COVER STORY

Mobile content is heading for golden time

 NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36


MOBILE CONTENT
IS HEADING FOR
GOLDEN TIME
In recent years, the number of
global mobile subscribers has been
increasing rapidly and reached 3
billion in July 2007. As 3G networks
are being commercialized on a large
scale worldwide, the small mobile
phone platform is also growing
rapidly and being transformed into
a dynamic business stage.
Countless technical services are
gradually changing the ways we
live and work. A good example
might be the rich services that are
now being offered in the mobile
field such as mobile online, mobile
TV, mobile newspaper, mobile
advertising, and wireless portal.
Undoubtedly, mobile phones are
expected to be the next new
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megahit after the Internet, and
the mobile content market will
become a large industry.
Internet magnates, such as
Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, are
fiercely competing for a larger slice
of the mobile phone platform pie,
which is commonly perceived as an
extension of the Internet market.
Hence, more and more parties are
beginning to explore the mobile
content market, dreaming of
hitting the “mother load” in this
potentially very lucrative “gold
mine”. All these phenomena tend
to show that the mobile content
market has been developing
quickly and is beginning to enter
into a prosperous phase.
NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36 10
 COVER STORY
Mobile content is heading for golden time
T
As time goes by, it is
believed that the Web2.0
model will enjoy more
popularity in the CT field.
As printed on one of
the covers of the Time
magazine, “Yes, you. You
control the Information
Age. Welcome to your
world.”
11 NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36
Rich contents embodied in
small mobile phones
he traditional music record industry
has been experiencing sales decline
in recent years. Traditional forms of
media, such as newspapers and TV,
are facing big challenges coming
from the Internet. Presently, TV programs,
electronic newspapers and music are all available
for the latest mobile phone models. Moreover,
the latest movies and songs can now be found on
official and synchronous release channels online.
The Long Tail Theory represents the newest
challenge to the Pareto Principle (or the 80/20
Rule), and the iPhone has replaced the iPod to
become the forerunner in the information and
communication technology (ICT) field. Hence,
all of these are indicators of the upcoming
digitized content era.
So, what do contents mean to mobile
operators? What will be the content development
trends in the near future? How can one earn
money from contents? Being the primary focus in
all of the questions, contents have now become a
vital weapon in a new round of competition.
What are user expectations?
The mobile terminal is an important factor
that influences mobile contents. Eight or nine
years ago, the typical mobile phone was a basic
black-and-white handset, providing only voice
communications and text message services. Four
or five years ago, color-display mobile phones
appeared on the market, and had such functions
as WAP browse, multimedia messaging service
(MMS) and Java application. At present, mobile
phones cover a wide range of diverse models and
offer customers a rich variety of functions such as
HTTP browse, photo-taking, music, streaming
media, and large memory storage capacity.
Mobile terminals have been experiencing
substantial changes every five years or so,
and have gradually changed from being a
By Zhang Bo
pure communication tool to an integrated
media terminal, enabling communications
and entertainment. The great strides and
improvements being made in mobile terminal
performance have in turn lead to a quick rise
of content requirements. As a result, content
services are developing and becoming more
diverse, and more multimedia, customization,
and personalization oriented.
Statistics data reveals that in 2006, multimedia
mobile phones seized 46% of the mobile phone
market in China, and became a pioneering force
that spurred the popularization of the mobile
Internet and integration of technologies. As a
result, more and more mobile subscribers have
abandoned their antiquated handsets and now
are wholeheartedly embracing new-generation
intelligent mobile terminals. Communications
are no longer a core requirement; instead,
subscribers are now showing a greater degree of
curiosity and expectations to new services and
contents.
“Due to increasing requirements from
consumers, new services are exploring larger and
larger development spaces. As a result, mobile
value-added services have been developing
quickly and contributing more in terms of
mobile revenues,” according to Chen Jiachun,
deputy chief of the Telecom Administration
Bureau under the Ministry of Information
Industry (MII),China. Ms. Chen gave her speech
at the Mobile Phone Multimedia Application
Conference, which was held in Beijing on July
31, 2007. Chen also said that in 2006, the
revenue from mobile data services represented
21.6% of the overall mobile communications
revenue in China. Chen concluded by saying,
“Mobile communications have gradually
transformed from being a communication
means, to becoming a lifestyle. Mobile phones
have been playing a more and more important
role in our daily lives and work.”

The quick development of mobile networks,
from 2G, to 2.5G, and then to 3G, has led to two
results: bigger bandwidth, and an open value chain.
Both effects are closely related to data services.
Bigger bandwidth builds up a “highway” for data
transmission, while the open value chain helps to
generate many specialized service providers and
content providers (SP/CP). These two effects also
help to guarantee the composition and transmission
of contents.
New profit source
In recent years, mobile networks have experienced
a leap, from the 2G era, to the 3G era. High-quality
contents are taking on more importance in the new-
generation communications environment. Therefore,
many operators have come to realize that without
good contents, they will face some serious challenges
such as the channelization of mobile networks,
shifting of profits to the application layer, and
gradual losses of their existing advantages.
The importance of contents is also proven by
the telecom transformation wave that is currently
sweeping across the globe. After transforming from
the traditional communications network field to the
integrated information service field, operators are
now finding that the development of contents are
the best measure for success, as well as a new source
of profits in a new and burgeoning market.
In June 2006, China Mobile bought 19.9%
shares of Phoenix TV from Star Group Limited
with USD164 million, making it the second largest
shareholder of Phoenix TV. With this purchase,
China Mobile now has the priority and privilege of
using Phoenix TV’s contents on its radio platform.
According to Wang Jianzhou, CEO of China
Mobile, “Strategic cooperation with Phoenix TV,
News Corporation, and Star Group Limited, will
Huawei Technologies
help to lay a solid foundation for China Mobile to
provide mobile media services to subscribers.”
Nowadays, major contents of mobile data would
include the following areas: streaming media, music,
pictures, games, and E-magazines. The mobile search
function further strengths people’s perceptions of
content services. In the long run, the development
and overall distribution of contents should comply
with the Long Tail Theory. Richer contents will also
be provided to create more profits. More importantly,
values created by contents will be continuous. So far
mobile contents have created new profits for many
operators. For example, China Mobile raked in a
hefty RMB6.7 billion from its ring back tone (RBT)
service in 2006, which doubles its RBT revenue of
RMB3.4 billion for 2005.
In comparison with the Internet, which has
rich contents, but lacks stable charging channels,
mobile networks support a powerful mobile
payment function. For instance, mobile operators
have complete payment systems and management
capabilities, which give them a greater advantage in
terms of content charging.
In the industry chain, content cooperation is
more easy and simple than service cooperation, and
contents are also more easily managed and can create
greater values. After converging contents, an operator
can develop content-based value-added applications.
Moreover, contents can also be frequently reused
and shared. This especially benefits multinational
operators who have multiple subnets, purchase
contents in countries or areas with low costs, and
share contents on all their subnets. By doing so, these
operators are able to reap greater content profits.
Choose a profit mode
There are currently many successful profit models
for content services, which offer a great deal of
NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36 12
 COVER STORY
Mobile content is heading for golden time
inspiration for operators from several different aspects.
Web2.0 model: ‘I set up a stage; you perform’
In the Web2.0 model, subscribers are provided with
a stage, where they can express what is on their minds
and show off their talents. YouTube provides a good
example of how profitable this type of model can be.
Many people first learned about YouTube after
it was purchased by Google for USD1.65 billion
last October. However, YouTube had already gained
considerable popularity in video circles before
that time. Therefore, it’s quite understandable
why Google was interested in utilizing the video
ser vice of YouTube as the next growth point
in network ser vices. Moreover, YouTube was
recognized for its highly loyal users. Therefore, the
successful experiences of YouTube were used as a
reference point for constructing the Web2.0-based
architecture.
Since its inception, YouTube has been specifically
oriented to cater to people’s natural desire for self-
expression and the enjoyment derived from sharing
their happy moments with others. Being content
consumers, end users also become content
producers in this type of space context. In
this way, YouTube is also able to acquire
sufficient content sources.
To date, YouTube has approximately
150 million subscribers. YouTube’s
experience shows that the Web2.0
model should be just as successful
in terms of content-centered
Internet services. YouTube’s
successful experience
13 NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36
is also useful for operators who deploy content
services and application layers in the telecom field.
Web2.0 has been popular for a long time
and has been applied on a large scale in the
Internet. However, it is still not widely used in the
communications field. Needless to say, without good
contents, a service system is soulless. The Web2.0
model makes consumers composers, promotes
interactions between users and services, and creates
some content sources.
Nevertheless, content sources will remain a
problem for operators in the long run. The process
of finding content sources is actually a process
of finding business patterns. Compared with IT,
content technologies (CT) are still somewhat
underdeveloped. For instance, many preset CT
systems, especially customer-oriented systems,
only focus on services and tend to have a one-way
marketing approach. Despite the seemingly attractive
system interfaces, however, it still has the Web1.0
model system architecture.
As time goes by, it is believed that the Web2.0
model will enjoy more popularity in the CT field. As
printed on one of the covers of the Time magazine,
“Yes, you. You control the Information Age.
Welcome to your world.”
Soft terminal: the “last mile” of the value chain
When one mentions iTune, iPod also easily
comes to mind, which many people have dubbed
as a miracle created by Apple. However, Apple
has created more miracles than just the iPod. For
instance, its iTunes online music store is currently
the third-biggest overall music retailer in the

United States, after Wal-Mart and Best Buy,
enjoying a 9.8% share of total music sales.
Recently, Apple released its iPhone, which is
quickly becoming another hit in the industry.
The iPhone integrates iTune and extends the
digital music wave from the Internet to radio
communications, which is another classical
case of how IT integrates CT. The iTune serves
not only as an example we should study, but it
should also be perceived as a strong competitor
for operators in terms of content services.
In content service operations, perhaps the
most successful experience of iTune is that the
iPod/iPhone, iTune and CPs, combine to form
a short value chain, which is under the control
of Apple and ensures good service experiences.
Compared with content services in the CT field,
iTune provides good cooperation with terminals.
For instance, it provides iPod users with PC
soft terminals, while the iPhone integrates a soft
terminal on the mobile phone.
The CT field has experienced weak control
on terminals, and terminals are commonly seen
as a disadvantage by most operators. However,
operators do have stronger charging channels.
As is well known, mobile data services are quite
developed in places like Japan and South Korea
because operators in these two countries have full
control of terminals, and all mobile terminals of
operators in these countries also provide the same
reference capabilities.
It should be of some concern that Blackberry,
Skype and Google have mature service systems
and are developing their own terminals, in order
to set up and control a value chain. For example,
Google has already developed a prototype mobile
phone which is expected to be released sometime
next year. Furthermore, Google also plans to
provide consumers with free radio services by
binding advertisements in the search engine,
Email, and browser software of the mobile
phone.
Terminals are closely related with content
services. In fact, good service experiences depend
on strong supports from terminals; this is the
biggest difference between content services
and voice services. There are many ways of
controlling terminals, and the soft terminal is
commonly seen as a necessary device. The soft
terminal also sets in a very strategic position in
terms future service deployment and is necessary
for operators in attracting customers, improving
user experiences, and strengthening their own
competitiveness. Therefore, the soft terminal is
commonly acknowledged as the “last mile” in
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content operations.
Rich media: the network release
platform and propagation channel
Some experts believe that future destinations
for content services will be linked to the rich
media network release platform and propagation
channels.
Rich media is a method of propagating
animation, voice, video and interactive
information. It can be used in various network
services such as Website design, email, banner,
button, pop-up advertisement, and interstitial
advertisements.
As a digitized media era draws nearer, people
will more frequently acquire contents from
the network. Many people are currently of the
opinion that the international Internet is the
“coolest” source for news and sports, while
newspapers are quickly becoming outmoded.
Music CD companies, who once sued search
engines over intellectual property rights, now
openly admit that the challenges they are facing
with are not coming from Internet companies, Terminals are closely
but rather from young consumers who rely more related with content
and more on the network. services. In fact, good
The rich media network release platform and
propagation channels can be seen as a trend in service experiences
this circumstance. They are now seen as a target depend on strong
by most content service operators, and will supports from terminals;
be their next destination after certain service
operations and developments occur.
this is the biggest
At present, some operators are cooperating difference between
with media companies and have become the sole content services and
distributors of contents for these companies. The
relationship between traditional CD sales points
voice services.
and cinemas, and the network release system,
is somewhat like the relationship between Wal-
Mart and eBay. Whatever is bought in Wal-Mart
can also be found on eBay, but not vice versa.
Is it possible to set up a Website for virtual
electronic contents? Yes, it is possible. Like eBay,
we can build up a huge-capacity supermarket
at low costs, which sells all kinds of digitized
products. For instance, in this type of electronic
supermarket, operators can sell their contents,
and grassroots content composers can also
sell their products. Furthermore, the layout of
all digitized commodities fully complies with
the Long Tail Theory. Thus, by using search
technologies, ordinary users can find all the
commodities they are looking for, with merely a
touch of their finger, and at the fastest possible
speed.
NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36 14
 COVER STORY
Mobile content is heading for golden time
China Mobile’s Treasure Box
By Yang Juanhua & Zong Runzhe
E
arly in the morning, John goes
to work as usual by metro.
His mobile phone is playing
a new song by Christina
Aguilera which he has recently
downloaded. While listening to the music
through his mobile phone earplugs, John is
also reading today’s electronic news special
which he also habitually downloads.
A t n o o n , Jo h n d i n e s w i t h s o m e
colleagues, with whom he makes an
appointment to watch the latest hit
film Transformers that evening. Being
a huge fan of the Transformers, John
has downloaded a whole set of different
wallpaper, themes, and movie trailers
from the official online movie website.
He has also found the reservation hotline
and timetable of a theater located close to
where he lives from a fashion magazine
downloaded through the Treasure Box on
his mobile phone.
On his way to the theater, John opens
the Treasure Box and accesses the “Three
Kingdoms” online game. He is quite crazy
about this latest battle game, which is a
good way to kill time before he reaches the
theater.
After watching the movie, John receives
a sweetheart greeting card from his
girlfriend. The cute cartoon and characters
on the electronic card make him chuckle
a little. He immediately downloads an
animated greeting card and sends a sweet
kiss to his girlfriend.
All of the services that John has been
using all day are provided by China
Mobile’s Treasure Box.
China Mobile’s Treasure
Box
Treasure Box is a mobile data value-
15 NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36
added service that was released by China
Mobile in 2003. Mobile subscribers can
access the Treasure Box by way of the
general packet radio service (GPRS) mode
and enjoy various services similar to those
provided on the Internet. For example, a
subscriber can use his or her mobile phone
to download various games, cartoons and
novels. A subscriber is also provided with
many online applications such as, online
games, Email, securities, and information
queries. By offering these kinds of rich
functions, the Treasure Box is able to make
a subscriber’s life much more interesting
and colorful through mobile phone.
In order to meet subscribers’ diversified
requirements for download contents and
offer subscribers new service experiences,
China Mobile adopted a new general
download platform to optimize the
Treasure Box service. Major concerns
of China Mobile regarding Treasure
Box constructions primary focused on
such issues as content organization and
management, flexible charging policies,
and improvement of mobile terminal
capabilities.
Content organization and
management
China Mobile adhered to a customer-
centered approach in regard to content
operations and divided contents into four
major categories: games, entertainment,
business, and life. The four categories
or channels also covered a wide range of
contents which included various items
such as mobile shopping, games and
entertainment, mobile chatting, navigation
service, map query, news, mobile securities,
and mobile office. These allowed China
Mobile’s subscribers to easily locate and
choose the type of contents they wished to
access from the channels and have more
enjoyable experiences in the process.
Flexible charging policies
To encourage subscribers to use the
Treasure Box, China Mobile made great
efforts to come up with some attractive
charging policies. One singular advantage
is that China Mobile’s present general
download platform is able to support
complicated charging modes. For example,
the platform can distinguish between
different types of services according to
the access codes of SPs, and charge the
services by contents based on the universal
resource locator (URL), or charge by flows
based on the access traffic.
Besides these singular charging modes,
China Mobile also offers flexible charge
combinations such as the multi-service
package, monthly rent charge, and capped
charge. A rich collection of discounts
are also available, including discounts by
traffic, discounts for special time segments,
and discounts for holidays.
Improvement of mobile terminal
capabilities
Mobile terminals remain a persistent
barrier that has prevented the further
development of mobile value-added
services. China Mobile in association with
multiple terminal vendors was able to
launch its own customized mobile phone.
With China Mobile’s customized mobile
phone, a subscriber can conveniently
use built-in mobile services and brand
services, even if the subscriber is not
familiar with these types of settings. The
customized mobile phone has in turn
led to some breakthroughs in mobile
services. It effectively integrates mobile
communications services, value-added

services and the terminal, and brings
mobile services closer to subscribers.
In early 2007, China Mobile
introduced the content search engine to
its general download platform, enabling
end users to search and download needed
contents through the mobile phone portal.
The content search engine virtually put an
end to the vicious cycle of the value chain
where ranking determines profits and
profits determine ranking, and helped to
facilitate the development of the content
market. Hence, by using this engine,
subscribers can now easily find and obtain
high-quality contents.
CDP, the enabler for the
Treasure Box
The success of China Mobile’s Treasure
Box can be directly attributed to its content
delivery platform (CDP) solution which
was provided by Huawei, and enables
efficient, powerful content distribution,
operations and management. More than
providing just a content release platform,
this end-to-end solution covers content
sources, portal, content management,
marketing and charging, and helps facilitate
the fast provision of services. Huawei’s
CDP solution adopts mobile contents as its
core and primarily focuses on infotainment
(information and entertainment) contents.
Moreover, it also offers end-to-end solution
for integrated content downloads. See Fig. 1
for more information.
Application SP 1 SP 2
layer
Integrated data environment of application
CAS DRM
Mobile content
delivery layer Content search
Integrated access environment for application
Service enabler Streaming WAP GW
Terminal
software
Fig.1 Logical structure of Huawei’s CDP solution
Service accesses in various modes
The CDP solution provides multiple
service access paths and mainstream
downloads modes, so that end users can
have pleasant service experiences. Each
subscriber can access services at any time
and any place according to his or her
particular needs. The CDP also enables
the offline portal by using soft terminals,
which creates a couple of new experiences
such as safe and accelerated downloading.
Whenever the subscriber is not online,
the offline portal also provides channel
subscription, introductions to latest
contents, and content browse functions. It
allows the subscriber to just log in online
whenever he or she wishes to order or
download certain contents.
Personalized content favorites
The CDP solution provides subscribers
with a Favorites folder for personalized
content. A subscriber can use the
folder to collect the ordered or favorite
contents. The folder records all content
consumptions and provides shortcut
keys for future operations such as order
cancellations, recommendations, and
donations. In regard to the development
of Internet portals, blogs, billboards and
content search are adopted in the CDP
solution. Furthermore, subscribers can
use blogs to create, upload, send and store
content. Billboards are used to introduce
the latest trends and hotspots in content
download. And finally, content search
SP 3 Service Service Support
A B
layer
Maintenance
Portal/SSO User profile management
Charging
User segment CMS
Report
OAM
MMSC Download
Huawei Technologies
can make it much easier for subscribers to
quickly locate target contents.
Powerful content management
capabilities
The CDP solution offers unified
content management capabilities, which
include such capabilities as content
management, search, protection,
adaptation, marketing, and filtering.
Moreover, the content management system
implements management of the lifecycle
process of contents. CPs and operators
can submit and manage contents through
the self-service portal, which is provided
by the system. In addition, the content
management system can be interconnected
with the networks supporting third-
party management systems through open
interfaces. Hence, such interconnections
make it easier for the operator to reuse
existing content sources and make content
sources more diversified, public and long
lasting.
In the CDP solution, the digital right
management (DRM) system protects
the copyright of all media contents free
from terminal restrictions. The content
adaptation system can automatically adjust
presentation portals in various forms
according to the subscriber terminals,
and thus guarantees the very best
experiences. In addition, the subscriber
behavior analysis system classifies
subscribers into different groups on the
basis of their subscription information
and consumption behavior. As a result,
the operator can more accurately locate
potential subscribers. Further, the business
marketing system supports subscribers
and recommends that they recommend
contents to their friends and relatives, thus
allowing contents to be propagated among
subscriber groups.
China Mobile’s Treasure Box offers its
subscribers a number of new and exciting
experiences in conjunction with their
mobile life. Huawei, a co-designer of the
Treasure Box, has helped many operators
successfully exploring the mobile content
download market, and in the process has
accumulated many rich and rewarding
experiences. Unquestionably, Huawei’s CDP
solution has become a solid foundation for
mobile content operations.
NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36 16
 COVER STORY
Mobile content is heading for golden time
A new lease of mobile life
With a mobile phone in your hand, you are offered many opportunities that can make life
much more fun and exciting.
N
ew technologies are
constantly changing our
everyday lives. Based
on the developments
occurring in mobile
communication technologies and value-
added services, and due to the convenience
of mobile phones, mobile value-added
services are gradually changing the way we
live, work and entertain ourselves.
Mobile newspaper
Wherever you are, whether you are
riding in a bus or setting on a bench
by the seaside, you can always log on
to the mobile Internet and read mobile
newspapers to become informed about
ever ything that is happening in the
17 NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36
world. Since the release of the mobile
newspaper service by numerous operators,
many customers have subscribed to this
service, because of the convenience and
new experiences it offers. For instance,
on any given day, they can receive mobile
newspapers sent through MMS messages.
Since its release, China Mobile’s mobile
newspaper has won high acclaim and
recognition from subscribers.
The mobile newspaper is a combination
of mobile value-added ser vices and
traditional media. News contents on
paper media are sent to subscribers’
MMS mobile phones by way of a radio
technical platform, so that subscribers
can conveniently read newspapers on
their mobile phones. Experts believe that
the mobile phone media, which largely
By Wang Xinjun
comprises the mobile newspaper, mobile
broadcasting, mobile TV, as well as mobile
video, will become the “fifth media”, after
newspapers, broadcasting, TV and the
Internet.
So, why is the mobile newspaper service
so popular? Compared with traditional
newspapers, the mobile newspaper features
many new advantages. For instance, it
caters to subscribers’ reading habits and
extended requirements, thus ensuring
more pleasant experiences. It also follows
the general patterns of newspapers and
provides a rich variety of contents.
Moreover, it is fast and convenient, and
can be read at any time, day or night.
Furthermore, it allows subscribers to break
free from the cumbersome restrictions
that come with traditional paper media.

Subscribers can also send their opinions to
the mobile newspaper platform if they wish
to interact with editors or other readers.
Hence, this is dramatically changing the
traditional way in which information
has been transferred, and the process
is bringing about a more interactive,
humanistic form of communication.
Mobile advertising
Jissien recently found that the
advertising messages she received on her
mobile phone were quite interesting. Last
week, when she wanted to find a new
apartment, she used her mobile phone to
search for one on some WAP websites,
but in the end failed to find a suitable
apartment. However, after a couple of
days, she received some apartment-for-
rent messages and found an apartment
she liked very much. After moving to the
new apartment, Jissien remembered those
messages and thought they must have
been sent by God. However, the messages
were more down to earth, and were merely
mobile advertisements from the operator
she was using.
It has now become clear to most
mobile operators that mobile advertising
can generate huge profits for them. Like
the traditional voice service, mobile
advertising has now become an important
profit source. Hence, operators are paying
more and more attention to subscriber
requirements and are trying to offer their
subscribers what they really want.
According to Zhou Yi, who is head of the
Office of Olympic Affairs for China Mobile,
China Mobile was given an advertising
qualification from the State Administration
for Industry & Commerce July 2007, and
will officially operate mobile advertising
soon. This means that China Mobile
can offer their mobile adverting service
to enterprises and advertisers by sending
SMS messages, MMS messages, and when
subscribers are downloading games.
“I always hear about the cellphone as
being the third screen (after TV and PC),
but I really think of it as being the first,”
said Bob Greenberg, Chief Executive
of R/GA. He continued by saying, “It’s
with me all the time.” At present, mobile
advertising is developing quickly in places
like, Japan and the United States. One
of the many advantages of using mobile
advertising for operators is that each
inquiry message from a subscriber can
lead to a lot of feedback information from
sellers. This is one of the reasons that
prompted mega-companies like AT&T,
Sprint Nextel, and Verizon Wireless to
work out mobile advertising strategies.
Moblog
If your mobile phone has a camera,
supports mobile Internet, and can send
Emails, then you can do many new and
exciting things. The convenience that
these new modern wonders now offer to
hundreds and thousands of individuals
just like you, have been provided by way
of new technologies. Furthermore, newer
technologies now coming onto the market
allow you to be able to push away your
computer keyboard, leave your desk, and
record and “blog” your life by using your
mobile phone. Arousing much curiosity
and imagination, moblog now comes to
us, but its strengths and potentialities are
still unknown and unpredictable.
The Internet, which comprises tens of
millions of PC terminals, has completely
changed the world in which we live. So,
what will the world created by the mobile
Internet supporting billions of mobile
phones be like? How will moblog influence
and change the Internet? Can moblog
serve as a driving force for the prosperity of
MMS? So far weblog has become the latest
fashion in the Internet world. Thus, one
naturally wonders whether or not moblog
will be able to reconstruct the blogsphere?
Whatever the answers will be, moblog has
certainly increased the network utilization
of mobile operators and helped to generate
huge profits.
“Blog is a record of your surfing the
Internet, while moblog is a record of
travels in the world,” said columnist Justin
Hall. When surfing the Internet and
finding something interesting, you can
create a link on your blog page and make
comments. This is the so-called “knowledge
management”, or “information integration”
function of blogging. When you become a
moblogger, what you present will be people
and things around you in an everyday
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context, whether it be a pretty smiling face
or some kind of ugly behavior.
Improvements in the resolution of
camera phones have somehow stimulated
the development of moblogging.
According to some survey data, among
all mobile phones shipped in 2006, 49%
were camera phones. Japan represents the
biggest market for camera phones, with
camera phones taking up 80% of the
market share.
SMS attachment
The SMS delivers the messages we
write to our friends and colleagues. Most
of us are very familiar with the SMS
service. Jack, who is a senior high student,
likes chatting with friends through short
messages. His friends always send back
some humorous contents that tickle him
and make him laugh. However, one day,
Jack received a very strange message,
which said, “Hi, Jack, your friend David
greets you and sends you a song @RBT --
Flower@.” Soon Jack’s mobile phone began
to ring. It was from David. Jack picked up
his mobile phone and heard a soft female
voice say, “Jack, your friend David sends
you a new song, ‘Flower’. Please try it out.
If you like it, then press 1 to set it as your
RBT.” Wow, Jack was greatly surprised:
How was David able to do this?
In fact, this turns out to be the SMS
attachment service, which attaches music,
RBT, WAP, “color-e”, and media contents
to ordinary text messages. The SMS
attachment service has made use of the
inherit strengths of traditional SMS and
introduced new service modes. It offers such
services as videos, sounds, texts and pictures
in the simple, mature and mass end-to-
end SMS, and can also improve the ARPU
when sending greetings, funny messages,
and music messages. Furthermore, since it
is based on the mature message-forwarding
habits of subscribers, the service can be
propagated quickly. Another advantage is
that it is very easy and simple to use the
SMS attachment service. For instance,
different icons can be used to indicate
different contents such as RBT, text and
WAP. These contents can then be inserted
anywhere in the message text.
Editor: Xu Peng xupeng@huawei.com
NOV 2007 . ISSUE 36 18