Russian Mobile Content News
Weekly Newsletter

i-Free earned $40.2 mln in 2005 financial year
The II Mobile VAS Conference (November 17-18, St. Petersburg) started from a speech of Kirill Petrov (managing director of i-Free, the largest Russian VAS provider). According to Petrov, i-Free earned $40.2 mln in 2005 financial year (2004 – $27.9 mln, 2003 – $0.634 mln, 2002 – $25,000). In 2005 i-Free served 20 mln mobile VAS customers, processed 91 mln requests.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/news/article/017190.htm

Mobile communities getting popularity
The best results in mobile community development have been shown by i-Free with Jamango product (over 1.3 mln users, including 29% active ones, in Russia and Ukraine since the service start in November 2004) and by Nikita Mobile with CiTY: World of Dating project (still in a testing phase for half a year). Another company, Moboland, is just entering the segment with a service to be based on a multiuser online game.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/sub/content/news/017193.htm

TV news available in air to mobile users
NTV channel and Next Media Entertainment have released a service "Voice portal Segodnya", providing users of mobile phones to listen Segodnya TV news. That is the fist such kind of service in Russia.
Source: http://www.sotovik.ru/news/news_18269.html

SMS-to-ICQ: new service for R&D Center PROTEI
Expanding product line focused on value added services for mobile subscribers, PROTEI presented its new product - SMS-to-ICQ gateway.
Source: http://www.sotovik.ru/news/news_18270.html

Mobile marketing getting high attention
The Russian market is speeding up with mobile marketing. Analysts outline four leaders in mobile marketing: BrandMobil?, i-Free, Next Media Group and Sibius. Some others also count Plastic Media, SMS Media Solutions, EMG, Svjaznoi Zagruzka, Inform-Mobile and SMXCom.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/news/article/017213.htm

II Mobile VAS Conference results
The event has gathered 365 participants from Russia, the CIS region (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine), the Western and Central Europe, India, Mongolia, the USA. Representing leading CIS cellular operators, majority of Russian VAS providers, mobile terminal producers, software developers, financial institutions, market research companies, media holdings, advertisement agencies, journalists from business and IT press. The event was organized by ADMIN Ltd. and sponsored by i-Free, United Fun Traders, Ericsson and Mauj Telecom.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/analit/_content_2ndVAS_anket.htm
http://www.adminltd.com/eng/conferences/

EastWind Content Management System for Tadjik providers
Content providers NextStyle and Yasim (Tadjikistan) have chosen a content management system developed by a Moscow based company EastWind. The product allows to define automatically user's phone model and functionality for mobile content over WAP-push protocol.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/sub/content/news/017226.htm

Nikita launching mobile game Sphera
A Moscow based computer game developer Nikita released a mobile version of the MMORPG game Sphera. The product running on PDA's and cellular phones with Windows Mobile. The game, developed by Nikita in cooperation with Intel Early Access, have retained most of the original PC version functionality.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/sub/content/news/017236.htm

SMS Media Solutions serving regional TV shows
An interactive show pilot called Svetophor started on the Skat TV channel in Samara. SMS Media Solutions provided both SMS services (CALL-TV format) and SMS-TV video platform software for the TV channel. According to the company report, SMS Media Solutions' overall turnover was $6.6 mln for the first half of 2005.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/sub/content/news/017239.htm

Java catalogs of mobile content
Hit Express is a free to download Java catalog of ring- tones, realtones, Java games and video, currently listing over 35 products provided by PlayMobile. The catalog is compatible with 130 most popular cellular phone models in Russia. The application allows users to reduce WAP/GPRS traffic expenditures in process of ordering mobile content products. SMSPLAY and NewEgde also started offering a Java catalog of ringtones.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/sub/content/news/017267.htm
http://www.mforum.ru/news/article/017265.htm

Mobile users are not happy with services
According to a Mobile Stile magazine research, mobile users are complaining about quality of cellular services, including VAS. 38.5% respondents counted operator network overloads, 31.8% unhappy with speed and quality of data transmission, 27.6% encountered problems at service offices of operators, only 17.6% are regular users of MMS and 11.7% of WAP. Many users are complaining about insufficient information provided on mobile services.
Source: http://www.cellnews.ru/news/soft/24-11-2005/2542.htm

FMCG promo standards to help i-mode
In Russia i-mode was launched by MTS on September 15, 2005. By the end of 2005 MTS expects to gain 25,000 i-mode users (while MTS customer base supposed to reach 50 mln people). Analysts were very skeptical about the ways MTS promoted the very i-mode service and i-mode enabled terminals. Meanwhile, a recently launched i-mode campaign is based on FMCG promotion standards scarcely used by Russian mobile operators before.
Source: http://www.cellnews.ru/news/soft/24-11-2005/2552.htm

"INFON: Mobilny Vernisage" contest rewarded winners
Winners of the "INFON: Mobilny Vernisage" contest have got LG B2250 phone gifts at a ceremony on November 23 in Moscow. During the contest organized by VAS provider INFON anyone could present his/her own pictures for mobile phones to organizer's site or vote online for nominated items.
Source: http://www.procontent.ru/?page=news&id=531

Plastic Media won over Jam Publishing in court
The arbitrage has rejected a claim of Jam Publishing against Plastic Media. The plaintiff brought a recovery suit for production and distribution of ringtones based on a Igor Korneljuk's popular melody. Jam Publishing said they had had exclusive rights on that musical composition. Plastic Media provided evidences of falsifications done by Jam Publishing. The content provider in cooperation with the popular Russian composer/singer Igor Korneljuk is ready to help other victims of Jam Publishing in court.
Source: http://www.mforum.ru/news/article/017292.htm

SMS Media Solutions serving JuniorEurovision'05
The content provider will provide SMS voting for the JuniorEurovision'2005 music contest on the territory of Russia and Belarus. In 2004, serving adult Eurovision for Russia, SMS Media Solutions has processed 0.11 mln short messages sent during 10 minute period.
Source: http://www.cellnews.ru/news/soft/25-11-2005/2559.htm

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