mobilewatch

Mobile Health Tools

2005-07-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.mobilemonday.net/mm/story.php?story_id=4317

Digital Chocolate, a developer of software for mobile phones, has teamed up with video mobile network 3 to bring Atkins2Go to mobile for the first time in Europe.Using Atkins 2Go, 3’s customers will be able to look up the carbohydrate values in various foods on their mobile phone, log foods eaten along and track their carbohydrate intake and weight loss over time.

Yahoo Mobile Price Check.

2005-07-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

What happens when we have GPS ? Special in-store mobile-digital coupons :0

http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/08/Yahoo_mobile_price_check

“Yahoo! UK and Ireland has launched a new mobile service which allows consumers to check prices on the move, using Yahoo! WAP services…The new service will cover 3 million product offers and more than 5000 UK retailers.” Yahoo has said it will not charge for the service, which allows users to type a desired product into the search box and click on a ‘products’ button, to then be taken to a results screen showing images, pricing and product information. This is pretty neat, because it allows for comparison shopping on the go, and for impulse buys…

London as a game ....

2005-07-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,68023,00.html?tw=rss.TOP

London as a game...

Wired Report from E3 on cell gaming

2005-05-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.wired.com/news/e3/0,2879,67582,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_4

LOS ANGELES -- While next-generation consoles and cutting-edge graphics dominate the floor at E3, if you look around the edges, away from the crowds, you'll find a number of companies hoping that the next big platform will be one that you may already have in your pocket: the mobile phone.

Cell phones are largely unstandardized and often more than a decade behind the times in rendering power. Nevertheless, there are plenty of game producers banking on them.

Mobile-phone gaming has historically been driven by casual games, ports of old arcade games, and simplified versions of sports games. True to form, those genres are in heavy attendance at E3. Namco's booth for instance, is staffed with people in uncomfortably warm Pac-Man-shaped head wraps showing off Pac-Mania, an isometric offshoot of the arcade classic. At other booths there were enough versions of solitaire and similar card games to satiate even the most boring grandmother, and more flavors of mobile phone golf than you can shake a 3-wood at.

Meanwhile, a steady stream of console hits are headed to cell phones, albeit often in heavily altered form. Developer/publisher In-Fusio has scaled-down versions of Age of Empires and Banjo-Kazooie on display. The oddest port may be the one just announced by Jamdat mobile: DOOM RPG, a turn-based tactical version of the groundbreaking first-person shooter. If there's a mass of gamers waiting to play turn-based versions of decade-old shooters on their cell phones, Jamdat has their number.

Games based on movies are also as popular in the mobile phone world as they are in the console world, with tiny video versions of Peter Jackson's King Kong, Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and Revenge of the Sith all making appearances.

If there's one word that lights up the eyes of marketing directors and PR professionals, though, it's "3D." While phones powerful enough to render true 3D are currently a tiny minority of phones currently in use, the developers and publishers are declaring themselves ready to handle the technology when it hits critical mass. "Right now, the number of phones that support 3D games is very small," says Sanette Chao, communications manager of Gameloft, the producers of the 3D racer Asphalt: Urban GT. "The majority of phones are 2D phones. Give that another year, and that's going to completely change."

Also of interest to developers and publishers -- and, they hope, of interest to gamers -- is tighter integration of multiplayer. Gameloft is pushing into the world of real-time multiplayer action, allowing players of games like the mobile phone version of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon to compete simultaneously, rather than in the turn-based gaming more common to mobile phones.

In an intriguing move, In-Fusio is working on integration of web gaming and mobile phone gaming with Neopets Mobile, a wireless gateway to the popular virtual pet web game Neopets. In a move certain to delight some Neopets fans and infuriate others, the mobile phone interface will not only allow players to check on and care for their pets, it will also allow them access to exclusive areas, items, and pet species not available to those only accessing the game through the web. Web-only gamers will be able to see the exclusive rewards earned by mobile gamers, but won't be able to get them without buying Neopets Mobile. So even if the hardcore gamers don't get into mobile phone gaming, maybe the hardcore collectors will.

Google Acquires Mobile Networking Company Dodgeball

2005-05-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

http://feeds.feedburner.com/pcorg?m=5514: The two-person company announced the deal today on Dodgeball.com. If you haven't heard of it -- I actually played with it a while back -- Dodgeball is a social networking tool that lets you keep up with friends, meet new friends and set up gatherings; for instance, you're hanging out, want to get together with some people, tell Dodgeball and everyone on your list within a certain radius gets an invite by mobile phone. Founder Dennis Crowley describes it as a "New York based service that focuses on using technology to facilitate serendipity." It's available in 22 cities.Crowley and partner Alex Rainert had been looking for ways to expand, running the angel investor drill, etc. when they found kindred spirits -- and lots of resources -- at Google.Over at Corante, Clay Shirky is impressed and not just because the two are former students of his. Add this acquisition to Gmail and Orkut (I'll include Picasa, with its IM features) -- and Google's evolution from information hub to something more complex with social networks woven throughout becomes even more interesting. Shirky approaches it like this: "Dodgeball adds to a really interesting set of 'sand in the oyster' issues for Google. Google has historically been information-centric. The content and character of social relations don't fit well into that view of the world, but matter, a lot, to users. ... Dodgeball mingles informational and social aspects of a user's life into something more valuable than either of those things in isolation." So Dodgeball gets the concept, Google gets Dodgeball and we get to watch -- and participate.From their site, it's clear that was in the works for a while before it took effect today.-- "We talked to a lot of different angel investors and venture capitalists, but no one really 'got' what we were doing -- that is until we met Google. The people at Google think like us. They looked at us in a "You're two guys doing some pretty cool stuff, why not let us help you out and let's see what you can do with it' type of way."-- "Now that we're part of Google, we'll have more resources available to us. That means Alex and I can get back to building new features." The VC/M&A channel is sponsored by DeSilva & Phillips
Related...

NPR Reports on depth of Cel Phone content

2005-05-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4626860

location based services

2005-03-21T17:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.crunkie.com/

Attaching maps to email, sms ?

Avatars, Social Networking Games in Asia

2005-03-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

Numerous Links and Interesting Comments Mobile Games

http://wiki.pikkle.com/index.php/Main_Page

GPS games

2005-03-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

Outdoor
March 24, 2003
Garmin® Creates New Niche with GPS-Based Games on Geko™ 201
OLATHE, Kan. — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), today announced that the company is patenting a series of geolocation games that turns the great outdoors into a virtual gameboard using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. GPS games are currently available on three Garmin products, including the new Geko 201, which was strategically designed to create a new niche and increase the benefits of GPS technology in the outdoor recreation market.
As a slender, lightweight, waterproof GPS device, the Geko 201 provides basic navigation capabilities using waypoints, track points and routes. It is one of the smallest, most affordable GPS products to offer satellite-differential WAAS accuracy, which pinpoints a user’s location within 10 feet.
" The Geko 201 is the kind of product that compels users to go outside and play," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's director of marketing. "The Geko's GPS games bring people together and also teach them how to use GPS technology while they’re outdoors having fun."
Garmin first incorporated geolocation games on its Rino® 110 and Rino 120 devices — innovative, patented FRS radios that combine short-range, two-way voice communications and GPS navigation capabilities. Several of the games take advantage of these integrated technologies. While the games add value to the Rino series, the game pack on the Geko 201 is one of its primary features.
The Geko 201 contains four geolocation games — Virtual Maze, Memory Race, Nibbons and Geko Smak. Participants need an area of roughly 360 square feet to appreciate these geolocation games.
Think of a human version of the popular Pac-Man® video game and you get the idea behind Virtual Maze. The player walks through a labyrinth on the screen in search of markers. The goal is to collect all of the flags within the maze in the fastest time possible. There are three levels of difficulty as well as three sizes of mazes for additional adventures. Each maze is randomly generated, making each game a new challenge. For more competition, get a few of your Geko-toting friends together and synchronize the start of Virtual Maze. That way, all gamers compete against each other and against the clock in the same maze on their Geko 201.
For people with a passion for the outdoors and lots of concentration, Memory Race fits the bill. In this geolocation game, players attempt to match different symbols inside treasure chests within a grid system, using the great outdoors as their gameboard. Like Virtual Maze, gamers can choose higher levels of difficulty and larger playing areas for more enjoyment.
Nibbons is a game of navigational strategy. Players travel to a numeric marker, leaving behind an electronic breadcrumb trail. After reaching the marker, they need to walk to the next sequential marker. The catch: Reach the next marker without crossing your tracks. If you do, you’ll need to start over. When you get the gist of the game, you’ll step up to the next level of competition.
For the hunter-gatherer in the crowd, Garmin added Geko Smak to the game pack. Based on the Whac-A-Mole® carnival game, the object of this activity is to "smack" the virtual lizard before it disappears from the display. The lizards appear within close proximity to your current location and you must reach each lizard and hit the "OK" key. The game gets progressively more difficult at higher stages in which lizards appear quicker and farther apart.
Geolocation games are in their infancy and Garmin plans to develop more games to enhance outdoor activities in current and future GPS-enabled products. In the meantime, outdoor enthusiasts and game fanatics can get outside and enjoy the current game pack on the Geko 201, which retails for a suggested price of $149.99.

The Long Tail - Sevicing Small Niche Markets

2005-03-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

The Long Tail- Interesting article about why its no longer about mass market, but about all markets (mass + niche)

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html?pg=1&topic=tail&topic_set=

Yahoo Entering Casual Mobile Game Space

2005-03-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

Interesting about Yahoo entering Casual Mobile Game Space

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/03/04/BUGTKBK5F41.DTL&type=business

Mobile gaming conf. London

2005-03-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Mobile Gaming 2005
Technological advances, successful business models and ensuring profitability
2nd & 3rd March 2005
Marriott Kensington Hotel
London
http://www.b2b-conferences.com/b2bsite/Site%20Folder/PDF_FILES/Gaming.pdf

Conference Details:
Mobile Gaming 2005 Technological advances, successful business models and ensuring profitability Conference Background: Mobile gaming is finally beginning to come of age. Advances in handset technology, such as large colour screens, larger memory capacity and compact physical size, as well as the developments in 3G GPRS, EDGE, Java and BREW have enabled the market to realise the potential of mobile handsets as fully-fledged gaming devices. As mobile network operators continue to seek out new opportunities for increasing ARPU, many have focused on improving mobile data capacity to enable subscribers to use a wider range of applications other than voice services. This conference will cover the current key gaming issues and it includes case studies from all players of the value chain. It will gather representatives of the wireless industry to discuss the opportunities and challenges related to the deployment of mobile games. The conference will commence with a keynote from Vodafone Group Services Ltd on how they are taking mobile games to the next level. Find how Orange supports games developers and how the developers can win business. Learn from Wind’s experience of branded versus unbranded games and Nokia’s multiplayer gaming over GPRS. You will also have the chance to hear presentations on policy management and billing issues as well as the successful business models used to maximise profits. Key themes include: - Success stories of multiplayer & 3D gaming - How to transform mobile games to a new level - How to generate revenue with effective business models - Billing issues - challenges and opportunities - Profitability of established brands and original content for mobile gaming - Operators' strategies to support games developers - Rollout of the latest mobile games - which ones work? Key speakers include: Tim Harrison, Head of Games, Vodafone Group Services Ltd Steve Glagow, Director of Orange Partner, Orange Group Business Development and Partnerships, Orange Davide Pisano, Mobile Consumer Marketing, Wind Jukka Helin, Head of MediaLab, TeliaSonera Oscar Clark, Product Manager - Games and Gambling, Three Gregg Sauter, Director, Games Publishing - North America, Nokia Multimedia Paul Maglione, Senior Vice President, Digital Bridges Kristian Segerstrle, Head of Products and Services, Macrospace Mark Lefour, EVP Player Services, IN-FUSIO Juan Montes, Managing Director, Jamdat Europe Pre-Conference Interactive Workshop, Tuesday 1st March Morning Session: What is required to ensure mobile games have a valid entertainment value? Led by: Tom Kelly, Founder, PurpleWisdom Consultants Afternoon Session: Mobile gaming viewed from the mobile perspective: Lessons learned from 10 years from mobile services Led by: Han Weegink, Global Market Development Manager, LogicaCMG Wireless Networks For further information please email sara.peerun@visiongain.com and for sponsorship related queries please email Andrew.oliver@visiongain.com

Morning Session: What is required to ensure mobile games have a valid entertainment value?1st March 2005Tom Kelly, Founder, PurpleWisdom ConsultantAfternoon Session: Mobile gaming viewed from the mobile perspective: Lessons learned from 10 years of mobile services1st March 2005LogicaCMG Wireless Networks

LEADERS COMPETE FOR WHAT MAY BECOME $1.5 BILLION INDUSTRY

2005-02-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

Interesting article about two approaches to cell phone games - leveraging existing brands (NFL) or creating completly new types of gaming content specifically for the phone. -- quote ``It's hard to get someone to start playing a new kind of entertainment without a hook like a brand,'' said P.J. McNealy, an analyst at American Technology Research. ``In the long run, it may be unique content that wins. In the near term, it's about branding.'' http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/10978860.htm

Random House to offer educational content over cell phones

2005-02-25T17:02:00.000-08:00

The New York Times reports that Random House announced that it had acquired a minority stake in Vocel, a San Diego start-up company that offers educational content to subscribers over cellphones for a monthly fee.
"Random House said it had also agreed to license two product lines - Living Language, a series of foreign-language self-study programs, and Prima Games, which publishes video-game strategy guides - to Vocel for use with its cellphone technology.
Under the agreements, Vocel will adapt language-study guides and video-game tips from Random House for delivery to cellphones beginning sometime this summer. While most information will be in the form of text, the Living Language service will also permit users to hear the correct pronunciations of foreign words."

Vocel

2005-02-25T16:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.vocel.com/
VOCEL is a publisher of premium-branded applications for mobile phones, bringing exciting new capabilities. VOCEL's patent-pending push technology sends interactive messages to your mobile phone. Whether you are preparing for a college entrance exam, learning a new language, or keeping track of your health, your mobile phone can now be your best asset. Ever forget to study? Just let your phone send you practice questions throughout the day!
VOCEL's premium-branded content partners include The Princeton Review, Living Language, Prima Games, and the United States Postal Service. VOCEL technology integrates voice, data, and messaging to improve the quality of your life!

First Post

2005-02-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

Greetings. Hello World