Ringtones

Personalization Evolves, What's Next?

Wed, 28 May 2008 16:50:46 -0400

By Susan Murray

There was a time when mobile personalization meant simply polyphonic ringtones and static wallpapers, but as the market evolves, developers and carriers are pushing beyond the basics into ringback tones, video and user-specific recommendations.

The ringtone market continues to mature, while the graphics market has eroded as more people look to personalize their device, says Seamus McAteer, senior analyst with M:Metrics. There is a growing interest in ringback tones, given the fact that they can be replicated through less expensive user-created content. Record companies like ringbacks because they can deal directly with the operator, while the operator likes them because they offer a recurring revenue source that is not available with ringtones, according to McAteer. BREW users also are highly engaged in ringback tones, with BREW users being 41% more likely than the average users to use ringback tones, according to M:Metrics usage statistics for the three months ended February.

BREW has an engaging user experience, says Brian Casazza, CEO of Zed USA, which was created when Zed Worldwide acquired 9Squared, The platform, at its onset, brought groups together and provided them with a way to make money. "BREW has driven a lot of revenue for our company," he says, noting that its RealTone JukeBox has generated 76 million paid downloads. Monetizing content is key, he says. "The [BREW] platform can be a meaningful source of revenue if an application can connect with users," he says.

Zed's latest offering is VoiceMail Max, which enables users to customize their outgoing voicemail message. The company also is looking to bundle with ringbacks, which is being facilitated by application value building (AVB) - the ability to bundle multiple priced products across verticals.

Another way to connect with users is by recommending content that has meaning and value to a specific user. Zed is looking to do more with marrying mobile content with merchandizing and social community technologies

"Personalization is being defined as user-generated content," says McAteer, who notes that while the market is substantial, there is room for innovation and growth. Casazza, who plans to delve into what is possible with the platform in his BREW session, "The Evolution of Personalized Content," agrees. "BREW is a standardized platform, which helps, but more things are possible."

Ireland's Xiam, which was purchased by Qualcomm in March, is looking to take personalization to the next level through its software that matches behaviors and interest with mobile phone users. The software application, according to Colm Healey, Xiam's vice president and general manager, "solves the problem of discovery on the mobile phone. It narrows down choices for people like 'you.'" Healey expects the application, which already has been commercially deployed by Orange in the U.K. and Vodafone in Ireland, will be included with the next release of BREW, which will open it up to a wider audience given it will work with any multimedia handset.

McAteer sees the ability to recommend or deliver personalize content to a device as a good idea, especially if it integrates merchandising with content. The merchandizing of content on a handset does not do it justice right now. Qualcomm's uiOne is interesting when it comes to personalization, he says, noting the development of new capabilities, including a user being able personalize an entire display and have the content served up to him offline. Xiam's Healey says the ability to recommend the right content is just as important as not offering up the wrong content. With mobile advertising, for instance, there is a risk of people feeling bombarded with information. "Our technology ensures that the user has a high probability to respond to [a particular piece of content]," says Healey.

Developers must avoid trying to retrofit the Internet to the mobile device, according to Healey. "On the Internet you can ignore offers. [On mobiles] you have to make sure you are filtering out the irrelevant and time-wasting stuff."

What drives carriers to personalization?

Money is a big driver for operators to further embrace mobile personalization. "It is a new source of revenue for the operator - if you can move beyond just ringtones and graphics to personalizing the display, it brings you closer to the customer," McAteer says. Zed's Casazza agrees. "If done correctly, it can attract and retain customers, and drive revenue," he says.

But warns Casazza, BREW is not a cheap platform to build for because developers need to port to many handsets. "Do your homework, don't go 'willy-nilly' into building something without talking to the operator first."

mSpot's Make-UR-Tones play for BREW

Wed, 28 May 2008 16:45:55 -0400

By Sue Marek

mSpot's popular customizable ringtone application Make-UR-Tones will now be available to BREW operators. The application has been available as a Java app on AT&T's network but will now have a broader reach thanks to its availability via BREW.

The application has access to more than 250,000 different music tracks, a portfolio that mSpot co-founder and CEO Daren Tsui said may be the largest master tone catalog available today. Tsui said that typically most carriers have about 25,000 to 30,000 master tones available in their portfolio because they first have to get the rights to use the tone from the label and then a publisher has to work on the master tone and select the ringtone clip. "It's a two-step process," Tsui said. "That's why the master tones that most consumers can buy are the latest and the greatest. You don't see the long tail."

Make-UR-Tone meanwhile has access to any music that has been cleared through its publishers. "We leave it up to the users to edit it as they want," Tsui said. The application lets consumers search for the song, listen to it and edit the ringtone. Once they edit the clip that they want as a ringtone, they can then preview it before they commit to purchasing it. Once they decide to buy it, the Make-UR-Tone server takes the information and cuts another version of the ringtone with the exact edits but at a higher bit rate. "This gives the user the best quality," Tsui said. "You get the entire track to edit it like you want it and then we send you the high-fidelity version."

Currently AT&T offers the Make-UR-Tone application for a monthly subscription fee of $6.99 for three master tones. However, Tsui said that the company is working with carriers to also offer it a la carte for $2.99 per tone.

Developers hamstrung by Vodafone software changes

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Mobile developers are up in arms over changes initiated by British operator Vodafone that threaten to hamper the quality of their services and applications while also limiting premium content sales. PCWorld reports that Vodafone recently implemented software created by adaptive content delivery service provider Novarra designed to reformat website content for improved display on mobile screens--however, some firms contend that in the process, Vodafone also removed user agent applications that enable their websites to detect the model and capabilities of handsets viewing their content, in turn optimizing content for that particular phone. Without the user agent, premium content sites also cannot determine which ringtones, wallpapers and related downloads are compatible with a particular phone.

According to PCWorld, Vodafone-approved firms on the operator's so-called "white list" were notified of the changes, and the user agent is so far working correctly in relation to their services. But other developers complain it is difficult and time-consuming to gain white-list access, and that Vodafone requires companies to make certain changes to their site behaviors in order to gain the carrier's seal of approval. At present it is unknown whether Vodafone's removal of the user agent capability was deliberate--on a developers' forum hosted by the operator, one user posting as a Vodafone employee defended the move and said customer feedback is so far mostly positive. But in a blog post on the issue, mobile services developer Lucca Passani writes "The great majority of consumers won't realize that they have been deprived of a service and will not complain."

For more on the Vodafone controversy:
- read this PCWorld article

Related articles:
Vodafone to offer Sharp 903 camera phone
Vodafone exec: Stop making 'crap' games

Hacking your iPhone: Windows Users

Mike Dolan — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 09:42:56 -0400

Having the most sought after handset isn't enough for some mobile phone users. We need to make our phones our own, and if there is one phone that we really want to personalize it's our iPhone. As a Windows user, you might think that the absence of a Mac would keep you from ever getting a new ringtone or game on your handset. Luckily, that's not the case. iBrickr is a ringtone and application manager for the PC and the iPhone. Download the iBrikr here.

Below is a video tutorial from Gear Live's Hack Attack. It includes instructions for installing and using iBrikr directly from the program's creator! He will walk you through the process and help prevent you from deleting the contents of your iPhone. This is a must watch for anyone wanting to use this program.

To get applications for your iPhone check out:

- Exploit.org's apps page

- Google's code page

Disclaimer: Hack your iPhone and download software from the above websites at your own risk. FierceDeveloper does not recommend that you do anything that might destroy your handset or computer. Hacking may also void your warranty.

Bookmark this page and check back for more tips on hacking the iPhone and adding the coolest new applications.

Check out our iPhone tag page for all our iPhone related news.

QUICKLINKS: Telus offers adult content to Canadian subscribers; Why the iPhone is ARM instead of Symbian; Much more...

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 19:01:35 -0500

Telus offers adult content to Canadian subscribers. Article

Opinion: Why the iPhone is ARM, and isn't Symbian. Article

IE Mobile flaw could be used to crash phone. Article

Some TomTom devices ship with virus. Article

China launches 4G network in Shanghai. Article

OwnYourPhone.com: make ringtones from any song. Website

Google Maps now available as a native Windows Mobile app. Website

New GPS chip for phones supposedly works indoors. Release

QUICKLINKS: Mobile web business plan competition; Opera Mini 3.0 beta review ; Much more...

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 19:01:35 -0500

Mobile web business plan competition. Blog

Here we go again: NTP sues Palm for patent infringement. Article

Review: Opera Mini 3.0 beta. Blog

Enpocket scores $2 million in funding. Blog

Ads in ringtones?! What'll they think of next? Blog

Report: Mobile blogging more hype than substance. FierceMobileContent

Windows Communication Foundation (Compact Edition) and the story of the Lunch Launcher. Blog

Report: Twice as many music phones as MP3 players. FierceMobileContent

Editor's Corner: The future of ringtones

Eli Dickinson — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

As I've said before, ringtones may be big business, but I don't think it can last. Of course, that's just my opinion. Research and Markets has released a new report with some interesting predictions:

The report predicts that full-length song downloads will remain popular in Japan, but that the success will not carry over to Europe and the U.S.
Covertones--ringtones of popular songs covered by other, less expensive artists--are here to stay.
Creating your own ringtones will remain difficult thanks to DRM and other restrictions.
Pure-play mobile aggregators are in trouble since operators and content providers are increasingly going direct-to-consumer.
The report says, "price differentials between ringtones, online music and mobile music will converge." I take this to mean that ringtone and full-length mobile music tracks will fall in price to around the iTunes $0.99 price.

- Eli

BMI predicts growth in ringtones

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:01:37 -0400

BMI, the organization that represents the rights of artists and performers, expects the ringtone market to grow 20 percent in 2006, not including ringback tones and additional music services. Of course, this isn't exactly an impartial source. Blog

GDC: Mobile music & games

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 19:01:36 -0500

Mobile music is obviously a hot sector in the mobile content marketplace, but a session yesterday at GDC pointed out some of the more innovative uses of music on mobile phones. Examples include themed mobile games, customizable background music, and a Name That Tune ringtone game. There is a lot of potential here. Release

Creating ringtones

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 19:01:34 -0500

Mopocket has a detailed guide on what it takes to make your own ringtone and a nice overview of some of the products and services that can help you out. Blog