by Chilldor
Do you like Internet Radio? Would you like to make your iPhone into Internet Radio device?
Here is excellent application to do just that – Internet RadioBox
Supported formats: MP3, AAC(+), WMA, ASF, MMS, ASX, PLS, M3U
by Chilldor
Recently there has been lot of talk about virtual goods which are sometimes referred also as microtransactions.
According to wikipedia definition:
Virtual goods are non-physical objects that are purchased for use in online communities or online games.[1] They have no intrinsic value and, by definition, are intangible.[1] Virtual goods include such things as digital gifts[2][3] and digital clothing for avatars.
Martin wrote recently here that
analysts estimate, this year, virtual goods revenue will be $1 billion in the U.S. and about $5 billion worldwide. Another analyst predicts annual revenues will reach $15 billion by 2012.
Not a small amount considering that they have no intrinsic value (beside online environment they are sold in). Most analyst agree that this is just a beginning and that market is only starting to evolve into serious player in mobile services world.
by Chilldor
Everybody expects nowadays that information is available everywhere, be it office, car, beach or anywhere.
Mobile internet (WAP) in mobile phones has been there for years, but recently there has been noticeable trend of using it more and more. Suddenly we can find lot of webpages which contain really interesting content and are also possible to open in few seconds.
There is a interesting article about it in TechCrunch : Follow the mobile user by Vic Gundotra (Google).
Enjoy!
by Chilldor
Computerworld recently wrote here that Vatican has launched a Facebook and iPhone applications for better communication with the tech savvy. Release also includes website Pope2you with links to these and other services.
The Pope2You portal is run by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications and is available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It was launched ahead of the church’s World Communications Day on Sunday.
These services are part of web based offerings that included recently Vatican Youtube website complementing Vatican main website and Vatican Museum Online.
Read more about potential of new technologies here.
by Marino Bresciani
I have been reading quite a lot on mobile payment services around. In many countries,
Anyway – after I read about the latest mobile payment solution brought on the UK, I could notice how this business template has a notable interest of this own – and can give quite some inspiration to related services. So let’s have a more detailed view…
(1) Mobile payment services (MPS) aim to quickly and securely transfer cash from one place to another, all via text.
(2) This way – also affiliated merchants can also receive payments for their goods and services all via MPS.
(3) MPS services must entirely be geared towards customer satisfaction and have simplicity, convenience and ease of use all at the core of its offering. –> therefore it has to be (1) bank independent, (2) network independent, (3) handset independent, (4) age independent and (5) location independent, meaning users can use it anytime, anywhere and at any age.
Even more interesting is the use of simple commands to perform the requested transfer.
by Marino Bresciani
We’ve already written on a previous occasion about TelePizza and its service enabling food ordering via text message. Always happy to see a good idea spread, I was recently pleased to note that the big sandwich chain Subway has enabled text ordering in New York City.
Users of Subway Now begin by entering their address online to find the Subway shop nearest them. They then create and save their favourite orders, each of which is assigned a number. To order by text message, they simply text the word “menu” to Subway’s shortcode, and the service sends back a list of their favourites. They reply with the number they want, and Subway Now responds with a text confirmation and pickup time.
It may sound kinda complicated, but it’s quite simple, and the popularity of this service is based on some strong points of this service:
The service is getting more popular with the day. As a result, I would expect to see Subway launching the service in other metro areas in the near future, possibly also in Europe.
by Marino Bresciani
If you are an indipendent artists, and you sell from time to time your original works, then this SMS service created in the States last July can be inspring.
The US based company mixtART developed an SMS service that allows independent artists to sell their original works of art as wallpapers to mobile subscribers. With their service, they provided mobile users access to an art application, offering a variety of wallpapers created by an array of artists.
Many artists featured on mixtART were attending an international art exposition in San Diego from July 24 to the 27th. Over there, the artists were unveiling works of art, which customers would have been able to purchase immediately for their mobile phones.
The exposition included many local artists who took fully advantage of the new service. To have a review of those wallpapers, some of them are available on http://www.mymixt.com/mixtart.
by Marino Bresciani
Hi there,
I come back on the topic of ordering food from home via SMS. Although there are not many scenarios currently running, one of those is quite successfull and has a consolidated activities since already 3 years and more. Let’s have a look at the german food company TelePizza and its sms service. You will easy discover that, although the system is rather extended and works in the same way for all their networked pizza shops, it can be easily reproduced with simple tools and applied to a local busines 
So, how it works?
STEP 1 – First, the user has to register its mobile phone and home address – It can easily do so via internet, but also simply texting to the TelePizza shortcode its own home address right after the keyword ADDR
STEP 2 – And after register, you just need to make up your choice. Easy easy, especially due their website but also to some nice flyer-based door-to-door campaign with all the weekly listing and the weekly specials. Give it a look here – how many choices? 
And then, after you made your choice, it is time to order, simply by texting all the codes related to the items you would like to buy. For example, if I want to order a chi
Payment is done directly to the pizza-boy, while you will pay also for the SMS sent to the TelePizza number
This service was successfull due to a series of good points:
So, if you are a owner of a restaurant or foodplace which provides also delivery service, and you would like to expand your business, this is a business case to take as very good example
by Marino Bresciani
This post is just to point up a unusual trend that is becoming more and more popular in the states, especially those area that are mostly hit by the winter season. In this period of the year, many local radios’ websites provide updates on school closings via SMS. The phenomenum can be even more clear by having a look at this week’s top 50 in Google Trends. For example, in the picture below, eleven out of the top 37, are radio call numbers and most of them are in areas with snowfall.
The top radio affiliate, WHUD, is 100.7 F.M. in Westchester New York, and offers text message alerts about school and government center closings after heavy snowfall. Although similar services are already up since years, snow alerts appeal to one of the most highly sought markets-the coveted age demographic of pre-teens and teens. Interesting
by Marino Bresciani
Most of you know how important is to be able to act fast in case of big health emergencies. Attending a First Aid Course is of course a great thing, but in moments of panic, especially if it is a loved one that is in trouble, this knowledge can easily vanish.
This is one of the reasons why it came to attention how the use of SMSs could have quite interesting perspectives. There are already concrete examples. The Australian Red Cross provides a service where for a small fee, you can download instructions for CPR (=Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to citizens’ mobile phone. The Australia Red Cross is aiming for the instructions to be on one in every five phones. At the time of writing this, there have been 5000 downloads.
And if you think this is a kind of case where just institutions can take part into, then you might remind how – some days ago – a British surgeon in the Congo made full of SMS to get instructed on how to remove a gangrenous collarbone and shoulder blade from a teenager. This perilous amputation is only done a handful of times each year in the UK, and the colleague doctor at home texted him the entire procedure and signed off with a cheery, “Easy! Good luck.”