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Wednesday, September 21, 2005

International SMS Chatwall Released in Dresden

The SMS projector system developed by Haase & Martin GbR is published in an English version. Short text messages, sent by any mobile phone, are received by the SMS Chatwall and shown on TV and by projector systems. Being developed for German speaking countries first, including Austria and Switzerland, the SMS Chatwall is offered to the international event sector now. First shipments to the UK and Scandinavia are used for marketing and customer relation management.

The SMS Chatwall receives short text messages, sent by any mobile phone and shows it on TV and projector systems. It is a new media event and promotion tool, separated into an administration and a visualization module. The administration module allows to look over incoming text messages before broadcasting them via projector system

Patients key in, docs SMS back

The increasingly mobile and Internet-savvy Singaporean of tomorrow will also be an "expert patient" when it comes to healthcare, according to a team of doctors and nurses at SingHealth. That is why the healthcare group is launching Telecare, a programme that will allow chronically-ill patients to use the Web and text messages to confidentially transmit their medical information and health status to their doctors. The first of its kind in Singapore, the programme will be launched next month. Pregnant women suffering from gestational diabetes will be the first to try it out. After the one-month trial, Telecare will be extended to women with pregnancy-induced hypertension, peritoneal dialysis patients and chronic heart patients. "The crux of the issue is timing. A patient comes to the hospital and by then, changes in their condition have already occurred and we have to catch up.

No more fumbling for coins or queuing to buy parking coupons

The Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) has launched its SMSnPark system which enables motorists within the municipality to use the short message service (SMS) to pay for parking.This alternative parking payment system was introduced by Digital Tempo Sdn Bhd for the parking concessionaire, Godell Parking Sdn Bhd.Motorists wishing to use SMSnPark must register a prepaid account with Digital Tempo s ForeCash Prepaid System (FPS), a mobile payment system which uses the cell phone numbers as an identification and authentication device for convenience and security.

Upon registration, motorists will receive a starter pack which would include windscreen sticker and a list of parking rates.Each time they park, all they have to do is send an SMS containing the local council s zone (appears on the SMSnPark signage on the parking machine), motor vehicle registration number and the time duration required for parking and send it to 32828 (see graphic at right).MPPJ president Datuk Ahmad Termizi Puteh said he was proud that MPPJ is the first municipality in the country to implement such a modern and convenient system.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Airtel launches mobile credit card

Bharti Telecom has gone a step ahead to give its customers a value added service by launching a credit card facility through mobile phones. The company, in tie-up with ICICI launches a credit card on the mobile phone for its Airtel subscribers in Mumbai, Delhi and NCR areas.
The new service will allow Airtel customers and ICICI Bank Visa card holders to make payment through Bharti's Airtel mobile service.
"The service eliminates the need of carrying cash for making a purchase" Akhil Gupta, Joint MD, BTVL. The company will issue m-Cheque enabled 128K SIM cards free of cost to its existing subscribers for the first three months and ICICI Bank on its part would issue an Add-on card to their existing Visa credit card customers.

Nawras launches SMS charity donation service - Oman

Nawras, the Sultanate's most customer-friendly mobile operator, has announced the launch of new SMS charity donation service to its customers. An official ceremony to mark the occasion was organised under the auspices of Sayyid Mohammed bin Sultan Al Busaidy, undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior and vice-president of the Oman Charitable Organisation (OCO) at the Nawras store in Ruwi.

The event was attended by Nawras chairman Sheikh Saif bin Hashil Al Maskery, Nawras board members and other senior OCO and Nawras company representatives. Sayyid Mohammed bin Sultan Al Busaidy, who used the opportunity to officially inaugurate the Nawras Ruwi store, carried out a live demonstration in front of the local media by simply sending an SMS with the content 'Donate' to the number 90095 and type the word 'Donate' and received a confirmation SMS that said: "Thank you for your donation of 199 baisas + 10 baisas SMS charge. The total amount of 209 baisas will be passed on to Oman Charitable Organisation.

Ring SMS UBiee USA Team Crusades to Help Consumers Combat Rising Fuel Prices

Offering hope beyond the worst personal conditions, Ring SMS - UBiee's harmonic circle of friendship embraces friends around the world by offering a safe harbor to save money and make money, while simultaneously protecting our environment. Rising gas, bio-diesel and diesel fuel prices have had an almost insurmountable impact on the trucking industry, as well as railroads and other transportation industries and businesses. Although some increases in fuel can be passed down to consumers, it is not enough to meet their rapidly depleting budgets. According to a recent poll by ABC News / Washington Post, 64% of participants reported a personal financial hardship as a result of recent increases in gasoline.

Branded event uses SMS ticket system

The Weekend at Daves events, organised by Brand Events in association with Nuts magazine, will take place in several cities across the world, including Dublin, Monaco, Sydney and Las Vegas. Each event zone will feature a range of activities and celebrity guests, including Abi Titmuss and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
The Wireless Brand Channels Redeemit technology will be used to cater for more than 10,000 mobile tickets to the UK event in London. Tickets for the event will be promoted through various media titles including News of the World, West Ham’s match programme, Ministry of Sound and Virgin Radio. After texting a short code number, customers will receive a Redeemit mobile ticket.

4 in 5 respond to Cuervo tequila SMS campaign

Cuervo Tequila achieved an 80 percent response rate to a mobile marketing campaign for their Cuervo De Mayo event, Netimperative . The company used i-movo's voucher-based mobile marketing platform to manage the guest list for a London Cinco De Mayo party.
Using Splendid Communications, Cuervo invited consumers to enter the draw for tickets through a national PR campaign, London print and outdoor advertising and a radio promotion on London station XFM. David Tymm, CEO at i-movo, says that by deploying a voucher-based SMS system, the invitation appealed to exactly the right target audience.

Monday, September 19, 2005

SMS: It's Time To Get Pregnant

A new text-messaging service called EggAlert wants to help women to keep better track of their menstrual period. The service calculates a woman's next ovulation time and sends a text message (SMS) to her cell phone alerting/warning her that she is at the height of her fertility. While the Website of EggAlert focuses on women who want to become pregnant, we're thinking the service could also be used as a form of contraception.

According to EggAlert.com the service can also be used both as a Notifier for the upcoming premenstrual symptom, to schedule certain events around the time of menstruation and as a reminder for women who want to do self breast examinations.

Getting the right job - via SMS

Every month Career Times receives complaints from jobseekers about companies and recruitment agencies who do not contact them to let them know if their applications have been unsuccessful. Just this week, a reader complained that she received only four responses to approximately 200 applications and has been left wondering whether her applications are even being considered.

SMS JobMatch acts as a facilitator between jobseekers and recruitment agencies. Agencies enter details of jobs on the system and jobseekers enter details of their job requirements. SMS JobMatch matches the jobs to the jobseekers. When a match is found, the system sends an SMS to the jobseeker with the contact details of the agency that has the matching job. The jobseeker must then contact the agency and the traditional placement process will progress from there.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Lecturer suspended by SMS

An economics lecturer in Bangladesh has threatened legal action after he received a short, but not so sweet, mobile phone text message informing him that he had been suspended."The governing body of the college has decided to suspend you. Don't come to the college premises anymore," read the text message sent Sunday to Gazi Saiful Islam by Khanadakar Mushtaq Ali, principal of Dhaka-based Pioneer College.
Ali said he sent the suspension notice by text message because notification by mail would have taken too long.

Mobiles pay for train tickets

Tired of fumbling for change? Forever losing your weekly ticket? Not for much longer, because soon your mobile phone or wristwatch could be paying your train and bus fares. As paper tickets disappear from public transport systems around the world, operators are turning to new ticketing technology such as smartcards, the commuter's equivalent to an electronic tag, or smart chips in phones and watches.
Denmark was one of the first countries to use mobiles to pay for transport fares, but within 10 years phones were likely to be used not only for buying train tickets but for other small purchases, said a transport ticketing consultant from Singapore. "Forget about paper tickets," Bruno Wildermuth told a transport conference in Brisbane yesterday.

Reuters launches 3G video news service

Reuters has today unveiled its first direct-to-consumer mobile video news service. The streaming video service is available to Vodafone Live customers in the UK who have a 3G handset. It includes regular updates from key financial markets around the world and clips of the biggest news stories of the day.The subscription service is the first business and financial video to be available on the Vodafone network and is one of a series of new mobile video services Reuters will roll out as it continues with its plans to make more of its news and information directly available to consumers.Customers can choose from more than 20 different videos a day including market reports from London, New York, Singapore, Tokyo and Frankfurt. They can also watch interviews with CEOs and industry leaders, and stories on people and companies making headlines.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Hunan TV wants to end partnership with Linktone

Hunan TV, which worked with Linktone to provide wireless value-added services for its hit show "Super Girls," wants its own license to provide wireless services so that in the next season of the show Hunan TV will not have to share revenues.
"We want to do it ourselves," Ouyang Changling, a Manager for the Hunan Broadcast and TV Group Co. Ltd and Director of the group's TV business, told Interfax Wednesday.

Linktone processed more than 20 mln votes via its SMS (short messaging services) and IVR (interactive voice response) platforms during the most recent season of the show. The August 26 season finale, during which a champion was named, generated more than eight mln votes.

Matrimony rings a bell for mobile firms

Indian mobile telephony service providers are increasingly becoming matchmakers. With Reliance Infocomm, Airtel, Orange, BPL and BSNL offering services like chat, dating and find-a-friend, Cupid can now strike using SMSs or video messages. Some of the companies have also tied-up with portals like Bharatmatrimony.com and Indiatimes.com, enabling access to user profiles through SMSs.
The telecom companies have positioned these offerings under value-added services (VAS), which is not a revenue earner. VAS is an offering to retain users. However, the matrimonial services have begun to churn in revenues, albiet on a slow footing.

Bulgarian banks turn to SMS for customer convenience

Hebros Bank, Bulbank, Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria), First Investment Bank and DZI Bank, have decided to offer card balance alerts via SMS messages.The most important information which the banks offer to convey to their clients via cell phone concerns recent transactions performed with their cards.
Bulbank notifies its clients about all transaction with their cards via POS terminals and ATMs within ten minutes, quoting the time and location of the operation and the transacted amount.
Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) and DZI bank offer immediate notification about any movement on their clients' cards. In theory at least, this option makes it possible to curb losses stemming from a lost or stolen card to a single transaction, of up to 400 levs in the case of cash withdrawals from ATM.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

'Oman Mobile' provides instant SMS translation based on Sakhr technologies

Oman Telecommunications Company Oman Mobile http://www.omanmobile.om,/ Omans leading mobile telecommunications service provider, will launch next Saturday a new instant translation service for SMS messages for Oman mobile users which is based on Sakhr’s online translation technology.
The launch of this instant translation service, offering Arabic-English translation and vice versa, comes as a result of the agreement signed on Sunday, 11.09.2005, between Sakhr Software Co. and Oman Mobile, by which Sakhr is to provide its SMS translation service, integrating this service with others offered by Oman Mobile to its clients and subscribers in OMAN.

NFA launches "TEXT NFA" SMS service for prompt delivery

The National Food Authority has implemented SMS technology, through its Customer Assistance Units (CAUs), located in each of the NFA offices nationwide, are manned by NFA personnel.
With the Text NFA program, customers inform NFA of their complaints, suggestions or inquiries by sending SMS through mobile number 0917-6210927. Replies are sent within 24 hours by the NFA. In Negros Occidental, the usual complaints received are the re-bagging of NFA rice, overpricing of NFA rice, and request for an additional Bigasan ni Gloria sa Palengke outlets. Gil Ibarra, NFA manager in Bacolod City can also be contacted thru telephone number 433-27-54. NFA Administrator Gregorio Y. Tan, Jr. said this easy communication access by the public to NFA will prevent unscrupulous traders from committing illegal activities such as diversion of stocks, overpricing of NFA rice, among others.Regular-milled rice (RMR) and well-milled rice (WMR) are sold at 16.00 and 18.00 pesos per kilogram.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Talk to America Launches SMS Text Messaging Service

Washington, D.C., September 13, 2005 - Talk To America, the Voice of America's (VOA) flagship daily international call-in show, has added SMS text messaging as a means for listeners to join the program's live discussions.
Listeners with SMS enabled cell phones can now contact Talk to America via text messaging to communicate immediately with on-air guests in addition to telephoning, faxing, or emailing their messages to talk@VOANews.com. Listeners in Asia can send their messages to 63 928 761 4588 while VOA audiences in Africa can text message to 27 838 894 3335.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Recycling text service launched

LONDONERS can now get recycling advice sent direct to their mobile phones thanks to a new text message service.The capital produces enough rubbish to fill an Olympic size swimming pool each hour and politicians want us to recycle more. The new service means residents will be able to request details of when their recycling is collected or where their nearest recycling facilities are by texting the word RECYCLE and their full postcode to the number 63131. There is also a direct link in the text message to their local recycling helpline so residents in each London borough can order their recycling box or bag immediately if they have not yet got one.

SMS alert, your kid is bunking class!

The next time your child plays truant at school or forges your signature on a bad report card to avoid that reprimand, you might just know about it via SMS from the school authorities.

Welcome to the world of cyber-tracking! In an innovative system devised to keep students, parents and schools in touch with one another, a team of seven engineers introduced the 'Education Process Management' technology in a city-based school recently. Originally designed by two BTech students — Abhay Panjiyar and Shikhar Kumar — the innovation is a software that can be accessed at the school where it's installed apart from parents without an internet connection.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Blocking SMS Spam

Jinny Software has launched SMS and MMS spam blocker for operators. The Jinny Spam Control Centre offers SPAM filtering to reduce the occurrence of message spamming and helps maintain the required reputation of an Operators' Network. The Content filtering functionality blocks value added content like pictures and ring-tones from non-network partners and protects the Operators revenues. Operators can also apply key word filters to all network traffic enabling the censorship of messages or the possibility, if required, to track threatening messages.
The Jinny Spam Control Centre blocks all types of unwanted and harmful SMS and MMS traffic from any foreign network, unlike traditional SMSC filters that only filter SMS spam from on-network traffic.

Human Brain Inspires Memory for Cellphones

Mobile phones could one day have the memory capacity of a desktop computer thanks to a microchip that mimics the functioning of the brain, scientists report in the journal, Science. Researchers from Imperial College London, Durham University and the University of Sheffield say their new computer chip design will enable large amounts of data to be stored in small volumes by using a complex interconnected network of nanowires, with computing functions and decisions performed at the nodes where they meet a similar approach to neurons and axons in the brain.

Friday, September 09, 2005

Highways Agency sets up SMS text messaging service to alert drivers

The Highways Agency is using a new text message service to keep people who use the A34 informed about the £10 million Peartree to Weston-on-the Green major maintenance scheme in Oxfordshire. Work is due to start Monday 12th September 2005.The cost of the scheme is £5 million.The new text messaging service will help drivers get the most up-to-date information about the road works on the A34.

The scheme starts at the beginning of September 2005 and runs for 24 weeks.The text messaging service will provide drivers and local businesses with information once a week in advance about the changes to the traffic management through the road works. This will help drivers plan their journeys in advance. There will be eight weekends of work, when the A34 has to be reduced from two lanes to one in each direction. The text messaging service will inform drivers up to 8 days in advance.

Domodedovo International Airport Introduces New Service for Passengers - SMS Flight Status Alerts

Domodedovo International Airport continues improving quality of its services for passengers with a particular emphasis on installing the most up-to-date technologies and bringing the latest IT achievements into life. In the framework of the programme of enhancing information services for passengers Domodedovo Airport along with the Inform-mobil service will offer a new opportunity to check flight status starting from September 1, 2005. SMS alerts will allow passengers to get information on current flight status and its changes on their mobile phones.