MMS Group Chat

Mobile technology company Echovox has launched a cross-network MMS Chat service, which enables users to add pictures, sound and video content to their discussions.

'MMS Group Chat' will allow users to interact with multiple participants in a chatroom by sending both SMS and MMS messages.

To avoid chatroom abuse, Echovox will constantly moderate all messages and content through a Web-based console. For adult services, Echovox will request age verification and ensure content is compliant with network operator and country regulations.
PDF of the press release (via New Media Zero ).

Hooters on your handset

Summus has released the 2005 Hooters Calendar Girls for wallpaper for its mobile phones. Each image costs US$1.99. Summus has high-hopes for sales of the new collection, as last year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit portfolio has had 1.2 million downloads to date.

via [MocoNews]

Charlie Brown Goes Mobile

Wireless users no longer have to wait for the Sunday paper to arrive to find out why Charlie Brown is crying "Good Grief!" thanks to a licensing deal FunMail has inked with United Media, reports Wireless Week.

"The deal will enable FunMail to add comic strips featuring Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang to its Mobile Comics Network.

FunMail plans to offer a downloadable "best of" anthology of the Peanuts Comics for $1.99 per month for unlimited viewing."

Related articles on mobile cartoons from around the world:

-- The Incredible Shrinking Comic - the next big thing in the comics world is the small cell-phone screen, according to Randy Dotinga reporting from the Comic-Con International in San Diego.

-- Cartoon Network introduces mobile TV in Italy - Italian mobile operator 3 will distribute Cartoon Network to its videophone subscribers.

-- KTF users can send cartoons on their mobile handsets - KTF (Korea) announced Wednesday its MMS or multimedia messaging service allows users to send cartoon mail on their cell phones.

-- mixipicts, cartoons for your mobile - A smart new animated messaging service for mobile phones has been launched by Glasgow-based company mixipix.

-- Mobile Phone Comic-books Launched - Net publishing firm iComic Press has launched a new technology which allows users to download interactive comic-books to their handsets and also provides the tools for artists to create and upload their own work.

-- Mobile Comics on Sprint - Sprint USA has launched a mobile comics service, in association with Funmail's Mobile Comics Networks. These daily comics include strips from household names such as Dilbert, Dick Tracy, Zits, Baby Blues, Momma and Beetle Bailey.

-- Kuwaiti mobile users get MMS Arabic cartoons - Wataniya Telecom has announced an MMS service offering Arabic cartoons and comics to mobile users in Kuwait. Called 'Action', subscribers will receive a weekly MMS cartoon

-- Dilbert comics on your cell screen - The Dilbert service offered by FunMail lets users receive a series of the funniest Dilbert comic strips, and store them in a virtual "archive" for viewing anytime they wish.

Kodak launches Sports image library for mobile phones

As part of its push into mobile servies, Kodak has announced that it will offer a premium-content sport images service that will be able to be downloaded and saved as wallpaper on to mobile phones, in the UK and in France, according to Rafat Ali for Moco News.

"The French photo agency AFP will regularly supply the library with pictures from international competitions in a large number of sport categories…This wallpaper premium service is available in the UK at a premium SMS rate of GBP 3. "

The Incredible Shrinking Comic 

With failing newspaper readership, cartoonists are losing their audience, so the next big thing in the comics world is the small cell-phone screen, according to Randy Dotinga reporting from the Comic-Con International in San Diego for Wired.

"Later this summer, an aggregation site called Go Comics will expand to include offerings of strips like Doonesbury and La Cucaracha, all available to mobile-phone users willing to shell out $2 or $3 a month for access.

In addition to the financial benefits, comics by cell phone will help rookie cartoonists find an audienc. Users will be able to try new comics for free and forward them to the cell phones of their friends."

Related articles on mobile cartoons from around the world:

-- Cartoon Network introduces mobile TV in Italy - Italian mobile operator 3 will distribute Cartoon Network to its videophone subscribers.

-- KTF users can send cartoons on their mobile handsets - KTF (Korea) announced Wednesday its MMS or multimedia messaging service allows users to send cartoon mail on their cell phones.

-- mixipicts, cartoons for your mobile - A smart new animated messaging service for mobile phones has been launched by Glasgow-based company mixipix.

-- Mobile Phone Comic-books Launched - Net publishing firm iComic Press has launched a new technology which allows users to download interactive comic-books to their handsets and also provides the tools for artists to create and upload their own work.

-- Mobile Comics on Sprint - Sprint USA has launched a mobile comics service, in association with Funmail's Mobile Comics Networks. These daily comics include strips from household names such as Dilbert, Dick Tracy, Zits, Baby Blues, Momma and Beetle Bailey.

-- Kuwaiti mobile users get MMS Arabic cartoons - Wataniya Telecom has announced an MMS service offering Arabic cartoons and comics to mobile users in Kuwait. Called 'Action', subscribers will receive a weekly MMS cartoon

-- Dilbert comics on your cell screen - The Dilbert service offered by FunMail lets users receive a series of the funniest Dilbert comic strips, and store them in a virtual "archive" for viewing anytime they wish.

KTF users can send cartoons on their mobile handsets

KTF (Korea) announced Wednesday its MMS or multimedia messaging service allows users to send cartoon mail on their cell phones, according to Telecoms Korea.

Users can choose their favorite 4-piece cartoon and insert a few lines or select sample pieces one by one to make a full cartoon. They can also draw a carton of their own using drawing menu.

Related MMS cartoon services from around the world:

-- mixipicts, cartoons for your mobile - A smart new animated messaging service for mobile phones has been launched by Glasgow-based company mixipix.

-- Mobile Phone Comic-books Launched - Net publishing firm iComic Press has launched a new technology which allows users to download interactive comic-books to their handsets and also provides the tools for artists to create and upload their own work.

-- Mobile Comics on Sprint - Sprint USA has launched a mobile comics service, in association with Funmail's Mobile Comics Networks. These daily comics include strips from household names such as Dilbert, Dick Tracy, Zits, Baby Blues, Momma and Beetle Bailey.

-- Kuwaiti mobile users get MMS Arabic cartoons - Wataniya Telecom has announced an MMS service offering Arabic cartoons and comics to mobile users in Kuwait. Called 'Action', subscribers will receive a weekly MMS cartoon

-- Dilbert comics on your cell screen - The Dilbert service offered by FunMail lets users receive a series of the funniest Dilbert comic strips, and store them in a virtual "archive" for viewing anytime they wish.

mixipicts, cartoons for your mobile

A smart new animated messaging service for mobile phones has been launched by Glasgow-based company mixipix, reports What Cellphone moible phone news.

"The smart part is that the mixipix technology automatically detects which type of phone a user has and dynamically renders each image to make the most of the target phone's specifications.

Users of the mixipix cartoon messaging service can either create a cartoon from scratch or select from a wide choice of animations split into four categories: Bad Boys, Sugar & Spice, Party Animal and Planet Marvin - mixipix's very own hero."

Nokia sends killer-SMS to own customers

Sounds like Nokia has made an embarrassing mistake. According to a post in Mobitopia, "Nokia has been sending out picture SMS messages to invite their customers to CeBIT. Unfortunately, this particular SMS seems to have rendered several Nokia phones (3510i, 5100, 6100) unusable to the point that they need to be reanimated in a Nokia Service Center. Oops.

Pictures of the Chippendales on cell phones

Erotic pictures coming on a cell phone near you - not of women but of men. Interested carriers can contact Clear Sky Mobile Media, an Orlando-based mobile entertainment company, for mobile services based on the famous male strippers, the Chippendales.

"The men of Chippendales will soon show up as screen savers and wallpapers on the phones of their fans worldwide. Electronic greeting cards featuring images of the men in cuffs and collars will allow fans to send "Happy Birthday" and "Get Well Soon" messages that will make a lasting impression. For those who need a little direction (and excitement) in their lives, the Chippendales men will also be accompanying horoscopes in multimedia messages delivered on a daily or weekly basis". [Yahoo Business] via [Moco News]

Cingular Hops on the MMS Train, Just as It's About to Leave Station

On Friday Cingular finally caught up to the other big GSM networks in the US and launched MMS services for all enabled handsets. Previously, Cingular customers could only send picture messages using email over GPRS. [Eric Lin for TheFeature.com]

Multimedia handset growth still low in Europe

"Sending photos and downloading video clips through mobile phones has been slow to take off, as penetration rates of multimedia handsets remain low, according to the WSJ.

"Handsets capable of sending multimedia messages will account for about 10% of the western European market by the end of the year, while mobile phones with built-in cameras will have a penetration rate of just 4%, according to recent research from technology consulting firm Strategy Analytics".

In-Stat reports decreasing Short Messaging Service in Japan due to MMS

This is a very interesting and surprising report on the Japanese market, claiming that text messaging (SMS) is declining in favor of Multi Media Messaging (MMS).

"In-StatMDR expects that SMS will lose ground to both Multi-Message Services (MMS), e-mail, and, eventually, to Instant Messaging (IM).

The Asian Pacific region as a whole will see explosive growth in messaging volumes throughout the forecast period from 2003 through 2007.  While SMS will generate the highest volume of messages of any format, MMS will generate nearly twice as much revenue, due to the higher tariffs charged for MMS", reports In-StatMDR via Smart Mobs.

Advertisers get product placement ops in mobile soap

As reported last month, the sequence of events in the new UK soap opera called «InYrShoes», is decided by viewers through text messaging, with fans being able to keep up with the soap's development by SMS updates or through photostrip multimedia messages sent directly to their cell phones.

Now, according to Revolution Magazine, "advertisers will also be able to get involved by having their products mentioned or ads tracked in the storylines, with the airtime sales company Guerillascope selling space on the soap".

"There's been no shortage of advertisers willing to fund or sponsor a unique series like this -- whatever the theme, sport or aimed at women.' David Yorath, managing director of Guerillascope, said. "It's the perfect research tool for the client and an innovative use of cross platform functionality via mobile," he added. "

MMS alert of someone breaking into your home

The BBC reports on a new security service by a London based company called CCTVSafe, that hooks up cameras to the Internet and sends a text message to a mobile if something moves. "Home owners can watch the live pictures from their mobile and alert the police if someone is attempting a break-in." The images can be seen on standard GSM mobiles, instead of sophisticated third generation video phones.

Other companies such as Obertech Security, equips its customers with cameras that are capable of transmitting images to MMS capable mobile phones, enabling clients to identify at a distance, a person entering a premise.

And Surelabs Alertwizard is another company which offers a security service that sends text messages, photo and video alerts from a monitored area, if someone should break in or just ring the doorbell.

cf previous posts in picturephoning, Watching intruders on your cellphone and Security Monitoring.

Nokia Tries Sporty MMS

Nokia and international sports marketing company IMG/TWI teamed up to develop the Essential Sports Service to deliver sports images, news, updates and audio commentary to sports' fans mobile phones. In total five operators in Asia Pacific and Europe offered the individually branded services to their MMS subscribers, according to Unstrung.

India offers interoperable MMS

Indian cellcos Bharti Cellular, Essar Hutchison and Idea Cellular have partnered to allow MMS interoperability over each other's networks. The announcement will affect 1 million subscribers, who until now could only send MMS' on the same network, reports Telecoms.com.

MMS interoperability in the USA to improve

3G Americas, a trade organization focused on the mobile industry in the Americas, has recommended a set of common elements for operators and vendors supporting MMS inter-carrier interoperability, according to Cellular News.

cf related article: Lack of Interoperability Hurting MMS in US.

MMS comes to landline phones

Text Messaging has been offered on landline phones in various countries, cf previous posts - Texting from Landline Phones and SMS on landlines in India - but to the best of my knowledge, this it the first time MMS is offered on fixed-line phones.

"LogicaCMG says that its MMS solution will be used by ITENOS (International Telecom Network Operation Services), a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom, to launch the country's first fixed-line MMS service, reports Cellular News.

This new service will allow for content providers to deliver rich multimedia content to fixed-line handsets.

By offering MMS and other data services to fixed-line subscribers, application and content providers are able to target specific market segments such as teenagers, the elderly, ethnic communities and business users with special products and tariffs".

Philippine network enables international MMS sending

Philippine expats working abroad can now receive picture messages from home.

Philippines based GSM network Globe Telecom offers its subscribers to send and receive Multimedia Messaging (MMS) to and from cellular operators in different destinations around the world, according to Cellular News Network

Service offers visualisation of real time traffic

Finland's Radiolinja and software expert PTV have developped a system which draws traffic information from the movement of mobile phones within the mobile communication network, enabling the euser to have access to almost real-time traffic information.

PTV transfers the data to the mobile handset by using coloured, clearly structured maps, according to Cellular News.

Service offers visualisation of real time traffic

Finland's Radiolinja and software expert PTV have developped a system which draws traffic information from the movement of mobile phones within the mobile communication network, enabling the euser to have access to almost real-time traffic information.

PTV transfers the data to the mobile handset by using coloured, clearly structured maps, according to Cellular News.

Vietnam gets MMS

Early adopters of mobile services in Vietnam will be able to send multimedia messages from the third quarter of 2003, reports Mobile SMS via 3G portal.

Tarot readings by MMS

Greek mobile operator Telestet is offering tarot card reading by MNS. Users must think of an issue that concern them and then send a message to a special number to receive three Tarot cards along with descriptions of their meaning, reports SMS: Business Gets the Message.

MMS use explodes in Norway

According to Per Helmersen, Senior Research Psychologist at Telenor, Norway's two MMS service providers, MMS use has exploded in Norway this Summer - 160,000 messages in May, 550,000 in June and 1.35 million in July - making Norway the leading MMS nation in Europe. Norway has a population of 4.4 mill. and a mobile penetration of 84% (ITU, 2002).

Telenor and NetCom, have extended the free MMS trial period for their customers through October (started in June).

Holland launches first MMS Soap

The Netherlands brings us the first MMS Soap, Jong-Zuid, starring famous soap opera actors. Read more in Picturephoning.

Animated MMS avatars

Stereotypes looks like a fun new MMS service according MMS Memo. It takes your text messages and turns them into animated picture messages using one of six StereoTypes characters. Each character has a range of custom animations but apparently you can't tell which one will get attached to your message, so be careful what you type…who knows what might happen!

Norwegians sent 2.3 million mobile images

Norwegians sent 2.3 million images via their mobile phones in June and July, through the networks of mobile companies NetCom and Telenor. The two mobile giants let customers send images for free these two months. The campaign has now been extended to last throughout August.

Netcom has 65.000 users who send image messages and Telenor had 110.000 customers using picture phones in July, according to Nettavisen.

MMS interconnection service launched

Infomatch, provider of domestic and global inter-carrier wireless data solutions, has launched a service enabling mobile subscribers to exchange MMS messages with mobile subscribers on different carrier networks.

The service also allows for delivery of MMS messages to non-MMS carriers, via an SMS alert; subscribers of non-MMS carriers would then be able to view the message on the Internet.

"By providing SMS notifications to recipients of MMS messages from carriers outside of InphoMatch's MMS delivery network, we enable virtually any MMS to be delivered - regardless of its destination," said William Dudley, senior director of Product Management for InphoMatch interviewed by Cellular News.

Refrigerated MMS

Home appliance company, Electrolux says that it is currently developing an appliance that allows consumers to monitor refrigerator contents with digital images.

Able to take pictures inside a fridge through a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) capable device, the Food Manager System will provide mobile phone users with an instant inventory of what food they have through a digital snapshot taken of the interior.  The appliance currently only exists as a concept model but is expected to be used commercially in the future, according to Cellular News.

MMS: Kuwaiti mobile users get MMS Arabic cartoons

Wataniya Telecom has announced an MMS service offering Arabic cartoons and comics to mobile users in Kuwait. Called 'Action', subscribers will receive a weekly MMS cartoon, according to 160characters.org.

In the US, "Best of Dilbert" comics have been available to mobile phone users since June 2003, through FunMail (cf Dilbert comics on your cell screen).