Nokia Money due to launch soon

Nokia is attempting to create a multi-bank, multi-operator and multi-device collaboration on mobile banking.
Nokia’s mobile banking and payment service is expected to be commercially available in its first market in Q1 2010, though no location details have been revealed yet.
According to Teppo Paavola, vice president, GM mobile financial services, Nokia cannot reveal any details until a banking partner is confirmed. It is learnt that the service requires a banking license before it can be launched.
Nokia said its target is to have 300 million active users of its services by the end of 2011; the number is expected to be 80 million by the end of 2009.
Paavola said the service will enable un-banked people in emerging markets to transfer money, top up prepaid mobile services, pay bills, carry out online transactions, and pay merchants.
Global mobile payments market is expected to be worth €18 billion by 2014 – €12 billion from emerging markets and €6 billion from developed markets.
Approaches to mobile banking so far have lacked scale and have not worked across operators and across banks.
Nokia therefore plans to drive the collaboration on an open financial ecosystem, with Nokia Money at its core. Paavola added that it has taken a long time to get all the players together, from banks through to mobile operators.
The Nokia Money application will not only be pre-loaded but could be sideloaded, or downloaded later.
Nokia will also be able to provide the physical distribution channel that is critical for the service to work. For example, Nokia handset sellers can be turned into Nokia Money agents, providing the devices, the application, and the ability to handle cash.

Nokia is attempting to create a multi-bank, multi-operator and multi-device collaboration on mobile banking, a service dubbed Nokia Money.

Nokia’s mobile banking and payment service is expected to be commercially available in its first market in Q1 2010, though no location details have been revealed yet.

According to Teppo Paavola, vice president, GM mobile financial services, Nokia cannot reveal any details until a banking partner is confirmed. It is learnt that the service requires a banking license before it can be launched.

Nokia said its target is to have 300 million active users of its services by the end of 2011.

Paavola said the service will enable un-banked people in emerging markets to transfer money, top up prepaid mobile services, pay bills, carry out online transactions, and pay merchants.

Global mobile payments market is expected to be worth €18 billion by 2014 – €12 billion from emerging markets and €6 billion from developed markets.

Approaches to mobile banking so far have lacked scale and have not worked across operators and across banks.  Nokia therefore plans to drive the collaboration on an open financial ecosystem, with Nokia Money at its core.

The Nokia Money application will not only be pre-loaded but could be sideloaded, or downloaded later.

Nokia will also be able to provide the physical distribution channel that is critical for the service to work. For example, Nokia handset sellers can be turned into Nokia Money agents, providing the devices, the application, and the ability to handle cash.

Samsung launches Bada mobile platform

Samsung hopes to extend its app store offering to a wider range of handsets, including less sophisticated feature phones and entry level smartphones.
The Korean technology giant said Bada — which means “ocean” — was a new addition to the company’s mobile ecosystem and would give users a “fun and diverse mobile experience”.
Samsung said it chose the name to “convey the limitless variety of potential applications” that can be created using the new platform, and to demonstrate the company’s commitment to “a variety of open platforms in the mobile industry”.
It also offers mobile operators an easy-to-integrate platform that can be used to provide “unique and differentiated services to their customers”, said Samsung.
“By opening Samsung’s mobile platforms we will be able to provide rich mobile experiences on an increasing number of accessible smartphones,” said Dr Hosoo Lee, an executive vice president at Samsung. “Bada will be Samsung’s landmark, iconic new platform that brings an unprecedented opportunity for operators, developers and Samsung mobile phone users around the world.”
Samsung’s current smartphone range runs the open-source Symbian operating system and the Google-backed Android platform. Carolina Milanesi, a research director at Gartner, said Samsung’s decision to develop and use its own platform for entry-level smartphones was its attempt to “differentiate its products from the competition.”
But Geoff Blaber, an analyst with CCS Insight, questioned Samsung’s thinking: “The big question is, does the mobile phone world need yet another operating system?,” he said.

Samsung hopes to give users a ”fun and diverse mobile experience” on a wider range of handsets, including less sophisticated feature phones and entry level smartphones via its newly created mobile platform dubbed “Bada”. Bada means Ocean in Korean.

Samsung said it chose the name to “convey the limitless variety of potential applications” that can be created using the new platform, and to demonstrate the company’s commitment to “a variety of open platforms in the mobile industry”.

It also offers mobile operators an easy-to-integrate platform that can be used to provide “unique and differentiated services to their customers”, said Samsung.

“By opening Samsung’s mobile platforms we will be able to provide rich mobile experiences on an increasing number of accessible smartphones,” said Dr Hosoo Lee,  executive vice president at Samsung. ”Bada will be Samsung’s landmark, iconic new platform that brings an unprecedented opportunity for operators, developers and Samsung mobile phone users around the world.”

One can’t help but ask – Does the world need another mobile operating system?

Nokia will be the first organization to launch its Zeemote Zeekey application, Zeemote (makers of intelligent wireless controllers for mobile devices) proclaimed. This will enables the Zeemote JS1 Controller to work with N-Gage games and other S60 applications. It will come pre-loaded on featured handsets as special gaming bundles and is also available for download on the Nokia website. The firm said that with a thumbstick and four assignable trigger buttons, the ergonomically designed Zeemote JS1 Controller which weighs just 47g/1.7oz, offers real analog control over Bluetooth, enabling users to truly engage with mobile games and other applications residing on the handset.

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