Social network Hi5 launches mobile for Latin America

Social network Hi5, with a large following in Latin America, today launched Hi5 mobile, the mobile version of their site. The San Francisco-based social network launched its mobile version in 26 different languages today, some of which were translated by its own users, according to The Social.

The decision to go mobile seems like a smart decision: in Latin America, owning a mobile device is more common than owning a PC. In that same line of thinking, while Facebook has optimized versions to serve as a supplement to the site for iPhone and Blackberry, Hi5’s iPhone/Blackberry versions are meant to replace the online website. Speed and reliability will come into play here later, but Hi5 is certainly off to a good start.

Americans buying fewer (but pricier) cell phones

Analyst firm NPD Group and Silicon Alley Insider reported on an interesting find: consumer cell phone unit sales dropped 13% from Q2 in 2007. However, Q2 revenues have dropped only 2% from last year.

The likely cause for this? Americans are buying fewer cell phones because they are spending more money on their handsets than ever before—and using their new investments as long as they can before trading in for a new device. In fact, this year seems to be the year where more and more ‘prosumers’ purchase a Blackberry or an iPhone.

SAI notes that this study doesn’t include Apple’s iPhone 3G, and only includes Apple’s original iPhone for part of the quarter. Q3 and Q4 should yield quite different results.

WSJ to offer free app on BlackBerry

The Wall Street Journal Digital Network announced the launch of their free mobile application, WJS.com Mobile Reader. The app promises instant access to financial coverage form the WSJ website as well as others including MarketWatch.com, Barrons.com and AllThingsD.com. Currently the free app is only available on RIM’s BlackBerry platform and provides customers automatic content updates as well as WSJ features such as What's News, Tech, Opinion and Columns and more. Users can also set up customized category list and add features such as customized keyword alerts and stock quotes. In addition, the subscribers can also share articles through social networking sites.

Polo Ralph Lauren turns to M-Commerce

Shopaholics beware... your shopping addiction may not end as the shops shut their doors, and you are back in the taxi on your way home. It has been announced today that Polo Ralph Lauren is launching the first luxury mobile commerce website.

Polo Ralph Lauren is looking to attract tech-savvy shoppers by introducing an advertising campaign that will enable consumers to buy products by snapping photos of special advertising codes on their mobile phones.

The user will need to look for the codes in print ads, direct mail and even in in-store window promotions. Once they have photographed the code on their camera phone, they can then download the software and shop on the specific mobile commerce site.

This idea has sprung from the Japanese market, where it is the norm to buy tickets and vending machine products from their mobile phones. Polo said that this push is something they hope will help them stay ahead of the trend that is making its way from Asia to the US.

Lauren told Reuters: "We recognize that in America this is going after somebody who is more comfortable with technology. The truth is that in other countries, its becoming part of their culture. The trend is coming, and as a fashion company it's very important to identify trends and get ahead of them."

The campaign will launch on 25th August in conjunction with the annual US Open Tennis championship.

New Home for iPhone: Best Buy

Sources say, possibly starting as early as September 7th the retail store, Best Buy will be carrying the latest version of Apple’s iPhone. The choice to make them the first vendor that is not directly related to the Apple was definitely the best one because they already house other AT&T phones and have had high levels of sold Apple merchandise by Best Buy’s consumer base of the years.

The move to bring the popular phone to an outside vendor will instantly increase the phone’s availability by introducing it to over 900 stores nationwide and may even increase sale margins indefinitely. Start saving your money and thank Apple for saving you gas because now you don’t have to drive to the nearest Apple store to get one.
Info by: Gizmodo

Is PR outdated for the New Media world?

Steve Rubel from Edelman sparked a discussion between bloggers and PR professionals today, with the likes of TechCrunch and Mashable putting in their two cents.

The question: Are PR tactics obsolete, especially when bloggers and journalists prefer to discover interesting trends and companies on their own?

PR has truly hit a turning-point with the evolution of blogs and social media, but as a whole remains a widely misunderstood profession that draws a lot of criticism from many outlets.

Many people believe that PR people are purely spammers who crank out a press release once in awhile—and indeed there are a few PR firms who do just that, but what is left out is that PR is more than just media/blogger relations.

PR professionals are in the business of relationships, using them to connect people with the right influencers. PR is also more than reaching out to media—at the root of any media outreach effort is a carefully-crafted message and a plan on who to target to get that message out to the right audiences.

And while bloggers and journalists prefer to discover trends and companies on their own, that leaves a good-sized group of interesting, visionary companies that remain unwritten about and unheard of, mainly because the company might not know how to present themselves, and who to reach out to.

Michael Arrington argues that most PR people don’t read or understand blogs, this is all changing quickly. With more and more blogs being created each day, there are PR people who do read blogs and are making every effort to understand them, because well-written PR efforts directed to the right blogger changes everything.

Wii's Olympic Acknowledgement

Newly accredited gold medalist, Kosuke Kitajima (JAPAN), for men’s 100m breast stroke gave a shout out to Nintendo’s Wii for part of his training and success. Now, The popular system can add this to its impressive resume of accomplishments. Kitajima gave specific attribute to the character Mario in Sega’s Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, helping with his training mentally. Although partly joking when giving his comments about the Wii’s participation it is still very impressive that even at the level of propriety that is the Olympics, Nintendo masterpiece still manages to get mentioned.
Info by: Gizmodo

iPhone applications show promising future

I was amazed to read this morning that the sales of the iPhone applications could top $1billion. I wasn’t sure if this was just because of the recent ‘I Am Rich’ application that Stephanie reported on last week that costs $999 to do nothing but display a glowing red gemstone on the user’s screen. However reading further I discovered just how such high revenues could be raised for iPhone from the amount of downloaded applications that the average iPhone user obtains.

Apparently more than 60 million software programs have been downloaded from iTunes in the last month since the 3G iPhone was launched, which amounts to a whopping $30 million. If it continues at this rate then Apple will be expecting a new revenue stream of around $360 million per year as owners of the device discover that they can enhance their phone by downloading such applications.

Apple’s Chief Executive, Steve Jobs predicts that “the phone of the future will be differentiated by software” and it appears that consumers are tapping into this too, showing off with the latest apps that make their iPhone stand out from the rest.

It isn’t all good news though, as there has been suggestion that the download figures are already slowing after the initial rush, and that fewer than 20 per cent of people who downloaded them use them every day.

This Week’s Top News

Here’s a recap of this week’s top news stories:

August 4
Wireless Week: LiMo gets more members, more handsets

August 5
CNET: Delta offers Wi-Fi on all domestic planes

August 6
FierceWireless: Sprint customers continue to flee

August 7
CNET: JetBlue pisses off its last PR professional

August 8
NYT: Chinese Tweeters Celebrate Olympics with #080808

Would you pay $1000 for an iPhone app?

Silicon Alley Insider points out a true gem within Apple (AAPL)’s iPhone App store. App creator Armin Heinrich’s “I Am Rich” application, worth $999.99, displays a red gem on the iPhone’s screen. And that’s about it.

Information on the app’s page says, “The red icon on your iPhone or iPod Touch always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were rich enough to afford this. It’s a work of art with no hidden function at all.”

Apparently, that’s what it takes to separate the rich and the poor among iPhone owners!

Update: the application has been removed as of 2:30 EST today.

Delta’s Friendly Skies Get WiFi

Delta, the popular airline company announced they will be adding WiFi to its entire fleet of domestic planes and should have the project completed by the first quarter in 2009. The company has teamed up with provider Aircell, which will be using its Gogo service to power to the WiFi starting with their MD88s and MD90s. The service will be provided and paid for all flights no matter the destination with an approximate price range of ten to thirteen dollars a flight, depending on the length of your flight. The availability of WiFi will be a great addition to the traveling experience.
Info by: Engadget

In-flight calls may be banned forever

A U.S. House of Representatives committee has proposed that in-flight cell phone calls be permanently banned. The Hang Up Act would enforce the already Federal Aviation Administration ban on cell phone calls in flight for good.

The bill was supposedly proposed because of a poll that was taken asking the public how they felt on this matter. The poll found that 63% of its respondents were in opposition to passengers talking on their cell phones during crowded flights. And with passenger satisfaction being where it is today, extremely low, allowing in-flight calls could be a potential disaster.

However passengers would still be able to use WiFi and send text messages during their flight.
I think the ban is the right way to go. I mean the thought of babies crying, people coughing, and folks talking exceptionally loud on a flight I am on makes me cringe. I think I’d rather ride a bus. Okay, maybe not a bus, maybe I’ll just drive. I mean the extra time and money I’d spend on gas may just be worth it.

So I completely agree, leave the chatting on the ground.

Oblivious texters receive a health warning

A fantastic story came up this weekend that doctors are warning that texting can be hazardous to our health. It would appear that people are beginning to see that writing and viewing text messages in certain situations can lead to accidents.

Doctors are calling this ‘oblivious texting’ and have warned that driving, cooking and bike riding could cause harm to a person stupid enough to take their eyes off the path/road/food that they should be concentrating on.

I have to say I have witnessed for myself people driving, on bikes and even rollerblading whilst writing a text message…surely they realise how dangerous this is, without needing an official warning?

Apparently not though, as the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

A San Francisco woman was killed by a pickup truck earlier this year when she stepped off a curb while texting, and a Bakersfield man was killed last year by a car while crossing the street and texting, a 15-year-old girl fell off her horse while texting, suffering head and back injuries, and a 13-year-old girl suffered belly, leg and arm burns after texting her boyfriend while cooking noodles.

Wireless Media Profile

Wireless Week

About publication:
WIRELESS Week is apart of Advantage Business Media, and was started to cover/deliver the world in and around the wireless sect. They cover anything that has to deal with your mobile device whether it be news about your cell phone, service provider or its manufacturer.

Based out of: Rockaway, New Jersey

Editor-in-Chief: Rhonda Wickham

Key contacts:
· Monica Alleven, editor
· Brad Smith, IP/Data editor
· Holly Hoffer, Publisher and Ad Sales

Tips for pitching:
· Make sure your news has to do with mobile content or the mobile industry
· Pitch to the right editor

3G in India

The Indian government is considering to hold a global auction for 3G licenses. This now seems to be the final decision after an ongoing discussion in India whether or not foreign bidders should be allowed to participate in the auction. This sounds like good news for mobile phone users, as the second-largest market worldwide is still on WAP. When it comes to surfing the mobile Internet, that's sufficent for watching YouTube clips online. But when it comes to more serious stuff, such as downloading videos, WAP's limitations become obvious.
Apparently, the more bidders and the more bidding competition, the more money will be spent on the licences. And after all, India is a huge and utterly attractive market for the global players. However, the more money they will spend, the higher the data fees they will be charging later. And this might be not so good news for mobile phone users.