AdMob used to boost Battle Bear App Store ranking
In order to boost up the ranking of its Battle Bears iPhone game, the SkyVu Pictures ran a mobile ad campaign via the AdMob ad network.
According to Benjamin Vu, founder of SkyVu Bellevue, CA, the company’s major update to Battle Bears was released during a very competitive holiday season. The company launched a weekend burst campaign for the iPhone game, with the help of AdMob, which catapulted both the company’s paid and free versions back into the top 50.
Basically SkyVu Pictures is an animation studio specializing in computer generated animation for commercials ads and entertainment projects. The campaign aimed at pushing Battle ears Free into the top 100 overall free applications.
The ad campaigns not just increased the daily volume of the application by 1000 percent but also increased the daily paid download volume of the application by a stunning 300 percent. Even the ranking of the free application improved from 150 to 59.
According to Johanna Werther, manager of product marketing at AdMob, San Mateo, CA, Battle Bears came to the company with the goal of pushing the app into their Top 100 Free Apps, driving downloads and boosting the ranking of its paid version. By displaying Battle Bears ads within AdMob’s network of mobile applications, users had the opportunity to easily download the application and the results for Battle Bears were Strong.
Battle Bears is a one-person shooter game in which the player has to control a renegade teddy bear hidden behind sandbags while he shoots at the enemy teddy bears.
Verizon to launch 4G phones by mid- 2011 (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Verizon customers waiting for its 4G handset are not required to hold out the purchase of its 4G phone as the company is not likely to have its very first 4G handset until mid-2011.
According to Anthony Melone, Verizon’s CTO, the carrier could have a 4G phone three to six months after it launches the service and it has committed itself to an aggressive LTE roll-out, which will launch in some markets by the end of the year.
Verizon is likely to be defeated by Clearwire which is building another 4G network based on WiMax technology and as claimed that it could support a phone as early as mid-2010.
Both of these networks don’t have the traditional voice-calling capabilities and will first be used for connecting laptops and other data devices.
AT&T launches three new services and devices (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A trio of new services has been launched by AT&T bringing smart-phone like features to low-cost phones. Address books from a personal e-mail account to their phone can now be easily synced by the users and they can send photos to the cloud on devices that cost between $20 and $40.
The aim behind the launch of the new services is to train consumers to spend more on monthly data plans and to become more dependent on using their phone for more than calling. The three exclusive services include- AT&T Address Book, Next Generation Messaging and AT&T Mobile Share.
AT&T has also announced four new devices in the category of devices quick messaging,†which is their most popular and fastest category of devices. Samsung Strive, Samsung Sunburst and Pantech Link and Pantach Pursuit are the three new devices. Samsung Strive which is arriving on March 21 will be the first phone with AT&T’s new services.
Saudi cellco Mobily offers 21.6Mbps across HSPA+ network
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: It has been announced by the Saudi cellco Mobily that its customers are receiving a mobile transmission speeds of up to 21.6Mbps. The target has been achieved following recent upgrades delivered across its evolved high speed packet access (HSPA+) network.
Connectivity and transmission speeds will be enhanced by the new TurboConnect-based service throughout the company’s HSPA+ footprint. The network currently covers Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Khobar, although a national rollout is underway.
Moldovan telco Moldtelecom reports 9% drop in revenue
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A fall of 9% in the revenue has been reported by Moldovan incumbent telco Moldtelecom for the year ended December 31, 2009, earning a revenue of MDL2.4 billion (USD188 million). However, company’s profit from operating activities increased 3% year-on-year to MDL384 million due to the reduction in the costs by 11% during 2009.
4% increase in revenue in 2010 has been expected by the operator to MDL2.5 billion. The profit is predicted to remain stable compared to 2009. The total subscribers’ base of the firm reached 1.34 million, including 1.11 million fixed telephony customers and 101,000 mobile users.
An investment of MDL739 million was made by Moldtelecom during 2009, MDL55 million of which was ploughed into the deployment of infrastructure for the company’s new IPTV service, MDL156 million was spent on the rollout of a 3G network and MDL153.3 million was invested in the PSTN. The remaining amount was put into fibre-optic cable layout, CDMA network roll out, and information technology.
Vodafone Ireland to clean up unused subscriber base
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Clean up of the subscriber base has been planned by Vodafone’s Irish subsidiary by disconnecting lines which have not been used for eight months. Any outstanding credit on accounts would be held by the operator under this plan and will not be returned to the end user.
The terms and conditions of the new restrictions will be explained by the company and it will be published next month. The strategy behind this move is also to recycle mobile numbers deemed to be no longer in use.
According to a Vodafone Ireland spokesperson, the changes will have a minimal impact on customer numbers but it is mindful ‘of the concerns of a very small number of customers who may consciously omit to top up their accounts for a prolonged period of time for specific reasons.
Telekom Srbije plans to invest USD273m in infrastructure (Serbia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An investment of RSD20 billion (USD273 million) will be made by Serbian telecomms company Telekom Srbije in infrastructure development this year.
According to the firm’s commercial director Vladimir Lucic, Telekom Srbije ended 2009 with record profits of RSD15 billion while 2010 started very successful for the company and in January it reached six million mobile users and in fixed line it has three million users. The company’s plan is to have 6.2 million mobile users by the end of the year and the reason why it need to invest more, and it has planned to invest RSD20 billion in infrastructures.
Telekom Srbije is also contemplating to increase the number of internet users to 700,000.
Vodafone gives final submission in Indian $2 billion tax demand
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The final part of the submission expressing why Vodafone should not be held liable for a US$2 billion tax demand following its takeover of India’s Hutchison Essar in 2007 has been submitted by the company. A demand had been asked by the Indian government on the US$11.2 billion deal.
It was being argued that under Indian law, it is the buyer who pays transaction taxes, not the seller and that the jurisdiction that the transaction took place is irrelevant when relating to assets largely held in India.
Reply with 23 annexure had been given by Vodafone on January 29, 2010. The final reply was made on March 12, 2010 with a 24th annexure. According to a company’s spokesperson, Vodafone is confident that no tax is payable on this transaction and all of the taxation and legal advice the company has received remains consistent with this view.
The entire share capital of CGP Investments (Holdings) Ltd, a Cayman Islands based company from Hutchison International (HTIL) was acquired by Vodafone International Holdings BV, a company registered in the Netherlands. CGP, itself, owns 52 per cent stakes in Hutchison India.
China Mobile confirms purchase of 20% stake in of Shanghai Pudong
China Mobile announced its entry into the share subscription agreement with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, through its wholly-owned subsidiary-China Mobile Group Guangdong Company Limited.
China Mobile is considered to be the world’s largest mobile operator in terms of number of subscribers. The company grabbed 2,207,511,410 A shares to be issued by SPD Bank by way of private placement, representing 20% of the issued shares of SPD Bank as enlarged by the subscription.
The selling price of each share was 18.3 RMB (about HK$ 20.50) which brought the total consideration for the subscription to 39.8 billion RMB (approximately HK$45.3 billion).
As a part of the deal, China Mobile has also entered into a strategic cooperation memorandum of understanding with SPD Bank (which will lead into a strategic cooperation agreement) to jointly work on development of mobile e-commerce services.
Telstra completes trial of Group Radio Solution in Australia
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Trials for a new service known as Group Radio Solution have been completed by Australian telco Telstra. The service would see Australian emergency service organizations use its HSPA (Next G) network to operate their emergency radio communications.
Group Radio Solution capability designed by Ericsson would be made available if private mobile radio network operators’ show their interest. The service would then be made available across the Next G network footprint and complement existing essential and emergency radio networks.
According to Telstra Wireless executive director Mike Wright, the trial found a very real potential to combine Telstra’s Next G coverage footprint and range of services with the specific needs of private radio network operators and the extreme weather conditions over the past week illustrate the extraordinary challenges emergency services organizations face and it’s at these times when communications are paramount.
Telstra along with mobile device manufacturers is already working to design a prototype that would allow mobile voice and data services as well as two-way radio functionality on a single device if Telstra decide to deploy the Group Radio Solution.
