Egypt court cancels restrictions imposed on SMS news alerts

An Egyptian court overruled on Saturday a decision by the telecommunications authority to impose restrictions on media companies that send out news alerts to cell phones. Monsters&Critics reports.

The daily al-Masry al-Youm said that to keep SMS rights they 'were expected to pay' 500,000 Egyptian pounds (87,700 dollars) for the permit and an additional 500,000 Egyptian pounds for insurance in case they were found violating the new regulations.

The Administrative Court said the government's action were a restriction on freedom of expression and an unjustified intrusion on the SMS alert services. It is not yet clear if the government will try to appeal the verdict.

Read full article.

MobileActive.org. How an Afghan News Agency Retools Mobile Technology

In Afghanistan, a documentary media company and an independent news agency have teamed up to integrate mobile phones and SMS into news reports. From election day text messages to stories of homemade airplanes, one news agency shows how a willingness to adapt mobile platforms to the landscape can contribute to a successful intersection of technology and media.

Read full article in MobileActive.org.

Now Newspapers Can Count Their Mobile Audiences, Too

One of the world’s leading newspaper auditors has added mobile phones to the list of mediums that it tracks, providing validation to the wireless industry, while also potentially giving publications a shot of new readers as traditional print audiences decline.

[via mocoNews]

Zimbabwe’s new constitution

As a community service, The Zimbabwean - an international newspaper for Zimbabweans at home and abroad - is offering space in every issue to enable the people to have their say about the new Constitution document that will become the foundation of the new Zimbabwe.

Please SMS your views to +263 913 245 709 – and The Zimbabwean will publish as many as possible in the coming weeks.

In mobile phone journalism, Africa is ahead of the west

In areas where net-connected computers are not as common, the mobile phone is already becoming a vital tool for news. The Guardian reports.

Apart from radio, mobile phones are a relevant distribution tool for news. Newspapers only matter in urban areas and with policy makers," says James Mbugua, Business Writer at Radio Africa.

TV has maybe gained, but newspapers provide the content that they actually talk about. The majority of people is getting their news with radio as it has a lot of reach in rural areas, or with mobile phones. So quite a few of the media houses send out text messages with breaking news, final scores of sport games and stocks."

Read full article.

Economist Replaces Your Newsstand Guy With a Cellphone

In a potential advance for the forces of paid content, The Economist is introducing a trial program today that lets New Yorkers use their cellphones to order overnight home delivery of the new issue at the regular newsstand price. AdAge reports.

New Yorkers who have signed up for weekly texts announcing each issue's topics will also receive a URL for a web page they can visit to order the issue. Those who order by 9 p.m. are guaranteed a hand-delivered copy by 6 a.m. the next morning -- in time to beat the commute.

The weekly texts go out on Thursday afternoons, meaning recipients can get overnight copies before newsstands get them at about 9 a.m.

n England, where The Economist first tried the approach two months ago, people who have preregistered can just reply to the text messages to get their overnight copies. The Economist hopes to have that simpler system in place by the time it widens the New York trial to cover the entire U.S.

Read full article.

[via MocoNews]

NBC News launches Today in History SMS Alert

NBC News has launched a new SMS service called Today in History. It sends out one fact per day about an event that occurred on the current date in an earlier year. Simply Text ICUE to 275622.

Also check out NBC's long list of Text Alerts for many of their shows (Jay Leno, Primetime, Daytime, Nightly News, The Today Show. Meet the Press ...)

AFP to boost mobile phone content services

Agence France-Presse will add mobile phone information services in Arabic, German and Portuguese in 2009 as it seeks to further boost revenues from the key new sector, agency chairman Pierre Louette said.

"Turnover in the mobile sector has doubled in 24 months," Louette said. "Our aim is to provide services associated with our content" so the agency can generate new revenues, he told a press conference Thursday.

AFP proposes a specialised news journal for mobile phones, text alerts and multimedia downloads. These already exist in English, Spanish and French and the new languages will be added early next year, Louette said."

Daily Mail tries to lure users with free international texts

Following the launch of their MailTXT texting service earlier this year, UK's Daily Mailhas now announced that new users will get 50 free international SMS messages to any phone when they sign up.

The intention of the scheme is to ‘build a more interactive relationship with its readers’, a press release said.

[via Journalism.co.uk]

Metro launch MMS picture classifieds

Free newspaper metro is to launch a MMS-driven picture classified service. 16characters.org reports.

"Advertisers will be able to transfer their images directly from their camera-phones over mobiya's short codes by MMS into the online and print classified listings of SMS Deal, a Metro classified brand operated by Mobiya.

Available in September 2008, Metro and Mobiya are currently testing the service in Belgium. In less than one-minute from snapping the image, the picture classified ad is online, and in the print edition the next day."

How to Save Local Newspapers: Cellphones

Verve Wireless’s mission is to save the local paper by making it mobile. It provides publishers with the technology to create mobile Web sites, so readers can read the paper on their cell phones. Verve or the newspaper then sell ads on those sites.

Verve already powers mobile versions of 4,000 newspapers from 140 publishers, including the Associated Press, McClatchy, and the New York Times Regional Media Group.

[via Bits]

IHT Launches iPhone Site

The International Herald Tribune has launched an iPhone-optimized version of its web site IHT.com. For details on how it was built, check out IHT developer’s blog.

[via MocoNews]

AP launches news service geared for iPhone

The Associated Press and more than 100 of its member newspapers are launching a service Monday that will make news stories available on Apple Inc.'s iPhone and other mobile devices.

"Paul Caluori, director of client content services for AP, said the service now has 107 newspapers participating, up from 18 at the time of the announcement. The papers include The Miami Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle and the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press."

AP Announces Mobile Services

The Associated Press announced Monday it will develop an advertising-supported service that will deliver stories and photos to advanced cell phones, including the iPhone.

The service, which will carry local news from participating newspapers as well as national and international news from the AP, is being tested with several newspaper companies and is expected to launch in the summer under the name Mobile News Network, the AP said.

AP said it was working with cell phone manufacturers and carriers to develop a user interface for the service. A product to provide news videos is also in the works.

[via IntoMobile]

TV Guide Goes Mobile

TV Guide launches M.TVGuide.com.

The TV Guide mobile Web offering provides a 14-day look ahead at localized TV listings complete with episode descriptors. Series and show reminders can be sent via text messages to users’ cell phones, the company said.

[TWICE via NewTeeVee]

CBS News to launch smart mobile site

CBS News is launching an improved mobile site that will recommend relevant headlines based on what people with similar tastes are clicking on.

CBS has partnered with a company called Aggregate Knowledge, which sifts through click-histories of every story on the site and looks at users in aggregate in order to find patterns in those clicks so that it can recommend the most relevant content.

[Press release via Cyberjournalist]

Beeb offers smart version of mobile site

The BEEB has introduced a new version of its mobile web site which is specifically targetted at PDA and smartphone users, reports The Inquirer. It will concentrate almost exclusively on sport and news.

"There are now actually four different versions of the Beeb's mobile site. The original three were a standard WAP version; an XHTML (or WAP 2.0) version; plus the option to view the Beeb site as if you have a desktop PC.

The new 'PDA' version is accessed by going to the bottom of the initial page and selecting 'prefences'. Mobile surfers will also need to use the correct URL which is www.bbc.co.uk/mobile."

1st English-Chinese mobile paper launched in China

Jointly produced by China Daily and China Mobile and launched yesterday, China Daily Mobile News sends English-Chinese news to users' cell phones as multimedia messages through wireless technology.

China Daily Mobile News will allow Olympic athletes, officials and visitors the opportunity to experience China's internationalization, technological advancements and improved English communication standards, from the moment they set foot in China.

[China Daily via SMS Text News]

UK’s Daily Mail Launches Free Text Service

The UK’s Daily Mail launched an unlimited text messaging service today, aimed at driving consumers to its mobile web portal, reports Moco News.

"The MailTXT service must first be downloaded in the form of a Java application onto a consumer’s phone. Text messages sent between MailTXT members anywhere in the world are free."

Text your picks to the polls

Cyberjournalist reports on a clever voter's tool built by the Los Angeles Times.

"You decide while visiting latimes.com which candidates and ballot measures you want to vote for, select them and send them as a text message to your cell phone so that you can easily take them with you when you go to the polls."

AT&T Mobility inks exclusive for New York Times mobile site

The New York Times secured on-deck placement with AT&T Mobility.

AT&T said it inked an exclusive, four-month deal to link to the newspaper’s mobile site from its wireless portal.

The deal gives its customers access to all of the content from The New York Times' mobile site, including its opinion, business and sports columnists, at no charge beyond standard access fees.

The New York Times' mobile Web site is accessible from any Internet-capable phone through mobile.nytimes.com.

[via RCRNews]

Previously:

-- Full Daily Contents of NYTimes.com Now Accessible on Mobile Phones - The New York Times Company has announced the launch of a new mobile site, which provides access to news and information from NYTimes.com via mobile devices.

The world's first "newspaper" cell phone

Sweden's daily morning newspaper Dagens Nyheter said Wednesday it had launched the world's first "newspaper" telephone: a mobile phone offering the daily's subscribers direct and free access to its website. The AFP reports.

"DN subscribers can purchase the Nokia 6120 third generation phone on the paper's website, and by signing up for a 199-kronor (31-dollar, 21-euro) monthly call plan can freely surf the daily's website by simply hitting a special "DN" button.

"Many people (in Sweden) think it's complicated (to Internet surf on their mobile phones) and they don't know how much it costs," the paper's head of marketing Johan Othelius told DN. "Now we're removing that obstacle," he added.

iPhone news sites

News sites are starting to release new iPhone sites now. Cyberjournalist has put together the list so far:

-- Fox News
-- Sky News
-- suntimes.com
-- latimes.com
-- BBC podcasts
-- cbsnews.com

France. First mobile press accreditation

According to Rue89, the French commission that regulates press accreditations, La Commission de la Carte de Presse, issued it's first official press pass to a mobile journalist - who works for a news channel which broadcasts exclusively over mobile phones. Yay!

Drudge Report Mobile

Matt Drudge has just launched the Drudge Report Mobile, a mobile version of his famous Drudge Report. Just headlines: no bells, no whistles.

[via CrunchGear]

Times UK launches mobile news service

Times Media is set to launch a new mobile internet product next week that will enable users to access news and views from The Times, The Sunday Times, and Times Online.

"The content will include breaking news, business, sports, art, entertainment, real time football scores and searchable jobs. "

[mad.co.uk via mocoNews.net]

PressDisplay offers world newspapers on iPhone

Mobile PressDisplay.com from NewspaperDirect delivers the widest selection of full content newspapers to readers anywhere, anytime.

"Touting “500 newspapers from 70 countries in 37 languages,” just as they appear in print, PressDisplay.com is now available free for a month for iPhone users."

[via Crunch Gear]

The AP to send breaking news straight to phones

MocoNews reports that the Associated Press is launching a mobile news service in Europe, which will offer news and photo services direct to mobiles.

"It will launch this quarter and be subscription-based, reports Tech.co.uk. Customers will download an application from Picsel and will select content from breaking news, sports, world news and entertainment."

CNN chooses Clickatell to power SMS breaking news service

International broadcast news network CNN has chosen leading mobile messaging provider Clickatell to power the promotional version of its “Breaking News Alert” SMS service to mobile phone users around the world. The promotional service is set to go live in June.

The service will allow users to receive a headline alert as text message to their mobile phone as soon as a major international news story breaks.

[via Press release]

'USA Today' Texts Ads Alongside News

To help drive text messaging and open up a new revenue stream, USA Today will announce this week the launch of an integrated platform combining print and interactive ads in text messages. adWeek reports.

"Charter advertisers include Citibank, which is promoting a new mobile banking service to customers via new cell phone ads. Chevrolet and Microsoft are also on board.

... Print ads in the paper's Money and Sports sections, as well as on its weather page, will give readers a number they can text with requests for up-to-date information on a company or sports team, or to get a five-day local weather forecast. The reply would contain an interactive ad. "