem to have worked… Although it isn't doing too bad in Italy and the US. The key is making the benefit to the operators very clear, most easily through a slice of the revenue. Related Vodafone Germany Head Questions Pay Mobile TV Model; Cites DVB-T European DVB-H: Mobile 3.0 Wins German License; Orange Bids In France Can "Free" DVB-T Drive Mobile TV Uptake? Social Media Deals Report: This 199-page report, filled with charts and data, examines the categories, number and size of VC and M&A deal in social media from 2007 through 2008. Visit the ContentNext Reports page

Ad-funded mobile MVNO Blyk will launch in Germany, Spain, and Belgium next year, the company said today. Reuters reports that British-Finnish start up is in "late stage" talks with operators over network renting in the three countries. According to Blyk co-founder and chairman Pekka Ala-Pietila Germany and Spain represent some of the continent's largest ad markets, while Belgium's ad-spending per capital was among Europe's highest. But the three countries are also home to some of the continent's most competitive mobile markets. Germany's market has been locked in a fierce price war for several years, spurred by budget carrier E-Plus. Spain is another tough market, already crowded with three main operators and dozens of MVNO's competing on price. Blyk, however, remains undeterred and promises these three countries won't be their last. In the UK, the ad-funded MVNO has amassed 100,000 customers, who receive 217 texts and 43 minutes of voice calls each month for free, in return for receiving six promotional texts a day. According to the company's unaudited figures, the ad campaigns have an average response rate of 29 percent. Related Blyk Hits 100,000 Customers Blyk Gets New Funding Round, Expanding To Netherlands Ad-Funded Blyk Denies Users Are Shutting Off Ads Blyk Claims Up To 43 Percent Click-Through On First Mobile Ads ContentNext's EconCeleb Seminar examines what drives the economics of celebrity content. July 23, 2008 at the Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood. Learn more .

Motorola ( NYSE: MOT ), feeling ignored among all the iPhone-mania, has announced a deal of its own: in UK, it has done a deal with Paramount Pictures to offer full-length film downloads on its handsets, including The Italian Job , Star Trek and Team America: World Police for a total of about 40 movies. These will be available through Motorola's web-based store, combining classic titles and newer films, reports Guardian . Motorola's movie download store will later be extended to France, Spain, Germany and Italy. Users pay between £5.99 and £8.99 per title for dual delivery, for download on their PC and then sideload them into the phones. Two issues to this: Firstly, too expensive, and second, still to be seen if users want to watch full-length movies on their phone-size screens. ContentNext's EconCeleb Seminar examines what drives the economics of celebrity content. July 23, 2008 at the Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood. Learn more .